What have you done for your T7 today?

[Alan M]

2 minutes ago, Tenerider said:

These are super cool! Where did you get those lugs?

China, like every other piece of cr*p out there .

 

Found the straps on ebay and knocked up a couple of 10mm spacers. Other than the spacers, everything else came with the straps and they just bolt straight on. Think I paid £30 the pair delivered.

[Ray Ride4life]

39 minutes ago, DT675 said:

 

I have not.  I might be interested in the K60 Ranger or even possibly the regular K60 but not the Scout.  The Scout is too much like the GPS and quite frankly, I like my GPS too.  The center band is a love/ hate for me- I love it on the highway, it makes the tire quiet and yet I'd prefer it not be there off the highway.  And that's why I'll likely go with another one.  It kind of is the ultimate compromise tire and I've yet to find one that interestes me in replacing it.

I run the K60 Ranger right now and i'm pleasantly surprised.
My offroad instructor also used them and was not overly happy with the front but right now i don't see why.
I don't have them on very long so i need to find some time and useful weather to go test in some different types of terrain for testing the handling and a couple of months to find out about the longevity.

[NeilW]

1 hour ago, Alan M said:

Fitted a pair of grab/lifting straps today. Had tried a pair of steel grab handles but didn’t fancy dropping the bike on them, probably end up doing damage to the frame inserts.

 

No real weight in the straps, hate adding weight to the T7 as it’s already a bugger to pick up .

 

@Alan M I have OEM pannier racks so I have plenty of grab bars, but your set up is awesome. Good job!

I don't know how old you are or how strong but you did add straps to help you pick up the beast, especially with it FLAT since you don't have rear luggage mounts. Have you see the Eastbound Motowinch - it picks the bike up for you. Kind of like having a young and strong friend along who says  " stand back, I'll pick that up for you".  I am 70 and hate hurting my back and although I can lift mine- even with all the extras weight on it, now that I have a Motowinch, I will take the few minutes to use it and not exhaust or hurt myself. 

[Alan M]

2 hours ago, NeilW said:

@Alan M I have OEM pannier racks so I have plenty of grab bars, but your set up is awesome. Good job!

I don't know how old you are or how strong but you did add straps to help you pick up the beast, especially with it FLAT since you don't have rear luggage mounts. Have you see the Eastbound Motowinch - it picks the bike up for you. Kind of like having a young and strong friend along who says  " stand back, I'll pick that up for you".  I am 70 and hate hurting my back and although I can lift mine- even with all the extras weight on it, now that I have a Motowinch, I will take the few minutes to use it and not exhaust or hurt myself. 

Don’t fancy the extra weight and bulk of the bike lifters but I totally get the benefit of them if you ride on your own or struggle to pick the bike up.

[NeilW]

1 hour ago, Alan M said:

Don’t fancy the extra weight and bulk of the bike lifters but I totally get the benefit of them if you ride on your own or struggle to pick the bike up.

Yup "old guy issues" or break your ankle in a fall issues...

[Boondocker]

2 hours ago, NeilW said:

Yup "old guy issues" or break your ankle in a fall issues...

I heard that!

It's good to have a big, strong friend  at hand, especially when you're alone.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Boondocker

[NeilW]

3 minutes ago, Boondocker said:

I heard that!

It's good to have a big, strong friend  at hand, especially when you're alone.

Ok - sharing embarrassing moment: my buddy and I were in Idaho in September and we were going 60 in a 55 zone. Not the speed that one gets stopped for normally. We talked on the comms and agreed only one of us would be eligible for a ticket and I drew the short straw - so he kept going. I pulled over on some uneven dirt. A very young, large and friendly constable introduced himself and a semi went by and my T 7 took a nap. I wish I had my helmet cam on to see the look in his eyes as my bike was falling over. It was priceless. Anyway, he graciously offered to help me pick it up. I graciously accepted and almost before I could get a grip he already had it vertical. Easiest bike recovery ever !  Just a verbal warning

 

[Tenerider]

Tidying my tail tidy:

 

 

This should serve as a mud barrier, keeping off most debris. Since all frame parts are treated with ACF-50, a little moisture creeping through the remaining holes shouldn't be an issue.

 

First, I wanted to add a kind of sub-fender below the tail tidy bracket (got me some 2mm HDPE sheet for that), but it would have looked worse and probably touched the exhaust.

So I cut off some material from an old loose-leaf binder:

 

[e010584]

On 12/8/2022 at 5:03 PM, e010584 said:

Lots of parts added on the new bike, but the two most expensive ones that went on today include a titanium exhaust header and carbon fiber skid plate! Other visible adds include crash bars (ruin looks but save the plastic), center stand, DIY tail tidy, LED signals, rear rack with seat rack, Oxford heated grips, headlight protector, hand guards, adjustable windscreen, high fender and rackless soft luggage (not shown). Parts keep coming in like it's Christmas everyday. Remaining updates include titanium high exhaust with carbon fiber muffler, composite case guards, foot pegs, more aggressive tires, stiffer rear shock spring, etc.  Any other suggestions?

Ended up wrapping the Ti headers and adding some silicone standoffs to protect the C/KFRP skid plate from getting too hot.

[Wintersdark]

On 12/28/2022 at 1:36 PM, Alan M said:

Don’t fancy the extra weight and bulk of the bike lifters but I totally get the benefit of them if you ride on your own or struggle to pick the bike up.

I built myself one (and would REALLY like to rebuilt it smaller and lighter, but whatever) but only bring it on solo trips.  I don't struggle to pick the bike up solo, but I changed my mind last winter when I dropped the bike screwing around on a icy/snowy corner and landed on my knee.  I've got "knee pads" in my riding pants (and proper knee guards that of course I wasn't wearing) but the basic pads in the pants are just thin foam.  Trying to pick the bike up with a bruised kneecap was extraordinarily difficult, because the knee just kept flat out giving up.  Wasn't a matter of "play through the pain" it would just... stop, and buckle limply.  Ended up having to deadlift the bike with straight legs, 100% back, and I figure basically everyone here knows how that goes.  

 

I used steel square tubing (the stuff with the predrilled holes every inch available at home depot and such), a ratchet strap, and a couple bolts.  Collapses down to roughly the size of a standard round aftermarket muffler, but that's still pretty bulky, and being steel it's *heavy*. 

[Tenerider]

They finally have arrived:

 

Macna Ion RTX

 

[DT675]

On 12/28/2022 at 10:35 AM, Ray Ride4life said:

I run the K60 Ranger right now and i'm pleasantly surprised.
My offroad instructor also used them and was not overly happy with the front but right now i don't see why.
I don't have them on very long so i need to find some time and useful weather to go test in some different types of terrain for testing the handling and a couple of months to find out about the longevity.

 

I look forward to your report!

[AZJW]

5 hours ago, Tenerider said:

They finally have arrived:

 

Macna Ion RTX

 

Stormtrooper attire?     They look interesting,  how about a review when you get some miles on them?

[Tenerider]

7 minutes ago, AZJW said:

Stormtrooper attire?     They look interesting,  how about a review when you get some miles on them?

That's why I bought them, unfortunately white wasn't available

 

Right now it's rainy and quite warm over here, but I'll definitely let you guys know how they perform.

Interestingly, they seem to be heated both on top AND on the inside of the fingers.

 

Fit and comfort is really really good, especially for winter gloves. Much less stiff than my Held Sambia 2-in-1 (Held are usually regarded THE benchmark in Germany. They use super-smooth kangaroo leather for the palm and inner fingers on their premium models).

[NeilW]

6 hours ago, Tenerider said:

They finally have arrived:

 

Macna Ion RTX

 

Nice. I am curious how well they work with iphone touch screens. 

[Tenerider]

3 minutes ago, NeilW said:

Nice. I am curious how well they work with iphone touch screens. 

Only tested once with Samsung). Galaxy S21FE (with display foil Actually they work as bad as all my other "touch-ready" gloves

[NeilW]

2 minutes ago, Tenerider said:

Only tested once with Samsung). Galaxy S21FE (with display foil Actually they work as bad as all my other "touch-ready" gloves

I have found that using the tip of one of the "touch screen" fingers seems to work the most consistently but it never seems to work when I really need it to. If I am wearing a modular helmet I use my teeth to pull off the glove and use my finger to do the touch screen. 

[AZJW]

43 minutes ago, Tenerider said:

 

 

Fit and comfort is really really good, especially for winter gloves. Much less stiff than my Held Sambia 2-in-1 (Held are usually regarded THE benchmark in Germany. They use super-smooth kangaroo leather for the palm and inner fingers on their premium models).

As far as a number of Yanks are concerned, Held is the benchmark brand as well.  I've used The Steve for probably 100,000 miles, a better fit can't be found.  

The electric heating elements top and inside on the RTX sounds intriguing.     

[Ray Ride4life]

Downside on heated (or insulated gloves in general) is that the liner can and will move which is a big problem when offroading.
I have Gerbing heated gloves but also my unheated winter gloves make it very hard to get hold on the handle bars without the need of a very tight and therefore tiring grip.
I'll be glad when it's back to at least mid season gloves again.

[NeilW]

45 minutes ago, Ray Ride4life said:

Downside on heated (or insulated gloves in general) is that the liner can and will move which is a big problem when offroading.
I have Gerbing heated gloves but also my unheated winter gloves make it very hard to get hold on the handle bars without the need of a very tight and therefore tiring grip.
I'll be glad when it's back to at least mid season gloves again.

My Klim Battery heated gloves have NO liner on the palms and palm side of the fingers, so the issue you describe doesn't happen with them. And they work

Klim Hardanger HTD Long Gloves Review: Battery Heated

---

Klim Hardanger HTD Long Gloves Review: These new heated gloves from Klim can keep your hands warm in literally freezing temperatures.

 

[Ray Ride4life]

15 minutes ago, NeilW said:

My Klim Battery heated gloves have NO liner on the palms and palm side of the fingers, so the issue you describe doesn't happen with them. And they work

Klim Hardanger HTD Long Gloves Review: Battery Heated

---

Klim Hardanger HTD Long Gloves Review: These new heated gloves from Klim can keep your hands warm in literally freezing temperatures.

 

I will never use battery powered gloves.
It would be fine for my daily riding but when i'm travelling i can't rely on battery's because i often make long days and i'm not always able of charging them.
My Gerbing are wired with wires fitted in my Gerbing heated jacket.
I also have fitting issues with a lot of gloves due to my short stubby fingers and if the fitment is like the Klim summer gloves i tried on they won't fit.
But thanks for pointing them out, the more that's shown the more people know to choose from.

[Tenerider]

7 minutes ago, Ray Ride4life said:

I will never use battery powered gloves.
It would be fine for my daily riding but when i'm travelling i can't rely on battery's because i often make long days and i'm not always able of charging them.
My Gerbing are wired with wires fitted in my Gerbing heated jacket.
I also have fitting issues with a lot of gloves due to my short stubby fingers and if the fitment is like the Klim summer gloves i tried on they won't fit.
But thanks for pointing them out, the more that's shown the more people know to choose from.

That's the cool thing with Macna: They can be easily wired to the bike. But for me, it's not necessary at the moment.

[Wintersdark]

5 hours ago, NeilW said:

Nice. I am curious how well they work with iphone touch screens. 

 

Glove Tact's are amazing and everyone should try them.  Even on ostensibly "touch screen friendly" gloves, they make a big difference.

[Wintersdark]

I've a set of firstgear heated gloves that work pretty well keeping my hands warm at -25C without even needing to be on high, but unfortunately are heated "top and bottom" as well.  They definitely keep my hands warm, but I find the bulk (which is not extreme, the same as any lined motorcycle glove) really irritating on the inside - as per @Ray Ride4life's comment above, it can tend to slip a bit and make fine control awkward.

 

I'm REALLY interested in a set of heated gloves that are only heated on the tops of the hands and fingers, because my heated grips (and simply having my hands closed on the grips in general) keep things toasty.  Key is just having heat and insulation on the wind-chilled side, with just a single leather layer on the inside for good control usage and tactile feedback.  

 

But they absolutely need to be 12v gloves, or else for sure I'll end up forgetting to charge them and have frozen hands midway through a ride.  Not cool. 

 

 

[e010584]

This has become quite a heated discussion  .