Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Motorcycle TFT Dash Tech. Is it good or Bad?

A recent post from Warren at Motorcycle Paradise found here (wow that was back in may last year) inspired me to write this post where he stated his next bike will have a carplay/android compatible dash. I thought I'd elaborate on my own experiences.

My 2020 Africa Twin comes with a Touchscreen TFT dash which is Apple carplay and android auto compatible, just connect your phone via cable. Honda appear a little behind here as Ducati have wireless /bluetooth connection built in and you don't need a cable. But my bike is now 5 years old and tech advances at a quick pace.


When connected on the Africa Twin there is one button press with your left index finger to change between the main speedo screen and the android auto app screen or maps.

Main Screen


Android Apps screen

The first year trying to use it was an absolute nightmare with the screen constantly dropping out from Google maps/waze and it would flash up that you are disconnected and you cannot connect again, unless you stop the bike and press reconnect. That's absolutely ludicrous. Every time the phone loses connection to the screen you cannot reconnect unless you stop. Why? What the absolute fuck Honda? It's a simple press of the button to reconnect FFS.

I'd finally realised that the disonnections were occuring due to the cheap cable that came with my phone and purchased a better quality cable with dedicated power/comms capability. Things went much better from that point but not perfect.

Road riding after getting the new cable generally went quite well with the occasional drop out. However when riding off road I found quite a lot of drop outs. Why, not sure sometimes I think because I went out of a mobile service area. Pressing on the cable where it went into the phone caused the screen to drop out also. So I think the vibrations from riding offroad causes the screen to disconnect and then you can't connect again unless you stop, again ludicrous. Is this because the phone port and cable get vibrated loose?

Another downside is that when riding in the rain water got into the charging port on the phone and the phone shutdown, so you can't use the phone out exposed if riding in the rain.

All of these problems would be easily overcome with a wireless connection. Honda messed up with this. I decided to order an Android Auto wireless adaptor from Amazon.  Looks like I'm trying to fix a tech problem by adding more tech, yeah ironic right. It was only $50 so not much lost if it doesn't work. Perhaps if there is only 1 usb connection instead of 2 then there might be less connection dropout issues.



Mounting the wireless dongle to the bike was easy. Plug it in and stick the 3M tape down and done.


I can report that the wireless dongle works great, with no drop outs at all no matter what surface I'm riding on.. You just have to make sure that your phone is plugged into power otherwise your phone will go flat from using the gps & apps after not much over an hour, especially when using spotify. I've also noticed when using android auto if your phone battery is really low because you forgot to charge overnight running all these apps will flatten the battery even plugged in if its below 25%. If it's fully charged it will hold it at 100% all day but it doesn't seem to add charge whilst using the apps. When not using the apps it will charge the phone back to 100%.

Whilst making the video below my bro called me. I spoke to Dave on the phone via the helmet comms. I wanted to test it as I'd moved the left ear piece of my Cardo in the helmet as it was very hard to hear anything on the left side. I moved it forward and down.

Phone screen



ANDROID AUTO APPS
The best part about android auto is that it gives you the ability to add apps to your dash that doesn't come with the bike. You can purchase apps to use or just use free one's as long as they are android auto compatible. This gives you multiple apps to do similar jobs. I have Google maps, Waze, Gaia maps and Mapz.cz all loaded to my dash that I can swap out when I need them for a different purpose. This is great and something that a purchased GPS device doesn't provide. This will be the future of motorcycle dash technology within the next 5 years I think.

One other problem with the Africa Twin screen when using the maps in the middle of the day the screen isn't quite bright enough and can be difficult to see what's on the map. I think a GPS screen would be brighter.

I see now there are a few android type devices now on the market like the Chigee AIO-5, Carpuride and the DMD-T865X Nav Tab (8″) which is developed especially for motorcycle navigation. You need to have a map subscription which is 19€($32 Aus) for 12 months which is much cheaper than gaia maps. The DMD2 allows you to download maps for whatever continent you happen to be visiting so would be great for Warren at Motorcycle Paradise who travels to every continent. The Chigee looks a little on the small side for my liking the DMD2 looks good with an 8" screen but is priced fairly high. The DMD2 app doesn't support Android auto so I can't put it on my Africa Twin screen but I can use it on my phone, obviously they want you to buy their touchscreen device.

It also seems much easier to load and use gpx files on these android devices, I hear a lot of nightmare stories about garmin devices not loading gpx files. I loaded some gpx files I'd made in Gaia straight into DMD2 app and it just worked.

Spotify App screen
If using a comms headset you can quite easily connect to spotify and listen to tunes. I find this to be great when your on boring highway stretches. Its very easy to navigate and usually starts as soon as I connect my headset.




Gaia Maps screen
I like Gaia maps for adventure riding, it shows gates on tracks etc. You can easily select a gpx file, or make one on the fly. Only downside is its $90 Aus a year so you can't download the offline maps on the free app. I usually hover over the entire area the night before so that maps get loaded into cache on my phone. Yeah I'm a cheapskate but it works, unless I forget.


Waze App
I use this when traveling along highways and byways as its similar to google maps and also has public interaction to show police/speed cameras on the side of the road, it shows the speed limit where you are and your current speed, very handy.




Turning off ABS, Traction Control and Wheelie Control on Africa Twin
Another benefit of the TFT dash tech is the ability to change all the electronics settings that your bike has. You have to be stopped to do the following which isn't the best, but distraction is also bad. Rather than writing how to do it a video will explain it much simpler.


There are so many different options for changing settings within the TFT screen it is good. You can change the power modes, the screen layouts, and set even the service intervals. These are specific to the Honda TFT dash, as each bike will have its own setup settings pages.



Conclusion

Is a TFT dash worthwhile?

When the TFT dash tech is working properly it's great.  When it's not, it's a distraction nightmare that can be dangerous taking your eyes' off the road for long periods of time trying to get stuff working. Honda's implementation of it on the Africa Twin leaves a lot to be desired and needs a lot of refinements to make it more user friendly. But I think this will be the future of all motorcycle dash screens within the next 10 years.

I've decided that when it stops working to not faff around with it and not stop and fix the tech issues and just change back to the speedo screen on the dash and ride normally until some point later when I come to a stop and then figure it out. That's damn annoying an defeats the purpose of having it. It's a real love/hate relationship, love it when it's working and hate it when its not which is far to often for my liking. Things were much simpler years ago before the tech and the issues that come with it. 

I think I'd prefer a dedicated GPS on the dash that didn't drop out. Depends on where your riding is going to take you. If it's all road riding based and not likely to lose phone reception then the android auto is great. Off road with little signal not so much. You can purchase Gaia maps and download offline maps to counter this but again that's yet another subscription to the list at $90 per year or dmd2 map subscription for $32 per year. I hate subscriptions, there are so many its like death by a thousand cuts. Subscription prices alway rise after a couple of years so once you are hooked they keep pumping up the price.




Thursday, January 9, 2025

Therapy & Maintenance

After our snowy ride my bike was in dire need of some maintenance. The chain was so badly stretched it was making clanking noises on the last day and was well beyond the red zone on the adjustment and it was still loose.


The rear tyre was also cactus, with less than 1mm of tread left. I got 12,256 kms from the Motoz Rallz which was less than the Motoz Adventure and it was noisier than the Adventure also, so I went back to the Adventure tyre on the rear.

I had two weeks off at christmas so it was time to get cracking. So the day I went to do it was surprise, surprise going to be 41°C. F*ck this heat. There's always tomorrow.

So next day I picked up a new rear tyre from Tyres for Bikes at Dural and started the process of replacing the tyre and the chain & sprockets. Plus the bike needed a good wash. 


I replaced the rear Tyre and rear sprocket first and put it back into the bike and then gave it a wash. 













I was fearing the front sprocket change as I remember how hard it was on the R1, but in actual fact is was quite easy. I Jammed a screwdriver through the chain from underneath, then undid the nut. I came off quite easy. I was surprised to see that it was heavily rust stained. inside where the shaft contacts the sprocket. I put the new sprocket on with some marine grease to hopefully stop the rust. We shall see how it looks at 60,000kms. Front drive sprocket 54nm. Rear drive sprocket nuts 100nm. 


I'd bought the new DID 525 Chain and sprockets before the trip but thought it better to put them on after the trip. The chain didn't get oiled the whole trip as it was coming off anyway. I'd bought a chain breaker previously when I was at AutoOne and time to actually use it. I ground the head off the pin with a grinder The chain breaker made quick work of pushing the pin out.



I was wondering what the f*ck a x-ring chain actually is. To the naked eye the x-rings look quite like o-rings, but on closer examination you can see they are actually made in the form of an 'x' or a '+'. Probably easier to say x-ring than +ring.

Using the chain breaker to make the new link was also easy, I've not used one before so I searched the University of  Youtube for knowledge. Pretty easy really once you know how. I used the rivet link as I don't trust using the circlip link. 


This is the 4th rear tyre I've put on the bike now with 33,600km on the dial. I would have been on the 6th on the R1 by now. Hopefully I'll get another 15k from this tyre.

I must say that working on the bike was quite therapeutic, not as good as riding it but just spending time on the bike was good for my soul. A well earned beer was required during after a job well done.


Scottay & Joffrey and I went out for the last ride of 2024 just to test out the new chain and tyre. How good does the bike handle with a new tyre eh?




Cheers Everyone hope you had a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Sadly it's back to work....

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

My Favourite Photos of 2024 - A Photo Challenge

I thought I'd kick off the year with a photo challenge. Post up your top 10 motorcycling photos of 2024. They could be places you have visited, your bike at a spectacular location or anything motorcycling related. Photo must be taken by you and tell us why you like them, heck even non motorcycling photos would be fine. Post away everyone.


Here are mine - in no particular order;

1. This first photo was taken at Rnd 4 of the Australian Superbike Championship at Morgan Park, QLD. Max Stauffer during qualifying got caught out by the cooling track temperatures and had a massive crash at turn 3 where his bike flipped the fence and almost went into the crowd.



2. This next photo was taken on the Turon Gates road, I love the road snaking away down the hill with the mountains in the background.



3. This photo was taken in the Capertee Valley on the Glen Davies Road. The Capertee Valley is the second widest canyon in the world and its right on Sydney's back doorstep.


4. This next photo was taken at Rnd 2 of the Australian Superbike Championship at Sydney Motorsport park. Bryan Staring#67 during the Q2 qualifying at night under lights.



5. This next photo was taken on the Wisemans Ferry Road just north of Sydney in our Autumn. Its such a beautiful ride year round but especially in Autumn when the leaves change colour.



6. The next photo was taken at McKillops Bridge, Victoria on our last group ride in November 24. It was such a hot day and we had lunch under the shade of the tree's overlooking the Snowy River.



7. This next photo is why I like Adventure riding in Australia. There are so many great places to see away from the main roads. Exploring these with good mates is great fun.



8. This photo was taken at Sydney Motorsport Park at the St George Motorcycle Clubs Summer Night Series 4 in January. Glenn Columbines R1 was not in a good state after this incident. Glenn was ok thankfully.



9. The man, the myth, the Legend,  Joffrey. Every group needs a Joffrey in it. If for nothing else but the entertainment value alone.



10. My last photo was taken as we made it to our accomodation in Majors Creek just on dusk during one of our adventure rides that went a little pear shaped during the day.


Happy new year everyone and have fun with this photo challenge. I know I did, it took a while to whittle it down to just 10 photos. Post up yours in the comments below and put a link on your blog.




Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Snowy Mountains Ride Part 3

 Day 5

After a great cooked breakfast we were heading across to Adaminaby then onto Kiandra. It was nice and cool this morning in the mountains, but was expected to get into the high 30's today.

I was enjoying the ride on the Snowy Mountains Highway far to much to stop and take photos, just about every corner you come around is something interesting to see. You could literally stop for photos every kilometer. I did stop for the views over the valley, how could I not. It was spectacular. 






We stopped at the usual pull off area at the Kiandra turn off. A quick break and photo stop before we keep going. 



Today we were heading down Elliots way. It's been so long since I'd been down here I couldn't remember the exact route. It's pretty easy though as its left to cabramurra or straight. There was another thousands photo opportunities' but again was having too much fun to stop except the odd spot.


We stopped briefly at a lookout over one of the Snowy Hydros spillways. Such spectacular scenery up here in the snowy mountains. Is it any wonder we keep coming back up here every year.


There's a bridge at the bottom centre of the photo below over the Tumut River. We would drop down there just past Tumut 2 underground power station. The road follows the river gorge along for some time crossing several bridges along the way. I think riding down is better than riding up as you see more of the scenery going down.


After 4 or 5 bridges we start climbing back up the ridge line, with even more spectacular views over the tumut river as it flows into the Talbingo Reservoir. Simply Stunning scenery.



We stop in Tumbarumba for lunch at the bakery. No pies for us as everyone gets a salad roll. It's damn hot again now as its heated up into the mid thirties. After lunch we crack on into the heat along the Rosewood raceway, no pics today and then into Tumut for fuel. We didn't hang around long due to the heat. Most of the guys turned towards Gundagai, Stu and I went via the Brungle road, but instead of turning left and going over the bridge at the murrumbidgee we went straight and along Gobarralong  Rd which was superb riding after about 15km of tar it turned to even more superb gravel road through lush farmlands. 

We came into Jugion via the Bundarbo Bridge and looked for a beer at the Sir George but it was closed so we high tailed it along Mcmahons reef rd on some more backroads to Galong and then Boorowa. It was so hot I was sucking down the water on my camelbak it was now 38°C and we were cruising on about $130 just to get there quicker and out of the heat. The first beer at the Boorowa hotel didn't even touch the sides. It was good to be out of the heat. The Boorowa hotel is always a good stop, good rooms, good food, cold beer and friendly staff. They also now installed Air-conditioning in the rooms so that was a bonus and did we have them cranking. 

DAY 6

After a late one last night everyone was looking a bit second hand, me included. I walked across the road to the bakery for the last breakfast pie and coffee of the tour. We took the road across to Crookwell where half the guys head north on the Goulburn Rd to Bathurst and Scottay and I decided on heading across the Blue Mountains via Shooters Hill. Only took 1 photo today, wasn't my day for it.


 Geoff legged it back up the freeway and with hindsight I should have done the same. Scottay and I continued in the 33°C heat up and over Shooters Hill, the temp dipped back to about 30°C before we came into Cox river road where the temp soared to 35°C and it was only about 11:30am. Yeah it was hot.

Scottay got stuck at some roadworks lights but I didn't stop until Bell where I waited for 10min. When he didn't come I decided to keep going as its too hot to sit here, so continued on then got stuck at more road works. I emptied my camelbak sitting in the sun for 10-15m before the traffic started moving, I could feel my energy levels getting sapped by the heat as I left my jacket completely unzipped now. 

 I decided to stop at Bilpin for an Apple pie & a coffee for a pick me up. I also downed a 600m gatorade in a matter of seconds. I felt dehydrated despite the fact i'd drank 750ml from my camelback, a 600ml gatorade and a coffee(not the best choice as coffee dehydrates you). About 1hr 20m later I got going it was tough going from the air-conditioned cafe out into the heat again. 

Mountain Bells Cafe - Photo from previous ride

As soon as I dropped down the eastern escarpment into the Sydney basin I was blasted with heat, the dash read 39°C and now I was really cooking moving in slow stop/start Sydney traffic, plus the engine heat coming out onto my legs.

I had to stop at McGraths Hill at the petrol station as I was not feeling well, light headed I thought I might pass out. I downed 2 bottles of water and another gatorade in no time at all and dumped water all over my head and shirt. I had overheated, I had to get out of my gear so stripped down and put on my shorts and thongs. I spent the next hour standing in the Air conditioned servo trying to cool down. I couldn't finish riding in the heat, as I decided it too unsafe and had to ring my wife to come pick me up, needless to say there was a lot of eye rolling and a bollocking followed by the silent treatment. I left the bike in the servo and came back at 9pm to get it. It was still 29°C at 9pm it was a scorcher of a day.  

Not the graceful finish to the ride I was hoping for and a valuable lesson for me riding in such heat with adventure gear that really doesn't breath and is really made for winter conditions. Make sure to keep your camelbaks fully topped up, not half full like an idiot. Will definitely have to look a bit harder at what gear I have and simply not ride when it's so hot.


Cheers and thanks for reading.

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Snowy Mountains Ride Part 2

Day 3

We hit up yet another bakery but too late, as a group of enduro riders were at the bakery before us and they were now out of pies. Lucky they made a pretty mean Bacon & Egg roll.

We filled up and were looking at doing the loop ride over Hotham and back via Falls Creek. Mr Speedy had looked at the Vic roads and found out that the Hotham road was closed this morning due to a sinkhole forming under the road. So plans changed and we took the Omeo Highway then turned onto the Bogong High Plains road and decided to come back via Mitta Mitta.


As the main road was closed this was one of the only roads in the area you could get through on so we took it extra cautious today. Just as we reached the first set of bends on the Omeo highway we came upon a road train carrying sheep heading the same direction we were going. Pure madness to drive that thing on this narrow twisty road. It took quite some time to safely get past him too. He was doing about 20-30kmh taking up both sides of the road. I was hoping that no bikes would be coming the other way, it could have been nasty.

We stopped at the Blue Duck for the others to catch up and regroup after the truck. It took a while.





From here is was a short ride to the Bogong High Plains road turn off. I stopped to direct the traffic up the hill and take a couple of pics, so I went from first in the group to last.



Mr Speedy

I pulled over as Joby had stopped on the side of the road. Apparently he'd been stung by a wasp that went in his jacket. Thoroughly checking it was gone we continued along. Joby riding the T7 was pointing at the beautiful scenery, when next minute he was riding off the road on a corner into the scenery. Luck for him there wasn't a drop off and it was a flat bit on the end of the corner and he quickly re-entered the road without incident. Still scared the shit outta me as I wasn't expecting it, I bet he needed a change of underwear too.



We were soon in Falls Creek where some big mt Bike event was on. There were busses ferrying loads of bikes up the hill. We saw lots of bikes riding up the hill, too much effort in the heat coming up. It was quite pleasant at Falls Creek but as we dropped down to Mt Beauty the heat quickly rose back up to about 35°C again. All the traffic seemed to be going up the mountain, leaving an empty open road in front with a couple of traffic lights. Was an excellent run down the hill.




I stopped quickly in Mt Beauty to fill my camelbak up with water and we kept going across the back roads and around to Mitta Mitta where we arrive at 1:15pm. The temp out on the plains was up in the mid thirties again so a stop at the Mitta Pub was welcomed. Some of the lads got a bite to eat, they said up to 1.5hr wait time so I just had a couple of lemon squashes down by the river. The food came out in about 30m so it wasn't too bad. People were swimming in the river out the back of the pub. 




There were 2 motorcycle cops sitting under the tree across the road from the pub pulling bikes over. As we were about to leave they left before us and went the opposite direction thankfully.

As we climbed up into the High Country on the Omeo Highway the temperature again plummeted from mid thirties down to 25°C which was quite refreshing after riding in the heat. We fueled up before the only servo closed for the day, not sure if it opens on sunday. A couple hours later Stu & Craig come riding in after their trip on some dirt roads. We stay another night in Omeo at the Golden Age Hotel. As I skipped lunch I splurged tonight on the steak, not cheap at $42.


Day 4

We were looking at going across Limestone road and heading up Barry Way to Jindabyne which is all dirt. Checking the weather radar there was a large band of heavy looking rain coming over that would cross our path at some stage. I was hesitant to go Barry Way if it was going to rain, my rear tyre was nearly shot. I should have replaced it before leaving. Thinking a near worn-out tyre will make it might work but it also changes your mindset of where you can ride also. False economy, I'll have to not do that again.

Stu, Scotty, Zammo & Joby took the Barry Way route while the rest of us went back up Omeo Highway, because it was just awful having to do another 105km of twisty mountain road. We again came across a road train filled with sheep on the exact same section heading up the mountain again. Same as yesterday took awhile to get past safely, I was worried for the bikes coming the opposite direction as he was also using all the road. He shouldn't be driving a semi up this road. It was much cooler today at 18°C. About 2/3rds of the way along we got a couple of spots of rain on the visors but that was it. The rain seemed to be to the south below us and heading east.

We stopped at Mitta Pub again to regroup. As we pulled in under the tree, two police Highway patrol officers asked us for our licenses. Yeah they were 2 different guys than yesterday.



We continue our way to Tallangatta for a refuel and then take the granya gap road again a lot of fun before we take the Murray River Road. I stopped for a quick photo at this lookout, I didn't know there was this cool wedge tail eagle statue here as we've always gone past.





It's another warm 30°C day today, not as bad as the previous two days though. The camelbak is a god send on these rides. Continuing along we pass Tintaldra and then all the way into Khancoban where we stop for a bite to eat.  

Lunch stop in Khancoban

The weather was holding out and appeared to be going far to the south of us. Looks like we could have done the Barry Way without any issues. Oh well, we have had some great riding on some of this country's best motorcycle roads so there's always next time. 

We left via the Alpine Way another great motorcycle road. We came upon a Harley that was taking up the whole road. This sparked something in Joffrey's head and he immediately had to overtake him under any circumstances. He really does hate those harleys. We blew by and took off leaving the harley rider far behind. When we came back up the range to Dead Horse Gap we pulled over to regroup and take a snap. The last leg into Jindabyne is only about 40 minutes, then its beer o'clock.







Our accomodation for the night was the Banjo Paterson Inn. Fantastic food with cooked breakfast, 4 star hotel rooms and it's a nice spot for a beer out the front overlooking the lake. Everyone was enjoying a chat and the icy cold beer. Yep this is what it's all about.