Motorcycle Adventures

Yes! Finally… It arrived from the USA today… Nicely packaged in a huge box with lots of bubble wrap… Including a free T-shirt from HelmetHead Cycle Gear.com….

When I arrived at the post office, the very nice postal fellow we always deal with knew exactly what I was there for and got the box right away.

So, took it home, called a friend, and went right down to install. Now I’ve done this for my other bike as well, and it took a long time, and was a little frustrating. This time it was completely different. Just a few screws, and it was done… Took no time at all.

So, the verdict? It’s great. It’s MUCH wider, and MUCH taller than the old one. It works perfectly on the mechanism that moves the whole thing higher or lower, and I can see right through it. Testing it on the Highway, I had a wonderful quiet ride. There is a change in the air movement that is apparent… At high speeds I can feel air hitting me on my back, rather than from my front, which is interesting, and also expected from the research that I did. A small price to pay for such a peaceful ride though…

Here are some photos of the Old and the new…. The photos although help to compare the two screens, really don’t do the high difference any justice. The new one doesn’t look nearly as tall as it is… It’s quite a difference.

Today a couple packages arrived in the mail… The last little bits and pieces for our bikes are coming in.. I’m very excited to finally reinstall the RAM system back onto my bike. Read the rest of this entry »

So there are a few items still in the mail that I’m anxiously awaiting.

- RAM ball mount for the GPS – Then I can install this on the handlebars, and finally use my GP -Arrived May 26
- Powerlett Plug GPS Power Adapter – Arrived May 26
- Tire Pressure Gauge – this is a neat one that will let you see the pressure, and fill/bleed at the same time so you can get the pressure just right – Arrived May 26
- Cargo Net – for nicole, to help hold small items on her bike
- Bungee Hooks – These will be installed on my first service – they are really cheap and Suzuki has already ordered them for me for when I go on Friday.
- Kickstand Pucks - These will make sure we don’t sink into the pavement – although I haven’t seen this be an issue around here, I’m more concerned about the gravel that we might be on when we go camping, so I’ve ordered one for each of us. They are cute – shaped like a little foot
- Noise Filter - for Nicole’s StartCom1 System. This will clean up any remaining noise for Nicole. – Arrived May 26
- New Givi Windscreen – This is the really exciting piece… When I installed my last windscreen from Givi onto the 400, the difference was incredible… So I can’t wait to put this on. It will mean that I can ride so much more quietly and comfortably. It will be wonderful for our long trip. – Arrived May 27

I love to tinker… and when I get a chance to tinker in the way I get to tinker with out bikes, it’s the best. Not only do I get to buy new toys, but I get to install them, and make our riding experience better… What’s better than that! Read the rest of this entry »

It was a few weeks ago when I had been looking on the new for things I could add to my bike, when I came accross the some posts where people referred to a local company called Talon for alarms.  (talonalarms.com)

I emailed them with a few questions, and got a reply back the next day, from a guy named Brent, asking me to call him the next day.

I sent back a rather stiff reply asking him why he couldn’t just answer my question.  Why did I have to call him!  I was quite annoyed as I thought this was some marketing tactic, and I was so sick of being pushed around by sales people.

The response came within a couple of hours, and mentioned that he was looking to do an installation of my type of bike, and that he may be willing to do a free install, in exchange for being able to do the installation and take photographs.

I felt a little bad about having given him a bad time – but I couldn’t have known!   We arranged to meet and install the alarm… He was a super-friendly guy, and clearly very knowledgeable.  As it turns out, he owns the  company, and is also the sole employee.  He’s designed this system from the ground up, and had it manufactured to his specifications, and I must say, it’s the nicest alarm system I’ve ever seen.

We spent a couple of hours installing it on my bike.  It works great!  It has a tilt sensor, an immobilizer, vibration sensor, and a perimeter sensor that can tell if you are hanging around the bike (even without touching it) for too long.  It has the most wonderful and cute little remote, with blue back lighting.  It’s very configurable with many settings and options for it’s operation and for the sensitivity of the various sensors.  It will even let you arm only certain sensors for when you are in areas where they might more easily give false alarms.

Oh, I’m pleased today… The Givi Windscreen I ordered has finally arrived…  I installed it today.  It was straight forward, but took some time to get the old one off without doing any damage to it, and put the new one on.  It’s quite a significant difference between the old and the new…

The new screen is several inches taller, and significantly wider.  The hand/arm protection is fantastic, and the wind noise from behind the screen has gone from noisy, to really quite… What a wonderful difference.  Worth every penny.