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I had a bike about a decade ago, while in college. A 1984 Nighthawk 700. Looked terrible (one of the fairings even mysteriously disappeared while on a ride one day), but it was a god drat tank. And that was a good thing, because I was a poo poo rider; entirely taught myself, figuring out stuff like countersteering purely by trial/error. Went down a handful of times; never at speed, no injuries or real damage to the bike. I was so broke at the time I never took the MSF or had proper gear, and used my Dad's old 3/4 helmet. Anyway, sold the bike when I graduated, and kept telling myself that when I got a proper job I'd start over and do things the right way. Cue a decade of life getting in the way, but now I finally have the time/money to rejoin the fold. Took the course last August, and have a license. What is the generally agreed-upon procedure here? I'm assuming I should get gear first, and then buy a bike, but how do people generally do the insurance part? Say I go to look at a bike I find on CL or CycleTrader, and decide to buy it. Do folks generally just ride the bike home sans-insurance, and then sort that out when they get home? Obviously I plan on shopping around a bit for insurance, as I've heard quotes can vary widely depending on which company you talk to, but I can't do that until I have the bike. Just making sure I'm not missing something obvious here.
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Mar 16, 2017 19:02
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 10:12 |
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So I picked up a bunch of starter gear the other week, including a pair of Bilt pants. Reconsidered, and returned the pants to CycleGear today. The clerk didn't really know what to recommend; I wanted something textile (not overpants) that could zip into my AlpineStars jacket. Ended up ordering a pair of these: https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/alpinestars-ramjet-air-pants I'm in the SF Bay Area, so we get summer weather about 9 months out of the year, I figure these should work okay until next Winter. Would anyone advise against these? Also, I got a lead on a bike. A friend of mine is selling his 2006 SV650. Miles seem okay (10k) but I wonder about some of the mods he mentioned: New handlebar - "to make it more upright" Some things changed in the front suspension to make it firmer, including thicker fork oil Swapped out the rear suspension for one from a ZX-14 - says he did this because it's adjustable I'll be going over there this coming weekend to take a look. The guy's a good 4-5 inches taller than me, and probably 100+ lbs heavier, so I worry that he's got it set up as a huge-guy bike. Obviously I need too sit on/ride the thing first, but does this raise any red flags? E: I should mention that I'm 5'10 and about 165, so I'm in that sweet spot size-wise for most bikes. Capn Jobe fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Apr 18, 2017 |
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Apr 18, 2017 03:09
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pokie posted:A bunch of us Bay Area riders hang out on the slack channel. (registration server link, takes a little while https://afternoon-everglades-24325.herokuapp.com/) Sweet, I'll see about getting on Slack (I'm on slack most of the time for work anyway). We haven't discussed price yet, but NadaGuides pegs it at about $2k average, but I'm not sure how that translates to Bay Area dollars. We'll see what he starts with; I work in sales, no stranger to negotiating; the guy's a friend though, so I'm not interested in going too low. I should also mention, the bike's in Pleasant Hill (I live in Redwood City), so I may enlist him to ride the bike to my place. I'd rather not have my first ride on the thing be too long, or involve a bridge. As to the size of the bike, I used to ride a Nighthawk 700 in college. Granted, that was 10 years ago, but the nighthawk was close to 100 lbs heavier. I don't anticipate any issues. Capn Jobe fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Apr 18, 2017 |
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Apr 18, 2017 07:17
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Well, after about a month on the new-to-me bike (2015 Vulcan S ABS), I had my first incident. Not an accident, I'll call it an incident. I stopped for gas on my way home from work. I've only filled up this bike once so far, so still getting the hang of fueling a motorcycle. I was watching the numbers on the pump go up, and was just starting to release the nozzle to stop pumping, and felt my right foot get wet. I had overfilled it, with much of the extra gas spilling down the side, and onto my right boot. Probably a few ounces had escaped. I wiped down what I could, but my foot was still soaked and there was a noticeable puddle of gas under the bike. I let it sit for a few minutes to evaporate, and then went home. Nothing seemed amiss aside from the smell of gas (probably mostly from my soaked boot). Boots are outside airing out, socks in the wash. Anything I need to do here, for the boot or the bike, or is it just a matter of letting things dry out? And on another note, how do I not have this happen? Do you hold the nozzle in a way that you can see the fuel level inside the tank, or just get really good at knowing how much gas the tank can hold? Capn Jobe fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Nov 14, 2017 |
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Nov 14, 2017 03:41
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Sagebrush posted:Your boots will probably smell like gas for a long time. Keep them in the garage. I don't have a garage  Right now they're under the back porch. I haven't checked today but last night the stench wasn't quite so overpowering.
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Nov 16, 2017 00:38
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Can anyone recommend a tire inflator? I tried to fill up my tires at the gas station yesterday, and maneuvering their air hose around was just too much trouble; I'd rather be able to do it at home. I'm specifically looking for something I plug into a wall outlet. Portable is not necessary, but that being said I'd go for something that ran on line current but also had an internal battery or the ability to take 12v.
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Jan 16, 2018 18:55
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These are great suggestions for portable units, but I'm looking for something to plug into a wall outlet (I have an outdoor outlet right next to where I keep the bike). The linked pancake compressor or some variant sounds like a good idea, but ideally I'd like something a bit less expensive/bulky.
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Jan 17, 2018 01:10
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I've been doing more freeway riding recently, partially because I've just been using the bike more, but also because I want to get more comfortable with it. One problem I keep having is my throttle hand just goes dead numb after about 20-30 minutes on the freeway. Well, not totally numb, because it also hurts like hell. If I slow down for ~10 seconds to take it off the throttle and wring it a bit, it gets better, but the cycle then repeats after another 20-30 minutes. At first I thought I just needed to acclimate better to freeway riding, but it doesn't seem to have gotten any better. It seems like it's a combination of the hand position when holding the throttle mostly-open, and the vibration. I have an inkling that different gloves may help; all I have now are a pair of Alpinestars SPX Air Carbon gloves. Think different gloves would help? How have others dealt with this? Bike is a Kawasaki Vulcan S; it handles freeway speeds just fine but the engine is turning pretty fast when you get up to 70-75 mph.
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Feb 22, 2018 00:06
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Can also vouch for the K3 SV. I got it because not only does it work well with my glasses, but the drop-down sunshade also works with glasses. I really wanted a helmet with a sunshade, but did not expect to find one that I could use.
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Mar 19, 2018 03:29
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Kryopsis posted:Nope. I'll buy a hi-vis vest before my course finishes. Incidentally I passed the province-mandated theory exam so I have a learner's permit now and expect to buy my first motorcycle at the end of April. I have a Vulcan S, and went with it for many of the same reasons you're considering it (FI, liquid cooling, ABS, affordable). I couldn't decide between a cruiser and a standard, and this felt like a good middle ground between the two. That is also kind of its downside, as it will never handle as well as a standard/sport or be as a smooth as a bigger cruiser. But, as cruisers go, it's very lightweight and easy to handle. Naturally this is a relative term, as it weighs about 500lb wet, which is feather-light for a cruiser but pretty hefty for most other types of bike. Power-wise, I've found it to be very predictable; it's got a good amount of oomph for a first bike but the weight and engine tune make it manageable. For a new rider, I'd say the weight would be harder to get used to than the power (still not likely a big deal though). The adjustable ergos are a huge deal for some people, too. I'm kind of in the sweetspot, sizewise (5'10'', 160lb) where I can ride most bikes comfortably, but I have a friend who is 5'3" and was super attracted to the Vulcan S because it could fit him. He ended up getting a Ducati, for other reasons. Frankly I adore it; it handles the twisties surprisingly well (again, this is by cruiser standards), but is nice on the highway as well. It is kind of a compromise though, so I could see that someone dead-set on either a standard or a cruiser would have a hard time with it. For someone indecisive like me, it's perfect. Capn Jobe fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Apr 6, 2018 |
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Apr 6, 2018 22:44
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 10:12 |
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Jonny 290 posted:-starting to learn that bike engines spin, like really, put away the car brain. I know you're going to laugh but i was shifting around 4k and when i hit 6500 in 2nd i thought i was gonna pee. its so fun Seconding this. I drive a pretty high-revving car (Fiesta ST), but there was still a period where I was shifting the bike at 3-4k like clockwork. Once I actually took the time to look at the tach on the bike and see that it can go up over 10k, it started to fall into place. That's when I found the engine. I was going to work last Friday on my bicycle (that's my exercise; can't take the moto every day), and was at a light next to a guy on one of the bigger Indian bikes. I don't know their nomenclature, but it reminded me a lot of a Road King (maybe the Chieftain?). Anyway, thing was brand new and the guy was ATGATTing, which is weird for a cruiser guy. Point is, seemed like a new rider. Light turns green and he goes, he's in third gear before clearing the intersection, moving to fourth immediately after. Obviously that Indian revs quite a bit lower than the Kawasaki 650, but yeah that guy was totally me last year.
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Jun 19, 2018 03:24
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