Ogio Flight Vest Review

    I got my flight vest a month ago and feel like I've gotten enough use out of it to properly give it a review.

     This is my vest in its ready state (minus water).  It may not look like much but I've got every tool I need for any trail repairs, a decent 1st aid kit, a 70 ounce water bladder, and my SPOT beacon all balanced out in those pockets.  To protect the vest from vibrating tools poking holes, I picked up some Husky tool organizer pouches from Home Depot ($10 for a 3-pack).  That first picture shows the two smallest pouches.  All of my tire repair items have a permanent home in my fender pack so those aren't included, however there is room if I wanted to move them to the vest.

     I'll admit the vest is not light and I can definitely feel it while I'm riding, but its 1000x better than even the best backpack.  I wear it over my chest protector which further helps to distribute the weight and has the added benefit of increasing airflow under the vest.  Having the piece of mind that I can remove any bolt on my bike is definitely nice and this is definitely the way to go if you want to ride far from camp and be prepared to get back on your own.

The negatives:

-Only one pouch has any sort of tool organization and its not particularly reinforced.  Using the cheap Husky bags is pretty much a requirement if you don't want your tools poking holes in this thing.

-The water bladder isn't the best.  70 ounces goes pretty fast, although there's probably room for at least a 100 ounce.  Also the bite valve is kind of a pain.  You have to bite way too hard and you really don't get the kind of flow that you see with many of the other bite valves.  Both of these issues I consider minor since you can easily replace the bladder and/or bite valve.


     All in all, I'd rate this a 9.8/10 and would highly recommend it to anyone that usually rides with a backpack.  Seriously this thing is golden.  Plus it costs about the same as a backpack of decent quality. 

For Sale (2.0)

     With no luck on selling the XR before the LAB2V, I turned my attention to the lonely DR.  Sadly my wife just hasn't developed the desire to learn to ride on two wheels.  She says its still too heavy and too tall - both of which are going to be true if you've only got 4 hours of cumulative riding time on the bike since we bought it 7 months ago.  Ironically with my 10 minute rides once per week to keep it running smooth I think I've got just as much time on the seat as she does.  I can't find a lighter or shorter alternative so looks like this endeavor was a bust.  Anyway its been a nice little bike, let the Craigslist lowball offers ensue!

7 months, 49 miles, and $450 worth of upgrades

Lighting Upgraded

     I had a couple of good nibbles on the 400 and really thought it might sell but it didn't.  Its getting too close to Los Coyotes, LAB2V, etc. so the ads are down for now and its time to work on the finishing touches.

     I'm hoping that I don't have to ride after sunset at all but its better to be prepared.  My DOT legal Cyclops headlight is great for road use, but not terribly good offroad unless you're going really slow.  Been sitting on a couple Rigid LED's waiting to see which bike they were going on.  Wiring is still a little temporary and I don't like how the blinkers sit so that will be addressed but I wanted to see how they worked.  1 spot, 1 flood, 1 hell of a lot more light!

For Sale

Despite the claims from friends that I'm an idiot, I actually put my beloved 400 up for sale.  Based on the decent 400's I've seen on Craigslist, it would cost about $6000 to get one of those and duplicate my bike.  Even then that wouldn't include the custom parts I machined or the endless hours of cleaning, powder coating, painting, and polishing.  So an asking price of $4900 seemed fair.  I've seen similar 400's sold for around that price so it seems about right.  Plus I've gotten a few nibbles so we'll see.  I've got the LA > Barstow to Vegas ride coming up in November so I'll definitely have to pull the ad down sometime in early October.  Last thing I want to risk is having a new bike to tweak and figure out during that ride.  But who knows?  Might actually sell it in the next couple weeks and then I'll be scrambling to find a suitable replacement and get it tuned to my riding.

Why sell it?  Well to be honest because I'm running out of things to do to it.  Fixing bikes up is my hobby and at some point you start to discover yourself dreaming up goofy things that you can do just so you have a next project.  I can't even rely on this bike to break down properly since it just runs and runs and runs.  I'm in no hurry to sell it and to be honest I wouldn't be the least bit upset if I don't get any offers.  I'm not going to budge on the price since the plan is to replace it with a KTM (Keep Throwing Money) and start pimping that out.  Those KTM's aren't cheap to buy and then they just get more expensive from there!  I figure if there's somebody out there that wants a great turn-key bike that's bulletproof, gets a lot of attention, and won't need anything but oil changes and 5 minute valve adjustments for the next decade or so, then this is their bike.  If not, then I expect that my 2 year old will be riding this for his DMV motorcycle test - probably on the same piston that's in there now.

XR400 Specifications

Having received a request to name some specific parts on my XR400R, I not-so-quickly realized that my quick solution to link the curious party to this blog wouldn't work.  Turns out I never actually listed any specific parts on here.  I suck, I know.  All 379 people that have somehow mislinked themselves down a long road of google images, finally arriving on this page can now commence with the stoning.

I'm intentionally leaving out the vendors where I purchased these items except in cases where I only know of one place that has them.  If for some reason google has failed you and you just can't find one of these parts, shoot me a message.


Cockpit (not counting fork conversion):

-ProTaper Evo 1 1/8" handlebars CR-High Bend (looking back the Windham MX/RM bend would have been better for my 6' frame as these are a tiny bit too low).

ProTaper Metal Mullisha Grips

-Doubletake RAM mount mirrors 

-MSR Roll Chart Holder

-Garmin GPSmap 76Cx with RAM mount, 12v adapter, and cradle (Not for sale btw.  It's cheap and easily replaceable but would be annoying to lose my waypoints and routes)

Trailtech Vapor Speedometer/Computer with billet mount.

-ProCycle Mini handlebar combination switch, ignition key switch, 12v horn (behind headlight)

-Acerbis Cyclops Headlight

-Acerbis Uniko Vented Handguards

-MSR Grip Lever Set Black (1996 XR400)

-Tusk billet fuel cap

-Clarke 3.8 gallon XR400 fuel tank w/ petcock


CRF450 Fork Conversion:

-Total cost was about $600.  Emig pressed the new stem into the CRF Triple so only work I did was the assembly.  Took about an hour once I had all the parts.

-2008 CRF450 Triple clamps (top and bottom), and fork tubes

-2004 CRF450 front wheel

-2004 CR250 front brake caliper (bolt spacing changed in 2004+, otherwise the stock XR caliper would have worked)

-Emig Racing XR400 conversion stem with bore bushing

-Polisport lower fork protectors

-Acerbis CRF450 front fender (trimmed in rear to clear frame)
   *In earlier pics you'll see I had the Acerbis Supermoto Fender.  I never got used to its 17" wheel curve so I swapped it out.



Body:

-Polisport side panels and rear fender

-Random $5 MSR fanny pack from a bike show that I made into a fender bag

-LED tail light assembly - came with the bike

-Scotts Shark Fin rear brake guard

-Tusk mini stalk turn signals

-Aluminum bash plate from unknown manufacturer 

-Luggage:  Wolfman E-12 Enduro Saddle Bags (side bags), Wolfman Enduro Duffle (on top of saddle bags), Tusk Tank Bag (modified with microfiber liner sewn on - needs a bottom strap to really be useful).  These are also not included if I sell the XR.  They're universal fit so they'll be going on my next bike.



Wheels/Suspension:

-Rear econo hub and CACR wheel from RadMFG.  (Don't be dumb and order a 19" like I did thereby limiting your DOT tire selection considerably.  If you run offroad tires it really doesn't matter.)

-Tubeliss front and rear

-Revalved/resprung for my weight

-Pirelli MT-21 rear, Dunlop D606 front

-Scotts chain guide

-15/40 Drive Street

-14/40 Drive Dirt



Engine:

-FMF Q4 Exhaust

-Kibblewhite valves and springs

-Stock compression, 1 over stock Wiseco piston

-Mikuni pumper carb from XR's Only

-Uni Filter

-NGK Iridium DPR8EIX-9 spark plug (The pumper carb gave me 1-kick starts 95% of the time, this bumped it up to 99%)

-Ricky Stator 200w stator converted to DC with battery located under the fuel tank.

XR's Only front sprocket cover with a custom teflon case saver made by me.

Tusk folding shift lever (not shown in below pic)

-Black highlights are done with a light coat of Engine Enamel paint

Older pic but I seem to be lacking a good view of the left engine case.

DR Diet

Not really keen to write a whole 'How to change your handlebars' thread so I'll just say that I'm trying to drop some weight off that pig of a bike, DR.  Figured the handlebars and battery were a good place to start since they're both heavy and they're both above the center of gravity.  Plus I'm sure the rotation of the heavy bars verses light bars must have some sort of gyroscopic coefficient.

Update:  I've had a few people ask if the new bars increase the vibration since the stock bars have weighted ends.  I'm happy to say that if anything I think that there's less bar vibration.  Those Pro Tapers are pretty springy so I think that actually works to dampen some of those vibrations.  All in all both mods were great with no downsides to report about either.  Battery has had zero issues and I haven't even bothered with a tender. 

Stock vs. Pro Taper Evo handlebars = 0.75lb saved

Conventional lead/acid vs. Ballistic Evo2 battery = 4.125lbs saved:

Installed:

Foam needed to retain battery strap:

Just some new pics

God I hate changing tires.  Especially when you have two new tires to deal with.  That POS Shinko didn't want to come off the rim but eventually I won the battle.  New shoe is a 120/80x19 Pirelli MT21 Rallycross.  Back to the traditional knobbie, albeit DOT legal - I just hope it lasts longer.

Since the weather was overcast and I haven't washed the bike since before I got caught in a deluge last week I decided that it would be a less-than-ideal time to snap some new pictures.  That storm also made me realize that I desperately need some rain gear before the LAB2V ride in November.

The tank bag is new.  $16 at RMATV.  Part of the money left over after they graciously accepted my Wrigley's Shinko.  Haven't tried it yet although I'm nervous the cordura nylon underside is going to scratch up the tank.  Might see if I can sew a piece of microfiber on there.

I also finally got around to picking up spares for my clutch, brake, and shift levers.  Of course the new ones were much nicer looking than the old ones so the old ones are the new spares.

My DIY 'Honda Wing' graphics are bubbling bad so that idea was a bust.  I wasn't really going to mention my brilliant idea of buying sheet vinyl unless it worked.  I'm out $14 but I can salvage that a bit by making a few trim pieces that won't be on the tank.  Really though, I just need to find some clean and simple graphics that don't cost $200.  Seriously who pays that kind of money for stickers?  Plus finding graphics that aren't full of neon swooshes, dice, skulls, flames, half naked demon chicks, etc. is actually rather difficult.

MX aftermarket graphic design seems to be stuck in 1984.  I can't grow a mullet so there's no way I can put those graphics on my bike and look the part.  Why do we even have decibel limits on our exhausts when you can't hear them over the obnoxious sticker kits anyway?

I also realized that I don't have any pics of my cockpit with the GPS mounted.  It's a Garmin 76Cx which is pretty much the standard GPS of the dual sport community.  Seriously don't mess around with other GPS's - just get one of these.  They're cheap and since everyone has one, getting help or just handing them to the ride organizers to upload your route for the day becomes so much simpler.  It's mounted using a U-bolt Ram mount.  The arm is placed as close to perpendicular to the forks as I could get to dampen vibration.  Unfortunately I thought it would be clever to make a stupid face in the mirror.  Just ignore the douche making kissy faces...

All the crap with the tire made me forget about painting my clutch and stator covers during this last oil change.  So it'll have to wait until next time.  Also barely visible in this pic is my custom made prototype teflon case saver.  Its mounted behind the XRs Only front sprocket cover.  

Last but not least this blog will finally get a ride report I think.  Got the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Ride For Kids this Sunday.  Can't wait!  Should be good times for a good cause.