Question Thread: Apply throttle directly to forehead

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Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Twenty-Seven posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6xVpx6Kxf8#t=1m48s

Are the silly vloggers actually doing this or am I getting trolled hard

I'd do it. I don't think it would work on my helmet, though - the chin bar on mine comes up higher (over my nose).

# ¿ Jan 13, 2009 10:18

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 22:59

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Datsun Honeybee posted:

Well, just as a slight update as I wait for my oil to drain, the exhaust came off without a hitch with just my 3/4 ratchet, surprisingly the bolts were not seized badly at all.

Now then, with air/oil cooled bikes such as mine, should I be switching weights in the summer? I live in phoenix where it gets to a toasty 112 F in summer time. Right now I'm running the bike using 10w-40 full synthetic oil

Not the same bike, but zook recommends 10w-40 for the DR650 (also air/oil) year round.

If anything you could go lighter if it gets very very cold but 10w40 is pretty much perfect for hot weather.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2009 21:07

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

I wonder if something like that exists for the DR650SE ... According to this thread on ADV, the FCR39MX is a good upgrade for the 650 as well. Hmmmmmm.

Would I gain much if I stuck with the stock exhaust? I really hate the way aftermarkets sound on that bike. (Case in point)

Krakkles fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Feb 4, 2009

# ¿ Feb 4, 2009 00:01

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

/\/\/\ I especially love how the second rider was totally fixating on him.

I'm at ~2900 miles on my DR, and my rear tire is just about showing wear indicators in the middle. Am I doing something wrong?

Pressure is and has been fine, I haven't done any burnouts. :keke:

# ¿ Feb 9, 2009 20:31

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Z3n posted:

Krakkles, pretty normal, lots of heavy throttle use and you're using dual sport style tires. Switch to something more street oriented, as you don't do any offroad stuff.

Any suggestions? The rear is 17", the front 21". Would switching make the bike less predictable in the rain? I rather like how composed it is. Edit: Nice ninja edit

How would these be?

Krakkles fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Feb 9, 2009

# ¿ Feb 9, 2009 20:41

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Hmmm. Are those available/usable with tubes?

I wish I had the $1100 I need for a set of 17" SM wheels for it :lol:

# ¿ Feb 9, 2009 20:50

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

dietcokefiend posted:

Well you can easily vary the RPM's by constantly shifting up and down every few minutes. When I first bought my car I was basically doing that for 150 miles up to visit my friend and on the way back the same deal.

I do this all the time because I have ADHD :laugh:

# ¿ Apr 24, 2009 19:00

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Hirayama posted:

I'll be flying out to visit a buddy in Los Angeles later this month, and I'm hoping to rent a bike to tour around. I take it a lot of you are from that region and I was hoping for some input here; are there any must see roads/destinations that I should add to the list? I'll mainly be in the Santa Cruz to San Diego region and have a week to burn.

Also, anyone have a clue how the insurance works with rentals? From the website, it looks like liability is 18$ a day, but what about other coverage?

Let me know when you're in the LA area and I'll ride with you. Seconding Topanga, Stunt, and the Rock Store - all great roads.

# ¿ May 4, 2009 21:56

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

OrangeFurious posted:

What do you define as a stand - lifting rear end with knees bent, or a full fledged on-the-prow-of-the-titanic stand?

I've done both, but am never sure which is appropriate.

Don't worry about it. Just move around. If you're on a straight road with no/little traffic, snaking down the road a bit, getting off to each side of the bike can even be enough to help.

# ¿ May 8, 2009 03:32

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Basically get the bike rolling backward with some momentum, kick the stand down, and pull on the bike hard.

# ¿ May 13, 2009 20:05

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

MrKatharsis posted:

It should look exactly half full while the bike is straight upright. This is universal, AFAIK.

Yeah, you check it straight up. It will never look right when it's leaned.

# ¿ May 14, 2009 19:05

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

My bike has a tendency to headshake at speeds approaching 100mph ... which is about the top end of the bike ('09 DR650SE). Is this normal? There's no damage, I've checked the spokes, none are loose. I swear it doesn't ALWAYS do it, as I know I've had it up there without it doing that. Makes me think it's related to wind?

Would a steering dampener fix this? Do they even MAKE steering dampeners for DRs?

# ¿ May 14, 2009 23:08

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Z3n posted:

Don't go 100mph?

A good suggestion, and just to put it out there - it's not something I do often. I'll avoid it

# ¿ May 14, 2009 23:29

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

The fact that I've been looking for a watch to keep on my handlebars and that woot now has this deal ... I'm pretty sure the universe wants me dead. I'm buying one though!

# ¿ May 15, 2009 00:08

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Doctor Zero posted:

How are your tires? Oh man, I thought there was something wrong with my steering head bearings until I got new tires.

Pretty sure they're good. My rear was replaced ~1000 miles ago, front has ~4500 on it. Even wear, good tread.

Z3n, you mentioned there may not be enough weight at the front - would it help to try to move forward/put more weight on the bars? I always feel like that will accentuate/make worse the shaking.

# ¿ May 15, 2009 01:55

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

wzm posted:

What kind of tires are you running? Big DOT knobbies like to wander around at speed. My Husky got really spooky above 60mph with the stock tires, but when I moved to less aggressive Dunlop D606's the problem went away.

Trailwings, IIRC. Stockers for a DR.

sirbeefalot posted:

Do you guys just eyeball it then? How far from the top should I stop to avoid overfilling?

I usually put it all the way in, fill til it clicks, then eyeball it up holding the recovery fitting from there. I don't know how you guys are having such trouble, though ... I don't think I've ever spilled gas like this.

# ¿ May 15, 2009 16:24

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Taelrin posted:

Trailwings are affectionately known as deathwings. I had some on my KLR and it would have a bit of a wiggle at 65+ mph. I'm impressed you can get a DR650 to 100 mph.

That nickname is one I've heard before, and I always think it must be REALLY nice to ride on other tires because I feel pretty comfortable on these. Thank you

n8r posted:

I would think it's either tires or possibly your wheels not being quite true because it is a dirtbike that I hope you ride offroad.

Of course they make dampers for the bike. I actually just got one for my YZ250 and I'm pretty stoked to try it out. Scotts has mounting kits for their dampers on their site for it.

It is, I do, and I checked. They're true

# ¿ May 15, 2009 16:58

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Ponies ate my Bagel posted:

Stoopid question here: Does California have motorcycle inspections like other states?

Nope. No smog (yet), no safety inspections.

# ¿ May 15, 2009 20:49

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

The NonBornKing posted:

What states do have these safety inspections? (Please don't say New York)

I've only lived in Cali, so I don't know for sure. I know on cars a lot of the eastern seaboard seems to have them...I thought NY but could be wrong. It may be different between cars/bikes though.

# ¿ May 15, 2009 21:09

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

bobula posted:

Yes. I see people riding around with like three bolts total in their exhaust systems.

... and one of them is just bouncing around inside the muffler because their rear end in a top hat friend took it off the pipe and threw it in there.

# ¿ May 17, 2009 03:57

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

orthod0ks posted:

Excellent. I'll try this tomorrow. I can see the oil level move. It's below half when on the side stand, and only at the top when held up straight.

Does your bike not have a max/min line or something? It should have an upper line which the oil should not be above when the bike is upright (not on sidestand) and a lower line which the oil should not be below.

# ¿ May 24, 2009 07:34

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Jack the Smack posted:

Every single stereotypical mistake has nothing to do with the bike.

A supersport will react quite differently to erroneous input compared to a dualsport. Differently as in worse.

Also, I ride a dualsport (first bike) and love it.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 19:38

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Jack the Smack posted:

I was saving up to get a GSXR 750 and almost had enough, when my dad said he would give me the money to buy a new bike that day if it were the one he saw on craigslist (me not knowing much about bikes decided to go along since it looked like the bike I wanted. Also since it was 1000ccs instead of 750, MORE CCs MEANS MORE POWER!!!!).

Since then, I've learned this bike is not an I4 and after riding all my friends bikes I hate almost every aspect that comes with a V-twin (vibrations, sound, engine braking).

Are you saying that you think your SV1000 is a dualsport?

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 20:15

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Jack the Smack posted:

Sport Touring. Touring bike and Sport bike in one, dual purpose.

That's not what a dualsport is.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 20:20

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Jack the Smack posted:

Cool, videos on youtube. How many friends do you know that this has happened to and was attributed to a too powerful of a bike?

You really think anecdotal evidence is more valuable than video?

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 20:30

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

8ender posted:

One I've seen a few times around here is new riders shifting to a lower gear before a corner, letting out the clutch, getting intense engine braking because they chose too low a gear, and then in a panic gunning the accelerator to speed up and going all wobbly into their turn.

On a smaller bike this looks hilarious. Only a larger bike it would probably be a really lovely accident.

I did this. I did it on my way to the SoCal maintenance day we had a few months ago, actually. Making a right turn, I went for first, should've stayed in second. Second half of the mistake was turning in before the clutch was out :/ It worked out ok, because I've been riding on dirt for years, and I just ended up backing it in rather spectacularly (two guys in a suburban that were in the left turn lane I was sliding toward were actually cheering), but if I'd been on a more powerful bike, going faster, or less experienced with maintaining balance on two wheels, I more than likely would've just hit the Suburban or dumped the bike.

Edit for dietcokefiend:

4/20 NEVER FORGET posted:

Here is a great little story of mine, which happened completely from starting on a bike to powerful for my own good.

My first bike was a 2003 Yamaha R6, which I bought brand new at age 23. I was a douchebag back then, no doubt. The only motorcycle experience I had had before that was my MSF course and a couple rides on my roomate's CBR F4i.

The first 1000 miles on the R6 was uneventful. I played the break-in game by the book. Well, the bike finally crosses 1000 miles so my first idea is to take it out to a freeway on-ramp in the middle of the night to "see what the bike can do".

I get onto the on-ramp, put it in 3rd gear around 50mph, and smack the throttle wide open. It took a second as bike went from its 5 or 6k to 8k rpms then wwwwhhhAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, the bike loving took off.

I had never felt a feeling of acceleration like that before, and it was a bit overwhelming. The shift light flashes on at 15k rpms indicating time to shift, but due to my lack of experience riding high-compression, high HP bikes instead of shifting, I let the throttle roll closed, as in I nearly let go of the throttle allowing it to close suddenly.

Well, that was a very bad idea. The amount of engine braking there is at 15,000 rpms is pretty intense.

I was pulled up forward against the tank during the previous acceleration, and the sudden change to extreme deceleration was a huge surprise. The deceleration was so extreme my feet left the pegs, my rear end left the seat, my helmet slammed forward into the windscreen and slid over it. Here I am, staring down at the ground and my front tire at nearly 100 mph.

My arms couldn't support me, and my chest fell forward onto the windshield, which held and kept me on the bike. My crotch comes down into the top of the tank, and luckily I was able to slide back into the seat.

That was a learning experience that I am very lucky I didn't learn the hard way. I had a ton of near-misses on that R6, but rode it for 2 years and 16,000 miles without an accident. Like someone had said before, it was not due to experience that I didn't wreck, but completely by luck. I have many friends who started like me on a SS 600, and they all wrecked. Every single one of them.

Can you start on a SS 600? Sure. My 20 year old brother in law is buying his first bike and asked what he should get. With my advice he is buying a 2008 Ninja 250.

Krakkles fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Jun 5, 2009

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 20:44

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Jack the Smack posted:

I love it that the engines supposedly have more torque than an I4 like everyone says, but then when you check the gear ratios you realize that I4s can go 90 in first and a V-twin with the same displacement goes 70 in first, and that if you bumped the I4 down or the V-twin up the V-twin would have way less torque in comparison.

Uh ... do you understand anything about how the world works?

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 22:16

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Jack the Smack posted:

Yes it does...you get more torque if you increase the RPM to speed ratio so you have less speed.

I've experienced it myself. A ZX6-R with a top speed in first of around 45 but it has huge amounts of torque and wheelies up no problem.

So the answer to my earlier question is ... no, you do not understand anything about how the world works.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 22:41

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Jack the Smack posted:

I hate my bike.

Why?

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 23:09

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Z3n posted:

It's quite amusing how yesterday's sportbikes become today's Sport Tourers. ZX-6E? Won AMA with miguel duhamal in 93. Now it's a sport touring bike! Modern ZZR600? 2001 ZX-6R! SV1000? Detuned TL1000R, now it's a S/T bike!

Didn't TL1000Rs have a pretty nasty tendency to kill inexperienced riders? I seem to recall reading some horror stories about them.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 23:38

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Doctor Zero posted:

Are you the helicopter pilot guy?

Are you thinking of Po?

Man, I haven't seen him post in awhile.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 23:52

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Nerobro posted:

That's what happens when riders die. Or get seriously hurt. Anyone in the mood to play internet detective?

Pretty sure he wasn't a rider, he was an AI goon. As I recall, he just stopped posting because he got busy with work / new wife / new kid.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2009 04:26

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

TapTheForwardAssist posted:

But in the meantime: what's the best way to get fork lube out of trousers?.

Try Shout. The gel in a bottle with a brush top. Works very well in my experience.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2009 05:11

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

KidDynamite posted:

Ok so I got my bike into the 100+ regions last night first time up there since I got new tires. It was wobbly as loving and kind of scary. I'm on a ninja 500 on pireli sport demons. When I was up there with the OEM tires it was never wobbly like that. What's the cause?

The three things which are not mechanical failures and have made my bike wobble are wind, grooves in the road, and me not having weight near the front. Any of those possible?

# ¿ Jun 13, 2009 18:56

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Logue posted:

About to buy a used bike, but its not close to me (70 miles) and i'm a new rider. Do you guys know an appropriate amount to pay the seller for riding it to my place after I purchase it?

If you're in SoCal, I'll do this for you for free.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2009 01:59

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

8ender posted:

Well if it was weak enough to cause some misfiring then it'll idle very strangely.

The choke would also "artificially" raise the idle, which could cause it to pass the "running on battery -> running on alternator" threshold.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2009 20:43

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

Just bought front pads for my bike, time to swap 'em. Picked up EBCs since they're about 2 bucks cheaper than the stockers. Why are rear pads more expensive ($52) than fronts ($33)?

Bike is a 2009 DR650SE.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2009 01:59

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

I find that happens if you shift too slow - the bike snaps into neutral, and then into 2nd. Get used to giving it a solid bump and it shouldn't do that.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2010 08:24

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

I let my DR sit for awhile, got on it to ride it around the block, couldn't start it, and was totally dejected because I thought the battery was dead (neutral light didn't come on). I forgot about it for a couple of days, then for some reason remembered to kick it into neutral when I tried again :laugh:

# ¿ Feb 2, 2010 19:48

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 22:59

Krakkles: May 5, 2003

I replaced my front pads with EBCs a few days ago, and I've been noticing a speed-related ticking noise from my front wheel since. I've checked, there's nothing hitting the spokes (it seriously sounds a lot like a card in the spokes, though). I checked the brake assembly and everything appears correctly assembled. Before I take off in the morning, I'm going to quickly open it up, tighten everything down, and see if it makes a difference. Is there anything specific I should look for?

It seems to respond alternatively better or worse under braking - sometimes it gets louder as you get hard on them, sometimes it goes away until you get off. Braking performance seems fine, though.

(2009 DR650SE)

# ¿ Feb 15, 2010 09:25

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Cycle Asylum > Question Thread: Apply throttle directly to forehead

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