|
I had my first legally sanctioned riding lesson yesterday aiming to finally get my licence this summer. The bike is a 2009 650 Versys with ABS. My gear is mostly high-vis and very uncool. I spent about an hour farting around on an empty parking lot (bike was trailered there) followed by a short drive back to the garage through traffic supervised by a friend from work who rides. I'm not afraid of the bike anymore, but very much respectful and painfully aware of how much practice I need to become competent enough not only to get licensed but also to not be a danger to myself or others. I'll need at least some lessons from a professional instructor as well as the mandatory safety and technical courses quite apart from the theoretical stuff - there's no shortcut to the licence here  I've never ridden anything bigger than a 250 before and mostly 125cc off-road two-strokes, most recently 15 years ago, so this was a bit different. I also ride bicycles a lot so I have recently swapped around a lot of brake cables/hoses to try and unlearn a lifetime of having the front brake on the left hand which is standard in my part of the world. Also I've learned that wrenching on motorcycles is fun and easy compared to cars. The bike is in good enough shape (it passed the MOT about 300km ago) but needed some PO fuckery deletes (skid plate, loud exhaust+piggyback ECU, luggage rack/top box). Luckily it came with all the original bits plus a set of frame sliders that are mounted now. All it needs is a new set of tires (Michelin PR4, in the mail) and some new brake fluid and I think it's ready for all I'll use it for this year. I don't know If I'll hang on to it once I'm licensed but I need to be competent on a big bike in order to qualify for the ride-any-motorcycle-you-want licence class, hence the Versys as a first bike. I wanted something relatively tame, fuel injected with ABS around €3000 so that's what I ended up with after failing to find an ER-6n close enough.
|
#
¿
Apr 18, 2021 10:38
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:17 |
|
|
I had my third riding lesson today so I'm the very definition of a newbie. How long does it take until I no longer feel like going to sleep after riding for an hour?
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2021 15:17
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:You need a different set of muscles for riding than other activities. It’s much more about legs, core and arms. You’ll get used to it I think my posture isn't too bad. The only bodily aches I noticed today was the throttle hand which was obviously gripping too hard, the body felt loose otherwise. What makes me tired is mental. It's like the concentration and general sensory overload makes me sleepy and empty-headed afterwards. I made a few sloppy mistakes towards the end of today's session too, nothing dangerous but mistakes nonetheless.
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2021 16:41
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:Ok, I didn’t realize you meant mentally. Keep hydrated, fuel up your body before you ride. Yeah I figured as much. Actually last ride was better than the one before that, the brain is pretty good at filtering stuff out with a bit of practice. We rode for about half an hour to a café and had water, coffee and cinnamon rolls. It seems to be what bikers do when the weather is good - ride somewhere, eat/drink something, ride back. It's just that on the way back I only had about 15 minutes of concentration left in me, the rest was on poorly executed autopilot. Lesson learned. Also drink more water I guess, gear is sweaty. On my way home from my instructor's place where the bike is parked I drove by car along a really twisty back road that is infamous for bikers killing themselves - my instructor refuses to ride this road because of other bikers doing dangerous stuff. I saw a freshly wrecked sports bike on the side of the road. The rider was OK but it was food for thought regardless. I also got passed by a group on choppers, the last two guys passing me in a blind cresting corner where things could have ended badly had there been opposite traffic. Not all riders are terribly smart it would seem. Group rides leading to poor decisions seems to be true.
|
|
#
¿
May 14, 2021 13:59
|
|
|
Last outing I waved at a guy on a veteran moped. My instructor thought that was funny, but I don't think it's right to discriminate based on displacement. Dude waved back too. I still smile when I think back on that ride. The weather was perfect and I got to pick a route on twisty little used rural roads that I knew about from driving them. So much fun, never went above third gear in the twisty bits. I still got mental overload, lost concentration and got sleepy afterwards but my focus lasted more than an hour this time so it's getting better. We still haven't been on the highway but I'm not in any particular rush to try that out. Need to give it a go before my licence exam ride though so I at least know what it's like. I haven't worn earplugs while riding yet but I'm gonna try that next time we ride roads and I'll wear them when I go on the highway for sure. Next outing is probably gonna be low speed practice. Not super fun but necessary.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 2, 2021 11:06
|
|
|
I'm progressing towards my licence in the Swedish system. This included a mandatory full day of "risk education". Half the day was theoretical, we talked a bunch about gear and accident statistics. The other half day was something akin to a BRC I guess. Bunch of people on CB600's, two young guys on some type of 125's, someone on something in between power-wise depending on what level of licence we're aiming for. -We spent a bunch of time convincing a couple of the participants that counter steering is indeed how you turn a motorcycle (pop into neutral at speed, hands off the bars, try to turn with weight shift, also brake with just one hand on the bar and see what happens etc. -We got to do a bunch of braking, including on gravel. The exercises seemed to be designed to teach us to trust the ABS to save us pretty much. -We got to give passenger rides to the instructors on a go-kart track, where they demonstrated what happens when the passenger does the right thing vs. the wrong thing. My passenger was more than 100 kg so the effect was dramatic. -They demonstrated that a loaded truck can outbreak a motorcycle. We then got to sit in the truck and see where the visibility dead zones are. That was food for thought for sure. -We got to try to take an impossible corner (speed too high) and see where we ran out of the cones doing various things (trail braking, clutch dumping, engine braking and steady throttle input). It was unpleasant but good to try. -They also demonstrated that it's hard to judge distance/time of merge to a motorcycle, especially when it's accelerating. -The day ended with a race from the far end of the track back to the bike parking. Slowest rider wins, feet down disqualifies. I finished second and was pretty stoked since the winner was on a 125 and I tell myself that it should be easier on one of those. I'm sure I've forgotten something else that we did that was neat, it's been a few weeks. A couple of students crashed but nobody got hurt, all in all it was a good and very sweaty day. I've also taken a couple of professional lessons on the track, practicing mainly the three things I'll need to demonstrate on my check ride with the inspector from the DOT - the slow speed manoeuvring track, the high speed manoeuvring track (swerve, slalom, braking, u-turn) and the high speed braking test. Braking is hard to fail at once I learned to brace properly since all the bikes have ABS, though it's fun/hard to try to outperform the computer by a bike length by finding the limit of grip. On the low speed and high speed tracks I succeeded 2/3 of my attempts or so last time, so I still need more practice. I don't want to need luck on the exam. Apart from this I've gone on a bunch of practice rides on roads and streets with my amateur instructor on the Versys 650. I'm starting to feel pretty comfortable on the bike, it pretty much goes where I want it to go without too much thought so I can focus on traffic and the route ahead, speed limits and cancelling my turn signals and those kind of things. Compared to the hornets at the riding school the versys feels pretty mild and relaxing. Less power, more upright posture and greater steering lock mainly, also a rough clutch cable that should be replaced. My instructor lives where there's a bunch of gravel road infrastructure related to the rail network with absolutely no traffic, so I practice low speed skills there. Slow figure 8's and whatnot on bumpy gravel is hard but learning on it makes the tarmac at the test track feel easy so it's good exercise I think. Last sessions I did a bunch of no feet down starts and stops going uphill (my clutch/throttle control and low speed balance needs improvement) and I lost control and dropped the bike for the first time. No injuries or bike damage, it actually felt more liberating than anything once I got over the feeling of humiliation. My instructor has suggested that dropping the bike once or twice at low speed would be good for me and help me relax a bit at low speed, so she was happy that I finally did it.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 30, 2021 09:10
|
|
|
Phy posted:God, just that "entering a corner too hot on purpose" exercise would be so useful MomJeans420 posted:I had a ~110kg passenger before just to give him a ride around the block and dramatic is a pretty good description I suspect that the slight tweaks to driver/rider education over the last decades are part of vision zero, which ironically riders have been critical against since it among other things involves installation of a bunch of wire barriers that riders fear getting tangled up in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LMg7MM3Nlk When I learned to drive in the late 90's things were ever so slightly different, the "risk education" wasn't called that back then and consisted of provoking skids in a low friction environment and learning to cope with understeer, oversteer and threshold braking in ABS-less beater cars. The skid pad is still mandatory in driver's education but there's also a theoretical seminar and some other practical stuff that wasn't part of the package back then. When I decided to start riding and got a standard ~600cc as a learner bike (which is the common buying advice in my country) this forum made me question this decision - gopros were mentioned IIRC. Now I'm thinking that it's absolutely possible to be safe on a relatively heavy/powerful bike from the get-go provided you get properly educated. I'm grateful that I am forced to get passable fundamental skills in order to get my licence, hopefully it will be a good foundation to safely progress from as a rider once I'm out there on my own without any further guidance. The drawback is that it's a slow and expensive process. €2000 or so for the education and exams alone is a ballpark figure commonly mentioned - I might get by with 1500 when it's all over since I ride a lot with my amateur instructor who's a friend and works for the love of riding more or less, also I do the theory studies on my own, lots of people buy classroom time for that. I pay about a dollar a minute to be out on the track on the CB600 and I figure I'll need about four more hours of that. I haven't even been on a street ride with a professional instructor yet, but I figure I'll need a couple of those sessions as well.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 1, 2021 10:14
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:I can't think of a better single cylinder learner bike that isn't an enduro, that you can buy today (2t 125 is the all-time gold standard obv). All the others are either twins, or air cooled and ancient, or orange. Newbie questions: Why are the orange bikes bad? Also what about small BMWs? My selection criteria besides not too heavy or powerful are not being too off-roady, standard riding position, fuel injection, ABS and under €4000. Should I consider Japanese bikes exclusively? (The local market has very few used bikes around 250-400cc other than the orange ones. It's either 125's that qualify for the A1 licence or something that falls under the A2 class, meaning sub 35kW of power and no more than 0.2kW/kg of bike mass. The A2 bikes are usually 500-800cc, often more powerful bikes nerfed with power restriction devices. The licence I hope to possess in exactly a week is A=unrestricted but riding an A2 for a while seems prudent anyway)
|
|
#
¿
Aug 2, 2021 08:28
|
|
|
I just passed my riding exam this morning. I was super nervous but managed well enough to pass anyway. So now I'm licenced to ride all by myself without the yellow vest of shame, which feels pretty great. My very generous brother will let me ride his versys 650 for the time being, but I need to get my own ride come spring at the latest. Hopefully used bike prices will drop significantly when the weather turns bad like they usually do from what I've heard.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 9, 2021 12:52
|
|
|
Since I managed to get my licence with one single vacation day left I spend most of today in the saddle (with breaks obvs). I rode in heavy traffic, twisties, highway, gravel roads that were sometimes more like trails - pretty much anything and everything. Good times were had. It's liberating not to have an instructor right behind you and inside your helmet over the radio. I reflected more than once that the education I've received is good and comprehensive, and the only times anything felt at all out of control was when I disregarded what I've been taught. "Remember your training" is probably the main thing I'll try to keep in mind going forward so I don't pick up any bad habits from here on. Despite said training I nearly dropped the bike when I attempted a tight U-turn in first gear and had no power available when I needed it since I was actually in neutral. I also got rained on a bunch at the end but I had brought rain gear which worked fine. Even the boots and gloves held up which was a pleasant surprise. The only issue was a bit of fogging at low speed with the visor fully closed. I also learned that I really, really like earplugs on the highway but not so much on slower sections. Best to protect my hearing regardless I guess.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 10, 2021 19:07
|
|
|
I went and looked at a bike today. It was a Yamaha FZ6 with ABS from 2006 with about 15.000 km on it. It looked really well taken care of and bone stock as far as I could tell. The seller liked me enough to offer a test ride after chatting for a bit. I was a bit apprehensive due to the power available but it was very mild mannered at the rev range where I kept it, very similar to the Honda CB600's I've ridden at the riding school. Just like the hornets I'm sure It's fast way beyond my skill level if given the beans in the power band. I never went there though since the ABS wasn't working. This seemed to surprise the seller greatly as the bike has been sitting since it passed the MOT-ish inspection not long ago. I told him to contact me if he figured out what was wrong with it and left it at that. Two Yamaha-related questions for those who know things: -When trying to provoke a front wheel skid to figure out if the ABS was truly inoperable, I managed to lift the rear wheel off the ground. I never managed to do this on the honda hornets even when braking at maximum from all sorts of speeds. Was this because I used no rear brake, going downhill ever so slightly, awesome tires/sticky tarmac, inoperable ABS, different chassis geometry from the hondas, bad posture, any combination of these factors or something else entirely? It took me by surprise since I've never done a stoppie before and I can't say I liked it much. -The tires on the bike (pilot road 3) looked almost unused, but they're not new. The date on them said 2017. How old is too old? Apart from the hard seat and broken ABS I really like the bike and would like to ride it more. Smooth engine, nice riding position (at least for a short ride), suspension and steering felt great, there's a center stand, it looks kind of neat from some angles I guess, it didn't feel too heavy or awkward or anything like that. It's way more bike than I need or necessarily want but there's a nerf kit available should I choose to go down that route. Also within my budget, cheap insurance etc. Not a model I had considered before I saw the ad but it was nearby and rave reviews from fans on the internet made me go check it out anyways. Also a BMW-question: Is the F650GS from the early aughts a P.O.S to be avoided or something to consider? Single cylinder so very unsmooth, but from what I hear easy to ride, mild mannered and practical. Also cheap. Also rumored to have lolBMW waterpump issues, head bearing issues, electrical gremlins and whatever else, but I figure if a nice example has survived for 20 years already it would probably survive another few years with me...?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2021 15:24
|
|
|
LimaBiker posted:An FZ6 is not a good beginners bike imho. If it's anything like my own fzr600 (they sound quite similar, though the old thing has carbs and the new one doesn't), they will pop power wheelies happily without much provocation. Although at 'car revs' it's a gentle as gently caress bike, if you happen to stray beyond that, it takes off way quicker than at least i myself would have been able to handle after getting my lessons on a CB500f which felt really fast at the time. I've only ever been on 125's and once on a 250 a long time ago, apart from a versys 650, the school's cb600's and the FZ6 I tried briefly today. The used marked for Japanese 300-500cc bikes with ABS at my price point where I live is poo poo. Any of them I can afford ATM are all orange. The rest are bigger bikes that have been nerfed for A2 compliance. The nerf kit for the FZ6 seems to be a simple throttle movement limiter BTW. But yes, smaller, lighter and reasonably powerful for a novice sounds good to me too.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2021 16:28
|
|
|
There's a Duke 390 from 2014 with 15.000 km on it about two hours away that's well within budget. Looks like it would be loads of non-scary fun. Imma send the dude a message. Then Slavvy is gonna tell me I'm making a huge mistake and the Indian pot metal crankcase will grenade on me for sure or something.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2021 17:58
|
|
|
Yeah, I don't want the FZ6. That thing will bite my head off and I'll be too scared of it to have fun and learn. I also don't want something that will break, or something I'll always worry will break. I guess it's probably gonna be an ER6 after all unless I get lucky and find something smaller that fits the bill.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2021 19:49
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:Noooo don't do this, I don't know you but I still know you deserve better. Better how, exactly? (I've never tried an ER6, is it bad because it sucks or because it will kill me?) I can get a cb400 from 1982. I'm still resolved to get something with ABS (slightly less firm on fuel injection) so that's no good. LimaBiker posted:Perhaps try to find something dualsport-y? The dualsporty thing more or less means a f650GS at my current budget. Hyosung means a 650 without ABS which is what I'm trying to avoid I've just finished the full power licence tier training in about 30 hours, including hard acceleration and braking drills and swerve drills and slalom drills and hooning around a gokart track and bunch of low speed drills, except my riding school had honda cb600's. I can ride one of those safely and well enough to pass with some margin but nowhere near "well", which I guess is the problem I'd like to get away from without dying. I suppose I could just not buy a bike this year, save up more money and get a Japanese A2 class bike like a CB500 come spring. Very sad if so, possibly very smart.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2021 20:30
|
|
|
Steakandchips posted:Get that 82 CB400. If there were any within striking distance I'd go have a look. Sadly all three I can find right now are quite a ways away and one of them looks way too nice and the seller wants real money for it. I'd rather have a beater regardless of what I end up with honestly. I guess the smart thing is to be patient, keep looking for a Good Bike, borrow my brother's versys 650 every now and then and ignore my aching heart that wants to ride everywhere every day all the time because motorcycles are THE BEST MOST FUN THING EVER.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2021 20:54
|
|
|
Me being married to the ABS idea is partly how I (possibly erroneously) interpret accident statistics, partly because all my training has been on ABS bikes and I haven't learned how to brake properly without it. I'm confident I could learn this skill, and on something like an old cb400 the prospect of learning doesn't feel intimidating. I'm less confident that I could remember how to do it properly in a panic situation if one should ever arise - being able to just grab all the brakes in terror seems like a Very Good Thing, but I'm a newbie so what the hell do I know.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2021 21:24
|
|
|
Midjack posted:If you're consistently activating the ABS when you apply the brakes you haven't learned to brake properly, like at all. This is the way they train riders, sadly. Probably the dumbest part of the education imo. The inspector from the DOT can't tell if ABS is activated or not, only whether it's effective braking with a controlled posture, so the schools don't encourage you to learn anything about braking beyond what you need to pass. It is a for-profit license mill after all. Doesn't mean I haven't been practicing and will keep practicing.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2021 22:09
|
|
|
LimaBiker posted:I have no idea how powerful those bmw f650 things are. I'd wager that those aren't too bad, especially if you've done your lessons on a powerful-ish bike. But i have never been on one so ymmv. Ah yes, the BMW:  Built between 2000-2008. Single cylinder four-valve with 50 hp. 5-speed gearbox. The fuel goes in the seat and the "tank" holds the dry sump oil reservoir, really low CG. They weigh in at 175/192 kilograms dry/wet according to wikipedia, 185 wet according to the Swedish DOT. There's also a less common more off-roady "Dakar" version with larger wheels and taller suspension. Invalido fucked around with this message at 08:46 on Aug 16, 2021 |
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2021 07:52
|
|
|
Thank you all for the guidance. I don't want to make a regretful decision here. I'm sure I could live with the BMW but equally sure there's a better bike for me out there. Good news! There's a 2014 ninja 300 like ten minutes away that is sort of within budget. It's been sportified with rear footpegs and clipon steering and a smoked windscreen and an aftermarket exhaust and whatever else, but it seems like the original parts are still with the bike. The ad doesn't specify ABS (which must be why I haven't seen it sooner since it's an older ad) but I can clearly see the perforated rings and sensors in the pictures. I'll go check it out for sure if the guy cooperates.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2021 21:14
|
|
|
Martytoof posted:Use the aftermarket parts until you drop it, then replace them with the OEM parts once you do. windscreen and muffler (unless obnoxious) and such, sure. However I'm not as young as I once was so I think regular footpegs and handlebars are probably better for someone like me. Also maybe frame sliders if I end up getting that particular bike, it looks mint in the pictures. Would be better if it had some dents and scratches already but what can you do. Looking at reviews of the model it seems like just the thing. Slipper clutch even! I've learned to revmatch decently but I don't get it right every time and forgiving is good.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2021 22:16
|
|
|
sadly the guy just sold it so I'll never know what he meant by clipons. Also he suggested without me asking in his reply that should consider getting an ER6 instead of a ninja 300 since my license allows it. Opinions differ I guess. Invalido fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Aug 16, 2021 |
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2021 22:32
|
|
|
Yeah it's sort of mandatory. Made a promise to the wife I wouldn't ride without it, or full gear. Let's just say she's not as into motorcycles as I am. I'm not opposed to a little dual sport at all. I'll just keep looking I guess.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2021 22:43
|
|
|
Hell even I have managed to outperform the ABS a few times. By about a bike length stopping from 50mph or so so it's pretty marginal and not consistent but I know it's possible. Most of my two wheel braking experience comes from bicycles, so I'm pretty used to threshold braking, locking up the front for a bit without falling and such. Since I swapped all my brake handles on all my bikes to front-right configuration it's a skill that translates at least a little bit, especially on my fairly fast electric MTB commuter bike with suspension and fat tires that don't load up quite as fast as my other pedal bikes. Where I realize I really suck on an MC is with the rear brake. I'm simply not good (yet) at modulating brake pressure with my foot on a bike, or knowing intuitively how much useful grip there is on the rear at any given moment. But yeah, the two cases where I think it's decidedly very good to have is in cases of unforeseen lack of grip or an unexpected emergency where the rider isn't capable of thinking clearly. Even a very skilled rider can't foresee everything, or perform at the top of his/her skill level all the time. I'm talking road riding here and not track, obviously.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2021 10:54
|
|
|
Steakandchips posted:You'll be fine with a small bike without ABS to learn on. Probably. But statistically I'm significantly less likely to die or get seriously injured with ABS. If I had no wife or children I would probably take my chances but I don't think I'm gonna as things are. I think I'd rather stretch my self-imposed first bike budget upwards a grand or so and get that ninja 300 or R3 or CB500(x?) or something along those lines. There's a few ninjas and an R3 within geographical range priced a little too high to sell and the odds of getting one of those at a more reasonable price I'm willing to pay probably improve as the weather worsens. I figure I can probably sell such a bike without making a big loss in a year or two or whenever I'm ready for something else unless I wreck it, and it's not like it's huge money anyways in the grand scheme of things. It's just that my personal play money fund got severely depleted from riding lessons and gear and some tools I bought recently. I just had a really weird conversation. I contacted a previously close friend from long ago whom I haven't been properly in touch with for years, since I knew he rides and wanted to hear his opinion on a few things. We talked for a bit and he's like "I just bought a harley so you can totally borrow my old 2007 BMW R 1200 GS ADV to tide you over until you get your own bike". It's an extremely generous offer but I don't think I'd be very happy on a beastly thing like that. I think I'd still like to try it if only briefly on a parking lot or something though since it would expand my understanding of bikes, which people have told me is good for a newbie.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2021 13:46
|
|
|
Is there any reason I shouldn't get a 2015 CRB300R compared to say a ninja300 or an R3? (I'm 184cm so not super tall but not short either if that makes any difference.)
|
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2021 20:47
|
|
|
Thanks. I sent the seller a message, maybe something comes of it.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2021 20:57
|
|
|
So I bought a 2015 CBR300R today. It's black and has about 3500 miles on it and I think I'm in love. I want to thank all you wise people ITT who convinced me to get a small bike. Most people I know IRL advised a 600, but after only two hours in the saddle I'm convinced they're all terribly wrong and you people are right. Sure it's low power. Some more power would be nice at times but it has enough and enough is plenty. I didn't get it until I took it to the twisties, but I think I get it now. Or at least I'm beginning to get it. I could write a wall of text about my impressions about those two hours I've ridden today but I won't. I'll just say that the main thing I've learned today is that riding without fear is the only way to ride.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 21, 2021 21:39
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:words How large is a "very large" roundabout? The biggest one in the city seems to be 150m in diameter, but that's all the way across town. The one right next to home is only 50m across. Ideally I'd like to be able to do what you suggest without going enough above the speed limit to risk my licence. I foresee some very late night or very early morning riding regardless of where I go in order to get this done. I've seen that Laguna Seca video before, but I didn't understand what I was looking at. It's inspiring for sure. But yes, I'm lots faster already on this slow bike than I ever dared to go on a faster one. I was pretty sure for a while there that my speedo was way out of whack since the numbers seemed absurd compared to my sensation of speed. Also all the cars I saw were going really slow for some reason, never experienced that before. The speedo seems accurate to within a few percent so it's all in my head. Brains are weird.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 22, 2021 00:19
|
|
|
Jazzzzz posted:Skip the motrin (ibuprofen) and eat a benadryl (diphenhydramine), but only one of them. If you've lived with motion sickness your whole life you probably already know this trick Yeah, there's a couple of different antihistamines sold for the purpose that help. They also make me drowsy and dumber than normal. Warning labels mention slower reactions and stuff like vision alternations. Fine for being a passenger but not great for riding or driving. What I find works at least to some extent (and there's some actual empirical data backing this up) is large quantities of ginger, so that's what I've been using before doing track riding lessons where brake drills were a thing. I think I'll probably use it every day when riding is possible from now on so I can brake practice more when an opportunity presents itself.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 22, 2021 07:35
|
|
|
OK so I'm about to go to work soon and the thermometer says 6 degrees. That's 42 degrees american. It's only going to get worse. The only aftermarket mod I'm seriously considering for this bike is heated grips. Worth it? I figure I can't learn if I don't ride and having cold hands suck. I have lots of warmer gloves since I pedal bike commute all year round but I these offer little crash protection and heated grips are probably cheaper than a set of really warm motorcycle gloves.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 23, 2021 05:34
|
|
|
Steakandchips posted:Oxford Heated Grips are honestly life changing. They are fantastic and you should get some immediately. Thanks, I will. Just need to make sure I get the right model. Oxford themselves aren't being very helpful but it seems I have a choice between "touring", "adventure" and "sport" and that it basically comes down to length if I've understood things correctly. Invalido fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Aug 23, 2021 |
|
#
¿
Aug 23, 2021 08:29
|
|
|
Yes keeping the core warm is crucial. Wind deflectors for the hands might be hard on a sports bike i dunno. My experience from low temps winter bike riding is that fingers and toes are the hardest to keep warm even if the core temp is good. I'm talking at temps down to -15C which is my pain limit, though motorcycle riding at those temps will have to wait until I get a dual sport on studded tires I think. That I don't care if it rusts because road salt is a thing. So maybe never  The grips I have now are 120mm but it looks like there's room for 125 or so. "Touring" is 120mm untrimmed and "sport" is 123 (can be cut down to 114), so that one is probably at the sweet spot. Also delivery tomorrow from Amazon for like €80. Imma doit.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 23, 2021 12:37
|
|
|
Are there any negative consequences of habitually bump starting a motorcycle? My parking and living situation makes it effortless and quite safe. I like to roll slowly for about 40 meters down a narrow lane past my neighbor's windows without starting the engine when I leave (noise and cold engine exhaust smell is what I'm thinking others might object to since I don't like these things myself). When I reach the street I have enough speed to bump start in second should I choose to.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2021 11:44
|
|
|
Steakandchips posted:I don't see why it would be bad, but you have electric start anyway, so why bother with the extra effort of bumping it? That's the thing, it's literally no extra effort at all. My parking spot ramps down to the lane. The lane is slightly downhill so I carry enough speed to stay balanced while coasting slowly all the way to the street, which is where I start my engine to spare my neighbors any noise or exhaust in the early mornings, because it's no inconvenience to me so I just do it out of courtesy. When I hit the street and start my engine I have enough speed to go straight into second so it's no harder to not use the starter button and just start the engine that way, which is why I can see it becoming a habit, thus the question posted. HenryJLittlefinger posted:Learn how to do it because you will almost certainly have to do it at some point.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2021 20:10
|
|
|
First tends to lock up the wheels and not work on cars at least and driver's ed teaches to use second so that's what I doSlavvy posted:Bike can't tell the difference between a bump, a crank or a kick so go hard.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2021 20:28
|
|
|
I really like my little honda. I ride it to work because it's nice at slow speeds and in traffic. I went on a three hour trip last evening after work and it was all great except a bit of numb butt but whatever. I've gotten unsolicited advice from random parking lot bike dude that I'll totally outgrow it super fast and he's a newb too but already wants a literbike but I don't care, he doesn't get it. I took it on a benchmark twisty section that I rode lots on the school's 600cc bikes and corners that felt scary at 60km/h were totally fine at 75. I know it's all in my head but that doesn't make it any less real. I passed some other riders who were going way slow like they were on tiptoe and I realised that I used to be those people just a week ago. I also got passed by a dadbike like I was standing still so that goes to show how much I'm still leaving on the table. That's fine, I'll get there when I get there. Every roundabout is an opportunity to take an extra lap or two. Every time there's nobody behind me I can do a brake drill. Every red light means I get to revmatch on every downshift. Every green light and onramp means I get to redline it. It's just plain old fun all the time pretty much. The bike also lets me get away with all sorts of dumb things without any real consequences. Part of me thinks this will make me sloppy but I feel comfortable taking this thing anywhere and it hasn't scared me once and more riding will surely build more skill. Hopefully the mistakes will become less severe and less frequent with routine. It's fantastic not to be on edge all the time and just throw the bike around like I know what I'm doing, which I don't. Thanks again for saving me from the stupidity of myself and others, bike forum.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2021 20:20
|
|
|
Are there any useful technical pointers or best practice for controlled throttle blips when downshifting while using the front brake?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 31, 2021 15:12
|
|
|
Oh I get that. It's just hard to modulate throttle and brake precisely at the same time with a single hand. Two fingers on the brake and a good posture seems to help but it's early days and I don't want to learn bad habit if I can avoid it.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 31, 2021 17:14
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:17 |
|
|
Yeah this will take a while to master for sure. The upside is I can practice it all the time on my commute which has a lot of otherwise boring stop-and-go. My thin gloves help which I can wear a lot more since I installed heated grips. The next time I buy a pair they will be properly pre-curved.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 31, 2021 17:50
|
|