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Toe Rag posted:Yes. I did the two day champ school. It is indeed expensive. I made a couple posts about it Thanks for flagging this. My main interest is in the street riding course though, which is one day and is conducted using street gear. I think the course would be worthwhile just to have some coaching and feedback (I think I've stagnated in terms of skill development). But taking a day off work, booking a motel, and riding 2-3 hours in each direction is making it a more costly proposition. I also don't like riding my current bike longer distances, so I'm thinking about getting a new bike first and then using the course to get familiar with it.
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Mar 15, 2023 03:35
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If you’re in Cali I think the chp also offers a weekend course like that
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Mar 15, 2023 03:38
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T Zero posted:Thanks for flagging this. I can't speak to the value or content of the Champ Street edition, but I'd say go for it. Instruction is only as good as the instructors, and you get what you pay for, IMO. The "glorified MSF" take sounds like those people were expecting to be let in the secret of the riding gods, when riding a motorcycle is more like playing chess. It's very simple at a basic level, but it's also deceptively complex, and getting good at it is something that takes a lot of time and effort. The rules don't change as you get better. Even at the two day school, they really just focus on the basics of riding a motorcycle, which is something I mentioned in my linked post.
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Mar 15, 2023 03:47
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Toe Rag posted:Yes. I did the two day champ school. It is indeed expensive. I made a couple posts about it This is friggen cool. My friend wants to do it. I wish it wasn't so expensive! I still need to get over my nerves at the track. My feet tend to start twitching because of adrenaline 😔
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Mar 17, 2023 15:18
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Yeah, I waffled on it for about 3 years before I pulled the trigger. For me, a track day is around $400-500 a day all in ($200-300 for a ticket, sometimes $400, plus another $100 in truck/van rental, another $100 in gas, etc), so I figured I'd spend my budget for the year on this instead. I also turned it into a little mini vacation since about an hour west of the track is a bougie town I stayed in. Which track would you go to, NJMP? Maybe just have a lovely weekend in, uhh... southern NJ? Or go crazy and do a fly-and-ride at Laguna Seca  I still get nervous at the beginning of each track day, but once I'm out on the track it all goes away. You stay nervous the entire time?
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Mar 17, 2023 18:22
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Toe Rag posted:Yeah, I waffled on it for about 3 years before I pulled the trigger. For me, a track day is around $400-500 a day all in ($200-300 for a ticket, sometimes $400, plus another $100 in truck/van rental, another $100 in gas, etc), so I figured I'd spend my budget for the year on this instead. I also turned it into a little mini vacation since about an hour west of the track is a bougie town I stayed in. Which track would you go to, NJMP? Maybe just have a lovely weekend in, uhh... southern NJ? Or go crazy and do a fly-and-ride at Laguna Seca I do unfortunately, to the point where my nervous system is fried and I don't do the last run of the day. I only have two track days under my belt though. Which is another reason why I am keeping the bike I have for now and am just doing upgrades. If I am going to be like that I have no business on a literbike. I enjoy riding, and don't get like that in the street. It's pushing corners at high speed that is nerve wracking. The drag part of the track at NYST I can WOT all day lol. It's just adrenaline. Annoying as hell. NJ is close enough for me! SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Mar 17, 2023 |
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Mar 17, 2023 21:06
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The vast majority of liter bike riders have no business being on them either  Hopefully the fork upgrades you did help with the feelings in high speed corners. There's a corner at Buttonwillow where I'm full throttle and leaned over a decent amount, and it's for like 6-7 seconds. Even though I'm only going an indicated 75mph, it feels like 150. It's definitely the scariest corner insofar as if anything goes wrong, you probably won't be able to catch it, and it's gonna hurt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsvMQxXOnK0 From 0:55 to 1:05. For him it's one huge corner but for me it's two. I think a little bit of nervousness is fine, maybe even good. Pretty sure John McGuinness says he is nervous ever time he goes out on the TT, although he has a lot better reason than we do.  I think if your nervousness doesn't dissipate once you get going though, then yeah that's a bit of a problem. Maybe just more days is the cure.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3_fNBFyDfk
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Mar 17, 2023 21:42
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I also am trying to figure out what to do about my bike seat. I'm like 155, not overweight or anything. The Versys 300 stock seat is horrible.  After like an hour of riding, my perineum area loving hurts. I have this Chinese grom clone, not mine.  Stock seat is like that. It tilts forward. Literally gave me saddle rashes. Again, horrible. It like tilts forward. I found this vietnamese UJM style seat, this is my actual china bike.  The seat is like flat, and kinda hard, and I can sit in it all day with no rashes or pain. The only pressure is on my sit bones which is where it should be.  They make a "tall" seat for the versys, which flattens it out...but...if you just sink into it it's going to have the same problems as the seat I have now, or worse, pressure on the wrong bits. Would it impact the geometry of the ride too? Seatconcepts says it is 32mm higher. Hm. The Corbin seat looks like the opposite of what I want.  I like don't know how to make the seat comfortable. I don't think a sheep cover or airflow cover is going to do the trick. The "tall" seat LOOKS to be OK if the pan itself is actually taller, not just more foam? Am I kind of beat? It's fine for an hour or so of riding. But like a 15 minute break doesn't restore comfort. I'm very tempted to like buy a used seat on ebay, and like build it up with fiber glass and filler to a profile I want, cut some foam, and then send it to an upholsterer. Edit: I contacted seatconcepts. If they built the "tall" profile seat out with VERY stiff foam, and softer on top, I think that will fix my issues. It changes the profile of the seat to more like UJM style. I don't understand why everything has the faux sport seat, and it doesn't seem like a sport seat is more performant than a UJM style seat? Maybe a sport seat forces you into tight contact with the bike...but...you...can do that manually...and have tank grips...? I just don't get it. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Mar 18, 2023 |
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Mar 17, 2023 23:12
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Have you tried padded bicycle shorts under your riding gear?
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Mar 18, 2023 00:32
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You really want to be as far back as the seat will allow and hold yourself they're with your knees on the tank, if your junk is getting pounded against the tank you're in the wrong place and not using your legs. Everything has a sporty seat because those are the most comfortable and functional when you ride properly*, big pillowy cruiser seats don't work. Imo the tall, flat aftermarket one looks a good bet, the corbyn looks awful and likely to lock you into a poo poo posture. *: on a powerful, leaned forward bike which is basically everything modern. A ujm style seat is definitely the best but it severely limits riding position and can't work on bikes fast enough to try to throw you off the back
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Mar 18, 2023 00:54
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If you're looking at Seat concepts, call them or shoot them an email with your weight. I'm right around your weight and they set me up with the right density foam for my DRZ. I went from being tired after 45 minutes to getting a good 2 hours of sitting on it.
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Mar 18, 2023 00:55
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Slavvy posted:If your junk is getting pounded against the tank you're in the wrong place and not using your legs It's the area behind my junk but in front of my sit bones, sorry for the mental picture 😂 It's not the tank, it's the seat itself. Possibly the part that swoops up towards the tank. I have tank grips which help some. I can push my rear end against the hump part to relieve pressure and stretch myself out some, but the seat then makes my pants ride up unless I seriously squeeze the tank pretty hard with my knees the whole time. Honestly all the problems go away too in a full leather tracksuit with the undersuit. It would be goofy to go on a road trip in that. I might try to find a spare pan on ebay and try the seat concepts for travel, stock for track. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Mar 18, 2023 |
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Mar 18, 2023 01:08
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FBS posted:Have you tried padded bicycle shorts under your riding gear? I have not but that's not a bad thought. I need those and a hard bike saddle that is tilted forward to avoid problems on a road bike too. And maybe this is a gear problem. I have riding jeans that are padded and have armor. I have not used them for any kind of distance. I have these ventrd cargo style riding pants also with armor, those bunch up and could be creating pressure points. Will try my jeans more this season. Edit:  , there's a 3d printable "nut saver" that raises the versys 650 seat front to parallel. Advriders are mad about the 300 seat. I'm not the only one I guess. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Mar 18, 2023 |
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Mar 18, 2023 01:12
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Reposting it here for if people don't follow the thread specifically about my FZR. https://i.imgur.com/OAb2MkN.mp4 I was cleaning my chain today. I discovered this amount of play when pulling on the gear. This is not normal, isn't it? Are there rubber damping blocks inside the wheel that have to be replaced, or is something actually broken? Or are those rubber things very soft in their unloaded position and is it fine to be able to compress them by hand? I did not notice a big amount of play in the drive line. No feeling as if there's too much slack in the chain, so idk. I'm fine with riding it as is, but i don't want to run the risk of something catastrophically failing. Getting a bit tired of it. Bought it as a bike to learn how to work on bikes, and it's teaching me. Hard. Whacking me on my hands with a ruler each time like an old school teacher. LimaBiker fucked around with this message at 14:08 on Mar 19, 2023 |
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Mar 19, 2023 13:58
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To me it looks within the norm for a bike with a cush drive(rubber thingies) The front sprocket is also normal on many bikes for it to move a bit. Unless it feels bad to ride, I'd send it. Maybe next time you change the rear tire, if the bike is old and maintenance is unknown on the cush drive, you could change the blocks out. That's just what I would do if it was my bike. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Mar 19, 2023 |
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Mar 19, 2023 15:23
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Alright, that's good. It doesn't move more when i push the bike backwards in gear, making the bike's weight put force onto the cush drive. It feels fine when riding. Tire's just been replaced, haven't even run them in yet. I've never noticed it before, so i didn't ask for it to be done while the wheel was off.
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Mar 19, 2023 15:43
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First of all, tightening the axle properly may reduce some of that play as the rubbers get slightly compressed. If you currently have the axle loose, tighten it down and check again. Don't over-tighten to try to take out the slop though! There should be zero play in the cush drive from the factory. The rubber blocks are hard and they fit tightly. There could be a bit of "flex", where the hub can rock forwards and backwards a tiny bit in the rubbers, but it should return to center afterwards. A little bit of play like that means the cush drive is starting to wear. It's not ideal but I doubt that small amount is hurting anything yet. Having play means that they're going to wear faster, though, getting pounded a little bit every time you go on and off the throttle. Eventually they will get pounded into dust, and then you've got metal-on-metal contact with like 20 degrees of free rotation, and that's bad. I would say it's probably fine for now but yeah, look at it the next time you have the wheel off and consider replacing the rubbers. If the bike is old and they're original, they're probably starting to crumble. They aren't that expensive. LimaBiker posted:Bought it as a bike to learn how to work on bikes, and it's teaching me. Hard. Whacking me on my hands with a ruler each time like an old school teacher. Tell me about it lol. I got a non-running bike as my first in order to learn to work on bikes while I learned to ride. I have probably spent two hours working on that bike for every one riding. I don't regret the experience, because I did learn a cool new skill, and I'm a little bit proud to say I have disassembled that vehicle completely, stripped down to a bare frame with the cases split and the gears out of the transmission, and put it back together successfully and I know how to fix every single part. But I would never recommend that any new rider do the same. Just get a bike that runs reliably if you want to ride. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Mar 19, 2023 |
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Mar 19, 2023 17:37
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LimaBiker posted:Reposting it here for if people don't follow the thread specifically about my FZR. Cush drive rubbers badly worn, not an urgent thing though.
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Mar 19, 2023 19:06
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Alright, thanks, i'll leave them for now and actually start riding the bike for a change. Sagebrush posted:
No regrets here either. I've learned stuff that's valuable to me for as long as we're able to ride conventional bikes. But i'm very happy i have the SV650s in fine working condition so i can always ride when i feel like it.
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Mar 19, 2023 19:30
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Hey guys quick question. There's a part on my bike, silvery coloured. Might be metal? Anyway the silvery (metal?) part doesn't seem to be working, I think. Do you think that's something I can fix or replace myself, or should I just take it to a dealer? I'm OK with tools and stuff, just don't want to break it. Thanks!
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Mar 19, 2023 23:44
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Replace with anodized blue ASAP
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Mar 19, 2023 23:49
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Had to make sure this wasn't /r/motorcycles for a second.
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Mar 20, 2023 01:30
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Gotta echo Sagebrush. There are a few things about my bike that I'm unhappy with, mostly cosmetic and poor fuel range, but I'm glad to have bought a bike that I saw as a kid in dealerships. It's rough around the edges, but it's also king hell awesome to ride or dick around on a Saturday afternoon cleaning or just doing what my wife calls "raccooning" and going through the service manuals while having a sandwich or organizing and cleaning. It's absolutely the best quality of live improvement I've ever given myself and even after a cracked collarbone and twatted up handlebars and left footrest, the only real regret I have is maybe holding out for a Sabre, for no other reason that a bigger gastank.
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Mar 20, 2023 02:25
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HELP I'm selling a DR650 supermoto wheelset. It's built on OEM hubs with Excel wheels. Pretty sure it's a Procycle build, not positive yet. Anybody got an idea what they might be worth +/- $100? Great condition, no curb/rock smashes, just the odd ding and scuff. I wouldn't include sprocket carrier or spacers, but good brake rotors would be. Brand new, they're $1550, without spacers, sprocket carrier, or rotors.
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Mar 20, 2023 16:21
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Ebay would have me list them at 800 or best offer.
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Mar 20, 2023 17:08
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I gave my learner bike (2016 Honda CBR300R, 13000km) some maintenance today after a long hard winter out in a cold shipping container. It needs to be inspected before I put it up for sale. The chain seems hosed - there's a few binding links that didn't loosen up with cleaning, lubrication and rotation. It's also on the limit of being too long according to the sticker on the swing arm. New chain time, which I've never done on a motorcycle before since I'm a newbie. (The sprockets seem plenty good enough to use with another chain) The manual says to use either DID520VF-108LE or RK520KLO-108LE. These particular chains aren't super easily available. I want to buy and install the cheapest chain that's good enough so I can pass inspection and also sell the bike with a clear conscience. Will any 520 o-ring or x-ring chain with at least 108 links from a reputable manufacturer do or is there anything else I should think about when shopping? Bro has a riveting tool if that matters.
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Mar 21, 2023 19:56
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No you pretty much got it. Those part numbers are for 108 link chains but you can easily get the full length version just about anywhere and cut it down.
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Mar 21, 2023 20:10
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First ride of the season! Earlier this winter I rebuilt my front calipers, and master cylinder, and replaced both sets of brake pads. Though it's improved somewhat, to be honest I'm still underwhelmed by the amount of braking power I'm getting. I need to pull the lever with all 4 fingers and squeeze pretty hard to actually brake hard, and even then it feels weak. I bled the brakes again just to be sure, no bubbles at either caliper. With the reservoir cap off, gently squeezing the lever causes the brake fluid to leap out. That wouldn't happen if I have air in the MC (or anywhere else), would it? I've tried a few tricks, tapped around to loosen things up, tied down the lever overnight, etc. The only parts of the chain that haven't been replaced are the rotor and the lines. Are these 2-piston calipers just kinda lovely and this is actually totally normal?
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Mar 28, 2023 21:30
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They'll never be like a Japanese bike in terms of effort at the lever vs stoppage, if you haul on the lever and it stops right quick then it's probably the best you'll get it to be.
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Mar 28, 2023 22:29
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Had a weird one today. Started my ride and had an impulse to flip my petcock to RES and back, since it had probably been a year since I’d moved the thing. It was a little sticky budging from ON through OFF, I took a look, and saw fuel splashed across the carbs. I headed back home while I still had fuel in the bowls, stopped the engine, and commenced to jiggling. I couldn’t get anything to spill out again no matter what I tried. The petcock turns smoothly now. I checked the fuel line to see if I’d knocked it loose and it seems tight. The petcock itself wasn’t as tight on the tank as it could have been, so I tightened its collar back up. Other than that I’m wondering if the petcock itself could have momentarily leaked out its mechanism or something, then sealed back up. Guess I need to look into how it’s put together. My petcock also has a fuel strainer on its bottom, I’ll probably open that soon and check its o-ring. 
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Mar 31, 2023 03:10
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The oring on the rotating tap part is likely hosed from sitting in one position for so long, the unused section would've dried up
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Mar 31, 2023 03:47
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Ulf posted:Had a weird one today. I remember one time I can back to an old apartment of mine in the middle of a forced relocation in order to exchange my beater bike for my other bike, temporarily. I had already put it away for the season and I hadn't touched it for a couple of months. When I turned the petcock to ON to get going, fuel was leaking. I had to abandon my plans for that night. When I came back after a couple of weeks with a replacement petcock that I had ordered, I got ready to exchange the petcocks, but I had to empty the gas tank. I started sucking on the vacuum line to get the gas to drain and quickly discovered that the petcock was not leaking any longer. Sometimes fuel moistens a gasket that has become too dry to seal, and revitalizes the seal. The next year, however, the petcock leaked again, and it didn't stop, so if I were you, I'd start looking for a new petcock, or a petcock rebuild, if it hasn't been replaced or refreshed recently.
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Mar 31, 2023 03:55
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Yep, that all adds up. I’ll get the rubber bits for a rebuild.
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Mar 31, 2023 04:15
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Is water that is running down off the hillside and across the road potentially "slippery" compared with rain or dew falling off trees, or am I just a huge sissy? I just ride for fun so I am seldom riding in the wet. The roads I ride on are often damp in the morning and it's no big deal, obviously, but after a big rain storm as the groundwater drains out and crosses the road, I feel like those tend to be a bit slippery? Am I imagining it? Surely it has sediment in it that normal rainwater doesn't. Yesterday I rode across a bunch of them, and on 2 or 3 occasions, directly after going through them, my front tire slid. Nothing big, but also sliding when it normally wouldn't, eg hitting a bump off center and sliding rather than the suspension just coping with it. It just kind of undermines my confidence to right through them with any meaningful speed/lean.
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Apr 2, 2023 03:25
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Imo those are slipperier than normal water because actual rain tends to wash all the poo poo off the road instead of floating it to the surface + the sediment like you mentioned
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Apr 2, 2023 03:44
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Yeah it may depend a bit on your location but when runoff crosses the roads up here in the mountains it tends to bring grit and gravel with it.
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Apr 2, 2023 11:48
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Is there such a thing as a quiet slip on exhaust that is also high flowing? Or is noisy and performance on the same slider? 😂
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Apr 2, 2023 17:06
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For what bike?
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Apr 2, 2023 17:08
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SSH IT ZOMBIE posted:Is there such a thing as a quiet slip on exhaust that is also high flowing? Or is noisy and performance on the same slider? 😂 There is almost no performance to be had from a slip-on, if you're not specifically trying to make the bike sound better they're one of the worst value for money things you can do. Chasing horsepower in general is dumb and pointless, it won't make you faster.
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Apr 2, 2023 19:07
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Hm. I was thinking of full pipes, velocity stack, slip on, and ECU tune. Versys X 300. I mean a lot of the noise cancelling happens at the end of the pipe so that's why I was asking. The parts are kind of cheap and a dyno shop opened nearby. I would argue that there's more of a point in tuning a weaker bike where you can feel the difference than an expensive one where you can't unless you are competing at a track? The little 125 I got gets a lot of benefit from adjustments. Unless it's apples to oranges. I know a lot of smaller displacement bikes have gotten neutered for Euro5, especially enduros though. IF I do it, it'll be the last thing I do. I guess it might make it feel a bit better on highways where there are inclines and I am at high RPMs. My stepfather touched his crf450rl, it's noticibly different. I know that bike did get neuteted, though, and changes are popular. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Apr 2, 2023 |
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Apr 2, 2023 23:00
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