14 days, 20 states plus Canada, 8000 miles later, I can honestly say that I was not at all dissapointed by my 'budget' gear:
#1 Airhawk seat pad saved my ass!!! I was a sceptic at first, but now I can't imagine even a top of the line custom saddle providing the comfort this thing did. One leg of the trip was 2100 miles in 34 hours with little more than fuel stops, and minimal discomfort. I would recomend this to anyone.
Olympia AST 2 piece suit performed flawlesly, first day out was 1200 miles in the rain and no sign of leaks whatsoever. Well built and warm, most of the trip without liners even with temps dipping down in the 20s.
Hella ff50s are great lamps for a fraction the cost of HIDs. They easily drown the feejers high beams and probably saved me twice from collisions with deer.
No news here, but the PR2s held up their reputation. I should easily see 10,000 miles out of them, even after quite a few hard miles in the Cascades and Rockies.
I installed a pair of $30 helmet speakers which after 8 or 10 hours on the road caused considerable discomfort to my ears. They weren't even pressing on my ears, but for some reason the constant chafing was seriously frustrating. While visiting my brother, (a Navy pilot) he suggested trying on of his aviator helmet liners. Solved! Not only did it completely solve the ear thing, but it made the helmet warmer and quieter, and easier to 'install'.
Garmin 750 was great. SD card/mp3 player gave me access to plenty of music and audio books, while the gps allowed me to make numerous last minute route changes to get me off the freeway whenever possible. Mounted on a Top Gun dash panel, it was very hard to get wet even in steady rain, A sandwich baggie made me feel as comfortable as I would have with a zumo for $400 more
Hope this was helpful....
#1 Airhawk seat pad saved my ass!!! I was a sceptic at first, but now I can't imagine even a top of the line custom saddle providing the comfort this thing did. One leg of the trip was 2100 miles in 34 hours with little more than fuel stops, and minimal discomfort. I would recomend this to anyone.
Olympia AST 2 piece suit performed flawlesly, first day out was 1200 miles in the rain and no sign of leaks whatsoever. Well built and warm, most of the trip without liners even with temps dipping down in the 20s.
Hella ff50s are great lamps for a fraction the cost of HIDs. They easily drown the feejers high beams and probably saved me twice from collisions with deer.
No news here, but the PR2s held up their reputation. I should easily see 10,000 miles out of them, even after quite a few hard miles in the Cascades and Rockies.
I installed a pair of $30 helmet speakers which after 8 or 10 hours on the road caused considerable discomfort to my ears. They weren't even pressing on my ears, but for some reason the constant chafing was seriously frustrating. While visiting my brother, (a Navy pilot) he suggested trying on of his aviator helmet liners. Solved! Not only did it completely solve the ear thing, but it made the helmet warmer and quieter, and easier to 'install'.
Garmin 750 was great. SD card/mp3 player gave me access to plenty of music and audio books, while the gps allowed me to make numerous last minute route changes to get me off the freeway whenever possible. Mounted on a Top Gun dash panel, it was very hard to get wet even in steady rain, A sandwich baggie made me feel as comfortable as I would have with a zumo for $400 more
Hope this was helpful....
