Drifter Gadgets

[chief]

Maps and compass skills are good to have. I once had over 100 maps for areas I worked and hunted. I could use a compass and come within 100yds of my Target. I also used a slide rule for complex engineering calcs.

Well, I use calculators and gps' now. On the bike I have discovered more backroads and off the beaten path locations since I started using  gps' than I ever did using a map.

And... I cannot recall a single time where sitting on the side of the road out of gas was fun! Maybe its just me...lol

I once belonged to an unnamed mc that would fine members who had electric starters. Old school is fine... but I prefer a combo...like with the drifter.... old plus new.

And, lastly... touring is much easier ... I can change my destination at 1 am w/o buying a new map.!!

[Vinnie]

I have a Scotty pocket watch in a pouch velcroed between the fork bolts. It works good!  I also went to Walmart for my nav system.....Its called a map!   And to figure out where you are you just stop the bike, open the map and then figure out where you are and where you wanna go....Although it dont tell me how much the gas is or where the next potty stop or motel is but thats part of the fun riding. Finding new and interesting places!

Thats the purist in me......I dont have heated hand grips or a heated seat and NO radios!  My biggest gadget is my windshield.

[topherloaf]

I just use a standard wally world digital clock that I epoxied some screws on and put that on my windshield bag and a little digital compass mounted to my handle bars. 

[aclone]

I have a Garmin nuvi 780.  I like it because I can download routes from my computer to the garmin, using the harley ride planner.
Its mounted center of the handle bars and I have an aux power plug mounted on the windsheild bracket. ( the mount for the garmin was bought on ebay for around  $7.00).

[pcarrell]

I was thinking of adding some stuff too, but I figured I'd try to reduce the load on the system as much as possible first.  Figured that converting all the lighting to LED's would help the most.  Then I've got more power to play with.

[chief]

I like to keep my Drifter pretty much gadget-free... by gadgets I mean mp3 players, gps's, radio equip, intercom, etc.

Don't get me wrong, these things are useful and server their purpose. But on my drifter they look out of place and definitely not "vintage".  I do have a Goldwing with every gadget imaginable and they are definitely useful when touring.

That said, I am going to start adding some gadgets, but will be making them... ah... invisible as much as possible. Right now, I use my iTouch... in my pocket, for music. I want to add a GPS... likely a small garmin, and maybe a two-way radio or the like.

The electrical system of the Drifter is NOT the best for gadgets, so controlling what is used and how it is powered would be a serious consideration.

So what gadgets have you added and how do you have them mounted and powered?