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With the cold weather hitting us, how do you guys handle cold weather riding, more specifiically your legs? I don't have any riding pants so I'm stuck riding with normal jeans right now, would some thermals work well? Along with my jacket, a sweatshirt and some underarmour ski mask I have my upper body all set.
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Oct 5, 2008 18:24
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:28 |
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Z3n posted:Pick up a set of lined textile overpants. The sort that have an inner liner as well. How much does somethign like this usually set you back? I figure I have about another month of solid riding left so I won't be riding in the freezing cold so heated gear wouldn't be worth it. I'm in upstate, NY
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Oct 5, 2008 18:54
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Z3n posted:Around 100$...http://www.newenough.com/protective_apparel/textile_jackets_and_pants/tour_master/venture_textile_motorcycle_overpants.html Yeah, I was planning on getting real riding pants next season, but right now I don't have $100 to spend. Thanks though, I'll give some heated grips a looksie.
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Oct 5, 2008 19:31
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And I strongly recommend heated grips...They're one of the best bang for the buck items you can buy on a motorcycle.
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Uthor posted:Thermals won't help. They won't stop the wind from cutting through. If you can't afford textile pants, maybe try finding some windproof pants (running pants or something?) and layering them over jeans and thermals. Running pants, duh! I think this may be the route I'll go.
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Oct 6, 2008 14:16
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Uthor posted:Before I got my textiles, the only thing that would help riding in the cold was a windbreaker over my drafty leather. Layers underneath did nothing at speed. Yeah, I took a 30 min ride when I got home from work today and I noticed after about 10 mins i could feel the wind and cold just eat through everything. I think tomorrow morning I'll try my windbreaker and just deal with the cold legs. This weekend I'll decide if it's worth it to buy some pants or just tough it out in small trips put it away for the winter sooner :\.
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Oct 7, 2008 04:21
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whenever I go on rides of 50+ miles (did my first 100 mile day yesterday!), my right hand starts acting funky. I have problems opening it up all the way (extending my fingers) and my pinky gives me the hardest problem. This will go on for hours after the ride has stopped. I suspect it's my grip but I don't know how else I'm supposed to hold onto the throttle unless i'm...well...holding it. Any tips on adjusting my grip? My bike is a Ninja 250, so it could be partly due to the vibration.
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Oct 12, 2008 16:49
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Z3n posted:You shouldn't need any significant force to hold the throttle open, you could be able to maintain a light grip with barely any force and still keep the throttle where you want it. It sounds like like arm pump, which you'll get from deathgripping the bars...so are you deathgripping the bars? I probably am. I have only been riding for a couple of months and I haven't really thought too much about my grip until just recently. I think that once I get going at decent pace I am concentrating on the road and making sure some creature doesn't try to kill me that I just never think about how hard I'm gripping the throttle, it never feels like I am but maybe I am. A guy I work with recommended those little wrist throttle holders too, I didn't realize it was so cheap either.
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Oct 12, 2008 17:23
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sklnd posted:They're pretty capable up until highway speeds. Even then, highway travel is doable, but you don't have much acceleration at that point. I do just fine with my Ninja 250 on surface streets and highways here in Texas, and I'm not a small guy. Echoing this, I find it pretty easy to hit 75-80 on my Ninja 250 as well, it can go faster but I haven't tried it. I didn't get the same peppy feel with the 250's we used in the MSF (some Suzuki crap). Over in the EU you also have a lot of choices in the 125cc market.
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Oct 26, 2008 16:38
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Lemming posted:Can anybody recommend an insurance company for around the suburbs of New York City?I used Progressive for the past year, charged me $300, a bit pricey, but whatever. Now they want me to pay $400 for the same coverage, so gently caress that. Plus it's 400 dollars to cover a tiny Ninja 250. It just seems kind of ridiculous. I pay $116/yr for my 250. I use State Farm, I live in Upstate Ny, I am also 29 with a clean driving record (no tickets for 8 years). I also have a loan on the bike so I have full coverage, no clue how much it would be with min coverage.
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Nov 7, 2008 01:59
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QnoisX posted:Well it doesn't bog down if I have it in 6th gear at 30. According to the manual it's: Yeah, you are shifting way too early. I usually am in 3'rd while puttering around at 30mph on my '07 250. Even when I was breaking it in I wasn't keeping my gearing as low as you are. If you are breaking it in, it's ok to go beyond what the sticker tells you, Kawasaki uses the same RPM's for breaking in an engine for a bike that has a 7k redline and a 13k redline. Just make sure to vary your speeds/rpms on your rides for the first 500-1000 miles.
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Nov 9, 2008 01:23
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What should you do during a lowslide? Hug the tank with your legs and let go with your hands until you hit the ground then let go of your legs? Should you just relax and let everything go?
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Nov 9, 2008 23:51
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QnoisX posted:Anyways, I need to practice shifting some more. I had a couple rough shifts, mostly while trying to downshift and use the engine to slow me down at lights. Do you generally just rev it as you shift and then let off the throttle completely till you reach the next shift point? You can slow down pretty well just doing that, at what point do you start braking? Before I was just holding the clutch in and using brakes to stop while downshifting, so this is a new method of slowing down. It didn't make a lot of sense when going by the manual and not shifting into 5th till 15mph, you're pretty much stopped by then. Disclaimer: I'm still learning as you are so my advice might not be the best. I use a combination of engine braking and using the brakes while I deaccelerate, but it's ok to do it one way or the other as you feel more comfortable. Most important thing to remember is to stay alive and to stop when you need to stop. Downshifting while stopping will help a lot if you need to accelerate quickly for whatever reason. Also, one tip of advice is to at least put some pressure on the brakes so your brake light lights up to warn people behind you that you are slowing down. These bikes are made for being in the higher RPM range so don't worry about damaging the bike by tooling around in the 7k+ range. Hell, at 70mph in 6'th gear you are pretty close to 8k.
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Nov 10, 2008 01:07
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Could also be that insurance companies like to do discounts if you have multiple insurances. Although I have only really heard of this when you yourself have multiple insurances (house/car/cycle).
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Dec 1, 2008 03:54
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Are there any recommended Battery Tenders? Or are they all pretty much the same?
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Jan 5, 2009 05:56
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Uthor posted:I use this guy with no complaints. Does the Amperage matter? I see on Amazon it's $24 for the .75A model and $40 for the 1.25A
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Jan 5, 2009 07:13
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BotchedLobotomy posted:This is awesome, I want to do this. Has anyone tried giving this a whirl? I've painted my tank with some rattlecan car paint but I'd love to go all over the plastics/tank/frame with this stuff. Is the process any different? The link shows off the results but it sort of just says "this owns do it." and th elast thing I need is bedliner chipping off after 100 miles or something Bedliner poo poo on my bike would scare me just a little. It just absorbs the light, makes you a bit difficult to see on the road I would imagine.
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Feb 14, 2009 02:56
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NightGyr posted:According to the Hurt study, color had no effect on accident incidence. As far as I can tell, the lights make much more difference. If they see you, they'll see you if the bike is black or white or lime green, if they don't they don't. It's not some stealth camo. That doesn't make any sense to me. I can't see cars that are that color (especially in the rain..they just blend right into the road/sky/rain), and seeing a bright yellow bike is much easier than seeing a dark black bike. How is that any different than wearing a bright yellow rain jacket as compared to a pitch black one?
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Feb 16, 2009 00:44
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Getting rear ended is one of the rarest accidents on a bike, but it can happen. My GF's dad was rearended while on his bike and sitting at a stop sign once.
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Feb 19, 2009 14:44
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Nerobro posted:To add to the question, why aren't you riding your bike enough to keep fresh fuel in the carbs? To add to the answer, because everyone yelled at him for trying to learn how to ride when it was 20 degrees outside. He was a smart learner!
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Feb 27, 2009 23:31
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I'm pulling my bike out of storage today (07 Ninja 250) and I can't remember for the life of me how the battery was attached. I got the battery back into the holder, put the strap back on to hold it in, but the screws are getting me. It feels like I didn't keep the right screws with the bike all winter, when I put the screws on the terminals for the bike they are way too loose. Was there supposed to be a nut too?
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Mar 6, 2009 21:26
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MrKatharsis posted:Yep, a little square nut in each terminal of the battery. Check the floor around wherever you stored it. poo poo...This sounds familier but I'm not finding anything like that where I was keeping my bike or the battery. Looks like I might be taking a trip down to the kawasaki dealer tomorrow.
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Mar 6, 2009 21:58
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Ola posted:You can just use a regular nut although it can be harder to tighten it up. The job is to get the wire connector tight to the pole, as long as it's a bit beyond finger tight it's fine. Thanks, I don't seem to have any nuts that will fit though. I'm assuming this isn't a kawasaki specific thing so any bike shop should have what I am looking for?
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Mar 6, 2009 22:25
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Drove up to the local bike shop (the one that I forgot was only 2 miles away) and they gave me a pair of nuts and bolts and just said 'talk good about me!'. God bless small shops.
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Mar 6, 2009 23:45
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Will WD-40 clean a chain? I was originally thinking of using kerosene, but apparently that's a bit difficult to find in non-winter months.
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May 23, 2009 00:11
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Cmdr. Shepard posted:I can only ride my Ninja 250 for about an hour before my rear end gets really sore. Is this typical for a cheap bike like that? Are there after-market seats or something I could buy? I was hoping I'd build up a sort of immunity to the uncomfortable seat after riding for a season but I didn't, and rides over an hour are almost painful. I can sort of solve the problem by stopping and taking a break and walking around for a bit every 45 minutes. This is next on my agenda, I went on a 4 hour ride today on my 250 and my rear end was killing me by the halfway point.
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May 24, 2009 02:16
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When you park your bike, do you leave it in gear or neutral? I see a lot of people starting their bike just by hitting the starter, so I assume they leave it in neutral.
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Jul 26, 2009 23:12
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Yesterday I went riding and when I got back I noticed that underneath my bike was smoking and there was this odd smell. I checked it and it appears oil is leaking onto the muffler. Checked it today and doesn't look like anymore leaked. I go take off the fairing and I notice that the coolant reservoir is really low, I am pretty clueless with bikes/cars, should the coolant be at least at the L line of the reservoir? The bike is an 07 Ninja 250. Might the dripping oil and low coolant be related?
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Aug 15, 2009 20:01
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The NonBornKing posted:You need to make sure you are checking the coolant under the appropriate conditions. Look in your service manual to figure that out. Mine says the engine needs to be both warm and running and the bike should be level, not leaned over on the side stand. Yeah, I haven't gone out and filled it until I verify that I am checking it right. But even after a 30 minute ride yesterday I noticed it was well well WELL below the L line. e: Ok I just checked, the coolant should be between the two lines, so I know I need to fill that up. shaitan fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Aug 15, 2009 |
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Aug 15, 2009 21:27
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Entreri posted:Is it ok to use any type of antifreeze in a motorcycle? My service manual for my 08 ninja 250r says that it needs ethylene glycol for aluminum engines. I picked some up at walmart, but it only mentions cars and light trucks on the label, so I figured I'd ask before pouring it in. Thanks again, guys. ninja250.org says it doesn't matter what it's for.
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Aug 16, 2009 15:34
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I'm going to be changing the oil in my bike this weekend and I've never done something like this before! Anyway, it's a Ninja 250 and ninja250.org say that I MUST have a torque wrench. Is that true? From what I know they are pretty drat expensive.
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Apr 1, 2010 00:28
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sectoidman posted:You don't strictly-speaking need a torque wrench, as long as you can manage tightening the drain/filter bolts without over-torquing them. That said, a torque wrench is a handy thing to have, and the beam-deflection ones are both cheap and durable (ie they won't go out of calibration as easily as similarly-priced click-type ones). Thanks guys! I can swing $25, what I was seeing was more in the $80 range. I'll stop by Sears tomorrow.
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Apr 1, 2010 00:48
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I'm looking at a 2008 Street Triple that only has 700 miles on it. The owner has garaged it pretty much it's entire life so what are some things to look out for? I'm assuming that the tires are original and would need replacing at that age but what other things to look for? If you know model specific that's awesome, I'll be posting in some of more triumph specific forums to find out what to look for too.
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Feb 15, 2012 17:53
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Odette posted:From memory, Triumph had a bad R/R batch so it's worth asking the owner about that or grabbing serial # & checking with Triumph. I'd probably replace the R/R myself anyway. Ok yeah I'm reading about that now, that's not a big deal afaik but something to look out and replace if something looks bad. What about anything normal to look at for bikes that have spent most of their life sitting around?
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Feb 15, 2012 20:57
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Odette posted:Z3n can probably jump in here with more specific info, but generally if a bike's been sitting around for a long time ... all the fluids need to be replaced. Other than that, not much else to look at? That's pretty much what I was thinking as well. Thanks! I talked the guy down to 5500 which is a steal around here. Most triples are going for 6-7k with 5-10k miles on them
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Feb 15, 2012 22:30
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I just picked up a Street Triple the other day, and my wife has a ER-6N. We are looking for a set of wheelstands for both bikes (so 2 sets all together). Is there suggestions or should I just buy whatever is cheapest? What I'd really like is something with wheels on them so I can move the bikes easier but I don't know how dumb of an idea that is or if anyone actually sells something like that.
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Apr 6, 2012 13:46
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I figure they'd have some kind of lock on the wheel so they wouldn't slip when you don't want them to. So something like that does exist?
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Apr 7, 2012 00:29
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So how do I know what kind of rear/front stands to buy? I'm looking on the Pitbull site and it's mentioning how if my bike has spools to get a spool compatible stand (wtf is a spool?), and other sites are saying whether it has a dual sided swingarm or single sided swingarm. I know jack poo poo about bikes even though I've been riding for 3 years (never had to turn a single wrench on my 250)
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Apr 7, 2012 16:50
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I changed the oil in my bike last night, something i have never done before. Everything seemed to go good but this morning when i woke up I checked and there is a small amount of oil leaking from the drain plug. I tightened it according to spec, put in a new crush washer and I think I did everything right. But that small drip makes me think I screwed up. One thing I can think of is maybe I put the washer on the wrong way? One side was curved and the other flat, I put the flat side towards the bike. I don't want to over tighten and I don't want to waste all that oil but will I have to redrain and put in new oil again?
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Jun 8, 2012 16:01
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Ziploc posted:If you use a clean container I don't see a reason why you would need to use new oil when draining to fix something. Thanks, I was hoping this was the case. Any idea what I may have done wrong? Might the direction of the drain washer matter? It had a curved side and a flat side.
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Jun 8, 2012 18:04
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:28 |
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So I've recently upgrade to a Street Triple from a 250. What I have noticed while riding it is that if I put my feet down for a little while at a stop sign or light and pull my legs back up to continue on, the inside of my legs kind of cramp up. It's right at the hip bone on the inside. I'm thinking it has to do with the riding posture or where my legs are, I'm tall (6'2 34" inseam) and it must be just different enough from my 250 that it's bothering me. It's a bit dangerous and was def a lot worse when I was riding home from work than when I went to work. So I'm thinking of starting to do more stretching exercises to loosen myself up but is there anything I can/should do with the pegs to help me out?
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May 3, 2013 01:32
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