You can also get waterproof pants and a waterproof pullover baggy enough to fit over your riding clothes.
Haha, I just have water resist gear.
In light rain, it's great. Works a treat.
On the other hand, after 15 minutes in heavy rain a puddle of water forms in the little hmm... "valley" that's formed by my legs hugging the bike. For all intents and purposes, that part of my pants is submerged in water.
I am usually informed of this situation by a cold, wet feeling in my crotch area. Looks a bit.. uhh.. compromising afterwards. =P
Man, I want a bike someday. I just need to convice my wife that I will not kill myself after getting one.
It really doesn't help that I have a Harley dealership right down the road from me.
[snip]motorcycle[/snip]
Someday. Maybe.
I'm lucky, my fiance actually wants me to get a bike. I'm just waiting til we get our credit card down a little and the weather starts to pick back up.
Actually, that brings me to another question--how well do bikes work as commuters in a place that actually has seasons? Like, how much rain will it take to totally shut me down? Cause Baltimore gets a decent amount of rain all year around.
I would be more worried about snow and ice. Around me motorcylces are unusable about six months out of the year.
Man, I want a bike someday. I just need to convice my wife that I will not kill myself after getting one.
It really doesn't help that I have a Harley dealership right down the road from me.
[snip]motorcycle[/snip]
Someday. Maybe.
I'm lucky, my fiance actually wants me to get a bike. I'm just waiting til we get our credit card down a little and the weather starts to pick back up.
Actually, that brings me to another question--how well do bikes work as commuters in a place that actually has seasons? Like, how much rain will it take to totally shut me down? Cause Baltimore gets a decent amount of rain all year around.
I would be more worried about snow and ice. Around me motorcylces are unusable about six months out of the year.
Luckily its not that bad down here. We only get a handful of snow days. Ice is a bit more common, but they keep everything salted to all hell on the roads and highways.
what is a good argument for wearing protective gear every time you ride, even when it is hot
or is that overkill
by gear I mean jacket and pants
Uh, you are just as likely to fall when it's hot out as when it's cold out?
I wear at a minimum my helmet, jacket, gloves, and jeans with hiking shoes every time I go out. If I am planning on hitting a major highway or freeway, I also go with my riding pants and boots.
unfortunately, the "duh common sense" argument does not prevail for me
Consider this industrial belt sander:
Only fitted with something as coarse as this:
Then ask yourself:
Would you want to press your whole body weight down on that for about 20 seconds, while it spins at 60mph?
In all seriousness though, the damage that can be dealt to a human body sliding on asphalt is absolutely unbelievable.
There are lots of protective gear that doesn't get as hot as a full leather outfit. Nowadays there are types of reinforced jeans that are on par or better than regular leather. Breathing jackets etcetera. Asking and/or googling around will surely net results.
Riding in the rain isn't a big deal with proper gear. The bigger issue is the cagers.
Indeed. It seems that the ones who normally go 80 still go 80, and the ones that normally go 60 slow down to about 40.
Err, but you should slow down 10-15 mph from top speed in the rain, since that maintains an approximately constant stopping distance. Or are you saying that the guys still doing 80 are killing everyone?
Riding in the rain isn't a big deal with proper gear. The bigger issue is the cagers.
Indeed. It seems that the ones who normally go 80 still go 80, and the ones that normally go 60 slow down to about 40.
Err, but you should slow down 10-15 mph from top speed in the rain, since that maintains an approximately constant stopping distance. Or are you saying that the guys still doing 80 are killing everyone?
He's saying that there are people that drive to the conditions, and there are people that don't. The people that don't also incidentally happen to be the people who drive too fast in the first place.
Riding in the rain isn't a big deal with proper gear. The bigger issue is the cagers.
Indeed. It seems that the ones who normally go 80 still go 80, and the ones that normally go 60 slow down to about 40.
Err, but you should slow down 10-15 mph from top speed in the rain, since that maintains an approximately constant stopping distance. Or are you saying that the guys still doing 80 are killing everyone?
He's saying that there are people that drive to the conditions, and there are people that don't. The people that don't also incidentally happen to be the people who drive too fast in the first place.
So not only do they have a reduced stopping distance because of the rain, they are much more likely to cause an accident by slamming into one of the people who are (correctly) going slower than they normally would be. There's a big variation in speeds people are going, which is way more dangerous than the rain was in the first place.
Less safety related: Anyone want to suggest some top and/or side luggage? I'm thinking about getting the JC Whitney topcase, and maybe some aluminum side cases. The Happy Trails ones are really popular, but f'in expensive (~$700 for the racks and the boxes).
Woot a motorcycle thread. This is my current [URL="[IMG]http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff327/TeflonBillyBH/img_0064.jpg[/IMG]"]baby[/URL] a SV650s. I took off the side fairing to give it the street fighter look. I put on a 2 brother racing slipon to give it a deep rumble. My first baby was a Bandit 1250. That was my first mistake. I was to squid and the bike was too big. This is the sad results. I like my current bike it is a good starter bike. Enough power to munch road but not enough to go back in time. I've been riding for 1.5 year.
When I got my SV650 she was already been through a wreck. I been fixing her up for the last 6 months. I just put some frame slider on her. A must if you plan on riding on the streets in my book. If you have to drop the bike I rather have the pucks take the brunt of the fall. I did take the MSF course at my community college. It was well worth the money. This is my current helmet a real plus if you like riding with music. I ride with a textile armor jacket and I have some Hooligan Denim pants. For winter I have a Joe Rocket leather jacket with insulated riding paints. I also have a heated gortex riding vest I use for winter.
I do most of my own work on the bike. The biking community in Vegas is pretty close and generally will help with minor to mid range work.
Mega Playboy on
Trying to help out my step dad check out his youtube channel
Less safety related: Anyone want to suggest some top and/or side luggage? I'm thinking about getting the JC Whitney topcase, and maybe some aluminum side cases. The Happy Trails ones are really popular, but f'in expensive (~$700 for the racks and the boxes).
This is what I am using not as nice but it suit my needs Doc. I has bungie cords on the bottom to keep it in place. Just be sure to untie the knots and retie it so that the cords are super tight.
Mega Playboy on
Trying to help out my step dad check out his youtube channel
Riding in the rain isn't a big deal with proper gear. The bigger issue is the cagers.
In Houston, we have a lot of problems with ponding and pick-em-up trucks leaving large wakes like the QE2. Generally, people just DON'T slow down here, and there are just too many light trucks and SUVs that think that clearance means that they don't gotta worry about hydroplaning. I don't ride in the rain here. I also don't ride the highways here, unless I'm well out of the city, and even then, not the interstates.
The only time i have had a concern about standing water was when I was running pure track/street tires. I am rocking some Pirelli hyper touring tires because I ride a lot and buying new rubber every 3-4 months was getting old. Michelin Road/Road 2CTs, Dunlop Roadsmarts, Pirelli Stradas are perfect for riding in wet weather and avoiding hydro planing in standing water.
I put 44 miles on the Harley then broke my neck (as well as a bunch of other shit) in a car wreck. Was pressured by friends, family, everyone under the sun, to sell my Harley.
I put 44 miles on the Harley then broke my neck (as well as a bunch of other shit) in a car wreck. Was pressured by friends, family, everyone under the sun, to sell my Harley.
Today I went riding for about 90 minutes in preparation of some riding I was going to do this evening with a couple buddies. We met up and headed out, planning on riding for a couple hours, stopping in the middle to get food. We got about to the half way point and I noticed the guys weren't in my mirror. They were there at the light (half a mile ago) so I stopped to see what was up, and turned around. They're pulled over on the side of the road I pull up like "what the fuck?" and he's like "it died"
How a motorcycle dies while in 2nd gear, and loses power so we can't start it again, is confusing as hell to me. We take a look figuring it has to be some electronic issue but can't figure it out in the gas station, and have a buddy with a truck come pick up the bike. We were there for about 45 minutes, some of the time with a cop who pulled over to see what was up (and he talked about he had a CBR and was "chicken shit" because he wouldn't take it above 130mph).
We loaded up the bike, headed back, and took a look in the guy's driveway. I rode home a little disappointed in our trip and got a text on the way home "blown fuse." That put a motorcycle out of business. Boo.
I put 44 miles on the Harley then broke my neck (as well as a bunch of other shit) in a car wreck. Was pressured by friends, family, everyone under the sun, to sell my Harley.
Haven't ridden since.
Like a Harley vs Car wreck?
Nah, just regular run of the mill car wreck (was a passenger). Buddy was driving 90 in his town car and we flipped off an elevated highway. I was belted, he wasn't.
At any rate, I'm seriously thinking about picking up another bike. But I'm very much a casual rider. I don't care for long trips and don't like going on highways. People just don't pay attention to bikers, especially now that the subset of morons that used to be simply talking on their phones have graduated to texting.
I'm more into just taking it easy on back roads. Leisurely, 20 minute rides, that sort of thing. So I'm more inclined to pick up a cheapo bike for cruising around town.
That Honda I had was the perfect bike for the sort of riding I do. Wish I hadn't sold it.
I put 44 miles on the Harley then broke my neck (as well as a bunch of other shit) in a car wreck. Was pressured by friends, family, everyone under the sun, to sell my Harley.
Haven't ridden since.
Like a Harley vs Car wreck?
Nah, just regular run of the mill car wreck (was a passenger). Buddy was driving 90 in his town car and we flipped off an elevated highway. I was belted, he wasn't.
At any rate, I'm seriously thinking about picking up another bike. But I'm very much a casual rider. I don't care for long trips and don't like going on highways. People just don't pay attention to bikers, especially now that the subset of morons that used to be simply talking on their phones have graduated to texting.
I'm more into just taking it easy on back roads. Leisurely, 20 minute rides, that sort of thing. So I'm more inclined to pick up a cheapo bike for cruising around town.
That Honda I had was the perfect bike for the sort of riding I do. Wish I hadn't sold it.
I'd love to sell you my bike, and wouldn't you know it, the bike I want is in buffalo.
We loaded up the bike, headed back, and took a look in the guy's driveway. I rode home a little disappointed in our trip and got a text on the way home "blown fuse." That put a motorcycle out of business. Boo.
I asked about this and was told that there is a fuse from the key switch to the ignition, and the switch normally acts like a relay. Odds are that's the fuse that got blown, so now you know that you might want to keep a spare fuse on your bike in the event that it ever happens to you :P
Barrakketh on
Rollers are red, chargers are blue....omae wa mou shindeiru
Most bikes should have 1 or 2 spare fuses in the fuse box. If not as the poster above said keep some on hand.
We might have had spare fuses on hand, the issue was really just not being able to find it in the gas station parking lot. We were kinda distracted by the cop and basically me making fun of him the whole time until our tow got there.
That motorcycle must be like three stories tall. Did you have to get it custom made?
It's pretty ridiculous. If you go into a dealership, they usually line it up with the sport bikes just because of the overall look. It's about six inches taller in the seat than the rest of them. It doesn't sound like much, but it sticks out like a sore thumb.
That motorcycle must be like three stories tall. Did you have to get it custom made?
It's pretty ridiculous. If you go into a dealership, they usually line it up with the sport bikes just because of the overall look. It's about six inches taller in the seat than the rest of them. It doesn't sound like much, but it sticks out like a sore thumb.
A lot of BMWs look like that too. They have a very upright posture with a sport bike appearance.
I just got my first motorcycle a 2009 Ninja 650r. I bought the bike before I had a drivers license but had all ready completed the MSF course, most people found it weird that I didn't have one even though I'm 22. I didn't realize how fucking hard it would be to buy a bike with no drivers license until about half-way through the process. Kind of funny that at this point I have ridden a motorcycle more then I have drove a car.
That motorcycle must be like three stories tall. Did you have to get it custom made?
It's pretty ridiculous. If you go into a dealership, they usually line it up with the sport bikes just because of the overall look. It's about six inches taller in the seat than the rest of them. It doesn't sound like much, but it sticks out like a sore thumb.
A lot of BMWs look like that too. They have a very upright posture with a sport bike appearance.
That also applies to the Kawasaki Versys as well as most semi-faired standards, though standards in general are something of a rarity here in the States.
Barrakketh on
Rollers are red, chargers are blue....omae wa mou shindeiru
A few months back my sister was riding my bike (Ninja 250), went too fast around a turn, put on the brakes, and high sided. Luckily she wasn't going TOO fast, it was just a really sharp turn she wasn't prepared for, and it fell off the road onto some dirt. Luckily nothing essential got damaged, including my sister, just a few bruises, but the whole front end got pretty fucked up. Knocked the forks out of alignment, broke the front bracket, broke the headlightlight, broke the glass on the instrument panel, broke a turning signal, and broke the clutch lever.
Thanks to some spit polish and elbow grease, everything got sort of back together. The light works but doesn't point quite straight, and we had to tape up the glass. Had to bend the bracket a lot to get everything to fit right, used a bunch of zip ties to hold things where bolt holes had broken. It looked fantastically ghetto.
Then the front bracket broke some more, on a weld, so some duct tape to hold the metal previously welded together in the same spot and a bungee cord to hold the left side of the bracket to the right side. So we're still in business!
It broke in another place and now it's kind of hanging by one screw and another bungee cord is holding the top to the bike. It looks pretty shitty but I can't really afford to redo the front end like I wanted earlier in the summer, and my sister's been lazy about getting replacement parts for me to use. So in the meantime I get to ride down the highway with my headlight, mirrors, turn signals, and instrument panel slowly bobbing left and right. Luckily I got it inspected at the beginning of the summer, so wooooo.
I recently bought a 1982 650 Yamaha maxim from my friends parents for 900 dollars. Apparently its in pretty good shape, and they took it to the shop to make sure it was alright.
I am very excited. less than a month to go for this deployment then weee motorcycle.
A few months back my sister was riding my bike (Ninja 250), went too fast around a turn, put on the brakes, started to slide, let off the brakes, and high sided. Luckily she wasn't going TOO fast, it was just a really sharp turn she wasn't prepared for, and it fell off the road onto some dirt. Luckily nothing essential got damaged, including my sister, just a few bruises, but the whole front end got pretty fucked up. Knocked the forks out of alignment, broke the front bracket, broke the headlightlight, broke the glass on the instrument panel, broke a turning signal, and broke the clutch lever.
Thanks to some spit polish and elbow grease, everything got sort of back together. The light works but doesn't point quite straight, and we had to tape up the glass. Had to bend the bracket a lot to get everything to fit right, used a bunch of zip ties to hold things where bolt holes had broken. It looked fantastically ghetto.
Then the front bracket broke some more, on a weld, so some duct tape to hold the metal previously welded together in the same spot and a bungee cord to hold the left side of the bracket to the right side. So we're still in business!
It broke in another place and now it's kind of hanging by one screw and another bungee cord is holding the top to the bike. It looks pretty shitty but I can't really afford to redo the front end like I wanted earlier in the summer, and my sister's been lazy about getting replacement parts for me to use. So in the meantime I get to ride down the highway with my headlight, mirrors, turn signals, and instrument panel slowly bobbing left and right. Luckily I got it inspected at the beginning of the summer, so wooooo.
I've been riding for around 4 years now, took the MSF safety course with my brother and sister this summer to encourage them to start riding and hopefully start a fun-as-hell family hobby. My brother is picking up a 98 Ninja 650 as a starter bike so the plan seems to have worked.
Current ride is a 2000 Kawasaki ZR7 - an air cooled naked sport bike. This bike has been an indestructible beast and has grown with me throughout my riding. This riding season I've been pushing it towards redline and it suprises the hell out of me with the amount of power it had lurking within the entire time I've been riding it.
I heard something clacking around in my front fender this morning on the way in to the office. It sounded like a big rock or something. When I got in, I discovered that I was missing a wheel weight. There's no obvious vibration or wobble in the wheel. Should I be okay at least until I next take it in for maintenance?
I heard something clacking around in my front fender this morning on the way in to the office. It sounded like a big rock or something. When I got in, I discovered that I was missing a wheel weight. There's no obvious vibration or wobble in the wheel. Should I be okay at least until I next take it in for maintenance?
From what you've described I wouldn't be too worried, an off balance tire should result in a vibration and difference in feel of the bike when at speed. You didn't mention anything about a difference in ride of the bike so I'd just be aware of it and see if you notice anything the next time you take it out.
A few months back my sister was riding my bike (Ninja 250), went too fast around a turn, put on the brakes, started to slide, let off the brakes, and high sided. Luckily she wasn't going TOO fast, it was just a really sharp turn she wasn't prepared for, and it fell off the road onto some dirt. Luckily nothing essential got damaged, including my sister, just a few bruises, but the whole front end got pretty fucked up. Knocked the forks out of alignment, broke the front bracket, broke the headlightlight, broke the glass on the instrument panel, broke a turning signal, and broke the clutch lever.
Thanks to some spit polish and elbow grease, everything got sort of back together. The light works but doesn't point quite straight, and we had to tape up the glass. Had to bend the bracket a lot to get everything to fit right, used a bunch of zip ties to hold things where bolt holes had broken. It looked fantastically ghetto.
Then the front bracket broke some more, on a weld, so some duct tape to hold the metal previously welded together in the same spot and a bungee cord to hold the left side of the bracket to the right side. So we're still in business!
It broke in another place and now it's kind of hanging by one screw and another bungee cord is holding the top to the bike. It looks pretty shitty but I can't really afford to redo the front end like I wanted earlier in the summer, and my sister's been lazy about getting replacement parts for me to use. So in the meantime I get to ride down the highway with my headlight, mirrors, turn signals, and instrument panel slowly bobbing left and right. Luckily I got it inspected at the beginning of the summer, so wooooo.
Had she taken an MSF course or something similar?
Yeah she did, but unfortunately she kind of had the attitude that nothing bad would ever happen while she was riding a motorcycle, and thus wasn't particularly careful.
A month later, she totaled a car! Again, nobody hurt, but yeah.
Posts
Haha, I just have water resist gear.
In light rain, it's great. Works a treat.
On the other hand, after 15 minutes in heavy rain a puddle of water forms in the little hmm... "valley" that's formed by my legs hugging the bike. For all intents and purposes, that part of my pants is submerged in water.
I am usually informed of this situation by a cold, wet feeling in my crotch area. Looks a bit.. uhh.. compromising afterwards. =P
I would be more worried about snow and ice. Around me motorcylces are unusable about six months out of the year.
Luckily its not that bad down here. We only get a handful of snow days. Ice is a bit more common, but they keep everything salted to all hell on the roads and highways.
PSN: SAW776
Indeed. It seems that the ones who normally go 80 still go 80, and the ones that normally go 60 slow down to about 40.
I had no idea motorcyclists used that term too. I presume it was a motorcyclist's term first, and cyclists appropriated it.
Consider this industrial belt sander:
Only fitted with something as coarse as this:
Then ask yourself:
Would you want to press your whole body weight down on that for about 20 seconds, while it spins at 60mph?
In all seriousness though, the damage that can be dealt to a human body sliding on asphalt is absolutely unbelievable.
There are lots of protective gear that doesn't get as hot as a full leather outfit. Nowadays there are types of reinforced jeans that are on par or better than regular leather. Breathing jackets etcetera. Asking and/or googling around will surely net results.
Err, but you should slow down 10-15 mph from top speed in the rain, since that maintains an approximately constant stopping distance. Or are you saying that the guys still doing 80 are killing everyone?
He's saying that there are people that drive to the conditions, and there are people that don't. The people that don't also incidentally happen to be the people who drive too fast in the first place.
So not only do they have a reduced stopping distance because of the rain, they are much more likely to cause an accident by slamming into one of the people who are (correctly) going slower than they normally would be. There's a big variation in speeds people are going, which is way more dangerous than the rain was in the first place.
When I got my SV650 she was already been through a wreck. I been fixing her up for the last 6 months. I just put some frame slider on her. A must if you plan on riding on the streets in my book. If you have to drop the bike I rather have the pucks take the brunt of the fall. I did take the MSF course at my community college. It was well worth the money. This is my current helmet a real plus if you like riding with music. I ride with a textile armor jacket and I have some Hooligan Denim pants. For winter I have a Joe Rocket leather jacket with insulated riding paints. I also have a heated gortex riding vest I use for winter.
I do most of my own work on the bike. The biking community in Vegas is pretty close and generally will help with minor to mid range work.
This is what I am using not as nice but it suit my needs Doc. I has bungie cords on the bottom to keep it in place. Just be sure to untie the knots and retie it so that the cords are super tight.
1974 Honda Hawkamatic 400 (coolest bike ever)
1989 Honda Enduro 250
1990's Kawasaki 250 Dirt bike
2005 Harley Davidson 883 Sportster
I put 44 miles on the Harley then broke my neck (as well as a bunch of other shit) in a car wreck. Was pressured by friends, family, everyone under the sun, to sell my Harley.
Haven't ridden since.
Like a Harley vs Car wreck?
It turns out that it will wheelie pretty easily in 2nd when really low on fuel. I didn't even try.
How a motorcycle dies while in 2nd gear, and loses power so we can't start it again, is confusing as hell to me. We take a look figuring it has to be some electronic issue but can't figure it out in the gas station, and have a buddy with a truck come pick up the bike. We were there for about 45 minutes, some of the time with a cop who pulled over to see what was up (and he talked about he had a CBR and was "chicken shit" because he wouldn't take it above 130mph).
We loaded up the bike, headed back, and took a look in the guy's driveway. I rode home a little disappointed in our trip and got a text on the way home "blown fuse." That put a motorcycle out of business. Boo.
Nah, just regular run of the mill car wreck (was a passenger). Buddy was driving 90 in his town car and we flipped off an elevated highway. I was belted, he wasn't.
At any rate, I'm seriously thinking about picking up another bike. But I'm very much a casual rider. I don't care for long trips and don't like going on highways. People just don't pay attention to bikers, especially now that the subset of morons that used to be simply talking on their phones have graduated to texting.
I'm more into just taking it easy on back roads. Leisurely, 20 minute rides, that sort of thing. So I'm more inclined to pick up a cheapo bike for cruising around town.
That Honda I had was the perfect bike for the sort of riding I do. Wish I hadn't sold it.
I'd love to sell you my bike, and wouldn't you know it, the bike I want is in buffalo.
I asked about this and was told that there is a fuse from the key switch to the ignition, and the switch normally acts like a relay. Odds are that's the fuse that got blown, so now you know that you might want to keep a spare fuse on your bike in the event that it ever happens to you :P
We might have had spare fuses on hand, the issue was really just not being able to find it in the gas station parking lot. We were kinda distracted by the cop and basically me making fun of him the whole time until our tow got there.
That motorcycle must be like three stories tall. Did you have to get it custom made?
It's pretty ridiculous. If you go into a dealership, they usually line it up with the sport bikes just because of the overall look. It's about six inches taller in the seat than the rest of them. It doesn't sound like much, but it sticks out like a sore thumb.
A lot of BMWs look like that too. They have a very upright posture with a sport bike appearance.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
That also applies to the Kawasaki Versys as well as most semi-faired standards, though standards in general are something of a rarity here in the States.
Thanks to some spit polish and elbow grease, everything got sort of back together. The light works but doesn't point quite straight, and we had to tape up the glass. Had to bend the bracket a lot to get everything to fit right, used a bunch of zip ties to hold things where bolt holes had broken. It looked fantastically ghetto.
Then the front bracket broke some more, on a weld, so some duct tape to hold the metal previously welded together in the same spot and a bungee cord to hold the left side of the bracket to the right side. So we're still in business!
It broke in another place and now it's kind of hanging by one screw and another bungee cord is holding the top to the bike. It looks pretty shitty but I can't really afford to redo the front end like I wanted earlier in the summer, and my sister's been lazy about getting replacement parts for me to use. So in the meantime I get to ride down the highway with my headlight, mirrors, turn signals, and instrument panel slowly bobbing left and right. Luckily I got it inspected at the beginning of the summer, so wooooo.
I am very excited. less than a month to go for this deployment then weee motorcycle.
Had she taken an MSF course or something similar?
I've been riding for around 4 years now, took the MSF safety course with my brother and sister this summer to encourage them to start riding and hopefully start a fun-as-hell family hobby. My brother is picking up a 98 Ninja 650 as a starter bike so the plan seems to have worked.
Current ride is a 2000 Kawasaki ZR7 - an air cooled naked sport bike. This bike has been an indestructible beast and has grown with me throughout my riding. This riding season I've been pushing it towards redline and it suprises the hell out of me with the amount of power it had lurking within the entire time I've been riding it.
From what you've described I wouldn't be too worried, an off balance tire should result in a vibration and difference in feel of the bike when at speed. You didn't mention anything about a difference in ride of the bike so I'd just be aware of it and see if you notice anything the next time you take it out.
Yeah she did, but unfortunately she kind of had the attitude that nothing bad would ever happen while she was riding a motorcycle, and thus wasn't particularly careful.
A month later, she totaled a car! Again, nobody hurt, but yeah.