|
Invalido posted:I'm a bit over a year into being a licenced rider as well. 9000km or so on my 30hp first bike and while I'm still learning plenty on it I'm starting to wish at times I had a bit more power. SV650 seems highly likely for next season. I have no idea what to do with 75hp let alone 100+ but you gotta have it to learn using it i suppose. Now there's fallen leaves everywhere and the streets are mostly cold and wet so all my riding is pretty sedate anyway. Aside from goofing around and/or immediately going into license suspension/arrest territory, I still don't have any idea what to do with 100hp. Really at this point I think my ideal bike is a Tiger 660 - quick enough, triple sound, sport touring ergos, and paint matched factory luggage. I certainly don't have a desire for more power anytime soon. In fact, when I was recently on a lighter and more powerful bike (Street Triple), there still wasn't any point in time on that where I was like "yes, this extra power is beneficial to me", though I did appreciate the 15 year newer suspension, brakes, and sportier rubber on that Triumph as it was a huge boost to my cornering confidence. e: also I've no ragrets considering the FZ6 was $2900 last year with 17k miles right in the middle of the insanity of the used market, though a smaller bike would still have been a smarter choice metallicaeg fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Oct 10, 2022 |
#
?
Oct 9, 2022 23:57
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 01:36 |
|
|
I've been riding for ages and even when I was in maximum gently caress you world I'm gonna dong it up mode, ~120hp is the absolute most you can realistically unleash before you run out of road. Especially if you've got snappy gearing and nice chassis parts.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2022 23:58
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:For real though I’m glad you made it out ok minus maybe a bit of pants making GBS threads It's ok I didn't like those pants anyways.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 04:09
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:I've been riding for ages and even when I was in maximum gently caress you world I'm gonna dong it up mode, ~120hp is the absolute most you can realistically unleash before you run out of road. have you been to america? https://www.google.com/maps/@35.568...!7i16384!8i8192
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 04:19
|
|
|
GSXR600 tops out at about 160mph, stock. I'd say that's enough for most roads. Having said that, now living 400km from nearest city, I *could* use a Hayabusa. (But even so, there's enough bumps that would make even that straight road super sketchy)
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 04:28
|
|
|
Sagebrush posted:have you been to america? I don't care. What are straight lines? Boredom, monotony, tedium. What difference does it make how fast you're going, aside from the crude metric of travel time? When you come to a corner you'll still have to slow down to a speed you can actually make the turn at, bikes with ridiculous horsepower tend to have 190+ section tyres and geometry that hinder that. My maximum acceptable rear tyre size is 180 and that lines up neatly with bikes in the 100-150hp range.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 05:10
|
|
|
The main reason I think I want a bit more power soon is so that I can get out of the way of (mostly German) cars. Drop a gear and disappear as it were. I had a highway merge conflict with a German sedan the other day, and recently there was German hatchback that stayed uncomfortably close behind me when leaving a traffic light even though I was flogging it at WOT. On the twisties I couldn't care less, 30hp is plenty as long as I'm in the correct gear, and shifting well is part of the fun of riding IMO. Sadly most of my riding isn't twisties though. Last time I went for the twisties I came uncomfortably close to a head on collision with a car cutting a corner far into my lane. Black Audi, because of course it was.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 11:13
|
|
|
I had a couple of cars come across the double yellow in corners on Friday and it was a good reminder not to push my limits too far and to keep that “people are trying to kill me” mentality (in a healthy way). I never want to think I’m safer than I am but I also don’t want to be those dudes on reddit who post their “close call” videos where nothing happened. MCRider is a former cop and it shows, but I liked his recent video about a close call he had where someone just did a full on u-turn in the middle of the road on one side of a blind curve. He was going an appropriate speed where he could do an emergency stop and nothing bad happened. His main concern was actually someone coming around the curve and hitting him while he waited for them to get out of the way. That’s the real goal: Practice enough that my emergency skills can come into play without thinking so I can react when things are outside my control. I try not to stress could’a happened things because I don’t want to tense up and make things worse. But I also don’t want to just brush them off because this time it wasn’t a big deal.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 19:41
|
|
|
Yeah in the case of the Audi head on in the twisty I had margins enough that I could just add lean and get out of the way. I gave myself those margins because that corner is blind. So far so good. What scared me is the guy in the car. Either he's just an rear end in a top hat who figured I could get by with only half my lane, or he didn't see me at all. I'm leaning towards the latter, in which case I'm very lucky he didn't go for an even tighter apex. I've watched a fair bit of "no prisoners" on YouTube, and the majority of the accidents shown seem easily avoidable. Don't do stupid stunts, don't go too fast for your skills or the conditions around you, watch where you're going and don't panic brake and lock up the front wheel pretty much. Then there's the really scary category where something unpredictable happens and some poor rider eats it due to something completely outside their control.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 20:30
|
|
|
I always try to ride the line where I don’t get too smug watching those because I’m never going to do a wheelie at 200 mph down a busy highway or break someone’s mirror because of a minor traffic infraction, escalating things to a full blown “I’m gonna be on the news” road rage incident. There are plenty of other ways to crash, though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 20:57
|
|
|
The majority of no prisoners crashes are morons getting what they deserve (Chinese/Russian/Indian snuff clips aside) I can't speak for other countries but usually when I see a car on the wrong side of the road nowadays, it's because general driving competence has plummeted to the point where they're unaware that they're even doing something wrong or simply unable to color inside the lines. Slavvy fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Oct 10, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 21:49
|
|
|
I can’t get into the brain of people who cross the double yellow into blind corners. Like did your remaining brain cells vacate the risk management part of your brain? Are you trying to die/kill someone else? Is it pure hubris and entitlement?
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 21:55
|
|
|
They just don't think of driving as an activity that needs skill or attention, and they've gotten this far without too many oopsies. They are the same people who, when you honk your horn at them for doing something utterly stupid, will give you the finger and get angry and decide it's somehow your fault. They lack the context to understand they're an idiot and as far as they can tell you've just needlessly upset them for no reason. Imo almost everyone on the road behind the wheel of a car is below the dunning kruger line.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 21:58
|
|
|
The added layer in the Pacific Northwest is folks who are driving very safe hatchbacks and small SUVs at less than the speed limit, stopping for every pedestrian who even thinks about looking at the street, and will stay in your way forever, all while keeping one tire in the bicycle lane at all times. It’s the exact same problem Slavvy is talking about with an added layer of thinking they’re morally superior as well. I’ve called it driving “aggressively politely.” It’s maddening.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 22:12
|
|
|
Aah yes the ol 'i am disrupting traffic flow and increasing the risk of a multi car pile up so this old lady doesn't have to wait an extra minute to cross the road, I'm nice'
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 22:18
|
|
|
Re-enactment of what happens when I pull up to a stop sign in Portland behind another car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aIfarMPmPQ
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 22:19
|
|
|
Geekboy posted:The added layer in the Pacific Northwest is folks who are driving very safe hatchbacks and small SUVs at less than the speed limit, Wtf is it with these morons. Constantly going 5 under (or worse), and as soon as there's a passing lane everyone spreads out, goes 5 over, and don't let anyone actually pass. Passing lane over? Everyone back to 5 under.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2022 23:12
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:The majority of no prisoners crashes are morons getting what they deserve (Chinese/Russian/Indian snuff clips aside) Swiss people suck at driving in various ways but the worst is Valaisan drivers who cut every single corner. If there's someone coming the other way it's 50:50 they'll be in the middle of the road and will swerve out of the way at the last second. This is on mountain roads with huge drops off the side. Madness.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2022 00:01
|
|
|
Geekboy posted:The added layer in the Pacific Northwest is folks who are driving very safe hatchbacks and small SUVs at less than the speed limit, stopping for every pedestrian who even thinks about looking at the street, and will stay in your way forever, all while keeping one tire in the bicycle lane at all times. Of course these days the super cautious people like that are interacting with the people who are distracted by phones or simply dont care about stop signs any more and you have no idea what to expect on the road. I find just crossing streets in the neighborhood when I'm walking my dog to be pretty sketch cause you actually have no idea what the driver is gonna do, is he doing under the speed limit on his phone? will he stop of the cross walk? i def rock a bit of high vis and flash lights lights and LED collar when walking the dog at night. numberoneposter fucked around with this message at 00:51 on Oct 11, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2022 00:44
|
|
|
numberoneposter posted:I used to road bicycle a lot and I would constantly have people give up their right of way at stop signs or where ever and wave me though. I'd just sit there and track stand until they went, often times they would get so pissed off that I didn't go after they waved me through and I'm just still track standing. idk if I'm at an intersection and I want to car to go, I put my foot down.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2022 01:50
|
|
|
noob question for the noob thread: how tight are leathers supposed to be? i am tall and skinny, so pretty much nothing fits me. ive already given up on the jacket fitting "right"; i have a size 50 (fits my shoulders) and will just live with it being loose in the chest. even with the chest and back protectors in. cyclegear has the alpinestars missile v2 airflow (last years model, it's now the V3) on sale for $300, and a* seems to be the only manufacturer who makes tall sizes in the small waist sizes. most others don't go below like euro 50ish in the talls. so, i bought a size 44 and a size 46 tall. (well, also a size 48, but that was way too big and already has been returned). still figuring out which fits better, because neither fits (what i imagine to be) right. even though these are the tall size, the legs are too short. i dont care about the bottom of the pants, because the boot will cover that, but the knee armor is a problem. in both 44 and 46, the overall length is the same, and the knee armor sits at the same height. the 44 feels like it fits the width of my legs and waist correctly, but is kind of "springy" sitting on the bike. it feels like i am compressing a spring when i shift my legs forward on the pegs to hit the shifter or rear brake. plus, the knee bellows are maxed out, my knees are jamming into the armor, and the crotch of the pants are stretched against the tank away from my skin. really, they need another like 2" in length between the waist and knee. the 46 is the same length, but fits kind of baggy. i can grab a fold of the pant leather around the outside of my thigh between my finger and thumb when seated on the bike, maybe about an inch of it. however, that extra bagginess gives me more room (and stretch?) to make up for the length discrepancy. the crotch isn't pulled so tight against the tank, though it does pull a little bit. i can also swing my leg over the pillion when mounting without feeling like i am fighting a spring. so, it seems like the 46 is the way to go, except that the fit is looser than i thought it was supposed to be. i keep reading that it should be a second layer of skin, which this is certainly not. will the 44s "break in" and stop fighting me after I ride in them for a while? The 46 fits like a pair of jeans, I don't even have to squeeze into them at all, and that's with the waist straps pulled in. i dont really care about aesthetics, at least not to the point of compromising function, but i was under the impression that a looser fit was worse in a crash. ive read that the folds can catch and tear easier, and of course the armor could twist out of place if it's not held tightly in place. am i being overly precious with my $300 apparel purchase?
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2022 09:28
|
|
|
It can fit like a second skin, but it doesn't for everyone. Did you get a 44 tall and a 46 tall, or a 44 normal, and a 46 tall? In your case it sounds like the 44 would be a good choice if it were longer. It doesn't have to be skintight, but ideally you shouldn't be able to grab a large flap of leather either. A suit gets about half a step larger when you wear it. So if you buy a 44, it'll kinda become a 45 if such a thing existed. My experience based on N=1 is that it stretches more in thiccness than in length. So if your 46 is already flappy, i would be hesitant to get that one. However, iff you need to put in effort to move your legs it's definitely too small. I think the springy sensation means you really shouldn't buy that one. I actually have that same problem with my suit, but it's at the moment the best fit i can find on the non-tailored market. It's doable, but definitely not ideal and definitely annoying. Part of the issue is that i've been in multiple different jobs with wildly varying levels of phyisical intensity. So both my body fat and muscles have been doing all kinds of weird things, making a suit that fit pretty well a year ago, a really bad fit today. If you just feel it pushing slightly onto your knees or whatever, it's likely gonna wear in and be perfect after like 1000km of riding. If it pushes hard onto your knees and it makes them spring back, it's too tight. If you can find a place where you can go and fit some suits, don't hesistate to try a women's suit. For instance, I've figured out that a Dainese women's size 48 long fits me better than a men's 50 or 52. My legs are pretty long but i also have big thighs from cycling a lot, and apparently that matches up with the women's cut better than with the men's cut. LimaBiker fucked around with this message at 11:28 on Oct 14, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2022 11:15
|
|
|
the 44, 46, and 48 that i tried were all longs. i measured the 44 tall and 46 tall, and they're the same length, but the 46 feels less tight even in length because of its excess width. i thought about the women's cut idea, but my issue is that im too skinny for most people, which i think is moving in the other direction from what women's cuts usually cater to. plus, finding the length in women's sizes would probably be tough. in men's dainese, the regular sizes were an inch shorter than the astars, so i assumed the long sizes would be too. i wish the 44 was available in an extra-tall that would move the knees into the right position, that would be ideal. but it's not, so it's going to be a tradeoff one way or the other. e: i just checked the size charts. dainese has the same length for mens and womens, but the womens has a smaller waist (good for me) and larger hips (bad for me). astars actually do have an extra couple inches in the women's version, but no "long" size (actually neither astars or dianese seem to offer long sizes in women's) so it's probably the same length as what i have already. same size waist but larger hips and thighs (bad for me). Raluek fucked around with this message at 08:44 on Oct 15, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2022 08:32
|
|
|
Do you definitely need a one piece suit? It may be easier to mix and match jacket and trousers, and you can have a matching zip sewn onto the other pièce so they join together. Also have you tried moving the armour around? It's normally velcroed in and you can move it a couple of cm. Otherwise, time to get the credit card out https://www.bksleather.co.uk
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2022 08:58
|
|
|
yeah im not looking at suits, just leather pants and jacket separately
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2022 19:50
|
|
|
If it's really impossible to find something that fits, invest in getting something tailored. If you get the bigger size, you can probably get it made tighter without problems. A good set of riding leathers can last 10 years, so although it may be a considerable expense, if you take good care of your stuff it's really worth it. Make sure to find a tailoring service that explicitely does motorcycle garments, because they know how to do safe stitching of the leather material in a way that it won't just rip apart in a crash.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2022 12:06
|
|
|
Dainese will do a custom fit, but yeah it's gonna be expensive, like around 2k for a 2 piece (and that's the "cheap" one). They have a store in SF. You could also sign up for the Bay Area Riders Forum and see if anyone has recommendations for alterations in the area. It's full of boomers of course, but they might know! I luckily fit into the off-the-shelf sizings.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2022 16:09
|
|
|
So had my first real crash yesterday. Came up over a hill and there was just a MASS of fine gravel all over both sides of the road. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong here? Or could have done right? https://imgur.com/a/WsJeLPp
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2022 22:35
|
|
|
That's a highside, so it wasn't just the gravel. Without sound to hear what the engine and tires are doing I can't tell for sure, but I suspect you lost traction on the rear wheel and it started to slide or spin up, the bike's front and rear wheels got out of line with each other, and then when the rear wheel regained traction, it catapulted you off. The rear wheel could have regained traction either because it skidded out of the gravel area and started digging into the road again, or because you cut the throttle, reducing the torque on the rear wheel and allowing it to stick again. The classic newbie-on-an-overpowered-bike highside is going around a corner, spin up the rear wheel a bit, get crossed up, panic and chop the throttle, rear wheel grabs on again, boing. Again, can't tell without sound. Incidentally I don't think that's really very much gravel, but combined with the wet road it could have been the initial reason you lost traction, sure. The solution is to ride more slowly and cautiously on wet country roads. I suspect you were out-riding your sight lines. Once the wheel starts to get loose the solution is to ride it out and not panic, but let's start with the basics first. You should have just been taking the turns more cautiously, always aware that there could be crap on them (gravel, water, leaves, boulder, cow, minivan) that you might need to handle. Hopefully you aren't too badly hurt! poo poo happens. Clearly you're still alive and posting so that's good. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Oct 16, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2022 23:05
|
|
|
When did you see the gravel? I just had the lowside version of your crash but I didn't realize there was gravel on the road til the tires started to slide, and then it was too late. If you see the gravel before you hit it, you can keep the bike upright and brake in a straight line. If you're not outriding your line of sight you should have time to come to a stop before you leave the road.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2022 23:21
|
|
|
I concur. Crap line/speed choice for the situation, dithering response when you saw the gravel, too big a bike. Could know more with an actual video with sound. By dithering I mean you either need to stand upright and attempt to stop or just try to stay smooth and steady and make the corner with the least possible lean angle. Instead you kind of panicked and stood up, then decided you'd try for the corner, then bailed out and shut the throttle at which point you high sided. Just a very classic case of need a smaller bike, need more skills.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2022 23:23
|
|
|
I managed to get out on what may be the last good day in the DC area. This season I didn't ride as much as last only about 300 miles the whole summer due to some conflicts that ate my weekends and bad luck on weather. Last year I did about the same but it was all August through early November. I'll have one more short ride to a shop next month to get the annual inspection renewed and then fluids change and onto the stands and battery tender it goes.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 00:17
|
|
|
I’d say it’s a mix of bad luck (gravel in the corner) and bad choices (riding faster than you can see and/or stop). Gravel doesn’t have to mean a crash. When you see it, you should slow down while (mostly) upright to take the corner at a speed that minimizes your lean angle. The tire tracks from cars are usually the best place to be when there is debris on the road, as well. The outside track is usually more clear, but that puts you too close to the center of the road and more likely to get hit by a car coming the other way. Riding through the center, which is what you were initially on course for, is the worst spot to be. You're not using your front brake -- are you using the rear? You also pull in the clutch which probably doesn't help anything. It's a hard habit to break, but IMO you should only be pulling in the clutch to shift or if nearing a complete stop (or low-speed modulation). Don't pull it in when you think you're going too fast. Use your brakes! Setting aside the gravel, for the corner at that speed, I'd probably want to carry a little bit of front brake until I was over the crest and could see the road is clear (or I am going a speed that is comfortable).
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 19:00
|
|
|
Didn't even see the clutch pull, mama mia
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 19:13
|
|
|
I think lots of people covered the good technical bits, but what stuck out to me more generally is you’re putting a lot of trust in there not being a car coming the other way on that blind corner. Or maybe it looks more blind in the clip. As toe rag said, I would definitely err to the inside more. And practice A LOT more front emergency braking.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 19:23
|
|
|
A much smaller, much more modern bike would also go a long way.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 19:27
|
|
|
What bike is that? The dials look German
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 19:50
|
|
|
It is a v4 Honda magna
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 19:51
|
|
|
I'm actually not 100% sure he pulled the clutch. The revs drop from ~3k to almost nothing in 11 frames, or less than half a second. Maybe the rear locked up. Hard to tell without sound. Anyway, for any newbies reading, don't do it! 
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 20:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 01:36 |
|
|
Toe Rag posted:You also pull in the clutch which probably doesn't help anything. It's a hard habit to break, but IMO you should only be pulling in the clutch to shift or if nearing a complete stop (or low-speed modulation). Don't pull it in when you think you're going too fast. Use your brakes! I am still a new rider, this is my first year, but I have a question about this. I try to never coast and to either be on the brake or using the throttle when I ride. I live on a hill so when I go riding I usually go down the hill where the road ends with a stop at a T intersection. I will get into the appropriate gear and speed for the road there and ride the brakes down with the clutch pulled in. Once I get close to the bottom I downshift to first and stop. Is this a mistake? During my training course they told us to use brake and clutch together so that is what I have been doing.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2022 21:01
|
|
