Considering the idea of dailying the GS this summer...

[mr72]

Thanks for the link. I'm somewhat committed to the RAM Mounts brand, as I already have the base and the connecting arm,

I also already had the RAM connector, but bought this anyway. RAM stuff too expensive.

What type of phone do you use with it, and how much use has it seen?

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (4.6"), and I've ridden probably 100 miles with the phone on there on bumpy and curvy backroads along with a couple of 60+mph highway stretches. It vibrates some when in use but doesn't seem to have any risk of losing the phone, even without the silicone spider-web looking thing holding it on. With the silicone thing there'd be basically no way to lose the phone unless the mount broke, like in a crash.

[rscottlow]

I agree. I can't help but wonder if you're paying for the name. I'm mostly aggravated because while the base came with my bike when I bought it, I just wasted $8 on the arm. I could still return it, but that seems like more hassle than it's worth. Although it would practically offset the cost to purchase the mount that you've got 

[Watcher]

I can't help but wonder if you're paying for the name.

There may be some truth to this, but you also get a high quality piece.

The plastic they use isn't the type that seriously degrades with exposure to sun, rubber mounting means the phone doesn't vibrate, and they carry a lifetime warranty.

As with most things, you get what you pay for.

[J_Walker]

+1 on a tire, not one that doesn't last past an oil change [5k miles]

I would also say get some HH brake pads, they last longer, produce less dust, and once warmed up, give ya some extra stopping power. they don't seem to ruin the stock rotors on the GS500s.

I've got a countdown going until my kids are out of preschool for the summer (one month from today), and my spending budget increases exponentially. I've got quite a few motorcycle items on my Amazon wish list...

I hadn't thought much about brake pads, but the ones on the bike are squeaking just a little. I'm not sure if the rotors just need cleaned up, or if it's getting close to time to put new pads on. I'll have to take a closer look. How long does a set of pads typically last?

my HH pads, in the front last me about 7k miles, my rear ones about 5k. But I'm in stop and go traffic a lot, and generally use the rear brake along side of engine braking for most of my stopping, its more comfy that way.

[lefty1615]

There may be some truth to this, but you also get a high quality piece.

The plastic they use isn't the type that seriously degrades with exposure to sun, rubber mounting means the phone doesn't vibrate, and they carry a lifetime warranty.

As with most things, you get what you pay for.

And when your trusting a 300-1000$ mini computer to a mounting device an extra 40$ doesn't strike me as ridiculous expense.

[rscottlow]

There may be some truth to this, but you also get a high quality piece.

The plastic they use isn't the type that seriously degrades with exposure to sun, rubber mounting means the phone doesn't vibrate, and they carry a lifetime warranty.

As with most things, you get what you pay for.

And when your trusting a 300-1000$ mini computer to a mounting device an extra 40$ doesn't strike me as ridiculous expense.

Fair enough. At this point, it's the difference between spending $25 for the x-grip or $12 for the one mr72 linked. So I'll likely spend the extra few bucks and get the RAM.


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[rscottlow]

Got stuck in a downpour on my way home.



I was going to do the photo challenge, but I was trying to beat out the rain. There's a backhoe parked on a job site on my way home that I'll try to stop at tomorrow. Anyway, the rain was a new adventure. To make it worse, I was stuck behind a school bus and had to keep stopping. When I pulled into my driveway, the rain stopped...


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[Watcher]

Got stuck in a downpour on my way home.

When I pulled into my driveway, the rain stopped...

That is 100% how these things work.

When I first started commuting by bike I was living in Illinois and working at a machine shop just off the border with Indiana.  I would take Interstate 294 the whole way, which ran more or less diagonally South-SouthEast until it met with I80 and went straight East.  I literally would take like the second exit off I80 and I'd be at work, it wasn't very far east I had to go.
One day the old man goes to leave, says goodbye and everything, then comes back in a minute later and says to me "Looks like you're gonna get wet on the way home, there's these nasty looking clouds rolling in."  "... what?  It's not supposed to rain today!"
Run outside, there's a rolling grey mass of clouds coming in FAST.  Check my phone, the radar is blowing up, coming in from the North basically directly off the lake and it's heading mostly South.
I ask my boss if I can run to try and beat the storm, it's like a half hour before my scheduled end of day.  He says it's fine as long as I made that half hour up the next day.

Jump into my gear, toss my phone into the Pelican case I had, basically dive onto the bike, screw waiting for it to warm up I'm racing down the street with the choke on full!
Just as I'm going down the entrance ramp it starts to drizzle, by the time I merge it's raining, another block and it's POURING.  Now I'm thinking I'll stop under the nearest overpass to wait it out.  Nope, by the time I got there I was already soaked through so I just pressed on.

Take my exit and when I come to a stop it's not raining, the sun is shining.
As I'm going through my neighborhood I'm seeing people cutting grass, walking dogs, kids playing Frisbee, riding bicycles...
I step foot in my house and my mom takes one look at me and says "What the F happened to YOU!?"
"Didn't a huge storm just roll through here?"  She just shakes her head.
I grab my phone.  Look at the radar.  Literally the storm followed the interstate, turned South-West until it hit 294 and then turned straight south.  It's like if you could imagine the storm being piloted by some jerk that saw me and thought "HAHA!  A guy on a motorcycle, let's get him!"  What's worse is it looks like it's already passed the machine shop.
I call my boss and ask him if it's still raining there.  Nope.  Poured for like 20 minutes, now there's already dry patches forming on the concrete.  If I would have STAYED until the scheduled end of my shift I would have been DRY!

[J_Walker]

I wish it would rain here, last time I saw rain I think it was in December...

[rscottlow]

Hahaha Watcher that's hilarious. I only have a 14 mile commute which is mostly back roads, and it didn't really start pouring until about mile 10, so it could've been worse. My wife told me it was going to rain, but of course I didn't listen 

I wish it would rain here, last time I saw rain I think it was in December...

You can have some of ours 

[Watcher]

Of course the opposite also happens.
It's supposed to rain, but you're 100% prepared.  Got the rain-suit on, the dry bag packed, electronics stashed, waterproof boots, everything, and maybe it's even raining when you set off, but it'll stop and you'll be sweating because of the extra gear you have on...

[rscottlow]

Yeah, that's part of why I've committed to riding even if there's a moderate chance of rain in the afternoon. I don't mind getting wet on the ride home (even though it's not ideal), as long as I show up to work dry. If it's raining when I leave the house in the morning I'm taking the truck, no questions asked.

[J_Walker]

Hahaha Watcher that's hilarious. I only have a 14 mile commute which is mostly back roads, and it didn't really start pouring until about mile 10, so it could've been worse. My wife told me it was going to rain, but of course I didn't listen 

I wish it would rain here, last time I saw rain I think it was in December...

You can have some of ours 

thanks, Disney might even pay ya for some of that rain.. since last I heard a couple of days ago, they are importing water in for their two lakes.. the fairy boats that are one of the ways to get into the magic kingdom, where *clears throat* running into dry spots of the lake.. and you don't wanna know what happens to you as a guest if those boats stop moving.. waiting 2 hours worth of line to get on a monorail, just to be packed in like sardines. or likewise on the buses... yikes no fun.

[Watcher]

Small wonder they haven't come up with a way to mass desalinate and purify ocean water for the city, that's how Naval ships hydrate their sailors, reverse osmosis...

[RichDesmond]

...This also reinforces my need to be able to see my cell phone for GPS purposes while on the bike, since I don't know how to get to my eye doctor's office from work...

LOL, do you have any idea how funny that sounds to guys my age?! 

[rscottlow]

...This also reinforces my need to be able to see my cell phone for GPS purposes while on the bike, since I don't know how to get to my eye doctor's office from work...

LOL, do you have any idea how funny that sounds to guys my age?! 

Haha! I'm pretty good about getting around, but the roads I ride the GS on aren't necessarily the same roads I drive when I'm trying to get somewhere. I looked up directions before I left the office, and got there with no problem. I just would've preferred to set the GPS to take back roads through a part of town that I don't frequent. Would've saved me sitting in a bunch of stop and go traffic.

I say all that, but I fully embrace the millennial technology culture. I'm pretty attached to my smart phone. There's something to be said for having instant access to an infinite source of information.


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[J_Walker]

...This also reinforces my need to be able to see my cell phone for GPS purposes while on the bike, since I don't know how to get to my eye doctor's office from work...

LOL, do you have any idea how funny that sounds to guys my age?! 

too bad the dinosaurs aren't around any more to ask for directions, huh? 

[RichDesmond]

...This also reinforces my need to be able to see my cell phone for GPS purposes while on the bike, since I don't know how to get to my eye doctor's office from work...

LOL, do you have any idea how funny that sounds to guys my age?! 

too bad the dinosaurs aren't around any more to ask for directions, huh? 

I just always felt sorry for the guys chisling the maps into those clay tablets, that seemed like a tough job....