[bend42]

In earlier posts I described several mods I have made to my 2010 TW:

- dual horns that are MUCH louder

- GPS mount for carrying a Garmin eTrex unit

- addition to CycleRack rear rack and Quick Fists & "famous containers on front forks for carrying up to additional 8L. of gas [doubling the stock tank capacity]

- new seat [custom built]



Since my last post, I have put just over 1000 miles on my bike, 85+% on dirt and gravel. I thought I'd give some feedback on the mods.



SEAT- this has been worth every penny. At nearly 70 yrs I have done as much as 300 miles in a day [again 90% dirt] and the seat is no longer a limit [which the stock seat certainly was!!]

HORNS- very much worth it on a couple of occasions when someone was just about to pull out in front of me and wipe me out.



GPS mount - great!



GAS Carrying - the 5L can on the back is great. Never moves or rattles, and I can put my tank bag on it and keep it out of my way. The two 1L containers were a little small in diameter and slipped down somewhat on [very] rough trails. Some duct tape added enough girth to make them stable. But the two 'famous containers' attached to the CycleRack with "R" clips have not held: the R clips have failed.

Happy and safe riding to all.



John

 

[n2o2diver]

Never would have guessed those clamps would have broken off like that.

 

[bend42]

Never would have guessed those clamps would have broken off like that.

Neither would I, but I had one 'famous container' holding only some light tools horizontally on the back of my rear rack break loose after 200 mi, and now the second holding 1L of fuel on the left side of the rack break. I am hypothesizing that it is the vibration of riding gravel and dirt roads/trails that is putting too much stress on the clamps.



I am contemplating new attachment schemes for both, as I'd like to have the additional tools and the additional fuel with me at all times.



I don't really like riding any m-c on the asphalt, but I LOVE riding my TW on dirt and exploring places I would no longer get to any other way [I used to backpack and horseback, but not any longer.] For example, last week — in SE Washington State/NE Oregon State — a friend and I spooked a very large cinnamon-colored bear, that could well have been a griz, on a very remote trail way above the Snake River. And a few minutes later we came upon a herd of 20+ elk moving thru the grass/trees. Priceless!!!



John

 

[Rainman]

Love the seat. How did you go about doing it?

 

[bend42]

Love the seat. How did you go about doing it?

I went to Don Weber's shop, "Mr Ed's Moto", in Albany, Oregon. Over a 4 hr period he removed the stock 'seat' from the underlying plastic frame and built a new seat on the original frame, having me sit it multiple times as he built it up. My riding buddy still has his stock seat, so from time to time I have sat on it for comparison: the new seat is worth every penny to me. The orig seat was too narrow and constantly moved me forward due to its slope. I am 6'2" and can now sit back so my arms and legs are much more comfortable and I feel like I have more control because I am better balanced.



PS — anybody know how to get all the photos to show? The first one does, but the others don't.

 

[admiral]

It is a nice quality looking seat. I also experience sliding forward in the stock seat. Think I might make some modifications this winter to my seat to enhance rider comfort. Thanks for this post...more idea's!

 

[srs713]

Yup, that clamp is definitely a fatigue point. You can see where it was flexing.

Maybe U-bolts would be best for handling off-road vibrations.

 

[bend42]

..

 

[srs713]

Admiral



Thanks! for making the photos 'magically' appear. But, could you tell me what I should have done in my OP to make them show up?



John

The coding used in this forum is not quite HTML, it's called BB Code.

HTML uses < and > to make tags, BB Code uses [ and ]

The first tag is img and the end tag is /img



The easiest way is to put the cursor where you want the image, then copy the URL into your clipboard and then paste it into the link wizard.

 

[bend42]

..

 

[srs713]

Geeze — That is exactly what I did in my OP.

Um... it looks like you clicked the image wizard on the first pic, then accidentally used the link wizard on the other URLs.

 

[admiral]

bend42, If you are able to fix your photo's in your op, I'll remove the one's I inserted.



Hers's what I did;

I clicked on your link which opend a new window.

I then right clicked on the photo, then clicked on properties.

With properties window open, I then right clicked and copied the entire URL address (some of the address is hidden until you pull the curser down).

Then "OK'd" and closed the open window and returned to my reply.

Opened "insert image", deleted the highlighted "http:", and pasted the url address, then clicked "insert image".



Done this way, the info mentioned above is added for you.



I'm not saying this is the only way to get'er done, but it's what I used to get the link to appear. This is also the same method I used when inserting photo's from my picasa photo album.

 

[bend42]

Um... it looks like you clicked the image wizard on the first pic, then accidentally used the link wizard on the other URLs.

You are absolutely right. I did not notice the difference. Thanks, now the pics are all displaying. Sorry for the mess.



John