| Author | Message | ||
     Cyclone8u |
Thank you all that followed my rather long ride report, and thanks once again for all the well wishes for my son - I am overwhelmed each day with people that just want to shake my hand because my son is a U.S. Marine. He's the one that has done all the work! But thank you all. Anyway, to the topic. What worked and what didn't. Disclaimer!!! Now don't post telling me how great or poor a service you've gotten from these companies. This isn't an opinion poll. It's merely a statement of the services I received or didn't receive, and the quality of said service - take it for what it's worth. Save your breath unless you have something really constructive i.e. this worked better for me or I had better luck with company x. I'm sure you're experience differed in some minor or major way. I'm not asking for advice, only stating facts. If this concept bothers you, your browser has a back button, please feel free to use it. First let's go through a quick rundown of the trip. It was 2507 miles, with the only dirt being maybe a driveway or some such thing. So essentially no dirt - bummer. The bike (XB12X) had around 5600 miles on it with the stock front tire and a rear tire with just about a 1000 miles. It's an early '08 so it still has the older belt and the wheel bearings with the orange seals. We went from sea level to 4,000 feet, and temps from the 30's to the 90's. We hit everything from stop and go city traffic, interstate, righteous twisties, and wfo rips through endless straights in the farmland. The bike was very much overloaded. The two of us with gear on added close to 350lbs, and the bags were all close to double their limits. Before we left, I had some gearing up to do. The Good. Whitehorse Gear - great people, excellent service. They got us the goodies we needed for the trip well before we needed to leave. If only they carried a few higher end products such as Aerostich and Arai, they would absolutely rock. They get an B+. Their people are all A+ though! Great company. Buell Parts.net - Great selection, but poor web ordering interface. You don't get any kind of feedback as to whether or not what you ordered is in stock, when it will ship etc. However the people are outstanding. When I realized one item was on backorder, they, upon my request, broke up my order and shipped the non backordered gear separately at no additional charge (I told them I'd be happy to pay the shipping difference). I tend to judge a company not so much by what they do when things go smoothly, but by what they do when things go wrong. For that they get a B+. A better web interface would improve their score. American Sport Bike. A Badweb sponsor, and a company I've done business with in the past. I needed a tail pad, and time was running out. No one else had one, Buell had them on backorder, and ABS had them listed on their sight. Again, another website with no feedback as to whether an item is in stock or not. I know it's nit picking, but this 2009, not 1999. The technology is there and readily available. But a phone call (one of the benny's of living on the East coast - the West coast is still at work when I get home and have time to deal with these things) and the nice lady informed me that they showed one in stock, but if I would hold she would confirm it. After a minute she came back and said, "I'm sorry, but it seems we don't have one." I was seriously bummed, my wife really wanted that pad - this could turn out ugly. She then said, she was quite sure she had seen one kicking around somewhere, and took my number. If she found it, she would call me back. About 15 minutes later, I got a call to inform me that she had found it. She said it was right there under Al's desk, she new she had seen it several times. I thanked her and had her ship it 2nd day UPS. I never asked her why she was under Al's desk so much.... Anyway American Sport Bike gets an A for effort. I could give them an A+ if they just had inventory confirmation on their website. The Bad. Special O.P.S. - F. If there was a lower grade they would get it. As I my job entails a serious amount of customer service, I know that the only thing worse than poor response is no response. And that's what I got. Zip, zero, nilch, nothing. No response to email, phone - nothing. No autoreply saying "I'm on vacation from xx/xx to xx/xx, no phone call saying sorry, I just can't take any orders now, no message on the website stating any problems - nothing! F*$@ing piss poor! The only other pre-trip stuff was loading the bike up. Kudos to Buell for a really good luggage system. It would prove itself over and over again throughout the trip. The bags were overloaded by about a factor of 2, no latch failures, no hinge failures, and no seal failures. They just worked. The tank bag was loaded to the max without having to expand it the whole trip. My only beef with it falls under the category; you can please some of the people some of the time. I remember the big bitch with the tank bags on the tubers was that the rain cover didn't fit the bag when the bag was expanded. Well on this bag, the rain cover is big enough to fit over the fully expanded bag, but if it's not expanded the rain cover fills with air and flaps around annoyingly. Maybe some compression straps to fit it to the bag? Other than that the Buell gear was some really good stuff. Next post. The ride - what worked and what failed. (Message edited by cyclone8u on June 04, 2009) | ||
| Signal4 |
Thanks for the feedback. I'm actually wondering what luggage (other than the XT cases which I have) that you specifically used, like tank bag? I'm doing a two day trip Saturday but I'm planning for a week in Philly in a month or so and all I have right now is the stock XT luggage stuff. I'm wondering what I should be investing in for my trip. As an aside, I have emailed Special Ops requesting a heat blanket but gotten no response... I'm hoping that life has just intervened for a bit and things will be back in order soon. But I feel your pain. Josh | ||
| Cyclone8u |
Hi Josh, The bags are the stock luggage. The tank bag is the Buell Deluxe tank bag. The top case had all our rain gear (and jacket liners in the hot climates) bungee netted to the top of it. All worked great as stated. The luggage was off the bike every day, hauled into a hotel room, unpacked, repacked and loaded back on the bike the next morning. As it was a 9 day trip with 2 people, you can imagine things were packed pretty tight. But it all held up, even in the rain. Good stuff. I'm sure my report on Special Ops sounds harsh, but even when life intervenes you can always leave a message or put an update on your website telling people that something has come up. Not sure what the circumstances are, I just know that based on his website, and his voice mail greeting, it's business as usual. At least I feel a little better that it wasn't just me being ignored. | ||
| Armymedic |
I'm STILL waiting on heat barriers I ordered in Feb. That's my experience. How many times can one person post in the 'Spec Ops' thread about how an order is coming along?? | ||
| Cyclone8u |
OK, let's continue. First and foremost - the 2008 Buell XB12X. Nearly perfect. Not one single mechanical issue. Ergo's were good for both pilot and pillion, suspension worked quite well - even running overloaded. Heavy acceleration at highway speeds was a bit of an adventure, you quickly learned to be judicious with the right hand. With all the weight I was carrying, even at 70+ MPH the front would loose contact with the road surprisingly easily. It was simultaneously unnerving and fun. Something that goes back as long as Buell has been around - that grin under the helmet. Fuel mileage settled into the mid 40's, not bad for a fully loaded 1200cc bike. An extra .5 - 1 gallon of fuel would be very welcome though. I found myself yearning for a gas station at around the 125 mile mark in some of the more remote/rural areas. A 200 mile range to reserve like my M2 would be perfect. The engine ran perfect. From sea level to 4,000 feet and freezing to 90+ degrees, it never missed a beat. It hesitated a couple of time starting, bringing back dreadful memories of last summer with a bad ground and melted wiring harness to the fuel pump. I can still smell the burned wiring. I re tightened the ground point on the subframe in South Carolina and it seemed fine for the rest of the trip. I think Buell needs to come up with a better fix from the factory for this. The tubers were perfect in this respect and with the lack of computers and fuel injection, grounding was less critical. I remember as a mechanic in the mid 80's that bad grounds caused more erratic driveability issues than anything on the early EFI cars. The auto makers finally figured it out, it's time Buell does. My only other complaint with the bike is the heat under the seat. Come on. How much would it cost to engineer a better cooling system than to aim a fan blowing hot engine air up at the seat. I think that if Special Ops would have come through with the heat blankets, this would have been a non issue. The heat needs to be forced away from the seat and out the side vents. Like others have said, the heat coming out the side wasn't a problem for me. I just moved my legs out away from the bike and that was no problem. But around the 300 mile mark on the hot days, my a$$ was roasting. Just unacceptable. I hope that someone besides Special Ops comes to the table with a solution, nature abhors a vacuum. On that subject, we bought some sheepskin covers for the seat. They worked OK. Nothing spectacular, but it did improve the breathing of the seat and added some minimal additional padding. My tailbone is very sensitive since breaking my back a few years ago, and the sheepskin did help that. Usually after about 350 miles my tailbone would feel like someone was driving a steel spike through it, but I never felt it the whole trip. So, while it could have been better, it was certainly just what the doctor ordered. Right off the bat, the rain gear got put to the test. It was pouring rain when we left, not the way we wanted to start, but it is what it is. So we put on our Tourmaster Sentinel rain gear and headed out into the slop. It worked perfect. It kept us dry, and breathed well enough to prevent any overheating. We bought a size that was snug over our regular gear but not too loose to wear alone. It worked out perfect. And it stuffs up into a relatively compact package. We would use it several times throughout the trip, not only for rain, but to help further cut the wind on those chilly mountain mornings. The pad for the triple tail was just the ticket. Delynn has a bad spot in her spine right below the armor in her riding coat. This would contact the triple tail and cause her significant pain. The tail pad saved her back and made the 2500 mile journey quite tolerable for her. Thanks again American Sport Bike! Well that's enough for one post, more to come. | ||
| Cyclone8u |
We picked up some in helmet speaker/mic sets made by IMC for rider to pillion communications. Both sets slowly deteriorated and completely failed. Don't waste your money on this crap. The Yaesu FTM-10R that they were plugged in to never missed a beat however. And it's waterproofing was tested and works as advertised. My ear canals can get rubbed raw by ear plugs worn continuously. My brother let me try a set Moldex Pura-fit 6800 plugs before our trip, and after one day I made sure I had a pocket full for the trip. 8 solid riding days with a 1 day break in between, and not once did my ears bother me. I highly recommend these for anyone that uses disposable ear plugs. My aging Magellan Meridian Gold GPS worked well. I do need to replace it. A GPS that I can easily power from the bike, and more importantly get updated maps for, will be more than welcome. Not to mention that in the last 8 years, things such as routing have become much quicker and intuitive with advances in technology. The CyclePump Adventure and the matching E-Z Air tire guage worked flawlessly. It was nice to be able to set my tire pressures each morning at the hotel. And it's very comforting to know that had I needed it, I would have had air in the middle of nowhere, should I have needed to plug a tire. That's about it. I do have to say that the Hilton and the Hampton Inns that we stayed at had by far the most comfortable beds. Something important when you have a broken back and subject it to a 9 day motorcycle trip.... Hope this info helps out someone. It's nice to have as much real world data as you can get when you're researching a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions or need more specifics!! | ||
| Xbimmer |
Regarding the rain cover for the Deluxe tank bag, next time pull it down snug at the top and fold up the bottom like you would pants cuffs. Worked great like that for me. And keep the zippers lubed with something, or you'll end up with a useless tank bag like I did... | ||
| F_skinner |
Cyclone8u, I have been using the bluetooth option on the FTM-10. It works with the Blueant headset. I am interested to see how you have your antenna mounted. Frank KA4JQZ | ||
| Cyclone8u |
Xbimmer, thanks - I'll try that! What did you lube your zippers with (I can't believe I just asked another man that....) F skinner - It's a home made mount my brother and I fabbed. Here he is cutting the flat stock.  Now to slot the tubing.  Fitting the flat stock.  Putting Mr. Miller to work.  This is how it looked when I got it back to my garage.  Some work on a grinder.  After some drilling and painting.  And...  Was even able to mount the cable through the tubing for a nice clean factory looking install....  The tubing is just u-bolted to the top case rack. Worked perfectly. 1.2:1 on 2M, 1.8:1 on 70cm. Antenna is a Comet SBB-5. Clears the top case by a couple of inches and is far enough back to not interfere with the passenger, although I wouldn't advise running power - with or without a passenger - for more than extremely intermittent use. | ||
| F_skinner |
Looks great. I did mine a little different but like the looks of yours. Yes, it is not wise to run any kind of power with a passenger. I received many RF burns in my time. I originally was going to mount mine the same way, the coax through the pipe is a great idea. I may steal your design.... Frank | ||
| Signal4 |
Very nice fabrication on that antenna mount, looks great!  I should probably go take the test and get my license, since I found the very nice Kenwood 2M rig I was given a few years ago in my garage last month. | ||
| Alchemy |
Cyclone8u, Great write up and pictures. Scala Q2 bluetooth headsets were prevalent at Americade. They even bought fullsize roadside ads along the roads. I asked them if they had experience with the FTM-10 but only got a blank stare. They had Q2 teamsets for $275. I did not see Blueant in attendance but may have missed it. Is your FTM-10 body mounted under the seat and did you add any water protection for it? I understand the remote head is waterproof but not necessarily the body. Again, nice report!!! | ||
| Cyclone8u |
Re: bluetooth. I avoided bluetooth because I personally think Yaesu is raping us for that option. If it was a $19.95 option, I could justify it, but $75.00 each for $6.00 worth of electronics and Chinese labor is pure rip-off in my book. The body is mounted under the seat. I've never had any water get under there, even riding at highway speeds in torrential downpours. (I don't do water crossings on the Uly though, YMMV.)  There was still room for a Leatherman Wave, face shield spray, and a 500 count bottle of aspirin (a necessity when doing long rides with a broken back). Signal4 - I should probably go take the test and get my license Go for it! Let me give you a little advice first from someone who's been doing it a while.  <rant> Do yourself a favor, learn the material for the test. Yes it's an easy, multiple choice test, and you can memorize the answers. Trust me, you'll feel much better about yourself if you actually know the material and most will appreciate the fact that you took the time to learn it as it will show when you get on the air. Second, listen a lot. You'll hear good operators, and bad ones. Learn to tell the difference and ovoid the latter like the plague, it will only taint you as a newcomer if you start to associate with them. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and be prepaired for constructive criticism. Use it to your advantage and become a better operator, you'll gain a lot of respect from the old timers. Also, try to learn the code. CW isn't required now, but taking the time to learn it and it will open up a lot of doors for you - and believe it or not can be quite fun and there are some things that just can't be done with any other mode. Trust me, if I could learn it, anyone can. Last but not least, it's a hobby. Have fun with it! 73 de KB1ATF </rant> | ||
| F_skinner |
I concur, learn CW and have some fun. You will not find better operators than you do on CW. It you just use VHF you will soon become bored with it. Find a local Ham club that teaches morse code at arrl.org and make an honest effort and you will learn it with no problem. If I was just a voice op or limited to 2 meters I would not have enjoyed this hobby for 30 years. | ||
| Signal4 |
Thanks for the advice guys, I guess I'll be adding CW and Ham operators books to my list of things to do in the near future.  Along with adding farkles to my bike! Josh | ||
| Alchemy |
Cyclone8u, Thanks for the comments. ... and a few more questions if I may. Did you screw down the body to mount it or cable-tie it etc under the seat? And, in front of the ECM is what looks like mylar?? Looks like it moves heat away from the ECM and the radio. Can you comment on that and how it works for you. Interesting how many approaches there are to these issues. I completely agree on the Yaesu pricing and the thing that is doubly annoying is that they have not gotten a BT headset into production. I miss the local repeater chatter in the Summer when I am riding my bike to work and not in the car. Haven't bitten on the FTM yet but I look at it often. It seems to have a lot of good features. Present project is building a keyer kit from Idiom Press. Just laid the parts out last night and I have to brush up on the color codes<grin> a bit. My summer project is to get on the air on CW with a paddle.... and then maybe look into a QRP project for the Winter if the code is as fun as I anticipate. I would like to be able to take a QRP rig along on the Uly. I have seen some posts here so I know some badwebbers have tried it. Signal4, some good advice was given. Although the internet can be seen as competition to the ham bands there is a lot of info (and videos on Youtube) at your finger tips to help the learning process. I have a used Vibroplex Iambic paddle coming to plug into the keyer. LOTs of very cool paddles and keys to drool over just like bikes<grin>. | ||
| Cyclone8u |
Did you screw down the body to mount it or cable-tie it etc under the seat? It's screwed down to the pan under the seat. I just used some plastic/sheet metal screws and a dab of RTV on each one. I also lost the factory power connector and replaced it with Anderson Power Poles. And, in front of the ECM is what looks like mylar?? Looks like it moves heat away from the ECM and the radio. Can you comment on that and how it works for you. Interesting how many approaches there are to these issues. It's a piece of aluminum flashing. It does deflect a lot of hot air out towards the side vents, but being aluminum, radiates a lot of heat up to the seat. I'll get a better shot of it tonight and post it here. It was never intended to be a solo solution. I wanted to have it in conjunction with the blankets from Special Ops as I didn't like the idea of just covering the ECM and battery with insulation without first diverting as much of the heat from them as possible. Unfortunately, you've already heard my story on Special Ops. Now I either have to come up with my own insulating strategy or hope someone more industrious than myself fills the void left by Special Ops. and then maybe look into a QRP project for the Winter if the code is as fun as I anticipate CW is the only way to go if you're going to work QRP, but it's one of those things. For some people it's fun, others relaxing, and for a few, a stressful thing they had to get through to get their ticket. I will tell you this, you will never forget your first CW contact. The nervous anticipation when you know the contact is imminent. The sheer terror when the code starts flying at you and you know that if you don't copy it well, you're going to sound like an idiot when you try to reply without having fully copied the transmission. You hastily scribble letters down as fast as you can, trying not to get behind, sweat welling up on your forehead. And just when you say "whew, I copied him, thank God that's over!" Now you have to go back to him with a fist he can copy! Great stuff!! The QSL card I got from that first contact will always be my favorite. | ||
| Cyclone8u |
Ok, here's the pic.  As you can see, it covers up the opening at the top of the shock and forces the hot air out to the side vents rather than up at the seat, and in conjunction with some insulation would really keep the seat cavity much cooler. Unfortunately you're still dumping a lot of heat on the shock and the reservoir, but without a major tear down, that's the best I could do. Ideally, you would design a ducting system that would cover the fan completely behind the shock and route the air out around the shock to the side vents. | ||
| Firstbatch |
I installed a fan "duct" using thermotec last year and it works great! Check out this thread. No more hot blast of air on the shock and seat and it quiets the fan. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/352214.html | ||
| Cyclone8u |
That's awesome! I noticed your last update was last summer. Any changes or observations? That's a lot less elaborate than what I was envisioning, but sometimes it's good to keep it simple stupid, something I need to learn someday. | ||
| Firstbatch |
Cyclone, the thermotec duct arrangement continues to work fine and I do not see any down side as some had speculated that the duct would cause a restriction of airflow. My observations are that there is a strong airflow down and back to the swing arm. Have not measured the heat but when you turn off the bike and the fan is rolling and you put your hand at the rear exhaust point it is quite toasty! If anything this arrangement may be increasing the heat on the oil tank. Used in conjunction with three other heat reduction modifications completed on the Uly: 1. Jet Hot Headers 2. Lined the inside of the frame/tank with Thermotec 3. Odie full blankets they all add up to much, much less heat to the rider. I know the shock must be living in a much happier environment as the stock arrangement just roasts the shock. Shocks get hot anyway doing there job but it is hard to believe it is a good thing having exhaust level heat blown over it. At first I ran the bike with just the duct and no blankets. Right away you notice that nut roasting is eliminated. But, still had some right side heat where the heat escapes between the seat and frame. Added the Odie blanket, especially the front one that goes partially under the air box cover, and that knocked out a bunch of upper right leg heat. Already had a right side scoop so I don't think there is much more that can be done to reduce heat to the rider on the XB design. I'm sure Buell could manufacture a plastic molded duct arrangement to accomplish the same thing and it would wok even better. As you said earlier it is just a crazy design to blast hot air to the underside of a seat | ||
| Alchemy |
Firstbatch, this has a lot of positives. I like the quieter fan concept<grin>. You mention that there might be more heat on the oil tank. This could probably be measured with a dipstick temperature gauge. I would be surprised if it amounts to much. I would suppose the fan runs about the same as before. In the earlier thread you mention a right side scoop so that might be considered a #4 to your list. Thanks for posting this. | ||
| Firstbatch |
Yep, 4 it is with the RSS. I may try the dipstick temp gauge mod later, but I doubt there is much added heat. With all these mods my perception is the fan runs less and it is definitely not as loud. |
