Honda Africa Twin 12 Volt Accessory Port

As many of you know we have started a playlist on our YouTube Channel for “Planning Your Epic Adventure” This is a playlist of several things over the next year we will be planning and doing to get ready for our trip that has not been announced. This video is in that playlist as well. I feel that most people who are going to be going on a epic adventure will be using and or needing a way to power things like a cell phone, cameras, GPS etc, so to me this is part of planning the adventure and that is why it is in that playlist.

We have put together a video about installing the 12 volt power port on the Honda Africa Twin. Although it is a video that goes along with the installation instructions that is provided by Honda, I do not call myself a mechanic and do not call this an instruction video per say, more of a how I got it done video.

I figured since Honda does not ship the bike from the factory with the accessory port, I would make a video for people to have a better understanding what they are getting them selves into if they decide to instal it themselves. I do not want to make this sound like it is too hard for the average person, because I am an average person who is not a mechanic by trade and I have never claimed to be a mechanic. However, I do find myself handy and I like a challenge and if that means I can spend some time in the garage and do something myself, to save some money, I will.

If you want to follow along with me as I go into the interior of my 2016 Honda Africa Twin, CRF1000L, non-dct model, feel free to follow along in the video. I basically go through step by step exactly the way as outlined in the installation instructions set forth by Honda. You can download your copy for free at this Link From Honda.

If you would like more information about the install or would like to watch our video we made as we installed the 12 volt accessory socket in our Honda Africa Twin, click on this link Honda Africa Twin 12 Volt Accessory Socket Instal. 

 

One word of caution I would use is this, the parts listed in this video are from Honda. They are Genuine Honda Parts, the Socket comes with an inline fuse, that is 7.5 amp, it is the small sized fuse and will be buried in behind the windscreen not at easy access once installed per the Honda Directions. This is no big deal if you are using the plug to power a cell phone, most small hand held GPS or something like the Spot. But if you plan to power an air compressor for changing your tire pressure for both off road and on road use, this fuse will not be big enough to power most small air compressors and trust me, if you blow the fuse it is not going to be an easy fix.

With that said, you have some choices to make. For me, I did not want to put a larger fuse in the inline fuse since it may cause other issues with the wiring down the road. While I had the bike tore apart to instal this part, I chose to run another set of wires for an additional power outlet that I will use for the micro compressor. It will have a 15 amp inline fuse with it once installed. So if you are thinking about doing this yourself, go ahead and have some wire on hand to do the same thing for yourself. Gives you  more options for wiring in Fog lights and or other accessories while the bike is apart.

That is just some food for thought, but I know that a lot of the small air compressors that we use on the trip pul more than the 7.5 amp will handle, so it will blow.

As always, we appreciate you and I hope you have a blessed week.
Dale

Planning Your Epic Adventure (Battery Jump Starter)

As many of you know one of the first trips out of the shoot this spring was the K-Trail right here in the Great State of Oklahom. It is a wonderful adventure trail that you can ride in a few days. There is plenty of camping along the way and it is a beautiful part of the state to be any time of the year, especially in spring when it is in full Bloom.

The very first morning of the trip was exciting. We had all been planning this trip for quite sometime. We had all met at Robbers cave. This was going to be the staging area for the chase vehicle if one was needed as well as a central location for us all to meet prior to the ride.

As we all hurried to get our camps packed up from the night before to start our adventure trail, One of the riders had left an electronic device either plugged in or on. When my buddy went to start his bike, it would not start. We tried to push start the big Yamaha Tenere, but it has such a high compression that it would not push start.

Being used to smaller bikes you can push this added a new wrench in the system. I had purchased many tools in preparation for the trip, I had asked one of my other buddies to grad a small set of jumper cables in case they were needed.

He neglected to purchase a set, but luckily, my friend who’s bike would not start had actually brought some, they were the big ones for a regular vehicle, but it worked and we were able to get the bike started.

Part of planning for your trip, a battery failure is something to think about and plan for. I have seen several options for starting your battery and jumper cables for motorcycles as well. One thing I have been reading about and watching reviews on is the Tusk Battery Jump Started and Charger.
(Tusk Portable Power and Jump Starter)

Knowing that I do end up traveling a lot solo, I have purchased the Tusk Portable power and Jump Started to put in the tool bag of tricks for the motorcycle first aid kit. I will be doing more test and a review on this over the next 6 months or so. One of the selling points on this charger / jump starter,is the fact you can use it to charge your small electronics that are powered with a USB port.

(The Tusk Battery Charger Jump Starter Comes with a Carry Case to Keep it organized)

We are excited to see this product in the tool bag and hopefully it will work as good as I think it will. We will be adding this to our video playlist on YouTube soon as well. So if you have time check out our YouTube Play List click on this link Planning Your Epic Adventure.

As always we hope you have a blessed week.

Thank you
Dale

 

Planning the Epic Adventure (The new Play List on YouTube)

Planning the Epic Adventure.

I have been on numerous vacations and outings in my life. I have learned from each and every one of them. Things to take, things to do differently etc. I love to travel and see new things, maybe it is the curious nature I was born with, maybe it is the curious nature of a photographers way of thinking. Maybe it is the thrill seeker aspects of going somewhere new. I have traveled to roughly 38 of the states here in the USA, Alaska and Hawaii being apart of that list as well as Okinawa Japan back in 2008.

I have also been riding motorcycle since the age of 14. I started out in 1985 on a 1976 Honda XL100 that me and my father put together. Over the years, I have owned lots of motorcycles, 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers etc.

Knowing that I love to travel and love motorcycles, I have ventured off on several trips now on my current motorcycles. One being a 2014 Suzuki DRZ400s and the other being the all new 2016 Honda Africa Twin CRF1000L. I have taken several trips on the DRZ and after juts a couple of trips, I have figured out, I love camping off a motorcycle. This type of transportation, opens up so many more places a person can go and see than any other form of transportation I can think Of.

I have been working more than you might think on this entire concept and how to lay it out, and the easiest way to convey it to the audience. I am sure as we build on this project we will make adjustments to the organization of it all.

To try and make it a little easier to follow along, we are going to break it down into categories and we will refine it as time allows.

Topics That Will BE Included Into this project of Planning your Epic Adventure Include: Not necessarily in any particular order. Just topics I plan to cover.

• Pre Planning and how it affects your choices below.
• Maps, GPS and Destinations Chosen
• Personal Protection and First Aid
• Camping Equipment and Cooking
• Bike Choice and Maintenance.
• Bike Tools and First Aid Kit for your Bike, Emergency Tools to consider.
• Packing tips and how to keep the weight down to a minimum.
• Sources, Resources and Other publications that can help
• Additional Training Is it needed.?
• Networking with Others, Facebook, YouTube, Etc.
•  Funding Your Epic Adventure.

 

Along with the trips mentioned above I have to say, I love to travel and camping. Doing it from a motorcycle opens up so many more places a rider can actually go. I do not claim to be a professional motorcycle world traveler. So Part of doing all this work before the trip is two fold. One to try and make sure I am covering all aspects of the trip.  Secondly, I may be able to get help and input from others, maybe someone who has already been there and done that.

I want to incorporate help and input into this project as well. With that said, if you have any ideas, that you would like to see covered or you feel we have missed. Please feel free to leave  comment below and we will work on a way to incorporate your ideas into this outline so that we all can learn from it.

So please, I want you to know, we are always open for ideas and if you see something that is missing or something we need to go into more detail, then please feel free to leave comment and we will figure out  away to implement your ideas into our project.

Obviously a lot f you know we have a YouTube Channel and we will be doing a lot of videos on a lot of these topics. I am thinking it may be easier for viewers who are looking for more details may benefit from it being in a written form as well. If we come up with something cool like list etc, feel free to down load them and or copy them to use in your own personal list of things to take bring etc.

Again, this is going to be roughly a year long project and we will be adding to it as time allows, roughly every other week, or more if time allows.

I appreciate each of every one of you. Thank you so very much for your support and dedication to our channel and projects we are working on. We couldn’t do it with out you and as always, I hope each and everyone of you have a blessed week.

New Playlist Coming Soon.

As many of you know already, we have added the All New Honda Africa Twin to Heartland Dual Sport over the past month. I am sure you have gathered by watching the videos we are super pleased with this addition to the family and we are currently planning many trips with her in mind. Roxy is her name and fun is her game.

Along with the planning of the trips already for both this year and next we are coming up with a long list of new videos and to help with the organization of the channel, we are going to be adding a new playlist to the channel, “Planning the Epic Adventure.”

I am excited to tell you about the new play list and we will be working behind the scenes over the next few weeks as we begin this playlist and start prepping Roxy for many Epic Adventures to come.

Thank you for all your support, we could  not do this with out all of you. I am sure you have noticed we are only 25 subscribers away from hitting 500 subscribers. If you have any friends or family who enjoy good family friendly videos that they can share with anyone grandparents, grandkids etc, we would love to invite them to come subscribe to our channel. You can send them this link or if it helps or share this page with your friends and family. Thank you for all your support and may you have a blessed week.

Dale

 

Honda Africa Twin, Trip to Sulphur Springs, OK

 

Beat the Summer Heat by Traveling Somewhere Cool.

Summer is officially here. Along with summer comes some hot weather days. A lot of times people will stay inside when it gets really hot out, but there is still plenty of fun to be had on two wheels, especially if you don’t mind cooling off when you get there. Luckily for us, here in the Heartland, we have some very beautiful areas we can ride and go cool off once you get there.

One such place is Sulphur Oklahoma. It is located South of Shawnee on HWY 177 or you can go south on I-35 to Pauls Valley and then go east. I will attach a GPX file for those of you who would like to add it to your GPS for better directions. You can also Google Sulphur Oklahom and look for the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

 

This is a great trip that I feel would be worth taking no matter if you are on a dual sport or any other motorcycle. Day trips are sometimes half the fun of being a motorcycle owner. Knowing you have another place to go see and or something to do sometimes gives us purpose in motorcycle ownership.

Knowing that the day is going to get hotter as it warms up, you can leave a little earlier and make it there before it gets too hot. Yesterday morning I got up and left around 8am and still made it to the Chickasaw National Recreational area beating the heat. It was a wonderful ride on the Africa Twin and a great little day adventure.

There is plenty to do once you make it to this little gem of a park. There is plenty of shade to cool off in. With so many pull outs and places to park there is no shortage of shade and or places to cool off. From hanging a hammock and resting beside a beautiful fresh water  spring fed creek, to actually sitting in the edge of the creek. Soak your feet or go for a swim, either way you wont  be able to beat the heat any better than the peaceful beauty this area provides.

I will have to admit, I was fully planning on taking a nap in one of the picturesque areas in my hammock. As you will see in many of our adventure videos we always carry a hammock in our saddle bags. The one thing I forgot as I anxiously left the house this morning on the New Honda Africa Twin, was I don’t have the saddle bags on it yet, so the hammock I meant to through in my back pack, was still at home. Its ok, I was able to find plenty of places to sit and relax and just take in the beauty this park has to offer.

This trip is an easy day trip no matter what your skill level and would be fun to take the family to as well.

The video on this mini adventure will be posted soon.  For even more adventure videos, reviews, tips and give aways you can subscribe for free at  YouTube

Again, Thank you and may you have a blessed week.

If you wold like to have the GPX file of this Adventure, Click Here. One of the fun things on the GPS files we share is sometime we will have extra places and or something else fun to do on the trip. You will be taken to an additional destination in this link as well. Fun place. The image below is a sneak peak to the additional place to go in this GPX track.