The local Kawasaki dealer sponsored a ride today as a fund raiser for the local Boy Scout campground. Pretty decent turnout, considering it was snowing/sleeting/raining yesterday. It was supposed to be cloudy and 50 with a 70% chance of rain...but it wasn't! About 50 bikes, 150 miles, only ran into rain once for a short time. We went North a little, and I took this pic. from the parking lot of one of the bar stops. Lots of different bikes, Victory, H-D, Kaw. Honda, Yamaha, one 1973 airhead Beemer, and one Drifter...mine...
So far, I've never run into another drifter at a ride unless I planned to meet someone with one there. It's tough being the most stylish one at the meet, huh? :D
;D
Very nice, we have lots of that white stuff still on the grond, but soon it will be gone for a few weeks and then start again......
Troll I wanted to thank you for sponsoring the boy scouts and doing that run.Have a few guys at work who's kids are members of this organization.Thank you!
I myself did a run yesterday to sponsor a young girl who is very creative in the art world.However she lacks the overall credentials in regular school class's to qualify for a scholarship.Didn't know this young lady one bit but,her parents did this huge write up and like most of us Americans are struggling just to put food on the table.Good turnout,only Drifter there as well.Sorry no pics forgot the phone.
Today I'm doing another run for Veterans at a nearby VFW.I'll be sure to remember the phone for pics to follow later on tonight.Very cloudy out at the moment so hopefully it won't rain,we,'ll see...lol.Ride safe fellow members!
Here's a link to a part of the Charity run I did yesterday. I believe I have figured out a pretty good way to mount the camera. Sometime during the ride, something splashed up on the lens, so the video is not really clear...sorry. This is a section of WI 108 going south through the Mindoro Cut (google it). We had 2 novice riders in the group, and I warned them about the last leg of the ride...later I talked to them about the more technical part of the ride. I do this road 5-6 times a year, anyway..so I'll redo the video with a clean lens.
https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/GoProVideoClips#5874506311587935554
Great poker run for VET'S today.Believe the final count for registration was 46 rides.Mostly Harley-Davidson but I did meet another Drifter rider....how cool.
Troll there was 2 riders who had the Go Pro mounted on their helmets.One individual had it on the very top/center and the other right around forehead height.
(https://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1277.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fy484%2Fkingkongvs%2FIMAG0872_zps68a4805b.jpg&hash=b41d907c80317b6f5b4ebb91b2ad971a80a8cd9e)
I have a helmet mount, and it's great, but...Having it on the bike gives a different perspective. The lean angle of the bike is not evident with the helmet mount, but the pictures are clear. I want BOTH!!! Always want something I can't have...I'll figure it out...I'm getting closer.
Troll, I mounted my GoPro on the left turn signal stem (Used the roll bar mount from GoPro) It really shows the lean angle and there's no vibration, I had to run the camera in upside down mode but it flips the playback right side up. You can see the location in the photo.
Why didn't I think of that? Thanks a million...now I have to go find Gibbs and have him smack me on the back of the head....
;) Bake nice you could find some scuffy old dude to sit on your bike while you took a nice picture of it ...eh!
Troll... Love the Gibbs reference... I'm sure there's a rule for not thinking about that! lol @ RatMan Scruffy? Moi? Thanks for noticing hoser... Take off eh! lqtm
Ok, I went out to the dealer and bought a handlebar/seat post mount for the camera. They didn't have the roll bar mount in stock. I put it on the turn signal stalk, and went for a ride. The results are very encouraging. The jello effect is minimal, and there are no funny clicking noises. The vertical line on the right is the edge of the plexi lower..Not sure they actually do anything, so I took them off. The ride is up Bliss Rd. on Granddad bluff. Most of the turns are marked 15 mph....yeah, right. Very happy with the results. Thanks for the idea. I think I'll put it on the other side so it will pick up the exhaust sound for the next test. So far this is the best motorcycle point of view movie I've been able to get. I think I can make it work the same way on the W......
https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/GoProVideoClips#5875316896210757682
That's really great, Troll. If you took off the lower, you should lose most of the undulating phenomenon, and it will get even better. I'm also anxious to see a pic of the mount. Good stuff.
Troll that was really good and so nice to see that you follow the speed limits so well, a nice sound track some good music would really make it fun to watch.....make more so I can go for long rides this winter.....
I'm just getting started...I can hardly wait to tackle the North Georgia Mountains...I've about used up every curvy road around here.
How do you find roads with hardly any cars on them? :o It must be nice.
Sometimes you get lucky. no traffic is only a matter of good timing. Living in the wilderness has some advantages, but I sure miss home...Long Island, N.Y.!
::) DC...buddy, there is a stretch of road I take to visit my sister highway 41, on difrent occassions I have travel the length of that road and seen perhaps 2 cars on it other then in the small towns I pass through. Once I was on it after midnight and never saw one vehicle on it all night. On that road this month in one week...
Troll I final had the pleasure in watching your video with the new location mount,sweet!!I'd have to believe you narrowed it down and sticking with this setup.That looks like a fun road to travel on.Here in town we have a road that I traveled for the first time on the bike called,Winterton rd.It's probably a 9 mile stretch with hair pin turns and such.The fun part of it all is it is both up and downhill so occasionally you get what we describe as belly whopper feeling when it goes uphill and then that quick drop.The unfortunate side is it is a high travel road to cagers as well but, all and all still a blast!
Still working on it..I have to wait 'till tomorrow to try out something different. If I can just get rid of the jello effect...I don't know where in N.Y. you are, but when I went to school at SUNY New Paltz, there was a road outside of town called shivertown road..It was (mainly) straignt, but if you got up to 50 or so, you could get airborne...
Ok, experimentation is over. I have the perfect set-up. No jello effect, smooth video, no clicks, etc. I'm considering starting a thread just about this. I'll post pics of the mount, and a link to the new video. The Video takes time to process, it's in 1.85Gb chunks. WAIT TILL YOU SEE THIS!!!!!
>:( well I am waiting ........well i am waiting.....well I am waiting ........well i am waiting.....well I am waiting ........well i am waiting.....
Troll I'm not far from New Paltz at all,maybe 30 min give or take.I have friends out that way who also ride so I'll adventure that road in the future.It's been yrs since I was in those neck of the woods...LOL.I can remember going up there to Joe's for nickel night,whole nother story ;)....Like Ratman can hardly wait to see the new video.
Quote from: CDNRatMan on May 08, 2013, 10:27:40 AM
::) DC...buddy, there is a stretch of road I take to visit my sister highway 41, on difrent occassions I have travel the length of that road and seen perhaps 2 cars on it other then in the small towns I pass through. Once I was on it after midnight and never saw one vehicle on it all night. On that road this month in one week...
How I wish it were that way around here. Most of our roads are more like a demolition derby.
Soooo. I put up a small edited sample of the results: https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/GoProVideoClips#5875965303864030898
I'm seriously considering starting a thread with all the mounting options I tried and discarded. I never thought that this would work at all since H-D riders usually consider the engine guard bar to be more like an electric foot massager rather than a stable platform. It's raining here, today, so I'm going to install my amplifier. I'll take lots of pictures of both the mount and the amp...after all, I don't want anyone to think it didn't really happen.
need to make seperate threads for this and then the signal light issue too...lol....and yes pictures...
now that was so cool and the picture is really good no bad lot less shaking and movment fun to watch.....I'll need a bout 6 months worth to make it through the winter........
Troll really like your vids but dude you need to change your tires and make them WWW's that would look so nice.
Michelin doesn't make a white wall..I have enough trouble keeping the paint clean (except when it rains), so no WW for me! Here's a shot of where I wound up putting it. I had really wanted it higher up for more of a rider perspective, but this will do...for the time being. I wrapped the bar with friction tape first, to keep the mount from slipping. Before you ask...friction tape, that old fashioned black fabric stuff kids would wrap around the handle of a baseball bat (or in John Hopkins case, Cricket bat...maybe Ratman's too)...not electrical tape.
OH Troll my dissapointment is so high right now.....friction tape....
Quotehandle of a baseball bat (or in John Hopkins case, Cricket bat...maybe Ratman's too)...not electrical tape.
FRICTION TAPE is used on the blade and handle of a HOCKEY STICK........any kid from the snow belt knows that ....man......
Ok keep your BBB tires then.....personally it gives a nice veiw of the road, higher would give a nice perspective but were can you mount it higher unless you fabricate something......
Sorry, forgot about hockey...lucky I remembered baseball and cricket!
Good tunes,Troll!I like that view setup,it's kinda like riding in a side car :D
I didn't know they still made friction tape. :o Good thing they do.
I got a roll last year at the ACE hardware store. I knew what I wanted, but the old guy there was the only one who knew where it was...
This is the same old road, but the lower camera mount makes the trip a bit different. I got stuck behind a Honda, so I could only go as fast as it went...probably no faster that about 30, or so....
https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/GoProVideoClips#5876477206370004258
I really like that one nice and fun looking, going to join them all togather to make a nice long ride for the winter........
Friction tape is readily available here DC......
Looks good Troll.I never thought about video taping a ride before but,you sparked my interest in this ::)
Hey Ratman maybe this winter you can rotate the drifter around the house for these videos.spare room one day sitting on the bike,bathroom another sitting in the tub making believe your in the side cart... ;D :D ;)
Video and sound is almost as good as being there again...I'm pretty satisfied with the quality, now. I'm taking out the W tomorrow with the camera mounted on the turn signal..just want to get rid of the jello effect. I have a helmet mount, and that's clear, but the idea of the bike POV intrigues me...https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/GoProVideoClips#5818273500335631026
Good example of jello.......
If I get enough video, I'll be busy all next winter editing. 1.85 Gb=17 minutes at this resolution. I have a 32 Gb card in the camera.
So DC you want pictures of me in the sidecar and in the spare room riding...eh ...that can be done easy enough and I can share with PC and D1....
That is really cool. The turning spokes make a pretty cool visual effect. The perspective angle is great too. If you could only get the full curve on the drifter fender... be even cooler. But it's way cool even without the full fender. I like it. If I had a facebook page (which I don'), I'd like it on facebook.
I took the W out for some exercise today. I mounted the camera on the right turn signal. You can see the edge of the bikini fairing in the picture. The last time I tried to do video with this bike, the jello effect was terrible. This time it's quite a bit better. The 360 deg parallel twin has very different vibration characteristics than a V-2. I'm trying a different configuration tomorrow. Since I started this thread, we have had 80+ deg. temps. and frost warnings...rain, and today 45 mph winds, 50 deg. and ice pellets :o
https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/GoProVideoClips#5876836579485286082
awesome choice of music.........and it was fun to watch.....
Here we go again. https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/GoProVideoClips#5877237596560161042
I'm still experimenting, so I get it right by the time I get to Drift-In...This time, a different combination of mounts and high up on the center of the windshield. Video resolution changed from 1080 TO 720. Now, just have to do something about the click noise...I'm running the open back on the housing, so I'll try the solid one next...All this testing has one really good side effect. I get to ride to test the setup! The click noise is NOT there when I have the camera helmet mounted......
now that one I really like, that is an awesome spot, now some good music....
I can how ever see PC sitting behind you smacking your lid and screaming FASTER FASTER.....
Quote from: CDNRatMan on May 10, 2013, 19:39:17 PM
So DC you want pictures of me in the sidecar and in the spare room riding...eh ...that can be done easy enough and I can share with PC and D1....
:o ;)
Quote from: CDNRatMan on May 12, 2013, 22:23:04 PM
I can how ever see PC sitting behind you smacking your lid and screaming FASTER FASTER.....
I don't ride 2up with dudes....... 8)
YES!!!! I think I'm finally satisfied with a mount system. I believe I found the click noise, too. I pulled the headlight out and the relay I installed several years ago for the fog lights was bouncing around on the metal plate that attaches the headlight housing to the mount.
The mount has just the slightest bit of play in it, so I got some furniture slides, and stuck one on the windshield, pushed the camera down tight against it.This is a road you haven't seen before...it's called Moos road. I remember one winter, driving down this road, and at the last arrow/90 deg. turn, there was a Cadillac stuck up against the sign, sideways...
https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/GoProVideoClips#5877543209508647362
The "sound track" is the stereo I put on...
Well Mr. Troll just IMHO that was by far the best one yet......really nice.....
thank you. Remember, I have all the raw video saved, like 30 Gbytes so far, It takes quite a while to post on Picasa, well video, anyway. They convert the clips to flash for you.
Wow, Troll, that was awesome! What a difference securing the camera tightly to the bike makes. The jello effect is all but gone and I love the angle, right up front, exactly what the driver sees, way cool! I didn't realize that Spring comes so late there. It looks like the leaves are just starting to emerge. Is that right? I guess I need to get out more! :o You should start a library of your favorite rides around your area at different times of the year and post them in a separate film subject heading on this site. Maybe other people will start posting as well and then we would have a library of great trips all over the US. Short vids like that are so great to watch. I may have to invest next year in a camera like that and try that as well. Is that a GoPro camera? Keep up the great work!!!!
That's great work. I, too, like the driver's perspective the new mount location gives.
Quote from: Troll on May 09, 2013, 12:22:00 PM
Michelin doesn't make a white wall..I have enough trouble keeping the paint clean (except when it rains), so no WW for me! Here's a shot of where I wound up putting it. I had really wanted it higher up for more of a rider perspective, but this will do...for the time being. I wrapped the bar with friction tape first, to keep the mount from slipping. Before you ask...friction tape, that old fashioned black fabric stuff kids would wrap around the handle of a baseball bat (or in John Hopkins case, Cricket bat...maybe Ratman's too)...not electrical tape.
In Wales the game is rugby..It's a bit like what you call football but the men who play don't wear all that armor and don't mind a bit of blood or a kick to the head in the scrum..not to mention a thumb up the jacksie..
Scrap the black fabric tape and ask your local hardware store for some self amalgamating tape..John.
Yes, it's a GoPro II. I won it last year in a photographic scavenger hunt put on by the local Kawasaki dealer. The GoPro III is supposed to be better, but the free one is best, so far. I have lots of hours of raw video stored...winter project to sort and edit. Now that I have the camera mounting sorted for the Drifter, I have to get the same result from the W. For my next magical trick....By the way, there are lots of these cameras on the market now a days, but some of them use a proprietary video format. The GoPro uses MP4 which is pretty standard. I have a friend who bought one (I don't know what brand it is) and he has to use their software to edit and view his movies...
Self amalgamating tape, huh?.. I had enough trouble finding friction tape.......
That looks like a winner to me!