Accessory advice?

[Pale Rider 07]

Sorry...forgot the link for Spencer, if you are interested. Clicky

 

[ScottyUSN]

Thread jack.... Dave what free Nav do you recommend for the Iphone? I have a BT GPS that works great, but don't use it as much as my phone alone.

I will research his, but would like input from a rider perspective.

 

[hyndsight]

Thanks for the info Scotty, I'll let the jack slide this time I went with the 32" pants too, just a little concerned they might not be big enough if I wanted to throw them on over something else since I wear a 32" jean....

Dave, do you know what Spencer is calling a ld foam? is it just a memory foam? I was thinking of doing something like that myself as I've seen others do around here, but for the cost of having Spencer do it, may not be worth trying myself...

I just limited myself in the electronics by getting the nuvi 750 (non BT) for $129 from Tiger. we'll see how that goes. I'll try to find a halfway decent pair of helmet speakers next......

 

[Pale Rider 07]

Thread jack.... Dave what free Nav do you recommend for the Iphone? I have a BT GPS that works great, but don't use it as much as my phone alone.
I will research his, but would like input from a rider perspective.

I couple that I have been testing are GPS Drive from MotionX and Mapquest. I think both are free or only a couple of bucks...don't remember now. These apps work fine. One of the big benefits that you get in the more pricier apps such as Tom Tom or Navigon is that they download the maps locally to your phone so you don't have to count on your connection for mapping, which at times can be a bit slow. Mapquest will also allow you to create maps online with you PC, then save them for use on your mobile version. I like being able to have a larger screen for trip planning. I'll most likely purchase Navigon soon, but for now I can get from point A to B with voice prompts.

 

[Pale Rider 07]

Thanks for the info Scotty, I'll let the jack slide this time I went with the 32" pants too, just a little concerned they might not be big enough if I wanted to throw them on over something else since I wear a 32" jean....
Dave, do you know what Spencer is calling a ld foam? is it just a memory foam? I was thinking of doing something like that myself as I've seen others do around here, but for the cost of having Spencer do it, may not be worth trying myself...

I just limited myself in the electronics by getting the nuvi 750 (non BT) for $129 from Tiger. we'll see how that goes. I'll try to find a halfway decent pair of helmet speakers next......

I don't remember what it's called exactly, but he has a pretty good write-up about the stuff on his site. I do feel the difference though and think it was worth the money, considering the turn around time.

 

[K Rider]

I know you may not be leaning this way, but I just purchased a BeadRider and don't like it at all. A couple of people mentioned that they used it and like it, but I didn't have the same experience. I actually hurt more than just the stock seat. The highway pegs have helped me to get a lot more miles than I normally could. Be aware that some have went down due to using highway pegs. I don't ride that aggressive and have never had a problem with them scraping.

 

[Patriot]

seat pads compared...I swear by the airhawk air pad...same design that paralyzed wheelchair and bedridden patients have to prevent sores

my 14x14 medium cruiser pad sits on a Sargent Seat...my '04 is Gen I

https://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/accessori...pads/index.html

double risers, wild bill highway pegs, grip puppies, cal sci medium shield, tourmaster gear, sidi boots, HJC IS-Max helmet, Nelson Rigg Survivor weekender luggage on pillion seat-> holds stuff for touring and makes a great backrest too

I purchase from www.newenough.com whenever possible...soon will be the wintertime 10% off coupons being offered

check my pics using the flickr clicky in my signature below

let's ride safe and be careful out there,

Mike in Nawlins'

 

[ScottyUSN]

seat pads compared...I swear by the airhawk air pad...same design that paralyzed wheelchair and bedridden patients have to prevent soresmy 14x14 medium cruiser pad sits on a Sargent Seat...my '04 is Gen I

https://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/accessori...pads/index.html

double risers, wild bill highway pegs, grip puppies, cal sci medium shield, tourmaster gear, sidi boots, HJC IS-Max helmet, Nelson Rigg Survivor weekender luggage on pillion seat-> holds stuff for touring and makes a great backrest too

I purchase from www.newenough.com whenever possible...soon will be the wintertime 10% off coupons being offered

check my pics using the flickr clicky in my signature below

let's ride safe and be careful out there,

Mike in Nawlins'

Can leave out your 130dB frame sliders!

 

[Harald]

I see you've already decided on gear, but you might want to consider Aerostich in the future. I bought their Darien jacket and AD1 pants 3 years ago after a lifetime of other cheap gear and don't regret spending the $$ one bit.

Rant mode on: (Okay, maybe one bit of regret - don't buy their heated liners because they are crap! My liner partially died in the first year and again after 2.5 years and they won't repair it. And I take exceptionally good care of all my gear, so it's not dead from abuse.) Rant mode off.

The nice thing about the Aerostich is great protection from crashes and weather. I no longer consider weather when getting dressed for a ride and don't need to stop and put rain gear on. Having a heated liner is key to comfort because you can adjust based on conditions (even in summer it can get cold going over mountian passes). I'm shopping for a Gerbing liner (which has a Lifetime Warranty!) because I won't be without a liner for the upcoming winter.

 

[ScottyUSN]

I see you've already decided on gear, but you might want to consider Aerostich in the future. I bought their Darien jacket and AD1 pants 3 years ago after a lifetime of other cheap gear and don't regret spending the $$ one bit.
Rant mode on: (Okay, maybe one bit of regret - don't buy their heated liners because they are crap! My liner partially died in the first year and again after 2.5 years and they won't repair it. And I take exceptionally good care of all my gear, so it's not dead from abuse.) Rant mode off.

The nice thing about the Aerostich is great protection from crashes and weather. I no longer consider weather when getting dressed for a ride and don't need to stop and put rain gear on. Having a heated liner is key to comfort because you can adjust based on conditions (even in summer it can get cold going over mountian passes). I'm shopping for a Gerbing liner (which has a Lifetime Warranty!) because I won't be without a liner for the upcoming winter.

Harald, Are you familiar with the gear he purchased? I only ask because when I bought my gear, a Stich owner recommend I go to the BMW dealer to checkout Olympia gear. It's made from the same shell, is a quality product, at less than 1/2 the cost (comparing the Darien at $550.00 with liner -vs- Olympia AST at $240.00).

The venting is better in the Olympia (vents all they way down the outer arms in front, and large exhausts on the back) which probably gives the Darien an edge on waterproofing. But as long as I velcro and zipper everything up. The Olympia gear kept me dry in medium/heavy rain without a liner.

If you require custom tailoring, the Stich maybe your best bet. But if off the shelf fits, I would say my Olpmpia gear is only second to Motoport Kevlar in the Textile arena. I would really like to see some testing of the Kevlar -vs- the Cordura. I plan to buy a Motoport Airmesh

Riding for 1 or 2 hours with thermal underwear, jeans/sweatshirt, and the Olympia gear named above and so far I've not felt a need to look into heated gear.

The only reason I feel bad about saving money on the Olympia gear... Made in China.

 

[hyndsight]

So, bike back on the road today after a week in the garage. This was realy the first time I've had her apart since I got her back in May, knocked out a good list of basic stuff:

-pulled the rats nest of wires from previous owner (remenants of stuff that was pulled from bike before sale......scary

-added marine accesory panel

-mounted hella ff50s on the nice top gun light brackets that came with the bike

-12v outlet for tank bag

-wired heated grips CORRECTLY (came on the bike, not working)

-Instaled Vista Cruise

-installed v-strom handguards (thanks Radman)

-Amsoil synthetic oil change

-serviced K&N

As far as the apparel goes, I know 'you get what you pay for' (in some cases), but the budget didn't let me shop gear like Aerostitch. From what I've heard though, I don't think I'll be too dissapointed with the Olympia. Heck, anythings gonna be better than my Carharts......

Seat....too many choices here....and Patriot just added another one that I hadn't seen before. The airhawk is a little on the pricey side, but pretty tempting nontheless. Anyone else with feedback on these?

Lotsa people using highway pegs....something I hadn't thought about too much. Are Wild Bills "the" pegs to have? What kinda $ for these? they look real cu$tom

 

[hyndsight]

3 days to go.....

Thanks for the tips, this is what I ended up with:

Olympia gear seems pretty solid. I've done about 50 miles in rain now and been perfectly dry. I havn't bothered with the liners yet cause this stuff is warm even without.

Garmin 750 is a great little unit, especialy like the mp3 player/sd card so tons of stuff to listen to including a couple of books. The only glitch I had with this was the car power cable didn't work. I e-mailed Garmin about the problem and by the time thay got back to me 3 days later it was getting too late to do anything about it, so I took matters into my own hands. Turns out the circuit board in the base had a defect, which I soldered up to make it work (at least until Garmin sends me a new base)

Got the Airhawk seat pad, which seems good for the 20 miles I have on it.....will have more feedback on that real soon...

Hella ff50s: amazing little lights, I cant imagine what an HID would do. It seems like these almost double the power of stock high beams which are pretty decent for a mc to begin with