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Review of the Genuine Blur
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AndrewParticipant
I had problems shifting for most of my class. I got rid of most of them on the 2nd riding night but they still came back occasionally. What helped me starting from a stop is rolling on the throttle to get higher revs before you release the clutch. Be slow but smooth with the left hand and do it all the way out. Don’t drop the last bit.
Shifting up through the gears is just a practice thing. I roll my wrist up on the throttle while I squeeze the clutch, shift, and then roll the throttle while releasing the clutch at a slow smooth speed. When I first started it helped to think of the ratcheting motion the teacher described. I’d have that running through my head every shift.
AndrewParticipantGlad your ok dude. The bike can be fixed. I’m not sure what you mean by a double apex though. can you explain it further?
AndrewParticipantNice.
AndrewParticipantI don’t drive a manual and I had problems with shifting, or stalling, the first and second days. I guess I had good teachers because they were not phased and just kept slowly reminding me what I should be doing. When I started I assumed I could start the bike moving with the engine just idling without giving it gas. Once they told me I would need to slowly roll on while releasing the clutch it helped. Then it’s just about muscle memory. I spent the whole riding section only being worried about the one skill, shifting. The rest came pretty natural.
October 3, 2008 at 6:32 pm in reply to: Where’s Elwood????………I hope you alright out there buddy! #13262AndrewParticipantHopefully he’s just out riding.
AndrewParticipantSo he’s adding $832. You need to know what are the mandatory costs like TTL and what is he adding to pad his profit like shipping and setup. The price is often negotiable but with demand so high on the Ninja dealers have been refusing to budge on the OTD prices.
AndrewParticipantThe 08 had an MSRP of 3500 and the 09 has one of 4000 if that helps. My local dealer was adding on $700 for tags, title, license, shipping and setup which seems a lot but it wasn’t compared to some other places. So 4200 is a decent price for an 08. If he’s selling your a 09 for that then its a great price as long as thats the OTD price and it isn’t excluding stuff you need like TTL.
AndrewParticipantI have small hands with short fingers and the only ones that were a good fit were Power Trip. I ended up with US Army branded Abrahms gloves that are made by Power Trip. A good fit just not meant for sub 50 degree weather.
October 3, 2008 at 1:36 pm in reply to: Honda 2009 Lineup out…ABS and Automatic Transmissions!! #13234AndrewParticipantThe Honda looks like a scooter.
AndrewParticipantThe same as a car with title, tags and license but with extras like shipping and setup.
AndrewParticipantScratch up the MSF bike don’t risk the shiny new one.
AndrewParticipantHad a good day yesterday with my new approach of being the Zen rider and shifter. Only problem I noticed was a kid in a beater that whipped around me when I entered a 45 zone after a stopped right turn. I guess I wasn’t speeding up fast enough for him. I saw him coming but there wasn’t much I could do.
I was watching my idle closely after the comments yesterday and when I left work for the gym the bike started with no choke and was idling at 1750 or 1800. I figure it’s a 20 minute ride through heavy traffic. Once I was done at the gym and was riding home I noticed she was idling higher at 1900 to 2000. Is that because the bike was warmer? This morning I needed the choke to start since it was 45 and she was idling much lower at 1400. I presume that’s temperature related though.
AndrewParticipantThats my only problem right now, cold fingers. Not sure how much riding I have left here in IL though. Once the first snow comes the bike will be put away.
AndrewParticipantTire pressure is right on. I check it daily after getting a nail in the rear at one point.
Bike has 8500 on it and had 8000 when I bought it.
AndrewParticipantI’m figuring that it’s probably the rider since the 500+ miles on the Ninja and MSF are my only bike experience. I also don’t drive a manual transmission so it could be all part of my learning curve.
1. Idle is just under 2K.
2. Using 87 octane gas as the MOM recommends.
3. I have been listening to the engine for my shifts and not checking the rpm’s. Today I have been watching them. So I think my tendency is to shift at higher revs. So I’m shifting between 7k and 9K and cruising at about 8K. I don’t think I’m consistent though and the faster I’m going the later I’m probably shifting.I’ve been concentrating on smooth shifting today and in keeping an eye on my revs. I can probably ride a gear higher than I normally do and shift faster. I know the previous owner said he spent a lot of time in 5th even in town. I rarely hit 5th gear but I probably need to start using it. I was thinking that 5th and 6th would be for highway speeds.
I have thought about adding an after market wind deflector which would help the MPG. I figure I need to get the rider to be a better rider for the best gain though. Practice, practice practice.
In my first week commuting I probably was running hot with my throttle hand to make sure I was out of people way and that I wasn’t slowing the cages down. Nailing the cages off the lights isn’t good for the MPG now that I think about it. I don’t think I was doing it intentionally though. Probably thinking about the cages and not the shifting.
I’ll stop rambling now.
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