First off - let me say that the email responses to the website has been great - thank you to all that have sent me notes, and questions. To answer them in order of quantity..

1. Yes the dash is a little big for a motorcycle. I went to the dealership and compared it's size to a few of the more "popular" race bikes. It is smaller than a dash on say an R1, or a RR, but compared to the Veypor, or MyChron that I've used, it is bigger.. Here's something to consider, the previous RacePak devices had a communications box that would have to be buried on the bike as well as a dash. (If you were using a GPS based track mappable unit) The old GPS black box was considerably larger than any current day motorcycle ECU, and we all know how hard it is to add electronics to racebikes, where weight and space is everything. The IQ3 has the old system beat hands down. That's why it made sense for me to get busy integrating it into our race bike. Here's a side by side picture comparing the Veypor clad in the Aluminum housing with the IQ3. Also a shot with the tape measure so that should answer the - 'how big is it" line of questions.

2. Price - I got asked a:"did you get a deal?", b:"do they sponsor riders?", c:"are you paid to say this stuff?"... and other sorts of questions along these same lines..

I had to laugh at some of these questions, but I do get the reason they are asked. Racers are a shrewd group. They want the very best they can afford. Having been around a few laps I think the fastest way around the track is sometimes not about the price you paid but the VALUE you can extract from your purchases. To answer these questions specifically:

a - The deal I got was: asking when the IQ3 would be available for me to buy. Since this product is so new, the pipeline of product isn't full, and units are flying off the distributors shelves as soon as they arrive. (as of this writing you'll want to be on the "list" if you plan on using it in time for your 2008 race season)

b - Sponsorship: If you go to the website of either RacePak or HPRworld you will find that they have sponsored riders. If you think you qualify and they agree, I guess you'll be sponsored.

c- Paid to say this stuff: I'm not paid by anyone to recognize quality - but I do anyway. Bottom line - the old saying - you get what you paid for is holding true. I haven't seen a Data Acquisition product come along recently that has this high build quality, immense set of engineered features, all stuffed into a package that a hard core motorcyclist can take advantage of.

3. Durability - I got asked - "what do you think will happen to that nice LCD screen in a crash?"... Ok so thanks Jeff for sending that one in.. I suppose anything can break in a crash.. and I have to tell you that mounting this appropriately will be what distinguishes a surviving system from one that has you ordering again.. (crash = $$ = ouch) When I get the bike back in the shop to start the mounting, I'll be sure to let you see how I engineered the mounting to the WR. I figure if you want to provide some feedback to that design, I'll take it since I won't be able to afford a second one either.

4. Lastly I got asked - "how well does it do in direct sunlight?". Considering the Veypor VR2 unit clearly has a smaller screen to take in the "view", the IQ3 kicks butt here as well. I'll work on some photo's of the IQ3 under power and then after mounting - in the sunlight. Since the Yamaha WR450 doesn't have a "cockpit" like most uber race bikes, it will be exposed to the sun more so than on other bikes. If you can see it on the WR you should have "worse case viewing" in my opinion. Stay tuned for that.

(update - here’s a picture in sunlight with median contrast setting - clearly what I’d call “very visible”)



Thanks for the feedback, questions, and comments.. let me know if I've overlooked anything. js

I powered the unit up today, and I have to tell you the backlighting is pretty cool. It appears to be visible in sunlight as well. I'm sure programming the unit will prove interesting.

until next time... js