Kawasaki Riders Club

So it seems that Kawasaki have launched a new club for Kwaker riders and fans. The cost is £20 a year and with that you get a number of offers for going to BSB and WSB. Also you can undisclosed discounts on official Kawasaki merchandise. Oh, and if you join before the end of the Motorcycle Live! you will be entered to win a track day in Spain. Lastly you get a magazine (called GO) twice a year.

Is it worth the £20 a year. Given the list of benefits maybe, especially if you like to go to the BSB rounds and want to go to the WSB at Silverstone. Still undecided if I want to join up though, have to ask some questions when I go to Motorcycle Live later this week.

Autocom Power

Not much happening on the bike front for me at the moment (other then riding it!). Today, however, I have been able to install the battery lead for my Autocom unit. This means I don't have to worry about recharging the batteries within the unit as the bike now powers it.

However this does lead to a few issues. Firstly to get any music out of the unit I have to lift up my seat and turn on the player. Not a problem, that is if Kawasaki had actually designed a latching system for the seat that just slips on and off. No, they have gone for one that you have to wiggle and push the seat around to get it to locate and secure. The same is true of the radios. I have the Midland G7 and the cable from Autocom is a mere 6 inches long (150mm for the metricated), which means there may not be enough room under the seat for both (haven't tried yet it was getting quite dark by the time I finished). I can make some small extension leads for it and that is the route I will take if I have too.

As someone who is interested in electronics I am hoping to find/create a MP3 system that will operate something like a car stereo and have a continue feature as power is applied. This would be great as it would mean, at least for music, I wouldn't have to pull up the seat to start it.

Well, thats it for the moment. Next major thing for me will be the NEC motorbike show later in the month. Looking forward to it and getting to see the new GSXR600, CBR600 and ZX10R. Till then!

Motorcycle Live

New Kawasaki Bikes for 2011

 Okay, I am a bit of a Kawasaki fan boy at the moment. They have presented their 2011 bike offerings and there are a couple that I am interested in.

The main one has to be the new ZX10R. From the initial artist concept drawings to the race version to the road, I have loved the look of it. Now to be fair, I doubt I will every ride one, let alone own one (however I wouldn't mind a test ride Kawasaki!). It gets close to 200bhp with a weight of around 200kg (depending on ABS). The most powerful bike I have ridden is my ER-6F, a mere tiddler compared to this behemoth. I now wait to see it in the metal at the NEC show later this year, assuming I will be able to get to it through the crowds it is sure to draw in. I also hope that the race version will help Kawasaki on the track.

The other new bike that I am more interested in is the Z1000SX, which is a Sports Tourer. Unlike the ZX10R it has a much more upright riding position which, in turn, provides a better long distance riding ability. With an adjustable windscreen and larger fuel tank there has obviously been thought into its touring capability (listening Honda?). Not too sure on the exhausts though, or some of the styling. Maybe it'll look better with my own eyes and not through a camera.

Either way I like both bikes. If I were in the position I would look at getting one of them to go alongside my ER-6F. The ER for my commute and the other for my weekend/summer blats. Following are a couple of videos I found for both.

Trip around Lake District

View Larger Map

Earlier this year I went on a trip with some friends to Lands End. I have been looking for my next adventure and have my sights set on the Lake District. Although not confirmed, I have devised a route that would go around most of the lakes. It is a total mixture of roads from Dual Carriageway to back B roads. Hopefully it would have some breathtaking scenery! Now I just need to find out if my mates want to come along as well!

Mack's Pillow Soft Ear Plugs

Bikes produce noise.Something most (all?) bikers know about. When you are sitting at motorway speeds your ears can be receiving around 100dB of engine/wind noise. That is 5-10dB over the limit that can cause hearing loss (according to this chart). I protected my hearing with normal foam earplugs. However they have a few issues for me. Firstly they are often too long and get pulled out of my ears when I put my helmet on. Secondly, my ears don't seem to get a solid seal around them which will then allow some noise in. Thirdly, I find them uncomfortable if I have to wear them for more then an hour or so.

There are a couple of solutions. The expensive (initially anyway) way is to have some custom made plugs at around £40-50 per set. Expensive yes, however these should last much longer then most foam earplugs. Along the same lines, although cheaper and the route I have chosen, are silicon mouldable earplugs.Unlike foam earplugs, these are not inserted into the ear canal. They only cover the opening of the ear, moulding to the shape of your ear for grip. Having used them now, I can say that they fit very well and remove a large amount of noise. Possibly less then the foam plugs do, but certainly well below the safe noise levels. Extended use; they are very comfortable and I can see that my trip to Cornwall earlier in the year would have been very different for my ears!

They aren't perfect though. They have a limited life, supposedly 5 uses, although I plan to see how many you can get away with! While you put them into position they don't allow the air to escape from your ear, that can cause pressure on the drum which is uncomfortable. Lifting the plug out slightly allows the air to escape and then can be put back in.



Good

• 'Custom' fit to your ear,
• Really comfortable.

Bad

• Potentially short life, could be expensive in the longer run,
• Discomfort while putting in-place.

Hein Gericke Streetline GPS Bag

Satellite Navigation is a great tool to help you get to a place you haven't been to before. Unfortunately the selection of sat-navs for bikes is rather limited and expensive. It is somewhat annoying given that you can pick up car versions for around £99 (although quality at that price can be suspect!).

Enter the Streetline GPS bag from Hein Gericke. This is a waterproof bag that can attach to the central section of your handle bars with Velcro ties. Of course if you have clip on bars then this won't be of much use, although it will attach to HG's line of compatible tank bags. Lets get down to the essentials. It is waterproof, has a small port to allow power/audio connections, easily removable and cheap. Taking that last point first, the bag retails at £14.99. An amazingly low price that offsets some of the lesser points. As said, it attaches to the handle bars via a pair of Velcro strips. On my ER-6F they just about reach around the connector and provide a sturdy support. It is a little tight and does take some fiddling to get it right. A problem is that it slightly obscures the key switch and makes it awkward to get the key in a turn. Previously mentioned that it will not fit onto clip-on bars as standard, so not a universal attachment.

To get your device into the bag you undo the zip, with its weather proof seal, and insert your GPS between the window and two crossed over elastic strips. The strips help to keep the sat-nav in place and against the clear plastic.

In use the clear window can be a little too reflective and it is sometimes hard to see the screen underneath. However it does allow a resistive type touch screen to be used without problem, although my HTC Desire's capacitive screen will respond even with my gloved hand.

GPS normally takes a lot of power, generally because the screen is always on. There is an opening to allow power and audio leads into the bag without compromising the weather seal. Obviously the assumes you have some way to connect to your bikes battery and that the GPS has a headphone output. If it does have the latter, then you will need some way to pump that into your ears. In-ear headphones are a start but something like an Autocom is ideal, allowing you to listen to music at the same time.

Good

• Very, very cheap,
• Easy to fit,
• Provides access for power/audio.

Bad

• Not suitable for clip on bars,
• Window a little too reflective.

TomTom Urban Rider & Rider Pro

It seems that TomTom have finially updated their line of motorbike GPS units, the Urban Rider and Rider Pro. Along the same lines as their "One" car units, the new Riders have a simplified menu system of two buttons - 'Navigate to' and 'Browse map'. IQ Routes and Lane Guidance are also included. Obviously there is a touchscreen that can respond to gloved hands (for the geeky like me, I imagine a resistive screen) and the unit is waterproof.

All the units have bluetooth capability so that you can hear instructions, however only the Pro actually comes with a headset. For me that wouldn't be an issue as I have the Autocom already. A RAM mount comes with it, apparently it fits 'nearly all bikes'. Looking at the list it is unclear if they come with any bike power option as standard. I would assume not as only a home charging kit is listed in the box. Listed in the accessories is a charging bike mount but that will set you back another £45. That said the battery is listed as having an 8 hour life, so shouldn't be a problem for most people.

TomTom are listing 3 versions, the Urban Rider Regional, Urban Rider Europe and Rider Pro Europe. As far as I can tell the differences between the units are the Regional has only one regions map (depending on where you buy it). Europe models have most of Europe covered, although Eastern Europe is a little less. The Pro comes with the bluetooth headset, otherwise is identical to the Urban Europe.

Prices seem to have been lowered too, £249.99 for the Urban Regional, £299.99 for the Urban Europe and £399.99 for the Pro.

Will this prompt me to buy one now? Maybe given that Garmins only solution is £539.99. However having just brought the cover for my 'normal' TomTom 510 I will see how that goes before I spend on a new dedicated unit. These new units are attractively priced and TomTom's GPS software is easy to use (based on my 510) and they have a proper mount while being fully waterproof. Time will tell how good they are.

Carole Nash Motorcycle Show

Well the show is on again this November, just over a week from Saturday 27th to Sunday 5th December. Still have to ask myself why is it they can't have it during the summer months, or at any time when it would be warmer as I would really like to ride up to it. Don't mind riding in the cold, just not for that long if I really don't need to!

Still there it is meant to have been changed for this year, after they took on the comments from people about the last show. Hopefully it should at least be interesting!

Red Bull X-Fighters

Well that was a disappointment. Not only was the competition cancelled and changed to a 'show', but the London X-Fighters was not even watchable on Dave. Why? "Sorry everyone but the weather has beaten us". Wow, the weather has suddenly manifested itself and but on boxing gloves?


I understand that things happen outside of your control, had it happen in the past to myself. However I was honest with the reasons why I had to cancel something. As someone on Dave's Facebook page said, that is like British Rail when it had the "leaves on the line" excuse for not running trains.


Okay Dave, you had a problem. Most people understand that stuff happens. Don't treat us like 5 year-olds, if the generator blew up or someone forgot to bring the correct extension lead, let us know. Most of the ill feeling has been because of the lame excuse that we Brits won't swallow anymore.