Q-Dawg

i crossed a couple things off the list, those are now in consideration. I think after some chatting with folks who ride and sell the stuff, I will stay away from flimsy ankle protection so a couple boots off the list from the TCX line are probably off. Since I actually tried these on, I know I could be content with them too. Better protection than a lot offer too. They are at the top of my consideration, bang for the buck.

Thanks this is exactly the sort of first-hand experience I am looking for. I know what GoreTex is advertised as doing, but a lot of things don't necessarily perform perfectly as advertised in the real world. Everything has its limitations. Call me a skeptic..... After riding with an Alter Ego with a ton of mesh on it, I also realized that while mesh is cool, it holds bugs and dirt and is a PITA to clean. So I am thinking of jackets that have the right amount of venting to get the job done, but not be too much mesh. The lady at the local bike shop was talking to me about the Klim gear and mentioned something about the GoreTex and if a leak were to occur. They advise washing it following the directions, then see if the leak persists. Sometimes the washing apparently restores waterproof function? It didn't make a ton of sense to me, but I have ZERO experience with GoreTex stuff. But most of the M/C gear with GoreTex carries lifetime warranty on the water proofing, so if it fails, they replace your gear with same or equivalent. Keep the info coming please!

Well, I am also looking for new boots. Waterproof sport touring boots that breathe and can comfortably be walked in for a mile or two. I refuse to pack shoes on the VFR, and I have suffered on some short hikes for too many years with my Sidi Vertebrae boots which really have great protection but suck for walking. Time for a change. I am not considering choices with full laces, such as the Alpinestars CR-4 which otherwise look perfect, because I have concerns about getting laces caught up in controls. I have tipped the bike over once because of it (in the driveway, I was wearing my shoes) and it won't happen again. Must have at least a quick lace system with a cover at the top. All (GTX) boots = GoreTex Have it down to: - Sidi Canyon GTX - Looks like a bit of an adventure influence: has one ratchet buckle and beefy tread on bottom. Expensive and hard to find where I have shopped. - Alpinestars Gran Torino GTX - Tried on. Feel a bit thick but comfortable to walk in. Wouldn't mind beefier sole for rougher terrain but pretty decent. Good price locally, in stock. - Alpinestars New Land GTX - shorter boot, simlar to Gran Torino. Grippier looking sole. - Dainese Lince GTX - Rugged Skywalk sole, again a cross between adventure and street like the Sidi Canyon, but appear lighter and shorter. - Dainese Latitour GTX - More street oriented boot from Dainese. Not much tread on sole. - TCX Jupiter Evo GTX - More of a tall riding shoe. Not sure if this is enough protection but it looks comfortable for walking. Only GoreTex waterproof boot/shoe I found from TCX - TCX AirTech GTX - touring boot with a lot of venting, while still being GoreTex waterproof. I don't tend to be too cold, certainly not in the feet. Not much tread on sole - Rev'it Apache H20 - Not GoreTex but waterproof. More light adv than street, grippy sole. - Gaerne G-Impulse - Again, not GoreTex but waterproof. Street sole with some tread. If it were your money, what would you buy and why? i would love to hear what you think. I don't want to buy anything else for a while. I also (sometimes) ride a KTM EXC 530 and have very stiff offroad boots, but I don't mind something that can pull double duty between gravel / light trail on KTM vs touring on the VFR. Probably not a great compromise to try to merge the two, but it is a consideration.

How well did the Jupiter 2 fit? Are they high enough? I like the idea of something that I can tour around on but go on short hikes of a kilometer, etc. I carry sandals only, I refuse to pack shoes on my already over-packed VFR. My Sidi Vertebrae are showing their age and suck for walking around in. I have suffered long enough. The hike in and out of Bryce Canyon a few years ago with my Sidis on nearly did me in.

Yep, it seems silly to have a vid on how to insert earplugs but it makes a huge difference and the finer points of it are not generally something one figures out easily. I wear them all the time at work and at home, bike, etc. I even sleep with them when I am working nights! Howard Leight laser plugs (the pink and yellow ones) are my favorite for comfort and function. Can wear them all day.

wow. you guys jumped all over this one. Well just to give an update, I have been looking at motorcycle clothing now until my eyes hurt. Down to a short list of jackets: - Held Carese II - GoreTex (destination) liner. Slimmer non-bulky fit with low profile liners. Vents everywhere without having large zip offs. Magnetic openings, superfabric and SasTec armor. 1st choice so far, but I wish it was GoreTex outer. - Rev'it Defender GTX - GoreTex liner and VERY similar jacket to the Held above. Does not have zip attachement at cuff like Held or the nifty magnetic flaps. But it is cheaper too - Rev'it Defender GTX - GoreTex liner and VERY similar jacket to the original Defender above. A few more features than prev Defender. But it is more expensive and not yet avail. - Rev'it Poseidon GTX - GoreTex outer shell: has some direct vents. Big chest vents. Can ditch the rain gear. - Dainese Explorer GTX - GoreTex outer shell. Huge zip off areas, basically converting to mesh jacket. Maybe too much mesh, how strong is it? Big vent panels harder to deal with while riding. - Klim Latitude Misano - GoreTex outer shell. Fewer vents, so I have concerns with it in hot weather, but very well made. A lot of money for just a shell, but it is available right where I live at a good price and I got to try it on. (last years stock) Can ditch the rain gear. I am having a really hard time deciding from here, so I would sure appreciate if any of you have tried any of these, or have an opinion on GoreTex outer vs inner liner, etc. These are all in a SIMILAR price range, so money isn't a big factor on this decision. (They all cost more than any other gear I have owned.)

Well the Upcoming Sena 10C looks promising with the built in camera integration, but I think I will go for the 20S for a couple reasons: - talked to some dealers selling the Sena and there have been some recent updates again. Might be too early to say, but the latch issue might have improved. - other folks we ride with use the Sena sets and like them. As with anything, there are exceptions, but most reports tend to favor Sena as having the better customer service when things go wrong. (important) - that nifty handlebar remote Axel_7 posted up with the 10U will apparently work with the 20S also. - camera feature of the upcoming 10C was not something i wanted to wait for. The 10C will have less range. I am into R/C quads also, so standalone action cam can pull double duty for aerial photo / video. - it simply has the features I was looking for. But every product I considered had SOMETHING I didn't like. In the end, it was about picking the "best of the worst" - Because of some of the bad experiences since roll-out, and hitting a good winter sale, the Sena 20S was priced considerably better than some of its competition I would have thought by 2014 and 2015 we would have slightly better products. My prediction: Whoever makes the first flawless "do everything, talk to everyone" comm system will make a boat load of cash. There is a need. Found the best deal anywhere I looked at Kanata Honda There are aftermarket helmet speakers available that would improve quality and volume...provided you can fit them. I've considered them, as well as earbuds, as a solution to the 20S volume issue. No perfect answer. Some of the best reviews of helmet Comm systems and accessories, including speakers is here: http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-intercoms/ I have heard good success with a couple approaches. Some guys on other forums are gutting over-the ear headphones and using the speakers with a little bit of work, or buying replacement part speakers for these types of headphones. It is cheap and works well, but you need to find something with good sound quality which has a low enough profile inside the helmet. Another option I have heard offers pretty good sound quality is to upgrade to speakers from these guys: http://www.torkworld.com/helmet-speakers/xpro-helmet-speaker.html?gclid=CLvYyb35hMQCFYQ8aQodc4gABg

Well, I am looking to embrace intercom technology again and get rid of my old wired Starcom1 for something modern. Right now I am not happy with the choices available. A few look decent on paper, but here's where I am at with my choices for now: - Sena 20S - Sena SMH10 - Sena 10C (not released yet) - Scala G9X - Scala Pack Talk (not released yet, due Q1 of 2015?) - Interphone F5MC The 2014 model Sena 20S should be easily my first choice (and it was), but the execution has left a lot of people pissed off with Sena and their product being rolled out with design flaws and usability issues. Issues with base / intercom latch, or housing breaking, water resistancy, and lack of FM reception top the list of issues that firmware updates cannot fix. I thought they would have had this thing working well by now, but it sounds like it keeps giving people problems. It does have a decent warranty, and product support seems decent. Do I wait for a few more usability bugs to be worked out, risk having issues and get it anyway? If the latch breaks, people have had success keeping them together with zip ties, which sounds like it could keep things rolling until one gets home to do warranty call. The latch issue is my single biggest concern, but I am not that familiar with the dropped pairings or audio switching problems. The Sena SMH10 is the older tried-and-true Sena product. It works well from all accounts, but is the older technology, soon to be eclipsed with newer products. It does not have smartphone apps like the Scala G9X or Sena 20S to manage user settings and pairing to devices. With today's complex systems, having the smart phone app makes device management more intuitive, instead of using VOX commands or pushing a lot of buttons. I kind of wanted the smartphone app feature. The unreleased 2015 model Sena 10C promises to take the Bluetooth 4.0 functionality to the next level with addition of HD camera (I have no action camera yet, so this interests me), but i can't be enthusiastic about a product that looks so similar to the 20S and might have some of the same issues. I certainly don't want to be a guinea pig on my trip this summer, after seeing how many 20S users got left stranded with delays and broken equipment that didn't function properly (sometimes right out of the box.) The 2014 model Scala G9X (refreshed G9) looks promising with smartphone app, but still lacks Bluetooth 4.0 and universal pairing options. The lack of universal pairing is a major drawback, as several of my other rider friends use Sena sets. I don't know how well it pairs to other Scala intercom equipment. The unreleased 2015 model Scala Pack Talk offers better network performance (from what I know of R/C toy radio transmitters, this new Scala follows same newer standards of signal management) and sounds like it will be more seamless with separated riders that are paired to the group able to drop off or rejoin the group with less issues. Bluetooth 4.0 and full backward compatibility with older Scala models, FM tuner, roller wheel interface, IP67 dust/water resistant, and smartphone app. Again no mention of universal pairing. Cardo has commented that there is no need for universal pairing "since other manufacturers take care of this for them", which is frustrating for an otherwise very promising product. Interphone F5MC is the red herring. It seems to do many things well on paper, but it doesn't have smart phone app. I can't find a lot of information on how well the universal pairing feature works, or what other faults it might have. Doesn't appear to be friendly towards earbuds, which is kind of important to me. So, which of these flawed choices would you make? I really didn't want to settle, the 20S had everything I wanted, except dependability, but that is kind of a deal breaker for most people. I don't take the advice "to buy something else, due to the problems they are having" lightly from vendor that distributes them and other brands. My primary use is going to be rider / passenger converstations. The bike to bike communication is a bonus, and as long as I can talk to one or two other people in the group, I would be happy being able to tell them to "keep going, i just need to stop for a second to fix my jacket" or something. My wife and I have very different music tastes, and we will want to each be able to stereo stream our music via Bluetooth. My main MP3 is integrated into the GPS, but I also wish to have my radar detector mix into there as well.

Stumbled on this thread and I have a 6th gen VFR with Audiovox CCS-100 installed so I thought I would chime in with my bit. I mounted my control unit behind the left blinker on my 6th gen (won't work well if you have an ABS, I think ABS gear is parked there normally) but you can also jam it under the seat area I think. There are a couple mounting options, but sometimes you gotta get creative and move other things to fit something this bulky as the vacuum actuator. I ran the throttle cable in a lazy loop around the left radiator and back to the throttle linkage. It was the easiest way to make it work but if you look carefully you can see a corner of the loop protruding into my radiator opening on the fairing. The Audiovox CCS-100 are still around, but I think people are using the Rostra cruise controls these days. If I do another, it will be 100% using the Rostra. Rostra is pretty much same as Audiovox, with big advantage of control unit being electronic and not vacuum. See link: http://www.rostra.com/universal-aftermarket-cruise-control-by-rostra.php I elected to use a very small vacuum canister or none at all (I can't remember if I used a small length of hose as a vacuum canister as planned or if I scrapped it altogether and used nothing) but I don't have a big can anywhere on the bike. Yes it surges a tiny bit, but I barely notice unless I am paying close attention. I tend to not run with the cruise for long periods anyhow, it is usually just there as a means of resting my hand and being able to stretch. I wouldn't do it any different if I did it again. Yes when the cruise accelerates, you feel the throttle grip move a bit. Your hand goes with it. You can add more throttle easily. Unless you have a death grip on the throttle, I can't see it being a problem. One word of caution: if you tie into the brake light circuit, you may wish to do it BEFORE the fuse panel. I did it off the rear of the bike (easiest) but learned the hard way (blew the fuse due to large horn not on relay) that the brake trip of the cruise doesn't work once the fuse goes. The bike kept pulling hard as I tried to brake. A simple pull of the clutch lever cause the secondary (over rev) trip to work on the cruise, and I figured it out and fixed it somewhere in Idaho on the way to the first SumSum meet in Dillon, CO. Never mod just before a big trip! Lesson learned, mostly.

I am fed up with my past sets of riding gear not holding up too well and looking for something better. I have had a couple sets of JR gear that had mixed results, and my Alter Ego stuff is faded, has lost some parts (my fault), and stitching is coming apart after 3 years of use (I only do a couple big trips per year and don't ride much around home.) My wife's JR gear stitching also came apart under very little use, and the customer support from JR was terrible. Time for something better, I think. I liked the breathability of the Alter Ego with the large mesh, but I felt a little under-protected riding that way 90% of the time. And anytime there was some cloudy bits or the wind popped up, I suddenly got cold. Since I ride groups a lot, I didn't feel like stopping, so I simply suffered until we stopped or it warmed up again. I would rather sacrifice a LITTLE bit of hot weather comfort and try to get something with a lot of vents that I can control. Thinking really hard about the Held Carese II jacket with Torno II (or similar) pant. Alternative jackets I am also shopping are the Klim Latitude Misano, Klim Badlands, Dainese D-Stormer D-Dry, Olympia Airglide, Rukka (undecided on model, lots of close-outs for sale right now, but not sure about the "ziploc" style zipper the Gore-Tex layer has) I am also looking for better riding gloves, and looking pretty hard at the Held RaceTex and Air N Dry. I currently have some short Icon (Hooligan I think) and Alpinestars gloves (bought last year, already fuzzing up and no happy with) Really would like to know what your opinions are on this gear if you have tried it out, or even know someone else that has it.

I found some 1.5" LED driving lights on ebay and have a bunch of other stuff to play around with (yes I am a light nerd) but havent decided quite what I am going to do with my 6th gen yet. But it will probably consist of pulling the lamps apart and doing full HID projector retrofit, halo rings, some small bright "city lights" for the bottom inner portion of the housing, and paint the housings. I have the Gixxer mirrors and planning LED in them. Cant decide between switchback LED (white on running, flashing amber when signal), or go regular and supplement with some focused lens LEDs and a flasher module for visibility. Lastly, my factory signal location I have plans for some accent lights. If you PM me your email address I can send links to some of the products I am playing with, I dont want to spam up the site with eBay links and whatnot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vznGIS45Ch8 Where can I get one for my 6th gen? The Lasers no longer seem manly enough......

Thought some of you might find this interesting..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JojJnnGOv_4 Not sure about his choice of riding gear: kinda sketchy.

Dragonfly (my wife) and myself (Q-Dawg) are booked at the hotels mentioned at the beginning of the thread. See you there! BTW, what is the official attendance count now? Last list I saw was on page 4 of this thread.......

Wish I could make it this year, but I can only do one or two bigger trips in one year until my kids get a little older. It's on the bucket list of future trips to do at least one T-mac event and it will happen eventually; maybe in a couple of years. I love the Pace style of riding. It is what makes fellow VFRD riders so fun to ride with. I just wanted to wish you guys all a safe meet and a good time. Cheers!

So this gives enough clearance to get tire out from under fender? Just enough.Been doing it like this for years w/o even realizing that this was an issue for someone. Yep, this is my preferred method also. There are other ways of course, but this works pretty easily. Another VFRD member suggested tie down for the rear (to keep bike from pitching forward) after you raise it with the jack. Once the rear is securely tied down, you dont need anything supportingin the front. The bike doesnt need much extra weight in the back to shift the balance while it is on the centerstand. This is what I did when I pulled my forks. Worked pretty good.

Hmm, that's a nice looking shade. Looks sturdy and it appears you can leave it on while removing the GPS from the mount? I was considering something like this, but I want something that is either really easy to add/remove, or stays on. There's enough things to remove / secure as it is when I get off the bike for a while. I don't wish to make the process any more clumsy than it already is. Curious to see how well it does for actually reducing the glare. I had to use my hand as a shield numerous times while stopped and checking directions on my last trip.

Yes, a good TIG weld is beauty for sure!

Even though it is not exactly what I would want, this bike is closer to what I like compared to the VFR1200F, and I would probably choose to buy this bike. I was considering an upgrade (in a couple years) to a newer 2009 ABS model 6th gen before this announcement. I think I would get this "8th gen" VFR800F instead of upgrading my 6th gen. It basically offers me everything I would need, and the V4 sound that I love. Of course, this all depends on whether they actually choose to sell it over here or not. And pricing. I remain cautiously optimistic.

Thanks for the ABS info, Jamie. It confirms my guesses on the strength of an ABS printed part. I think that would work adequately for my needs, should I decide to pursue my projects further. Well for my immediate (starter) project, I think I will look at just buying some ABS sheet, cutting and gluing/welding the parts together. I may decide to make a production run of about a dozen of these parts, just for fun. But I think it would be just as easy to cut pieces from a pattern and shape by hand, as it is a fairly simple shape.

Ditto. Better confidence inspiring tires, some seat time, and lots of left-handed (side I spilled on) sweepers helped me a lot. And patience. The key was to overcome my panic instinct (to let up off the throttle when I felt threatened: almost always a bad thing for you and the bike) and push my comfort level SLOWLY. I still get that feeling once in a blue moon it turns out. Like when I was pushing a corner hard in Utah and experienced some noticeable front tire slide over tar snakes, it kicked in again. I drifted wide in the corner and crossed the centerline, much to my disgust. I really think track days would help, and I plan on taking part in some next riding season, if possible.

I was wondering about those..... was thinking they should work. Thanks for clearing that up! Doing the math in my head already, trying to "justify" a new VFR. A surprising number of things should be able to swap over to the newer bike. One of the other most important mods (my cruise control) should work as long as I can find room to shoehorn the crap under the fairing. My conversation to the boss will go something like this: "But hon, all the old parts will just swap right over!" I feel your pain. Maybe not 500 miles in my case, but 1/2 day to ride to the good stuff. Long live the Racing Couch! (It's what my buddy with an RC51 calls my VFR)

It is kind of funny.... but sad too. Honda comes so close to doing the right thing but messed it up with both models. I'm not sure what owner groups they claim to be listening to, but they still haven't quite gotten what their customers are saying they want. And yet I still find myself strongly considering a purchase of one of these two models, but price is a major consideration for me with so many other manufacturers stepping up and making some really good products to compete. The VFR1200F: - Ugly styling. I thought it would grow on me more, and WANTED to like it because of the flowing lines and great airflow characteristics it supposedly has, but I still don't care for it At least they dared to be different. I won't even get onto rant about the exhaust can or the weird windscreen. - Fuel range. This was the bike that the more touring crowd was asking for, but this is such a major miss for Honda with the fuel tank. And because of the fairing design wrapping into the tank, it is gonna be REALLY hard to come up with an enlarged tank unless Honda themselves care to do it - Engine note: they lost the character of the V4 that most of us loved with the 800, gear driven cams or not. I know it sounds more like the RC30, RC45, NR "big bang" engines, but this was never the sound that I lusted after. The VFR800F (Gen 6.5 or whatever you want to call it): - Same old V4 we love. Great, but we are getting tired of the same thing and most of us want a bit more. Couldn't they have upped the power somehow by boring / stroking it? Something close to 1000cc would have been the right thing to do. Ninja 1000 and FZ1 are capitalizing on Honda's unwillingness to be in the same ballpark. Most of us would welcome the extra power and some better handling. - If Honda was going to keep the same old V4, they could have put the VFR on a better diet and done away with any of the heavy crap that isn't needed and get the weight under 500lbs

I know they aren't as strong as a solid part, and can suffer from poor fusing of layers adding to weakness of part. Some people are reporting that dipping their ABS parts in acetone helps "glue" any poor bonds and results in a smoother, glossier part. I don't mind doing a bit of sanding, etc. I wouldn't be expecting to mass produce parts, just make some things otherwise difficult to make and might have to be made of fiberglass otherwise. Custom gauge / car stereo pods, some small molds for making C/F parts for bike, etc. I am also very much into plastic model making, and these machines are good for that (as long as you have one running good resolution) to make model kits or model kit conversion parts. Say you buy a Japanese car model kit with the RHD version only offered but want to make the US version. Scan the dash, flip it with the software, and print out the correct version. May not be that simple in practice, but these are the sort of ideas I am toying with. Also a set of plans for a model kit could be scaled into different model scale sizes at the push of a button without investing in expensive injection mold tooling. And model kits do not have to be overly strong; they just sit on a shelf anyway. I agree the technology has a ways to go, but I think there are some good niche markets outside the rapid prototyping world.

That's a pretty slick cheap fix. Yep, thats what I was gonna suggest. Same stuff they use for tool box liners also. VERY grippy. It would be very easy to wrap the rear portion of the seat in this matterial and everyone who tries it says it works. Just finished doing mine, but have not tested it as there is snow here now...... If you dont want to make your own, there are sellers on eBay offering tailored fitment for specific bikes (at a higher cost of around $30)