I’ve been going through some of my old videos lately so I can move them over to Vimeo, a much better video hosting service than YouTube in my opinion. The quality is tons better. I just uploaded a video I shot down in Oregon in 2006.

On a previous trip to Oregon, heading back to Washington with a riding friend from Canada, we went through this beautiful canyon on our way to The Dalles. Dave was limping along on a patched tire and we were enroute to a bike shop to get a new tire installed so he could get home. It was cold and raining and because of our situation we really couldn’t enjoy this wonderful stretch of road the way it deserved.

I went back down solo on a later trip to the area and retraced our route to locate that canyon. Turns out it was Fulton Canyon just east of The Dalles. This video was a quick run I did up and back through the canyon. This was shot on my old video rig. I really need to get back down there this summer and shoot it with my new gear! Sounds like a good excuse for a trip to me!

The projects have been stacking up on the bike lately! I can tell that touring season is nearly here. During the winter, I squeeze in a day ride here and there, but any long distance multi-day stuff waits for better weather. In the mean time, upgrades to the bike pass the time…

The next project is installing a wiring harness to power the Garmin StreetPilot 2610 GPS I just picked up for the bike (and the car). The factory refurbed units were a deal I couldn’t pass up. I ordered a Garmin factory motorcycle kit with the GPS, which includes a mount for the GPS (which connects to a RAM base) and a fused wiring harness. The bike end of the factory wiring harness ends in bare wires, so my first decision was whether to direct wire it in somewhere or make it modular. I prefer modular connections where possible, so I decided to fabricate a coupling that would allow me to tie in to my bike’s power using a 2-conductor SAE style connector. My ZZR-1200 has a set of unswitched auxiliary power leads under the seat that are terminated with spade style connectors from the factory. Phase one of the project then, was putting together a small adapter that would plug into the bike with spade connectors and provide an SAE plug to connect the GPS wiring harness (or anything else) into.

Phase two was terminating the Garmin wiring harness with a matching SAE connector. I kept the factory inline fuse as insurance.

It was dark by the time I got done this evening, but I plugged everything into the bike just to see if the GPS would power up, and wonder of wonders it actually worked the first time!

The next step will be routing the harness from underneath the seat up to the dashboard where the GPS will mount on a stem stand, but that will have to wait until tomorrow when there is more light to work by!

The latest project, installing a new (to me) Ventura Luggage system on the old Zed (ZZR-1200). I pulled the tail off while I was test fitting the bracketry. Someone with small hands could probably fit it without but it was easier for me to just take it completely apart and have unrestrained access. It was cold and gray today, soon as the sun comes back I’ll move the bike out into the yard and take a shot with the luggage installed on the racks. This will give me better capacity on trips and still leave my passenger seat open (or allow me to carry my old bags in addition to the Ventura bags).

Impressive commercial for the Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle produced in India.