Question Thread: Apply throttle directly to forehead

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

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

Here are stupid questions:

I bought a new CBR600RR a couple weeks ago, and today I did a careless thing that left the bike lying on its side in my driveway. I picked it back up and everything looks OK except some paint loss on the fairing, a scuffed bar end, and a mark on the mirror. Since I feel confident I won't do that again, I'm going to chalk it up to a lesson learned and just replace the marred fairing. Where can I get a new OEM fairing piece without having to spend a fortune? And do they come with the graphics in place and all that, or is that not how this works? I took a look around some CBR forums to see what they knew, but I just don't trust those clowns out there on the Internet at large.

When I'm being smart enough to keep the rubber side down this thing is a hoot. The first time I got back on my Ninjette to go to work I thought something had malfunctioned because twisting the throttle didn't seem to have any effect. I predict this new Honda is going to be huge entertainment for years to come.

# ¿ May 22, 2014 00:37

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 19:59

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

This is a surprisingly fast-moving thread.

Shimrod posted:

Give it a few months before you replace the fairing, you'll probably drop it again stupidly.

This makes sense. I guess I'll wait until winter to fix anything I goof this season.

quote:

Took me 2 years to drop any of my bikes, didn't drop my 1st ... dropped my 2nd twice within' a month both at pretty much a stop (backing up/about to do a turn, but barely moving).

I don't even really know what I did other than get careless. One moment I was on the thing tootling around at 2mph and three feet later I was standing next to it looking stupid. The worst part is that I hurt my right wrist somehow, probably in a futile attempt to wrench the thing up before it went all the way down. Last year I injured my left wrist in a similar way and now they both hurt.

quote:

I can't imagine the fairing is that badly marked from a driveway drop.

Nah, it's not bad; kind of a small area with little polka-dots of paint ripped off. Only the bottom-right fairing bit, though, probably something nobody would ever see if they didn't already know of it. I just feel like a dumbass.

Here's a couple more: Is there a CA consensus on grippy pads for my knees? I think they'd make riding this thing a little easier, especially when braking, but I don't really like how those StompGrip things look, and the only other ones I know of are the Techspec brand.

I also made a foolish impulse bid on eBay and now I'm stuck with a 1975 Suzuki T500. This thing needs some work for real. The tires are the original set, the brakes don't seem to exist, and the suspension seems solidified. Is it gonna be easy to get parts to start sorting this thing out, or will this be a pain in the rear end? I've never had a vehicle older than me before.

VVV argh. VVV

Frosty- fucked around with this message at 22:13 on May 27, 2014

# ¿ May 27, 2014 21:41

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

You can just Dremel the old chain off, or hack it to pieces any way that's convenient. If the replacement chain is the rivet kind you'll want the proper tool for that.

I watched a friend replace his chain a couple weeks ago and it seemed very straightforward, simple, and quick, but he sure got angry and swore a lot anyway.

# ¿ Jun 9, 2014 23:59

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

The dude who sold me my CBR left work right after he'd handed me the keys. Hopped on his Grom and wheelied off into the sunset. It was weird to be sitting on a brand new 600 and feel a little jealous of the guy on the 125. The Grom is extremely cool.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2014 23:37

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

I need to order new tires for this '75 T500 I foolishly bought. I think the sizes I need are 3.25"/19" front and 4.00"/18" rear. I see at bikebandit they have these Dunlop K70s in those sizes. I don't really care if they're crummy tires, because my options seem limited and I don't want to attempt anything cool on this bike anyway, but what I don't know is if I have to buy tubes separately. When you buy tires like this, do they come with tubes?

[Edit] And where can I get brake shoes for this thing? Because holy poo poo it has no stopping power.

Frosty- fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Aug 6, 2014

# ¿ Aug 6, 2014 21:59

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

Razzled posted:

(Apparently riding the right side of the lane is an invitation for cars to share)

It really seems this way. I tend to stick to the left side of the travel lane and I can see the other motorists around me deciding I'm an unsafe moron for riding omg-too-close to their minivans. But I know the day I change my habit I'm going to get crushed by a bus diving into my lane or something.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2014 21:16

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

When we say "drain the carbs," we mean "turn petcock to 'off' and run it 'till it dies," right?

# ¿ Oct 22, 2014 17:40

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

gently caress gathering with other people, regardless of what they might believe. Riding alone is a thousand times more enjoyable than being part of a bike herd.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2015 17:12

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

Is there a thing I should be doing when I lube my chains so that there aren't giant grease spots on the rear wheel, or is that just something I should get over?

# ¿ May 15, 2015 13:27

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

goddamnedtwisto posted:

Apply less lube. After a while you'll get a feeling for how much you need, which is almost always way, way less than you actually apply. Also make sure you apply the lube only to the inside run of the chain, between the plates - anywhere else is wasted.

OK, I can see how I'd be applying too much. I just use a Grease Ninja and pres butan.

M42 posted:

You could also put a piece of cardboard between the wheel and the chain, if you're a giant careless slob like me.

I am a careless slob.

# ¿ May 15, 2015 16:51

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

SquadronROE posted:

What are the arguments people use against riding with a helmet or helmet laws in general?

There can be no rational argument against wearing a helmet. Anyone who believes it's OK to ride a motorcycle without a helmet is an idiot.

That being said � and I know this is going to be confusing to a lot of people � I don't think there is any rational argument for helmet laws. Written laws are an application of force. The law says to do or not-do a thing, and if you violate the law, there will be some sort of consequence. If you resist the consequence, there is an escalation of force which eventually terminates in someone with a gun pointed at you (I don't wear helmet -> I get ticket; I don't pay ticket -> I get [some other police thing]; I resist detention or whatever -> cops want to shoot me). Anyone who believes that it's wrong to initiate force against a person to compel them doesn't believe that leaves any room for for-your-own-good laws. This means that while it's completely logical and intelligent to wear a helmet, and every biker who refuses to do so is a moron, it's also wrong to make them do it, because the only way to accomplish that is with the threat of force.

Laws should exist to aid in prosecuting people who commit actual criminal offenses that result in victims. Assaults, rapes, murders, theft and robbery, vandalism, that sort of thing.

My point is that it's entirely possible for something to be the thing you should definitely do, and still not deserve a law compelling you to do it.

quote:

I realize that I've never actually heard them because I took the MSF, ride with people who aren't morons, and don't frequent forums where people don't see the value in helmets.

I don't live in a helmet-law state, but most of the riders I encounter here are wearing full-face helmets. I rode without a helmet a couple times while my first one was still shipping, and I didn't like it very much. Too much noise, too much wind stressing out my eyes, and way too much danger. It's up to those of us who ride and know exactly why a helmet is a good idea to keep repeating that to the folks who don't wear one, and basically to shame them into doing it. It's not a realm where the law should intervene.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2015 14:46

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

Renaissance Robot posted:

It's a sad indictment of your culture that you think the primary/only purpose of law is to punish criminals.

I simply take laws very seriously, and I believe they should be applied in a sober and respectful way. I don't know where you got the idea that I believe the primary purpose of a law is to punish criminals, since words can't do anything. Laws simply instruct the legal apparatus how to handle a criminal in the wake of a crime. It's the people who do the punishing. I also don't see what this has to do with my "culture," either. The culture I grew up in does not endorse my philosophy at all.

quote:

I am aware that the notion of protecting people from themselves can be taken too far, but consider that when some lidless squid distributes himself all over the side of your mother's car, even if she's not at fault she's going to be a lot more shaken up about it if he's dead (to say nothing of his friends and family). Helmet laws are not just about the rider.

You can construe any occurrence to be a victimization that way, though. People shouldn't eat 15,000 calories a day in cheeseburgers, but some folks do. When they keel over in public from a sudden heart attack and die right in front of a small child, I'm sure that the kid will be pretty shaken up. There's no universality there. You're establishing arbitrary stuff to justify your preferred use of law: "People are idiots..." and "...she's going to be...shaken up..." while I'm working from first principles.

This is all just for purposes of arguing on the internet, anyway, since neither you nor I make the laws, nor even really have much influence on those who do. There will always be places in the world that don't actively require someone to wear a helmet, and there will always be other places that do. I just wanted to illustrate that it's possible to separate the fact that something is a good idea from the insistence that there should be a law.

SquadronROE posted:

Does living in a helmet-law state make insurance go up or down?

I don't know. I assume it actuates out to higher risk for the insurance company, so I pay more. Although my insurance company knows I wear a helmet, so maybe they take that into account?

quote:

Yep. Laws also exist to help compel people to do safe things. Laws form part of the moral fabric of society. Not to the same extent that, say, family values do, but they're a part of it.

You're describing how something works presently, but that's not the only way it can be.

quote:

Additionally they help to guarantee a specific standard is held across a broad group.

Laws guarantee essentially nothing, though. They have to be applied by people. History is rife with examples of corrupt individuals applying the law aggressively or neglecting it entirely as it suits their purposes.

quote:

Granted, the implicit threat is that you will get fined if it's not up to spec - but it's harder to broadly apply positive reinforcement than negative.

But you and I can't even have a discussion about this, because your jumping-off point already accepts the idea that a parent-like government exists to positively or negatively reinforce my behavior. I don't believe that's legitimate.

Digital_Jesus posted:

They don't.

Nevertheless, this does not make me in any way a victim of the people who aren't wearing helmets.

Frosty- fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Jun 23, 2015

# ¿ Jun 23, 2015 15:07

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

SquadronROE posted:

That certainly answers my question. A bunch of bunk about restricting view, more weight, etc. Then the idea that a helmet law isn't a rational idea.

Yeah, but I'm not the one who brought up any of the excuses why a person wouldn't wear a helmet. I've been consistent in reinforcing that I believe there are none.

builds character posted:

Are you a first year law student?

Nope.

I love how offended everyone is that I don't want to force people to do things. It's OK, I'm not going to bother continuing to irritate everyone by being so tolerant of others. You can go back to pretending everyone thinks exactly like you do, and that if anyone ever didn't they could never have a good enough reason, ever.

Koruthaiolos posted:

Sounds more like first year philosophy student.

Also nope. Not any kind of student; just a person.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2015 15:27

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

I'm sure a late-model bike resists decay a lot better than something older, but I'd wash that poo poo off immediately.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2019 02:30

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

Does the Kaoko mess the grips up or stretch them out at all? I�ve seen some that look like they jam under the grip at the end and I don�t like that idea, but I kind of would like to have the feature.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2019 01:58

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

Kawasaki didn't include a little wrench for adjusting rear preload in the stupid "tool kit" that came with the Z900RS. Are the diameters of these things fairly standardized? I was thinking I could just score something like that Motion Pro wrench on eBay for adjusting those rings without resorting to pounding on them with a screwdriver, which sounds like a bad idea and I have no idea why jerks on advrider think it's cute to suggest doing that instead of using a tool designed for the task.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2019 02:19

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

eBay sent me a $5 coupon code, so I grabbed one of the MP wrenches someone had up for $10. At that price it doesn't hurt enough to discourage me if the thing doesn't work out.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2019 00:33

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

New dumb question: How do I determine if I want to adjust the kill time of my quickhifter up or down? Between 3,000 and 7,000 rpm it's a little harsh, and if I've got the throttle fairly wide open it can be abrupt. At light throttle above 7,000 it's magical.

Translogic say it should be good to go out of the box, so I don't want to mess with it too much, but maybe ~10 ms in one direction or the other would make a difference. Decreasing the trigger force setting already did a lot.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2019 02:27

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 19:59

Frosty-: Jan 17, 2004; In war, you kill people in order to change their minds. Remember that; it's fuckin' important.

This might be a silly question... I have these old Cobra F1R mufflers for a Ninja 250 that I want to take apart so I can repack them, but they won't budge (the center is supposed to be knocked out of the body of it from
the exit, I think), so I'm wondering how I can loosen everything.

Can I just sumberge these in chemdip or something? They're really light aluminum, and I know nothing, so I'm worried about applying fire.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2024 18:10

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