EX500 mirror extenders

I ordered a pair of mirror extenders for my ninja 500 a few weeks ago, and they arrived today. The slowness in shipping is due to the fact that they are manufactured (maybe even on demand) in Germany. I ordered mine from a Web store named Twisted Throttle for $59.99 + $12.95 UPS ground shipping. Click here for a direct link to the product. $72.94 is pretty steep for what comes in the tiny package, but I really could not see behind me very well while riding the ninja - a common complaint.

Installation took less than an hour, and I was going slow, taking pictures the whole time (click here for the photo album).

The instructions were straightforward, but there is one thing printed incorrectly. The instructions suggest using the original hex bolt to attach the mirror to the extender, and use the new hex bolt that came in the kit to attach the extender to the fairing. The hex bolt that came in the kit has a thicker head and would not fit down into the countersink. Swapping the bolts works much better.

I would also suggest taking care when removing the black round stickers that cover the original bolts, as you will want to reuse two of them. The plastic bolt covers that come in the kit only cover the head of the bolt, leaving the other end of the bolts showing unless you resuse your stickers.
Here's a picture of the sticker after being removed:


I only rode around the block after finishing installation. I can absoutely see much better behind me than I could before. I have yet to see if vibration will be a problem at higher speeds.

The product works as intended, and I'm glad this issue can be resolved. Another solution people have suggested is to use the mirrors from a ZX-6R (click here for an example). I planned on adding these after installing the extenders since I like the looks of the mirrors but read they didn't completely resolve the problem of not seeing behind you. Well, they bolt directly to the fairing, bypassing the kit so you can't use the ZX-6R mirrors and the extenders at the same time.

Here's how the extenders look installed:

Grand Coulee Dam

My dad has mentioned a few times that one of the places he'd like to visit while up here is Grand Coulee Dam. I decided to ride there yesterday, and here is the photo album.

I have to say, it wasn't that big of a deal. I guess I was expecting a larger dam; don't know why though. The ride was OK, but kind of cold (as are all rides this time of year). I got rained on pretty good in Sprague, WA. The roads were good, but had no breathtaking scenery.

I did have fun trying different settings on my new Canon S2 IS. I've been reading digital photagraphy tutorials and the manual that came with the camera to learn about proper exposure using different aperture and shutter speeds. The panoramic shot at the end of the photo album was really fun to create, and I think the software did a very good job of stitching the four shots together. I also used continuous shooting mode to get several shots of a marmot. I'm very happy with the camera.

Long Way Round

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman decided to bike across the world, from London to NYC by way of places like Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Siberia. Lucky for us, they also decided to keep a record of the trip with film.

Long Way Round is the name of the television series (now available on DVD) and book that brings Charley and Ewan's adventure to the rest of us. I rented the DVD last week and enjoyed it so much more than any movie I have seen for a long time.

Make no mistake, this is not about a couple of pampered actors who ride 1 out of every 100 miles while a faceless crew shuttles them to the easy spots via helicopter. Ewan and Charley (plus Claudio von Planta, the cameraman) generally meet with the production crew at borders only, to swap tapes and batteries and make sure papers are in order. The film follows the three riders on their BMW R1150 GS adventure tourers and what the riders see and experience. These guys have balls of solid steel, and I was constantly amazed at the trials they went through in very remote places of the world. How would you deal with a broken motorcycle frame in the middle of Siberia? How about hour upon hour of horrible road conditions (I use the term road very loosely here)? There were places where they'd be covered in mud, and you could tell they were tired and probably just wanted to stop and get dry; suddenly, half-way through a giant mud-filled pit in the road the bike would tip. They always pick the bike back up. The accomplishments acheived on this ride are outstanding.

They visited a couple of Unicef organizations to see the kids and give Unicef some exposure. This included some touching scenes of Russian children living in steam tunnels under the streets and Chernobyl victims in Ukraine.

I am inspired by this film. I'm inspired by the friendly willingness of strangers over the world to lend a helping hand to the travelers. I'm inspired by Charley and Ewan for following through with this dream. I'm inspired to ride longer and harder, and to keep better records of my travels.

Little Goose Dam

My wanderings took me West out of Colfax today.

I followed highway 26 to Washtucna, WA (a small town that didn't even show up on the atlas I had with me).

Out of Washtucna, I went South on highway 261 / 263. The land here went from sage covered plains to some interesting lava canyons. Some sort of critter, a badger or wolverine wobbled across the road; I was too slow getting my camera out though.

Where the highway met the Snake River, I found a huge railroad bridge. My body was a bit tired so I stopped for some photos.

I followed a turn off to Little Goose Dam and Lock. There were people catching steelhead outside the dam. I went inside to the fish observation room, which shows the fish ladder below the water level, but didn't see anything today.

Back on the highway, I went through the towns of Starbuck and Pomeroy before reaching Clarkston. By then I was frozen (again) so I stopped for a burger and fries at the 410 Drive-in.