On the Road Again!

Now that we have no football this weekend as a show of respect for the death of HM The Queen, it gives me more time to fettle Vera for the trip.  I have wasted too much time in trying to get my Shoei Qwest and the Cardo SHO-1 to work only to find that the helmet lining has fallen to pieces rendering it useless! I have managed to sort out the LS2 Metro ready to wear. I bought it in 2016 and although some of the lining is showing a little wear, its foam hasn't turned to dust like the Shoei! The bluetooth kit is working.   So back to Vera. I have already (touch wood) sorted the charging problem with the TomTom using the dashboard power socket. Making a cigarette lighter style plug was totally useless as it wobbled about in the socket and lost connection.  The TomTom then went crazy! So I have bodged up what I hope will work. Photo to follow here! The tyre pressures need checking and I will have to get the electric pump and gauge out of the MoHo and use that.  The P...

After all the poncing about to get the Cardo SHO-1 fitted and working the whole project has landed with a bump or a splash!   THUD! SPLASH! Why? I decided to test the setup was working. Connected my phone to the TomTom. Switched on the SHO-1. I could hear the voice quite loudly saying it was connected. The TomTom showed that the headset was connected.  YAY! I picked up the helmet off the bed and underneath was a load of dirt. Not a little but loads of it. Checking inside I can see that the headlining foam has deteriorated and has basically fallen to dust. I need to see if I can get a replacement but this helmet doesn't seem to have removable lining like more modern helmets have. I'll google and see. It does mean that with less than a week to got to my trip to Aragon I'll have to wear my LS2 helmet instead. Whilst I am googling I'll have to see what other Shoei helmets will accept the SHO-1!  I guess that they might also be out of date and no better! If I can't get a...

What a plum I am. I have concentrated on the battery unit end of the system looking for the charging point.  Instead it is the other end, on the leading edge of the intercom unit!!! A brief chat with Cardo Support put me straight. Hopefully that is the end of it and I can test it this week.

With twelve days before we go to Aragón I thought it might be a good idea to charge the battery unit. I checked into the zippy case it came in and there is no charging lead. No problems. It's micro-usb so any lead will fit. WRONG! The female part in the battery 🔋 unit is deeply recessed. The lead that goes from it to the intercom unit fits okay, of course. I have emailed Cardo Support to ask how I am supposed to charge the unit as there was no lead in the box. It's the weekend.... In the end I butchered one of the leads I did have to narrow the plastic surrounding the micro-usb. How long it lasts before it falls to pieces I don't know. It's working for now. Hopefully Cardo Support will come up with the proper solution. 

It's June 17th. I have actually had the SHO-1 sitting on the shelf in the conservatory since November and have had it out to check out the contents and read the installation instructions. Today I decided to fit to the Qwest and get it charged up as I might venture out on Sunday morning.  It's Father's Day here and so hopefully all the would-be GP riders will be out to lunch with their kids.   It was supposed to be designed to fit in the Qwest. It kinda does but some of the instructions can't be followed as it doesn't have removable headlining!  It says the wire from one speaker to the next needs to go under the inner lining from ear to ear. Great but the lining doesn't come out! One side has the unit fitted to it and the other the battery pack. Connecting the two is supposed to have the wire put in between the hard inner shell and the outer shell. That won't work either! The two are pretty much bonded tight. As they ought to be. After all this effing about i...

The package from J&S arrived late last evening with DPD. I didn't have much time to unpack it and have a look inside the very nice zipped case it comes in. Even that looks like a bit of quality. Maybe the Apple system of superb (and attractive) packaging has rubbed off on lots of other companies? I only bought the single unit kit as I doubt that Claire will come on the back of the bike again and there's even more doubt that she'd have a Shoei helmet if she did.  Although I have seen some reviews where the kit has fitted in/on other makes as well. I have had a quick look around the contents and will have a more in-depth look at the weekend. I'll have time to sit down and read the instructions on fitting it into the helmet and of course, how to connect to my phone and TomTom. I removed the old Teamset this morning so that I could clean the helmet inside and out. The boom where it leaves the bracket is looking very worn. As it is the long boom I...

I was hoping that the reply from Cardo Support was going to be positive and from some deep storage they would have found a boom for my old Teamset. With the current boom starting to show its age and begin to look a bit frayed I'll need to opt for an alternative for the Shoei Qwest. The helmet is quite a few years old but it is still in "as new" condition. It would be a waste to buy a new helmet. Instead, I am looking at replacements for the Cardo. There are plenty of options. From the cheap and cheerful to the phenomenally expensive. I have toyed with the Cardo SHO-1 before. I like the idea that it fits less obtrusively than the old and even new style Cardo systems.  It is made for the Qwest and others in the Shoei helmet range. It being Black Friday week (!)  I found that J&S had a set at about 50% discount. So I ordered one. A couple of days to delivery.  Let's hope it is as easy to install as it looks in the pictures! https://www.webbikeworld.com/ca...