Discussion - always find my self ridding in motorcycle

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n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Dubs posted:

Argh, I'm having one of those days.

Took the DRZ-SM out for the first time to the local lake because it has some longer sweepers compared to all the roads near me. On the way out it was fine, had an awesome time, tried some counterleaning, Good times.

Then after i spin it around for the i blow one of the corners really loving wide, like dead if a car was there wide, Then keep it slow for a while then as I'm getting some confidence back i get to a corner, grab brake a bit , go down a gear, get ready to lean and then ...-nothing. no power. A first i thought that i had just blown a gear box or something but i have a feeling it was the side stand switch that people talk about.

At this point i just want to get off. So cruising home at the 100kph a bird fly out of some trees and i smack it with my forks.

Then i spilt fuel on my corbin.

Good day so far, Parked it for the night.

When I had my DRZ I found it really easy to hit the kickstand standing up while riding offroad, never really had a problem on road. Definitely a possibility, if I had kept the bike much longer I would have disabled the killswitch. Slow the gently caress down on the streets before you kill yourself. Get yourself to the local kart track for that sort of stuff.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2008 18:42

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 17:09

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

LOLLERZ posted:

I found a dirt bike on Craigslist, no title, "lost" key. Asked for the VIN and he said it's 9C6CG043110005988, which doesn't appear to be stolen in anything online. Is this "too good to be true"? What should I do to check if a bike is stolen? What happens if I buy and it turns out to be? What can I do to get it titled to me?

If it isn't stolen there is a good chance someone sold it without the title because they still had a loan on it. In essence it's stolen but I don't think that the financing companies involve the police, they just go after the original owner. In Washington you need a title/registration in order to get ORV tags to ride in any ORV park.

It's not worth it at all, move on.

# ¿ Nov 18, 2008 19:39

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Tap - Don't forget your earplugs.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2009 08:26

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

I think it was virtually every Honda made for 20+ years that had cam chain tensioner issues. They'd essentially fail after 5k miles like clockwork and you'd have a really nice noisy engine. The one bike that I was aware of that it caused a real problem with is the VTR1000 Superhawk. The big twin puts enough stress on the chains that if you don't swap out the tensioners at around 20k you will end up breaking your cam chain.

I do think you can look at a motorcycle as a money saver if you get a bit creative. Having a bike that hauls as much rear end as a much more expensive sportscar saves me a lot of money on the car that I own. It's not a real big deal to own a slow older car when I can hop on a shiny newer motorcycle that I only paid $4k for. I'm far too lazy to do the math, I would imagine the cost of running a sportbike vs. running a newer sportscar things look a bit different. An apples to oranges comparison of a civic vs. a R6 really isn't fair. Compare an R6 to say a 350z or something along those lines is more accurate.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2009 17:49

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

mutt2jeff posted:

I could be that since Husky, KTM, and Aprilia have got such strong supermoto offerings that the Japanese dont think they can get into the market in the 450+ arena. If only I didn't have such a hate/hate relationship with the local KTM/husky dealer, I would go ride some. Fortunately, they lost the Aprilia brand, so I just need to make time to go to the new dealer and ride one.

Edit: Just for comparison, the KTM SMR 450 weighs in at 246 or so pounds, while the Yamaha 250 is dead nuts on 300. WTF is up with that? Where the hell does the yamaha gain 50+ extra pounds, while have a smaller engine?

I don't see a KTM 450 SMR on their US website for 2009 so it must not be in that great of demand. The wr250x does miss the mark for sure, I have no idea what they were thinking. That said, you slap on a starter, battery, lights, and probably additional emissions gear and that weight can add up.

Asking for a CRF450 in supermoto form and expecting it to be streetable is just silly. The motors have something like a 5 hour interval on their oil changes and valves are every 20 hours or so. I don't think it's just a matter of detuning the motor either. When your design principle is to build a race engine for motoX bikes you can't just easily change things so people can get reasonable maintenance intervals for street riding.

Probably the best compromise out there is to find a DRZ400 - non street legal version, plate it, and then convert it to supermoto. Wanting a 250lb 60hp supermoto is really just a pipe dream unless you want to live with a very high maintenance race bike. A bit silly for commuting. I do think that if there were major market demands for supermotos with these specs you'd see manufacturers stepping in with light, higher displacement motors that can balance the power with the maintenance requirements. Unforuntately, I don't think you'll ever see supermotos go beyond much of a niche product.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2009 09:43

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Also you generally don't want to pump the throttle on a 4t bike. Shut throttle is the way to go. At least w/ the newer 4T motocross bikes. Also you should be able to start it with the clutch in, but generally bikes are easier to start in neutral with the clutch out.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2009 20:41

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

One that doesn't have x-ray eyes because most of the clutch is covered by the housing, or one that didn't check the clutch cable because you didn't ask, or one that is just a crummy mechanic.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2009 15:59

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

blugu64 posted:

Please crush my pipe dream of getting an Aprilia RS 125 Street legalized in the States.

If you can plate a dirtbike in your state I don't see why you couldn't plate it.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2009 05:58

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

My mechanic friend always tells me to be very careful warming up dirtbikes that have wiseco pistons in them. Since they are a bit harder or something you really want to let the bike just idle up to temperature then start riding on it. It probably takes my YZ 3-5 minutes to get nice and warm.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2009 16:52

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

I was talking to a random guy at a bar who had ridden his vrod about his bike. After a bit of chatting he offered to let me ride his bike. I'm pretty sure he wasn't hitting on me, but I refused because I don't drink and ride. I thought he was joking because who the gently caress would let a stranger ride your bike, let alone at a bar.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2009 23:15

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Cost is why I went to riding an MX bike instead of getting more into track days. You can of course make MX riding very expensive, but generally it's nothing compared to track riding or racing. Even if you want to race MX bikes it's nowhere near as expensive.

I found riding an MX bike much more challenging than the stuff I did at track days as well. First day out most people can manage to get a knee down and "feel" fast and think they are doing a decent job of things. Of course to be actually fast at a track takes a huge amount of skill and a decent set of clankers. Being fast at an MX track and mastering jumping is totally daunting to me. That's why I mostly stick to the DOONZ because you can do lots of similar stuff to what you'd do at a track without nearly the skill level required.

A track day is easily the most fun I've ever had on a bike, but I can go out and ride my dirtbike every weekend if I want and maintenance/tire costs are nowhere near the level of a track day.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2009 18:00

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Does anyone want to trade a pretty huge magnetic tank bag for any sort of strappable tank bag? drat Aprilia.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2009 16:11

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Spiffness posted:

It's my observation that a big thumper engine with FI has a hard time running smooth at constant throttle. The KTM just does not like going at a constant boring speed. The solution?

A) Rev the piss out of it
B) Constantly accellerate

I think I'm fine with this.

Also, dirtbikers, is there a trick to gripping a violently decellerating dirt bike with your body? Sport bikes are easy enough to grip the tank and use the seat to plant you in place so you don't apply pressure on the bars when stopping but I was noticing during my track day that under really hard braking I was putting more force into the bars than I really wanted to. It's possible to squeeze the bike a bit with your knees but it's not nearly as effective with a skinny slippery surface such as the KTM's meager plastics.

Are you sitting right up near the front of the tank where the plastics get wider for the radiator? That should allow you to squeeze the tank a bit more. In addition you should be able to squeeze the bike with your lower legs as well. In addition you can use a gripper seat which really helps as well.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2009 21:46

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

dietcokefiend posted:

Yea I ran into the EXACT situation for crush washers on my SV. Couldnt find anyone else selling them, and I wanted to like change my oil you know... soon. Drove to the nearest dealer on my bike that is like 20 miles away. Less in gas than shipping would have been

I know it's against the goon motto to buy things in person, but dealerships are great for when you need something fast or if it's a cheap part.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2009 22:04

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

The problem with a corbin seat is that they almost always lower your seating a position, so if you are tall you will give up legroom. The best mod you can do to just about any bike is to put Buell Lightning footpegs on them. They about a 3/4" drop to them which really makes a big difference. Buy them with springs and prepare to use a grinder to make them work. Cost is about $35 new from a dealer.

I think the best mods for comfort are as follows:
Throttle Lock/Cruise/Etc - being able to take your right hand off the bars sure is nice.

Aftermarket seat - pick your poison as to what you actually do. Corbins are very nice in my opinion.

Lower Footpegs

You need to move around on the bike - and stand up on the bike as well. About every 30 minutes I'll ride around for a minute or two standing up. Helps get blood back into places. If you start getting really sore, take a 30 minute break and take some ibuprofen.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2009 19:41

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

If you've got decent seat time on an SV I don't see why you'd have much trouble with pretty much any bike. Hillsboro Motorsports near Portland WA is selling new '07 VFRs for $7k. Just FYI.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2009 00:21

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

To be fair the problem I had with the Aprilia were Brembo brake problems, and most I believe it was the PO not having tightened a bleeder screw located at the MC.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2009 01:32

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Ola posted:

This is the second ever Futura I've seen on the Norwegian used market.

Not bad price wise. Apparently these things are quite thirsty which is a dealbreaker for me, but drat I'm taken to those edgy lines.

At least in America Aprilias with the Rotax motor are pretty undervalued. I haven't spent much time trying to figure out the mileage on my Falco but I'd guess that it's somewhere between 35 and 40mpg in mixed riding. You aren't going to get much better economy riding a 1000CC bike even if it's a 4 cyl.

# ¿ May 11, 2010 20:08

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Ola posted:

Triumph Sprint STs get (anecdotally) 45 to 50, that's a good enough improvement for me. On the used market here they are priced slightly below the Futuras but of course in sex factor the Italians win again.

Are you comparing imperial to us gallons? 37.5 US mpg = 45 Imperial.

# ¿ May 12, 2010 15:47

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

needknees posted:

It's the way it came across to me more than anything. How can a designer/engineer like Buell claim that building, testing, developing, and racing a motoGP bike is "wasting" your engineers' potential? If anything it's giving them a chance to stretch what's possible. Come up with new tech to give your team an advantage and still be within whatever crazy rules are imposed. Some of this stuff ends up in production streetbikes for us mortals to enjoy. Hardly a waste.

To an extent he's right if all the development/engineering is going into a prototype instead of street bike nobody really gets to enjoy it. The fact of the matter is that much of the development work done on GP bikes will never cross over to a street bike. The chassis are so much stiffer and the forces at work are so different that the challenges are very different.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2010 23:08

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

The kickstand can punch through asphalt on a warm day.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2011 01:17

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Especially dumb since the only people required to ride the 450s are the pros.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2011 07:37

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

mutt2jeff posted:

Actually, I believe next year it will be 450's only, even for amateurs.

The sucks cost wise.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2011 05:36

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

The FZR is a much better choice reliability/cost of ownership wise.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2011 02:12

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

2ndclasscitizen posted:

This is going to be awesome...

Completely loving retarded.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2011 15:09

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

MotoMind posted:

Cross-posting ADVrider:

I just wanted to share a first experience using my Roadcrafter as a ski garment.

That's pretty funny because I've thought about bringing out my Olympia suit skiing just to see what it's like to ski in a one piece. I happen to have all patagonia stuff because I get really good deals on it. I think the direction of some ski gear has really gone the wrong way especially with regard to pants. You cannot buy a pair of bib pants anymore from patagonia at least. Nevermind the fact that it's pretty hard to find someone that even makes a one piece suit. One piece suits are definitely very retro, but I bet they are pretty comfy.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2011 04:55

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Soapy water works well as a lube as long as you move quickly. It dries completely and doesn't leave any residue for the tire to slide on. You can also break a bead with a large C-clamp like this:
http://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-225106-100-6-Inch-C-Clamp/dp/B0000CCXVU

I would also use rim guards on anything you don't want scuffed up. A 5 gallon bucket half full of water makes a good wheel stand.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2011 16:57

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

AncientTV posted:

Could someone with a balancer just throw a Dyna-Beaded tire on and compare results to the same tire unbeaded? Seems like that'd be a valid testing method.

edit: Obviously not a balancing stand, and I'm not sure if anyone here has one of those fantastical high-speed balancers.

I had a friend who had a bit of a shakey frontend that was smoothed out by dynabeads. I'm pretty sure they work. They are probably great to use in conjuction with jackstand balancing.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2011 17:01

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Ola posted:

Dynabeads won't work with static balancing, they'll create a heavy spot wherever they are. You'd need one of those spinning machines to see the dynamic effect.

You put the beads in after you static balance.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2011 17:10

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Armyman25 posted:

Has anyone put more cafe racer type handlebars on the bike?

I'm thinking of putting "m" bars or "Ace" bars on my 2008 Bonneville and putting on a kit to move the foot controls rearward. I understand this will give me a sportier riding profile, but how will it affect riding the bike?

I understand the cafe bars are lower and possibly wider, making the bike more controllable at highway speeds, but I've heard they make the bike harder to turn at low speeds. Anyone have experience with this?

The M bars don't look too bad to me, but if you're spending $70 on standard chrome bars you're wasting money. You can get bars for $20 that probably have that bend from ebay or something like that.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2011 05:19

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Lee Parks is a dick, but I like his book.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2011 05:20

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Crayvex posted:

I know this and it doesn't make it right... I get poo poo from coworkers for wearing all my safety gear but I know what happens first hand when you have to "lay 'er down." It boggles my imagination that people would wear a $500 armored jacket and then cotton jeans with hiking boots. Heck even the kevlar lined jeans/cargo pants are suspect based on some of the experiences of goons.

It pisses me off because in Michigan I'm already forced to pay $200 per motorcycle per year for a fund that covers all medical costs from motorcycle injuries. Now they are talking about repealing the helmet law. I can only imagine how much my insurance costs will increase despite me being fully armored on every loving ride.

If anything that will decrease the costs because people that survive with serious injuries will just be dead instead.

Am I the only person in the world that doesn't think you should cafe out every motorcyle older than a 1985? The silverwing isn't the prettiest bike in stock form but at least it's functional. It's the modern equivalent of putting race plastics on a Honda NT700.

# ¿ May 1, 2011 14:48

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

It just makes your throttle sticky, you can easily roll it shut.

# ¿ May 17, 2011 22:10

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

SlightlyMadman posted:

Ah cool, so it's sort of like a parking brake in that way, heh.

I guess the real question is whether or not it's $100 worth of better than one of the $20 plastic clips?

My current bike came w/ a throttlemeister ($100), I prefer the vista cruise.

# ¿ May 18, 2011 00:50

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

SpannerX posted:

Throttle lock type of mechanism that seems pretty simple. I'm interested, but to be honest I think I'd go with a throttle rocker.

I don't find throttle rockers help since you still can't take your hands off the bar. Not a big fan personally.

# ¿ May 18, 2011 18:59

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

You need to disconnect the positive side of the battery cable, and use a volt meter in line touching the cable and the positive post. Set it to measure amps, I can guarantee you've got a draw somewhere. Then you start pulling fuses one at a time and see if the amps drops to virtually nothing. I had this problem w/ my '99 years ago, it turned out it was the trip odometer had a short. I removed the fuse and the draw went away. I never did fix it completely though, ended up selling the bike.

# ¿ Jun 9, 2011 18:01

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Armyman25 posted:

So, after owning an Real American motorcycle for 2 months, I'm saying never again. While I was deployed I bought a 2003 Indian Spirit over E-bay. Not the best move, but it was impulsive and I thought, hey should be alright.

Your problems sound to be more with a lovely shop than necessarily a lovely bike. Clearly you're having problems with something, probably tuning. Find someone more competent.

# ¿ Jun 12, 2011 07:15

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

You have any idea what your jetting settings are currently? I'm sure there is some sort of a resource for jets + pipes + engine around on a forum.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2011 05:16

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Unless you're planning on doing significant modifications to the rear end as well you're probably wasting your money. Be happy with your bike being a budget commuter bike that it is. Don't spend a bunch of money trying to turn it into something that it isn't

# ¿ Jun 28, 2011 00:13

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 17:09

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

MrZig posted:

Exact same thing happend to me in Idaho. It sucked.

In case you needed proof goons will photograph and post on the internet anything that happens to them that is even remotely interesting.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2011 03:50

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