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Leaving aside the obvious "lol poseur" reasons, is there a good reason not to get one of those conversion kits to go to HID lights?
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Mar 8, 2013 20:20
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goddamnedtwisto posted:Leaving aside the obvious "lol poseur" reasons, is there a good reason not to get one of those conversion kits to go to HID lights? Depends on the kit. The kits where you just replace the bulb are awful. The kits where you actually put in a whole projector are great but not cheap.
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Mar 8, 2013 20:30
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I had Hella 90mm HID modules on my SV650 and with proper bulbs they were extremely bright and really did wonders for visibility. You have to be careful with them though: I've nearly crashed into jaywalking pedestrians wearing all black at night since they don't put a warm glow around objects in the same way halogens do. You're also talking at least $300 for a setup that is worth anything, versus converting your unit to use proper halogen bulbs which have as good-- if not better-- lumen output than HID's.
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Mar 8, 2013 20:33
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Not sure if this has been covered but I didn't see it in the last couple pages. I have my MSF course scheduled for March 22-24 and will be getting my license shortly thereafter. I'm most likely going to go with a 08-12 Ninja 250r, as I have no riding experience. I am located in a pretty dense location in downtown Washington DC. How should I go about even getting the bike home? I don't think I'll have the confidence to ride it on the beltway/295/395 and then through downtown traffic to my apartment. The only time these roads aren't crowded is in the middle of the night or very early on the weekend. Also, where should I practice riding initially with this location in mind?
hot sauce fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Mar 8, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2013 20:50
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Sometimes you can throw the owner some cash to have it dropped off. Sometimes you can find a local goon to ride it for you. As far as practicing I'd get on google maps and look for large parking lots close to you, parks, and cemeteries. Sometimes the pavement is crap in cemeteries but they're usually pretty empty and have turns and elevation change.
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Mar 8, 2013 20:57
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Xovaan posted:I had Hella 90mm HID modules on my SV650 Dude, enough with the bro talk. You had plenty of 90 mm HID modules on your SV650.
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Mar 8, 2013 20:57
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Ola posted:Dude, enough with the bro talk. You had plenty of 90 mm HID modules on your SV650. god damnit
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Mar 8, 2013 21:04
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nsaP posted:Sometimes you can throw the owner some cash to have it dropped off. Sometimes you can find a local goon to ride it for you. As far as practicing I'd get on google maps and look for large parking lots close to you, parks, and cemeteries. Sometimes the pavement is crap in cemeteries but they're usually pretty empty and have turns and elevation change. Anything resembling a parking lot or park (with roads) near me would require riding through a lot of congested downtown city blocks or hopping onto a highway. I know this will be alright once I have some skill and confidence on it but am unsure what do to before that. I guess I'll try to find these in the early hours of the morning for a few weekends starting off.
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Mar 8, 2013 21:13
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icebeam! posted:Anything resembling a parking lot or park (with roads) near me would require riding through a lot of congested downtown city blocks or hopping onto a highway. I know this will be alright once I have some skill and confidence on it but am unsure what do to before that. I guess I'll try to find these in the early hours of the morning for a few weekends starting off. Stop thinking like you're driving a car. The aim isn't to get there as quickly as possible. Get on google maps and figure out a way to get where you need to go using side streets or residential streets. And yeah, do it early in the morning when there's less traffic.
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Mar 8, 2013 21:17
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icebeam! posted:Anything resembling a parking lot or park (with roads) near me would require riding through a lot of congested downtown city blocks or hopping onto a highway. I know this will be alright once I have some skill and confidence on it but am unsure what do to before that. I guess I'll try to find these in the early hours of the morning for a few weekends starting off. You're overthinking this. Surface streets in the city are easy, stop, clutch out, throttle, stop again. Stop to turn. Lather rinse repeat. The level of "oh poo poo" is no different than riding a pedal bike on the street. Highways are even easier, just give it throttle. The whole "oh poo poo, I'm doing 80 mph with an SUV 8 inches away" wears off in about 15 minutes. Granted, it's DC/NOVA, so you will nearly be killed at least 6 times before you reach your destination. 3 if the roads are mostly empty. Once you find a nice parking lot or something, practice your low speed stuff, figure 8s, panic stops, etc. work on decreasing radius circles and keep your balance. It's easy poo poo.
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Mar 8, 2013 21:24
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California it's more like "feather clutch splitting up to lights and beat traffic always  "Commute times on motorcyles in California are about 30% faster than cars from what I've gauged. Being the first at every light does wonders since you don't have to rely on teamwork (re: mouthbreathers) to get through lights efficiently
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Mar 8, 2013 21:28
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Xovaan posted:California it's more like "feather clutch splitting up to lights and beat traffic always It owns so hard in Japan. Most roads where I live (bumblefuck-ken) are two lane, double-yellow affairs, and normal speed limit is like 25-35mph. Not uncommon to have one joker doing the actual speed limit and a huge queue of cars behind them. I find myself crossing my fingers for a red light so I can filter past and continue on my way. I've actually been having good luck lately with kei cars (small, limited to a 660cc engine), if they notice me behind them a lot will move to the left side of the lane so I can squeeze past them without crossing over into oncoming traffic. Thanks, small engine buddies 
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Mar 9, 2013 01:12
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There are lots of DC area Goons that can help. DC traffic M-F 5am-8pm is a horror show. Outside of those hours it's not too bad. Keep away from the tourist spots during big events and you're fine. One thing, though, DC roads are really, really bad - you might want to look at a dual-sport / supermoto style bike at first, to handle all the potholes etc. Less attractive to thieves / hooligans, too.
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Mar 9, 2013 06:29
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Just picked up an 07 yzf600r with about 8k on the clock. I've already ordered a set of tires, what other maintenance items should I be concerned about?
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Mar 9, 2013 07:53
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AzraelDM posted:Just picked up an 07 yzf600r with about 8k on the clock. I've already ordered a set of tires, what other maintenance items should I be concerned about? Plan on changing oil + filter and engine coolant. Check brake pads, discs, lines, replace as needed. If you mess with brakes, replace the fluid. Check chain condition, tension, sprocket condition. Chain probably needs a clean & lube at least. Check fork seals. Check battery for corrosion and holding charge, if it's the original batt it's probably used up. Make sure everything moves freely and smoothly without binding. Carbs may need a clean. It may be due to have the valve clearances checked, see the manual for the right interval.
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Mar 9, 2013 08:03
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Has anyone seen one of the new Duke 690Rs yet? Thinking of selling the RS125 and treating myself to one after I get my open-class bike license. Already got a Street Triple R, so it's not like it'd be my first big bike or anything. I just want something small and crazy but not necessarily Italian-sportsbike "oh, what's wrong with it now?" crazy.
Shouting Melon fucked around with this message at 08:16 on Mar 9, 2013 |
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Mar 9, 2013 08:05
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Shouting Melon posted:Has anyone seen one of the new Duke 690Rs yet? Thinking of selling the RS125 and treating myself to one after I get my open-class bike license. Already got a Street Triple R, so it's not like it'd be my first big bike or anything. I just want something small and crazy but not necessarily Italian-sportsbike "oh, what's wrong with it now?" crazy. I sat on one last month at a dealership last month and it's pretty comfortable. The pegs are up higher than I thought but not too bad.
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Mar 9, 2013 08:41
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I've got three bikes to sell to finance my new bike, so I'm starting to wonder about the best time to start putting up ads. We've had some days with (for the season) great weather now. Sunny, around +5 celsius. Most of the larger streets are free of snow and with the sand mostly gone it is quite rideable now, but as soon as you get into residental area with smaller streets its still pretty rough riding. A very uneven surface with snow and ice that has melted in spots, giving you "potholes" in the ice that shake you around pretty good even in a car. Should I wait for it to get warmer and melt some more, or maybe put up the ads now and hope that the last few days of "spring" has made people start looking for bikes again?
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Mar 9, 2013 13:04
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Snowdens Secret posted:you might want to look at a dual-sport / supermoto style bike at first, to handle all the potholes etc. Less attractive to thieves / hooligans, too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6E7f0uLoFnw I wouldn't say they're "unattractive" to a certain demo..
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Mar 9, 2013 13:11
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ThatCguy posted:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6E7f0uLoFnw You know, I was watching some vids like that and it makes me wonder - who does the maintenance on all those bikes? Do all the kids learn to do it themselves, or do they have neighborhood specialists? Do they go to the dealer? Does it just not get done? And what's the effect on a dirtbike motor in terms of oil starvation, carb float etc of standing on the tail like that for extended periods of time?
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Mar 9, 2013 16:10
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Xovaan posted:I had Hella 90mm HID modules on my SV650 and with proper bulbs they were extremely bright and really did wonders for visibility. You have to be careful with them though: I've nearly crashed into jaywalking pedestrians wearing all black at night since they don't put a warm glow around objects in the same way halogens do. You're also talking at least $300 for a setup that is worth anything, versus converting your unit to use proper halogen bulbs which have as good-- if not better-- lumen output than HID's. Someone's also pointed out to me on another forum that in the EU HIDs are illegal without a lens-washing system because of the glare they can cause. Okay then next question - those bulbs that claim to be 100% brighter - bullshit or what?
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Mar 9, 2013 17:56
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I'd like to know that too. The stock bulb in my SV is useless, though would these brighter ones not put out a lot more heat? Melting the housing would kinds of suck!
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Mar 9, 2013 19:05
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goddamnedtwisto posted:Someone's also pointed out to me on another forum that in the EU HIDs are illegal without a lens-washing system because of the glare they can cause. They're "brighter" in the sense they put out a ton of light, but there's more to brightness than how bright they make objects look. You want what you're projecting at to not absorb most of your light's wavelengths, and unfortunately, a lot of these bulbs do just that on the objects you don't want them to (darker, likely human, animal, or debris). That's why it's important to get bulbs close to daylight (halogen, xenon, or HID around 4200K).  Of course, I prefer halogen because they're the closest to natural daylight for the cheapest cost, but the heat output in a normal plastic housing can be pretty warm. Unless you can afford the $300-$600 for a proper light setup, the economics behind xenon and proper HID kits just isn't worth it over a halogen setup, which can be had for a small fraction of the cost. Also, halogen requires no modification to the plastic housing-- only the module added inside it. (the plastic housing can mess up the light and distract drivers, even with a proper HID/xenon projector, which is why most cars have completely clear glass covering their projectors) But I'm ADHD as gently caress right now and a newbie when it comes to lighting. I personally had Hella 8" halogen rally lights on my Volvo and boy loving howdy those things sure put out death star laser beams destroying the planet of darkness. Not road legal in the slightest though but zero fucks
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Mar 9, 2013 19:28
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goddamnedtwisto posted:Someone's also pointed out to me on another forum that in the EU HIDs are illegal without a lens-washing system because of the glare they can cause. Before i put the vrod headlight on my sv i used Philips Motovision bulbs and I found they were a huge improvement over generic bulbs of the same rated wattage there doesn't seem to be many places selling them anymore though, maybe they've been superseded by something better.
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Mar 9, 2013 19:32
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echomadman posted:Before i put the vrod headlight on my sv i used Philips Motovision bulbs and I found they were a huge improvement over generic bulbs of the same rated wattage there doesn't seem to be many places selling them anymore though, maybe they've been superseded by something better. Something like this? Might give them a go even though they're like triple the price I normally pay.
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Mar 9, 2013 19:39
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goddamnedtwisto posted:Something like this? Might give them a go even though they're like triple the price I normally pay. Its money well spent in my experience, the bulbs last longer than lovely cheap ones and the light output was noticeably better.
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Mar 9, 2013 19:55
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How do you go about practicing your leaning into turns/countersteering, as far as I can tell I'm still doing it without thinking about it but not nearly giving it enough lean, slowing to 40 for 60mph turns and the like. Slow in and fast out is fair enough, but I think I've taken it too far. Any suggestions? I've done the standard thing of taking a corner too fast and coming out after thinking I was dragging knee but realistically I was at like 20 degrees, and that's probably not the best way to train.
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Mar 10, 2013 01:29
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Wootcannon posted:How do you go about practicing your leaning into turns/countersteering, as far as I can tell I'm still doing it without thinking about it but not nearly giving it enough lean, slowing to 40 for 60mph turns and the like. Slow in and fast out is fair enough, but I think I've taken it too far. Any suggestions? I've done the standard thing of taking a corner too fast and coming out after thinking I was dragging knee but realistically I was at like 20 degrees, and that's probably not the best way to train. You don't have to practice countersteering I wish to god the internet had never learned that word. It's not something you consciously have to do. Don't worry about it, as far as the rest goes keep riding and staying calm and relaxed on the bike and speed/lean angles will come with time. Follow all the other standard advice the internet has etc... Oh also non standard advice, don't hang off the bike, you're new and you're on the street IMO this is a waste of energy and distracting. HNasty fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Mar 10, 2013 |
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Mar 10, 2013 01:38
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HNasty posted:You don't have to practice countersteering I wish to got the internet had never learned that word. It's not something you consciously have to do. Don't worry about it, as far as the rest goes keep riding and staying calm and relaxed on the bike and speed/lean angles will come with time. Follow all the other standard advice the internet has etc... I don't think that's good advice at all. If you are consciously able to understand why your machine is behaving in the way that it does, then you can use it to your advantage. Do any (and I mean any) advanced course and I'm sure you'll be made well aware of what counter-steering is and why/how to use it.
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Mar 10, 2013 01:50
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I've found that telling yourself "you could still be pushing harder" and "you could still be looking further down the road" help a lot.
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Mar 10, 2013 02:03
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^Cheers much, I do occasionally catch myself not looking into the turn and it is something I need to work on. Will look farther up as my instructor suggested but I keep forgetting._Dav posted:I don't think that's good advice at all. If you are consciously able to understand why your machine is behaving in the way that it does, then you can use it to your advantage. Do any (and I mean any) advanced course and I'm sure you'll be made well aware of what counter-steering is and why/how to use it. Exactly my point of view, I want to understand the mechanics of it. And I got made well aware of counter-steering when my steering lock got partially engaged and I could properly feel myself doing it! HNasty posted:You don't have to practice countersteering I wish to god the internet had never learned that word. It's not something you consciously have to do. Don't worry about it, as far as the rest goes keep riding and staying calm and relaxed on the bike and speed/lean angles will come with time. Follow all the other standard advice the internet has etc... Fair point with the wording, I just didn't know what terminology was most common. I meant just leaning in. And fair enough with the last part, but I figure if I'm on a nice quiet curvy road I should see what I can do! goddamnedtwisto posted:Leaving aside the obvious "lol poseur" reasons, is there a good reason not to get one of those conversion kits to go to HID lights? Wootcannon fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Mar 10, 2013 |
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Mar 10, 2013 02:07
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Wootcannon posted:
That's all fine and well but when you're actually on the bike it's another distraction, you're gonna do it no matter what. If you're not countersteering your ride will be very short. When on the bike it's important to save your attention for only important things and IMO the whole countersteering isn't important to actively think about and at worst it might even make you stare at the bars instead of down the road.
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Mar 10, 2013 02:18
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HNasty posted:That's all fine and well but when you're actually on the bike it's another distraction, you're gonna do it no matter what. If you're not countersteering your ride will be very short. When on the bike it's important to save your attention for only important things and IMO the whole countersteering isn't important to actively think about and at worst it might even make you stare at the bars instead of down the road. I'm not seeing where you're coming from, unless you mean you think I'm gonna be staring at the bars to measure my exact countersteering angle as opposed to just doing it without thinking in which case christ there are some fuckwits out there. I should point out I rode off *with* the lock partially engaged, that's how I could feel it. e: In fact, I'd imagine I'd be loving up pretty badly if I was countersteering to such a degree that I could easily see and think about the movement in the bars. It is just the mild turning you do as you shift your weight into a turn, right? I mean I've never properly thought about it, I've just done it. e2: wait, I see now, I've worded it poorly and you're basically saying what I've said above. My bad. Wootcannon fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Mar 10, 2013 |
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Mar 10, 2013 02:22
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Also I don't think worrying about leaning more is helpful. If you're going around turns without flying into the ditch, you're leaning enough. Worry about being smooth on the throttle and brakes and steering and keeping your arms loose and looking ahead. Your technique of leaning is not something that matters unless you're really pushing it, which you ought not to do on the street anyway.
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Mar 10, 2013 02:36
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I'm just worried that I'm travelling a fair bit slower than other traffic on curvy roads.
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Mar 10, 2013 02:42
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I just tuck the bike under me in turns and keep my torso kind of upright. If you aren't booking it at ludicrous speeds through corners, body position won't matter as much. People on sport tourers go 20 faster than me around corners barely moving their bodies at all and after that I realized I was overthinking everything
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Mar 10, 2013 02:50
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Grip with your legs. You shouldn't really have to move your lower half around on the street except for comfort. Keep your arms relaxed and don't do a death grip. Look through the turn, lean your upper half towards the inside handlebar end. You'll subconsciously put more weight on / push with that hand, and rhat's generally all the countersteer you need. If that's not cutting it, either you have confidence issues that need to be trained out or there's something real off with the bike (worn out / flat tires, hosed up suspension settings) that should be fairly obvious. That's assuming you have good sight lines through the curve. I'll often take blind curves slower on the bike than the car, since emergency braking mid-turn to avoid unseen obstacles has more compilations on two wheels than four.
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Mar 10, 2013 02:59
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Having some strange issues with my 2012 street triple. I installed leads for Powerlet heated gear a while back, and the bike died in the middle of a trip (I was on local roads at a stoplight). I was able to start it back up and then I got it home and checked the battery, everything was fine it seemed (12.9v off, 12.2v just lights, 14.2 when idling and through a few k revs). Tonight I went for a ride and noticed on the way home the instrument panel was being odd. I didn't even have any heated gear hooked up this time. The bike then decided to die a block away from home and I couldn't get it started. Went out to the garage about 30 minutes after I pushed it back home and the battery was fine and had the same exact numbers as before. Is it possible that some sort of connection is loose and that is why it is dying? It doesn't seem like I have an R/R issue (the 2012s supposedly had the fixed one) since it looks like enough volts to charge even at idle. When I put in the heated gear leads I did change the battery screws (the old ones were not long enough it seemed with the extra lead under them). Maybe those are freaking it out somehow? I can take it to the dealer, but I'd rather save the time and money (especially if it isn't a warranty issue) if I could diagnose it and fix it myself.
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Mar 10, 2013 03:43
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I've had this *exact* problem. Go to the battery, double check the screws quickly, but if it's not them then I think it'll be the leads themselves.
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Mar 10, 2013 03:46
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Wootcannon posted:I've had this *exact* problem. Go to the battery, double check the screws quickly, but if it's not them then I think it'll be the leads themselves. I took out the leads for the powerlet stuff and replaced the old screws. I think I will do a quick test ride tomorrow for an hour or so, mixed highway and local. If I don't strand myself I guess I at least know to look at the leads and screws. It's nice to know that someone has seen something like this, thanks. If the powerlet leads were making intermittent contact for some reason, would that cause the battery to freak out?
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Mar 10, 2013 04:12
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