crazyivan

Over the weekend I went to the BMW MOA National Rally, in Des Moines, IA. Besides having a good time, I purchased some gear for my bike. From Iliumworks I purchased some highway pegs, which they installed on to my Higdonion Custom Products crashbars. They measured the bars, and suggested two parts. I got part 32-100, also they told me 27-100 would also fit. http://www.iliumworks.com/BMW_Motorcycle_Accessories.cfm?pn=32-100BL&pID=127 sorry for the potato quality. They also rotate. I also purchased a motorcycle half cover from E-Z Touring. They didn't have the FJ-09 in their book so they weren't sure what size, but they let me try out a size or two before purchasing. Size A fit my 2015 FJ-09 with and without the 50L Yamaha Topbox. http://eztouring.com/product/the-traveler-motorcycle-cover/

Do you have a SENA? Or, do you know if a SENA can be easily installed on this helmet? https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/scorpion-exo-at950-helmet https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/scorpion-exo-at950-neocon-helmet In @crash's post the revzilla review videos, the guy takes out all the liners and mentions that it has indents for speakers, and there is room to slide a clamp mount sena in.

I've almost got my wife talked into moving from Florida to a cooler part of the country but it looks like I'm running out of options.I shamelessly stole this from someone on facebook: Sure Summer can get hot, But see, it get's cooler.

Anyway, I built a water cooling vest and installed and used it on my bike. Here is the album showing the cooling vest setup: https://goo.gl/photos/TWYqPaYtrJQn12HEA Here in Minnesota (USA) it's been very hot and humid lately. In the mid to high 90s°F (34°c) with a high dew point, making the 'feels like temp in the 100s-110s). I prefer to do the ATGATT thing, including overpants, and I knew it'd be unbearable for me. I tried it out this week for my commute to work. While I'll admit I don't have a very long commute I could probably just endure it. But I wanted to see if it would work. To try to see how well it worked, when I left work one of the days I put in a fresh chunk of ice, and rode for 45 minutes in stop and go traffic wearing my full gear including a textile jacket (not the mesh jacket) with all the zippers closed up for no air flow, and the vest on underneath. My arms were burning a bit in the sun, and I certainly had to crack my visor open on my helmet, but my body was cool, and it was not uncomfortable at all. I did get a bit soaked however, since the tubes were well below the dew point and there was a significant amount of condensation. After I got home, I checked the reservoir and the ice was all melted, the temperature sensor was reading 60°F, which was probably from the peltier element. Construction: As you can see the vest is made from a hi-vis safety vest (I purchased from Harbor Freight), that I've sewn in vertical channels using a cut up old t-shirt. Through the channels I've run 5/16" ID vinyl tubing. Home depot was selling it in 20' lengths, I discovered I needed more than 20' of tubing, so I ended up with 40' and trimmed it to length. I used a brass 5/16" ID barb fitting to barb fitting splice to join the two segments together. The reservoir I bought from Target online, it's a "Wagan 6 Liter Cooler/Warmer" for about 30 US$, it has a small peltier unit, powered from a cigarette lighter connection. The manual says it can do 40°F below ambient temperature, or heat up to 140°F. I ended up with two submersible 12vdc brushless pumps (rated for 250 L/h), one I purchased from ebay (china) and one from Amazon. (the ebay was I thought was 'lost in transit' so I ordered 2nd from amazon, then the ebay one arrived later). I only used 1, I tested that it worked with a 9 volt battery, and had enough strength to pump through the entire length of tubing. I soldered the pump wires directly to the circuit board connection in the cooler for the 12v cigarette lighter, so the pump runs as long as it is plugged in. The brass lead free fittings I purchased from either Home Depot, Lowes or Amazon. They are 5/16" ID barb fittings to 1/4" NPT, then a male to male 1/4" NPT short tube to go through the side of the reservoir, some lock 1/4" NPT lock nuts, and a 1/2" ID silicone o-rings. The threads are wrapped with teflon thread sealing tape. I am still waiting on some 'no spill' quick disconnects" to arrive, they appear to be backordered till early August. I found some for 'low pressure' applications, that aren't too expensive, compared to high pressure hydraulic 'no spill' quick disconnects. But these quick disconnects were still the most expensive set of parts in the build (~50US$ for 2 sets of disconnects.). The reservoir unfortunately, was not water tight (which I discovered only after reading the owner's manual after it arrived). I tried to cover all the gaps inside (there are screw holes for where the peltier is mounted, and the top and inner liner aren't sealed together) with underwater tape. I still have a few gaps in places so if I fill it too full it does leak out the front. I installed a cigarette lighter power receptacle attached to the cargo rack bar, which is directly fused and hooked direct to the battery at the moment. Allows me to plug it in to turn on the pump without turning the bike on. Anyway, I put a bit of water in the reservoir, and a block of ice I freeze in a food storage container overnight at home and again once I get to work. Just pump out a bit of water, so it isn't overfull, and drop in the block of ice. Put the vest and jacket on. Hop on the bike and ride. edit: fixed description of receptacle mounting location. one more edit: I should note I did observe the peltier unit doesn't have enough oomph to cool on its own, it can't keep up with body heat and outside air temp. I'm not sure how well it can 'heat' if you wanted to use it as a warming vest. I'd probably try a better water tight container for the reservoir if I were to try it again.