By unfortunate circumstance I now have two aftermarket bash plates. I fitted one the other day, the other is in the post.

They’re slightly different designs so I can do a comparison. My mate Steve can have the one I don’t want. The design is simple enough, and much better than the plastic OEM part.

Here’s the Ballards item fitted. It looks quite neat but is a snug fit on the engine. If I keep this one I’ll refit it after minor adjustments. When the other arrives I’ll swap and see.

Not very exciting granted, but something that might just save the bike (and me!) one day.

Sophie
Latitude:-37.87732
Longitude:144.98601
GPS location Date/Time:02/15/2014 03:08:36 PST

Message:This is a test checkin/OK message from my new Spot Gen3.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/Fc4pJ/37.87732S/144.98601E

If the above link does not work, try this link:

Sophie

You have received this message because Sophie has added you to their SPOT contact list.

Ready for Adventure
FindMeSPOT.com

So I finally picked up a spot, the new Gen3 with all the new features. My spot Gen1, (pictured top) isn’t so good! I haven’t taken it out of the box yet, I mean, taking photos for the blog is much more important – right?

The new spot will automatically track at 10 minute intervals when it detects movement. I’ll will upload a link to a live tracking site once I have my subscription. It also has an emergency beacon in the event of disaster.

I knew I was going to get one all along, but there’s not much point when the trip is a year away. Who wants to track me to work and back every day? (My boss maybe??).

So now to ponder over subscriptions. Watch this space for more info when it comes out if the box….

The fender bag wasn’t so good, but I will check out the link my mate Jim sent. Thanks Jim. Maybe a fender brace would do the trick. The next item on my list was a set of bar guards.

Basically they form a loop around the levers, so if you drop the bike the levers may survive. They also stop stray branches from whipping your hands as you blat past.

Fitting then was quite easy, but I had to lose the bar end weights. I rode the bike to work and it makes quite a difference without them. The vibrations are quite intrusive. I may have to put the weights back on, I’ll have to go for a longer ride and see……