TheBenior's GTI and Ducati Monster 696. Da Bears, dabears, dabears, dabears.

[TheBenior]

I've since ridden through wet roads and light rain, and the Thai fender kept the stripe off my back.

In preparation for an upcoming trip, I bought a Kappa WA401S 30L saddle roll bag. I figure I may also use it as a gym bag for when I hit the gym before work. I've been strapping on a 35L Ogio Metro backpack with cargo netting and a ROK strap (to keep it from sliding forward), but it is kind of annoying balancing it on the Monster's little rear seat, keeping the straps underneath, and tucking the top so that it doesn't partly block my tail light.
IMG_20160608_164236.jpgIMG_20160608_065950.jpgIMG_20160608_070037.jpg

Seems to fit nicely, though I'll probably use my ROK straps to strap it down instead of the included bungees.

[TheBenior]

... and my car has joined the smoking turbo club. It's become noticeable not only after high boost, but also while idling in traffic. :/

An OEM K04 turbo is $1000, a Dorman OE replacement is $700, and a Corksport built K04 is $1100, but would require a custom tune.

[neanderthal]

Custom tune is moar powahs, no?

[TheBenior]

At 295 whp, my car is pretty close to dangerous territory on the stock connecting rods (at above 300 whp, having a good tune becomes very important). Going much higher would necessitate stronger rods.

Also, ~300hp in a FWD car is kind of silly already.

[novicius]

Speed is just a question of money -- how fast do you want to go?

Dial back the boost and shorten up the oil change intervals?

[Kchrpm]

Law of diminishing returns, and saving for kid stuff. Go buck mild.

[TheBenior]

Speed is just a question of money -- how fast do you want to go?

Dial back the boost and shorten up the oil change intervals?

Maybe, but pre-2008.5 Mazdaspeed3/6 had weaker turbo seals. Turbo warranty coverage got extended to 7 years/70k. I may try changing from 5w30 to 5w40 at my next oil change (Mazda's recommendation before they went and extended warranty coverage after half of the 2007 owners were already past the mileage limit).

Law of diminishing returns, and saving for kid stuff. Go buck mild.

I really can't find any info on the Dorman OE replacement turbo or Rotomaster rebuilds, which makes me a bit wary of them. However, the next cheapest option after just using 5w40 is a K04 rebuild kit, which I might do if I'm feeling particularly ambitious.

Also, baby on motorcycle!

[Kchrpm]

Adorbs

[TheBenior]

I took advantage of the record setting warmth Chicago's had for the past few days by riding in to work last night. Normally, it's not warm enough to ride at night until mid-March, and even that can be hit or miss. I probably had less than a half gallon left in my tank from last season, so I dumped a little old 87 octane from my lawnmower can in to make sure I made it to Costco, because fuck paying $1/extra per gallon for 93 octane, even if it's less than 3 gallons. So I guess I've got the equivalent of 91 octane in the tank at the moment.

It was my first time trying out both my Sena 20S and my Triumph Bright gloves.

Initially, the Sena 20S didn't get off to a good start right before I was about to leave my house, momentarily dropping the connection with my phone. However, it lasted about 5 seconds, and reconnected on it's own. It didn't give me any more problems after that, but I'll have to be on the lookout for that. The volume level still doesn't get high enough for some podcasts, but music was intelligible at speeds where I wouldn't hear much of anything with my SMH-10R (I almost always wear earplugs to filter out wind noise). If I pay attention, I could tell that the much larger 20S control unit (relative to the SMH-10R) makes more wind noise, but that's not a big surprise given the size of it.

The Triumph Bright gloves are indeed quite bright. They seem a bit tight and fatiguing compared to my nicely broken-in Dainese Carbon Covers, but I'm sure a lot of that is due to the Brights not being broken in. The backs of the Brights are synthetic, but the palms are goatskin. They also felt thicker, which I guess they always will since they have a waterproof Outlast liner. They don't claim to be insulated, but they're definitely a little warmer and lack ventilation compared to my Carbon Covers.

[dodint]

Have you upgraded the firmware on the 20S? They update it fairly regularly and are pretty good about addressing user issues. Might help with the connection bit, if it persists.