Monday, August 21, 2006
Weekend of tinkering
I'd collected quite a set of parts and accessories over the last few months, and spent the weekend getting everything installed. It took the better part of both days, but the final results were gratifying.
Powerlets
I wasn't happy with the SAE cable I got from Kieth Goudelack to power my tankbag. It always seemed kludgey, and having it hanging out of the upper right fairing offended my delicate sensibilities.On the way home from the Central Coast Romp, Tim (twowheelnut) put on his Widder electric vest in Santa Maria, just before it started to rain. I zipped both the rain liner and the quilted liner into my jacket, but still shivered enviously all the way into Carpinteria, where Tim and I split up.
The solution to both of these problems was Powerlets — electrical plugs similar to cigarette lighter plugs in cars, but smaller and less prone to vibration problems. I ordered two — one for the front, to power my tank bag, and one for the back, to plug in my (future) electric vest.
Installing the rear powerlet requires that the front of the gas tank be lifted about 9", to make room to run the cable from the battery to the underseat area. I ran the bike 34 miles into reserve to make this a little easier. The instructions are complete, but do require careful reading and a little common sense.
The front powerlet needs an 18mm hole in panel D, the right rear dash panel. I coulda/shoulda gotten a hole saw as part of my Powerlet order, and paid the price (literally) at Sears when the alternative unibit came in a $39. It did make quick work in the plastic.
Valentine-1 hard-wire power plug
I don't use my V-1 for daily driving, but rely on it for longer trips. Before leaving for WFO-5, I hadn't used it for six weeks or so. When I plugged it in, I got nothing - no power. On closer examination, both the cords and the power unit had corroded contacts. Remember, this was my first modification to the bike back in August of '04, and the location I chose was not sufficiently protected from moisture.I sent away to Valentine for a new hard-wire connection, plus two 6' coiled cords (one for the main unit on the brake reservoir, and one for the remote audio unit on the clutch reservoir), and a 6" jumper cord (in case I decide someday to mount both units together). This time, I installed the connection completely under dash panel B, just left of the center line. Cable ties help route the cords out to the right, under panel C, then along the center frame rail. Each cord passes through the stock cable loom, and is tied to a hydraulic line.
Lower right fairing panel
Bouquet Canyon was not kind to my lower right fairing panel. I ordered a new panel a few weeks before WFO-5, but I sent confusing info to Gary McCoy and he sent a left-side panel. (In my e-mail request, I said "right-side panel", but gave the part number for the left-side panel. I take full responsibility.) I sent back the left-side panel, and Gary sent the right side, which arrived while I was away at WFO-5.When the original shipment from Gary arrived, I took off the bad right side panel before opening the box, and had to put it back together when I discovered my error. This turned out to be a good learning experience — today's exchange went very smoothly.
Vista Cruise
Long trips can get uncomfortable without some type of throttle lock. I mounted a Vista Cruise according to the write-up on FJRTech.com, with only a few minor glitches.I wound up butchering the stock grip to get enough clearance for smooth operation, but it will work fine until I can pick up a pair of replacment grips.