[jayspot]

Great idea with someone following you, but with my luck they’d probably end up hitting me! Plan to map out some local parking lots. I live near Boeing Field (Everett), so hopefully I can use their lot…. thanks for the ideas

[owlie]

I use tennis balls that are cut in half. ~$1 for a can of three at the Wal-mart, and 10min to cut them in half.

They are very forgiving if you hit them and if you destroy or lose one, no worries, they are super cheep.

[jayspot]

great idea! I do have a few tennis balls lying around in the garage-will put them to use.
Thanks!

[eon]

Jay, the meetup group I ride with is having a practice session in a few weeks time at Magnusson Park (just north of of UW in Seattle). Going to watch Ride Like a Pro and then go out and practice some. I’ve never watched that video but some of the folks on here swear by it. You would be more than welcome to come along.

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[eternal05]

And they’re not much more expensive than tennis balls. You can get 100 for about $38, so they work out to $0.38 per cone instead of ~$0.20 per half tennis ball, but:

– they store more easily (they stack in a neat pile)
– they don’t upset the bike should you ride over them
– I find them to be easier to work with
– you don’t have to cut up tennis balls

http://www.amazon.com/World-Sport-Disc-Cone-Sets/dp/B002HTOIUK/

You can also buy them in smaller quantities (e.g. 25), but the unit cost goes up a bit (up to a whopping $0.12 per cone).

[Sean_D]

… and is a mostly stock ’07 Bonnie. I purchased it used with about 2300 miles on it. I added a center stand, some luggage spools and couple small things, but not much.

I find it a great beginner bike. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend one. My wife went the cruiser route and picked her bike about 1 month before I did. I just really never felt all that comfortable on her bike. I didn’t like the riding position etc. I really prefer sitting on the bike rather than in the bike.

The dealership set me up on a test drive route. I felt immediately comfortable with the Bonnie, much more so than I had on my wife’s bike. It was a real confidence booster.

I got turned on to the Bonnie after reading a review on Webbikeworld by an MSF rider coach by the name of Ken Stamp. He was going on about how the Bonnie was the easiest bike to ride he had ever ridden and went on about how he wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them as a first bike. I had to try it for myself and glad that I did. It handles well, does exactly what is expected when you expect it, no surprises. It is a very user friendly bike.

[Ixecapade]

yeah Crash has a great video on that… I saw a drill on it and it didn’t really sink in the pertenance of said drill till I watched his video…

I make sure I practice at ever light I get to *not* go straight but to stop already prepared for my turn.

VERY helpful… crash makes me laugh anyway so its even double better.

[jayspot]

hey, i read that article too! I’ve always wanted a classic looking bike and I was going to buy the Suzuki TU 250 until I checked craigslist and got a great deal on a Bonneville. It too had just under 3000 miles and in great condition. I still haven’t taken it out on a major street, just the side streets. I really don’t want to drop it, so I’m thinking of buying a cheap 1975-1980 Suzuki GS 500 to practice on. How long have you been riding?…. and any chance you can post a picture of your Bonnie?… safe riding Sean!

[jayspot]

Thanks eon, I’m hoping I’ll have enough practice under my belt to be able to ride there. I ordered a portable trailer to tow my bike to certain locations where I can practice. Managed to ride to a nearby parking lot (school) on the weekend and did a few practice drills. Hopefully the trailer will arrive before the Magnusson Park get together…..

[Sean_D]

… I took the MSF course at the end of September and purchased my bike end of November (November 30th). My wife took the course with me and she purchased her bike in October, so I rode it once or twice before buying my own, but really I probably had maybe 10 miles outside of the MSF course at the time I purchased it.

I really wanted a classic bike as well or in this case a “modern classic” as Triumph calls them. Probably in a large part due to the fact I spent some years living in Ireland (outside of Dublin) and Triumph was what I was familiar with.

I haven’t had it out on the highway yet, Santa Fe is the closest I have come to highway riding with a span that is 55MPH. I had it up to 60’ish there, but mostly the riding I have been doing is on roads with 45MPH limits.

The bike has had 258 miles put on it since I purchased it. My wife put on about 30 of those taking it for a ride. Sooo…. I guess my experience outside of the MSF amounts to about 2 months and 228 miles.

The biggest problem I have been having is due to the fact I need to wear glasses. Contacts drive me nuts after about 2 hours max. I have been having issues with the glasses fogging up at lights. I have tried Cat Crap, Fogtech and a few other products, and at best the minimize the fogging. I have finally found that the only thing that seems to work is putting a breath box in the helmet.

I would be happy to post a picture. I keep meaning to take one. I always forget to put the camera in my pocket before heading out. I will try to remember to do that this weekend.

[eon]

What part of town you coming from? That general area is pretty quiet but it’s hard to get there without going through a busy section. I live downtown (Belltown) so I very quickly adapted to riding in traffic, but since I have an automatic scooter I had it easy.

I wouldn’t stress over trying to make this practice session, I would focus more on getting your own practice in. I’m not entirely sure how this big session will go as this will be my first time doing this. While I regularly stop by and do a 10 or 15 minute practice session, I might be bored with a large group practicing for a couple of hours. But I have to confess I am secretly looking forward to watching folks attempt the box. It will be interesting to see the skill levels on show.

[eternal05]

…definitely use it! It’s a great parking lot for slow-speed practice, though the crappy quality of the pavement (lots of holes/deep cracks/really uneven seams) and its small-ish size start becoming a problem for faster, more complex drills.

As mentioned, however, it’s great because it used to be used for MSF classes and has all the lines painted on it. In fact, its such a staple of my practice routine that its featured in a few upcoming videos. Definitely check it out if you live in the area.

[jayspot]

I’m going to have the same problems with vision when I start night riding. I don’t wear contacts, hate them. Hopefully a helmet company can make shields that have prescription lenses built in….. Look forward to seeing the pictures Sean!

[jayspot]

I live at the border of Lynnwood and Everett off 128th St. You’re right, i’m going to have to pass on the Magnusson Park get together. Hoping to practice at a bigger lot this weekend (before Super Bowl game!). hey eon, what kind of scooter do you own?.. is that you and your scooter in the picture? If it is, you look like Batman!

[Sean_D]

“hopefully a helmet company can make shields that have prescription lenses built in”

I doubt that we will see that in the near future. but the Pinlock type system may be the way they can go about doing that. I have kind of gotten used to the air mask. At first I found it distracting, but the more I use it the more I get used to wearing it.

I currently only have a generic one that is made for the HJC helmets as they didn’t have one for the Shoei RF1100 at the time. It is OK, but it bunches up a little at times since uses velcro to attach to the cheek pads. Shoei claims they have the accessories for the RF-1100 now, but you have to call them. I will probably do that. Another option that looks nice, and much more flexible at least than the HJC is the Respro Foggy Mask http://www.respro.com/products/urban-commuting/motorcycling/foggy_mask/

I will get some photos posted this weekend if I can.

[Author]

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