Why am I blogging here?
Posted September 18th, 2011 at 10:08 PM by PlaneGuy
I probably should have put this in as my first blog post. I am blogging for a reason. I am working up to doing to some long-distance touring on my Ninjette. I am already thinking of doing a week-long loop through California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and back again. Part of this is how to get the Ninjette prepared to go the distance.
The first step is to make sure that everything on the bike is working properly. As this is a used bike that I purchased with 12,000 mi on it and the previous owner had made some counter-productive modifications, I am getting the bike back to stock and then making some useful modifications to improve braking, handling, a better seat (my 57-year-old butt is not nearly as "iron" as it used to be), and then carrying some things.
I will certainly get into setting up a way to run useful electrical devices such as a GPS, two-way radio (I am a ham radio operator and will include that on the bike), phone, GPS tracker, etc. Hopefully others will find that interesting and useful as well.
So, as I go through and make improvements, I will share them in the hope that it is useful to someone else.
Brian
The first step is to make sure that everything on the bike is working properly. As this is a used bike that I purchased with 12,000 mi on it and the previous owner had made some counter-productive modifications, I am getting the bike back to stock and then making some useful modifications to improve braking, handling, a better seat (my 57-year-old butt is not nearly as "iron" as it used to be), and then carrying some things.
I will certainly get into setting up a way to run useful electrical devices such as a GPS, two-way radio (I am a ham radio operator and will include that on the bike), phone, GPS tracker, etc. Hopefully others will find that interesting and useful as well.
So, as I go through and make improvements, I will share them in the hope that it is useful to someone else.
Brian
Total Comments 3
Comments
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Counter-productive modifications: let me guess... a slip-on exhaust that is designed for a much bigger engine? That seems to happen a lot. I guess some people care more about the sound of the bike than its performance... but to be honest I want to improve the sound of mine
Not at the expense of performance though!
A use a very cheap, simple and practical GPS solution. I bought the cheapest android phone I could find (the Samsung GT-I5500), I place it in my inside jacket pocket, attach some nice in-ear headphones to it and I'm good to go! The voice directions have been perfectly sufficient for all my rides so far. If I did need to see the screen then I'd just pull over to examine it.Posted September 24th, 2011 at 12:54 PM by akima 
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Oh, it was worse than that. He had taken a "Cherry Bomb" glass-pack and welded up his own exhaust. It was scary-loud and I had no problem dragging it on the ground in a right turn. I was afraid I was going to low-side the bike. Hmm, I need a new muffler for Abby the Frankenmiata ...
Huh. Good idea on using the Android phone. I have been considering dumping my iPhone (world's most overrated device) so this could be a good reason. I looked at the Garmin Zumo GPS's but they are bloody expensive!Posted September 24th, 2011 at 08:22 PM by PlaneGuy
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Well, our Ninjettes are tough girls, so hopefully your baby weathered the traumatising experience with her previous ownerQuote:Originally Posted by PlaneGuy
Oh, it was worse than that. He had taken a "Cherry Bomb" glass-pack and welded up his own exhaust. It was scary-loud and I had no problem dragging it on the ground in a right turn. I was afraid I was going to low-side the bike. Hmm, I need a new muffler for Abby the Frankenmiata ...
Huh. Good idea on using the Android phone. I have been considering dumping my iPhone (world's most overrated device) so this could be a good reason. I looked at the Garmin Zumo GPS's but they are bloody expensive! You're going to have to treat her extra well to make up for it.
Yep - I looked into other GPS options and they were all so expensive. Despite the cheap price, the Android+GoogleNav combo is performing very well I think. The battery on the phone lasts a long time if you turn the screen off while you're navigating (it's in your pocket so it makes sense to), the directions have all be very accurate and the whole setup is very light and convenient.
I've never used an iPhone. They do look pretty! But they also look a bit over hyped.Posted September 25th, 2011 at 12:39 AM by akima
