cspradlin

The Hero 5 Session works with the USB-C audio adapter. You know, the one they only made like ten of apparently, since they're about impossible to find, and ridiculously priced if you do.

Went out to go for a ride... And found I had forgotten to plug the tender back in last time. And we've had some teens-to-single-digits cold snaps since then. Battery was dead dead, nothing came on. Jump pack, it started and ran, but when I cut the jump pack off it died. Guess my next post will be installing a new battery. Think I'll spring the extra for one of those Antigravity ReStart series batteries.

Installed a set of ADVmonster 60s. Haven't bothered with aiming them yet since I just finished.

I decided to play around, and built an OpenAuto (Android Auto) "headunit". Phone gets to stay inside the tank bag so the vibes don't murder the camera, with the screen off so it doesn't overheat, and I don't need to look damn near straight down for the occasion I *do* need to see the directions. As an almost purely rural driver, being able to see did come in handy on my recent trip to Baltimore (~1300 miles round trip for me, was great!) as voice directions were a bit too slow for how dense the area was. Oh, and Baltimore roads are terrible. My complaints are how poor most of the apps are designed, but that is incredibly minimal since I don't actually use any of them, everything is pretty much covered by the controls on my comm. Oh, and it breaks "ok/hey google" because while it picks up the command from the comm, it then tries to listen to a mic on the headunit (which A, doesn't have one and B, wouldn't be able to hear me if it did). Again, not something I actually use more than once in a blue moon. But mostly I just did it to see if I could. Raspberry pi 3B+, official 7" touchscreen, a 3rd party case, some silicone, and a ton of sugru, viola, complete! Bolted a RAM ball to the back to mount it with. Of course, the cables all got routed elsewhere, that was just a test-fitting and test-function. Oh, and I absolutely drowned the USB on the side in sugru to make it weather-resistant. The bottom ones, a splitter, go to power (Pi and screen), the side goes to a USB hub that has external power (a USB-to-barrel-plug cable, took forever to find a hub that used one) so my phone will actually charge, the SAE-USB, USB hub, and phone are all in the tank bag. Switch on power, plug in phone soon as it boots, it launches Waze and starts whatever media I had playing when I turned it off, if I turned it off without pausing. There are about a million ways to make it automatically turn on and off, but they are so much more involved than putting together what is generally a commercial solution and weather-hardening it.

Another friend in TN!

Denali Soundbomb Split. There's a couple posts around with good install instructions that I (mostly) followed. Pretty painless and you only need a 4mm hex/allen bit and I think a 10mm socket for the horn mounting nut.

😃

Did a loop this past weekend too, me and two buddies went down 129, started Foothills parkway, said screw it let's do the Dragon, then ended up eating at The Hub in Robbinsville and riding home (Knox/Oak Ridge area for all three of us) via Cherohala Skyway. It was a great weekend.

Also did the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway this past Sunday!

Yes, I did buy it at Tommy's, me and a couple friends went to Coal Creek Smokehouse in Rockytop, and I've since gone to Foothills parkway once by myself, once with the friends, and all over east tennessee just tooling around. I'm trying to convince them to go to Cherohalla Skyway this weekend and camp on the other side, and come back via Deal's Gap.

Another HJC RPHA 70 ST here! Mine came with an actual Pinlock branded pinlock visor, though. No problems there.

Others with more riding time might have some real-life experience that's relevant, but all of the reviews I've seen tend to have relatively quiet helmets as at least a step up in the price brackets. I just picked up an HJC RPHA 70 ST, and it's night-and-day compared to the AGV K3 SV I've been using. A wee bit warmer (still working on a good wind-to-noise ratio for where to leave the windshield, so maybe not the best airflow to the vents), but worlds quieter, even without the chin curtain in. It's above the price bracket, but I think it'd be worth it to save up a wee bit and get a great helmet rather than get an okay helmet now.

Received my Givi V47 Tech and backrest, and installed the backrest. Probably isn't going to live on the bike since I short-distance commute and the sidecases are enough space for that, but it'll be handy to have when I need it and for long trips. Excuse the messy garage, my family are practically hoarders and nothing is sacred, not even a man's workshop.

Went on a group ride today, about 40 miles total, as well as tooling around a bit, and I'm *definitely* loving the bike! It's confidence inspiring, comfortable, I just love riding it! Local barbecue place, took the loooooong way around to get there and took our newbie friend (who I sold my Katana 600 to) to get used to the bike and learning the joys of twisties.

Does it count if it was coming home from the dealership? Little asian lady in a sedan tried to merge into me. Looked right at me when I laid on the horn, and kept merging.

I have obtained the FJ! The, what I thought were cheapo chinese LEDs, are actually Clearwater LEDs! And the previous owner kept a maintenance log! AND left a set of sprockets in the pannier that the dealership apparently did not notice.

The FJ-09 is mine, and I was far too excited to ride it to take proper pictures! Someone tried to merge into me on the trip home, but I still loved the ride. This bike is an absolute joy to ride.

Hello! After much deliberation, I decided I needed an upgrade from my first bike, an old, kinda beat-up '99 Katana 600. I went to the nearest dealership expecting to be rather disappointed, mostly due to my lack of height, and found a '15 FJ-09 loaded to the gills. It's a wee bit tall (28" or 29" inseam depending the brand of jeans), but manageable. All the mods I would get anyway, and well, here we are with me picking up the bike this coming Friday (5-14-19). I live in East Tennessee, in the Oak Ridge surrounding area. I am a veteran, 4.5 years active with one tour and 4 years reserve. I've been a corrections officer with the state, and now I do computer refurbishing work. Trust me, the computer refurbishing is much more fulfilling. I'm almost always up for rides if anyone wants to go! I use a Cardo Packtalk comm, if it matters.

Going to pick up my first FJ this coming Friday! I heard mention of Oak Ridge, I live in the area if anyone ever wants to go riding!