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 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.
I ride off-road in very dusty environments. One problem I have is with all the zippers on my riding gear, backpack, and storage bags on the motorcycle and bike. When they get dusty they are very hard to zip and unzip. They get jammed up with the layer of dust. I blow them out with compressed air and that temporarily makes them less bad but it does not take long riding for them to jam up again.
My storage bags on the bike are not waterproof. When I get done riding I rinse the dust off the bike before putting it away. When I do that some moisture gets into the storage bags. I decided it may help to Scotchgard the bags.
It is a simple spray coating that helps repel water. It also happens to be a great non-oil based zipper lubricant which works great in dusty environments. Since I sprayed the outside of the bags, the Scotchgard got into the zippers too. I immediately noticed my zippers were smooth and easy. It was a stark difference. Even better, they stayed that way even after several dusty rides. Many of my zippers I have issues with are plastic. The plastic zippers are much worse for the dust jamming them up. However, this Scotchgard trick seems to nearly eliminate the problem and it even lasts.
After I discovered this, I applied Scotchgard to all the zippers on my gear (riding pants, jacket, etc.), my backpack, and the bags on my bike. What a difference!
When we bought our 2021 Porsche Cayenne back in 2023, I had been looking for a Cayenne eHybrid but could not find one. We ended up with the 2021 Cayenne which we owned for almost 2 years and 50k miles. It was a great vehicle but lacked some features I really wanted including: Android Auto, surround view, and of course the hybrid powertrain. There were also several nice-to-haves: 4-zone ATC, rear side window shades, head-up display, and air suspension. We also wanted light colored interior. I kept looking every couple months ever since we bought the 2021. In March 2025 the car we wanted showed up at the local Mercedes dealer. It was exactly the way I would have ordered it. It is a 2022 Porsche Cayenne eHybrid loaded with all the right features and the right color combination. We traded in the 2021 and bought it this week.
The hybrid powertrain offers many advantages, the main advantage for me being the power delivery. Acceleration is very smooth and powerful across a much broader rpm range. The base Cayenne has automatic engine start/stop, as most new cars do. This is a problem when using the air conditioning, which is almost year round here in Las Vegas. Since it is hybrid, the start/stop does not require starting the engine to accelerate from a stop either so you don't have the interruption you get with straight gasoline start/stop. The hybrid has an electric air conditioning compressor so when the engine turns off, the AC does not. You can also start the AC before you get in the car using the Porsche app, like you can with battery electric vehicles (BEV). It offers most the benefits of BEV but with the benefits of the gas powertrain as well. We can drive it fully electric for miles if we wanted to. I have solar on my house so the power is free. In hybrid mode it can greatly extend the fuel economy in town to about double what the gas powertrain can do. Most of our driving is in town so we will see this benefit. While most would view hybrids as all about fuel economy, hybrids are also about performance. In fact many modern supercars are hybrids. Formula One cars are also hybrid.
The rear steering makes the back wheels better follow the front and allows the vehicle to turn much sharper at low speeds. It is great when trying to navigate very tight parking lots. At high speeds it adds stability by making the vehicle feel as if it has a longer wheel-base.
Replaced the Continental TKC 80 tires with Michelin Anakee Wild. I have also replaced the rear again with another Anakee Wild (front was about 80% still). Performance is very similar but the TKC 80's lasted almost twice as long (2900 miles versus 1700 miles). I replaced them when the center of the tread is down to about 4mm. The only reason I switched was due to availability of the TKC 80. I will be going back to TKC 80 when these wear out.
Added a Garmin Zumo XT2 navigation system. My old smartphone navigation had some flaws, mainly screen brightness and size. The Zumo XT2 has excellent screen brightness and several other useful features.
Removed the kickstand sensor guard due to intermittent issues with kickstand sensor faults. I also had the sensor replaced under warranty. Worked fine for over 1,000 miles but the fault happened again just once. It has been another 1,000 miles with no issues.
Due to heavy dust on most of our rides, I went back to a factory paper air filter. No real evidence the K&N was not doing the job but just concerned it does not catch quite as small of particles as the paper.
Replaced the front bag due to the other one failing the zipper.
Seat Concepts Comfort XL seat. This does make a big difference. When you first sit on it you wonder if it was worth the $400. I long ride down the highway confirms that it is. Actually any ride where you are on the seat.
I added an external mic and fuzzy wind socks. I put the mic on the front bag to isolate it from all vibration. Now the audio in my videos is drastically better.
I track my fuel economy and I am averaging about 50mpg. It can drop as low as 35mpg on long fast highway segments. The worst I got was 33mph on a highway segment into a strong headwind. The best has been 65mpg.
I finally learned how to use the quick shifter and it is magical! It is just a habit for me to let off the throttle when shifting, a habit very hard to break. The way you ride a quick shifter is stay even on the throttle and just make the shift. It even works great at full throttle. It works both up and down, automatically speed matching via engine control. It cuts engine power very briefly to make the shift but it is so fast it feels like constant power delivery.
I like to video many of my eMTB and motorcycle rides to share with others. This way people can see what the trails are really like before they ride them. I organize playlists around both rides and by locations/trails on my YouTube channel @jimroal (https://youtube.com/@JimRoal ).
I bought a Garmin Virb Ultra 30 back in 2017 and I use that for recording in-car videos. It is great and has GPS and accelerometers in it so I can get lap times, speed, acceleration, etc. I still use that today for in car video. I tried using it for bicycling and it worked OK but had it's limitations. The smoothing has limits due to the lens size, sensor, etc. Also, this camera is obsolete and no longer supported.
I researched the latest action cameras that were available at the time (May 2023), watching many videos comparing them specially for bicycling and motorcycling type recording. I settled on the Insta360 X3 which was new at the time I bought mine (May 2023). I was a bit disappointed that the GPS was not built in at first but bought their GPS remote which solved that problem. I used it on both the bicycle and the motorcycle and found the smoothing to be excellent, magical in fact. Some of my first videos were on my bicycle helmet which is of course the smoothest since we stabilize our head taking much of the roughness out already.
I also like the 360 pictures and videos as you can pan around while watching, or use in a VR headset. However, 360 video is very bitrate intensive so you need a very high-speed connection to watch it with decent resolution.
I found that for most videos I use the single lens mode which captures 4k video with smoothing very well. Here is an example using single lens mode mounted on a chest mount (using internal mic and no wind protection).
This remote captures the GPS data and the camera records it with the video similar to what my Garmin Virb did. Having the remote is also very handy. Note that the GPS and accelerometer data can only be overlayed on traditional flat video but that can be used when the video was shot in 360 but reframed to flat too.
Here is a 360 video mounted on the motorcycle where you can pan around while watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-u0QMIwtO8 (note: the sound is just via the camera mics with no wind protection). I recommend opening these in YouTube versus viewing in that tiny window.
360 video where you can pan around while watching
Here is a video with the data in it and the latest mic setup.
The photo below shows the whole system on the motorcycle. The remote is strapped to the left mirror mount where I can easily reach it to start/stop recording while riding. I have a USB port on the bike so I can power the camera so I don't have to be limited by camera battery power. You can see the mic, covered by fuzzy wind muffs on the back of the bag.
I use a RAM Mount to mount the camera to my windshield bracket. I lower the windshield way down when riding off-road so the camera is taller and is not obstructed by the windshield.
One rather significant issue I still struggle with is in single lens mode the camera has automatic orientation. Motion side to side of the motorcycle really messes with this when you start the video recording. It sometimes will record the video sideways or even upside down. There is no way to force orientation in the camera. The video editing software does not let you correct the orientation either. I have requested both if these changes from Insta360 so maybe at least one of these features will be added at some point. My fix for now is to always start the video when still and the camera vertical. Sometimes this is not idea though.
This camera is one of the few that can create Google Street View as well, which shows up on Google Maps. I have used this feature, but it is glitchy. Many of the videos will get rejected by Street View due to various GPS data errors. Here are some of my Street View contributions that are active.
I did report these issues to Insta360 and they have been working to correct them.
The Insta360 X3 also shoots great spherical photos at 72MP. You have to use a compatible viewer, which more are finally supporting. Here is an example: https://photos.app.goo.gl/riUtLR61SLxNrojL9
The above view is likely still just a flattened image which just looks weird. Facebook supports them well now. If you open the Google Photos like above it should also view correctly where you can pan around. In Google Photos it initially shows the flattened image but if you click on it you can then view it properly.
The Insta360 X3 has many other great features. Now Insta360 has released their X4 camera which is the next generation after the X3, bringing higher bitrate support, which enables 8k spherical recording. It also has a larger battery and better lens guards, as well as a few other upgrades.
La Madre Foothills is an area in the Northwest of the Las Vegas valley. This area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is part of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The BLM recently completed a study and plan for this area that is documented here: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2031812/510 . While the plan closes many current trails, it also leaves several open, including some trails for motorized use. I have ridden my bicycles in this area for years.
Here is a link to the map above in the Wilderness Connect mapping system. Part of this area is designated wilderness which means it is closed to all forms of "mechanized travel". However, many areas are not wilderness and are covered in the BLM Alternative B plan described above.
Numerous existing 2-track trails have been designated for closure (shown in grey). The 2-track knows
as "Burro Road" in TrailFolks actually passes though both BLM land, and between a narrow corridor in the
From the Kyle Canyon side, heading East there is a wash that leads to the top of the West pass.
Below is a shot from the West pass looking East towards Las Vegas (although you can't see Las Vegas since the mountains block it). The picture does not do a good job of showing how steep and high this hill is.
Here is a picture of the same hill from the bottom (looking West).
Below is a picture looking down the East pass towards Little Red Rock. This is the challenging hill which is steep and rocky.
The picture below is the same hill looking Northwest from below this same section.
I have now gone past 2,000 miles on the Husky and still loving it. I bought this bike new last fall from a local dealer, Carter Powersports. I made a few upgrades and rode it over 1,000 miles before having an accident on it in January which preventing me riding it for several months. I started riding it again in June and now have 2,076 miles on it, mostly off-road.
I tried 2 different windshields. First a small Puig. Later I installed a large Madstad (22" size). I would get the 18" instead. I also drilled a second set of hose so I can drop it way down out of the way when off-road.
I also added a cheap dash camera mostly for insurance reasons. It records all the time. I may upgrade to a proper dual camera motorcycle recording system later. With so many poor inattentive drivers out there I think it is important to record everything.
I keep a small 12V air compressor and a pump-in tire slime kit, zip ties, extra tie down straps, basic tools, etc., in the rear bag. I also added a 12V connector under the seat to connect the compressor.
The license plate holder and part of the rear fender broke off on my last ride (a rough rocky gravel road). It appears that the metal frame holding the side reflectors caught the knobby tire over a bump, breaking it off. I always thought that looked a bit flimsy. I cut the rear fender off square and just mounted the license place to the rear of my bag.
Taken just after my license plate mount and chunk of rear fender broke off
This bike has no problem cruising down the highway. The issues is the wind is noisy and fatiguing after a while. I tried 2 different windshields on the bike. The first was the small Puig.
It just mounts to the plastic around the headlight. It had some effect in reducing the wind pressure on your check but almost no improvement at the helmet. After a ride that included many miles of freeway, and into a headwind, I decided I wanted more wind protection so I ordered the Madstad windshield in the 22" model. Here is what that looks like installed.
Enormous, right. It is adjustable and it does cut the wind from the helmet area as advertised. I did a long highway segment with this and found myself cruising along at high speed in more comfort. However, off-road it is bulky and you can hit your helmet on it over the rough stuff. To address this, I drilled another set of mounting holes in it and use thumb screws so I can switch it easily with no tools. Here is what it looks like in the off-road position.
The Madstad mounting system also has a significant amount of adjustment. In hindsight, I should have ordered the 18" windshield instead of this 22" one. I may trim several inches off the top later. I can also just remove it completely with the 4 thumbscrews depending on the type of riding I am doing. It takes about 2 minutes to switch the mounting position. I also added a Ram camera mount for my Insta360 action camera (photo above that last one).
After 2,000 miles and all kinds of dual sport riding, I continue to love this bike. I still have the original tires on it but the rear is getting fairly worn at this point. Here are a few thoughts on pros and cons from my perspective:
Pros:
Excellent flexibility. Does both on and off road very well.
Good fuel range. Can go about 165 miles on a tank with mixed riding, more if on-road.
Excellent electronics. The traction control and ABS work well and can both be switched off for more aggressive off-road riding. I do turn OFF the ABS off-road.
Rear fuel tank leaves the front seat area wide open. The more flat seat make it easy to move around as needed.
Love the motor power! No need for any power upgrades in my opinion.
Great having 6 speeds in the transmission.
Love the clutch. Easy and smooth hydraulic operation and a very long engagement range.
Love throttle by wire too. Easy and smooth.
EFI is fantastic. Even after you drop the bike (which I have done plenty) it starts up immediately every time. I average about 50mpg with mostly off-road riding. The rev limit is also great especially since there is no tachometer.
Great maintenance schedule for a bike like this. Oil changes are 10x longer than many dual sports.
Cons:
Weight. Although for what it is it is very light actually. Off-road we just always want lighter. This bike weighs about 350lbs full of fuel and gear.
Engine noise. As many articles also mention the LC4 engine sounds like a rock tumbler. I have a friend with an earlier version of this bike but with an aftermarket exhaust which is loud. That really helps because the exhaust sound is great and covers over the engine noise.
Seat height. It is a bit high but this is of course a trade-off. There are lowering kits but I don't want the downsides of that either.
Seat firmness. It is to the firm side and the padding is very thin. Again, a bunch of trade-offs here because thicker padding would make the seat even higher. You can get aftermarket seats. I just added a cushion on top and that worked pretty well.
Key and gas cap. The chipped key is great for anti-theft. However, I broke mine very easily and had to get it replaced, which is expensive. To make this worse, the key is needed for the factory gas cap and in that cap the key turns very hard. This is why I installed an aftermarket non-locking gas cap.
There is no fuel level indicator and you cannot see into the tank. There is a low fuel light at least. I had it come on only 1 time after 154 miles of riding. I put 2.6 gallons in it to fill it after 154 miles.
Very basic display with no actual gear indicator (only a neutral indicator) and no fuel level indicator (only a low fuel light).
Many summarize this bike like this. If you want to have just one motorcycle for all your on-road and off-road riding, this is it. There are lighter more off-road capable dual sports, but they are not as good on the road. There are more comfortable dual sport motorcycles for longer adventures, but they weight much more and/or don't have nearly as good of off-road suspension. Motorcycles are all trade-offs, especially dual sport and adventure bikes. The Husqvarna 701 Enduro (and KTM 690 Enduro or GasGas 700) is an excellent choice for the 70% off-road, 30% on-road crowd (those percentages based on time, not miles). You can ride from your house without hauling a bike, and having to have something to haul it with. Just hop on and go right from your house. I love that about this bike. You can also use it as an adventure bike.
I have now ridden over 1,000 miles on this bike, the vast majority off-road. Since my last update, I replaced the chain at about 900 miles. It was worn out already. Not surprising given the forces it has to take on this bike. I am not easy on it. The places I ride have large elevation changes, steep rocky hills, and loamy sand and gravel. I often gain 2,000ft or more in elevation. Long uphill climbs and then basically coasting back powered by gravity. The fat tires and full suspension are both hard requirements. I use the full suspension travel very often.
I often go multiple rides between battery charges. I keep both batteries on the bike and both used at all times to help extend the battery life. This way the discharge rates are easier on both batteries. I never worry about range at all. My longest hardest ride uses less than 50% of my total battery capacity. The range extender battery weights about 10lbs but on a bike this heavy I don't really notice it. With the motor power the weight is not a big deal. I get about 70 hard off-road miles at about 50% battery consumption. A typical 20 mile off-road ride takes about 2 hours. The batteries will last much longer than I will.
Here is a video of some of the terrain I ride in.
It shows crossing several loamy washes and some of the rocky segments and ends with a fun downhill segment. I have many more videos on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JimRoal
I am becoming a better rider. Some of that is actually due to me getting back into motorcycles. I bought a Husqvarna 701 Enduro last fall. This is the first motorcycle I have owned in over 25 years, and it is the heaviest and most powerful too. Riding this in loamy areas and other off-road challenges has made me a much better and more confident rider on the mountain bike. The ways you control the heavy motorcycle also work on the much lighter mountain bike. My mountain bike weighs 90lbs which is very heavy by mountain bike standards, but a feather compared to the motorcycle which weighs over 350lbs.
After searching the internet for the options on skid plate and crash bars for my 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro I decided to go with the T-Rex kit (Part Number: N167-16EG + N167-16SP). This kit did not claim to fit my bike exactly but rather KTM 690 Enduro/Supermoto and Husqvarna 701 Supermoto of years prior to mine. I contacted the company and asked about it fitting my bike. I worked out a deal to try it out.
Before installing it I weighed the components so I could later compare to what I removed.
Skid plate - 53.5oz
Left crash bar - 32.5oz
Right crash bar - 34.7oz
Attaching hardware - 22.2oz
142.9oz or 8.93lbs. I also weighed the factory plastic skid plate assembly and it came in at 25.4oz and 8.7oz of removed mounting hardware for a net weight gain of 6.8lbs. The added weight is fairly low on the bike, the skid plate being the heaviest single component and also the lowest.
The install was very easy and straightforward. It took less than 20 minutes I would guess. Here is a video of the install.
It fit the bike well and offers the protection I was looking for. The crash bars are simple and don't go as high as others but will likely take most of the hit if I drop the bike on either side, protecting the radiators.
The skid plate has extensions on both sides that help protect the side cases from objects from the front. They even offer some protection from dropping the bike on the side depending on the surface.
While it would have been convenient to use the original sockets to catch the back of the skid plate, the T-Rex design is much more robust.
Between the skip plate and crash bars, the water pump looks well protected now.
I like the lower position of the crash bars, both to keep the weight down low, and since this is a much stronger design than other bars.
I like the design of these crash bars compared to many others I have seen. The cross bar is positioned well to prevent branches and other things from getting captured by the bars when riding. It will tend to deflect them away.
