What did you do today?

[696DCRider]

Lol.  Sorry, but I can't help but laugh at that one.  That's ridiculous.  I think your problem was that you were in Arlington.  They won't bother with shit like that in DC.

LOL... managed to get a summons for "passing on the right" in Arlington. On the scooter. During rush hour.

It's one of those "you can pay to avoid going to court" deals. Anyone know what this might set me back for? Ballpark?

[Slide Panda]

LOL... managed to get a summons for "passing on the right" in Arlington. On the scooter. During rush hour.

Damn scooter trash...

You've got to tell the story of this one.

[Meerkat]

Damn scooter trash...

[696DCRider]

Yeah Brian, it's scooters riders like you that give motorcyclists like me a bad name.

Damn scooter trash...

You've got to tell the story of this one.

[Autohag]

Hey Brian, I've got a 620 for sale.

A 620 is too much bike for me. Even my scooter gets me into trouble. Ima just buy a Harley and be done with it.

[bikepilot]

That's nuts.  I ride through Arlington twice a day every day.  I doubt a day has gone by yet that I didn't pass on the right (many times).  I'm not even sure that's illegal - especially in heavy traffic when by chance the right lane flows better than the left (unless you weren't in a lane when you passed - VA doesn't like any kind of lane sharing).  I've no idea what the ticket would run, but you've also gotta factor in future insurance rates and any points on your license.  I've paid a couple tickets 'cause I didn't want to go to court and later wished I'd gone to court.  The one time I went to court I got off completely (and that was way before I was even thinking about going to law school).

In VA be aware that, at least when I got my last ticket many years ago, your first court date is for a traffic court, which in my limited experience was just a place for the judge to rubber-stamp whatever the cops said.  The judge literally stamped the paper and wouldn't let me present a defense.  If you go to court be prepared to appeal to a real court.  I appealed to what I think was probably the VA Circuit Court and got a fair hearing.  

[Autohag]

bikepilot, thanks for your insight! I've learned it's 3 points for 3 years. I've no @#$%ing clue what that means as this is my first offense in this area. How do the "points" work? Do you start with zero and work your way up? Or do you start with 100 and work your way down? When I die do I keep my points?

Sas, you're right. I was in disbelief that this took the time...

[Artful]

I just built the worlds sturdiest camera mount. Details tomorrow.

[bikepilot]

I'm not at all expert on points, but as I recall you start with zero.  If you are a good boy for long enough you can accumulate a few negative points.  If you are bad you get points, if you get too many points your license is revoked (I think 12 points is the cut-off, but could be wrong).  Points go away over time, maybe 1 per year or so.  You can also knock some off with traffic school sometimes.  Insurance costs will generally go up the more points you have.

[Artful]

Well it's tomorrow.

I picked up a ContourGPS cam (http://contour.com/camera/contour_gps) this week to shoot video of group rides, track events, and general shenanigans. It's an awesome camera with a bunch of features I like more than the GoPro I've used before, but they slack pretty heavily on giving you suitable mounting options right off the bat. GoPro isn't honestly much better, and it is tough to find a good spot on a naked bike to mount that awkward brick of a camera.

So Contour makes a rollbar mount that would probably work pretty well for fork mounting, but it's rather spindly and they want $50 for what is essentially a hose clamp and an articulating arm.



Turns out I know where else to buy hose clamps for a lot cheaper, and I can machine something a bit sturdier than that arm without too much trouble. I'm going to make a thread about this as well, but you CAMmers get a sneak peak.

I took a piece of 3/4" aluminum round stock and 1 1/2" x 1/8" flat stock aluminum I had in the basement to build an uber rock solid mount.

Here's the recipe:
1 Fernco 2" rubber pipe joint (comes with two hose clamps)
~5" of 1 1/2" x 1/8" aluminum flat stock
~2" of 3/4" aluminum round stock
2 split ring lock washers
2 flathead machine screws

Using a vice and a long handled adjustable wrench I slowly bent the aluminum flat stock. Then I drilled and tapped the round stock on both ends to match the machine screws. Drilled and countersunk the holes in the flat stock ends, then assembled the whole shebang with lock washers and red threadlock at the joints. Used the Fernco fitting and hose clamps to strap it to the bike, and voila, ready to stick on the Contour rotating mount.



Final cost was about $6, it would be probably $20 if you don't have aluminum stock handy (shame on you). You would be left with enough material to make about 8 more of these if you were so inclined.

And the final result -

[Autohag]

Nice work, Artful! I gave up mounting cams on my duc due to vibration in the handlebars. My next try was going to be the fork similar to what you've done.

[Slide Panda]

If was was so inclined - what would an Artful special run?

[Artful]

Nice work, Artful! I gave up mounting cams on my duc due to vibration in the handlebars. My next try was going to be the fork similar to what you've done.

The Fernco should isolate vibrations pretty well, and since it's a direct connection on a suspended part it's about as stable as you're going to get. Also the wide angle of the Contour or GoPro lenses go a long way in smoothing out bumps and shakes.

[Artful]

If was was so inclined - what would an Artful special run?

I could probably build another one for $40 accounting for my time and materials. I filed and polished mine, I could do a rougher one for $30ish.

[Statler]

quick range trip over lunch.

New office is only 5 min away so hopefully I'll find time to do 50 rnds every few weeks instead of a few hundred every other month.