suncoaster

Hi Suncoaster, what kind of seat is that?...it looks heavily padded and soft. It's a mesh seat cover designed to keep the sun off vinyl seats on scooters, over a sheepskin, on the standard seat. I'd seen and used the covers on rented scooters in Indonesia and Thailand. Very comfy. Details here: http://fj-09.org/post/37946/thread

Today I added a simple GPS mount. The Givi 2122DT windscreen leaves a large gap above and behind the dash. A couple of brackets and longer screws, and a piece of pipe from an old handlebar makes a nice place for a GPS/phone case. I gave it a five hour road test, including using the "Map Factor Navigator" app on a 6 inch mobile phone on the trip home after dark tonight. It was solid enough to read the battery percentage display in the status bar while moving. .

Surely the sub woofer should be under the seat ?

I park next to a Street Triple sometimes, and it's much smaller than the FJ. Looks like lots of fun. But I've also thrown a leg over the Ducati Scrambler, and that looks even more fun.

Just for clarity, this is in addition to the factory knobs, not a replacement. You have to drill holes for this, the pictures show the high position. The screen is now rock solid. To use this instead of the knobs, the factory mount has nuts welded to it on the inside which may have to be drilled, if they are 5mm or less.

There are lots of these bicycle "skewers" on ebay, I chose these ones because of the flat end nut, graspable by a spanner: http://www.ebay.com/itm/252336273687 and only used the short one. = http://www.red-land.cn/products-detail.asp?cpid=176 Road Bike: F: 112mm / R: 148mm The shorter ones for use on the rear rack are called "quick release seat post clamps"

The windscreen bracket movement was bugging me, so I put a bicycle quick release axle bolt in the windscreen mount, which completely stabilizes it. The QR bolt was around $9 for two. I also have four short ones for bolting things to the rear rack without tools. Drilled a 5mm hole in each side of the mount, and the axle bolt goes right through. Shown with the screen at highest setting. Left side, Right side.[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span]

Bought a $9 "waterproof" phone cover. The screen is responsive through the plastic. Plenty of room for it behind the Givi screen. Just need to fab a bracket. This is a proof of concept, and another cheap farkle, partly because the new 6" phone is too large for the tankbag pocket. I don't know if it will be readable when moving. I would use a real GPS rather than that 6" Asus phone, as the phone may overheat and use more power than a cable could supply. It would also probably be vibrated to an early death on the screen mounts. I've never used a GPS here, it's an island and you can't get lost. I have used a GPS several times overseas.

Nice Is that 3M 580 black scotchlite ?

Ordered some Grip Puppies. Have worn out the left pussy grip http://fj-09.org/post/29932/thread and after comparing @wordsmith's grip puppies vs my pussy grips, discovered that the GPs are much thicker, so should last longer without wrapping tape on my handlebars. But the Pussy Grips have a better name !

Definitely maybe my next pair of boots.

Another vote for Forma Adventure, full length, bought about 3 months ago and now have a thousand km on them, these are my favorite boots. I rotate them with Rjays highway touring boots and Falco Volt shorties. Great for ADV style cafe duty (wearing Rhok Gen 4 Kevlar jeans, my companion was sporting Motoport gear) :

You got them both to fit ! Did you make a bracket ?

The same thing, high idle, happened to mine first thing in the morning about 2 weeks ago. It was like having the choke stuck on. I rode it around the block and blipped the revs a few times and the high idle speed did not change. I turned it off, removed the key, waited a few moments, and it was back to normal with the next start. Hasn't happened since.

@basstodave I used the low horn. But changed to the high horn after a couple of weeks as I felt that it had a more penetrating note. I changed the orientation of mine to point directly down, it's louder when bouncing off the pavement. At some point I'd like to put both together, but there's no room without another bracket or modding the horn case.

Yes, just got a promo email from Sargent today. Their backrest doesn't require a rack. We road tested mine today, about a 3 hour loop through the countryside. Pillion liked it. I didn't need to adjust the position. It gave her just enough support that she feels more comfortable. Backrest was $68 AUD Rack was $126 AUD I'll remove it for one up riding, which is most of the time (3 bolts). Here's another pic at the Bellbird Creek cafe, there were about 20 bikes there when we arrived at 11am:

Re: Passenger backrest. Found one. It's made by Bestem - http://bestemusa.com/ and http://bestem.com.au/ This model is "VTX1300/1800 Driver back". They have black ones too. Bolts to the rack. I don't have a topbox. Road test tomorrow. (Raked frame and extended forks next week.. only kidding.)

True. Here on Australia we have an old standard (AS1698), which was heavily enforced in some states. ECE22-05 has just been accepted in most states, so manufacturers no longer have to make an homologation special for us. I think AS1698 and Snell are similar and that compliant helmets are heavier and thicker than DOT and ECE22-05. A lot of us are waiting for a wider (Schuberth) and cheaper (Caberg) range of ECE22-05 helmets in the shops. DOT and SNELL are not acceptable alone.

Thanks Wessie That's an excellent price, and they ship to Australia too.

Today I added some 3M "Scotchlite 580" 7mm vinyl pinstriping to the panniers and rack. This stuff is normally black but is reflective when a light shines on it. It's not as bright as SOLAS grade tape, but still effective at night and not noticeable during the day. 6 metres is about $10 USD on ebay, from a vendor called "adesivisicurezza". Edit: this is not a before and after - both pictures have the tape, one was taken with a flash.

I am looking for an out of the box solution to communicate with my passenger. We wear full face helmets, and don't need anything fancy like a builtin FM receiver and such. Any ideas or advise? I am using Aldi bluetooth sets. They were about $70 AUD ($54 USD) each. Seems to hold a good charge, can listen to music/podcasts from the phone, GPS, and have 2 way conversations with my pillion. It does hit my neck brace when I turn my head left, but not badly. The boom mike fits inside the chin of the helmet nicely. Not sure of the range bike to bike, if any. .

Setup your video camera first .. 8-)

I put a seat cover on the rider's seat, and a non slip "Triboseat" cover on the pillion seat. The rider's seat now has a cover meant for keeping the sun off Asian scooter seats, it's around 1cm (1/4 inch) thick, coarse weave, with a drawstring and hook and loop ties. It was large enough to put over my sheepskin and a piece of foam from a yoga mat, so is much more comfy. I don't notice the extra height (32inch inseam and the seat is in the low position.) Time will tell how it feels after a few hours. .

Hey wordsmith, sing out if you fancy company for a coffee on a ride up this way (Sunshine Coast), the Bellbird Creek Cafe at Kenilworth is a good lunch spot. Cheers Suncoaster

Givi 2122DT. Clears handguards easily, adds a space behind the instruments that could be used to mount a GPS, and creates a bubble of quiet air. Wind noise is gone. I can ride with my visor open into triple digit speeds (kph). Some buffetting at speed when it's in the low position. The stock mounts have a lot of movement which may be a cause. I will try the Givi S180T shield as well to combat turbulence. I am 180cm (5'11") with a 32inch inseam and it's about 5cm below line of sight in highest position. This was taken on the toy run before xmas: .