Another New Member - Edinburgh

[Coops]

Guy

Hello & Welcome to the forum

Looks like a bit of a bargain, hope it's as good as it looks -- it should be! Enjoy!

[jonboy]

hi guy and welcome to the forum.

jon.

[b1k3rch1ck]

Hiya

Welcome to the fourm

Chick

[Guy]

Thanks for all the extra welcomes.

Well, I've had the bike home for a few weeks now and I've managed just one 40 minute ride out on it on one very cold but sunny afternoon. My initial impressions are that it is MUCH more bulky than the NTV & Revere's and it's no where near as "flickable" in the twisties although with cold roads & patches of damp/frost in the shade I wasn't going to explore the handling too far ! Suffice to say it didn't feel anything like it's predecessors in the handling stakes and tended to wallow a bit under power out of corners although that may be improved with some rear suspension adjustment.

Performance wise, it's probably about on par with the older bikes. The extra weight obviously cancels out the power hike but then I wasn't expecting it to be much different .

Plus points though, it is very comfortable & it's tractable, the increase in torque from the larger capacity F. I. engine is noticeable. The screen was pretty good at keeping the wind blast off me but even at it's highest setting there was still quite a bit of buffeting around the top of my helmet at motorway speeds. The storage capacity (even without the large pannier lids fitted) is superb and it's great to have a decent size removable top box as I'm always wanting to carry stuff about with me. The heated grips work very well and combined with the fitted wind deflectors (which do work) this ensured that my hands were the warmest part of me during my 40 minute ride out in sunny but sub zero temperatures.

So, I have to say that riding the Deauville does not feel much like it's predecessors. It actually reminded me more of riding of a BMW 1200RT ( It doesn't do that BMW rock thing at tick over though !) in terms of riding position and bulk although I know the latter not to be true it still felt bulky in comparison.

That all said I do like it !

Anyway, with the weather being so poor up here I decided to do some modifications to the bike to get it the way I want it and I've spent a good few nights out in my warm garage adding bits and pieces.

Here's a list so far and my first impressions of the items I've fitted....

1. Fenda Extenda

This was the first item I bought, I had one on my old NTV and already knew the benefits in keeping the front of the engine and radiator clean from road dirt and I would say it is a good buy !

2. HID Headlight

I bought a kit from http://www.hids4u.co.uk and fitted it to the dipped beam replacing the original H7 bulb there. Fitting was fairly straight forward and took me just over an hour from start to finish. I removed the dash panel for easier access to the headlight and also the right hand storage box to allow mounting of the ballast box on the plastic tray beneath it inside the fairing. This was my preferred location as it's fairly waterproof in there and also within easy reach of the headlight.
This is by far the best modification I've done to date, the difference in light output has to be seen to be believed !

I know the arguments that have been advanced (on here) about dazzling other drivers with these kits and perhaps not passing M.O.T.'s with them and for that reason I marked the beam pattern on a wall with the bike on the centre stand before doing the mod and compared it after the mod and found them to be the same. Admittedly though the non focused light what I would call scattered light was slightly greater but I'd be very surprised if this would be dazzling to oncoming motorists. I'll test this further on the roads though. I'm fairly confident my bike will pass an M.O.T. with this mod on it ( when it needs one) but if it doesn't as the main H7 plug is still retained unaltered in the wiring system ( the HID unit simply plugs into it) it's a simple 10 min job to replace the original H7 bulb and connect it up. I've left the main beam as the standard H7 Halogen which is really only used as a headlamp flash now given the incredible increase in light from the HID unit !

* Subsequently read this on the hids4u site FAQ which would confirm my own findings:

Can HID be retrofitted to non-projector style headlights?
Yes they can. The beam patterns created with our quality HID kits are identical to the halogen bulbs. Some poor quality kits have poor beam patterns and can cause a lot of glare. We are always working to improve the HID kits and we were the first to offer the H7R bulb that was designed for the non projector applications. Our H4 Bixenon bulbs are also the best in the world and produce the best beam patterns with no glare

* See: viewtopic.php?p=69890#p69890 for an addition to this mod.

I'm really pleased with this mod and all the extra light for less power consumption (35w) I would definitely recommend it !

3. Waterproof Speakers

I bought a set of these on ebay ( http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0136989010 ) and fitted them in behind the dash to the existing speaker mounts using four small strips of aluminium and 8 self tappers to hold them in place. It's quite obvious how to do it once you see the speaker mounting points. I coupled this up to a small amplifier also bought on ebay ( http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0147400556 ) which I have mounted under the seat with the rubber band holding it in place where the toolkit goes. The toolkit is now in the tail piece. I ran the speaker cables back to the amplifier and took the power for the amp directly from the battery through a fuse to a rocker switch mounted in the L.H. lockable storage box and a small green LED which I mounted in the dash (to remind me to switch it off). The input is via a 3.5mm stereo jack which exits out between the locked storage box lid ( I cut a small notch in the side near the rear ) and up to my dash mounted IPOD or FM Radio.

This mod works well, music can easily be heard via the speakers on the short blast I took immediately after fitting this up to 60mph and maybe beyond ?? while riding. Some may consider this anti-social (and have already said as much on other threads on here) but I believe if used responsibly it is a great way to enjoy music while riding (or stationery with the ignition off if you wire it up as I did) and it certainly works well !

4. Magnetic Dash Mount

Having wired up my speaker system I needed a way to have my ipod and/or radio accessible while riding. Ebay was my friend once again and this is an amazingly simple and effective solution to mounting them ( http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0288370359 ). It consists of a small magnet into which a little metal plate is held magnetically into a recess. there is a button on the side of the mount that helps to release. the plate. You stick the plate(s) to any item you want to mount to it ... simple !
I attached the mount to the L.H. vent above the speakers with two cable ties. The cable ties cannot be seen and the result looks good and is a very effective mounting system . In this position my IPOD or radio is easily accessible and does not get in the way of any other controls.

I would recommend this cheap but effective mounting solution.

5. Autocom 300 Duo Super Pro Avi & Bluetooth Dongle

Because using the external speaker system is not always sociable and because I also wanted to be able to use my Mobile phone whilst riding and being able to talk to your pillion can sometimes be a good thing ... I took advantage of Autocoms half price offer and bought one of the above kits. The main unit is mounted under the seat in front of the audio amp on the plastic tray there and held in place with the supplied Velcro tape. I don't really need to say much about how good these systems are as it's been covered elsewhere on this board but they are good and the bluetooth link to my phone works like a dream once it's been paired. I connected the music input to this system so that I can hear music / radio through the headset as well by using a "Y" connector from the input to the speaker system. This means I can either have music via the external speakers, both (though why that is useful is beyond me) or the headsets only depending on what I want.

This system works very well indeed and it was fun setting it all up !

6. 12v Power Socket

I fitted a 12v "Cigar Lighter" type power socket to the inside front edge of the R.H. lockable storage box. This is run back to the battery through a fuse giving 12v supply available at anytime. I can use it to charge my IPOD on the move, charge the bike battery from a charger, and at a future date power my TomTom navigator.

My verdict, this is a useful addition with various functions.

7. Skidmarx Lower Fairing

I bought one of these after seeing a photo of "Celtic Tigers" bike with one fitted on here. I think they improve the look of the bike but I don't think at least from looking at it, that it will have any real practical effect in relation to keeping the rain off .... time will tell ! The fairing kit cost £150 and was easy enough to fit and although I personally don't think it looks as though it's original equipment I do like the totally faired in look.

My verdict, is it worth it ? Difficult one this if you've got a black bike then probably yes as you don't need to paint it but for any other colour well, it cost me £150 on top of buying it for paint & spraying so £300 all in is quite steep but yes, I like it and life's too short & you can't take your money with you !

8. Puig Large Screen


As I said earlier, my one complaint with the standard screen on the DV700 is the buffeting around my head at motorway speeds. I had a good look at screens for the DV700 and this one looked good. It is large and will no doubt be interesting in windy conditions ( I like sailing ! ) and quite a bit taller than the standard screen. I've just finished fitting it today which involved cutting away part of the bottom of the screen because it fouled the mirrors when lowered to the position I wanted. I've not had a chance to try it out yet but I suspect it will do the job.

I bought it on German ebay where it is a little bit cheaper ( http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0025695572 )... canny Scot me or maybe just mean !

That's it so far but I reckon that's probably just about got the bike to the way I want it.

Edited to add:

I think the following two mods will be my last !

9. Handlebar Risers

I've fitted some 25mm handlebar risers from http://www.bstprecision.co.uk/ . I think it depends on how you find the current DV riding position as to whether these will be of interest to you. I am currently experimenting to see if I like them or not. They take about 10 minutes to fit and come with their own longer stainless steel cap screws. My bars raised the 25mm without any need to touch any of the cables or brake pipes but I suspect any higher lift will require some cable/pipe adjustment.


10. Kenwood Tk-3201 Bike to Bike Radios

I've bought two of the above radios for bike to bike communication. This is "work in progress" just now, I have the bike battery extender which will allow me to power the radio from the bikes battery. My initial thoughts are to semi permanently mount the radio on the bike so that it's connected to my autocom but only active when I switch the radio on. I'm currently looking into the possibility of mounting it inside the L.H. rear pannier on the back edge. I would like to get a BNC connector for the aerial and remote mount that somewhere externally where it may receive better signals.
As I said "work in progress" at the moment.


I'll put some pictures up once my camera batteries have recharged for anyone that's interested in seeing any of the mods.

Crikey that was a bit like war and peace, I didn't realise I'd wittered on so much !

Cheers !

Guy

[Guy]

Pictures ....

[Tezza The Grey]

Someone has far too much time on their hands
Unfortunately , the pictures are only showing the left hand side, possibly too large a format when posted?
Nice work al the same

[Guy]

Yeah, sorry about the photos. They were externally hosted and I've now resized them to fit.

Just to add, having fitted the HID conversion and being delighted with the massive increase in light output, the piddly wee positioning light was ruining the whole experience with it's sad wee 5w yellow glimmer amongst the mass of blueish white rays coming out from the front of my bike. (I'm sure they'll melt the road surface ! )

The solution is here: LEDS, 360° Xenon White T10 w5w 501 sidelight BULB ( http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0116884408 you get two bulbs so one as a spare) for anyone else going the H.I.D. conversion route on a DV700 and being annoyed at the positioning light glimmer. This compliments the HID light and blends in perfectly.

Access to the positioning light involves removing the black plastic cover just below the headlamp by removing 4 screws, then the positioning lamp rubber holder just pulls down out of the reflector, not difficult at all.

Happy again !

NOTE: The LED will only work one way round (it is a diode after all), so test it before reassembly & if it doesn't light up turn the bulb round in it's holder.

[Gibbon]

As stated elsewhere i am a mechanical incompetant. What is the positioning bulb and how will I recognise it when I look at the lights from the front?

Many thanks

[Guy]

If you look through the glass on your headlight (the lower one) with the lights off, you will see a little bulb sticking up right at the very front behind the glass.

That is what is called the "positioning light" or sometimes "running light".

Me ? I'd call it a sidelight, which it probably isn't !

Hope that helps.