Triumph Bonneville T100 Starting Issue - Infamous Clicking

It's been a few years since I have dealt with this issue but I wanted to keep this post for future reference in case the post on Triumph Rat Forums gets taken down/deleted.

This is one proposed solution to the issue with Triumph Bonneville ECUs. Apparently the ECU does not like batteries with slightly low power. Before implementing this solution I would be going through batteries almost every season. Here is a video showing the problem on my bike.

Here is a copy of the post with pics:

"Hi all,

Sorry for reviving an old thread but I came back here looking for the thread to redirect someone else to it only to find the original photos gone (thanks Photo£uckit!). Well, I happened to save all of these down for my own mods journal back when I made this mod to my own bike. Hopefully the originator does not mind me reposting his great info with edited text of his explanation of the mod. All pasted below, none of my work, but I confirm that it works 100%.

>>>>SNIP WITH TEXT EDITS<<<<

1 by Andy G, on Flickr


The*clutch*switch*grounds the BLACK/ORANGE, I tapped it to supply ground for the*Starter*Relay. Begin by exposing the BLACK/ORANGE at the ECU. It's located in the 'B' connector, right side of the ECU. Here you can see the wire exposed, it's the fourth pin on the front row:

2 by Andy G, on Flickr

Clip it, here is where you add the diode (any 1A rectifier will do), which prevents stray voltage form the*starter*relay*coil being back-fed into the ECU. Observe polarity, the band goes toward the*starter*relay.

3 by Andy G, on Flickr


You may have by now snaked your new wire run into the*ECU*harness*in preparation for your final connection at the plug. Twist it together with the other side of the BLACK/ORANGE. I used a yellow wire because I had lots of it.

4 by Andy G, on Flickr

5 by Andy G, on Flickr

Close it up, tape the boot back on as you found it. The other end of the wire goes to the*starter*relay, cutting into the YELLOW/BROWN as shown on the diagram.
The result of this mod requires you to pull the clutch in to start AND bypasses the ECU signal to the*starter relay.

>>>END<<<<

Hopefully someone finds this useful. 

RingCentral Review - Is it worth it?

For the last ten years our phone system in the office has been a typical small office PBX system from Nortel with service from Bell. The problem was the service was never that good. We tried everything to try and boost the volume on calls but nothing worked. It was also awkward and annoying to change any settings.

So after doing research several times over the last few years we decided to go with RingCentral. They advertise on TWiT and other podcasts and seem to stand out from that crowded marketplace as the largest and most reliable with a major presence in Canada.

After using the product for more than a year most of the office is now using the regular features quite fluidly.

Here are some of the growing pains we experienced while switching:

1. Porting our number over from Bell worked easily enough but did take a week or so.
2. Plugging the phone in and registering every user was quite simple but we did have major issues getting the phones to display the correct date/time. This turned out to be an issue with Bell.
3. Bell did not make it easy to connect through their modem/router. We had to disable the router part of the box (put it in bridge mode) and use our additional exterior router (which is what we were using anyway).
4. The users in our office struggle with any interface changes on machines they use everyday (I understand this is a normal IT problem).
1. Putting people on hold now is called "Park" and that requires you to memorize a number to dial into any phone to get the call back.
2. Transfering calls to someone else is a better system however it is different than before so had to be learned through use. It annoys me that when you transfer a call to someone else the CallerID looks like you are calling that person (which you technically are) and so the person just thinks it's an internal office call.
3. The PolyCom phones we bought are quite basic and only have two lines, In order to set up conference calls you must use the cloud based system and email codes to everyone. On the plus side you can have huge numbers of people in your conference call. This is not to be confused with 'RingCentral Meetings' which is a Zoom or Google Hangouts competitor.
4. Checking voicemail on the hard phones now requires inputting several menu commands and a password. It just takes too long compared to the preprogrammed buttons we had on the old phones. You will really want to use the desktop or Android app for this but then you need headphones/speakers for your computer.
5. Most of the really useful features are too hard for some people to learn as they rarely have the chance to practice. You really need one person in to be in charge and set things up and answer questions as required. It really is not plug and play in that everyone will instantly know how to use every feature.
6. Outgoing CallerID took several tries and many calls to tech support before they finally flicked the right switch to activate it.
7. Tech support from RingCentral was initially quite good when setting up the system. I had several very helpful people directly in contact with me and helping me with every step. However, once the setup stage was complete I had to start an issue by submitting my problem on the RingCentral help site. This would be fine but they would initially try to help by email which was too slow, then eventually over the phone but only at the lowest level of support. Eventually I would be in contact with Level 2 support which would usually solve my issue.
8. Incoming Caller ID: This seems to be resolved now but initially they told me we had to upgrade the service to get CallerID. We tried getting around it by syncing all our contacts and the desktop app with our generic office email Outlook. You could do the same with Gmail.

That leads to the biggest issue we have:

Sharing Contacts Company Wide:

We were told that contacts could be shared across the company but it turns out that it can't be done. The RingCentral forums are full of people asking for this feature over the last several years. It seems clear that they have lost business by not adding this feature. If there could be a central location for all contacts to be stored it would save a lot of time because one person could edit a contact and it would be fixed on everyone's account. This should be possible as everything is stored on the RingCentral servers anyway.

We ended up getting around it by linking our generic office email account with all it's contacts to everyone's desktop phone app. Not perfect but it does work.

So, would I recommend RingCentral? Yes but be aware that it isn't as simple as it looks on the website. It also has more features than we will ever use. For instance, they added this app called Glip that seems interesting but will never catch on. I wish they would just focus on fixing the features they already have.

WARNING: Canadians Renting Cars with Expedia & Hertz

Recently we went to Grand Cayman and had a great time. However the rental car experience was not so great.

The car we rented was clearly the cheapest car on the island but that wasn't the issue.  The issue was we reserved the car on Expedia.ca which gave us the final cost in CAD. So that was what we expected to pay.

One unexpected surprise is that Hertz (and probably most companies on the island) make you pay a $20 USD licence to be allowed to drive. They say it is a government fee but it was not on any documention that Expedia sent us.

But the bigger surprise came when upon returning the car to Hertz they charged us in USD instead of CAD. So because of the exchange rate on our credit card and the extra licence the cost of the rental car went from $270 CAD to $340 CAD.

So I called Expedia and after sitting on hold and talking to a rep for almost 2 hours they told me that they could not refund me. It would have to be Hertz since they are the ones who charged me. So he said they would talk to Hertz for me and gave me an expedia email address to send my documentation to.

So I crafted an email and included the Expedia quote and the Hertz bill. The next week I get an email saying that this email does not support Canadians and Expedia.ca and they gave me a 1-800 number to call which matched the original number that I called.

Apparently I am stuck in a vortex of corporate game of "screw the customer"

Needless to say I will never reserve a car on Expedia again. I think it is unethical that they can give you a quote and then completely change it when you show up to pay.

The Loudness War

This is interesting.

It might explain some of the appeal of regular pop music over remixed classic old school music. Also, I am sure that most professionally recorded but independently released music is probably done the right way.

The Accidental Sea: An Apocalypse

Here is a video of a failed city in a barren wasteland. I love this stuff....I always feel like that is how all of north america will look in 100 years if we continue on with our obsession with suburbia and walmarts.

"There but for the grace of God go the rest of us"

In any case, the future is going to require more people to join the "maker" culture and join communes. This guy knows what I'm talking about:

I'd better practice my welding skills.

My Favorite Apartment Ever!

If I could find a place like this it would be amazing.
Too bad no one in North America can grasp the concept of being small, efficient, sustainable, clean, simple, modern etc. All of those concepts are hard to find in North American residences.

One of the best parts is that there is no yard to take care of. Also, the view is amazing and the lack of an elevator makes for some seriously good exercise.

Arcade Fire: Scenes from the Suburbs

Check out this sweet trailer from Spike Jonze's "Scenes from the Suburbs" made in collaboration with Arcade Fire.

Yup looks pretty apocalyptic. Right up my alley.

Anti-Abortion Billboard

So a few days ago this billboard went up right in New York City just down the road from a Planned Parenthood office.
It didn't last too long before being removed. But it did get a lot of press.

I'm not really well versed enough to comment on what they are saying but I have read some stuff that clearly shows that the abortion rate is much higher for African Americans than the rest of the population in the States.

In other abortion news, I noticed (thanks reddit) that when you search "Murder" on google, the wikipedia article for abortion shows up as the second item. I am sure that will get shut down pretty quickly but it sure does seem that the abortion issue is in the mainstream news a lot lately. It's not a bad thing because I really think that people need to be forced to think through this issue and discuss it.

Oh Japan, the Harbinger of Doom

At first I was shocked but then I realized that how is this any different than watching Britney Spears or Nickelback? It isn't different at all. Both are marketed commodities that are polished and set up in order to make everyone involved a bunch of money.

Oh Japan - why do you always have to be the harbinger of doom. And why do you always make it seem so innocent.

Banksy on Advertising and Modern Art

The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists.. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.
-Banksy (Wikiquote)

Ottawa's New Mayor

So Ottawa just voted in a new mayor today. Out of a huge group (the largest ever, I think) Jim Watson basically had to defeat the incumbent, Larry O'Brien. It was really a landslide win in the end though.

Personally, none of the candidates really spoke to me. I just want to see them take a serious look at the budget and start cutting extraneous things. We can't fund every little thing by over taxing people and then still end up in the red.

The problem with Jim Watson is that he comes from the provincial liberal party and we all know how well those guys are doing. These are the people who are subsidizing green energy by raising our energy bills 3 times. They are also instituting full day kindergarten and they almost pushed through a motion to teach little kids about sex ed. Yeah, I'd really trust the government to teach the kids about sex.

Anyway, his track record isn't so hot - so why did he get in you ask? Well it's complicated but Larry had several gaffes and really latched onto the wrong issues which Watson used against him. Watson also used the classic obama move by pushing the "change" word around.

The only plus side to these elections was that 10 new councillors were voted in which was the opposite of last time when all the incumbents were re-elected. That was, in my opinion the main reason Larry couldn't get what he wanted to get done. In my ward, Jan Harder got in again (no surprise). She is a fighter for our area which is great in many ways but she never has "cuts" on her mind. She only cares about what she can get for her constituents. I suppose there could be worse things, and people always tell me that, but I just wish these councillors could band together and cut a good bunch of programs city-wide.

So we shall see where this all goes.....

Why am I blogging about a rapper?

This has got to be a first. I have never posted a rap/hip-hop video or even blogged about it from what I can remember. However here is a Canadian rapper who has been making the rounds on the CEEB and seems to be getting more popular. What is separates him from all the other mainstream rap is his lyrics and attitude. I can't stand the rapping about getting shot and drugs and pimps. It is such a strange culture to be glorifying. This guy is totally down to earth and this song really shows it. Basically he is talking down on how mainstream rap music (at least partially) has created a new form of blaxploitation which has just been encouraged by the average black rapper. Now I can never say something like that because I am as white as they come. I mean I listen to indie-folk and read Kafka. So I really have no credibility.

Shad, however, has much more credibility. Take a listen:

Here are the lyrics Brother (Watching) by Shad:

I try to hold some hope in my heart
For these African youths
Coming up where im from
Many traps to elude
Surrounded by
Mostly white and affluent dudes
And somehow, you expected to have
Mastered this smooth
Swagger and move
With the right walk, the right talk
Fashion and crews
Souls subtly attacked and abused
And whats funny's being black wasn't cool
Where im from til suddenly
you started hearing rap in the school
Hallways
Admist this madness I grew
With knack for amusing through this little skill
For rappin at dudes
An' we all like to laugh at the truth
But when you young and same facts
Pertain to who you rappin em to
Well, I opted not to bring
That to the booth
But after a while, it sort of starts naggin at you
The crazed infatuation with blackness
That trash that gets viewed
And the fact that the tube only showed blacks
Actin the fool and I was watching...

(saturated with negative images and a limited range of
Possibilities is strange...)

And its sad cuz that naturally do
Sort of condition your mind and over time
That's whats attractive to you
So young blacks don't see themselves in
Scholastic pursuits
Or the more practical routes
Its makin tracks or its hoops
Or God-forbid movin packs for the loot
Even with this music we so limited - its rap or produce
And that narrow conception of whats black isn't true
Of course, still we feel forced to adapt to this view
Like theres something that youre havin to prove
Now add that to the slew
Of justification the capitalists use
For the new blaxploitation
Many actions excused
In the name of getting cash
That's adversely impactin our youth
With mental slavery, the shackles is loose
And its hard to cut chains when they attached at the roots
So what the new black activists do
For our freedom is just being them
Do what youre passionate to
Not confined by a sense that you have to disprove
Any stereotypes, so-called facts to refute
Or match any image of blackness
They've established as true
Perhaps we'll break thru the glass ceilings
Shatter the roof and emerge
From these boxes that they have us in cooped
And grow to smash the bold that they casted of you
I'll keep watching...

The Front Yard: Why?

So I just came in from cutting the lawn. I got eaten alive by mosquitos and nearly ran over the cord 3 times.
I still don't understand how I got myself into this predicament of owning a front yard. Is there any other situation where so much work and effort goes into maintaining a space that is so unused and pointless?
The whole concept of front yard seems so narcissistic to me. Are we just doing it to impress other people with front yards?
There must be a few people out there that actually enjoy their front yard. But the majority of people on our street evidently don't seem to care. Maybe all the people who like front yards should get together and live on the same street.
Our front yard is clearly one of the best on the street (thanks to my father-in-law who devotes a lot of time to it) but I can't help asking myself 'why?'. What is the point?

Please don't shop there people

It may be a little extreme but I think it gets some good points across.....

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Please don't shop at these places people. Going for the cheapest choice can be an ethical issue (in my opinion anyway). The world today is driven by money and if you always buy the cheapest thing then you are just getting sucked into that vortex of greed.

Anyway, I don't want to rant on this too much so Sayonara.

We have to back to Spain

Apparently we have to go back to Spain and do the Southern part because I really want to check out this little town called Setenil de las Bodegas.

Much of this town was built into the cliffs and the effect is incredible.

This is the kind of habitat that I would build in my sandbox or carve out of snow drifts as a kid. It reminds me of those mud homes built buy certain Indians in desert areas. I probably was heavily influenced by National Geographic.

The thing I love about this is that they are really using the landscape and incorporating it into the architecture. If this was suburban North America they would have leveled the place with dynamite and built McMansions on it.

If Fleet Foxes say it - it must be true!

I recently read a great quote from Robin Pecknold of the great indie folk rock band Fleet Foxes on Exclaim.ca. Speaking with BBC News he basically said that music is better off because of piracy on the internet.

He explained that we are seeing tons of new bands creating better music than ever before the piracy issues. He says that the internet is where he discovered most of his favourite music.

And to top it off when asked whether he minded if people 'stole' his albums he says "I've downloaded hundreds of records....why would I care someone downloads ours? That is such a petty thing to care about. I mean, how much money does one person need?"

Favourite quote of the year for me!

Actually this reminds me that I have to buy their latest album........

Best.Pool.Ever

I am typically not a big fan of pools in Canada. They take insane amounts of energy and chemicals to run properly and then you empty all that water at the end of 5 months of maintenance. The rest of the year your yard is full of a big cesspool of rotting leaves and mosquito larvae. Good Times.

But if you live in a place where you can have a pool open the whole year round it makes more sense. Either way, this pool at the Joule hotel in Dallas, Texas pretty much sets the standard for cool pools. It projects over the main street and allows for a great view of downtown. I can only imagine the structural requirements for something like that.....

Pretty Awesome.

Susan Boyle shows why our society is still sad

So the Susan Boyle phenomenon is still going strong. If you havn't seen the well produced Britain's got Talent episode here it is. It is currently at over 30million views in the past week. The whole thing is filmed to set up the viewer for the emotional moment where she starts singing. That is fine because the people who watch these shows generally like that kind of stuff.
It is great because she is the sort of underdog story that people can relate to very easily. Even the guy who took a gamble and bought the url susan-boyle.com before all this exploded has seen the web site explode in popularity.
But my question is what if she had not sung flawlessly? What if she had totally flubbed it? She would have been ridiculed like all the rest of the wannabe singers without either looks or talent. What does that say about our society? Everyone is saying how amazing she is but what they are really saying is "Susan, we can't believe that such a frumpy non-attractive woman can sing so well." I don't think it is intended but it is just the byproduct of our society. It is the same as worshiping the singer with the perfect body in the end.
What I am trying to say is that this scenario says more about our society than really meets the eye.

Billy Bob has nothing on The Sadies

If you haven't heard or seen the episode of Q with Billy Bob Thorton acting like a child not getting his way than you must be living under a rock.
Either way here it is:

The performance that he walks off from is not posted because of legal issues (that will probably never be resolved). Here is another performance of his 'Cosmic Country Music'.

Now I just wanted to compare this to a Canadian band that is both far more talented and far more experienced despite being quite a bit younger. The Sadies have been doing this type of Alt-Country for quite some time and are pretty much a Canadian indie-rock fixture. They even have their own label. Here is an example of the stuff they do. I couldn't find a really good example but this one will have to do:

So when Billy Bob tries to say that he is the only one doing this and starts comparing himself to Tom Petty and says that Canada doesn't have anything as good as his band well I beg to differ. For such a small spread out population we have an incredible music scene. Sure we don't get up and through bottles and chairs at each other but we would rather hear the music and check out the talent which is something that apparently you don't do at a Boxmasters show.

Miley Cyrus vs Stinkin' Radiohead

In a hilarious twist of reality it seems that the Disney pop-star herself claims to be a fan of one of the most anti-pop bands out there, Radiohead.  Actually I should say she used to be a 'fan'.

Apparently in an interview with some generic commercial radio hosts (one who claims to not even know who Radiohead is) she rants about how a certain band wouldn't meet her backstage at the Grammy's for a photo.

Radiohead's response to her manager's request was that they "don't really do that."  Apparently getting told 'No' was to much for the mini-diva so she had to leave.  

One of her responses in the interview was that she is "in the business to make people happy" implying that Radiohead aren't.  Well, duh, if you actually knew anything about their music you would realize that making people happy is the last thing on their minds.  They have some of the saddest self-depreciating music around.  She should also know that Thom Yorke and the other guys are all pretty shy and reserved when it comes to the spotlight of fame.  This is also evidently something she cannot comprehend so she then goes on, vowing to ruin 'stinkin' Radiohead.'  All I can say is Good Luck.  No one cares, least of all Radiohead.

You can listen to the lame 10 minute interview here. I don't recommend it unless you are into listening to grown men act like 15 year old girls meeting their favourite pop-star.

But I do recommend reading Pitchfork's hilarious take on the situation here.

In other feuding music news, what is with the Flaming Lips vs Arcade Fire fued?  Or Ben Folds vs Charles Spearin/Stars?  Or the best one of all The Acorn vs Ohbijou.  Is Radio3 turning into a gossip mag?