BonusVFR

It is OK if you like California Gold. Lots of traffic thru this part......Not!

A couple of things to consider besides the offline maps;

1. Does the screen work with gloves. Is the screen bright enough in direct light???? The MC GPS screens are upgraded.

2. Do you have sound and can you hear it. Most of my turns are forewarned with voice and then I look perhaps if it is safe.

3. Waterproof is a big deal as in my experience, bad visibility ie rain is actually when you need the GPS most as opposed to a Radar Detector which you can hide/cover when the weather turns to crap and you slow down.

4. I could fit a 6inch screen on my Goldwing but not so sure about the 6 inch screen on the VFR especially with the other cockpit farkles.

5. I use my Phone off line Maps GPS as backup. The X grip is not a great holder compared to a dedicated mount particularly if you hit a big bump. I will use X grip in my truck but not on a MC.

6. Most of my buddies that gagged at the $$$ and have tried the 5inch cage units eventually succumbed and went MC GPS.

The full tour setup. In ten years with a GPS I have gone thru many setups and I have added just a few farkles. Currently I use the RAM tank mount or left Clipon location for my RAM GPS ball. I consider a GPS very important for touring.

Is it just me but I think Stoner is the best thing I have ever seen "around" the track. Great to have "him" back .....he is great for sport!

The Tool tube works for me.

While I have a BlueSea aux fuse box + relay on my VFR, I put in a FZI on my KLR. Great setup and it would be my choice for another install.

For me most likely a CT or Africa Twin in 2016. Not sure what I will get rid of to make room. Looked at both at the Long Beach show. I really like the one hand adjust on the screen but not sure I would ever need to adjust after the first time?

San Diego has some pretty fair weather but I have heated grips on three bikes .....cause I do tour and even get a bit chilly in mountains here during the winter. Grips are the ticket most times unless your are doing a sustained very cold tour. Plus you can never forget them.

Sometime you need both so I slip-on the heated glove liners to complement the grips. I was returning from a Big Bend Winter tour and at about 9,200ft in Arizona.

Do not be too ambitious on your first trip particularly with regard to big mileage. Look for twisty roads out of Texas. Loads of threads to read on possible roads and gear to use. The most important thing to do is to actually do IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Believe me you learn something new on every tour or worse relive something you already should have known.

I sort of wrote up some of my VFR tour experiences and lessons learned on this thread.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/78484-v4s-to-utah-and-the-north-rim/

VFR touring............YEA!

And at the MC show in Long Beach 2015.

If you ask nicely you can get Givi to send a "mixed set" of PLX® mounting brackets for the V35 hard bags with the hardware to fit a 5th Gen VFR.

I think it would look great with a V47 trunk.

If you live near Sparks, NV or Charlotte, NC you can drop by Givi and they will install them free.

So does anybody have a picture of the V35s on a 5th gen with factory unmodified plx brackets you describe above?

I am still running my 30 liter Hepco B bags on the SW motech racks.

Lots of folks have wired add on fuse boxes to VFRs for GPS and everything else. Research those posts for ideas as well.

Hard to argue with your prescription for Sport Touring. Last year I was supposed to stop in to camp at Rainbow Lake just down the road from Show Low Lake on the return leg from Montana. But half a tooth fell out and things changed! I was going to ride an out and back to Crescent Lake to the South East but obviously never made it.

How was your campground? Camping at altitude is the only way for me in the summer. In the last few years, I typically setup camp for two nights and just do an easy loop ride out of camp. Camping does not work for me when I want to make tracks but I still camp about 50% of the time.

Keep it up!

I know you are GIVI man but these 30 liter Hepco Becker bags will do the job as well.

Honda had a 8th gen at the recent Long Beach Show. No VFR1200F but there was a VFR1200X and the new Africa Twin.

I had to jump on the 8th gen which had several BMW800 GT riders around it when I was there. As they were extolling the virtues of the twin they were drooling looking at the VFR. I have to say it is a looker and I would be on board ....but my 5th gen is still purring!

When you buy the Symtecs you can usually pick either the rocker or the toggle. You can put a rubber boot over the toggle to help with H2O. I have both switches and have not had a problem with either. If doing it again I would probably pick the toggle as it is easier to operate with gloves.

I saw the new (to USA) Crosstourer at the Long Beach show yesterday. I was so excited I did not wait to let my camera focus....oops. The DCT version was listed at about $16K. I was impressed. I could flat foot (6ft tall). The bags were larger and looked to be capable of carrying a lot of crap. I carry a lot of crap on tour. The adjustable windshield is fantastic and I rate it the best of the current crop of one hand adjustables.

The also had a DCT demo bike there at the booth.......too big a line for me to try it but the 3rd gen DCT is getting dialed in!

at about 7K less than a GSA it looks to be a good alternative.

The Africa Twin is spectacular.

I have had Symtec grip heaters for over ten years on my VFR. They have never failed and work very well. After a cheaper alternative failed on my KLR after less than two years, I upgraded to Symtecs. Two heat settings are enough and the install is easy. For heaven's sake hook up a switched power source if you suffer from severe CRS like I do!!! I use a switched aux fuse box.

For extreme cold weather I also use a heated glove insert on my Wing but for all other conditions heated grips are a better alternative with no hassle.

I have been looking for the 1200 V4 in Adventure or ST form. Maybe I will make the trip up to Long Beach next month for the show.

Replace the Wing and 5th gen??????

When I first did this on my 5th gen about ten years ago I looked at a basic diagram on this site below.

http://www.canyonchasers.net/shop/generic/relay.php

This may help to understand the big picture. I just jumped in at that point and my first relay aux fuse box (BlueSea) is still working flawlessly a decade latter. As described above I also downloaded the VFR wiring diagram from VFRD.

My Tales of Zumo thread describes the wiring although some of my pictures have gone into the ether. Really anybody can do this you just have to jump into the pool!!!!!!!!!

For one of your original questions re relays, they are what provide the switched power. The relay has two parts, a low power coil that is an electromagnet and switched contacts for the high power side. The low power coil can be connected to an existing circuit that only comes on when the bike is running. One side of the contacts goes straight to the battery and the other goes to your load. When the coil is activated, the contacts close and provide power to your load without overloading one of the bike's circuits.

Essentially it is just like running things like you were but with an automatic switch to prevent battery drain when the engine is off.

The FZ1 is neat in that you run two lines to the battery and one to the taillight so it knows when the bike is running. Inside the box, the positive from the battery supplies a 12v bus and also goes to one contact of a relay to make a switched bus. When the taillight is on, both busses are live.

The neat thing is that they've laid it out so that each fuse holder has three receptacles instead of two. The left one is constant power, right is switched power and centre is your load. If you put your fuse on the left side, your load is always live. Move it to the right side and it's only live when the bike is running. This makes it easy to hook up an SAE connector and use it for switched gear in the riding season, then slide the fuse over and use it for your tender over the winter. Kinda slick.

That is the best explantion I have read yet. I know it may sound obvious to most, but I am really ignorant of these things. That makes a lot of sense. The tailight part makes sense now too. I thought it was drawing power from that circut, but it is only for an indication.

So one more question - do you have to cut/splice into the tailight wire?

EDIT

Just found these - http://www.amazon.com/Posi-tap-Connector-20-22-Gauge-Wire/dp/B00389UT3I

Awesome. Even I don't think I could screw those up.

Here is my splice into the taillight wire for a 5th gen lead to the relay. Somewhere on VFRD you can find the wiring diagram for your bike.

I also have a BlueSea box on my 5th gen. Pictures in my Gallery. I installed it about ten years ago and it is still purring. I keep adding more crap to include a Radar Detector and USB plug last year.

Check out http://www.wiremybike.com/ for less expensive options.

I also have a FZ1 block on another bike and this would be my choice if the high end PDM-60 is not viable due to cost.

http://www.fuzeblocks.com/

I like the Fuzeblock setup as you do not need to also wire in a relay to your block.

I went with OEM front, rear sprockets and chain at about 45K. I changed just the chain at about 22K.

Do not go on a long tour with a suspect chain or one that seems OK but requires constant adjustment.

You did not read my post on Radar Detectors? Great Pictures!

I had the hots for a ST type bike when my SO tired of the VFR. In the course of several years I have been on C14, ST1300, FJR and RT. A buddy "forced" me to ride the 1800 despite my resistance....I relented and IT works! I bought a used one that was less expensive than a new ST. Frankly I like both the VFR and the Wing, just different bikes ...pick the tool for the job.

And then I found I could hang with my ST buddies in the tight stuff.

About the only handling issues I had at the start were making sure I came to a complete stop before I put my foot out. Actually the 1800 is less top heavy than a ST at slow speeds or at rest. The Wing is not super at high speed in the sweepers but I do not have upgraded a suspension like my VFR either. Eventually, I even got over the whole PIG thing. I get the same grief from KTM guys about my fat KLR too. Than again I did not see too many "real" dual sports in Alaska.

Rent one?