Solo trippin' on a Buell Ulysses...WARNING, loads of pics...

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Re: Excellent ride report...

FondaHonda said:
I am so inspired...I could even consider looking at a Buell as a next bike...think of all the advantages...after all it is a big twin...annnnd...it isn't a Suzuki...What more could you want?? All the criteria for a decent bike :D

What do you think Pete? Maybe you want one too??

Great stuff...How much is a return trip to the ol' USA...Buell hire and a good map...could be better option than South Africa...2008?

Are you there, Pete???

:lol: :lol: No comment !! :lol:
 
T

tonye

Guest
tonye said:
glitch said:
Would be best to have something adjustable to quickly mount to the bars of any bike (with bars/ not clip-ons)....

I've got a mate who has a mount that works well, mounts to his R1100R Beemer, I'll chase it down for you.

Got it... :lol:

It was a RAM Mount.


http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/RAM/

He ordered it from the States and has had no problems with it.
He uses a fairly large professional style digital SLR style camera and it works well.


TonyE
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Gotta read this story again, soonest !!...in one hit, rather than dribs/ drabs.
It's just about too much of a great thing.
What a fantastic story, the pics are superb and string it all together.
Many thanks for a truly magnificent read !!!
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
tonye said:
tonye said:
glitch said:
Would be best to have something adjustable to quickly mount to the bars of any bike (with bars/ not clip-ons)....

I've got a mate who has a mount that works well, mounts to his R1100R Beemer, I'll chase it down for you.

Got it... :lol:

It was a RAM Mount.


http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/RAM/

He ordered it from the States and has had no problems with it.
He uses a fairly large professional style digital SLR style camera and it works well.


TonyE

Great stuff, Tony. Thanks for chasing it up, this sounds really good and is still reasonably priced.
 

Hytram

<-- now went that way
glitch said:
tonye said:
tonye said:
glitch said:
Would be best to have something adjustable to quickly mount to the bars of any bike (with bars/ not clip-ons)....

I've got a mate who has a mount that works well, mounts to his R1100R Beemer, I'll chase it down for you.

Got it... :lol:

It was a RAM Mount.


http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/RAM/

He ordered it from the States and has had no problems with it.
He uses a fairly large professional style digital SLR style camera and it works well.


TonyE

Great stuff, Tony. Thanks for chasing it up, this sounds really good and is still reasonably priced.

yes..thanks

Pete let me know when you order, I'll go halves in the postage

Marty
 
Z

zrex1100

Guest
If you guy's/girls ever make it to the states, I can show you some great riding on the right half of the country. Hell, I'll head out west again too :) And of course, you can stay at my place.

Pete, thanks again for inviting me over here.

I think someone wanted details about my camera setup. Here ya go:

KKop said:
Dave:

Excellent report! Makes me want to load up the bike and hit the road :)

Anyhoo; could you comment a little on the camera setup? How did you press the shutter button? Simply take hand off bar and press?

Thanks for taking us on your ride.

Rino

Sure. I pressed the shutter with my left hand. I just made sure the camera was pointed in the right direction.


I would also like to see the camera setup with a close up picture if at all possible.
I like the idea and how did you keep the lens clean. :)

I'll do my best to show the setup, but asking me to show it with just "a" close up is a tall order :D . I got lots of those pics too :D

I kept the lense clean by wiping it with Plexus and a rag whenever I stopped for gas. I don't recommend using a top notch camera for this setup, unless you're rich :D . The camera I used is a Kodak Easyshare DX-6490. I've used this camera for that last several years, and it's always delivered better than expected images. My garage wall is full of 8 x 10 photos from the camera. I figured the camera has been in use long enough to demote it to heavy use :D .

One of the first things I bought for the trip was a "camera specific ram mount." It includes the 1/4 x 20 threaded bolt which screws into the base of any camera. Here's the receiver ball mounted to the right side of the handlebar:

96266876-M.jpg


and here's the rest of the camera ram mount setup. Notice, with a ram mount, the camera can be position any number of ways:
96266877-M.jpg


a photo showing the 1/4 x 20 threaded nut on the bottom of my bug infested camera
96266879-M.jpg


normally you would just scew the camera onto the base and be done with it. I remembered a setup I used to use on my 35mm cameras back in the day. It's a nifty little doohickey made by Stroboframe which includes a base with the 1/4 x 20 nut which mounts to a tripod, or in this case, the camera base on my ram mount. The other part includes a mounting plate with a 1/4 x 20 screw, which screws onto the bottom of the camera. Here's the individual components: (this stuff has been sitting in my dresser drawer for years. It works perfectly on the ram mount setup)

96266878-M.jpg


a shot of the Stroboframe mounting plate mounted to the camera

96266880-M.jpg


a shot of the Stroboframe receiver plate mounted to the ram mount, and the camera about to be mounted. To mount, simply tilt the camera back, position the rear of the camera into the receiver, and drop the unit forward. It is held in place by a spring loaded mechanism, which holds the camera very securely. During the trip, nothing ever came loose.

96266882-M.jpg


The camera is now firmly mounted. Notice the lever on the right side of the mounting base has moved to the extended position. To remove the camera, I simply push the lever to the left, and the mechanism releases the camera mounting plate from the receiver. It can be done as quickly so fast. I used this setup to photograph the deer in Bryce Canyon, because releasing the camera was faster than getting my Nikon out of the tank bag. plus the lense on this camera has the equivilant focal length of 38-380mm on a 35mm camera, so I could bring the deer in close.

96266883-M.jpg


The camera turned on with the lense extended

96266888-M.jpg


a view from the front, complete with bugs
96266884-M.jpg


96266885-M.jpg


and finally, a photo of the view from the seat

96266889-M.jpg


The setup worked well, especially when I remembered to clean the bugs off the lense. The lcd display on this Kodak is large and bright enough I could actually see what I was shooting. However, after draining the battery the first day, I shot with the lcd screen off for the rest of the trip. I didn't need to see the photos while riding. Each evening I downloaded the photos into the laptop from each camera. I then viewed the photos on my laptop screen. Honestly, I only got 8-10 "keepers" for every 100 photos I shot, due mostly to motion blur and bugs. This setup is ineffective in low light. I lost every photo riding through Oak Creek Canyon because the speed of the bike created too much blur in the low light conditions. However, 8 or 10 keepers is more than I would have otherwise, and gave me, and the viewers here, another perspective from the saddle that I was experiencing during the ride.

I purchased the Kodak right after it was introduced for over $500.00:eek1

Today, cameras are available that are twice as good for half the price. I still like the Kodak. It's like an old friend.

My other setup was kept inside the tank bag. A Nikon D-50 body and a 17-55 f2.8 lense. The body now sells for $500.00. That's hard for me to digest. A bargain, really. The lense is slightly more :lol3 . That lense kicks photo butt. It's the reason the photos are so sharp. It has nothing to do with me :deal

96292787-M.jpg


Sorry for the long response, but I love talking about photography and bikes :D
 
Z

zrex1100

Guest
And just for the hell of it, here's what I did yesterday :)



scorch said:
Thanks for letting me ride the Uly. It's not everyday poor folk like moi get to ride exotic toys. It's a hell of a bike. I never been on a harley before. It vibrates quite a bit, but not as much as I though.

The bike is fast, but it's deceivingly fast. You never know how fast you are going, but it moves. It does nice wheelies too, the wheelies you pulled were some of the best ive seen you do.

It's got a big ole engine.. It's like a supa thumpa

That must have been someone else pulling the front end up yesterday :D .
I enjoyed riding your Speed Triple. I still love that 955i motor.

Here's a couple shots of the Scorch/Squiggy ride today.

On the way out to Sperryville, I rolled through The Plains, VA, and saw this bloke filling up his toy. I pulled over right on the side of the road, pulled out the camera, and started shooting. The night before, I had just watched "Behind The Headlights" a movie documenting the tragic events about the life of 1950's movie icon James Dean. With the movie fresh in my mind, as soon as I saw this car, I knew I had to shoot it. James Dean was killed in a similar car.

The guys looked at me like "who the hell are you" :D at which point I said "come on guys, the car is gorgeous, Give Me A Look." The driver smiled, and click.:D Feast you eyes.
96266868-M.jpg


Shortly after, I spied my brother Squidley in Sperryville. He was chatting with another biker. I took off my helmet, and noticed a nail in my rear tire. I poured wated on the spot, and it wasn't leaking. I decided to add a little air with my 12V compressor, and promptly let all the air out of the tire. I couldn't get the damn thing to inflate. Good thing I discovered this at a gas station instead of roadside. I rolled my bike over to the air pump. I was walking back to the store to get a quarter for the air machine. As I was walking across the parking lot, looking straight ahead, I heard a bike coming toward me pretty fast. I was thing to myself, 'alright asshole, what are you going to do, take me out?' I looked up and it was Sorch on his Speed Triple, who did a stoppie and landed about 2 feet from me :D . Surprise, Surprise.

Scorch and I go way back. He's definetely one of the best street riders I've had the pleasure of riding with. And he has the the perfect attitude. No wonder we get along so well :D

96266872-M.jpg


Scorch, Squidley, and I rode for several hundred miles, discovering some new roads. We switched bikes for about 50 miles. Scorch didn't have his GPS today, and was leading. When I found out he was navigating without the GPS, I offered to trade bikes. He took to the Uly immediately. I rode his S3, which now has 67,000+ miles. The boy rides :evil .

A couple of badass bikes:
96266875-M.jpg


owned and ridden by a couple of misfits.
96266873-M.jpg
 
Z

zrex1100

Guest
BTW, the finger means no disrespect over here. It's a salute. Kinda like saying, "Hey man, what's up."

I hope noone here is offended by it.
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Jeez...what a reply !! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Nearly as good as the ride report :wink: :lol:
That ram mount is looking better and better to me.
Is it the type with the U-bolt around the handlebar?

Was thinking along the same lines re: camera....since it's exposed quite severly, an older / 2.grade unit would be an acceptable loss in the event of something hitting it (or decking the bike).
That removable jigger you had could also be duplicated by using a slightly modded top-plate off a standard tripod?

It all starts with the ram mount though, let's worry about that one first.

Many thanks for the help and advice (and again: PICS)
 
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