Daves Blog

Here’s a couple of pics as promised of the Skidmarx Double Bubble screen…

This screen really does seem to work well. Much better than the stock screen it pushes the air over and around the rider and to some extent the pillion too.

My Skidmarx Double Bubble screen arrived on Thursday morning and I fitted it inside of 10 minutes. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I take some but it looks good. The fit doesn’t appear to be as good as that of the previous Vario screen as the very front of the fairing, where the inner fairing meets it, hasn’t clipped back together as well as it should. I’ll probably take a closer look sometime and see if I can’t work out what’s amiss with it. It also wasn’t supplied with an edging strip, but the one off the Vario screen seems to work well although it’s about an inch to short. I’ll get something better when I can.

Yesterday, Good Friday, I got to go out on it a couple of times and can already tell that it’s a marked improvement over the Vario screen. The weather really wasn’t good with strong winds gusting up to 40 to 50mph, but even in these conditions, riding into the wind, I can tell the screen is much better. The buffeting I’d get on my helmet and shoulders has completely gone and the noise inside my helmet is half what it was. Meike riding pillion also commented that it felt smoother to her, and so it seems it works as described.

The first trip in the morning we went to Salisbury to meet up with some friends for coffee. The wind was generally behind or from the right, but even at 70mph, there was no accidental cutting in of the intercom which is a good test for helmet noise levels. On the way home though, riding into the wind, it was cutting in above about 60mph. Later in the day I went out on my own, and it didn’t cut in accidentally once at any speed no matter which way the wind was blowing which shows a great improvement of the screen but also proves when it does cut in it’s coming from Meike’s helmet. Will have to investigate that a little more.

I’m hoping to get more riding in this bank holiday weekend, but the weather is pretty awful. As I type this it’s just 4 degrees and I’m watching hail stones falling outside. Yesterday on my second ride, I rode through a real downpour in Marlborough. In fact all riding all day was on generally damp and mucky roads and the bike has never been so flithy as it is now. I lubed the chain as soon as I got home, but the bike will have to wait to be cleaned until the winds have dropped. At the moment they’re forecasting snow for tomorrow but Monday looks like it should be OK and the best day out of the four. I hope so.

Update: I had a closer look to see why the inner fairing wouldn’t go back as far as it should and realised it’s because the Skidmarx screen is much thicker than either the stock or Vario screens. Therefore when fitted, the front fixings can’t push the inner fairing as far forwards as it should go. Carefully with the use of a Dremel and file I made the front tabs thinner, about half as thick as they were, and now the screen and inner fairing has fitted much better.

It’s Wednesday and since late on Sunday we’ve been battered by 50 to 60mph winds almost non stop. They’re supposed to be all gone by this evening and it can’t come too soon for me. I don’t mind rain or even snow but strong winds to me are the most destructive of all weather conditions. I wouldn’t normally be out on either bike during the week with working from home, but of course this has absolutely guaranteed it - they’re wrapped up safe and warm in the garage, so long as it doesn’t get blown over.

I ordered a new Skidmarx Double Bubble screen for the Bandit last week. I have to wait a couple of weeks for it to be delivered but I’m hoping it will be better than the Vario screen I currently have fitted. The Vario is definitely better than the stock screen but I’ve always felt there’s room for further improvement, particularly with the noise levels in my helmet. On the Goldwing, where I’m shielded by it’s fairing and large screen, my helmet, a Schuberth C2, is very quiet but on the Bandit, the wind noise is bad enough to need ear plugs. Double Bubble screens are supposed to work by splitting the air and pushing it to the sides and are meant to help with any buffeting for the pillion too, so I’m looking forward to trying it.

I’ve also been in touch with WABAM as I mentioned in the last entry. My observer, Martyn, is sure I don’t need to book for the full course again and so will just rebook for my IAM test and have a couple of refresher/check rides with him. We’ve agreed to wait until April for some lighter evenings and I’m looking forward to it. Last time I took my test I only had the Goldwing and while that shouldn’t matter, it is a big and heavy bike. This time I will use the Bandit which I hope will make it easier for me to demonstrate my knowledge and especially implementation of the system.

This weekend, on Sunday, we’ve planned to visit my parents in Kent which means taking the car and it’s a shame because both WABAM and Wiltshire Bikers have organised rideouts planned. Mind you, the weather forecast is for fairly consistent rain and so it might not be as much fun as it could be.

Roll on summer.

Having discovered what a great tool the Zumo 550 is I decided it would be really useful to have it on the Bandit as well and so I purchased a second motorcycle cradle and power lead from eBay. As I hadn’t used any of the original RAM mounts on the Goldwing I would be able to use them on the Bandit.

It also meant that it would be most useful to install an intercom on the Bandit so I’d be able to hear the Zumo as well as see it. As we already have J&M Elite 584 Series headsets in our crash helmets for the Goldwing, it made sense to get an intercom that would work with these headsets.

The obvious contender being the J&M Integratr IV intercom. So I ordered one from J&M in the USA. My intention with this is not to fit it to the bike as such but rather use it in a tank bag.

I still have my Bagster City Road tank bag from when I had the ST1300 and so it made sense to get a Bagster tank cover for the Bandit… and so you guessed, I ordered one too. Having had experience of their coloured tank covers before (and the awful colour match) I decided to order a black one. With the J&M Integratr IV I also ordered a 12V adapter cable for the power and the appropriate lower cords for our helmet headsets.

Amazingly, it took only 2 days for the J&M kit to arrive and so by midweek I had all the pieces.

To fit all this I was going to need power for the Zumo which I could take from a light feed probably but I also now wanted to fit a 12V accessory socket somewhere to power the intercom. This needed to be somewhere easily accessible. I looked all over the bike and at the circuit diagrams to find a supplied accessory lead but as it isn’t a Goldwing, Suzuki don’t provide one. I therefore decided to run power straight from the battery but as I wanted it to be ignition switched, through a relay triggered by the lighting circuit.

With the inner fairing and screen removed I found there’s plenty of room in the sides and front of the fairing to fit everything. I decided to fit the accessory socket to the inner fairing panel and held the relay in place on the left hand indicator stem bolt. All items were installed with individual plugs and sockets (a lesson I learnt from the Goldwing). The power lead from the battery plugs into the lead already installed for my Optimate charger which means it’s fused and with the back of the tank raised a couple of inches, it was easy to feed it underneath and cable tie it to a few existing pipes and cables to stop it from flopping around.

With all the cables routed correctly and everything wired up I then set about fitting the tank cover. It will take a few weeks for the fit to be perfect as it moulds to the tank but at least I won’t be scratching the tank with tank bags and such. It doesn’t look bad. However, I then discovered that my Bagster City Road tank bag is not really a good option because of where it needs to sit. It ends up so close to the bars, and especially my newly fitted Zumo, that it would be almost impossible to turn the bars left. Fortunately I have an Oxford magnetic bag that is smaller and fits well.

The set up works OK, but it’s not perfect and I’m already thinking I might have bought the wrong intercom. The Integratr IV is certainly a versatile unit with many connection possibilities, but I’m now seeing the inconvenience of having to disconnect it and lug it around whenever we stop. For some people I’m sure that would be just fine, but I think in hindesight I’d like a more integrated solution.

I should have slowed down and read more! More research would have paid off. I’ve since discovered that J&M make lower headset cords to plug into Autocom intercoms and I’m thinking this would have been the much better route to follow. An Autocom unit is small enough to be fitted to the bike semi permanently and I think this would have been a much much better solution.

As usual, watch this space.

Here’s how the Bandit looks today…

Sporting it’s new Blue Flame exhaust, Suzuki hugger and MRA Vario screen.

The hugger was an absolute doddle to fit with everything going together just as it should. The MRA screen was pretty straight forward too but did involve taking the inner fairing and clocks out. All pretty easy if you don’t count the 30 minutes I spent searching for a dropped bolt lol. I found it eventually.

The Blue Flame exhaust looks and sounds the business. It gives the bike a lovely deep tone without being overly loud and that’s with the baffles in and the lower blanking plug. However, the centre stand bracket on the link pipe definitely isn’t in the right place and being just a welded on flat plate, it’s too weak as well. The centre stand when parked is higher than it should be and the support bracket bends under the strain of the stand slamming into it when you take the bike off the stand. I’ll let Blue Flame know these thoughts and see what if anything they do.

Overall though I’m very pleased with it and I reckon that’s it for adding bits to the Bandit. I may at some stage add a Bagster tank cover as I have a Bagster tank bag from my ST1300 days, but I’m in no hurry for that.

Patience is a virtue right? Whatever that means it looks like I need more of it…

I spoke to Nigel at Blue Flame and he was as helpful as always. He was absolutely convinced they had sent me the right link pipe and after explaining it’s not supposed to have a gasket for the collector box, I had to concede it’s possible. He asked me to take some photos to be sure and so having removed the stock can again, I put the Blue Flame one back with everything loose, just as I did last night. For some reason though, perhaps because I pushed the can further down the link pipe, I got everything to line up better this time. The stop bracket for the centre stand is definitely not in the right position or orientation when the link pipe is in it’s best position for fitment though. However, on closer inspection I’m sure I can bend it so it is in the right position. It also looks as though spending some time with the can support strap, and bending that to the same shape as the can would also help.

The loose bit of metal inside the can was no surprise to Nigel and he suggested that it will find somewhere to sit and then get trapped by the expanding wadding as the can heats up. Also, we should have received the blue logo as a separate item and as we didn’t he’s sending a new one.

So, as this doesn’t use a gasket between the link pipe and collector box I’m going to get some exhaust sealant and also spend some time on the centre stand stop bracket and can strap before fitting it all permanently. I think the finished item will look superb.

Parcel Farce managed to find me today (despite no changes to my address) and so I also now have my MRA Vario screen to fit.

Amazingly at about 5.00pm my Blue Flame Exhaust was delivered. Amazing as I hadn’t received the promised despatch email and so didn’t even know to expect it. In fact I’d just emailed them for an update when it arrived.

So, first things first I removed the standard exhaust can and then fitted the Suzuki Hugger. That was very easy and straight forward. All the holes lined up as you’d expect and the finished result is spot on. It took me 5 minutes to remove one of those unpeelable stickers that they seem to insist on using, but apart from this fitting took all of about 10 minutes. Pics to follow in next batch.

Then I thought OK, let’s fit the exhaust. On opening the box the first thing that struck me was the complete lack of instructions. It was well packed although you had to guess which bit of the packing contained pieces and which didn’t. The entire package consisted of the exhaust can, the stainless steel band to support it and the link pipe with band clamps either end. No gaskets and no nuts or bolts. Of course without instructions it’s impossible to know if anything else should be there except that Blue Flame told me they supply everything you need.

The next thing we (Meike was watching) noticed was that the flame on the Blue Flame emblem wasn’t blue as in all their pictures but rather just plain titanium as the rest of the can. Hardly critical, but a disappointment all the same. Then, when handling the can I heard a rattle. Obviously a shaving or some other piece of metal had broken off inside the can and on the wrong side of the tubes to be able to shake it out. Every now and then I could get it caught somewhere where it wouldn’t rattle, but I consistently managed to shake it loose again. I can’t imagine for a second that it would stay still under riding conditions.

Never the less I proceeded to try and fit it. Next though was a surprise. Not only was there no gasket for where the link pipe joins the collector box but neither is there room for one. The link pipe was in fact quite a snug fit over the collector box outlet pipe. I was planning to use the gasket from the stock pipe but there’d be no room for it. Again, no instructions, no way to know what’s right. It seemed though that the fit was close enough for the clamp to clamp up there. It did make me wonder though if I should use some exhaust assembly compound or something - it was obvious Suzuki had on the OEM assembly.

OK, so with the link pipe fitted in the correct position (obvious by the centre stand support bracket), it was now time to fit the end can. This is a very snug fit over the link pipe and in this instance I think that’s right but again could probably use some compound. Now the real frustration started…

It was absolutely impossible to get the exhaust can and steel mounting band to line up correctly or even anywhere near the mounting point. With the link pipe set right for the centre stand bracket, the exhaust can was sticking out at an angle and the hole in the mounting band at least 3cm below where it should be. It needed some not inconsiderable force to get the mounting band hole to meet the hole in the rear footrest hanger and this was only possible after twisting the link pipe so the centre stand bracket was now not in the right place. This still left the exhaust sticking out at an angle and not parallel to the bike as expected. I gave up and refitted the original exhaust.

Considering this is an exhaust that retails for over £250 I expected much better and at the very least some instructions. However, other faults to one side, I firmly believe they supplied the wrong link pipe. It simply doesn’t make sense that there’s no room for a gasket and the angle that the can ended up at can’t be right either. However, add to that the loose metal rattler and the lack of a blue emblem and I’m really disappointed.

I’ve emailed Blue Flame of course and will talk to them tomorrow and of course report back on whatever course of action is decided.

Bandit Stuff

The postman arrived this morning with a large parcel that I fully expected to be the screen I ordered yesterday on next day delivery. To my surprise though it is the Suzuki hugger I ordered last Friday… great service. Still, for that price (£205.00) including delivery it should be. To be honest, while I know it’s going to look great and serve a practical purpose, I can’t help but feel it’s a rip off. I could have bought one much cheaper I suppose and painted it myself, but it is a perfect colour match. I guess that’s what I’ve paid for.

I am expecting the MRA Vario Screen to arrive today as well so I’m going to have plenty to do. Pics, notes etc. once fitted.

Update: Just saw the status on the Parcel Force web site go to: Undeliverable. Unknown or Imcomplete address. I called them and of course the address is spot on and perfect. Quite frankly I’m a bit fed up of this happening with us just because we live in the middle of the countryside. I’ve lost track of the number of times delivery people claim to have left a card here when they haven’t even been near the place. It’s too far out and they’re just too lazy. Anyhow, they assure me it will be delivered tomorrow now. More like Parcel Farce.

Some Blog Stuff

I’ve been using the aLinks plugin for Wordpress which has been a real time saver. Basically it allows you to set key words that are then automatically linked in your posts. This morning however I noticed that the admin screens had almost ground to a halt. Disabling the aLinks plugin got performance back to zippy. I noticed that I can’t get to the aLinks web site and so I think this is somehow related. I hope everything comes back to normal because right now the blog is devoid of links other than on the dedicated pages. It would be a real chore to have go through post by post and put the links in manually.

One thing I’ve noticed riding the Bandit is just how many dead flies my visor and jacket get splatted with. Within a few miles of leaving home on Friday night my visor must have had over 100 flies on it. I’ve also noticed how much noisier my helmet is without the Goldwings screen to divert the wind blast. In fact that alone made me use ear plugs for the first time which certainly did a lot to help, but almost to the point where they were blocking out too much noise.

Someone on the SOC (Suzuki Owners Club) forum posted about the MRA Vario screen for the 1250 and while it’s certainly a little unusual, I can see why it might work well. It’s adjustable for different conditions etc. and so I’ve just ordered one.

It certainly got some glowing reports on the forum and so I hope it’s as good for me as others. I’ll be sure to post once it’s fitted and I’ve tried it.

No, it’s not a term for someone with an unhealthy admiration of Suzuki Bandits or for that matter a Dick Turpin fancier. It’s apparently the correct name for a sort of rear mudguard that ‘hugs’ the back wheel and stops tons of muck being thrown over the rear shock and linkage etc.

A number of companies make them but I just ordered the colour matched one made, or at least supplied, by Suzuki themselves. Hopefully they have stock and so I should get it in the next few days. If not, I was told it could be a few weeks.

Still waiting for further news on my Blue Flame exhaust too… gee, I hate waiting lol.