a run-in with the mexican state police (super-klr), pics

[Devon]

martinwaters@... wrote:

>I have had an RCA Lyra and now have a Creative Labs Nomad IIc which >has been discontinued. Both could cause me deafness in the long >term. > >I have NEVER heard of needing an "amp" for an MP3 player. >

You need the amp so you can hear the music through the earplugs that you NEED to have for a long highway ride (wind noise will damage hearing). The amp allows you to run the MP3 player at a less-than-maximum volume so it doesn't distort the music. Devon

[Devon]

dcorym@... wrote:

>Thanks for replies on this. The reason I was leaning toward a CD- >based system was that I had heard several times the quality of MP3 >players was inferior, but I suppose at 75 mph that doesn't matter >much. >

Not much. I doubt you could hear the difference between a 128kb sample (CD audio) and a 64k sample (low quality mp3) while riding. An mp3 sampled at 160kb is almost impossible to distinguish from CD. But I've gotten tracks off the internet that were 56kb or something like that, and it never bothered me. Like anything, you can compromise by fitting more music into the same memory space if you're not too picky.

>On the other hand, I don't want to spend much time >converting/downloading/storing MP3s. I'd rather just grab a few CDs >and go. >

The tradeoff is storing the other CDs properly on a motorcycle, and the time to stop and change them. If you have a Mac, the iPod is really easy. I ripped ALL of my CDs at work and put them into storage. I have the computer hooked up to the stereo and play music that way. If you don't handle them daily your CDs won't get scratched. I've done the CD thing, but had skipping problems on the bike (with a couple different players). The Mac software (iTunes) will even put in the track and album info if you're online when you rip the CD. Put the disc in the drive, drag the album icon into the library, that's it. I use computers every single day all day at work, and generally hate the f*&king things. But the iTunes stuff is pretty well thought out. And there's a LOT of ways around the "security" issue if you want to share music off your Ipod with someone else.

>And I know that the earphones/plugs/buds/whatever are really >a bigger issue in a way. I've never been impressed with RCA stuff, >but Lujo's convinced me to give them a try at least. I'm surprised >nobody's talked about durability or skip-resistance. Don't any of you >drop things or ride in the dirt? >

I don't listen to music when riding offroad. I try to seek out terrain that commands my full attention.

>And what kind(s) of helmets do you >use these with? >

Zeus flipface ($86, you get what you pay for) Arai Signet GT ($400) Thor SVS3 MX helmet (only use speakers in this when on the highway).

> I have an HJC CL-12 which I would rate as moderately >noisy, but very comfortable. Don't know how well ear-thingies would >fit, though. >

ANY helmet will allow enough road and wind noise to damage your hearing in about fifteen minutes of highway riding. If you turn up the music over the wind noise, on the highway you will have damage in maybe five minutes. You need to use earplugs to reduce the wind noise, then use speakers that are loud enough to be heard through the earplugs. This actually gives me the best quality sound of all the options I've tried. You can get earplugs with integral speakers, but I've never tried them. Devon

[ryanwow2000]

I met Salvador on the streets of the pueblo at Valle de Bravo in the State of Mexico, after spying his `police edition KLR. Salvador is Policia Estatal, and a very genuine and nice fellow. His essential function is to slow drivers down on the highways around the area, specifically to save the lives of the Monarch butterflies that come every year from Canada to breed in the states of Michoacan and Mexico. He takes that very seriously. After talking a bit and sharing some KLRisms, he was very excited to come and see my bike parked at my hotel. There we shared notes and tech tips, and information in general. There are exactly forty of these KLR s in the state of Mexico. Each officer is assigned a bike and is responsible for its care and maintenance. Salvador has been the only rider of his bike ever since it came off the showroom floor. He has 50,000 miles on the odometer. He is still using the stock chain, and neither the chain nor sprockets seem particularly worn. He says every fifteen days he has his mechanic soak it completely in gasoline to clean it completely. He nor his mechanic has ever adjusted his balancer mechanism, or checked valve clearances, or done anything internally to the engine. He has no T breather fix, though it rains almost daily during the wet season. Upon starting the engine, I could hear no strange sounds or evidence of anything unusual. His stock suspension showed no noticeable sign of wear. His steering bearings had no play, unlike my young A12 with 21k miles. And it was a hell of a lot cleaner than mine. Salvador was excited to photocopy my kawasaki service manual and supplement, even though he nor his other police comrades speak or read English. He borrowed it overnight and copied every page, returning it in the morning as promised. He said as I left the next day he would see me on the highway, as I was leaving through his assigned section of carretera. Sure enough, the following day I encountered him on my way back to Mexico City, parked in a turnout with a patrol car. I stopped to say hi and goodbye and soon state police seemed to come from every direction, crowding with great interest around us and my bike, Salvador telling them how we had met the day before. Salvador offered to guide me hiking up the hill to see the butterflies en masse, but as I was trying to overcome a late start that morning, I respectfully declined. I haven t been back yet to see Salvador again, but look forward to the next opportunity to do so, since it is only an hour or so from my pueblo. So for your viewing pleasure, here are the pics. I may have some semi close-ups I can dig up if I get any requests: http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ryanwow2000/detail?.dir=/3750&.dnm=1 a2b.jpg http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ryanwow2000/detail?.dir=/3750&.dnm=d 765.jpg Please let me know if the links are not working. Also, if you re interested, feel free to browse my other Mexico photos of the wonderful pueblo Malinalco where I live, the temples at Teotihuacan, and whatever else is there. Just navigate back to the main photo album to do so. And anyone coming down to central Mexico, plan a stop over here in Malinalco, here you have a host and a guide waiting to share the wonders of the area and the winding mountain roads and paths. Just pop me an e-mail. Cheers Ryan Bock KLR650A12 SF - Prudhoe Bay, Alaska - Ushuaia, Argentina, May 2002 - ? Currently living in Malinalco, Mexico