Marlin's Instrument a ( no better) alternative to Formotion, at least on a Moto Guzzi....

[audiomick]

11 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

 Hitting (a Roo) on the bike is life threatening at worst and hospital and grave injuries at best.

Yes, indeed. A mate of mine collected one (or it might have been "only" a wallaby) somewhere out near Kinglake years ago. The thing landed on his front wheel. He was lucky: scratched up the bike and broke his collar-bone. Could have been lots worse.

 

@docc : the comparison with deer is appropriate in another sense as well: deer come bounding out of the bush, the don't just wander on to the road with four feet on the ground (at least the little ones here do...). Kangaroos are even better: they come out of the trees about a meter in the air and hit the ground in the middle of the road. It can be a little difficult to see them coming...

But, as Guzzler has already mentioned, they are indeed grill-compatible.

[docc]

1 hour ago, nobleswood said:

Is that a Fairbairn Sykes Docc ?

At the furthest right, yessir!

Second from the left is America's interpretation, the U.S. V-42 (originally made by Case).

[guzzler]

8 hours ago, audiomick said:

Yes, indeed. A mate of mine collected one (or it might have been "only" a wallaby) somewhere out near Kinglake years ago. The thing landed on his front wheel. He was lucky: scratched up the bike and broke his collar-bone. Could have been lots worse.

 

@docc : the comparison with deer is appropriate in another sense as well: deer come bounding out of the bush, the don't just wander on to the road with four feet on the ground (at least the little ones here do...). Kangaroos are even better: they come out of the trees about a meter in the air and hit the ground in the middle of the road. It can be a little difficult to see them coming...

But, as Guzzler has already mentioned, they are indeed grill-compatible.

You're not wrong about them bounding outa the bush mate...

I have a simple rule of being off the bike or off the road by about 4pm due to the wildlife and one very vivid memory was the cause of it.

Back in 1989 I did a bike trip to Darwin and Kakadu Nat Park on a most inappropriate SR500 loaded with gear and girlfriend.The original plan to come back via Qld was abandoned due to the SLOW pace ha ha.Anyways leaving Erldunda for Ayers Rock in the late afternoon meant we'd be riding at night to get there.I was wary but thought bugger it will give it a go.

About half way into the 260 k ride it's pitch black and COLD plus the SR's headlight was about as good as holding a lighter out front and I see headlights coming towards us from the direction of the rock.By the time the headlights get close to us ie about 10-15 metres away it's lights illuminate a HUGE roo, it had to be a big red.It bounded outa the bush from my left never having touched the lane we were in and landed on the road right in front of the 4WD and it's headlights and bounced off into the bush on the other side! We wouldn't have had a chance had it come the other way! Being dark as Hades out there you don't see them coming till it's too late and to say it scared the CRAP outa me is the understatement of the year.The remaining 130 odd kays were spent jumping at even the bugs hitting the helmet....

Then when we were almost there the road turned into a swarming see of MICE just to freak us out even more (didn't think it possible)!

Turns out there was a mouse plague out there but anyways we made it!

I've just driven this road a couple of weeks ago with my wife this time and it brought the memory (s) back so apologies for the rambling....!

But yeah, a Roo is definitely better viewed from your plate than the road in the dark of night!!!

Cheers 

  

[audiomick]

1 hour ago, guzzler said:

...a ... roo...scared the CRAP outa me...

I can relate to that.

Mine wasn't even in the dark. The last time I was in Australia I had a Falcon ute to drive around in. (2016, it was. The ute actually belonged to my father, but lived at my sister's place. Anyway...).

I was heading for Beechworth, where my mother lives, from Wodonga. On the way, I decided to detour from the main road into the bush a bit. Dirt road, but good. No worries in the ute, it can deal with it.

I'm tooling along at a fairly relaxed speed enjoying the bush, and all of a sudden there were 4 roos RIGHT THERE !!!. They came from the right at an angle, about 4 o'clock. I didn't see them until they were right in front of me. They would have been Eastern Grey Kangaroos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_grey_kangaroo , and they just blend into the bush background perfectly. I didn't see them coming, and lost them very quickly after they headed back into the bush.

I fairly shi was quite shocked by the experience.

[p6x]

I spoke to the Marlin's Instruments owner; I was so surprised to even be able to speak to someone directly without first having to listen to a bot.

I described the issue, and he thinks he knows what the problem is. In any case, he is sending me a new thermometer.

I rode again late this afternoon, and the pointer oscillates back and forth so much that you cannot tell what temperature the gauge reads while riding. When I stopped back home, it was reading 105 degF when the ambient was in the 89 degF. Something isn't quite right.

[guzzler]

1 hour ago, audiomick said:

I can relate to that.

Mine wasn't even in the dark. The last time I was in Australia I had a Falcon ute to drive around in. (2016, it was. The ute actually belonged to my father, but lived at my sister's place. Anyway...).

I was heading for Beechworth, where my mother lives, from Wodonga. On the way, I decided to detour from the main road into the bush a bit. Dirt road, but good. No worries in the ute, it can deal with it.

I'm tooling along at a fairly relaxed speed enjoying the bush, and all of a sudden there were 4 roos RIGHT THERE !!!. They came from the right at an angle, about 4 o'clock. I didn't see them until they were right in front of me. They would have been Eastern Grey Kangaroos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_grey_kangaroo , and they just blend into the bush background perfectly. I didn't see them coming, and lost them very quickly after they headed back into the bush.

I fairly shi was quite shocked by the experience.

It's incredible how they do blend into the countryside eh...

Especially bloody Emus!

Mate I near pissed myself at your last comment!

A...shocking experience indeed!

Ha ha Cheers  

[Speedfrog]

@p6x Not sure your experience proves Marlin’s instruments to be superior to Formotion’s... 

But that’s all besides the point, when you talk to the boss at Marlin, did you asked him about all the Roos crisscrossing the roads everywhere??...

[audiomick]

I heard a rumour that Marlin company reps have been reading along here, and they are now working on an after-market Roo detector.

 

Anyway, the mounting for the Marlin devices does indeed look better than that on the Formotions. That the temperature gauge has a problem doesn't have to be an indication of generally poor quality. If the replacement has problems, then that is another story.

I'm interested to hear how they bear up, particularly the clock. I miss that on the V11 (compared to the GTR...). Temperatur is not so critical, but could be useful in winter when it is really cold.

[ScuRoo]

Yeah nah maaate

The bloody roos are manageable unless the dawn sun is in ‘yer eyes… altho’ the tiger snakes can be fairly stressful flicking up from ‘yer wheels & climbing into the engine bay only to reappear pissed off on refuelling at the next Golden Fleece roadhouse

On a couple occasions riding I’ve had to deal with bush chooks which can be as unpredictable as a epileptic spastic on New Year’s Eve

But those angry drop bears are what I usually keep my eyes out for - you’ll be farked if they time it right & get ahold of you

Luckily I don’t live out by Ayer’s Rock - the dingoes out there are bloody rug rat killers

Strewth! Yeah mate..

[guzzler]

Drop Bears....

Yeah, if they don't getcha the whole fookin tree will...!

Cheers

[audiomick]

Too bloody right, mate.

[docc]

I went to take down my silly stiletto and grill drift from this thread, but realized the whole road-kill 'roo thing is the greater drift (conversation and banter, as it were) . . .

Otherwise, back to the Marlin Instruments . . .

Has the replacement thermometer come @p6x?

 

 

[p6x]

Just back from a

On 9/21/2023 at 2:10 AM, Speedfrog said:

@p6x Not sure your experience proves Marlin’s instruments to be superior to Formotion’s... 

But that’s all besides the point, when you talk to the boss at Marlin, did you asked him about all the Roos crisscrossing the roads everywhere??...

I came back from a 1750 miles trip yesterday.

Both Marlin's instruments are at least still on the bike; I did not loose them because they sheared from their support as with the Formotion. But that is the only positive point.

The thermometer pointer was no longer connected to the sensor, or at least this is what I think happened.

The clock was trailing time by several hours after I set it properly before my trip. I think it has to do with the torque from the V11; I noticed the seconds hand would have a hard time clearing between the 9 to 12 side of the quadrant while in motion. I need to make a video of the issue.

Updated on September 27th 2023:

I received the new thermometer from Marlin's and I replaced it.

The pointer remains steady until I hit 60 miles an hour. Then it becomes unreadable, like the previous one.

My conclusion is that the instruments are fine, they don't shear like the Formotion did, but the vibrations output of the V11 prevent them from working properly.

I will attempt one last trial tomorrow. I will swap sides; installing the thermometer on the right, the clock on the left.

If not, well at least I have determined that none of the analogical gauges will work, unless they are installed in the center of the bike.

 

[p6x]

Final verdict:

The Marlin instruments stay on the Guzzi. They don't fall off. Unfortunately, this is the only good news.

The clock mechanism is sensitive to the way the Guzzi engine vibrate, meaning that when you travel you slow down the time...

The Temperature gauge is not readable during the ride, but seems to go back to a realistic value when the engine is not running.

So nothing wrong with the Marlin's instruments. It is just they are not suitable for a V11.

I wanted to have analogical gauges, not the ugly digital displays. But Marlin's is not the solution.

[audiomick]

28 minutes ago, p6x said:

...meaning that when you travel you slow down the time...

EInstein figured that out in about 1905.

Quote

the observer will measure the moving clock as ticking slower than a clock that is at rest in the observer's own reference frame. In addition, a clock that is close to a massive body (and which therefore is at lower gravitational potential) will record less elapsed time than a clock situated farther from the said massive body (and which is at a higher gravitational potential).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation

 

So you've got a clock that is mounted to a massive body, the Guzzi, that moves at incredible speed when you are riding. Any wonder the clock slows down...

 

 

Seriously though, thanks for the report on the instruments.