Lrg34

Thought I would complete the V Strom I'm about to buy with the OEM accessory bar. Ordered from the suzuki site a few days ago but had a cancellation email today. After speaking with the dealer they said they have been discontinued because of vibration issues. They are still available from eBay etc but I'm wondering if it's worth buying now. Anyone shead any light? Cheers.

Worked out why. Only have an 8gb card and when it was full the camera shuts down. After what seems like all evening I've downloaded and updated the firmware. Update thanks to reading this thread (have to change the file name) http://club.dx.com/forums/forums.dx/thr ... 377?page=1 and so far so good. Hopefully have now got 3m recordings on constant old for new loop until the battery genuinely expires. It's on test right now.

The battery life is useless! Less than an hour. Will be taking it apart to see if I can change the internal battery. Record quality is good and dead simple to use. Shame after I managed to achieve a good permanent mounting position.

Still impressed with this unit. Phone calls are crystal clear, wouldn't know it was a helmet system. Battery life is excellent, haven't run out of power yet after 4 hours of constant MP3 use. Recommended.

Been getting a bit too hot and sticky in the textile jacket I've been wearing for the last year. I was going to buy another last summer but after buying the bike and all the associated kit I just couldn't afford it then. Yesterday however when I poured sweat out of the sleeve at the fuel pump, enough was enough. There's not a great deal of choice in lighter weight summer jackets with a decent level of protection about, probably because this is England and we rarely have the need. Purchased a Rev'It Lavante jacket and back protector (extra-boo) and have yet to try it out. Seems very well ventilated and if I do say so myself, looks quite a sharp jacket. Hopefully I'll no longer look like I'm on my way to a Milk Tray audition. Anyone have any experience of this jacket?

Grabbed a better picture for you, the bit with the green tightener is the additional bit required to higher the camera sufficiently.

Hi Paul Yes, I used the handlebar mount supplied but it's not high enough to get a good view through the screen so also used a camera mount (Jessops etc) to act as an extention. Hope that helps.

All seems pretty good so far. Instructions are useless but expected for the price. Hint, buy a decent HD card. I first bought a cheap one which failed pretty much straight away. I thought it was the camera but thankfully turned out to be the card. Decent one inserted, so far so good. Used the handlebar mount and with a bit of jigging about with a camera mount I had found a spot behind the fairing without obstructing instruments, ignition etc. Time will tell.

Just ordered one. Even cheaper now, £35.95 free delivery. Worth a punt I reckon.

If ever I needed any reassurance (I didn't) that enhanced rider training is essential it was confirmed on Thursday. Won't go into detail but saw first hand the effect that road positioning, speed and ability to stop on a bike can have. It's a bank holiday, please ride safe folks.

I use an HJC IS17 with internal visor. No problems and works well, easy to operate. Does steam up when static on colder weather though.

Had my initial enhanced rider assessment a week ago and was deemed 'safe'. I know you can't be too safe but the assessor hinted that I might benefit from some post assessment training to assist forward propulsion. Words chosen carefully by me there. Had a two hour session today and I have to say it was fantastic. Loads of practical training on road positioning, gear selection, observations etc. Re affirmed that I was taught how to pass a test not to ride in the real world. Not that I thought I was a fully rounded rider immediately after test of course, hence the reason to take some further training. Found my instructor through the gov.uk site. Have another 2 hours next week on city riding, filtering techniques etc. Would I encourage new riders to take further training post test? Absolutely. Feel more involved with the bike, more confident and let's face it, I'm beginning to look like a confident rider!

Treat the instructions via the radio as satnav directions. If you miss the instruction just carry on safely and within the rules of the road. You won't be failed if you ride correctly but miss a specific junction. I took a wrong turn on return to the test centre (if I had of taken the correct turn I would have been back there!) but did it properly and passed. Added 3 more unnecessary turns to the test though. Good luck.

Indeed Ian, that's the plan.

Thanks for all your support and kind words. The YBR has been sold, that didn't take long! Our silver lining is that it has made Lisa a more biker aware driver and has a refreshed and much improved knowledge of the road thanks to the theory test. Live and learn. Emphasis on live.

Must admit I'm mildly narked at the school for putting her on a nearly new 650 bike with no bobbins or engine guards. Went from her YBR to the 650 straight away. That said I won't point a finger of accusation, she must have shown enough capability for them to seem the 500 could be skipped. But it's a mind made up. The end of the road has been reached. She's put the shutters up on further training sadly so if anyone wants the best 2011 YBR Custom about, have a look in the for sale section. Ps - I'm going nowhere, I love it! No big deal really, she tried, I won't keep nagging her to continue we have a life to live after all and I need my lunch made!

No one said it would be easy. So the good lady wife caught the 'ooh, this could be fun' bug last year after I got my licence and fell in love again with all things two wheeled. We had a proper talk about what her achieving licence would mean and what what we could do together when she was properly licences. Weekends away, Northern Europe, double bike trailer behind the Motorhome and all the wonderful experiences it would bring a married couple in their 40's. In order to get some miles under her belt she of course did CBT and I found and bought a YBR Custom for her. Perfect. She did theory and passed that easily. Got a few miles under her belt, paid for a local trainer to give one to one lesson on the 125. Still going well. Signed up for mod1 training with the first training yesterday. Disaster. She had a decent off after a generous fistful of front brake on a right turn and went down pretty hard. I wasn't there but turned up at the end of the training on my bike to find a quivering wreck of a wife and an expensive bill for repairs to the bike. She had rode to the training on her YBR and had to ride it the 15 miles back home afterwards. That was the worst experience of my biking career to date, her bike was physically shaking in line with her own shakes. Was the dutiful husband, reassurances abound, it happens, better off road than on, that's why you're training, don't worry about the repair costs, get back on the horse etc. I managed to convince her through the tears that she should sleep on it and talk again tomorrow. Well tomorrow is today and the tears are still flowing and confidence is shattered. So we have reached a compromise that allows us to continue jointly enjoying biking. We are selling the YBR (correctly placed details will be in the right section of the forum shortly) and we will change my bike for something pillion friendly and still hopefully enjoy all the previous dreams together albeit astride the same bike. I'm thinking V Strom. Gutted.

I've booked the DSA's Enhanced Rider Scheme course, with the first session for tomorrow morning. Not absolutely sure what to expect but hopefully it will highlight the weakest areas. Has anyone any experience of the course?

So the twists and turns of getting the good lady wife's licence have changed course again. We were 100% that A2 was the way forward. Went to see Westside Riders in Gloucester today for a chat to arrange training for Mod1. What a breath of fresh air, very professional with bang up to date bikes, properly organised, huge training area, proper offices and plenty of staff on hand. The result? Wife's now booked to start Mod1 training for full A licence. They offer a very bespoke programme that trains for individual mods in 2 hour blocks so it's a lot easier to arrange training to fit us. She starts next weekend, hopefully we can put the YBR Custom up for sale soon.

My wife came up with a good point. We are both on O2 with unlimited minutes to same network. If the Bluetooth range is poor, just hold the button down for 2 seconds, last number redial and off we go talking at any distance whatsoever.

This thing seems to get better. Took my first phone call whilst riding today. Crystal clear sound, the caller didn't even know I was on the bike and speaking from inside a helmet. Was travelling at about 50mph. Absolutely no wind noise witnessed by the caller. It's better than the Bluetooth hands free in the car. The fact there are two speakers helps enormously as usually you hold the phone to only ear! Just the bike to bike function to test now which should be soon. Appreciate these have gone up in price a touch but I still wouldn't hesitate to buy a twin set at £90 after using the unit first hand. It's good that you can buy just one set and add another at a later date if needed. My only advise would be to make sure the earpieces are fitted in the perfect position. If you take your time you should have a similar experience I think.

Correct, you sync two units via bluetooth and can have two way conversation without the need for a phone. The phone can also be paired to allow music and of course calls. Hope that is clear enough. Must admit I was totally confused when I started my research.

They have increased in price sadly. These are dispatched in the UK but the same set is available at a lower price but from China.

Tim. I'm very pleased so far. Bit of a fiddle to fit but that's just my OCD. HAD A 4 hour ride out today with MP3 on constantly. Very easy to manage pause, resume, volume en route even with gloved fingers from the large control wheel and centre button. Haven't use the intercom yet so will report further when out with the good lady wife on her bike. Got totally confused with all the features when researching. Was considering the Scala Q3 team set which. I am sure is a far superior product but this one ticked my 'must have' list and for under £60 for the pair I thought it was worth the risk. I'm aware of the speakers in the helmet as they are a few mm thick but like a new pair of shoes I'm sure I'll adapt. Clarity and volume is spot on, got a bit muffled at higher speed but that's the helmet not the unit. All in all, very simple to understand and operate with the left hand whilst riding.

The main reason is to listen to music, my bike is about the only place I can be without having to answer the phone, including the toilet! Hopefully it will work ok enough for me to compliment/annoy the wife via intercom when we are out together. Seem a better quality so far than I was expecting for £60 for a twin set. They'll probably pack up as soon as they are used in wet weather but worth a punt.