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`Nemesis posted:Why not bed liner? Black, durable, easy to apply. The non-slip nature of the coating would probably help hold crap in place as well. I'm considering it. Only thing I'm not sure of is how well it'll apply to the narrow tubes. I guess I really don't have much to lose, as its just a crappy old rack.
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Apr 8, 2009 03:35
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I've got a very guy question. I think the gear I was carrying strapped to my bike on my last long trip was pushing me forward, and it has caused a bit of ....male discomfort..... after the trip. Any advice on avoiding that beyond making sure my gear is far enough back that I'm not humping the gas tank?
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Apr 8, 2009 03:37
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Z3n posted:Congrats! Post pics when you get it, I think you're the first CA gladius owner I had 2 motorcycles in my garage for a little while, yay!  That lasted 2 hours, cause a guy from Craigslist bought the GPz 2 hours after that pic was taken. I tried to get an angle that's a bit different from the marketing: 
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Apr 8, 2009 04:01
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Hrm, interesting. Can you post (a lot) more pictures? I'm curious as to how much has been changed where...I also wonder if you can retrofit those gauges with some hacking to an earlier SV. That throttle cable routing is wonky as hell. You can also see the shrouding to prevent water from getting in the front cylinder...I like the bannana seat a lot too, way better for 2 up and it seems to look pretty clean. Closeups of anything and everything would be awesome.
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Apr 8, 2009 04:10
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Guys, I know this is a REALLY stupid question, but I've never driven on 2 wheels that weren't an auto/cvt moped/scooter: How do you shift on a motorcycle? I mean, I'm aware its with the left foot, but I'm unsure exactly how that works. Do you have to paddle through each gear consecutively, or is it like a manual car with which you could go straight from 5th to 2nd? And infomation would really be a great help, as I'm looking at test driving a manual 50cc Madass in the coming weeks and I want to know a little bit about how to change gears before walking in. Thanks!
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Apr 8, 2009 04:32
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Bean_ posted:How do you shift on a motorcycle? motorcycle shifters are sequential, going 1-N-2-3-4-5(-6).
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Apr 8, 2009 04:34
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So if I'm leaving for 4-5 months at a time should I get non-op or keep the bike registered? I assume just leave it on the kick stand, or? What all else is included in storing a bike in a garage long-term?
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Apr 8, 2009 04:52
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chryst posted:Yay! I'm first at something! Show us the space pants. (Nice Bike)
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Apr 8, 2009 04:54
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sklnd posted:engage clutch, then up for upshift and down for downshift (on your left foot). ease clutch out, matching revs with throttle hand. finished. Right, I understand the clutch and so for and so on, as I drive a manual car. I guess I'm more of asking if you have access to all gears at any time, or if you're in 4th you can only go to 3rd or 5th? Get what I'm saying?
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Apr 8, 2009 05:08
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Bean_ posted:Right, I understand the clutch and so for and so on, as I drive a manual car. Yes, they are sequential. From a given gear, you only have the option to go up or down one gear. And you pass directly through neutral on your way to second. 1->2 is a full click, and 1->N is a half click. It requires a bit of a touch, and you'll spend a lot of time dicking around trying to get it to go into neutral. Sometimes it's easier to go up to second and then gently push down into N.
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Apr 8, 2009 05:11
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Bean_ posted:Right, I understand the clutch and so for and so on, as I drive a manual car. When you're moving, you can clutch in and shift up or down through all the gears. That's what they teach you at the MSF course when emergency stopping so you are in first gear when you stop (clutch all the way in, threshold braking, and shifting down with your foot). If you, say, stop in third gear, it's a bit difficult to get back down to first. If I gently caress up and stop in a high gear, I need to go down a gear and feather the clutch a bit before the transmission will allow me to go down another.
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Apr 8, 2009 05:13
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What's the best way to handle weird turns? I have the most problems with switchbacks especially when there's an elevation change. Sharp downhill turns can scare the hell out of me, especially with bad pavement. I know brakes are very bad to use when cornering, but what do I do when gravity/maintenance throttle causes me to get going uncomfortably fast for the last 1/4 of the turn or so?
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Apr 8, 2009 07:41
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Z3n posted:It requires a bit of a touch, and you'll spend a lot of time dicking around trying to get it to go into neutral. Sometimes it's easier to go up to second and then gently push down into N. I can hardly ever click down from 2nd into N, however half a click up from 1st works 99% of the time for me, weird. meatpotato posted:What's the best way to handle weird turns? I have the most problems with switchbacks especially when there's an elevation change. Sharp downhill turns can scare the hell out of me, especially with bad pavement. I know brakes are very bad to use when cornering, but what do I do when gravity/maintenance throttle causes me to get going uncomfortably fast for the last 1/4 of the turn or so? Honestly, practice. On my way to work there are a couple of sharp downhill turns, and at first I was going REALLY slow through them, but eventually got better at them. Slow down before the corner, get into the right gear, then look, lean and believe.
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Apr 8, 2009 07:48
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I can't believe I've been forgetting to believe.
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Apr 8, 2009 08:52
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meatpotato posted:What's the best way to handle weird turns? I have the most problems with switchbacks especially when there's an elevation change. Sharp downhill turns can scare the hell out of me, especially with bad pavement. I know brakes are very bad to use when cornering, but what do I do when gravity/maintenance throttle causes me to get going uncomfortably fast for the last 1/4 of the turn or so? The rear brake is your friend, I use it all the time in corners. This mantra of "never brake, always gas" in corners is some race track fairy land without traffic, speed limits and surprises. My city is quite hilly and some older residential areas have roads that are more like paved hiking trails. One cool switchback drops about 8 feet and the inside radius is about 1/2 the bike's length. I just clutch in, lean a bit out and roll slowly through dragging it on the rear brake. Completely against all the rules right? Well, it's walking pace and an extreme direction of change for a road bike, gravity is my maintenance throttle. Using the front brake at low speed, particularly at low speeds, makes it very easy to lose balance. Using the rear brake makes it easy to keep balance. This mostly applies to low speed, very sharp corners. For faster downhill stuff I find leaning back slightly helps the confidence a bit, don't know if it had something to do with center of gravity or maybe it's all mental. Entering at the right speed is of course crucial.
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Apr 8, 2009 09:51
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chryst posted:Yay! I'm first at something! Bice bike, Did you go for the high mode, or the low mode option? Many more pictures please.
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Apr 8, 2009 11:52
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Christoff posted:So if I'm leaving for 4-5 months at a time should I get non-op or keep the bike registered? I assume just leave it on the kick stand, or? What all else is included in storing a bike in a garage long-term?
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Apr 8, 2009 12:21
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Z3n posted:Hrm, interesting. Can you post (a lot) more pictures? I'm curious as to how much has been changed where...I also wonder if you can retrofit those gauges with some hacking to an earlier SV. That throttle cable routing is wonky as hell. The seat is actually the bike's losing point right now. It's awesome and comfy at first, but I keep sliding forward on it during the ride. I think I just need to get used to the seat style and sit closer to the tank, since the old bike had the long, flat seat. Dubs posted:Bice bike, I'll be taking more shots when I get home tonight. Oh, a question: How do I carry a lock on this? I've got a nice fat wheel lock, but there's not really anywhere to hook it during the ride, and I usually don't have my backpack with me. Mr. Eric Praline fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Apr 8, 2009 |
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Apr 8, 2009 14:37
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chryst posted:Oh, a question: How do I carry a lock on this? I've got a nice fat wheel lock, but there's not really anywhere to hook it during the ride, and I usually don't have my backpack with me. Ooooh question!!!! *raises hand in the air like a retarded monkey* How do you secure a bike against theft. Its never something i've considered because i'm from a more rural area and everyone knows everyone. Do you use like a wheel lock or is taking the key enough? if you do use a wheel lock how often do you use it? Like if you go into the gas station do you lock it or only if your goin in for awhile. editted: for truth Ponies ate my Bagel fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Apr 8, 2009 |
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Apr 8, 2009 16:32
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chryst posted:I tried to get an angle that's a bit different from the marketing: Man I am liking that a whole lot. I've only really seen side-profile pics and they just don't do it justice. Really nice.
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Apr 8, 2009 16:40
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Ponies ate my Bagel posted:Ooooh question!!!! *raises hand in the air waving it wildly* How do you secure a bike against theft. Its never something i've considered because i'm from a more rural area and everyone knows everyone. Do you use like a wheel lock or is taking the key enough? if you do use a wheel lock how often do you use it? Like if you go into the gas station do you lock it or only if your goin in for awhile. I stick to the same ideas as on my bicycles. Lock the wheels so they can't turn, and lock the frame to something bolted down. The second one isn't often practical for motorcycles, but I do it when I can. The problem for me is that my new bike doesn't have the nifty built-in cable on the fork that the old bike did, and no easy place to carry the wheel lock.
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Apr 8, 2009 16:43
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meatpotato posted:What's the best way to handle weird turns? I have the most problems with switchbacks especially when there's an elevation change. Sharp downhill turns can scare the hell out of me, especially with bad pavement. I know brakes are very bad to use when cornering, but what do I do when gravity/maintenance throttle causes me to get going uncomfortably fast for the last 1/4 of the turn or so? Come into the corner slower. The rear brake will stabilize the bike, but it's also going to load the front wheel, which you don't want in a corner. Loading the front is not a big deal in low speed stuff until you hit a small patch of gravel/oil/a rock, all the weight is on the front end, and away goes the front. It feels really dumb to enter a corner at 10mph, and you can do things like trail the front or rear brakes to help you feel more comfortable, but there's no trophies on the street, so just slow down more, crawl through the corner, and maintain proper cornering technique. Maintenence throttle does work through downhill stuff, and is ideal for getting the bike in a place where the bike will work right, it's just triple important that you set your entry speed correctly before getting on it in downhills. Maintenence throttle (and Keith Code's throttle rule, once you're on the gas, you don't back it off in a corner) does not work in decreasing radius corners. A lot of the time that people have problems with low speed corners, especially those with elevation changes is because they're dealing with a number of new things at once, downhills that increase speed, decreasing radius corners that require a very late apex to avoid running wide, as well as cornering at a speed where the bike doesn't feel particularly stable. Plus, downhills make you want to load the bars with your upper body weight, which will gently caress up the handling of the bike and make it feel numb and unresponsive. The other thing that's important is keeping your eyes up and forward, always scanning forward for the apex and then the exit of the corner. chryst posted:Can do. I'll even take off some of the plastic and get shots if it turns out to be easy enough to do. That'd be awesome. Can't you just toss the lock under the seat? And the seat should get less slidey as you wear it in...I'd bet they armoralled it before they gave it to you. quote:going back for the space pants...what hot chick?  Ponies: Insurance.
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Apr 8, 2009 16:54
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Z3n posted:Ponies: Insurance. :/ expensive stuff.
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Apr 8, 2009 19:22
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Ponies ate my Bagel posted::/ expensive stuff. It's not that bad...I have my track and street SVs insured for theft only at the moment (via State Farm), with my agent understanding that in order to replace my trackbike I'd be looking at 6k or so (cost to assemble from new is listed at 11k), and to replace my streetbike I'd be looking at around 4k. I pay around 100$ a year for that. If nothing else, it's cheap peace of mind.
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Apr 8, 2009 20:32
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Z3n posted:It's not that bad...I have my track and street SVs insured for theft only at the moment (via State Farm), with my agent understanding that in order to replace my trackbike I'd be looking at 6k or so (cost to assemble from new is listed at 11k), and to replace my streetbike I'd be looking at around 4k. I pay around 100$ a year for that. If nothing else, it's cheap peace of mind. They want 5k a yr from me probably due to age. heh
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Apr 8, 2009 22:00
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Ponies ate my Bagel posted:They want 5k a yr from me probably due to age. heh How much did you shop around? That's high, because the insurance company doesn't want to insure you period but are required to offer you a rate. You should be looking at a company like State Farm or similar such who rates off of displacement, not anything else, and go talk to an actual agent, who should be able to help you with any particular questions you may have. If you send me an e-mail I can hook you up with my agent to call at the very least, maybe he can help point you in the right direction or get you set up with a decent policy.
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Apr 8, 2009 22:07
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I just found a small company that specializes in bikes, they have a program for bikes older than 20 years. Parked in the city on the street, no built up bonus, full comprehensive, roadside help all over Europe, including medical/life on rider and passenger. Now...keep in mind what I've posted about Norwegian price levels... $366 pr year.  Checked other bikes (from a very nice interface, drop down menu, find model, calculate price) just to see if my alarm bells should ring. Nope, meanest sport bikes were over $3500. Considering an SV 1000 next year, with credit for my 125cc license from 1997 I get it on the terms above for a very reasonable $800, possibly cheaper once I'm past 30 and have built up some bonus with them. If you're Norwegian, check it out at http://www.bilsport-mc.no
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Apr 8, 2009 22:19
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Z3n posted:How much did you shop around? That's high, because the insurance company doesn't want to insure you period but are required to offer you a rate. You should be looking at a company like State Farm or similar such who rates off of displacement, not anything else, and go talk to an actual agent, who should be able to help you with any particular questions you may have. If you send me an e-mail I can hook you up with my agent to call at the very least, maybe he can help point you in the right direction or get you set up with a decent policy. I will definitely take you up on that before I go out and purchase my bike. I am currently around 6-8 months away from doing so. I have only checked geico/progressive and although progressive is cheaper it still makes me cry.
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Apr 8, 2009 22:22
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I'm currently in the middle of reassembling a GS850 motor and it has the base gasket from hell stuck to it. i'm trying some spray gasket remover (permatex with methylene chloride) and it's just not doing the trick. hitting around the edges with a hammer and all that stuff doesn't help either. I could put it in the blasting cabinet but I really don't want to have to clean all the sand out of the nooks and crannies. Anybody have any tips for removing a bad gasket?
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Apr 8, 2009 23:05
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Ponies ate my Bagel posted:I will definitely take you up on that before I go out and purchase my bike. I am currently around 6-8 months away from doing so. I have only checked geico/progressive and although progressive is cheaper it still makes me cry. To prove how good it is to shop around, progressive is who I go with as they gave me rates lower than anyone else by hundreds. SOunds like they're giving you an unreasonable quote, so just try and get as many quotes as possible and you'll find one that's reasonable. 
Minty Swagger fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Apr 9, 2009 |
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Apr 9, 2009 00:44
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Z3n posted:That'd be awesome. And, with the pics. You asked for lots, so here's lots. If this is too long, let me know, and I'll just link them all. Dunno if there's a limit per post, but we'll see. I got most of the plastic off, but I didn't want to go pulling off the headlight. Rider's view  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. Rear angle view:  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. Front Brake:  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. Rear Brake  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. The much-maligned-but-rad-anyway exhaust:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Coolant lines and the front header pipe:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Clutch cover and oil filter:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Closeup on the instrument cluster:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Rear shock:  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. Rear lights, & seat lock position:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Seat and grab handles:  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. Tried to get a shot that shows off the shape of the tank (also, gently caress whatever they glue the safety warning stickers on with. That thing sucked to get off.):  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. Close side view of the bike:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. And another of the rear:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Ok, finally we get where you guys are probably more interested. Seat comes off:  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. Plastic is off:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. The other side:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Close up without plastic:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Rear throttle body and airbox:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. Airbox is off, here's the throttle bodies:  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. Different angle:  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. And, finally last shot, from the side:  Click here for the full 1280x960 image.
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Apr 9, 2009 01:46
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bobula posted:Anybody have any tips for removing a bad gasket? razor blade. What the hell are you talking about with a hammer? The base gasket is paper. Are you sure you're not trying to remove the base of the head itself?
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Apr 9, 2009 03:05
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Hot bike, but that exhaust? 
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Apr 9, 2009 04:33
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Excellent, thank you very much for all the pictures...that answers most of my questions until I can get my hands on one in person Much appreciated that you took the time to tear it down to the injectors, too. I'm suprised that they welded the subframe to the frame. Also, if you have one: A picture of the shape of the frame looking straight down at it without the gas tank? No need to tear it back down if you've already put it back together, just idle curiosity Edit: I also think it'd look pretty kickass without the lower plastic covers, and just that sweet tube frame all out on display...I bet we'll see some people chopping the fairings apart to just have the white part and lose the silver lower shield. Double edit: I wonder if that rear brake will adapt over to the normal SV...the stock one is a huge pita during installs and a setup like that would be much easier. Take pictures when you take the rear wheel off for the first time? 
Z3n fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Apr 9, 2009 |
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Apr 9, 2009 05:39
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Nerobro posted:razor blade. What the hell are you talking about with a hammer? The base gasket is paper. Are you sure you're not trying to remove the base of the head itself? I ended up blasting it all off anyway, but I'll keep that in mind for next time. The hammer thing is, you get a hard plastic hammer and hit around the edges of the cover/gasket. Much of the time it's brittle so it'll knock big pieces of it off just like that without having to scrape anything off.
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Apr 9, 2009 07:19
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Oddly enough i saw a gladius today when i dropped into the bike shop on the way home, in that same blue and white color. Its a really hard bike to get a gauge on, those pictures really don't show all the angles on the thing. Its a really nice bike, and the frame is awesome but there are a few angles where it looks a bit off. Front on its not pretty at all unfortunately. EDIT: rereading what zen said, i think hes right. Its that lower plastic that covers the rad up, its pokes out too far. Dubs fucked around with this message at 08:54 on Apr 9, 2009 |
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Apr 9, 2009 08:50
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So here's my bar riser plan. Buy this:  (about $50) Chop it in half, insert one half into my each of my steering stalks, do a sitting test and cable run mock-up, trim the bars to practical length and be done. This should get me wider, taller and more upright controls for much less $$ than any local aftermarket option or shipped US stuff. Think it looks right Nero?
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Apr 9, 2009 13:16
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Oi..... So I try to start my bike this morning and first have starting problems that seem indicative of a low battery. This isn't surprising since I've basically been nursing the thing as long as I can before I have to buy a new one. I hook it up to a trickle and it immediately starts turning over upon hitting the starter. Great. However, the thing won't really start. I get spark and ignition, but it won't idle. Then I hear a few major explosions while trying to turn it over. It was most likely backfiring (SEEMED like it was coming from the exhaust), but it was so loud and jarring with a different note that really made me worry. I finally got the bike started, it idled fine, and I rode away. About halfway through my commute the fucker starts idling at 7K. Everyone at red lights thinks I'm trying to race them and my brakes are pissed. I have never, ever had a problem with the idle so I don't really want to just try to adjust the idle screw and assume everything's fine. Throttle response is still even through the whole range so I don't think it's cable issues(probably, anyway) but I'm open to ideas. What gives? This is sort of an emergency since I don't feel safe riding around like this and I have a meeting to get to at lunch. I'm thinking I'll adjust the idle screw just to rule out throttle cable but I was reading a GS forum (it's a GS500) and someone mentioned that it could be an O-ring between the carb and airbox that blew.
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Apr 9, 2009 14:04
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Z3n posted:Excellent, thank you very much for all the pictures...that answers most of my questions until I can get my hands on one in person The fairings cover up some unattractive welds and tubes and wire ties and stuff, but I agree, the frame would look way better if it was more naked. I may tinker with that myself some.
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Apr 9, 2009 14:21
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chryst posted:Rear lights, & seat lock position: Wow the way that's set up would make a fender eliminator a tall order methinks. That kind of sucks, especially considering the fender is freaking enormous. Awesome bike, though. I'd kill for that thing.
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Apr 9, 2009 14:49
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