[Andrew]

Riding with the light on is law in IL. Thats not the same as riding with high beams on. My Corolla has daytime lights and I don’t notice a difference when it gets dark so they can’t be on high beam. I can see them on the road when it gets to dusk.

[Andrew]

Worst injury I know of was a friend that broke his leg during the course. He popped the clutch during a slow turn and the bike dropped. He tried to catch the bike and his fibula was broken by the back wheel axle when it landed. He knows that he should have just gotten clear once he knew the bike was going down but he thought he could keep it up.

[Andrew]

I got some practice in yesterday and found that the tach helps for me to know when I’m under 5000 and in the area where I should be downshifting. I saw that at Ninja250.org and it’s a useful queue for me not to downshift too early. Also tried rolling on the throttle to mach revs which helps to be smoother but seems to make slowing for a traffic sign more complicated.

There is no substitute for practice though. I was practicing my start from a dead stop in a parking lot and started noticing that I can hear when the engine hits the friction zone. Thats the point where rolling on the throttle makes for a smooth start.

Had to emergency brake on the way home when a cage in front of me did a last minute left turn that stopped the car directly in front of me. I stopped fine but was heavier on the front brake than I would like.

[Andrew]

To be fair here in IL a squid riding with no helmet, t-shirt, shorts and flip flops can be seen riding any type of bike. I’ve seen guys on HD’s, super sports, Triumph’s etc

[Andrew]

I filled up for the first time yesterday and was nervous so I took it slow and it was fine. The bike took over 4 gallons and the tanks is only 4.8 so the previous owner didn’t leave me much to play with. I kept stopping to check how much was in the bike but I assume that gets easier with practice.

[Andrew]

Does it matter which Rain-X you use on your visor? I saw a few in the store and most of them said “glass only” on them.

[Andrew]

Read a faq the other day that said to use the side stand as it creates a bigger triangle and is more stable than the center stand.

[Andrew]

Went out for my first ride today after putting the new plate on. Just rode around the neighborhood in 2nd and 3rd gear. We have some dead ends so I could do some u-turns. The yields and stop signs were good practice too. I picked up some cones from Dicks and I can now do some of those other maneuvers mentioned above.

[Andrew]

Is there a fill line in all tanks or do you just get it close to the top?

[Andrew]

I’d leave it as is unless you were going to spring for new wheels.

[Andrew]

Do they make any products to make water bead or wipe down for convertibles that could be used perhaps.

[Andrew]

So when I pick up the use tax form at the DMV I notice the small print that says you only have to pay $25 for a bike/atv.

[Andrew]

I’m 5’4 and as a novice rider I though the Shadow was a huge bike when I sat on one. And I’m talking about size and weight.

[Andrew]

double post

[Andrew]

Just checked out what I need to do and IL is going to hit me with a $390 use tax on the bike because it’s an ’07.

[Author]

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