[evilbart71]

Dog alarm just notified me the UPS man is here. I was surprised to see the condition of the OEM Kawasaki aux light shipping box. It looked like someone kicked the crap out of it! I am heading out to the shop to inventory it and make sure there are no damages. I’ll post up some pictures after I get it all installed. I am sure there will be lessons learned. I will say Kawasaki is slacking. They took my money over a week ago and sent no shipping email to let me know it was on the way. We don’t have porch pirates out here but I try to be home for high dollar packages. Luckily today was my off day. More to come…….

 

[MN Willie]

Dog alarm just notified me the UPS man is here. I was surprised to see the condition of the OEM Kawasaki aux light shipping box. It looked like someone kicked the crap out of it! I am heading out to the shop to inventory it and make sure there are no damages. I’ll post up some pictures after I get it all installed. I am sure there will be lessons learned. I will say Kawasaki is slacking. They took my money over a week ago and sent no shipping email to let me know it was on the way. We don’t have porch pirates out here but I try to be home for high dollar packages. Luckily today was my off day. More to come……. View attachment 39457 View attachment 39458

That's how they got the nickname Oop's! They really are "The tightest ship in the shipping business"!

The power equipment company I once worked for used to get NEW, in the box, walk behind mowers that were whipped via UPS, where the damage to the Box was not too bad. Inside.... they managed to crush a cast alloy mower deck, totally destroying the $500.00 to $800.00 mower.

Both Oop's (UPS) and FEDUP (FEDEX) are questionable these days. I'm looking at around 90% of the packages I get these days are damaged, to BADLY damaged upon delivery. FEDUP likes to play the HOSTAGE CUSTOMER game. They tell you a delivery will be AT YOUR HOME on XX/XX/XXXX @ XX:XX and you MUST be home to sign for the package. So far, in the past year+, FEDUP has MISSED JUST SHY OF 75% of the FEDEX SCHEDULED SIGNATURE REQUIRED deliveries. The do miss 100% of the non-signature required delivery dates!

It's a crap shoot when it comes to shipping these days!

Willie

I hope your parts are OK!

 

[evilbart71]

That's how they got the nickname Oop's! They really are "The tightest ship in the shipping business"!

The power equipment company I once worked for used to get NEW, in the box, walk behind mowers that were whipped via UPS, where the damage to the Box was not too bad. Inside.... they managed to crush a cast alloy mower deck, totally destroying the $500.00 to $800.00 mower.

Both Oop's (UPS) and FEDUP (FEDEX) are questionable these days. I'm looking at around 90% of the packages I get these days are damaged, to BADLY damaged upon delivery. FEDUP likes to play the HOSTAGE CUSTOMER game. They tell you a delivery will be AT YOUR HOME on XX/XX/XXXX @ XX:XX and you MUST be home to sign for the package. So far, in the past year+, FEDUP has MISSED JUST SHY OF 75% of the FEDEX SCHEDULED SIGNATURE REQUIRED deliveries. The do miss 100% of the non-signature required delivery dates!

It's a crap shoot when it comes to shipping these days!

Willie

I hope your parts are OK!

Dang. Crazy story there Willie. Normally we get good service but someone was not very careful. Luckily everything was well packed from Kawasaki. Here are some pictures. They recommend taking off the headlight so you can run the wiring harness. It was only about a hour to get all the parts apart and I went slow. Here is what the bike looks like with the plastic off. Probabaly be back together tomorrow or the day after depending on whats going on at work.

 

[evilbart71]

Well it's done! Major PITA..... Ok I guess it wasn't so hard in the end but.... the crap lightly printed directions were dumb. I figured it out without really following the directions and I have no extra parts! This light is kind of a love it or hate it light. It is honestly too big for the amount of light it throws. It does work well but you could get some rigid industry ignites or something that would really burn up the road. I have 5 hours invested in putting this in because.... I also wired the Zumo and a USB charger into the bike as well. So it took a bit longer. For the Zumo I have a smaller mount coming but it's not here yet and I want to take the bike out for now and play. I ended up using the mount that came with it and I feel its just too high on the bike. That will be solved when I get the flat mount. So it stays for now. If you get the OEM kit you will need a relay that snaps into a spot that is already there under the dashboard. Once you do that the OEM kit is just plug and play. I wouldn't have had to buy any extra wires or solder anything. The fairing and head light all need to be removed so you can snap the wiring harness in the OEM holes that are on the bike. I was impressed on quality and the fit and finish. Tomorrow I will do a night ride and see how it all works. From just a quick look in the back yard the beam on the light is horizontal and more focused to light up the road. I'll post some night pictures this weekend. All in all I like the look of the big bazooka lights but just know you could go smaller and probably brighter with the rigid industry lights. So if you read this far thanks for hanging in there. Hopefully something I did will help you in your quest to set your bike up. I have some mounts from "dirt racks" coming in from Canada and I think I will be building my own metal side boxes. I can't find anything cool so I think I will fire up the Mig Welder and fabricate something. The key to building your own stuff is weld it.... grind it.... then take it over to the Rhino Liner guys and tell them when they shoot a truck shoot my welded boxes. Saves you money if they are already set up for a truck bed job. After they get done Rhino Lining it whatever you weld looks like a factory made it. More to come when I have something cool to share in the future. Happy trails guys!

 

[JimR]

Well done sir!

 

[MVMike]

Note: Just got the bike 3 days ago so this thread will start slow.

I will say this phone is waterproof (Tested it fully on the Goldwing last summer in a drenching storm) so I chose to mount the phone in the elements and not under the windshield. I have a mount coming from Alibaba that would mount this phone over the speedometer and out of the windblast. But who knows when that will come in.


(( On iPhone Mounting ))
OP - I didn’t see it mentioned in this long thread but KLR vibrations eat the Optical Image Stabilizer in iPhones rendering the camera useless. Apple even has a tech bulletin on it and won’t honor damage from bike vibes. I have a vibe resistant mount and it took 18 months but it eventually killed mine - then I learned how many other KLR and HD riders have dead iPhone cams. $660 for a new cam so that really means new phone. Now I use the damaged phone without a SIM card in the bike mount for REVER and Waze maps. It is joined via Bluetooth for data to my new phone’s hotspot in my jacket pocket. It displays my texts too. Funny, it wasn’t 18 mos of off-roading bumps that killed it. It was a simple 2hr fwy ride into the city and back at a constant 70mph that did it in. (and I’ve been on dozens of road rides before too) YMMV.

 

[evilbart71]

Yeah that is a possibility. I ended up moving that cell phone holder to another bike and putting an anti vibration mount on there with fingers. I will edit the first post to reflect that. My phone was fine in that mount but I did it after reading posts like yours. I’ll edit it later today and post up the new mount. Thanks for sharing that. I guess it’s even a roll of the dice with an anti vibration mount huh? Bummer. I kind of like a phone on the bike.

 

[evilbart71]

Here’s a big tip. Regarding the Zumo. I took my first ride with it and about a mile into the ride. It said lost power connection. I immediately thought that one of my power connections must’ve broken free although I couldn’t imagine it. About a mile later when I accelerated the zumo flew off the mount into my lap. I was able to catch it and it was a zero damage mishap. When you see it lose power connection what’s happening is it's disconnecting itself from the mount. Stop immediately and check the security of the GPS on the mount. Since it was brand new, it was super tight to snap on. You need to hear a firm solid click and you know it’s seated properly. The KLR vibrates like a little wanker and you have to be very cautious it’s firmly on.

 

[Six8five]

I always give it a good wiggle after the snap a couple times it has fallen out on the wiggle but never when riding.
4 th gear bumpy gravel/rock FS roads , the mount is pretty impressive!

 

[JimR]

Always give your little wanker a good wiggle. It's just the right thing to do.

 

[evilbart71]

Got the Rigid Industries Ignite lights in today. (Walmart had the best prices online) Most people use them for pickups to direct light in the area of interest. Tow hitch, boat trailer or back up lights. I have seen lots of Adventure Bikes with these on in my local area so I figured what the heck. My OEM Aux lights that I just put on seem to focus the light in a shaped beam down the road. I have no problem with that but I like a flood of light everywhere. So I bought just one light for 85 bucks to test. You wouldn't believe how bright this little guy is. He scatters light in a cone all over the place. I like it. Lights up the ditches and trees and perhaps animals that might run out in front of me. I read in the African Twin forum a guy recommend one flood light and one spot light for distance. I think I am going to go with that combo. Of course these lights can not be used with oncoming cars unless there is a good reason. As always, here is more pictures than you need.

 

[MN Willie]

Here’s a big tip. Regarding the Zumo. I took my first ride with it and about a mile into the ride. It said lost power connection. I immediately thought that one of my power connections must’ve broken free although I couldn’t imagine it. About a mile later when I accelerated the zumo flew off the mount into my lap. I was able to catch it and it was a zero damage mishap. When you see it lose power connection what’s happening is it disconnecting itself from the mount. Stop immediately and check the security of the GPS on the mount. Since it was brand new, it was super tight to snap on. You need to hear a firm solid click and you know it’s seated properly. The KLR vibrates like a little wanker and you have to be very cautious it’s firmly on.

I noted the same upon the first install! Goot-N-Tite!

I went with Moto Pumps Mount. Shortly after I purchased it they came out with a "Locking" version. They also offer a "Lock" that can be added to the original Moto Pumps Mount to make it the new style locking mount. Needless to say, I ordered the lock. Now I know it will NOT pop off or get taken off when I'm not around!

Glad to hear you were able to catch it and it's OK!!! It's a nice piece of equipment!

Willie

 

[Biggs3118]

I support the spot/flood combo. Excellent choice.