|
I dropped my bike at the mechanic's like a week after I first got it on the road. I had taken it there to get the road safety check done, passed with flying colors. Left, hopped on the bike, flicked on the fuel, ignition, choke, turned out the kickstarter, hopped on top and gave a mighty shove downwards, and because I'd forgotten to put it in neutral, the bike scooted forwards six inches and fell off the kickstand and fell over with me on top. Luckily nothing broke and while I didn't see any of the mechanics laughing at me, I'm sure that it was too late and they'd seen everything.
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2014 07:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 14:22 |
|
|
Sagebrush posted:I dropped my bike at the mechanic's like a week after I first got it on the road. I had taken it there to get the road safety check done, passed with flying colors. Left, hopped on the bike, flicked on the fuel, ignition, choke, turned out the kickstarter, hopped on top and gave a mighty shove downwards, Sorry as I am that you dropped the bike, that produces the most hilarious image.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2014 11:05
|
|
|
Almost rear-ended two separate assholes who pulled out in front of me on the way to work today. I don't think they even didn't see me, from my time driving cars I realized that a certain subset of Japanese drivers just take the "I'm gonna pull out, they'll slow down" approach to entering traffic. First one I felt the rear wheel lock and I was still too close/coming in too hot, fortunately there was enough room to split past him on the left. Second one I had enough time to brake effectively, but I still laid on the horn. They flashed their hazards as an apology (normally means "thank you for letting me in" in Japan) and quickly turned down a sidestreet. By the time I got to work I was really rattled, fortunately I had a nice, uneventful ride home. I don't normally hate on Japanese drivers the way other foreigners here do, but this one thing really gets to me. It seems especially common if they're only getting on the road to make a turn in another ten meters or so... It's like they think it doesn't count or something. I had a guy do it to me on my way home on Friday as I was coming into a sweeper so he could go literally ten loving feet (that he could have done on the sidewalk he was already on) and I was so furious I was about to pull over and give him a piece of my mind. Then I saw the "old person" sticker on his car and realized the futility of it, and continued on my way.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2014 12:34
|
|
|
Today I learned how to back it in. Or rather, that it's a good idea to not throw the bike into a fun corner when it's raining. Not that you can see much with the water over the lens but I was approaching a roundabout I normally take at full speed when it's dry since there's great visibility of all approaches and the hill gives the road a pretty steep camber in this direction. Felt the back end slide out a little but since I was shifting back to the left anyway everything just came back into line naturally before I had much chance to react.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2014 08:20
|
|
|
Soon that kind of slip will be fun to you 
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2014 08:23
|
|
|
Z3n posted:Do enough research and you discover that motorcycles are still pretty much black magic as far as the significant forces of physics that go into play. We still don't really understand how bicycles work, let alone motorcycles. They work tenuously, and only up until the point when you grow proud. Then, the Cycle Force withdraws its protection and your back tire goes on a spirit voyage perpendicular to your intended direction of travel! Every time I lean through a turn my brain firmly declares "I do not know what the gently caress you just." So far I've kept it chill and avoided a mistake but I have yet to deal with wet conditions.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2014 20:25
|
|
|
I filtered up to the front of a light and an Audi was being a dick and tried to race me when the light turned green, nearly clipping me. I guess I've gotten a little too used to my bike's warp speed but not its post-tune warpage, gave a bit more than a handful of throttle. Ended up nearly getting my Bandit to balance point for 100 feet through an intersection and beyond, looking back at nobody around me because by the time I hit the ground and shifted I was going 80. 1. It was raining. Pilot Road 3's have some goddamned amazing grip. 2. This was my first "real" wheelie. 3. The landing was not bad at all, quite soft actually. 4. I had no idea if I was gonna slide off my bike or not. I guess my legs were Octopussy-glued to the sides of the tank. 5. I have so much adrenaline right now. Zipped the gently caress to work in case a cop were to have seen since the police station was 200 feet to the left of the stoplight. Lesson learned, my bike actually does have gratuitous amounts of power and I'm just a grandpa when I drive. Second lesson learned, wheelies are awesome.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2014 18:16
|
|
|
I went out to the Home Depot today. The temperature was hovering right around freezing and it was snowing, but the snow was little tiny flakes and the roads were pretty clear. While I was in the Home Depot, however, the snow went from little tiny flakes to big fat nasty flakes, and the roads became super slushy. My back wheel slipped out from under me a few times in the Home Depot parking lot until I resigned to dragging the clutch with no throttle and dragging my feet along the ground. I pulled into a gas station and filled up, and tried to turn around to get out. It was too slippery so I got off the bike, with the motor still running. I forgot to put it in neutral, so the back end just kept sliding. I managed to hit the kill switch, but it was too late to keep the bike from very gently dropping on its side in the gas station parking lot. Moral of the story: gently caress riding in snow on Pilot Road IIs. Also gently caress my Shoei Qwest, a $300 helmet shouldn't fog up whenever the temperature dips below 40.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2014 00:58
|
|
|
Random story time. Once I bought a used VFR800 in Ireland over the internet. Somehow, it worked out, and weeks later I found myself taking my new and somewhat-legal ride out for a spin on a country road. Man, this thing is a real pig, I thought. Really takes some manhandling to turn. On a couple really tight turns I had a few close calls on what should have been fun, tight corners, nearly running out of road. I hadn't ridden in a while and the bike had clipons, so I figured maybe it was just me. Anyway, I had limited tools and a tight schedule so I started my way across the country. A day and one slow drop later, I was on a boat to Wales. Next day, halfway across Britain at a gas, er, petrol station that had a free air hookup, I figure I've done a few hundred miles and it wouldn't hurt to do some basic upkeep and chain cleaning, etc. Bike still steers like a train but I'm getting used to it. Besides, it was freezing out, and that occupied most of my mental energy - making myself miserable by focusing on how cold I was. Step in the shop and pick up a crappy pressure gauge and some caffeine. Tires should be cool by now. Stoop down and measure the rear - it's fine. Now the front. 11 psi. I'd just been doing 70-90mph for hours on end... wonder if it was a hot day if it would have blown out on me. I'd been watching the pressure like a hawk after that, and it never leaked, and the handling was instantly cured, so I can only guess it was at 11 the whole time. Also gently caress VFRs, that bike sucked, air or no air in the tires. Infinotize fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Feb 2, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2014 05:36
|
|
|
Finally dropped my 600. Was at Mum and Dads place and was backing the bike up to leave and their dog swiped my leg out from under me. Little bastard. Managed to get my footing in just enough time to stop the bike from dropping like a rock, but it was too far gone for me to save it. Laid it down gently on the grass. No breaks or anything, just incredibly annoying.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2014 00:38
|
|
|
Infinotize posted:Random story time. Once I bought a used VFR800 in Ireland over the internet. Somehow, it worked out, and weeks later I found myself taking my new and somewhat-legal ride out for a spin on a country road. Man, this thing is a real pig, I thought. Really takes some manhandling to turn. On a couple really tight turns I had a few close calls on what should have been fun, tight corners, nearly running out of road. I hadn't ridden in a while and the bike had clipons, so I figured maybe it was just me. Anyway, I had limited tools and a tight schedule so I started my way across the country. A day and one slow drop later, I was on a boat to Wales. Next day, halfway across Britain at a gas, er, petrol station that had a free air hookup, I figure I've done a few hundred miles and it wouldn't hurt to do some basic upkeep and chain cleaning, etc. Bike still steers like a train but I'm getting used to it. Besides, it was freezing out, and that occupied most of my mental energy - making myself miserable by focusing on how cold I was. Step in the shop and pick up a crappy pressure gauge and some caffeine. Tires should be cool by now. Stoop down and measure the rear - it's fine. Now the front. 11 psi. I'd just been doing 70-90mph for hours on end... wonder if it was a hot day if it would have blown out on me. I'd been watching the pressure like a hawk after that, and it never leaked, and the handling was instantly cured, so I can only guess it was at 11 the whole time. 5th or 6th gen VFRs weigh in the ~500lb range so they're not exactly as light like a supersport or literbike, and the stock suspension is sprung on the softer side, they're meant more as all rounders than full on sporty machinery.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2014 11:56
|
|
|
infraboy posted:5th or 6th gen VFRs weigh in the ~500lb range so they're not exactly as light like a supersport or literbike, and the stock suspension is sprung on the softer side, they're meant more as all rounders than full on sporty machinery. I was getting on that after being used to my b1200s, which is also a fat pig with cheap suspension. Liked that bike waaaay better (and not just the torque).
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2014 18:18
|
|
|
infraboy posted:5th or 6th gen VFRs weigh in the ~500lb range so they're not exactly as light like a supersport or literbike, and the stock suspension is sprung on the softer side, they're meant more as all rounders than full on sporty machinery. 4th and earlier gen ran narrower rear tires (170/60), which helped somewhat. I found that they still steer like a dump truck if the tire pressure is low, though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2014 19:12
|
|
|
Damnit Honda, why can't you make a bike that handles well when I don't give a poo poo about it? Checking tire pressure is for proles.
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2014 19:37
|
|
|
Actually, the key point was that the bike was still a big pile of poo poo after I filled the tire up. edit: frankly, ignored Infinotize fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Feb 5, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2014 20:04
|
|
|
Frankly I write off the opinion of people who can't tell when a tire only has 10psi in it, but I wasn't referring to your post.
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2014 20:08
|
|
|
My Z1000 kind of wallowed in the back because of the 190 rear tire but it got really bad when the valve stem broke and let all the air out, so
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2014 23:28
|
|
|
I forgot my kickstand when my friend waved to me in the parking lot  set the bike down slowly and no damage to anything thanks to the loving awesome Holeshot crash cage.Getting it up wasn't too difficult since my friend rushed to help and laugh. Figured it was bound to happen eventually. I'd say three or so years without a single spill is a pretty good run.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2014 18:55
|
|
|
Safety Dance posted:Also gently caress my Shoei Qwest, a $300 helmet shouldn't fog up whenever the temperature dips below 40. I hate that about the Qwest. I'm due for a new helmet in a year or so, it's hard to decide whether to get a pinlock setup before then or be more particular about a helmet that doesn't fog up as easily next time.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2014 19:31
|
|
|
I wonder if they fudge the ventilation because they know the majority of helmets sold will be with pinlock? Pinlock comes standard on all Shoeis in EU (that I've seen).
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2014 19:37
|
|
|
Getting hit in the helmet by loose things chat was a few pages ago, but it reminded me of the first time I rode in to work. We have badges that you wear around your neck on a lanyard and I thought nothing of wearing it home under my jacket. The wind caught it right as I merged onto the highway and it started whipping all the gently caress over the place, making an awful racket on my helmet and neck and scaring the poo poo out of me in the process. That badge hasn't left my wallet in nearly 3 years now.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2014 22:43
|
|
|
Could be worse, you could have a bee hit you in the chest, and get sucked up into your helmet by the wind, so you now have a super pissed off bee right in your face while you're going 70 MPH down the highway. I panicked so hard that I had both hands off the handlebars and took my helmet off mid-ride, then parked on the side of the road and just quietly put it back on and carried on with my day. gently caress bees.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2014 03:06
|
|
|
The only times I've ever been stung were on the motorcycle. I think I am defying some serious odds there.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2014 23:24
|
|
|
ArbitraryTA posted:Could be worse, you could have a bee hit you in the chest, and get sucked up into your helmet by the wind, so you now have a super pissed off bee right in your face while you're going 70 MPH down the highway. Could have been worse. I put my helmet on about 2 months ago to go for a ride, left the visor up and cruised on my way, got to the highway which is about 10 minutes away and pulled out behind a truck so I decided to close the visor. There was a huntsman on the inside that was freaking huge, I absolutely poo poo myself. I check my helmet with mild paranoia every time I go for a ride now.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2014 03:11
|
|
|
Shimrod posted:Could have been worse. Check inside the vents as well, they like to live in there.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2014 03:14
|
|
|
Backov posted:Check inside the vents as well, they like to live in there. You're a bad person.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2014 04:03
|
|
|
I had to google what a huntsman was. Holy poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2014 04:18
|
|
|
Armchair Calvinist posted:I forgot my kickstand when my friend waved to me in the parking lot I almost did that the other day, total brainfart because I was parking so close to another bike and was trying to make sure he'd have room to move - got it to just before the point where it would fall over before, of all things, I noticed the sidestand light wasn't on.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2014 08:35
|
|
|
I'm looking forward to spring here, last year I took so many dragonflies to the face/chest riding around in the country. Luckily I wear glasses, as one time I had my visor up for ventalation and took one right to the right glass at about 80km/h. They are no fun.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2014 10:48
|
|
|
No bugs in my helmet, but I was taking a corner at a light and there was something flat on the ground that I went over and could feel my tire slide out a bit before it caught the asphalt again. I thought for sure my front was going to wash out and low side me. Just after a guy at the light was telling me how nice my bike was.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2014 15:52
|
|
|
hot sauce posted:I had to google what a huntsman was. Holy poo poo. Me too! Holy poo poo I was frightened and I was just looking at pictures on a computer screen!
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2014 16:22
|
|
|
dimmlight posted:Me too! Holy poo poo I was frightened and I was just looking at pictures on a computer screen! Yeah ok you win even if I am allergic to bees
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2014 23:36
|
|
|
Was out dialing in suspension. Pulled into a parking lot and mashed the front brake with the wheel turned fully left, bike dropped down hard. Managed to save it about a foot off the ground and bring it back up. Good think I had spinal surgery 6 months ago! Christ that could have been bad and I feel retarded.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2014 19:25
|
|
|
I was having fun dicking around offroad the other day, going up and down sledding hills. I hosed up when I didn't let out enough clutch near the top of a particularly steep hill, causing my KLR to stall out barely ten feet from the crest. Unfortunately, the ground was really soft, which made it impossible to go up any further from a complete stop. Since up was out of the question, the only way out was down. The second I let go of my brakes, I started sliding backwards, but I couldn't stop it. Everytime I tried to apply the brakes, it just tore up the soft mud and the bike kept sliding. Compounding my anxiety of sliding backwards uncontrollably was the realization that there was a very deep river waiting for me at the base of the hill. I slid backwards all the way to the bottom of hill, but thankfully I was able to keep it upright, and even managed to arrest my momentum before taking an icy plunge. Probably because I have no sense of self-preservation, I immediately tried it again, though this time at a different angle. Made it no problem on the second go-round!
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 15:37
|
|
|
This right here is why I miss my KLR.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 15:50
|
|
|
This right here makes me want a KLR.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 17:10
|
|
|
Remember your ABK's: Always Be KLRing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 17:17
|
|
|
Klr - marginally less effective than a streetbike at getting up hills.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 17:34
|
|
|
gently caress, I want a KLR.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 17:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 14:22 |
|
|
So I had a bunch of fun today riding to work today and hooning around the dam afterwards, just letting out all the frustration this winter has caused. I may have been celebrating too early though, as winter was apparently just biding its time, waiting to take another victim. I made it home no problem, pulled up through the yard to get around the vehicles, and parked in the rear of the driveway behind my truck. Just like any other time I cut off the gas, flipped down the kickstand, and in what now seems like slow motion, dismounted right on top of a tiny, tiny patch of ice that knocked my foot clean out from under me. Fortunately I still had my helmet on, because I got to test it out against the fender guard on my truck as I unceremoniously crumpled to the ground in shame and agony. I can't imagine how badly I might have been hurt had I been driving a car with only a seatbelt to protect me 
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2014 06:02
|
|