Tropical T7

My recent bike history includes a Honda CRF 250 Rally, a Honda CB500X and a KTM 390 Adventure. All of these bikes have very easy to operate clutches. As I found out during my first few city rides, the T7 is quite a bit different in this regard - it's clutch needs quite a bit more force to disengage. To help with that, and also with the on/off feeling that led to quite a few rough starts until I got used to it, I ordered the "1-finger clutch" from Camel ADV . The kit comes with a replacement clutch arm and cable guide as well as a few smaller bits and pieces that are needed to install the new clutch arm. All was packaged very well and leaves a high quality impression.   Thanks to a well-made instructions video installation was straight forward. The replacement arm has three possible settings that lighten the clutch pull by lengthening the path the clutch cable travels when the clutch lever is pulled to varying degrees. I went with the middle setting which suits me fine. ...

We did a nice day trip across the island to finish off the first 1000km.      I installed a tail tidy and my Enduristan luggage in the mean time. I also transferred the Denali Aurora lights I had on my 390 Adventure before. I'll write some more about these latest additions in another post or two. All in all the bike is coming together nicely.

The Supabrake 3  by Vizible Technologies is a clever little piece of electronics that lets your brake light flash in an attempt to draw the attention of the people following you. There are other (cheaper) modules for this, but the Supabrake is special in that it employs an algorithm that prevents you from annoying everrybody following you in stop and go traffic. Basically it will flash the light more when the brake hasn't been applied in a while, and less (or not at all), if you've been braking recently already. Installation is plug and play for many bikes (make sure to select the correct version when ordering) - just find the plug where your brake light connects to the wire harness, disconnect, and insert the Supabrake in line. The whole thing can be programmed to your liking but personally I just left everything at factory settings.

Today I installed the *AltRider adjustable windscreen riser and the Camel ADV "Anti Bobble Head" brackets . Both are easy to do especially after watching the instruction videos both companies put up on YouTube. The windscreen riser has a high quality look and feel to it (anything else would have been a disappointment at that price point) and comes with a special kind of screw locker for the thumb screws that promises to work even after re-adjusting the screen. You have to bend the windscreen quite a bit to get it re-installed over the screws but once done it fits perfectly. The lower screws holding the headlight assembly were a bit tricky to access, otherwise installation of the stabilizer brackets was straightforward. After test riding I can confirm that the Camel ADV brackets keep the dash under control very well. The wind screen riser showed mixed results, it didn't improve wind noise as much as I'd hoped. Rising the screen just a bit yielded a slight improvement,...

I replaced the stock battery with a Lithium-Ion battery manufactured by Dynavolt, which I purchased from Big Bike Tech on Lazada. I was skeptical at first but according to the limited internet research I did upfront, Dynavolt appears to be a well-known battery manufacturer. The new battery weighs just over 1kg, significantly lighter than the stock battery (which exceeds 3kg, the limit of my little kitchen scale). One notable feature is the built-in LCD screen, displaying the charging status and voltage. While it's a nice addition, I don't foresee myself frequently removing the seat to check it.

The T7 headlight is an expensive part to replace, so it's a good idea to add some protection to it. There are two general kinds of headlight protectors available from various manufacturers - a metal grille (like *this one ) or a clear plexiglass element, to be mounted in front of the headlight. I think the plexiglass version makes more sense as it completely shields the headlight from stones, branches and whatever else might come its way. Any kind of metal grille by design leaves room for smaller objects to pass through, and it naturally reduces light output as it blocks some of the area it is protecting. The finer the grille (better protection), the bigger the obstruction of light output. I got the *Puig Headlight Protector  from Amazon (free shipping to the Philippines, yay!). It came with all the necessary hardware and took less than 5 minutes to install. Pro-Tip: Clean your headlight before mounting the protector.