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a cute sea otter posted:I did another training day, this time on an ER6N, this week and the instructor kept trying to get me to not cover the front brake, or to cover it with my index and middle finger. I've basically, sans any previous knowledge, gotten in the habit of doing this, but usually with just my ring and little finger. They don't want you panicking and grabbing the bars when something bad happens and oh, oops, you grabbed all the front brake - enjoy your flight! But yeah, covering the front brake is fine.
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May 26, 2017 15:05
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I mean covering with the outer fingers rather than the inner.
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May 26, 2017 15:34
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a cute sea otter posted:I mean covering with the outer fingers rather than the inner. Sorry, misread that. I don't think it really matters one way or the other. Ideally it'd be nice to do one finger braking for which your index finger is a lot better than your pinky because it's stronger and generally has better motor control/finger feel. I also think one finger braking with index gives you a better hold on the bars if something does go wonky, but, again, this is one of those things that only really matters on the internet.
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May 26, 2017 15:42
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My instructors tell me that covering with the inner fingers only is a bad idea, because if you panic brake you could pinch your outer fingers with the brake handle.
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May 26, 2017 16:09
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I've never seen (in my admittedly limited experience) a lever that had to be depressed far enough for that to be an issue, unless there was air in the brake line. Are there kinds that go that soft without needing work?
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May 26, 2017 17:10
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Just badly adjusted ones I'd assume. It sounds like one of those reasonings that leads to 'if your fingers are going to get pinched by braking that hard that suddenly, you probably have bigger concerns than a broken/bruised finger.'
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May 26, 2017 17:46
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-Inu- posted:Even so, it's basically impossible to *completely* wear a tire to the edge, because at speed the tires deform and fold in slightly, keeping part of the tire from touching the road surface. Of course, it depends on the construction/profile of the tire and the rider, but it's pretty rare to see a front tire worn all the way to the edge. My bike got stolen (rip) so I can't take a picture of what the front looked like, but with the profile on these Dunlops, even my rear had an "unused" portion: TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY CUBIC CENTIMETERS Nice work there.
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May 26, 2017 18:02
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The bike I used in my MSF basically needed the brake lever compressed completely to apply the brake. I was the dumbass who hosed up and dumped a bike because of it. I was covering the brake and clutch with my index and middle fingers and for some dumbass reason cranked the throttle when I hosed up an upshift. I tried to panic-brake but my ring and pinky fingers blocked complete travel of the handles and the bike kept going. At least I ended up dumping it in the grass!  To be fair, those bikes are likely abused to poo poo so I imagine it's not a problem with a bike that isn't being beat up by newbie riders its entire life.
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May 27, 2017 00:36
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Dick Burglar posted:The bike I used in my MSF basically needed the brake lever compressed completely to apply the brake. I was the dumbass who hosed up and dumped a bike because of it. I was covering the brake and clutch with my index and middle fingers and for some dumbass reason cranked the throttle when I hosed up an upshift. I tried to panic-brake but my ring and pinky fingers blocked complete travel of the handles and the bike kept going. At least I ended up dumping it in the grass! And you learned to brake/clutch with all four fingers.
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May 27, 2017 08:47
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That I did.
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May 27, 2017 18:31
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So, a big thanks to everyone in this and all the threads here. I just officially hit one month of having my own bike, 1st month of riding, 1700~ miles in, and only one drop (lost the front wheel pulling into a gravel driveway too fast), and one already lost license plate (motorcycles vibrate a lot more than I thought they would and threadlocker is your friend). Corners that were terrifying on my first few days are now taken with ease, the bike feels like it's "mine" now and this being my first manual vehicle, I now shift without even thinking about it. I also know for any sort of hard/twisty riding I massively underspent on initial gear (except my jacket), but it all works perfectly for commuting. I can feel myself climbing mount stupid on the dunning-kruger graph fast, but I'm trying to temper it knowing that I'm still a dumbdumb and overestimating my skill will get me in trouble fast. Either way, this thread is great, you guys are great, and I appreciate all the advice.  Now to tempt myself daily browsing cycletrader, and try as best I can not to trade up to a poor lesson in risk management.
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May 28, 2017 00:36
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I love you.
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May 28, 2017 05:15
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spouse posted:So, a big thanks to everyone in this and all the threads here. I just officially hit one month of having my own bike, 1st month of riding, 1700~ miles in, and only one drop (lost the front wheel pulling into a gravel driveway too fast), and one already lost license plate (motorcycles vibrate a lot more than I thought they would and threadlocker is your friend). Keep doing what you're doing! What kind of bike have you got?
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May 28, 2017 05:35
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spouse posted:So, a big thanks to everyone in this and all the threads here. I just officially hit one month of having my own bike, 1st month of riding, 1700~ miles in, and only one drop (lost the front wheel pulling into a gravel driveway too fast), and one already lost license plate (motorcycles vibrate a lot more than I thought they would and threadlocker is your friend). The most dangerous point is in 1-2 years, cause you've got enough skill to ride the bike fast but not enough to not do things that suddenly and dramatically exceed the limits of traction. Sounds like you might hit that point before 1-2 years, but you should still be cautious of it. Try and find a flat track or offroad school to play with if you want to see how the bike feels sliding around.
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May 28, 2017 10:02
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Fishvilla posted:I love you. I know  Slavvy posted:Keep doing what you're doing! '07 Ninja 500r. Love it so far, but I'd like more legroom on the next one since I'm 6'4" and would like to do more trips. The "what bike should I get" thread has me staring at VFR's Z3n posted:The most dangerous point is in 1-2 years, cause you've got enough skill to ride the bike fast but not enough to not do things that suddenly and dramatically exceed the limits of traction. Sounds like you might hit that point before 1-2 years, but you should still be cautious of it. Try and find a flat track or offroad school to play with if you want to see how the bike feels sliding around. I have a buddy who's done local dirt bike racing about 30 minutes outside the city for years and does a school with his kids. I'll see if he has any leads that'd be really cool.
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May 28, 2017 12:46
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Z3n posted:The most dangerous point is in 1-2 years, cause you've got enough skill to ride the bike fast but not enough to not do things that suddenly and dramatically exceed the limits of traction. Sounds like you might hit that point before 1-2 years, but you should still be cautious of it. Try and find a flat track or offroad school to play with if you want to see how the bike feels sliding around. This is very good advice. I am at this point now and reminding myself not to get cocky. On today's ride I made a point of easing back a bit, trying to focus on good form, being patient if stuck behind a slow vehicle, etc. I think it is very easy to forget the good habits you develop as an new and more cautious rider at this point unless you keep practicing them.
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May 28, 2017 22:39
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The statistics show that the motorcycle accident rate actually increases with experience (mileage) up to about 5-10,000 miles, then starts to fall off again. It's exactly the phenomenon that's been described -- your confidence in your skills increases a lot more quickly than the skills themselves. I even posted about it in the third megapost at the beginning of this thread! Another thing that is really good to remember as a newbie is that the videos you've seen of people carving it up on twisties often involve - riders with a lot more experience than you - bikes set up with better tires and more powerful brakes than yours - stupid maneuvers and speeds that would only be safe on a swept, monitored, closed road anyway Like, seriously, check out some of the onboard videos sometime and see how short their sightlines get around blind turns. It doesn't matter how good you are if you're going at a speed that requires 3 seconds to stop and you can't see the stopped car full of tourists waiting 2 seconds around the corner. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 00:26 on May 29, 2017 |
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May 29, 2017 00:20
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I've been watching a lot of videos of people on tail of the dragon because it's about 4 hours from my house and I plan to spend a week riding that area in august. I have no idea how or why they're going that fast when right next to them is a few hundred feet of brambly death, but then, I get excited when I almost scrape my pegs doing roundabouts at like 30mph at night out in rural NC. The only downside of this whole thing has been the fact that my econobox car is now the most boring and unresponsive thing on earth and I'm considering selling it for an NA miata or 1st gen MR2. Edit: This whole post was basically to agree with you, I don't know if that was clear
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May 29, 2017 04:33
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Nah yeah, just keep your wits about you and don't push yourself. Especially on a new road.
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May 29, 2017 04:42
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spouse posted:I'm considering selling it for an NA miata or 1st gen MR2. you can't wheelie a miata or mr2. keep the boring econobox.
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May 29, 2017 09:37
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spouse posted:I've been watching a lot of videos of people on tail of the dragon because it's about 4 hours from my house and I plan to spend a week riding that area in august. I have no idea how or why they're going that fast when right next to them is a few hundred feet of brambly death, but then, I get excited when I almost scrape my pegs doing roundabouts at like 30mph at night out in rural NC. The only downside of this whole thing has been the fact that my econobox car is now the most boring and unresponsive thing on earth and I'm considering selling it for an NA miata or 1st gen MR2. Careful, I don't know about NC but they design roundabouts here so that they catch the maximal amount of road debris. I treat them like the death traps they are on approach and only power out when I have a clear line.
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May 29, 2017 11:56
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spouse posted:one already lost license plate (motorcycles vibrate a lot more than I thought they would and threadlocker is your friend). spouse posted:I've been watching a lot of videos of people on tail of the dragon because it's about 4 hours from my house and I plan to spend a week riding that area in august. I have no idea how or why they're going that fast when right next to them is a few hundred feet of brambly death, but then, I get excited when I almost scrape my pegs doing roundabouts at like 30mph at night out in rural NC. The only downside of this whole thing has been the fact that my econobox car is now the most boring and unresponsive thing on earth and I'm considering selling it for an NA miata or 1st gen MR2. I mean, go check it out for sure. But it's not someplace I like to frequent. These are some things us129photos has posted in the past few weeks alone:      edit: If you haven't already seen this video, it's my favorite Deals Gap video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rGbln3J4Sg Well, my favorite was an older one from him, but it's since been taken off youtube (it showed his speedo, so probably for legal reasons). Rider is Jared Barnes - expert WERA racer, former Sportbiketracktime coach, local to that area. AFAIK he runs race tires and warmers when he's riding like that, and only does it during offseason. I'm not condoning riding on public roads like that, but he's the fastest guy up there, and even riding like that, probably one of the safest. I've run into him a few times up there, dude's a loving blur. -Inu- fucked around with this message at 21:00 on May 29, 2017 |
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May 29, 2017 20:43
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 those are phenomenalI'm a huge fan of the group of baggers all staggered perfectly across both lanes
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May 29, 2017 20:53
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-Inu- posted:This is good advice for anyone: check the bolts on your bike regularly. Like you said, bikes vibrate a LOT and bolts love to come loose. I have a friend whose shift lever fell off on the track, causing him to crash, break his ankle, and destroy his bike. I suggest blue Loctite on the shift lever and any other important things that you don't remove regularly. I know it's mostly considered a trackday thing, but honestly, having your bike safety wired isn't a bad investment. If you have a decent race shop nearby, they can probably do it for around $150. Alternatively, Probolt sells pre-drilled bolts that you just screw in and safety wire yourself. You can drill out bolts yourself, but it's time consuming, frustrating, and you're going to break more drill bits than you can count. But I totally agree when it comes to track days and any circumstance where you're spending a lot of time near redline. It's absolutely amazing what will come loose when you have the throttle wide open all the time, even if you don't do many miles on it. I try to safety wire every single chassis bolt on my race bike even though most of it's not required.
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May 29, 2017 21:27
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:I'm not totally disagreeing with you here but I don't want new riders to get the impression their poo poo is just going to fall apart all the time simply because motorcycles do that. Certain motorcycles are vibey (Harleys/Buells) and certain motorcycles if ridden hard (Ninja 250 on the interstate?) will have issues like this but if you're riding an EX500 around like normal it's unlikely poo poo is going to fall off.
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May 29, 2017 23:22
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I'll check out the safety wiring, just to see The license plate was because I literally hand threaded the screw and wingnut and said "yeah, it'll be fine until I get home to threadlock it", and it came off somewhere on a 70mph freeway. I looped back but couldn't find it. re: deals gap: I'm not just riding that road, but I'll definitely be doing it at least once. I'll try and make it for a weekday, as I'm told it's an absolute nightmare on the weekend. GriszledMelkaba posted:you can't wheelie a miata or mr2. keep the boring econobox. and most motorcycles don't have pop-up headlights  a cute sea otter posted:Careful, I don't know about NC but they design roundabouts here so that they catch the maximal amount of road debris. I treat them like the death traps they are on approach and only power out when I have a clear line. I didn't know this. There's just one really wide one near my parents house out in the middle of nowhere that's never got people in it, and just joins three roads adjacent to farms. Seems clean, but I'll look out for the other ones around me
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May 29, 2017 23:25
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spouse posted:I'll check out the safety wiring, just to see You should really go and take a racing class of some variety. I think you would enjoy it.
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May 30, 2017 01:25
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spouse posted:I'll check out the safety wiring, just to see Threadlocker works too, ofc.
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May 30, 2017 02:20
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builds character posted:You should really go and take a racing class of some variety. I think you would enjoy it. I definitely plan on doing that and then track days once I get a bit more experience, but for now, I'm trying to save to buy a house, so I can't really put money into that sort of thing juuuust yet. Definitely on the list though.
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May 30, 2017 02:31
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Just remember, your second track day is very cheap. It's the first one that is crazy expensive.
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May 30, 2017 03:40
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-Inu- posted:This is good advice for anyone: check the bolts on your bike regularly. Like you said, bikes vibrate a LOT and bolts love to come loose. I have a friend whose shift lever fell off on the track, causing him to crash, break his ankle, and destroy his bike. I suggest blue Loctite on the shift lever and any other important things that you don't remove regularly. I know it's mostly considered a trackday thing, but honestly, having your bike safety wired isn't a bad investment. If you have a decent race shop nearby, they can probably do it for around $150. Alternatively, Probolt sells pre-drilled bolts that you just screw in and safety wire yourself. You can drill out bolts yourself, but it's time consuming, frustrating, and you're going to break more drill bits than you can count. Great shots there. The video however would be better with less editing, I'd love to see a ride along from his helmet. And yeah that's a race prepped bike(but it has a licence plate?), even running reverse shift if you watch closely.
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May 30, 2017 09:42
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spouse posted:I definitely plan on doing that and then track days once I get a bit more experience, but for now, I'm trying to save to buy a house, so I can't really put money into that sort of thing juuuust yet. Definitely on the list though. This is really good and fun for when you have the cash budgeted. http://www.cornerspin.com/main.html
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May 30, 2017 16:30
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so... I need to change up my chain and sprockets at some point in the not-too-distant future. I don't have a master link that I can see. What's the easiest thing to do? Take it to a shop and have them break it and put a link with a clip in?
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May 31, 2017 23:09
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a cute sea otter posted:so... I need to change up my chain and sprockets at some point in the not-too-distant future. I don't have a master link that I can see. What's the easiest thing to do? Take it to a shop and have them break it and put a link with a clip in? https://www.amazon.com/RK-UCT-4060-Universal-Chain/dp/B0087Y493A Save yourself a lot of trouble and money now, and down the road, and just buy this. It's expensive, so you might balk at it (everyone does), but it makes chain jobs a breeze. It will break off your chain, remove links, and install master clip/rivet links. It's well made and does what it's supposed to, and will pay for itself. Plus, your chain is kinda important to your safety and not grenading your bike, so it's worth it to do the job right. Or, you can do what a lot of people do and use a hack saw, pliers, drill, hours of sweat and swearing, each time you have to mess with the chain.
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May 31, 2017 23:24
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To add to the above: you do have a master link, it's just a rivet type instead of a clip type. Look for the one with slightly different looking pins. If not then you have the extremely rare factory endless chain but I've only seen those like twice.
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Jun 1, 2017 06:19
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Yeah, buy a chain tool. It will make breaking your chain a breeze, and I personally won't run a clip link on any bike I own. Better to have the peace of mind and rivet a new master link. That's my opinion anyway. Also, as much as Cycle Gear house brands are junk, I actually like their tools for what they are. Their Stockton chain breaker is only $40 and should be just fine. I've had mine for years and used it for countless chain changes, and if it manages to snap while you're doing your chain, just go yell at CG and get them to replace it. I've had the super nice Motion Pro tool break on me before, so as far as I'm concerned a chain tool is one of those tools you won't need very often and don't need to spend an arm and a leg on.
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Jun 1, 2017 06:22
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Slavvy posted:To add to the above: you do have a master link, it's just a rivet type instead of a clip type. Look for the one with slightly different looking pins. If not then you have the extremely rare factory endless chain but I've only seen those like twice. Yeah, I was looking for a rivet, too, but didn't see one. I'll look more closlier, but it is probably factory. I'm moving out of the UK in a few months and selling off everything, so I'd rather not go out and buy another £50 tool. Reckon a shop can do it quickly for £10 if I give them the right link?
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Jun 1, 2017 06:57
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I find using a chain tool to brake the chain takes longer than just cutting it with an angle grinder. I do use it for riveting master links though.
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Jun 1, 2017 14:27
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Grind down the heads on the rivets on your chain and they should never break the chain press tool. I've had a cheap stockton tool chain press / riveter and for probably 5 years a now and at least a couple dozen chains, and it's never even stressed the tool in the slightest. a cute sea otter posted:Yeah, I was looking for a rivet, too, but didn't see one. I'll look more closlier, but it is probably factory. I'm moving out of the UK in a few months and selling off everything, so I'd rather not go out and buy another £50 tool. Reckon a shop can do it quickly for £10 if I give them the right link? Just pay the shop to do it if you're not gonna buy the tools, it's sort of a pain in the rear end if you don't have the ability to break the chain after breaking the front sprocket loose.
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Jun 3, 2017 10:31
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Revelation: Wind-proof balaclavas are the absolute poo poo for winter riding. Completely superior to those lovely fleece neckwarmers. Doesn't restrict your movement, much warmer, and as a bonus it makes your helmet quieter too. Best 35 bucks I've spent in a while.
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Jun 4, 2017 09:36
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