View Full Version : View from the cockpit
Or, this isn't gonna sit well with the "can't walk and chew bubblegum at the same time" crowd.
Presented for your consideration is one of the places I enjoy spending most of my time - in front of the radios! Errrr...I meant holding the handlebars.
The bike is a 2012 Concours 14 ABS. Some of the stuff in the picture came stock on this model (grip heaters, traction control/ABS, starter/kill switch switch housings) and I added the rest. From left to right there's a PTT switch for the Yaesu FTM-10SR (whose readout is mounted betweeen the risers) and the Up/Down switches for VFO/Memory stepping (next to the silver part of the bars). Above that is a JMCB2003.
Right side has the dimmer control for a set of fork-mounted LED driving lights, then the Mem/VFO button (red cap) and the Band Select button (black cap) for the FTM-10. A RAM Mount allows mounting a GPS or cell phone to the bars.
Coiled 2-conductor lead at the left side of the Yaesu is for my jacket and glove heaters - its controller is mounted in the fairing, hidden from view behind the J&M unit. FTM-10SR audio goes to the Aux In port of the J&M unit but it has a Bluetooth board installed. Connection to helmet headset is currently via cable. When I fit a J&M accessory Bluetooth dongle to the CB and buy suitably equipped helmets next spring the whole enchilada - including direct bike-to-bike communications - will be completely wireless.
All electronics have been hidden under the two fairing panels. There are numerous peripherals and a lot of wire jammed into those formerly empty spaces!
2008 C-14 is set up the same except it didn't have OEM traction control...thus, its switch housings aren't as busy.
The FTM series transceivers used 2-wire differential level control for their operating functions, and I designed a circuit to interface with it and the handlebar buttons. If anyone is interested I'll draft it up and place the JPG in the Homebrew area.
7560
K7SGJ
10-10-2012, 07:00 PM
Very clean install. Nice job.
kf0rt
10-10-2012, 07:04 PM
Schweet! But, where's the GPS? :stickpoke:
Nice work!
K7SGJ
10-10-2012, 07:08 PM
Schweet! But, where's the GPS? :stickpoke:
Nice work!
With all those toys, who cares where you are or where you're going.
Schweet! But, where's the GPS? :stickpoke:
Nice work!
It's going to be either a Zumo 550 (w/ XM radio and MP3 storage) or my RazrMaxx in an AquaBox (ditto MP3 storage). Both are Bluetooth enabled. The phone has built-in GPS capabilities (which suck!) and the '550 is $800...:shock:
I really wish Yaesu would re-release the -SR as a 5-bander: 10/6/2/220/440. I've stated to their reps that should they do this I'll immediately buy 5 on the spot, and a lot of my motorcycling ham friends have said the same thing.
KG4CGC
10-10-2012, 11:07 PM
Barkeep Approved
N2CHX
10-10-2012, 11:21 PM
Very, very nice!
KK4AMI
10-11-2012, 06:25 AM
Very Factory looking!
PS- ASTRO 150 set up currently on the ebay!
ka4dpo
10-11-2012, 09:43 AM
That's pretty tricked out but can you lose the cops on it?:whistle:
That's pretty tricked out but can you lose the cops on it?:whistle:
This bike is exactly what the cops are riding - and I've had people comment on the differences in equipment installation ; mine vs the conversion shops. MC Enterprises makes a nice rear antenna mount/tipover guard/shotgun rack for the '10-up C14, but it's a bit too cluttered for me. I designed my own mount and will use the MC front bag guards instead of the full set.
ka4dpo
10-11-2012, 10:27 AM
This bike is exactly what the cops are riding - and I've had people comment on the differences in equipment installation ; mine vs the conversion shops. MC Enterprises makes a nice rear antenna mount/tipover guard/shotgun rack for the '10-up C14, but it's a bit too cluttered for me. I designed my own mount and will use the MC front bag guards instead of the full set.
Better be cool then since the best you can hope for is a draw (no pun intended). Seriously, that is a really nice bike and a small HF rig would be cool. I'm sure you can mount a hamstick on it but why screw up the looks.
K7SGJ
10-11-2012, 10:47 AM
Better be cool then since the best you can hope for is a draw (no pun intended). Seriously, that is a really nice bike and a small HF rig would be cool. I'm sure you can mount a hamstick on it but why screw up the looks.
For HF he can do like the subs do and deploy a trailing longwire antenna.
With their extra equipment and added drag from the lights, siren and so forth the LE version has a reported top end of ~145MPH. Mine can approach 160 if the short '08-09 model windscreen is installed in place of the "bubble" which all '10-up models get.
I'll post a pic or two of my '08 later - it's a different animal altogether. Pop the bags and trunk off, install a set of dual exhausts from a ZX14 (or use an aftermarket system), install a PC-V fuel controller and it'll nudge 190.
A small, waterproof 20w HF/VHF/UHF rig which covers 15-10M HF in addition to 6 through 440 and has a receiver that is usable from, say, 20MHz through 512MHz would be an absolutely handy thing to have aboard a motorcycle. I keep bugging Yaesu...
WØTKX
10-11-2012, 11:47 AM
Nice. I miss riding my Connie. Bigtime.
I actually like the styling of the pre-'08 Concours. Just wish their OEM bags were a little roomier and they were equipped with a matching trunk.
Here's the same view of the '08. Its bodywork keeps the rider a bit warmer than the '10-up models...a plus in the winter and a huge minus in summer. Fitted to this bike is a +5" California Scientific windshield, and it makes a big difference in cold-weather comfort.
I'll post a pic or two of the new, pre-powdercoated antenna/helmet lock mount when I get the final fitting work done. That which is on the bike at the moment was meant more as an experiment and is suited for a single antenna arrangement - not the dual unit which is currently attached.
7569
Just curious, are you concerned about getting things stolen off the bike? I sometimes worry when my stuff is enclosed in a regular vehicle, let alone having it sitting out in the open on a bike. I don't know how bikers approach that when they have a bunch of gadgets.
Just curious, are you concerned about getting things stolen off the bike? I sometimes worry when my stuff is enclosed in a regular vehicle, let alone having it sitting out in the open on a bike. I don't know how bikers approach that when they have a bunch of gadgets.
I could park that thing downtown and people would install chrome on it out of sympathy. Unless the bikes are Harleys, no one seems to give them more than a passing glance. And if it's not parked at work or in my garage, it's never far from sight...or it's under a cover.
Most people don't know what the electronics are and from what I've experienced, frankly don't care. If it's not something they can readily identify as a high-end CD changer - and one which isn't electronically theft-proofed at that - they'll tend to leave it alone.
KG4CGC
10-13-2012, 09:26 AM
I could park that thing downtown and people would install chrome on it out of sympathy. Unless the bikes are Harleys, no one seems to give them more than a passing glance. And if it's not parked at work or in my garage, it's never far from sight...or it's under a cover.
Most people don't know what the electronics are and from what I've experienced, frankly don't care. If it's not something they can readily identify as a high-end CD changer - and one which isn't electronically theft-proofed at that - they'll tend to leave it alone.
Some fucker stole my speedo off my bicycle at work in 2004. Fucker. I know I came in with it and it is absolutely useless without the bike and sensor.
Some fucker stole my speedo off my bicycle at work in 2004. Fucker. I know I came in with it and it is absolutely useless without the bike and sensor.
Cateye or another brand?
All of our pedal bikes have quick-detach speedos and headlights. Hers also has a removable taillight (Blackburn Flea or Planet Bike Multiflash)...and each has a removable trunk bag into which all the electronics go before the bikes are left unattended.
Each bag has a cable lock. We bought two of the same kind, which are looped and locked together through wheels, racks, frame and seat rails...ultimately to the bike racks in which they're stood. Even so, I'm thinking about buying a set or two of security wheel skewers and matching seat post/stem clamp bolts. Both bikes have dynamo-hub front wheels and layered security really helps out here.
I can't stand lower-than-snake shit bike thieves, most of whom are looking for money for their next fix.
KG4CGC
10-13-2012, 09:50 AM
Cateye or another brand?
All of our pedal bikes have quick-detach speedos and headlights. Hers also has a removable taillight (Blackburn Flea or Planet Bike Multiflash)...and each has a removable trunk bag into which all the electronics go before the bikes are left unattended.
Each bag has a cable lock. We bought two of the same kind, which are looped and locked together through wheels, racks, frame and seat rails...ultimately to the bike racks in which they're stood. Even so, I'm thinking about buying a set or two of security wheel skewers and matching seat post/stem clamp bolts. Both bikes have dynamo-hub front wheels and layered security really helps out here.
I can't stand lower-than-snake shit bike thieves, most of whom are looking for money for their next fix.
Ever see any of the episodes of "Crime something something TV" where they set up bait bikes? Guy is walking down the sidewalk, whips out cable cutters and is off with the bike in 3 seconds. Cops swoop in and beat said perp with his own cable cutters.
Thing is, they set up this sting repeatedly and kept getting the same results. Bike is parked and secured. 3 to 5 minutes later guy walks up and whips out the cable cutters ... poof. It was worse than stolen cars. No matter the number of times they ran the sting, the bike was always getting picked off in a very short period of time.
mw0uzo
10-13-2012, 04:30 PM
Yeah that looks really nice, difficult to do a tidy job on a bike with little room to fit everything :D (let alone get them in the right place for comfortable usage)
View of a different - albeit 2-wheeler - cockpit. This is my 2012 Salsa Fargo - the first bike I completely built from scratch. It was a learning experience, yessir.
The steerer tube was cut long enough to accommodate two stems plus a 20mm spacer stack. Bottom one is a fixed 15 degree mounted in a downward cant so the Topeak bar bag will clear the shifter and brake cables. The other - a Forte adjustable - is set to 45 degrees rise. This puts the Salsa Woodchipper bars at exactly the right location for me, given the top/seat tube, seat post and crank arm geometry.
The steerer tube cap is a Paul Designs unit, and an Arkon HT mount with a Yaesu clip allow a VX6 (shown) or a VX7 to go along for the ride. Comes in handy for train spotting as most of the towpath route is near railroad right-of-way.
7602
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.