Monthly Archives: April 2007
April 27, 2007
Audio note from the road...(19:37)
April 24, 2007
Electronics supplier
Digi-Key Corporation - USA Home Page
April 16, 2007
Garmin POI - Yamaha dealers in the U.S. and Canada
Most Garmin GPS units released in or after 2005 can use the Garmin POI Loader to load custom points-of-interest databases. (Click on the link to download this Windows application, and for details on which Garmin units are supported.)
The following Zip file contains GPX files with POI data for all Yamaha motorcycle dealers in the United States and Canada:
Extract one or both of the GPX files into an empty folder. Run the Garmin POI Loader, and select the folder with the GPX file(s). These files contain no proximity or speed data, so Express Mode works well.
See the Garmin POI Loader site for complete details on using the POI Loader.
POI's are updated at the beginning of each quarter; the next update is scheduled for July 1, 2007. If you find any errors in the data, please send me an e-mail.
Details on each dealer include the dealer's name, address, and local phone number (in Zumo direct-dial format). The data is extracted from Yamaha's U.S. and Canadian web-based dealer locater sites, and is current as of the date of this posting. Latitude and longitude data is provided by Yamaha for U.S. dealer locations; Geocoder.ca is used to determine the latitude and longitude for Canadian dealers. Note that a small number of Canadian dealers have names ending with (Z). This indicates that Geocoder.ca did not recognize the street address of the dealer; the latitude and longitude are based on the postal code only.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Use it, change it, but don't sell it.
April 13, 2007
Bill Mayer saddle
I hit the road at 5:35am (uggh) for my 7:00am ride-in appointment at Bill Mayer Saddles in Ojai. I pulled into the wrong driveway at the end of the cul-de-sac, but found the right one after a quick backtrack.
Adrian met me at the door, went over the process, and began work. First, he removed the vinyl cover from the stock seat, and we went out to the bike for the first fitting and mark-up. He made some adjustments, and we went back out for a second fitting. After the third fitting, he sent me out on a test ride, and we made some more adjustments, followed by another test ride, and then a couple of minor adjustments.
Around 10:15am I changed into my tennis shoes and walked a mile down to a restaurant for some breakfast. I read Sharpe's Fury while I ate, and wished the waitress would come back and refill my decaf. On the way back I took the long way around (which I had scoped out on one of my test rides). On one street, a couple of teenagers were having a blast skateboarding down a long, straight downhill — it looked like fun.
When I got back to the shop Adrian and the guys were out grabbing some lunch, so I settled in and finished my book. Laura Mayer chatted with me for a while, and I played with the dogs for a while. The ride in had been cold — very cold — but it had warmed up nicely.
When Adrian got back we did a final check, and I was good to go. They even threw in a free BMS tee-shirt and some other nice, unexpected bonuses. It's different from the stock seat - a little taller, with much more lateral support. I know I'm going to love it, but by the time I got home some areas of my rear that had never been used before were feeling a little special. Based on the forums, this seems like a common occurrence for many people, who say it just needs time for both you and your seat to become accustomed to each other. A lot like getting used to a Tempurpedic mattress - it takes a while for your back to get used to the right kind of bed.
All in all, a great experience. The staff at BMS are friendly, professional, and efficient — a great combination.
April 12, 2007
TechSox
April 9, 2007
Links to free maps and/or guide books
| US state highway maps and/or tourist guides | ||
| Canadian provincial and/or territorial highway maps and/or tourist guides | ||
April 4, 2007
Motofizz camping seat bag - large
Garmin GXM-30
The Roady 2 XM radio on the FJR was beginning to show the inevitable signs of a hard life - the antenna would flake out semi-regularly, and the audio cable had to be reseated constantly. This was my third Roady 2 unit, so I knew it was time to upgrade.
First, I sent away for a Skyway GXM-30 mount. Ian's unit comes with a a disk that mounts on top of either reservoir, along with the necessary screws. Next, I hit eBay, and found a new, never-opened GXM-30 for $169 — a lot, but still a bargain from its $300+ MSRP.
I've been using the Zumo with the GXM for about a week now, and have to say I love it. It fits smoothly into the cockpit, without the bulk of the Roady, and the whole packages integrates almost perfectly. When I activated it, I added the traffic and weather to the XM package; it's still a little weird for the voice to tell me that there's slow traffic two miles ahead.
Tonight while Carole was off at Disneyland with Logan, I pulled the front panels, unplugged the now-surplus V-1 accessory cable, tucked the Roady power cable behind the panels, and rerouted the GXM cable. The whole cockpit area now looks clean and neat, with the minimum number of extra cables.
