wordsmith

Lol. The literal Chinese translations are always amusing. Glad to see you got your LED's wired in!That was only a temporary wire straight to battery just to check how/ if the LEDs would work and look on the bike. But I'm getting plenty help from others here, notably Kimmie and vduboy... Slowly getting there, just (still) waiting on a wiring harness to make the final installation.

Installing front hi-viz LEDs Did a trial fit today just to see how everything would work out. Had to be amused by the wording on the packs ex China containing the LEDs: “The world’s top American CREE-U2 light bead, outside the brightness of the stars. Night driving be obviously strong pillar. Unique square spot. Suitable for pavement, super province electricity, night driving more fuel efficient. More secure, absolutely not the deficit battery”. I’m looking forward to better mpg when riding at night!

Many ways of killing this particular cat, Robert: my preferred route is home to [strong]Armidale[/strong] along the New England Hwy: thence to [strong]Mudgee[/strong]: to [strong]Canberra[/strong]; then to [strong]Lakes Entrance[/strong] via Cooma and the Cann Valley Hwy (great riding that): then to PI, or (in my case) Melb. Enjoy!

[strong][em]Made a pair of tank protectors…[/em] [/strong] Having a few scraps left of carbon fibre-look vinyl sheet I made these two little stick-on protectors for the rear/ sides of the tank. I don’t think I grip the side very much when riding, but if I do these will stop the rather coarse fabric of my riding pants from abrading the paintwork over time.

OK, steve - I wasn't being over-critical I hope, just that in the pic it didn't look too close, but maybe only an OCD might say so! So long as you were happy with it. I had a BMW recently that was allegedly Racing Red but in every pic I took of it, inside or out, it was closer to a KTM orange! I'm still waiting for my panniers, but will do that trial spray and post the results, just FYI. Cheers... LATER EDIT - and if I may, steve, what did you use as masking on the perimeter of the painted area? Ordinary painters' masking tape might leave a bit of an unsightly ridge...

Not to worry, steve - as you say, live and learn! FWIW, when painting on plastics such as the pannier lids (which I plan to do once I receive them!) I always do a surface prep with ESP - [em]see pic below[/em]. It couldn't be easier - wipe on, leave five minutes, wipe off, paint after 90. But the can warns [strong]not[/strong] to use under automotive paint. I'll do a test-spray on some out-of-sight part such as the underside of one pannier before venturing further. I'd use a cheap-ish household enamel paint applied over an appropriate primer. Thanks for the heads-up on this, steve - but console yourself that to this member at least the colour-match didn't look too good!

That building is so very 1930's, innit! And the Mt Lindesay Hwy [em](so-called)[/em] getting there so 1830's!! Nice pic.

[strong][em]INSTALLED HEADLIGHT PROTECTORS...[/em][/strong] I don’t know the replacement cost of the headlight lens or ‘glass’ on the MT/ FJ-09 if damaged, but on my previous BMW the entire headlight shell including the glass – which couldn’t be bought separately – was an eye-watering AUD$1502. Having seen some pix and read some tales of badly-damaged headlight glass, I decided that this definitely makes some sort of headlight protector worthwhile. I’d used a product from a local Australian company called AMHP before, so it was the first on-line port of call for the Tracer. The pair of headlight protectors arrived today, and as before was quickly and easily fitted. The AMHP product is exactly as described on-line, 3mm thick and nicely moulded to suit and closely fit the contours of the OE glass. The edges are polished and the whole item shouts of quality. The protectors are all but invisible when installed, once you get over the initial rather ‘in-yer-face’ look of the 3M Dual Lock fasteners, but I know from experience that they soon become 'invisible' once you've walked round the bike a few times. The fasteners are rather like stiff and coarse-toothed Velcro, allowing easy and precise removal for cleaning and re-installation. But a tip, if I may – when handling make sure you have very clean hands, both to avoid dirtying the inside of the protector when fitting it and to keep the fasteners clean. AUD$70 a pair, plus shipping of course. [strong]Very highly recommended[/strong] from .

Bless you, kimmie! I'm still awaiting delivery of my LEDs, and have spent some time figuring out the best/ easiest way to mount them, high and wide for preference! Member here vduboy (Syd) has helped with details of his approach and I'm about ready to go once the stuff arrives. Naturally I'll post a story and some pix when it's all up and running. Again - thanks - and to Karl.

[em][strong]MADE AND FITTED A DIY RADIATOR GUARD[/strong][/em] I’m lucky enough to be able to get hold of woven stainless steel mesh at no cost, in a variety of gauges, from which I’ve made many radiator guards in the past. Here’s today’s version. It’s Exocet-missile proof, and a minor plus is that its bright silver steel finish gives the otherwise totally black radiator area a distinct visual ‘lift’. The radiator on an FJ/ MT-09 is pretty large, so this minor addition could be very worthwhile.

Spent a cuppla pleasant hours fitting the [strong]rear carry-rack[/strong] to the bike, then installing onto that the [strong]support-plate[/strong] to hold the new 28L top-box. All achieved with minimum effort, except that the carry-rack, despite being beautifully and solidly made with quality fastenings had no installation instructions! Happily, it was mostly intuitive, and I’d done it before, so it was all straightforward. The cost was AUD$113 post-free from China, and it arrived less than a week after ordering. The carry-rack and anything secured to it – top-box pictured below, Pelican case, whatever - is clear of the pillion seat, which is important for me as my ageing stiff knees and wonky hip do not take happily to any acrobatics necessary to get on and off the bike. Having anything strapped to the pillion-seat is a definite no-no here! For those who like to carry soft gear such as camping equipment that needs to be strapped down you’ll note the six long slots around the edge of the rack that would give plenty of options with straps, ockies, and the like. The [strong]top-box[/strong] is a small one really intended for scooters but it suits me well enough for a night or two away from home when I don’t want to fit the panniers. It’s well-made and at a cost of only AUD$30 unbeatable value. For locals - <www.thirdgear.com.au>. I’ve dealt with them for years and they are good folks.

The 'glass' screen on the information display has a bit of a record for being very easily scratched: apparently even the gentlest wipe with a gloved hand to brush away light dust collected on a day's ride will mark it! And as I found out at the weekend, riding in bright sunshine, the reflection can be literally blinding - not a good thing! As I've done before I fixed both problems by affixing a piece of [strong]glare-resistant film[/strong] that's actually designed for mobile phones. The slightly matte finish will reduce glare and the film will be more abrasion resistant too. Since they are transparent and therefore all but invisible I cannot show pix of the two pieces that I bought online for AUD$6. I ordered to suit a Galaxy S7 screen knowing it to be quite large, and it's a good fit but could usefully be a bit wider, though it will still work perfectly. Alternatively, the second piece could be cut to fill the 1/2" wide gap, but I preferred to keep the second piece in reserve. There's only very light adhesive on the film, which is said to leave no residue when removed. The film took only moments to apply, and on other installations has proved very useful.

Looking at their bracket I'd say I have used the same bolts at the back, my second photo shows it the best, silver Allen bolt in the middle goes through a small 90 degree bracket that bolts to the cross brace. Which then also bolts to the back straps from the back of the headlight.A ten mm ratchet spanner is your friend here! Thanks, vdu. I have spent more time lying on my back recently than the average hooker - except that I've been under the front of the bike trying to locate those mounting bolts you mention! I think I may have found them, highlighted with my rumpled pink arrows - are these indeed the ones? They appear to have a cuppla rubber anti-vibration (I assume) washers on them - did you bolt the cross-brace directly under the bolt head and on top of the washers, or did the brace go at the bottom of the washers? It's a good job the LEDs are still on way as it's giving me plenty of time to sort out the mounting points! I appreciate your help.

Painted panniers look very nice, steve! I recently asked here if any special prep is need to DIY paint the OE panniers? Did you find that necessary at all, and if so what? I'd like to follow suit.Thanks in advance..

The Adv Tech bracket is the way to go - I fitted one on my previous Tracer, but the postage is exorbitant, and installing it a real pain as the mounting holes behind the lights in which it's mounted are all but impossible to get at. I have dainty hands, but the backs of them were black and blue after I'd finished! Good move to DIY! But I still cannot work out which bolts under the lights you used to mount the cross-bar!

The missing pic...

Thank you for the thoughts. I’d considered using that under part to bolt a cross-piece onto but wasn’t sure if it’s strong enough – you seem to have shown that it is, and I suspect that your LEDs are quite a bit heavier than those I’ve ordered. I’m just a bit unsure about the screws you’ve used to carry the cross-piece – are they the ones highlighted [em]here in the[/em] pic by pink arrows - and if so did you just re-use them or put in some slightly longer ones? If [strong]not[/strong] these ones, what am I missing? The other little vertical strap is another good idea. I intend to mount my LEDs – wherever and however, eventually – further outboard, and your approach will certainly give food for thought once the LEDs arrive. I see a little belatedly that you have the knuckle-guard LEDs also fitted, so are the LED spots for road illumination or for conspicuity – or belt-and-braces? Not a bad idea around here! Thank you again! EDIT - pic will not post - will post shortly...

Why thank you, sir - I bet you say that to all the girls!

I’ve had my new Tracer for less than a week and already the couriers and mail-men are at the door delivering ordered goodies, a minor benefit of having been there, done that, previously! Today’s offering was the solid-as-a-rock rear luggage rack, beautifully made in silver-anodised laser-cut aluminium with black powder-coated steel supports, and all fastenings. But alas, no fitting instructions, so I’ll have to rely on memory and some photos from the archive – of which this [em](pic[/em] [em]below)[/em] is one, the rack on my previous Tracer. My 100km-away neighbour Suncoaster put me onto this rack about a year ago - so again thanks to him for the heads-up. The rack will shortly have a mounting-plate bolted to it to carry the small 28L top-box, also delivered today, that’s ideal for a day or two away on the road. And when I don’t need that, a small Pelican case for day-outings only can be mounted onto the plate. Happy days!

When using the type of mirror extender above there can be clearance issues with the handlebar controls? Not on the [strong]throttle[/strong] side. On the [strong]clutch[/strong] side, I had to angle the new riser very slightly (horizontally) so that the adjacent rocker switch that scrolls through the display screen settings wasn't interfered with. Very little benefit would have been lost in so doing. I'll evaluate rear vision with the spot mirrors only for the time being, but may well spring for these M Store risers again - 1 + 1 = 3! LATER EDIT - I have a pic that shows the lhs riser and adjacent rocker switch. Let me know if interested.

Thanks, xc and Northern. I haven't seen those smaller mirrors, but they look pretty neat in both senses of the word! I found on an earlier Tracer that the M Factory mirror risers/ extenders worked very well indeed, with or without adding the small mirrors. These extenders both [strong]lift up[/strong] and [strong]extend outwards[/strong] the OE mirrors - by 35mm and 60mm respectively - and these too greatly improve rearwards vision. Beautifully made too - $26.60 - [em]see pic...[/em]

Living and riding as I do mainly in the sub-tropics with pretty much benign temperatures and mostly year-round sun I find that black jackets in any material are a decided turn-off. For warm-to-hot weather riding I have a [strong]DriRider mesh summer jacket[/strong], the mesh being more holey than Mother Teresa! I rode in it yesterday in temps ranging from (briefly) 19°C to 27°C (81°F) and it was perfect. It comes with a REISSA waterproof but breathable detachable liner, and if there’s a suggestion of showers I’ll carry that with me in the top-box. The 'breathable' is very important as we do get many days of high humidity in summer. This jacket is very light, comfortable, and easily-cleaned so that the light colour is no problem. The large amount of mesh is, I understand, made of some kind of nano-coated silver material that very efficiently reflects the sun’s rays. For those occasional cooler days – or if interstate in winter or riding inland, where it can become literally freezing overnight and into mid-morning – I have another [strong]DriRider APEX4 jacket[/strong], very similar in looks to the other, but made of solid fabric. It has a thick-ish quilted detachable lining, and again the light grey colour is better at reflecting heat than black. It has air-flow vents in both front and rear so can be opened-up a bit if temperatures rise. Both are very solidly constructed and both have good CE armour at elbows, shoulders, and a back-protector. And call me a cynic, but I suspect that the vast majority of these jackets of all brands are made in the same factory in Pakistan! In the pic below, the mesh version is on the left.

Just added these 2” [strong]‘blind-spot’ mirrors,[/strong] which are invaluable for greatly improving rearward vision. I’ve fitted them on all my bikes over the years – well worth every cent of the $4.70 cost - and only a five-day wait from the on-line vendor..

This is the third or fourth bike I’ve fitted with this small Zixtro [strong]handlebar-mounted hard case.[/strong] It looks much bigger in the pic than it really is – it measures about 9” x 8” x 5” (23 x 21 x 14cm) and has a guesstimated capacity of around 2.5 L. It’s mounted on an aluminium tongue that’s bolted to the ‘bar with a steel saddle. There’s a moulded-in groove underneath the case that simply slips over this tongue, and the case is held in place by a small press-to-release catch. Cost was mere $15 from the markdown section of a local sporting goods store – it’s actually intended for cyclists! I don’t care much for the look or bulk of conventional tank-bags, but in this tiny case I can carry a digital camera, mobile phone, notebook + pen, pack of Wet Ones, eye drops, small bottle of Windex + tissues. A spare pair of lightweight gloves can also be squeezed in. When out on a day-ride like today’s I like to have my camera handy and quickly accessible without having to dismount and fumble through a rear-mounted top-box or panniers. A tempting subject for a quick snap often comes along but it’s not always easy or safe to dismount along some of the narrow country roads around here!

I'd be very interested to see a pic here, vduboy (or some words if no pic is available), as I'm awaiting my LED spots and am thinking about options of where to/ how to mount them. Thank you...