Friday, May 17, 2013

Other items that I use (not really mods)

Travel on the NTX is easy. Some items that make life easier are listed below that I have found over years of travel via motorcycle. There are other options, some better, but these are some ideas that have stuck with me.

Key condoms:
These silicone rubber caps are soft enough to fit over most keys, but also won't fall off like fuel line (what I used to use). They keep the tree of the bike from getting all scuffed as well as paint on other bikes (like the Griso)

McMaster Carr part # 92805K11

Helmet lock:
There are other types of helmet locks out there, but there are none better than free. Attending a golf outing where the event was giving away a bucket of these cable gun locks. Many of the counties in Michigan give them away for free at the police station. They are strong and rubber covered. Lock the helmet to the bar (with hand guards or behind the brake master cyl). Will also fit through the D-ring.



Wind protection:
Many NTX owners taller than 5'0" suffer with windshield issues. Some buy replacements or use add on devices. I like the adjustable type like the Wunderlich deflector HERE
It works great at reducing wind noise while still being able to see above the screen.

Seat comfort:
The NTX seat is one of the best stock seats made...ever. There is always some room for improvement on long rides burning that 8+ gallon gas tank. The quick and easy option is the Airhawk seat pad. Putting just enough air in it to keep pressure points to a minimum can double your ride time (it did on my FJR). The pads shown here are the small cruiser and Pillion pad. A new version called the 'R' looks like it may be an even better fit for the NTX HERE


Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Fog lamp fuse holder

The stock Stelvio NTX comes with Aux fog lamps by Hella which are great for making a wide night time view. One downside is the lamps have known to short out the 12 volts supply due to the wiring in the lamp rubbing on the outer housing.

The lamps are not fused by themselves and can blow a 30amp main fuse that can leave you stranded. A quick solution is to fuse each lamp at a lower level which will protect the larger 30 amp fuse.

The wire in question (shown below with red jacket) will short out on the housing if the wire is not coiled up in the rubber boot (NOT in the lamp housing!).


Making an in-line fuse holder required locating the connector by following the lamp wire back up along the frame. The parts required to make this setup are as follows:

Sumitomo 2 pin male and female locking connector part number SC1102 can be found at cycleterminal.com

Littlefuse inline fuse holders #0FHM0001ZXJ can be had on Amazon or other online places. 

While you are at it, a proper crimp tool for 'Molex' style pins will be required. The cost effective (~$15), yet quality crimp can be had with the Waldom part number W-HT-1921-P tool.
Jameco linky
Newark linky

Using a short piece of MTW wire to make up the non-fused portion, the parts look like below:

Completed fuse holders (with heat shrink tube holding the wires together) are shown below. It is important to make sure you fuse the (+12V) line and pass through the ground. One fuse for each lamp. 
For my bike, I added another connector on the bike's right side after the fuse (same side the lamp is connected to). This extra connector goes to a 'Flash2Pass' garage door opener. I can flash my fog lamps twice to open the garage door. Photos below do not show the extra connector. 

The completed fuse holder put in place with cable ties to keep it neat and out of the way.

An amp check of a working factory lamp shows a draw of 4.8 amps each lamp. A 10 amp fuse would be more than enough to protect this lamp circuit and prevent being stranded with a blown 30 amp main fuse.

This is what a quality Molex style crimp looks like: