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What is the general advice for dealing with damp roads, wet leaves, and/or streams? I've only been riding for about 2 months, and I can only really get an actual ride in maybe 2-3 times a month because "adulthood." So I've done a little over a 1,000 miles on the road. Yesterday I rode with a friend, and the road I usually take to the meetup location was pretty damp and loads of wet leaves. The cars cleared out most of the leaves, but there were plenty of spots where I was "threading the needle" and it was 10 miles of butt-clenching. The speed limit on the road is mostly 50mph but I went around 25-30mph for most of it. If I have to ride over them, just be as upright as safely possible? Streams are unavoidable, so I have just been taking them as upright as I feel I can, and no trouble so far, but my tires is still touching asphalt while leaves will probably slide without much hesitation.
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Sep 10, 2019 05:26
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 17:44 |
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Yeah I was going to ask. I tried braking on some gravel in the parking lot I use for practice and my front tire immediately washed out. I feel like I barely touched the brake lever. I was able to save it but I haven’t tried again since.  I probably have more finesse to my braking now and maybe should try again. I wonder if dirt/gravel has any more traction than asphalt/gravel since there is some give in the dirt still. I haven’t had trouble the couple times I’ve pulled off the road, but I probably did 95% of the braking on asphalt and rolled to a stop.
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Oct 11, 2019 02:19
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I don’t know man, I think the wind sucks and can be scary. Like a steady wind is fine but gusts are what worry me. They’re basically invisible hazards. I got hit by a big gust while I was doing 75-80 on the freeway and it physically moved me like 1-3’. I kept it in my lane but it wasn’t fun. I just slowed down which felt like it would make the wind less impactful but not sure if that’s 100% how it works.
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Oct 14, 2019 00:47
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Knight2m posted:Went shopping today and tried on helmets. After trying on a bunch, I think I've settled on an HJC IS MAX II. The shop was selling it for $225, but I've seen it online for cheaper. Not to be too preachy, but are you saving enough money to be worth it over supporting the shop that helped you find a fitting helmet in the first place?
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Oct 27, 2019 04:08
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If there’s no traffic. I will grant that visibility in my city is low at night, but I had a near miss the other night; that driver was probably poo poo anyway (pulling out from a red turn lane into the green thru lane, so not paying attention to signs/paint/etc). I got on the brakes at first but either nervous about getting rear-ended or just didn’t have enough time. I had to let off and swerve around, cleared the car by 1-2’. 
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Nov 15, 2019 00:50
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No one likes the PX150? 
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Nov 22, 2019 05:21
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Short gears and high revs own.
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Dec 29, 2019 00:42
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Here’s my opinion, not that it’s worth anything. Moving from a 250 to a 650 in under a year probably isn’t that big of a deal, especially if you’re mostly just cruising/commuting. I think the idea to not start on one is because you have no basic controls or sense of what the bike is doing or wants. If you’re doing mostly “spirited riding” on twisty roads then it’s probably not the best idea, but hopefully you know your limits. I am personally not planning to upgrade anytime soon and instead spend my money on better gear and track time/lessons. I can reach some of my bike’s limits, but its combined ability still far exceeds my own, especially once I’m on a public road with all sorts of variables, hazards, and distractions. I may get a second, completely different bike, like a dual sport.
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Dec 30, 2019 16:00
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Mirconium posted:RainX will reduce the speeds at which the rain will bead off your visor, although it's a spray so you kinda have to apply it repeatedly, and it's also some pretty nasty crap. I’ve read mixed reviews on using RainX on a visor. They have a special plastic-safe version, but I couldn’t find the exact plastic my visor is made of, has any coatings, etc., and don’t want to risk making it brittle and shatter-prone. It’s a clear CWR-1, for what it’s worth. I feel like it should be safe as that’s probably a common visor, but I’m neurotic. I haven’t ridden in any rain yet, but I’ve been in thick enough fog that I had to wipe my visor every 30 seconds or so. It worked for that, but probably not really what I want to rely on if it’s actually raining.
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Jan 5, 2020 18:24
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Bicycling only really helps with steering/balance (if you can’t ride a bicycle, you can’t ride a motorcycle) and maybe vision, but that’s about it IMO. The huge differences in weight, speed, and power make motorcycling very different.
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Jan 10, 2020 19:41
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I noticed my oil is low. It was changed, along with the filter, about 1000mi ago, and isn't due to be changed for nearly another 6k. Through the site glass, the oil looks cloudy to me, but I don't necessarily know what I am looking at. The sheen it leaves looks clean. I haven't noticed any color to the exhaust. Should I just top it off and keep an eye on it?
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Jan 12, 2020 02:02
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Slavvy posted:E2: just realised what thread this is Sorry, I suppose I should have said! It's a Honda CB300R. I did let it warm up and cool down as you describe. The oil doesn't even come into the sightglass while upright. This is the best picture I could manage to take while leaning it onto my leg and holding a flashlight and phone:  It appears to me to be cloudy/murky, but I'm not sure if that's an actual normal appearance or just distortion from shining a bright light through a sightglass into a shallow liquid (eg light reflecting back through the oil). Mirconium posted:You're running the Honda 286CC single. Assuming you take it on the highway or into other situations where it sits at high RPM, it supposedly burns minute amounts of oil above 8k or something like that. Keep an eye on it and top it off. Not an indicator of significant engine issues, as far as rando forums people can tell. Thanks! If I am on the freeway, then yeah I'm at 9k+ most of the time, but I don't really do that much freeway riding. Of the last 1000 miles, probably 300 of it was on the freeway. Off freeway I feel like my revs are usually between 5-8k Unless that picture is alarming, I'll probably just confirm with the shop the oil type and top it off.
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Jan 12, 2020 06:24
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AlexanderCA posted:My instructor would tell me off if I would put both feet down, god forbid you put you left foot down instead of/before your right. That seems weird to me. Shouldn’t you have your right foot for the brake to help hold the bike, especially if you’re stopped on a hill?
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Jan 30, 2020 18:11
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"Stale green" -- I don't know how traffic signals are in the UK, but in the US you can usually use the crosswalk signal to tell whether the light is about to change. Obviously some signals are different from others so only rely on that for signals/intersections you know.
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Mar 1, 2020 22:06
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Is a stoppie simply getting your rear wheel off the ground or is it traveling for some distance with your rear off in a controlled manner? I think the former almost anyone can do but the latter would take quite a bit of practice.
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Apr 19, 2020 05:02
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Wouldn’t dragging the rear lengthen the wheelbase also? Maybe it’s a negligible amount, but my bike definitely feels more stable at low speed with the rear lightly engaged.
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Apr 27, 2020 22:31
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Slow, tight turns are hard because you never do them outside of deliberately practicing, at least in my experience thus far. Toe Rag fucked around with this message at 17:01 on May 26, 2020 |
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May 26, 2020 03:00
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Martytoof posted:I also don’t know whether this is EFI vs a carb in questionable condition, but the 650 feels much more responsive on the throttle. I have a hard time articulating this, but with the 250 if I was going to pass a car I would downshift, turn, and roll on throttle but the power delivery felt very built up. On the 650 when I shift and roll on throttle it just wants to GO by comparison. None of the “ok I’m applying throttle here comes the power” feeling I had. AFAIK carbureted fueling is directly tied to your throttle position because it works via air pressure differentials while EFI has other considerations. My throttle is a little jumpy at initial roll on, which I had always attributed to the gearing, but it may actually be the fueling (switching from super lean to normal). I think what you’re experiencing is just more torque. Anyway fellow new rider opinion: I don’t really do much riding on the freeway. If I did I may consider a bigger bike. It can do 80mph but is more comfortable at 65, for both me and the bike. I mostly ride on twisty mountain roads where my bike has plenty of power (~28hp), at least for me. The other day I was riding with my friend on a GSXR-750, which is substantially more powerful, but he wasn’t any faster because there’s only so fast you can safely go on roads like those. I mean I guess you can go faster, but probably not a good idea. I definitely have “oh poo poo” moments on my bike, like I came into a ~20mph corner at ~50mph. Having a more powerful bike can make problems like that worse, if you are still developing your vision and braking skills. So I guess I’m saying, I don’t feel the need to upgrade, but I’m not riding in ways that smaller bikes usually fall short. How much do you trust your judgment?
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May 30, 2020 20:20
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Yeah I like motojitsu, although his new (r) thing is a little dorky. He seems like he knows what he is talking about, and I like his sincerity. I don’t think the corner needs to be fast for you to trail brake. I trail brake through almost every corner where I can’t see the other side, unless it’s like super slow and wonky. I feel a lot more comfortable that way.
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Jun 9, 2020 03:16
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Elector_Nerdlingen posted:Yeah, I checked it with the bike on the side stand, which is what it says to do in the manual I have a question about this: is there a reason to not use a rear stand for making chain adjustments if you have one? I know the owner manual says have the bike on the side stand, but I am assuming that is because your bike doesn’t come with a rear stand. I found it a lot easier to make adjustments on a rear stand, but I suppose I should double check I’m not doing something wrong.
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Jul 12, 2020 16:30
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I did my first nighttime ride that wasn’t just putting around the city. I could feel my confidence was impacted by the lower visibility. I was always worried there was definitely a patch of gravel I couldn’t see. My headlight actually throws light pretty well, but the twilight period just after sunset was actually the hardest to see. Once it was dark it was way better. I noticed my vision being impacted by oncoming traffic way more than in a car, even though I’m sitting much higher. In a car, I tend to look at the white line to the right if it’s too bright, but I am a little wary to do the same on a bike, especially if I’m turning left, so I think avoiding the headlights was a little more difficult. Not sure what everyone else’s experience is or if you have any advice! I also found myself coming in hot more than once. I wonder if I was misjudging my speed and/or the road because I was taking in less visual information.
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Sep 6, 2020 19:11
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You could probably buy a new CB300F for nearly 3k if you can find one on a lot. It’s been discontinued for like 3 years. I have a CB300R which is fairly similar. It’s the same engine and transmission, but ~30-35 pounds lighter. I’m probably around 170 in gear, and I think it is plenty of power for twisty roads. You’d probably be fine with either but I think lighter is better. Edit: by that I mean the 300 is lighter than the 500, not the R is lighter than the F. Toe Rag fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 03:45
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Let's get this thread back on track!!! I am very bad about using my rear brake. While just commuting or whatever then I use it, but doing "spirited" riding I hardly ever do. I notice sometimes when I downshift while braking, I will feel it through my front end. I am shifting as smoothly as I can, and also avoiding putting weight into the bars. Sometimes it feels like front skipping, and yesterday it actually wriggled around a bit. Is this because as my engine braking increases from being in a lower gear/higher RPM, my weight shifts back slightly reducing my front end grip? Would using my rear brake help alleviate this? I am going to try to use my rear more anyway, but I wonder if there is something else that could be causing this.
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Oct 19, 2020 17:47
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Martytoof posted:I’m also fairly bad at rear brake. I do use it in slow turns and emergency or sudden stops but when I’m just tooling down the road or I see a red light ahead I mainly use front. No ABS. It's not actually skipping ... that's just the best way I can think to describe it  Sagebrush posted:You should always be using both brakes simultaneously. The front brake only theoretically provides "all" of the stopping power; on the street you aren't going to be pulling maximum-effort stoppies, so your rear tire will still have significant traction and the rear brake will help slow you down without risking a front-wheel lockup. And while you should not get in the habit of using it exclusively, it is safer to apply the rear one first in the rain, on sandy roads, etc. Oh yeah I agree. I just have a bad habit I need to get myself out of. I crashed on one of my very first rides because (among other things) I locked my rear and skidded off the road. I have since deliberately locked it up several times, and it takes way more pressure than I'd ever actually use, so I just need to get over it, I guess. Ulf posted:You mentioned spirited riding, are you shifting while in a turn? If so that could be it, you don’t want to upset the bike so much while leaned over, try to get matched into the right gear for the turn ahead of time. Yeah, sort of. It was in a slight left into a shaper right, so I was turning slightly while I shifted down. In retrospect I probably didn't need to shift down at all because I was also slowing down generally, not just for the turn. I do know better than to shift while fully turning. Slavvy posted:No, you're very confused here. Basically any deceleration = more weight on the front wheel, you can't unload the front wheel using the brakes or engine braking. I feel like I can provide fairly steady pressure while blipping the throttle, but I am sure I have massive room for improvement. That seems like a fairly reasonable explanation, or I unintentionally put an input into the bars while doing it. I do have a camera, actually. Here is the clip It's like 90MB so don't open that on a phone. I'm not sure if you can really tell anything from that. It could just be a combination of things at once, braking, turning, downshifting, bumps, not smooth, etc.I need to practice more. Unfortunately since COVID the only reliably empty parking lot in town has been half closed and half full of people teaching their kids to drive. The last 4 or 5 times I've gone there, I end up leaving after 5-10 minutes because there's just no room to focus on what you're doing.
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Oct 21, 2020 02:25
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Yeah basically. I’m on my phone but I think it’s at :30, a quick head shake. I think it’s probably from not smooth shifting and potentially also unintentional steering input.
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Oct 22, 2020 01:02
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I don’t know about that. Kinetic energy increase exponentially with speed. So a crash at 80mph has 16x the energy to dissipate than at 20mph. Maybe you’re more likely to have that happen in a safe way because there’s no utility poles or intersections or whatever, but I do think a freeway is inherently more dangerous than a surface street. I wouldn’t be surprised if statistics don’t agree, but there may be a lot to read into it. Incidents per miles would skew heavily in favor of freeways for example. Personally, city riding doesn’t bother me for the most part, but I also live and work in the city and am used to the traffic.
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Nov 5, 2020 02:41
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I wore leather pants for the first time yesterday and when I tried to get on my bike I kicked it over instead 
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Nov 10, 2020 05:15
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MomJeans420 posted:This is not Cycle Asylum approved but I very rarely wear my A* leather pants, so when I do finally put them on for a more spirited ride I actually feel less comfortable as my movements feel off. There is a very easy fix for this. I was at babby’s first track day, so hence the full leather. I had meant to go for a ride in them before to see how they felt but didn’t get the chance  Once I realized I needed to swing a little harder to get over the bike it was fine, but I don’t move around on the bike too much. Track day was fun. It kind of sucked at first because I was too nervous to pass people in the corners and with only 28hp I couldn’t pass much on the straights either, but by the 3rd time out I started to go for it. There is a surprising amount of traffic on a track which I guess I didn’t expect but now seems obvious.
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Nov 11, 2020 00:19
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They should provide you with a helmet, unless you confirmed 100% they don’t? It’s supposed to be the same provider/course statewide. https://cmsp.msi5.com/faq.php I would spend money on gloves instead. I don’t have any other advice!
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Nov 22, 2020 17:04
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We don’t really have schools in the US. You go practice in a parking lot over a weekend, take a test at the DMV, and you’re fully licensed. You don’t have lessons and stuff on instructors bikes while you’re stuck with a 125 until you pass more tests. And if you do take additional training, it’s all BYOB that I’ve seen. That’s why it’s the idea to buy a used, inexpensive bike until you’re more experience. If I were buying a bike today I’d probably go for a Ninja 400.
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Dec 13, 2020 03:05
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Did you read the rest of my post? Those are exactly what I am referring to. They’re extremely different from what I understand the rest of the developed world has. They certainly have their value but I am responding to the guy above my post who suggests you do all your gently caress ups at school and buy the bike you want. LimaBiker posted:One thing that i don't completely agree with, is buying something that's not exactly what you want, with the expectation that you will drop it. When doing the tests and practice at the driving school, you'll definitely drop it a few times but you should do those on the school's bike anyway. I won’t poo poo up this thread with a dumb argument though! Buy a bike and have a great time 
Toe Rag fucked around with this message at 04:33 on Dec 13, 2020 |
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Dec 13, 2020 04:26
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right arm posted:make sure you cut them at an angle to leave a fun surprise for the next owner Yeah I hate this. Anyone installing zip ties should own a flush cutter.
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Jan 4, 2021 18:12
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Don’t speed and don’t gun it when the light turns green.
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Jan 8, 2021 17:04
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The bike came with Dunlop GPR-300 which are IMO totally adequate, but I have no real experience with other tires! I think if you bought any other tire you’d be paying a lot more for no real benefit. I just bought a replacement set I am attempting to install today.
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Feb 5, 2021 19:13
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Slavvy posted:Not remotely true, tyres make a humongous difference to feel and handling, all of those small bikes come with awful tyres that have big name branding but small thai sweatshop construction and you can realise an immediate and noticeable improvement just by swapping to something decent. Right I understand that. I wasn’t trying to say the tires don’t matter, just I would be surprised if there is an appreciable difference between $160 and $350 tires to a beginner on a light and low powered bike. I’ve personally never had issues with grip or vagueness and whatnot, but I could also be totally wrong.
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Feb 5, 2021 20:36
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Slavvy posted:The difference is noticeable and huge and you don't need to be anywhere near the traction limit to feel it. Usually cheap poo poo tyres have a very square, bathtub shaped profile that gives reluctant steering and a tendency to resist leaning. Better tyres for small bikes tend to be a lot more triangular in profile to take maximum advantage of the bike's agility whilst giving a more stable feel at high lean - hence my endless stanning for pirelli, the most triangular tyres. I intend this as a question rather than an arguement, but aren't Dunlops fairly pointy/triangular tires as well? That is my understanding. These are the ones I just installed. I'm not sure if you can really tell from a picture, but they don't look bathtub shaped to me. Have you ridden those tires (GPR-300) and thought they were poo poo? One of the main reasons I ordered a second set, besides not having any fault with them, is because I wanted to keep the handling of the bike mostly the same since I am still learning. That and most of the tires on Revzilla in 110/70 and 150/60 are way more expensive.
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Feb 6, 2021 08:12
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T-Shaped posted:It's idiot brain talking, but I can't get over how "plastic transformer" the CB300/R3 look like, even though I know it's a standard and just the way bikes look nowadays. Not that it matters, but I don’t think those bikes are transformer-y at all. CB300R and R3 look great. Z400, MT-03, Duke 390 are definitely in the transformers realm. Tastes are subjective though. And like others have said, it doesn’t matter that much anyway. I didn’t want a faired/sports bike or dual sport when I was first looking, and now those are all I want. Your decision making is currently driven largely by aesthetics. Get something you want of course but you should narrow down to beginner friendly bikes and pick which appeals most/you can find/afford. Since you’re bigger dual sports or sumo might make more sense.
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Mar 18, 2021 07:33
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In San Francisco if you street park your car the bumpers will get scratched to poo poo.
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Mar 19, 2021 00:42
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I suppose it’s possible but would be exceedingly difficult. pokie attempted this and did not succeed. I am under the impression your balance on two wheels is deeply engrained in implicit and muscle memories and not necessarily conscious thought. This will be a lot easier to learn on a 5 (or 30) pound bicycle than a 300+ pound motorcycle.
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Mar 26, 2021 07:13
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 17:44 |
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Carth Dookie posted:First time I got on a road bicycle was surreal since I hadn't ridden a bicycle for years, but had ridden a motorbike continuously for about 10 and my ride was the 1250 bandit at the time. The lightness and speed of the handlebars was quite unnerving for about 20 minutes. The weird part was when I next rode my bandit a few weeks later it felt like an unstable boat for a while until I mentally partitioned the difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle. It's like my subconscious chucked a wobbly because it only had space for controls of one two wheeled vehicle and I kept loving with it. It might be! I'm not a neuroscientist, but I saw this video a couple years ago which I thought was interesting. I apologize for posting viral-y feel-good content. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBlL0 I ride my bicycle almost every day and honestly probably more hours per week/month than my motorcycle. I don't have any problems with crossover or "oh yeah" going from one to the other (code switching, if you will). I do think riding a motorcycle is entirely more dynamically complex, however, even if the physics are essentially the same. I'm surprised someone can learn to ride a motorcycle without knowing how to ride a bike within the confines of an MSF course, but maybe the whole engine thing lets you get to self-stablizing speeds more easily. I wouldn't recommend it, though...
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Mar 27, 2021 03:47
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