Action video

 

I use action cameras to capture my hobbies including driving the on the track (HPDE), off-road motorcycling, and electric mountain biking off-road. I am very much an amateur but I have learned a few basics from years of experimentation and learning from others. I have very little patience with video editing and I am not so interested in making engaging videos that attract hits. Instead I like to capture and share the videos to relive the moments, and to give others a sense of what the event was like from the drivers, or riders, seat. My off-road videos are especially focused on showing others what these trails are like so they know what they are getting into if they choose to ride them. I typically spend about a minute per video "editing" the videos captured from the camera in preparation for upload to YouTube. I am far from an expert on video capture or editing but I share my thoughts in this article mostly for those who are just getting started.

As an Engineer, I think it is important to understand some of the basics around what is going on with digital video. This helps to create better video.

I have details of my action camera setup in this blog post: https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2025/01/my-action-camera-setup.html .  I upgraded to the Insta360 X5, describing that in this post: https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2025/06/action-camera-upgrade.html . You can see my videos on my YouTube channel here: https://youtube.com/@JimRoal 

Image Stabilization

One very important note to begin with is the differences between Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) and their use cases.  

Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)

Optical image stabilization is accomplished by adding physical suspension and damping to the camera lens. This allows the lens to move somewhat independently from the camera body. This works similar to suspension on a car ort motorcycle, allowing the wheels to follow the ground while the body is semi-isolated, giving the vehicle a smoother ride. This works well in the case of light shaking or vibrations but it cannot handle any significant shaking or vibrations. OIS is commonly used in traditional video camcorders and higher-end smartphone cameras. OIS can also improve still image quality since the electronic image sensor in the camera takes time to capture the image, it is critical the camera stay in the exact same position as long as possible. This allows for a much crisper image. The same concept applies to video as the camera is collecting a series of images to make the video. 

One key point here is that you never want optical image stabilization (OIS) for action video from a camera mounted on a moving object, like a car or bike. OIS works great for a human holding a camera but not for a camera mounted to just about any moving object. In fact, using an OIS camera on a moving object will eventually destroy the camera as the excessive forces make the OIS mechanism slam against its limits. This also creates horrible video. In the case where a human is holding the camera OIS works great since the person holding the camera is already compensating for shock loads, damping them out.

Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS)

Electronic image stabilization is a totally different approach. Instead of stabilizing the lens and optical image sensor, it captures frames very quickly and then aligns them afterwards (although pretty much in real-time). This can be done in post-processing as well. Think of it as a series of images while making a video. The shaking causes each image to misalign with the prior image which results in shaky video. EIS realigns image-by-image (actually using groups of images) to make each frame align correctly. In order to do this, you must sacrifice the edges of each image, meaning you must reduce the resolution of the images you originally captured. For instance the Garmin Virb I have drops from 4k to 2.7k when you turn ON EIS. It also zooms in a bit for the same reason so you loose field of view as well. There are limits to how much stabilization you can get based on the field of view and resolution of each image captured. This is where 360 cameras shine. They capture everything, infinite field of view. Of course you are also spreading those pixels across a much larger field of view, losing resolution. This is why you need very high total resolution when shooting 360 video, like 8k. EIS does not totally fix all the issues caused by high vibration. As each frame is captured, it still takes a certain amount of time. This requires a high-performance image processor (very high bitrate). Even then, high frequency vibrations will cause fuzzy images. Here is where a vibration isolating mount helps. While this will cause each frame to misalign even more, modern EIS can easily correct that. 

For an action camera mounted to anything moving you must have Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS). All action cameras have only EIS. Cellular phones often have OIS and therefor cannot be used in harsh situations.

Bitrate and Frame Rate

Bitrate is a measure of how fast data can flow to create the video. Raw video would require a very high bitrate to be lossless (meaning not lose resolution due to compression). Modern video formats all have some level of compression (except certain raw formats generally reserved for high-end or professional cameras). The less compression, the better the video quality but the higher the bitrate required. When you watch a video, you are at the mercy of the slowest data rate between your device and the web server hosting the video. Many things along the way add restrictions and delays. When this happens the video will get more compressed. At some point the resolution will jump to the next lower (such as dropping from 4k to 1080) in an attempt to let you continue watching. If it still can't keep up you get the pause with the wait animation (buffering). Because of this you generally get a much better playback experience at 30 frames/sec (29.97) than you will at 60 frame/sec. To support the same 4k resolution at 60 frames/sec takes twice the bitrate, doubling the problems with playback and doubling the likelihood this bitrate limit will begin compressing your video or pausing during playback.

The higher the video resolution, the higher the bitrate required. For instance, 4k video requires 4 times the bitrate (typically 35Mbps to 68Mbps) as 1080 video (Typically 8Mbps to 12Mbps).

The biggest benefit of shooting video at 60 frame/sec is you can get good slow motion video at 30 frames/sec. This is useful when you want to capture something that happens very fast and see it in slow motion. Here you need that extra frame rate to capture more frames in a short time. If you upload it at 60 frames/sec, then the person watching can play it back in slow motion for the same benefit. 

Most modern TVs have smoothing built-in. When watching a video at 24 frames/sec on an 80" big screen, you may start to notice the frames and see some shakiness between frames. The smoothing algorithms in the TV can smooth this back out by interpolating between the frames to create a higher frame rate. Generally 30 frames/sec produces smooth video even on a big screen. The bigger the screen, the more noticeable the frame rate is. 

In my experience I find better playback quality on YouTube with 4k 30 (29.97) frames/sec and 90Mbps. This lets you use the bitrate to produce much clearer frames than you would get with 60 frame/sec. At normal playback speed it produces smooth video. The case for higher frame rate is for viewing at slow motion. 

Maybe when everything from servers, to internet service providers (including cellular data), and our devices all get much faster we will be able to reliably support over 400Mbps and have very smooth and high resolution 8k video at 60 frame/sec. I have Cox 1Gbps fiber and I still can get data rate issues on 360 8k video even at 30 frames/sec. Often it is back at the server end where they pay for bandwidth and are pumping enormous amounts of video data through a limited data rate connection. Some ISPs (especially cellular) will limit bandwidth on purpose. 

SD Memory Speed

It is critical that you use memory cards (typically SD or micro-SD cards) that can support the bitrate you plan to record in. If you card is too slow you will end up with poor video quality or worse. Most cards proudly advertise their maximum data rates, not their minimum. The maximum is not important, you need to know the limit (worst case) data rates. Luckily there are industry standards for this now. Ignore the "up to" data rates and instead focus on the industry standard minimum speed class ratings. There is UHS speed class ratings as well a Video Speed Class (Vxx) speed ratings. Read this article from the SD Association for more details: https://www.sdcard.org/developers/sd-standard-overview/speed-class/ . I have also found that no-name SD cards are generally trash. Finding a V60 or V90 from a reputable company that is compatible with my cameras is difficult and expensive at the time I wrote this article. I have been using V30 cards so far with reasonable results. As soon as more V60 or V90 cards become available from reputable manufacturers I plan to upgrade. Follow the camera manufacturers requirements and recommendations for best performance. 

In-Car Video

Originally I expected these to need image stabilization. I bought a Gamin Virb Ultra 30 back in 2017 to record in-car video. This camera, like most action cameras, have a trade-off between max resolution and image stabilization. You can shoot in 4k but if you want image stabilization you need to drop to 2.7k. I later found that if you firmly mount the camera to the vehicle body (like the windshield) the video is very stable and you don't need the camera to smooth the video at all. I switched to shooting in 4k all the time in-car. Since the car is a large suspended mass, most of the harsh vibrations and impulses have been significantly dampened. I would not use OIS cameras in a moving vehicle though.

Here is an example where I used a camcorder to record in-car video. I even had it on a vibration isolating mount.

You can hear the cameras OIS mechanism getting hammered against its limits. You can also see how shaky the video is. Lesson learned: never use OIS when mounting a camera in a moving vehicle. Use OIS when holding the camera in your hand.

Here is an example shot with a Virb Ultra 30 at 4k with no image stabilization.

Off-Road Video

Off-road video on a bicycle or motorcycle has severe vibrations and shaking. This is especially true for 2-wheeled light vehicles like a dirt bike, dual sport or adventure motorcycle, or a mountain bike. Here you do need electronic image stabilization. In most cases you also need a vibration damping mount. More on this topic in the mounts discussion below.

360 Video

360 cameras offer a shoot first and point later approach to video. This way you miss nothing. It captures spherical video. From this video you can produce framed video in any orientation you like. You can also zoom out to expand the field of view (although distorted). You can even upload the full 360 video to YouTube (and others) so the viewer can pan around while watching. However, this is very demanding on bitrate. 8k 360 video needs about 200Mbps. In the bitrate discussion above I explain how this can be hard to achieve in many situations, resulting in compression and resolution loss while watching. Since your field of view is infinite, you are spreading the pixels you capture over a much wider field of view. While 8K sounds really high resolution, in reality it has less pixel density than a single lens camera shooting 4k. You can export framed 4k from the 8k 360 video but it will not be quite as clear as a comparable quality single lens camera shooting at 4k. 

Here is an example of the exact same video, the first reframed to 4k flat video.

and that same video uploaded in 8k 360.

You can create reframed videos from 360 video where you pan around, zoom in and out, etc. This is now my favorite approach. You can get good reframed 4k video from an 8k 360 video. The great thing here is you shoot in 360 and then you can easily create any views you want from it. I have no patience for video editing and I tend to mostly produce fairly raw video with very little editing. I typically spend about a minute editing the video in preparation for uploading. I may trim the ends, setup the GPS data overlays, maybe set a few key frames, add color boost, and then produce. 

Some apps and websites have not engaged with 360 photos or videos. For instance, you might see a 360 photo that is flattened out like this.

Here is the video showing the 360 image being viewed properly. In the video I show how you can pan around.

On mobile phones there is another viewing mode where you move the phone around to pan around as if the phone is a window into the image. 

Facebook and YouTube do a pretty good job with this.

Data Overlays

The Garmin Virb Ultra 30 was my first camera that supported data overlays. It has GPS built into the camera and captures the GPS data along with the video. The Ultra 30 also supported Bluetooth data such as from an OBD2 dongle but I never tried that feature. These overlays add context to the video. I now capture the GPS data with all the video I shoot with any camera that supports it. I don't always use it but for in-car, motorcycling, or bicycling video I really like it. You can always capture it and not use it but you can't go back and capture it. Another great use for this data is you can export the GPX file that shows the actual route in a map of where the video was captured. I like to have the GPS coordinates shown so someone watching can locate exactly where each frame was captured. Some video editors support GPX file import so you can use external GPS data to create the overlays. This requires time synchronization which can be tedious. I have never tried it. 

Insta360 captures this data either from a cellular phone via the Insta360 app, or from one of the GPS remotes they offer. I use the GPS remote for the vast majority of my recording. 

Here is an example of setting up these data overlays (Insta360 calls them "stats").

Here are my typical reframed export settings in Insta360 Studio.

Here are my export settings for 360 video.

I always use Insta360 Studio on the PC to edit and produce. While the mobile app is about as good as it can be, editing on a phone screen is very tedious. While modern phones are pretty powerful, they are no match for a modern PC. I have also found limitations in the mobile app such as export resolution and frame rate limits that I don't have on the PC. The app is handy if you want a quick video short or reel maybe but it's not a great tool for producing high-quality video. Producing video will tie up the device for a while too, hogging it's resources. 

My videos are landscape because it gives a much wider viewing angle which is better for my use cases. Personally I really dislike portrait video for all of my use cases. I can watch landscape format video on my phone by simply rotating it 90 degrees. Then the video fills the screen. I can watch them on a big screen TV which is my favorite way to view them. Portrait video on a TV is terrible in my opinion. 

Microphones

When I first started recording action video (in-car) I realized the wind noise was horrible. After experimenting with several mic placements and wind protection, I found that you really need both the foam and the fuzzy mic protection. In the car I placed the mic behind the drivers seat in an attempt to find a less windy spot as well. This finally made much better audio, although not perfect. I really want to get the microphone from the Weather Channel dude. They can be in a hurricane and still get good audio. 

I found the motorcycle the most challenging. In a very rough off-road situation, and with wind, as well as various rattles from zippers and such, it is very hard to get good audio. I started with the Insta360 foam mic covers but that did very little. I then tried a wired mic connected to the camera. I had both foam and fuzzy covers on it and this worked pretty well.

However, the vibration and impact the motorcycle takes off-road can be severe. So bad that the connector on the camera for the mic power would become disconnected at times. This video: https://youtu.be/UP2RGAUsSg8?si=IHo-W6ALhHxB6F_U&t=576 is an example of that happening (at 9:48 into that video). Insta360 does not recommend using the wired mic adapter in high vibration environments, like my exact use case.

I finally went with the Insta360 wireless mic (Mic Air) that is available for the Insta360 X5 camera. This comes with a fuzzy wind sock too. Now the mic can be mounted in a better location (which I am still trying to find). I started with placing it on the front strap of my backpack but that catches the rattling of various zippers and things too. The X5 camera has improved wind noise protection. The X5 records both internal mics and the wireless mic at the same time. There is a mixes in Insta360 Studio where you can use one, the other, or mix both. This gives options. 

Mounts

Mounting of the camera in or on a moving vehicle is very important. In the case of a car (or truck) where image stabilization is not used, the camera must be very firmly mounted to the vehicle so there is no relative movement between the camera and the vehicle. In this use case you are depending on the large suspended mass of the vehicle body to stabilize the camera for smooth video, which generally works well. Avoid long, cantilevered mounts. A suction mount to the windshield is often a decent approach, other than the effects of shooting through the windshield. Use a large suction mount that has the least amount of flex as possible. Don't extend the camera away from the mount. The video will be better if you don't have the windshield between the camera and the view but this comes with trade-offs. If you do shoot through the windshield it is critical that you keep the windshield very clean.  

Off-road on a motorcycle or even a bicycle is a different story. I have a 700cc one cylinder motorcycle which is worst case for vibration, even with the engine having a balance shaft. The handlebar vibration is bad enough but when riding over rocks the shock adds to this. Here you need both a firm mount as well as a vibration damper for the camera. The vibration damper mount is a challenge here. The flex in the mount causes frame-to-frame misalignment to increase. However it also keeps the image sensor and lens still longer to allow for better image capture (less fuzzy). The vibration damper mount is great for 360 cameras where you are capturing an entire spherical image. The 360 camera does not lose field of view at all. A single lens action camera is a different story. The vibration damper mount causes larger frame-to-frame misalignment which can exceed the field of view.  

In the case of mounting the camera to off-road motorcycle handlebars, you also need a vibration damping mount. This is especially true for large single-cylinder motorcycles such as my Husqvarna 701 Enduro. The vibrations and impulses can be severe. This causes a fuzzy image. The engine vibration frequency can make this worse. Here is an example video with an Insta360 X3 mounted to the handlebars of my Husqvarna 701 Enduro.

As the engine rpm rises the impact of the vibration starts to blur the video. About a month later I bought an Insta360 X5 and rode this same trail again, still with the same rigid mount.

The X5 has several improvements that made this video better but still you can see some of the effects of the high vibration. 

This next video was shot with the Insta360 X5 with the vibration isolator mount from Insta360.

 This (Wheeler Pass) was a much rougher trail too, and a similar climb.

This next video was shot with the Insta360 X5 and the vibration damper mount but up a very rough trail.

At some points in the video the vibration and shaking become so violent that even this X5 plus the vibration mount are not enough and some frames are misaligned. This is the downside of handlebar mounting. Here is where mounting the camera to your helmet or a chest mount will make a huge difference. 

Here is my latest mount for the motorcycle.

I use a special USB cable with a thin flat end. I also strap it in so it can't come out. The this cable gives easy flex around the vibration mount. I also secure the cable to the mount at the bottom.

Like the large suspended mass of a vehicle, our body is a great vibration damper. Our body is an even better vibration damper because we basically have active suspension (primarily our legs). This is even better than the best OIS since we use our balance to actively keep our body in position in real-time. Our head is where most of our body's inertia sensing is so mounting to your helmet will be the smoothest place. The camera will have a much easier time creating clear, high resolution frames. The camera will move far less as each frame is being captured. We actively keep our body aligned between frames as well, making the job easier for EIS. This really helps with single lens cameras as the frame-to-frame misalignment will be less. 

Everything comes with different trade-offs. I like the perspective from the handlebar mount. I also like not having the camera on my helmet since it is heavy and branches can hit it. You may not notice the camera coming off and lose your camera with a mounting position where you can't see it. I used a chest mount before but it is not well positioned as you can't see the trail as well. Chin mounts can put the camera in your visible area addressing the lost camera issue but now you have this camera hanging off your chin in a position that is generally a bit too low. 

Extended mounts are great for shooting 360 since you get almost drone-like video. However, I have not seen this work out in off-road situations. These mounts cantilever the camera at the end of a long rod. Off-road the shaking is far too violent and there are too many branches and things the camera will hit often ending up with a broken mount and a lost camera. 

Light Balance and Focus

In the case where a camera is mounted inside the vehicle and shooting through a window, light balance and focus can be challenging. In this situation is is very important to use center weighted focus and light balance. If you don't, the camera will try to balance the light for the average across the entire viewing area and bright sunny days will entirely wash out the video since the interior is very dark in comparison. In some cases the camera may focus on the glass instead of the view through the glass. This gets much worse if the glass gets dirty or if the glass has a heating grid like many back vehicle windows do. Set your cameras focus to infinity in this case so it does not attempt to focus on the glass. I always set my cameras mounted inside the vehicle to center weighted focus. In the case of the rear-facing camera I also have it locked to infinity.

Externally mounted cameras will not have these problems in most cases. Passing through things like tunnels can cause these same types of issues, even when mounted externally, and you will need to make the trade-off as to which portion of the video you value more. A center weighted focus and light balance will bias towards seeing through the tunnel versus seeing inside the tunnel.  

Picture-In-Picture

I often use picture-in-picture (PiP) for in-car video. I have one camera face forward and the other face out the back window. Here is an example.

In this example I used the Garmin Virb Ultra 30 front facing and also capturing the GPS and accelerometer data. I used a cheap action camera to capture the rear view with center weighted focus and light balance. I edited the Virb video first in Garmin Virb Edit to apply the data overlays. Then I take the video produced from that and edit it in Cyberlink PowerDirector to add the PiP video. In order to give the video the perspective of a rear view mirror, the rear view video must be reversed left-to-right. I also place the rear view image up beyond the video border a bit to leave a narrower video strip mimicking the narrow view of a rear view mirror. You have to manually align the videos. I do this by finding a place in the video where I am either passing or being passed.  Here is an example with multiple PiP's and data overlays.

 

Biktrix died

 I was riding Lucky Strike with a friend, climbing up toward Angel Peak when the bike lost all power, display, everything. I had been running it hard with loads of throttle when it happened. I thought it might have overheated so I let it sit for several minutes, still dead. I removed the batteries, reinstalled, no change. Luckily the route from where it stopped to I11 (I95) was all downhill. 

It was an easy coast down. The guy I was riding with picked me up at the bottom. Great to always ride with someone!

When I got the bike home I removed the motor and found the negative power lead to the controller melted and open circuit.

I replaced the bad connection with a simple set of ring terminals bolted together for a firm connection. Problem solved. Quick easy fix.

The bike just passed 1,800 miles at the point it died. Of course I rode another 7.7 miles from there to I11.  

Dual Sport, Cross-Over, SUV, Enduro, etc.

 Many people go in search of that magic unicorn, either with 2 wheels or 4. In reality, all motorcycles and 4-wheeled vehicles are just different mixes of trade-offs. For a specific person and their desires, there is the right set of trade-offs but they are still trade-offs. 

Let's start with 4-wheels. The very things that make a great handling road car, make it absolutely useless off-road. A road car will handle and perform best with a very low center of gravity, stiff suspension and sway bars. Take the extreme example of a Formula One race car. They literally hit the ground at times since they sit so low. This optimizes cornering and downforce through aerodynamics. An F1 car can't even navigate many driveways as it will bottom out. 

Now consider the other end of the spectrum, a competition rock crawler 4x4. Aerodynamics is not even a thing here as they don't move very fast. They have no sway bars at all. They require large amounts of ground clearance and suspension travel so they sit very high. 

Both of these examples are very focused on the one thing they do really well, and nothing else. In both these cases neither of these vehicles can even attempt what the other can do. Sure, the rock crawler could drive around an F1 track, but at a relatively glacial pace. The vehicles normal people buy generally need to span a wide range of use cases unless you can afford and have the room to store that perfect vehicle for every situation. Even then, you would be making a trade-off every time you took one out. Both of the competition vehicles above must be hauled everywhere they go as they are not legal on any roads. In fact they are only allowed in very specific areas. When it comes to competition, you build a vehicle very focused on that one thing.

We all make trade-offs. If we can only have a single vehicle, and we want to do a wide range of things with it, we will be making major trade-offs. If you enjoy proper off-roading on rugged trails, you will likely get an off-road focused vehicle like a Bronco Raptor or Jeep Rubicon. Both are great off-road, but nowhere near the competition rock crawler in the real technical parts. Both can be driven from your house to the trails, which the rock crawler cannot. Both can be your daily driver as well, but they don't handle very good on the road. While they are not optimum in many cases, it is the right trade-offs for those who enjoy proper off-roading often and also need a daily driver. They have flexibility. 

I have 3 vehicles (4-wheeled road vehicles), all with different trade-offs. I enjoy performance driving on road courses so I have a Porsche Cayman S for that. For most of our daily driving we have a Porsche Cayenne. I have a Ford Ranger 4x4 to haul my bikes, and other things. I have a Husqvarna 701 Enduro motorcycle. These are my trade-offs that fit my use cases reasonably well. They are not right or wrong trade-offs, just trade-offs I chose.

The Cayman S rides very low, handles fantastic, and is a blast to drive on pavement. It has very little storage space and only seats 2 people. It cannot tow or haul anything. I can use it to get groceries, as long as I don't have too much to get. I can take it on trips, as long as I pack very light and only want one other person with me. I would avoid even gravel roads in this car and off-road is not an option at all.

The Cayenne has plenty of utility for most of my needs. I can tow with it, and I can get a full grocery run or pack for multiple people on even a long trip. It seats 4 people comfortably, and a 5th in a pinch. It has a modest ride height and firm suspension so it handles very good for an SUV, but these trade-off off-road capability. I might take it on a gravel road, or I could even go light off-roading but I would not take it on anything challenging off-road. These are the right trade-offs in my case and given my other vehicles.

The Ranger handles by far the worst of my vehicles on the road, but also has by far the most off-road capability. It also has the most cargo space, but much of that is in the open bed. I can haul multiple bikes or motorcycles in it.  

The same idea applies to motorcycles. If you enjoy a spirited ride on pavement, you get a sport bike like a Ducati Monster. However, this would not be so great on that long road trip where you would chose something like a Harley Road Glide. Neither of those could go off-road at all so you might want a BMW GS. But that BMW is big and heavy for the more technical off-roading where a Husqvarna 701 would be better. But that 701 is also big and heavy for the more challenging off-road trails where you would want a KTM 500. The KTM 500 would be very unpleasant on any long pavement rides. So they are all various trade-offs. 

I have the Husqvarna 701 Enduro motorcycle. I like being able to ride to the trails generally and not have to haul it. I prefer off-road riding primarily. I thought this was a good video explaining an example of trade-offs and bikes versus riders.

On his scale, I would be in the 4 to 6 range. Keep in mind his ranking is just for "adventure" riders. It does not span to road-only bikes or even dual sport bikes. 

No magic unicorns. A jack of all trades is a master of none. If you get the flexibility of a Husqvarna 701 Enduro, you also made many trade-offs. While it is decent on the highway, not for very long. It can do adventure riding, but with limited luggage, fuel, and comfort. It can do single track, but it is a bit heavy for that. 

There is not really right and wrong, only trade-offs. For example, the Husqvarna 701 Enduro is not the wrong adventure bike, but it is not as good as a BMW GS for road trips or long rides. It is not the wrong dual sport, but a KTM 500 is better on the more technical trails. 

Planning Dual Sport & Adventure motorcycle rides

There are many things to consider when planning a group motorcycle ride that includes off-road sections, or is all off-road. These rides are a great way to meet people, and group rides improve safety for all. I began organizing group motorcycle rides about a year and a half ago. I created this post to share my lessons learned over that time, and after many great rides. 

Weather

While many don't consider season or weather before planning rides, I do take these things into account. At some point it goes beyond just comfort and enjoyment, and becomes an important safety consideration. For instance, I live in an area where flash floods can be deadly. Many rides include wash crossings, or even long section riding the wash itself. Often these washes are in deep canyons or even slot canyons. A slot canyon is a complete trap, where there is no exit on either side. 

Safety

The most important weather consideration is safety. The weather related safety risks vary by region and season. Here in the Southwest flash floods are the most dangerous, followed by lighting and fire. The biggest flash flood risk is in Monsoon season. The challenge here is that the probability of heavy rains during Monsoon season can be very low, yet end up producing deadly flash floods. The situation can be very dynamic and hard to predict as well. Lightening and fire risk follow the flash flood risk and the thunderstorms are responsible for lightning which causes most of the fires as well. OnX has a feature that shows current fires on the map.

Comfort and fun

We all have different tolerances to things like temperature and humidity. Personally I prefer cooler weather in general. I would rather ride in 40F temperatures than 100F temperatures (presuming low humidity). Wind also plays a role. It is not much fun to ride in strong wind. Wind also drives the direction of dust. 

Here in the Southwest, I plan around weather. In the summer, I plan very early morning rides, and go to high altitude. NOAA has some great maps views for this. The weather map below is an example showing apparent temperature in the region. Apparent temperature takes wind chill and humidity impacts into account.

The color shows the various temperatures. In the summer, head for green areas. In general for each 1,000 feet of elevation gain, the temperature drops about 3F to 5F. In the winter, ride the lower altitudes and start later in the day. They also have maps for storms, wind, precipitation, etc. 

Ride Planning

Ride difficulty level

As all riders have different skill levels, train preferences, and motorcycles, it is important to communicate as much as you can about the nature of the ride and the difficulty levels. It is less about the bike and really about the combination of bike and rider, and this is very subjective. The term "big bike friendly" comes up often. However, Chris Birch could ride a Goldwing in places others would struggle with a TW200. I tend to think it is about 70% rider, 30% bike and tires. Because of this I find the best way to share what the trail looks like is with a video. I record all the new trails I ride and post them as playlists on my YouTube channel. I created this https://sites.google.com/view/las-vegas-dual-sport-adventure/home website where I have information about the various trails with links to the related YouTube playlists. The goal is for people interested in the event to preview the trails and determine if the ride fits there skills, bike, and desires. I post a link to the playlist showing the trails we will ride for the event (if available). If I have not yet recorded the trail, I try to find a video from someone who has. I have had mixed success with this but it seems to be the best approach. Too many will ignore the video but at least I have provided them with this information ahead of time. If they chose not to use it, that is up to them. Some off-road mapping applications such as OnX have difficulty levels for most major trails but most are 4 wheeled vehicle based. They are also subjective. If the trails are in one of these mapping application, and that application can share deep links to the trail(s), share those links in the posting. OnX also allows sharing your planned route as a link. Since I post the rides as events in Facebook, people in the group can ask questions and get replies from others. This is another way riders can ask about difficulty and crowdsource responses from other riders. 

Ride details

It is very important that you post a map link and details of the starting location. People need to know exactly when and where to meet. I use a Google Maps link as well as a good description in the event post for this. The time should reflect the design ride start time. I found it is best to have at least a 15 minute buffer for this. If you want the ride to start at 8am, post the meeting time at 7:30am or 7:45am. Or, post the start time at 8am but don't leave until at least 8:15am. 

Different bikes have different fuel ranges. Fuel economy is somewhat hard to predict since the terrain causes big changes. My Husky 701 can get as good as 65mpg or as bad as 35mpg for instance. Adding to that many off-road focused dual sport bikes can have rather small fuel tanks. Some (like my 701) has no way to know how much fuel is in the tank until the low fuel light comes on. This creates range anxiety. I post the longest distance between gas for the route we plan to ride. I use a mapping application such as GAIA or OnX for this. I have this post: https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2024/02/off-road-trails-in-southern-nevada.html describing those apps. After ring my motorcycle for a couple years now, and tracking the fuel economy, I have a good idea of my range. If there is a risk of not having enough fuel, I have a 1.3 gallon add-on gas can I can attach to the bike. I prefer to plan rides with less than 100 miles between fuel stops when possible.

I like to create the route in OnX or GAIA and share the link with the group. Ideally also create a GPX file of the route and share that for download. This is tricky since I use Facebook to post the events and they do not allow attaching GPX files. I use a Google Drive public folder to host the GPX files, and share the Drive link in the event details. This way people can download the route into their favorite GPS navigation device. I use a Garmin Zumo XT2 for this myself. Some use phone apps, some of which allow downloading maps for offline use. I use both. If I am unfamiliar with the area, I download offline maps on Garmin, Google Maps, GAIA, and OnX. Never get lost!

Some riders have tire/tube combinations that are not good on pavement, or just avoid pavement. These folks will want to haul and meet to minimize road riding. Some rides can facilitate that, others less so. Ideally consider this when planning rides. This is a tough one as suggesting a place to park is risky. I avoid this instead pointing out the route and where we start, and let them decide where they want to haul to and meet us. 

Some people don't have street licensed motorcycles. Generally all the rides I plan include roads and trails that require a street license. Mention this in the event post. While the roads may be obvious, many trails are not.

Creating a route

I start with some of the ride mapping and routing tools available. This post https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2024/02/off-road-trails-in-southern-nevada.html covers that topic. Finding and connecting trails with gas stops takes some time. Understanding what each trail segment is like can be the hardest part. I use web searches and YouTube searches as much as I can. OnX and some others offer good reviews and explanations of many trails, but not all. I find GAIA to be a good choice in some cases as it is very crowd sourced and detailed as far as trails but it does not have difficulty ratings. For the most part, OnX and GAIA have trails mapped and you can simply create routes by mapping through and between them. This uses a snap to map feature that tries to route you between points by following defined trails. At times, none of these apps have certain trails covered and you may need to improvise. OnX and GAIA for instance, offer custom routing/mapping tools. In this case you turn off the snap feature and instead draw point-to-point yourself. Often I will build a route mostly with the snap feature ON, and switch to the point-to-point approach only for small segments between defined trails. I use a satellite view while doing this to validate the route appears good. This is of course risky. Watch out for things like gates and fences, large deep washes, etc. I use Google Earth at times to show the profile of the terrain as well as view the satellite imagery. OnX and GAIA both have similar profile features. If you try to add points too far apart, most of these might reroute you to highways and paved roads. To avoid this, add a close point instead to ensure the route stays where you want it.

Here is an example of a powerline service road that does not show up in any off-road mapping tool I have found.

See the "elevation profile" showing how this route follows the terrain. Here is more details about this route: https://sites.google.com/view/las-vegas-dual-sport-adventure/home#h.7ghyi74fpgfg with video. This is a great connector route I often use to make a loop through Goodsprings and Potosi. Powerline service roads can be great trails and too often they are not mapped. 

This video shows basic route creation with GAIA.

and route building in OnX.

There are many others but these 2 have been the best for my uses.

Once you have the route planned, I take a screenshot of it to use as the image in the Facebook event (as shown above in this post). This way people can see the overview of the ride. 

Creating an event in Facebook

I am no Facebook fanboy but it seems to be the best one for rider groups and creating events within the group. Here is a tutorial on creating the event in Facebook. One tip here: don't use any web links in the event description! Facebook often hold these awaiting the group admin approval. Instead, create the event using just text. Make sure it posts and is not stuck at "pending". Then put links in the event "discussion" tab. I often want to share the OnX trail link (obviously) and Facebook seems to think these are nefarious or something. I also share links to a Google Drive with the GPX files, and YouTube playlists. These all work better as individual posts in the "discussion" tab and not on the event description. 

Rider Communication

Rider-to-Rider

I posted a separate blog post on this here: https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2023/11/rider-to-rider-communication.html . Rider-to-rider communication can help safety and fun. Off-road riding in the Southwest almost always includes dust. Heavy dust can be a safety risk since it impedes visibility similar to fog. It can be worse than fog since the dust coats everything between your eyes and the trail. When riders can communicate, the group can stretch out to provide bigger gaps, helping to reduce the dust issues. This also reduces the likelihood of a rider hitting another rider who has an accident. If a ride at the back of the group has an issue, they can inform the riders ahead. If a rider at the back has a minor issue and has to stop, they can let the other riders know so they don't have to worry or ride back. See my blog post for details, but at a high level I recommend using both Cardo PackTalk (or similar) helmet intercom along with a GMRS radio for longer distances. I have a GMRS radio I keep on my bike, and I carry a spare that I often give to the last rider in the group in case they don't have their own. There are 3 major brands of helmet intercom: Cardo, Sena, and all the rest. Cardo PackTalk is currently the biggest and best choice in my opinion. Sena is a strong competitor and functionally very similar. Both have mesh communication in their higher end units (PackTalk for Cardo, DMC for Sena). You can even bridge between them with Cardo PackTalk. Both also can pair with all the rest and each other via standard Bluetooth intercom mode. Each rider can bridge one rider outside their brand as well. Theoretically 6 riders can have either Cardo PackTalk or Sena DMC can each bridge in one additional rider so 12 rides can all talk. In reality setting that up is difficult and time consuming.  

Emergency Communication

In case of emergency, you need a way to call for help. While cellular phones may work in many places, there are far too many places where they don't. Cellular providers and device makers are adding satellite services for SOS which can help. I prefer Garmin InReach as it has an industry leading rescue service and even an insurance plan. I use the simplest Garmin InReach Messenger for this. I also have a Garmin fenix watch that integrates with InReach so I can trigger an SOS even if I can't reach the InReach device. The InReach also lets you message people via SMS for emergencies and non-emergencies. The messages can include your GPS coordinates by default too. I find it handy for non-emergency messaging. InReach can also be setup to track you on rides. You can share this location with a person or group of people, such as a spouse. They can track you on a map so they know where to find you if things go badly. 

The GMRS radio mentioned in rider-to-rider communication can also be used for emergencies and to help coordinate rescue. However, I would not depend on this.

Husqvarna 701 Enduro 7500 mile update

 

I just passed 7,500 miles on the Husqvarna 701 Enduro. My warranty will expire in September. I have been through 4 rear tires (just ordered the 5th rear). The original TKC80's were great tires but were not available when I needed to replace them so I switch both to Anakee Wild. The Anakee Wild front is still going strong at about 4,600 miles on the front Anakee Wild with 5.2mm tread in the center (about 60% remaining tread). I got 2,900 miles out of the original TKC 80's but I was just starting to ride again after over 30 years without a motorcycle. The longer I ride, the less miles I am getting from the rear tires. I wore out the first Anakee after 1,700 miles, the second after 1,500 miles, and the 3rd after 1,400 miles. I replace then when the center is down to around 4mm tread depth remaining.  

Since my 5,000 mile update, the only modification I have made is the Veridian cruise control with ABS add-on. I have this bike well equipped now to my liking. To date I have spent about $2,700 on additions to this bike, which includes things like the Garmin Zumo XT2 navigation. I take the windshield off in the summer as the airflow is welcome. I replaced the 4 mounting crews with thumbscrews. It is great that 4 thumbscrews is all it takes to remove or reposition it. One of the most important upgrades for this bike is the Seat Concepts Comfort XL seat. If you spend more than an hour on the seat, this makes a huge difference. This bike makes great power so no performance upgrades are needed. Even above the maximum highway speed limit, and going uphill, you can pass with ease. The suspension is also perfect for me (5' 10" and 185lbs) with basic gear. In fact, it is to the firm side if anything. I have never bottomed out this bike. Not even close. I have the compression front and rear set on the soft side and it is still a bit firm. The video below shows a pretty hard hit that dislodged my camera mic adapter (start at 9:30 minutes in).

Dork in the Road recently did a review on the KTM 690 (same bike with slightly different plastic).

I commented on this. His list of pro's and con's is fairly accurate, but we all prioritize them differently. I don't agree at all with his complaints about the traction control. It works great. Simply set to mode 2 for off-road and enjoy. Super easy. He kept trying to disable it which I have only done a few times. It is just not necessary. Many others who own these bikes has similar comments that the traction control is great, just put it in mode 2 when off-road. It even holds that mode between key cycles. Perfect. I don't agree with his overall assessment as I prioritize these things different and some of his complaints are not issues for me. His big issue of comfort is pretty much solved with the Seat Concepts Comfort XL seat. He mentions reliability with no facts at all to back up any reliability issues with this bike.

His complains about the ABS is true. I found riding with ABS off-road can be scary. On soft surfaces (pretty much everywhere off-road) it intervenes way too much increasing stopping distances substantially. As he shows in the video you have to start the bike, roll forward enough that the system validates the wheel speed sensors, come to a stop, and hold the ABS button for 8s. Every key cycle it reverts to ON so you have to repeat that process. I opted for the optional ABS add-on with the Veridian cruise control system I installed. This allows you to set it in an off-road mode and it will maintain this mode through key cycles. However, this off-road mode does not disable front wheel ABS. I just installed the system and I need more time riding with it off-road to see if that off-road mode will meet my needs.

As he says in the video, this bike is fantastic at higher speeds, even off-road. When I first got the bike, I crashed many times, all at low speeds (under 10mph). I felt the gearing was also not great off-road (as he points out) at low speeds. First gear was just not low enough. However, after learning how to ride better off-road, I no longer have these issues. The solution: just ride faster. Keep it over 10mph and keep your feet on the pegs and life is great. This bike can quickly recover from what feels like a certain crash at speeds over 10mph. Things like a big rock causing a large deflection in the front or rear wheels at first feel like a certain crash. However, just as fast as the deflection happens, it snaps right back and all is good. It feels like magic but the reality is a combination of momentum and the gyro effect from all the rotating mass. On the highway it is very stable for a bike with knobby tires. I can cruise along at..., well a "spirited rate" with no issues. Occasionally I do get just a light weave at certain speeds but it never feels unsettling to me. Even riding highways speeds over grooves feels pretty stable to me. 

When I first got the bike I would occasionally get a check engine light with a fault code for the kickstand sensor. The dealer even swapped the sensor to address this. It happened a few more times even with the new sensor. I have not had that issue in a long time now. Back then I would be raising the kickstand at the same time I hit the start switch or turned the key ON. Now I carefully make sure the stand if fully up before turning the key ON. 

I still track the fuel economy and I average around 50mpg. It can get 65mpg when in high gear and below 55mph. It can go as low as 35mpg with the windshield on at high speeds on the highway into a headwind. I have found the 3.4 gallon tank to be adequate for over 90% of my rides. I have a 1.3 gallon can I can mount on the back but I rarely every use it. I have never ran the main tank dry. When the low fuel light turns ON, there is about 0.8 gallons left in the tank, good for about 40 miles. 

Would I buy this bike again: hell yes! It is truly awesome. Some say magic unicorn and many dispute this but in my opinion this is a close as you can get. Bikes are all trade-offs, especially in this segment between a dual sport and an adventure bike. It may be expensive but it also does not need any performance or suspension modifications. 

The video below is a very short video review of this bike at 7,500 miles.

The video below shows a demo of the quick sifter. Love this thing.

  

Veridian Cruise Install

Unboxing.

 I love my Husqvarna 701 Enduro but one thing I wished I had was cruise control. Those times when you are cruising on the highway for over 30 minutes is when I really want it. Your hand just gets tired holding the throttle for long periods, and too often I don't maintain speed well. My mirrors get knocked out of position off-road, generally from hitting branches. I don't notice it until I am cruising down the highway. Adjusting the left side is no big deal but the right mirror requires I take my hand off the throttle and the bike slows down fast. This was not a big enough deal by itself to buy cruise control.

I searched around for a cruise control system and found the Veridian system for my bike (Euro 4 kit). Not only was it a proper cruise control system, but it also supports CAN dongle features. A very important feature it supports is the ability to enter a permanent off-road mode (ABS fully OFF). It maintains this mode through key cycles too. The frustrating and dangerous thing about the stock ABS system is that it always defaults back ON after every key cycle. This can be dangerous off road as ABS does not help at all off-road. In fact, it makes stopping distances much longer. In order to disable ABS after key ON you have to roll forward fast enough for the wheel speeds to qualify, and then the ABS light goes out. Now you have to hold the ABS button for 5 seconds until the light goes back out. At this point you are ready to ride, but only for that key cycle. Shut the key OFF and you have to repeat the process. This Veridian system lets you set off-road mode and have it maintain it through key cycles, until you re-enable it through the Veridian system Perfect!

The install was fairly easy but did take a couple hours. I have so many farkles on my handlebars finding a place for the 3-button control was a challenge. I ended up mounting it to the right mirror mount. I used some hose pieces and tape to make the mounting diameter correct. I may revisit this as the button are a bit far from your grip and it would be better to have it on the other side.

I routed the wire under the key switch cover. I mounted the module behind the left side cover, in front of the airbox. This is where it connects to the throttle wiring too. The module needs to be mounted near the ignition switch, which is where the throttle connectors are as well. 

The image above shows the module mounted behind the left side cover near the ignition switch.

The image above shows the view of the connectors from the top with the seat and ignition cover removed. You can see the white connectors.

I routed the OBD connector wiring along the airbox and back to the fuse box area where it connects to the OBD connector, and the rear brake input. Like many of these kits, they have a Scotchlock in the kit to tap the rear brake wire. These are evil little things you never want to use. Instead I used a screw block. I used dielectric grease on the wires to prevent corrosion (see below). This is under the seat where it is semi-protected. 

The system works as advertised. Basically just like a typical car cruise control. The image below shows the wiring. The system modifies the throttle command to the engine control. It also connects to the OBD port to get power and data such as engine speed, brake status, wheel speeds, etc., from CAN. This CAN connection is also used for the ABS disable function. 

Video showing how to go from normal ABS mode to ABS disabled mode.

This video shows going from ABS disabled mode to normal ABS mode.

Function of ABS add-on

After installation the cruise worked fine. I came home and entered and exited the ABS add-on feature (videos above). The next ride the cruise would not work. When I tried to engage it, the throttle control went away, engine dropped to low idle. After about a second, I was able to control the throttle again with the handle as normal. I contacted Veridian and they suspected that I may have inadvertently entered the throttle calibration mode. Sure enough, I had. Notice the both throttle for each sensor are about the same.

The said to recalibrate the throttle following this procedure: 

Here is how do to the throttle calibration.

1. Bike on, Engine off

2. Press Cruise Set 5 times, the controller will flash blue.

3. HOLD the throttle open and press Cruise Cancel.

https://youtu.be/NTCSbwuB6WU

That fixed the cruise control. Now my calibrations are correct.

8-17-2025 Update

I have now used the ABD add-on more and I really like it. There is still some front ABS but it totally disables rear. I have now ridded several miles on easy to medium terrain and I will be using it from now on. So nice it holds though key cycles. 

One interesting note is that the accel and decel work differently than some car cruise control. You can't hold it to continue to accelerate or decelerate. It only recognizes a single press, no matter how long you hold it. As it says in the operators manual, a press of the set/decel means set that speed, or if you already have the cruise engaged, decel by 3mph. The + button (right side in my installation) means resume to last set speed if the cruise was not currently engaged, or increment by 3mph if the cruise is engaged. 

Based on this function, I changed how I mounted the switch.

This was the set switch is closest to the throttle, making it easier to set.

Here is a short video showing the cruise control system in use.

That video was shot just before changing the switch orientation.

Action Camera Upgrade

 I post videos to YouTube of my eMTB and dual sport motorcycle rides pretty much every weekend. I posted an article about my setup here: https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2025/01/my-action-camera-setup.html. The Insta360 X3 was a fantastic camera, and now they have come way down in price. I bought mine in 2023 and it has had heavy rough use since then. Earlier this year it stopped connecting via USB, but it would still charge OK. This was minor as I just popped the SD card out to process the video. More recently additional problems cropped up. Every once in a while it seemed to not interact right with the remote. Sometimes I would miss catching video. Then it started dating files wrong. The final straw was the video became jittery and blurry at times on rough terrain (most of my riding). I had been eying the X4 but decided it was not enough of an upgrade. Then the X5 came out while my X3 was having these issues. I was caught at a time of weakness so I bought the X5.

So far I like what I see. As an engineer I expect each generation of a product to take the lessons learned from the prior to make the new one even better and the X5 does not disappoint. The X3 was a great camera but I had a few gripes with it. 

The first issue is the exposed lenses were not replaceable. Scratch or break one and the camera is done. So they came out with plastic lens convers. I tried those but they were so easily scratched and they get much dustier so it was unusable for my needs. I finally just removed them. Here is a video where a branch severely damaged the lens cover, ruining the rest of the video. The X4 came with better replaceable lens covers but it was still a lens cover. Finally the X5 has replaceable lenses. Well done!

The sound was fine unless you had any wind. This has long been true for nearly all cameras to be fair. The X3 has small foam mic covers you could stuck on which helped some. I have not tried the X5 in much wind yet but they claim to have many improvements here. On the motorcycle I use an external mic with both foam and fuzzy covers which solves the problem.

5.7k video sounds great but you simply need more for 360. The X4 upgraded to 8k in 360, and the X5 continues this. Honestly I wish it were even higher. If you shoot in 360 and want to create flat video from it, you are stuck with 1080. The X5 can export 4k flat video from the 8k 360 video. This means you can shoot in 360 and still extract a great 4K frame from it. Generally I upload to YouTube in single lens 4k with the X3. Now with the X5 I can shoot in 360 and have the option to create a 4k framed video from it. You can also snapshot a 4k photo from 360 video. The X3 would only take 1080 snapshots from 360.

The X3 did great outdoors but not so much in darker indoor conditions. The X5 made several improvements here with larger sensors and improved shooting modes for low light.

Battery life was a challenge on the X3. They gave the X5 much more run-time, more than double. 

The foam case for the X3 did not work well at all. The X5 has a great zipper foam case. I can even leave my ball mount on and it zips up to it, protecting the camera well.

I was able to use the 360 remote I had from the X3 with the X5. You can also use the new preview remote with the X5. 

Here is the camera mounted on the motorcycle.

I added the external mic adapter, similar to what I had with the X3. I noticed these say they are not water resistant, and not suitable for high vibration environments. I did have the adapter come off the X3 a few times. Generally after a hard hit, like riding over a rock. I used a small Velcro strap to hold it in on the X3. On the X5 I made a small metal support that uses the 1/4" mount. Insta360 now has a Bluetooth external mic which I may switch to. I have a few hesitations with it though. It seems to have no wind protection and it is not stereo. Wind noise is a huge problem on a motorcycle. The image below shows the external mic covered with foam and then fuzzy wind protection as well. More details about the mic are in this article: https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2025/01/my-action-camera-setup.html .

Here is the first 360 video I shot with the X5. This uses the internal mic which does a surprising good job at eliminating wind noise.

I had the bitrate and sharpness both a medium when I shot that. I usually set those both to high. I use a 512GB SD card so I can fit hours of video. The camera can support cards up to 1TB. 

Here are some of the first videos I shot with this camera.

See more on my YouTube page starting June 10, 2025: https://youtube.com/@JimRoal 

Update 9-2025

I have recorded several rides now and have experienced issues with the power/mic adapter losing connection. To be fair Insta360 says this adapter is not rated for vibration. I am also concerned with the high vibration and impact on the camera. I added the Insta360 vibration mount.

This goes between the Ram Mount ball and the camera.

I also bought the Insta360 wireless mic.