MMRanch wrote on 12/08/23 at 19:22:38:


I have "crash cameras" on Thumper and The Whale.  When I see something interesting on a ride, I will note the time (and try to remember it) so I can extract it from that video on the SD card and cut out the good parts.  Like this:
https://www.facebook.com/neal.achterhof/videos/3478861622237825

MMRanch wrote on 12/09/23 at 07:33:20:


I would have rated it "G" = suitable for all audiences!


I had a GoPro a few year back - somehow it disappeared and cannot be found anywhere.  I am not sure if I lost it, left it in a camper we sold (I thought we had everything cleaned out), or somebody got into my motorcycle trailer at a campground an stole it.  I have waited a year and it has not shown up anywhere in the house or garage.

The GoPro is a bit fiddly with settings and the microphone is not all that great at speed.  You can put some foam over the microphone to help reduce wind noise - the newer models may be better than the model I had.  The newer ones also have better stabilization, and can even be set to keep the horizon parallel so you can lean over in a turn and the image stays level and shows the lean angle!

You can buy a GoPro Subscription for $24.99 for the first year, it is double that every year thereafter.  It has some very nice features that may be worthwhile if you use your camera frequently and like having videos.  One nice feature is that after you have been on an event and taken a series of videos......they will assemble a video by combining little sections of the footage and putting them together.  You can then choose the music and other features of the video....it makes you look like a real professional when you send it to your friends!  The subscription also sends your videos directly to the CLOUD for storage.

Owning/operating/editing videos from a GoPro is a bit of a technical issue and does require you to learn a lot about how it operates.  I can post videos that I have taken - but editing and cutting and combining videos is not a skill I have learned.  Learning how to do that is going to take a considerable amount of time away from my other projects.....it is a hobby just like fishing or hunting or riding - it is not something you will acquire without some time and dedication.  Learning to operate a GoPro takes quite a few hours of study and practice......learning to use the editing programs is incredibly time consuming if you are not already familiar with that kind of work.  Those 20 minute Harley videos that are edited, narrated and fun to watch likely took them 30 hours to put together!

When I first got my GoPro we had a slow internet service.  Downloading 10 minutes of video to YouTube could take 6 hours or more - I had to do it overnight while we were sleeping.  They got rid of the copper telephone lines in our area and hooked us up to the fiberoptic lines....we now have much better internet speed.

When you post your videos on YouTube - the quality of the video will be reduced and your nice clear videos will get a bit grainy.  There are settings you can change when you post the video to ensure that YouTube does not lower the image quality - I did not know the trick when I posted my videos and they are not good quality.

Here I am following Stewmills and MMRanch on the Tail of the Dragon 6 years ago.  You can see the poor image quality that YouTube applied to the video....and hear the crappy sound that happens without any kind of a wind sock around the camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-2kNjUHsE

Well it wouldn't be much of a video is the camera fellow passed everyone and just had open road ahead of him!

Yep - the torque of a good running Savage is definitely a lot of fun on the Dragon!

Getting 70mpg with a Savage that has a windshield and saddlebags and a stock low 8.5:1 compression piston is not likely a reality.  I did get a bit over 70mpg on my Cafe' bike just once - I was riding with some folks who slowed down for every corner, never went over the speed limit and never passed anyone...and most of the trip was back roads at 40mph or less.  You are not a fan of working on carbs and swapping jets or slide needle washers......it very well could be that some jetting changes on your bike could have improved things.

Modern motorcycles and cars get good mpg by using higher compression ratios  (Royal Enfield Meteor 9.5:1, Honda CB500F 10.7:1, BMW f800 12:1) - and the fuel injection is able to keep the fuel/air mix at an optimum ratio for efficiency......and then change the ratio when power is needed.  These higher compression ratios and leaner mixtures are also a reason that motorcycles are using water cooling, as the increased compression ratios and leaner mixtures can make engines run hotter.

A Savage in a good state of tune will likely be able to obtain around 60mpg when ridden conservatively - I get up near that number when I ride the back roads around my house.  When I have been chasing you and Oldfeller around the mountains I have dropped down around 48mpg a few times!  Your friends on Fuelly get horrible mpg on their Savages....I suspect they go on short rides around the city from the looks of their horrible mpg!
https://www.fuelly.com/motorcycle/suzuki/savage_ls650

If you put in a performance cam and use the available power - most likely your mpg will drop a little bit.  The cam allows the engine to move more air through the engine - and more air requires more fuel....and the result is more power.  It may not be a big difference - but there will be some change if you are using the extra power.....at steady state cruising on flat ground there may be very little difference - but using the new power to climb a grade and muscle out of the turns will use more fuel.

     

I've been ridding the 650cc a little .   The first tank full returned 63mpg , but the engine is new and feels really tight.  The 350 felt the same way for about the first  4000 miles.  
Any body else buy a new one and experienced the same thing ?

I can sleep on a cot if need be  , they weigh 21 pounds each .

https://www.sportsmans.com/camping-gear-supplies/sleeping-gear/cots/teton-spo...

I'm ridding with Lancer ... so ... I could put two of them on the bike since I'm not bring a tent .    Then Lancer's truck don't care if we have cots or not ?

Two cots on rear seat , Duffle bag and Sleeping bag on top of them.   Not too aerodynamic but it could work .  

I've got 6 of them cots in the attic (leftover from Boy-Scout days) , but I can't haul but two on the bike.  ????   I guess I don't have enough Asian blood in me ?  

I'm in "Awe" with those folks and how much they can pile on !  

I'm with you fellers !   and the Ranch house is OK  with me.

Only 5 beds and eight people ... we need two more cot people.

I used to have a folding bed till some oversize little brat tried using it for a trampoline .   Maybe someone else has one ?

Anyone have an air matrices , come to think of it I have a twin size ... maybe I should just bring that instead of lugging a cot around ?   A 12 volt pump and matrices is a lot lighter and smaller than a cot.