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French Canadian posted:I'll just leave it alone if it's not gonna burn my clutch out (though I usually dip into neutral at long stoplights). Its a wet clutch and it'll take a lot more than that to burn it out. To give you an idea when I took my MSF there was a Honda Titan there with 24,000km on the clock. It was on the original clutch and had spent its entire life getting the poo poo kicked out of its clutch by students.
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Feb 19, 2009 07:45
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Z3n posted:Be careful with neutral at stoplights if you don't have cars stacked up behind you a few deep in case you get someone who decides it'd be easier to hit you than stop. I've heard this statement a billion times but never had anything close to that happening after a couple years of riding. Do you guys live in areas with terrible drivers or something?
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Feb 19, 2009 07:49
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Jack the Smack posted:I've heard this statement a billion times but never had anything close to that happening after a couple years of riding. Do you guys live in areas with terrible drivers or something? Incident #1) My mom was driving. We were stopped at a stop sign. Guy hits us. Incident #2) Back in the days of change tollbooths, my mom was stopped and a guy hit her with his truck. Twice. He was laughing about it. Incident #3) I'm about to make a left with a woman 20 feet behind me. I stop after I see a guy's not going to for the changing light. She hits me so hard she pushes me into the guy who was going through the intersection. She claims she stepped on the brakes. My headache disagreed. These were all in CARS. Big, shiny, things. People are idiots. You want to take the risk? Go right ahead.
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Feb 19, 2009 07:58
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Jack the Smack posted:I've heard this statement a billion times but never had anything close to that happening after a couple years of riding. Do you guys live in areas with terrible drivers or something? I had an incident where I was riding along in the right lane, with a truck in front of me. I switch to the left lane, pass her, as I do I glance over and note the cute girl texting on her phone. I'm going a little faster than her, and end up around 150 or so feet in front of her. Light ahead goes red, I come to a stop, and the girl slides through the intersection next to me with all 4 wheels locked. I laughed about it until I got to my friend's place and realized that had I been in the other lane, I probably would have been under her truck. I've had a couple of other close calls, but nothing else yet. I tag my brake as people come up behind me, and do a bunch of other little things to try and get people to notice me. The last thing I want on a bike is to get rear ended, because you're pretty much hosed.
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Feb 19, 2009 08:04
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Thanks for the tips on getting that clutch cable changed. Turns out its really as easy as you guys said it was going to be.  I notice after heavy riding there's some light smoke wafting up from what seems to be the underside of the bike. i think its something dripping and burning on my headers but I'm not sure. My bike leaks a bit (I gave up cleaning up the engine long ago because slow leaks like to reappear without notice slowly but surely) so I'm assuming its some mystery liquid hitting something and vaporizing. Wherever it is, its coming from that specific area, down near the oil pan. is this a big deal? Should I be concerned for my safety or just concerned about looking like a scrub on my pigpen bike? Minty Swagger fucked around with this message at 09:12 on Feb 19, 2009 |
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Feb 19, 2009 08:12
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Z3n posted:I tag my brake as people come up behind me, and do a bunch of other little things to try and get people to notice me. Stop light light show.
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Feb 19, 2009 08:23
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Z3n posted:I had an incident where I was riding along in the right lane, with a truck in front of me. I switch to the left lane, pass her, as I do I glance over and note the cute girl texting on her phone. I'm going a little faster than her, and end up around 150 or so feet in front of her. I think it's my loud pipes then that keep me safe, cause on the bikes I've ridding I've installed or they come with loud rear end exhaust.
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Feb 19, 2009 08:24
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Jack the Smack posted:I've heard this statement a billion times but never had anything close to that happening after a couple years of riding. Do you guys live in areas with terrible drivers or something?
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Feb 19, 2009 08:45
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Jack the Smack posted::worms: This man speaks the truth.  I've never had anyone nearly run into me at stop lights, it's usually just some inattentive asshat trying to merge into me. Your bike has a horn for a reason, kids. As long as you practice proper lane position, have good spatial awareness, and have a functioning horn, the risk posed by traffic can be mitigated.
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Feb 19, 2009 08:54
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Jack the Smack posted:I think it's my loud pipes then that keep me safe, cause on the bikes I've ridding I've installed or they come with loud rear end exhaust. I ride a bike with pipes louder than most and I've still almost been rear ended a few times. It's not when you're at the front of the pack that it's the problem, it's when you're in between cars. I've almost been sandwiched quite a few times in the last year, and if not for looking in my mirrors would be hosed. One instance wasn't even at a stop sign and if I hadn't been checking my mirrors I would've been badly hurt. A lady was making a left turn into a parking lot on a busy 1 land road near me. I see her put on her blinker, and look in my rear view to see a large truck not slowing at all, so without thinking I don't even slow and I just slide past the lady turning in the shoulder. As I got past her front bumper I had the pleasure of hearing the truck behind me lock up its tires and slide inches from her bumper.
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Feb 19, 2009 09:56
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I get hyper-aware of my rear area whenever I see a cop on the side of the road; people (and drunks especially) fixate on the lights and ignore what's in front of them. Bikes are only hit from behind something like five percent of the time though, so I still spend most of my attention on avoiding people turning left in front of me.
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Feb 19, 2009 14:09
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Getting rear ended is one of the rarest accidents on a bike, but it can happen. My GF's dad was rearended while on his bike and sitting at a stop sign once.
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Feb 19, 2009 14:44
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Jack the Smack posted:I think it's my loud pipes then that keep me safe, cause on the bikes I've ridding I've installed or they come with loud rear end exhaust.
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Feb 19, 2009 15:19
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Simkin posted:This man speaks the truth. So lets say you're sitting at an intersection and someones barreling down on you, not paying attention. Assuming you notice beforeband in your mirrors or something, your proposed solution is to honk your horn at a car coming up behind you?
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Feb 19, 2009 16:07
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Jack the Smack posted:I think it's my loud pipes then that keep me safe, cause on the bikes I've ridding I've installed or they come with loud rear end exhaust. Jack the Smack is my favorite CA poster.
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Feb 19, 2009 17:50
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pr0zac posted:Jack the Smack is my favorite CA poster. I like that he's gone from being ridiculed wherever he shows up to being sort of the clown mascot of the Cycle Asylum once everyone realized he's the Bizarro version of anything anyone would ever recommend.
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Feb 19, 2009 18:44
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Speaking of JTS. In the sv650 thread I asked how easy it was to change motorcycle batteries. I'm always deathly afraid of jumping cars, etc. Is it as simple as unscrewing the negative and positive posts, disconnecting the wires, and dropping the new battery in? Can I use a metal screwdriver? I mean, seriously, I don't want to die. JTS told me to touch both ends at the same time with wet fingers 
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Feb 19, 2009 18:49
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Captain Apollo posted:Speaking of JTS. In the sv650 thread I asked how easy it was to change motorcycle batteries. I'm always deathly afraid of jumping cars, etc. It is that easy. Just don't ground out against the frame, or you get sparks.
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Feb 19, 2009 18:54
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Captain Apollo posted:Battery stuff. DO NOT unscrew both posts before removing the wires. The procedure is 1) Unscrew and remove the ground wire. Make sure the ground wire isn't going to slide back into contact with the ground terminal of the battery. 2) Unscrew and remove the power wire. 3) Remove battery without touching the terminals. When the ground wire is connected to the ground terminal there are 12 volts and about 100 amps waiting to fry anything that connects the positive terminal to the frame of the bike. This could be across your hand, the screwdriver, or a path all the way from your knee to your hand. That last one would be pretty lovely.
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Feb 19, 2009 18:54
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The battery will explode and you will die. People just throw bikes away when the battery dies, as its far too dangerous to even look at a battery let alone change one.
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Feb 19, 2009 18:54
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BotchedLobotomy posted:Thanks for the tips on getting that clutch cable changed. Turns out its really as easy as you guys said it was going to be. My bike does the same thing. Since I switched to synthetic an oil cooler fitting has a slow leak that will drip over time, then burn off in a few minutes if I haven't ridden in a couple days. I don't really pay it much mind other than cleaning it up once and awhile.
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Feb 19, 2009 18:58
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Phat_Albert posted:The battery will explode and you will die. People just throw bikes away when the battery dies, as its far too dangerous to even look at a battery let alone change one. I want to be careful, is it ok to put gasoline in my bike when it runs out or should I fear the explosion? 
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Feb 19, 2009 19:10
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Phat_Albert posted:The battery will explode and you will die. People just throw bikes away when the battery dies, as its far too dangerous to even look at a battery let alone change one. Go gently caress yourself.
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Feb 19, 2009 19:16
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The NonBornKing posted:DO NOT unscrew both posts before removing the wires. The procedure is 1) Unscrew and remove the ground wire. Make sure the ground wire isn't going to slide back into contact with the ground terminal of the battery. 2) Unscrew and remove the power wire. 3) Remove battery without touching the terminals. Ground wire = negative? Power wire = positive?
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Feb 19, 2009 19:18
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Phat_Albert posted:So lets say you're sitting at an intersection and someones barreling down on you, not paying attention. Yes.
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Feb 19, 2009 19:33
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Simkin posted:
 Oh JTS.
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Feb 19, 2009 19:41
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Captain Apollo posted:Go gently caress yourself. Well seriously, are you that afraid of a 12 volt battery? Dont go shorting it out and you'll be fine. If you do short it out it will spark, and maybe melt the terminals. Its a battery, its not a land mine.
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Feb 19, 2009 20:22
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Phat_Albert posted:
And after The NonBornKing's constructive post, he knows that now. And yes, ground wire = negative.
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Feb 19, 2009 20:41
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depending on the bike, however, some batteries can be a real hassle to get at.
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Feb 19, 2009 23:56
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I remember a thread on ADVRider where a guy stopped to make a left turn and waiting for traffic to clear was rear ended on his giant BMW touring rig and was turned into a quadriplegic. He even had auxiliary flashing warning lights, car driver didn't even see him.Simkin posted:This man speaks the truth. I can't even hear my own horn while riding, like loving hell someone in a car will. Stock exhaust too. (full disclosure, I wear earplugs while riding. But even without them, the wind noise is way louder than the horn.)
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Feb 20, 2009 00:18
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`Nemesis posted:I can't even hear my own horn while riding, like loving hell someone in a car will. Stock exhaust too. (full disclosure, I wear earplugs while riding. But even without them, the wind noise is way louder than the horn.) The stock horn on my Triumph sounded like a child whispering "meep" in a distant room. That was without wind noise during basic surface street riding (~30mph). I upgraded to the loudest aftermarket horn I could find. Now it sounds like the child shouts "meep." Underwater. Still in a distant room. A room full of pillows. In a Dynamat warehouse. My experience is that motorcycle horns aren't worth a drat under pretty much any circumstances I can think of.
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Feb 20, 2009 01:21
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OrangeFurious posted:The stock horn on my Triumph sounded like a child whispering "meep" in a distant room. That was without wind noise during basic surface street riding (~30mph). I upgraded to the loudest aftermarket horn I could find. Now it sounds like the child shouts "meep." Underwater. Still in a distant room. A room full of pillows. In a Dynamat warehouse. Get an air horn.
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Feb 20, 2009 01:26
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Discussion about horns, flashy lights, and bright clothes bothers me. Horns are for getting someones attention in a non critical situation. Flashy lights, bright lights, they don't hurt. But they can't be your primary form of safety. I've said it before, even if you're right, if a car hits you, you're still the loser. Finally: IF YOU ARE DEPENDING ON SOMEONE ELSE NOTICING YOU, YOU HAVE FAILED AS A RIDER
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Feb 20, 2009 01:43
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If the military had come to me before spending all that money on stealth technology, I could have done it cheap. "Paint a motorcycle on it and nobody will ever notice it".
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Feb 20, 2009 04:28
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Nerobro posted:Finally: This is 100% the truth. Ride like you are the only thinking being on the road. Everything else on the road is just random debris careening along at speed. This debris may or may not cross your path. It's up to you to make sure you are ready if it does.
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Feb 20, 2009 05:16
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I just got my first bike, a 1981 Honda CX500. I was reading the user manual last night, and it says to use the kill/stop switch "in an emergency only!" I've been using it on a daily basis as the means to shut off the engine, seems like good practise to be familiar with it, and its also convenient. Is there any reason why you shouldn't use it? Electrical or mechanical?
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Feb 20, 2009 05:21
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I used to use the kill all of the time on my old Hondas since the ignition was under the tank and it was much easier to shut them off that way. All of my bikes that have had a key up top I use either or. I would go with whatever you are comfortable with. I'm sure your not going to wear out the switch by using it. Just don't forget your keys in the ignition (I do this at least 50% of the time).
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Feb 20, 2009 05:33
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The kill switch is essentially the best way to turn off a bike. I never turn it off by turning the key, always the kill switch first.
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Feb 20, 2009 05:44
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there's a safety reason to use the kill switch. when the engine is running, it's always better to have your hands on the handlebars. that's why they teach you to use it in the MSF class. i would just ignore that manual. the worst thing that could happen is the switch could wear out, and parts for those things aren't expensive or hard to find.
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Feb 20, 2009 07:23
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I think the only even remotely legitimate reason I've read to use the kill switch is that if something bad happens while you're riding and you need to kill the motor it's more in your muscle memory. I've only used the kill when I'm working on something and for some reason want the electrics to remain on.
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Feb 20, 2009 15:28
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