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Slavvy posted:You gotta start with not falling over when you've only got one person on the bike and go from there I get what you were saying. Thanks for your concern.
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May 16, 2023 23:19
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opengl posted:My group all runs Sena and they work great until we need to loop somebody in with a Cardo or non-mesh Sena, that's always a pain in the rear end. Yeah the biggest factor is “what brand do people I know use.” My friend and I got cardo because they claim to be waterproof. Not going to support the “packtalk custom” software locked nonsense but I have no reason to think Sena won’t try the same thing if it sells.
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May 16, 2023 23:33
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I hope they’re tracking how quickly people click away from the page for the “rent the features you want” version.
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May 17, 2023 03:09
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So I just drive my new bike home from the dealership. One time it wouldn't shift all the way down to 1 at a light for some reason so I couldn't get it going and had to fiddle with it a little while there were cars stopped behind me, but other than that I did great! Some things I noticed: At first I was shifting at an RPM that is barely 1/4 of the way up to the red line. I think I was probably shifting too low? I dunno, I never got above third gear in my class. I'm not used to big engine go brrr right beneath me so I was shifting when I would normally shift a car engine, which you can't hear as well. But later in the ride I got a little more daring and started revving up to higher RPMs, and got into some unexpected but minor power shift situations. For example, if the RPMs are higher then when you shift up the engine brakes a bit so you end up slowing down for a second. I suppose I'll have to just get some practice in to avoid that. I remember having that problem at first while driving a manual transmission car as well. Unfortunately I live in the exact center of LA (the neighborhood is literally called Mid-City) so there aren't any large parking lots I can ride around in alone nearby.
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May 21, 2023 00:01
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Vino posted:So I just drive my new bike home from the dealership. One time it wouldn't shift all the way down to 1 at a light for some reason so I couldn't get it going and had to fiddle with it a little while there were cars stopped behind me, but other than that I did great! *ride my new bike This is normal with motorcycle transmissions because of the way the mechanical parts mesh with each other. The transmission often will not go through the whole range if the bike is not moving. The right way to ride is to shift down through the range as you decelerate, so you pop it into first while still rolling, just before you come to a stop. However, if you're already stopped and it's stuck, it will usually go into gear if you slip the clutch and roll forwards a teeny bit while pushing down on the shifter. Vino posted:Some things I noticed: At first I was shifting at an RPM that is barely 1/4 of the way up to the red line. I think I was probably shifting too low? I dunno, I never got above third gear in my class. I'm not used to big engine go brrr right beneath me so I was shifting when I would normally shift a car engine, which you can't hear as well. You can use the entire tachometer. I forget what bike you have, but if you're shifting at 3000~ like in a car you are barely off idle and are probably lugging the engine. No need to push it right now, but yeah, aim to shift like halfway through the range at least, get used to the engine being louder, don't pay any attention to the actual numbers on the gauge, and don't be scared to bring it right up to redline. You won't hurt anything. Vino posted:For example, if the RPMs are higher then when you shift up the engine brakes a bit so you end up slowing down for a second. I suppose I'll have to just get some practice in to avoid that. That only happens if you're slow with shifting. With practice you will get the movements down so that a shift takes less than half a second. At this point don't worry about being super fast, though -- just aim to be smooth and consistent. Simultaneous [off throttle / clutch in / toe up] then [clutch out / on throttle / toe down], all parts of your body synchronized. Enjoy! A good place to find empty parking lots on the weekend in a city is a community college or state university. I'm sure there is one of those not too far from you. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 00:33 on May 21, 2023 |
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May 21, 2023 00:31
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Sagebrush posted:*ride my new bike *rode my new bike Thank you! Excellent advice What do you think about going out at night, sooner than drunk drivers but after the traffic has died down? Like 10:00. There are more likely to be empty grocery store parking lots at that time as well.
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May 21, 2023 01:49
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Vino posted:*rode my new bike Harder to see potholes and gravel in poor light plus you have to get there and back in darkness.
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May 21, 2023 02:21
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Riding after dark is also more dangerous because car drivers have an even harder time seeing you. All of my worst incidents with motorists (including an actual collison and an unbelievably near miss) have been at night.
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May 21, 2023 02:36
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Yeah you're basically going to be making mistakes left and right for a while as you attempt to pay attention to dozens of new things your mind and body haven't internalized yet, plus traffic. Overconfidence is your biggest enemy right now, plan your routes with safety in mind, give yourself every safety advantage (like sunlight, lower speeds and avoiding traffic) and just ride the poo poo out of it.
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May 21, 2023 02:38
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Vino posted:But later in the ride I got a little more daring and started revving up to higher RPMs, and got into some unexpected but minor power shift situations. I didn't see if you bought your bike new, but if you did there may be a break in period as well where the manufacturer wants you to ride as gentle as possible. It's definitely right at the beginning of the manual usually. So you might need to do 500 or more miles shifting earlier than you would/will.
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May 21, 2023 05:28
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There’s never not traffic in this god forsaken place, but point taken I’ll practice during the day. It’s used but with 910 miles on it.
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May 21, 2023 05:32
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Shifting a bike is one of the most satisfying things out there. One thing that i was surprised didn't get taught in my classes, was rev matching on downshifts. My riding school bike was pretty hard to shift from 2nd to 1st without a very loud CLUNK. While bike gearboxes are very robust, it's not pleasant, nor is it likely to be good in the very long term. The solution to that is something i had to figure out by myself - rev matching. Blip throttle while pulling in the clutch for a downshift. Don't think about exactly how much blip. Blip more if you get excessive engine braking when releasing the clutch, or less when you get a short push forward. It's gonna be fully intuitive after a couple of months and super satisfying if you nail it. With regards to not able to get it in gear at a standstill: Usually it will go into *a* gear. If you can get it into 2nd, do it. Slip clutch, roll forward a couple centimeter, now it'll go back to 1st. Hell, even waddling forward a bit will likely do the job. Perhaps try pulling away in 2nd gear a couple times, might come in handy if you really start to get anxious. No guarantee your bike will be able to do it, but it doesn't harm to try as long as you don't make the clutch slip truly excessive.
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May 21, 2023 09:26
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yeah at least on mine i usually just have to scoot it an inch or two before it'll get past neutral and into first good to know about downshifting while moving preventing this. idk why that didn't occur to me, i just assumed it was my thread-title-worthy shift lever
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May 21, 2023 09:31
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LimaBiker posted:Perhaps try pulling away in 2nd gear a couple times, might come in handy if you really start to get anxious. No guarantee your bike will be able to do it, but it doesn't harm to try as long as you don't make the clutch slip truly excessive.
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May 21, 2023 09:55
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Yeah, definitely robust enough. Riding school bikes spend like half their day with a slipping clutch and dragging rear brake to do all the necessary exercises to pass the exam.
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May 21, 2023 10:36
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Vino posted:There’s never not traffic in this god forsaken place, but point taken I’ll practice during the day. Early in the morning around sunrise is probably quietest and also kinda magical
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May 21, 2023 11:06
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That's a good one, but Vino keep in mind that the drivers you do encounter are likelier than usual to be half asleep and blinded by the sun in one direction, not that you should ever assume anyone sees you. Exploring residential neighborhoods < 30mph is also comparatively safe with frequent stops, starts and turns. To this day there are parts of town I only know exist because I wandered through them in my first few months of riding.
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May 21, 2023 17:25
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LimaBiker posted:Shifting a bike is one of the most satisfying things out there. It’s so cool. I remember watching some YouTube video on how to shift when I started and he did an example of how quickly you shift with experience and I thought “no way. Not possible.” Now six months later and it’s completely fluid, now I get why manual car people are such nerds about it.
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May 21, 2023 18:24
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The helmet I bought in 2021 when I got a scooter that was fast enough that I was worried about the safety of my chin was the cheapest one that had the features I wanted (LS2 Valiant II - modular with an ECE rating - it’s fine), but it never fit fantastically and the lining has taken a beating. So I recently bought an Arai Defiant-X on clearance. Took my first ride with it on yesterday and holy poo poo I can not overstate the difference. I wear earplugs all the time, but the helmet itself is not just a ton quieter, the sound that gets through is of higher quality. It also weighs probably half as much. A Bonneville’s stock exhaust sounds very polite when you ride conservatively and then satisfyingly grumbly when you give it the beans. I could hear all of that in a way I just couldn’t in the last helmet. I’m posting about this in the newbie thread because I still think of myself as one and want to spread the gospel of “No, really. You don’t know how good helmets can feel if you don’t try a properly expensive one on.” It sounded kinda bullshit to me at first because apart from the obviously garbage no-name stuff, a helmet is a helmet. But I’m a complete convert now. It isn’t the worst sin to buy a safe, but budget helmet to get you started but I promise you that every extra penny you spend for something that truly fits you is going to be very well-spent. If you have a problem finding the one you want to try on at Cycle Gear or whatever, remember that dealerships have a lot of stuff too. No shame in trying on something at the Ducati dealer and then ordering it from Revzilla for less money.
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May 21, 2023 18:27
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Yea I ended up saying gently caress it and rolling away in second and it worked fine. I get the sense that this bike (Kawasaki Versys X 300) has very forgiving gears. From my car driving days my habit is that if I’m moving at all I skip first gear and go directly to second. Seems to apply on the bike as well. There’s plenty of low traffic neighborhoods around me because LA is an endless hellscape of eternal surburbia so while I would prefer a large open space with no obstructions to get up to 30 and practice turning without danger of hitting anything I will settle for riding around the neighborhood.
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May 21, 2023 18:46
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I wouldn't make a habit of taking off in second gear, all those riding school bikes are completely hosed at the end of their tenure for a reason. Much better to just git gud instead. The versys has a super tame engine, it is very easy to slip the clutch and be gentle with the throttle, avoiding it entirely is not helpful in the long run.
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May 21, 2023 20:45
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Slipping the clutch on bikes is much more of a thing you do regularly than it is in a manual transmission car.
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May 21, 2023 21:05
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I do it for slow speed modulation in creeping traffic quite often
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May 21, 2023 23:51
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Yea of course, I'm not taking off in second gear unless I have to. Rode around in neighborhoods for an hour today, not weird at all passing the guy walking his dog three times. Only stalled out twice. Getting the hand of easing up on the gas when you pull the clutch in so the bike doesn't go VVRRRRRR ANGY. Also revving up as you clutch back out so the bike doesn't angy in the opposite direction. Question: It seems like on the bike much more than in cars it's normal to ride with the throttle engaged at a steady state? I found I would only do that in the car on the highway, the car engine braking won't decelerate as fast if you're in a highish gear and going reasonably fast. But with the bike if I'm not throttling a little bit it brakes quite a bit I've found. My right hand's a bit sore now but if that's the deal I'll get used to it? (Or maybe my foot already got used to it a while ago and I'm now experiencing it again with my hand?)
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May 22, 2023 01:59
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Yes you should not be rolling around on a shut throttle at any point, it makes the bike handle like rear end.
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May 22, 2023 02:09
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Yes. You're basically always going to have the throttle open, unless you're braking. It can be 5% open or 100% open, but you don't roll around with the throttle closed. Don't "coast" with the clutch lever pulled in, either. Car engines, I imagine, have substantially higher amounts of inertia (heavier pistons, heavier flywheels, heavier vehicle), so the perception of engine braking isn't has noticeable; if you have a modern car, it may also be doing things you're not even directly controlling which further reduces the engine brake effect (mine definitely does). You're also isolated from a lot of the sensations in a car by being enclosed in a bubble, as well as the shear mass of the vehicle damping out a lot of what you otherwise directly feel on a bike. I don't think your hand should really be tired though. I can keep my throttle open basically just resting my hand on it. You should have a light grip on the bars. Lots of (most?) gloves have a grippy patch at the base of the fingers that sticks well against the grips, which should help.
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May 22, 2023 02:25
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Vino posted:Yea of course, I'm not taking off in second gear unless I have to. Yes, you will get faster with the shifting over time. A normal shift done with skill has you basically just flicking your right wrist, either cutting the throttle in an upshift or blipping it in an upshift. Fraction of a second. In all vehicles to maintain speed you need the throttle to be partially open. Otherwise you will slow down. You're keeping your foot on the pedal in your car as well, and you just aren't noticing it as much. Engine braking is more noticeable on bikes than in cars because the vehicle is light. Also on a small bike you'll be cruising at a higher relative throttle position than in a big lumbering car, so you notice that there's significant travel from that point to closed vs. the light touch you have on the car's gas pedal. And also motorcycles tend to have higher compression engines than cars, which makes the engine braking stronger all around. So yes, it is normal to cruise around with the throttle set wherever you need it to be to maintain speed, and engine braking is a much bigger factor in riding than in driving (especially if you drive an automatic). On a high-compression bike you don't need to use the brakes very much at all in chilled out riding, in fact. Your hand cramps are because you are squeezing the grips too tight. Loosen up. Remember that the bars are a control input, not a handhold; you keep your body fixed on the bike by grabbing the tank with your thighs. Imagine if you were trying to steer a car while also lifting your butt out of the seat by hanging onto the steering wheel. You would rapidly become exhausted and you would steer like poo poo because you're putting all sorts of unnecessary forces into the system. That's what it's like when you hang onto the bars too tightly. Pretend you are holding a tiny baby chick in each hand and you must not crush it. That's the appropriate grip force. Riding in a straight line, you can have your left hand completely relaxed, resting on top of the bar, and your right hand almost completely loose with just your thumb and index finger in a circle keeping the throttle open. Steering also is a gentle push that can be done with an open hand. The bike wants to keep itself upright as long as it's moving forwards, and all you need to do is give it a suggestion of a direction. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 02:38 on May 22, 2023 |
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May 22, 2023 02:36
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Vino posted:My right hand's a bit sore now but if that's the deal I'll get used to it? (Or maybe my foot already got used to it a while ago and I'm now experiencing it again with my hand?) You'll get used to it, you need to fight the newbie tendency to death grip and strain the whole time. Controlling your body weight with your legs and core is also vital. Also: Midjack posted:Yes you should not be rolling around on a shut throttle at any point, it makes the bike handle like rear end.
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May 22, 2023 02:36
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Hey so this is gonna hit the news in my area today and I only know a bit. But two motorcycle crash, seems like it was drag racing speeds at least of 100mph One dude, full gear, helmet jacket and the like. Broken ribs and a few other bones. Stable Neuro intact ok for trauma floor Other dude, no helmet, coded for extended time in field, Neuro dead in arrival, expired before able to stabilize even to attempt to get to surgery or even imaging. Wear your loving gear even if you want to play stupid games.
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May 22, 2023 15:10
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Better yet don’t play stupid games. Third day out riding around the neighborhood. I haven’t dropped the bike yet! Roads are pretty empty in the hour between rush hour and dusk. I found a parking lot near where I live that is a theater/church parking lot so it will be empty except for predictable times. I did some practice with turning at “high” speed (third gear) and I have decided it will be much easier if I simply slow down first, so I’ll just be doing that. I also put in more practice with gripping with my knees and holding lightly. I wonder whether my paranoid thick racing tier gloves are just making it tougher to hold likely because they are stiff or whether I just need to hold lighter and stop making excuses. Here’s my plan: 1. Ride around my neighborhood until I’m good enough with the controls that I don’t forget to turn off the blinker and I don’t stall out to much. Duration: A few weeks? Maybe even a few days but better safe than sorry. 2. Ride it around to do errands, going a little farther. Taking it out a few times a week until I’m very comfortable with city traffic. Duration: another few weeks maybe? Or until I feel ready. 3. Ride sunset Blvd down to the pier and Wilshire back up to my house. If you live in LA you know what this means. If you don’t: it should be a fun ride with some twisties on the way there and chill city riding on the way back. Once I get good at this step I can maybe start going on group rides. 4. Do interstate practice runs at low traffic times where I get on at one stop and off at the next, then two left turns and do it again in circles. 5. Find a time the 405 is empty (like you know, northbound from Santa Monica to Sherman Oaks in the morning) and practice riding up and down it at highway speed, confirm to my brain that I will not die 6. Now I can start practicing things like lane splitting. Or not. Nothing will ever force me to split lanes. Maybe I’ll just sit behind this slow truck forever, where it’s safe. No it’s not, I should probably learn to split lanes at some point. This is far enough in the future that I don’t know what I’ll do from here on out. At each step I upgrade a bit of my gear, eg my leather become actual riding boots, my leather jacket becomes a rated armored jacket before I ever get near a highway, etc. How’s my plan?
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May 23, 2023 04:36
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so if i dont play stupid games i can ride in the nude, got it
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May 23, 2023 04:45
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Vino posted:Better yet don’t play stupid games. Find a riding school, do a few lessons?
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May 23, 2023 04:46
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Group rides are where people get into trouble. It’s really easy to get going too fast, ride too close, make risky maneuvers, etc., even if you’re not a new rider. I’d try to find a riding buddy first instead of piling in with a group of strangers. Maybe check around on one of those meet-up apps. Lane splitting is easiest to practice on the freeway IMO. The traffic is more predictable, the space between cars is wider, and visibility is better. I don’t really split in the city that much. I’d get proper gear sooner than later. Surface street speeds are enough to cause you serious injury.
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May 23, 2023 04:50
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Group rides and sportbikes are the two fastest routes to death so it's good that they're usually found together
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May 23, 2023 05:10
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Vino posted:Duration: another few weeks maybe? Or until I feel ready. Longer than both. Also I'd concentrate on riding skillfully, learning what that means, but not on somehow accurately predicting what your learning curve will look like before you've actually traveled it, that's nonsense. The 405 as I'm sure you well know is a bunch of poo poo and either a parking lot or a high velocity gauntlet where everything's cool until it's suddenly very Not Cool, with shoulders that are more dangerous than the road half the time. That is not a place for lessons ever, it's a place you ride because you have to and because you're competent. When you absolutely must hit highway speeds to see if it opens a new chakra or something, get out of town a bit and onto a dead stretch. When that fails to level you up, continue to work on riding good.
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May 23, 2023 05:14
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ImplicitAssembler posted:Find a riding school, do a few lessons? I did, of course. And I intend to take more. They told me their second class should be taken after I have a lot of miles and practice on the bike. Toe Rag posted:Group rides are where people get into trouble. It’s really easy to get going too fast, ride too close, make risky maneuvers, etc., even if you’re not a new rider. I’d try to find a riding buddy first instead of piling in with a group of strangers. Maybe check around on one of those meet-up apps. Heard. I'll put off the group rides. I'm mostly interested in them for finding good riders to learn from, but you're making it sound like that's not actually how they work. Remy Marathe posted:Longer than both. Also I'd concentrate on riding skillfully, learning what that means, but not on somehow accurately predicting what your learning curve will look like before you've actually traveled it, that's nonsense. Fair enough. New durations will read "Well past the point that I think I'm comfortable, and then some." The 405 is mentioned because it's close by, and a possible route I would have to take to work. If you know the LA roads then I'll take a recommendation: If I live in Mid-City and commute to Woodland Hills, would you go north on city streets through Hollywood and get on the 101 there, or hit the 10 West -> 405 North -> 101 ? Is it safer to drive through Hollywood or on the 405? I've been going through Hollywood by car because it's faster by car.
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May 23, 2023 05:30
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Yeah like Remy said, don't set any schedules for yourself. Just be safe, focus on the fundamentals like your foot position, posture and grip so you don't learn bad stuff early on that will be hard to un-learn later. Basic proficiency at this takes longer than you think even if you're a quick learner and there's some things that only experience will teach you. Don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable. The better your basic bike handling skills are the safer you will be in more challenging situations. Like, can you place your bike where you want it without thinking about details like what your fingers and feet are doing? -You want as much of that ability as possible to be automatic to be able to focus on things like traffic and whatever else. This is how you drive a car I would assume, and you will eventually learn to ride a bike in a similar automated way, but like when learning driving it takes time, only moreso and if you gently caress up the stakes are higher. How's your hard braking game? Can you swivel your head around without the bike changing direction? Are you able to manoeuvre at a walking pace without putting your feet down and duck walking? Make a low speed u-turn at or very near full steering lock? Can you do a no foot down full stop for a second or two and then get going again? (- fun to practice at stop signs, but not at the cost of forgetting to actually look for traffic!) There's all sorts of things you can challenge yourself to learn early on that's all perfectly safe and can be practiced anywhere, some absolutely necessary (like the first two) and some just fun to practice to see if you can do it (like the last one). Invalido fucked around with this message at 05:45 on May 23, 2023 |
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May 23, 2023 05:43
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Vino posted:The 405 is mentioned because it's close by, and a possible route I would have to take to work. If you know the LA roads then I'll take a recommendation: If I live in Mid-City and commute to Woodland Hills, would you go north on city streets through Hollywood and get on the 101 there, or hit the 10 West -> 405 North -> 101 ? Is it safer to drive through Hollywood or on the 405? I've been going through Hollywood by car because it's faster by car. This info is from 15+ years ago but I originally learned to ride motorcycles by riding a Ninja 250 and then 6 months later a brand new R6 commuting from Culver City to Woodland Hills every day by 405N -> 101 by lane splitting. It took me a month of riding the ninja 250 before I felt brave enough to go on the freeway and was still really scared. I don't recommend this learning method because it's by sheer dumb luck I never got hurt doing this. I don't know what I'm trying to get across with that info besides be careful if you decide to do this. Here's what I did that I think increased my riding ability better than riding on the freeway and is available to you to do because LA has the best roads available while still being a metropolitan wonderland.  Just ride all the roads in the mountains between 101 and the ocean. They are the best and I miss the ability to be riding them in ~20mins from the LA basin. Where I'm at now it takes an hour+ to get to roads that are half as fun as those were.
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May 23, 2023 05:49
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Invalido posted:How's your hard braking game? Can you swivel your head around without the bike changing direction? Are you able to manoeuvre at a walking pace without putting your feet down and duck walking? Make a low speed u-turn at or very near full steering lock? Can you do a no foot down full stop for a second or two and then get going again? (- fun to practice at stop signs, but not at the cost of forgetting to actually look for traffic!) Good call I've been putting together a list of exercises I intend to practice in the parking lot I found: * Braking hard from 25mph - check for a trail behind me after to see whether I locked the brake * Swerving using counter steering at 25mph and I'll add * Riding at 5mph in first gear without jerkiness * No foot down full stop for one second (I haven't tried it but I'll tell you right now I can not) * [edit] and slalom! GriszledMelkaba posted:Just ride all the roads in the mountains between 101 and the ocean. They are the best and I miss the ability to be riding them in ~20mins from the LA basin. Where I'm at now it takes an hour+ to get to roads that are half as fun as those were. Is it crazy that I do it by taking Olympic -> 1 -> 27? It would take twice as long. I've never been on the 27, is it hard mode for biking? Vino fucked around with this message at 08:59 on May 23, 2023 |
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May 23, 2023 05:58
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A resident can correct me, I'm just a regular visitor, but there is not a safe route for a new rider to make that commute.
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May 23, 2023 06:02
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