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Aug. 20th, 2012 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elizillaOver the weekend I installed a bunch of electronic doodads in the Ural, then rode it to Lake Michigan to test it out.
There is no room whatsoever under the bike seat. The seat just sits on top of the fender. No other sheltered hidden spots on the bike either. So everything has to go in the trunk, even though this makes the wire runs pretty long. The Rhino lining is impervious to every adhesive I tried. But since water does get into the bottom of the car (witness the drain holes) I can't just let the gadgets sit on the floor. I finally drilled a hole and screwed a piece of scrap aluminum to the inside wall of the trunk, and stuck the fuse panel, autocom box, and amplifier to that. The audio system works great. I was afraid I'd have to get a big power filter to keep the ignition noise out of the comm system but it's surprisingly quiet. I didn't want to buy any new stuff for this, so it didn't get a Fuzeblock, just a generic auto parts store cheapie. I did manage to squeeze in another relay next to the battery, so the whole panel is switched. The stock bike had a crappy accessory panel in a bad location; I took that out, but that wiring run is still there and has another fuse closer to the battery, so I replaced it with an unswitched powerlet outlet that I can use for a battery tender, and I can also plug in my heated jacket there. For my heated grips I used a controller that came with my heated gloves, which I haven't been using. It is digital and has five positions. I'd like to have two or three more power outlets but I haven't decided where I want to put them yet.
I did buy one new thing. Powerlet has a 4" long mini-USB to mini-USB cable, that has the circuitry in it to make Garmins and Motorolas see it as a power connector rather than a data connector. So I can now plug my phone and my GPS in directly to that USB port, without need for a cig lighter outlet to use an official car charger. $15. Works great!
So, off to Lake Michigan. Since I now have the working GPS, I experimented with the "avoid highways" function. I figured out a routine on this trip - I defied the GPS and got on the highway anyway, to get across medium sized cities like Jackson or Kalamazoo. I gained a little time against the GPS every time I did this. Outside the cities I got off the interstate and made my way along back roads. Google maps says it's 2:30 hours from here to there, on the interstate routes, and 3:51 hours using "avoid highways". I made it home in 3:30 hours.
So if I take the Ural to Boston, google maps says the quickest route is 13:31 and the "avoid highways" route is 17:42. Based on my Lake Michigan trip experience, with judicious use of short interstate jaunts, I should be able to beat the "avoid highways" time by a little bit. I'm giving myself three days, so I think it will work well, and not turn into a death march.
But that's assuming I can get these three tires installed this week.
There is no room whatsoever under the bike seat. The seat just sits on top of the fender. No other sheltered hidden spots on the bike either. So everything has to go in the trunk, even though this makes the wire runs pretty long. The Rhino lining is impervious to every adhesive I tried. But since water does get into the bottom of the car (witness the drain holes) I can't just let the gadgets sit on the floor. I finally drilled a hole and screwed a piece of scrap aluminum to the inside wall of the trunk, and stuck the fuse panel, autocom box, and amplifier to that. The audio system works great. I was afraid I'd have to get a big power filter to keep the ignition noise out of the comm system but it's surprisingly quiet. I didn't want to buy any new stuff for this, so it didn't get a Fuzeblock, just a generic auto parts store cheapie. I did manage to squeeze in another relay next to the battery, so the whole panel is switched. The stock bike had a crappy accessory panel in a bad location; I took that out, but that wiring run is still there and has another fuse closer to the battery, so I replaced it with an unswitched powerlet outlet that I can use for a battery tender, and I can also plug in my heated jacket there. For my heated grips I used a controller that came with my heated gloves, which I haven't been using. It is digital and has five positions. I'd like to have two or three more power outlets but I haven't decided where I want to put them yet.
I did buy one new thing. Powerlet has a 4" long mini-USB to mini-USB cable, that has the circuitry in it to make Garmins and Motorolas see it as a power connector rather than a data connector. So I can now plug my phone and my GPS in directly to that USB port, without need for a cig lighter outlet to use an official car charger. $15. Works great!
So, off to Lake Michigan. Since I now have the working GPS, I experimented with the "avoid highways" function. I figured out a routine on this trip - I defied the GPS and got on the highway anyway, to get across medium sized cities like Jackson or Kalamazoo. I gained a little time against the GPS every time I did this. Outside the cities I got off the interstate and made my way along back roads. Google maps says it's 2:30 hours from here to there, on the interstate routes, and 3:51 hours using "avoid highways". I made it home in 3:30 hours.
So if I take the Ural to Boston, google maps says the quickest route is 13:31 and the "avoid highways" route is 17:42. Based on my Lake Michigan trip experience, with judicious use of short interstate jaunts, I should be able to beat the "avoid highways" time by a little bit. I'm giving myself three days, so I think it will work well, and not turn into a death march.
But that's assuming I can get these three tires installed this week.
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Date: 2012-08-20 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 03:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 04:10 pm (UTC)Once paralleled what looked like an urban smuggler, way, way off the interstate in central Ca. Considered that I'd stop and look at the flowers to let him get ahead; was in the p-u then so could not really outpace him...
Have fun, and a "no smuggler" trip!
no subject
Date: 2012-08-21 03:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-21 02:39 pm (UTC)Churchill's Lounge/David P. Ehrlich Co
40 North Street
Boston
617-227-0750
9 a.m. to midnight
"Churchill's Lounge is housed inside the second-oldest tobacco store in the United States. Founded in 1868, Ehrlich has been owned by only two families, the Ehrlichs and, now, the Macdonalds."
-B
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Date: 2012-08-21 03:10 pm (UTC)Also, you know me - can you see me voluntarily entering a place called Churchill's Lounge, that's housed in a tobacco store? I'm glad it's there, and that people who like cigars have somewhere to go. But I bet there's a smoke free coffee shop or a park bench or something, nearby, and I can wait there while you are inside. I'll bring my book. :)