[briderdt]

I got the same lecture when I was in my MSF class. I’d done a fair amount of mountain biking with shortie levers (I road raced for a lot of years), and I’d ridden my SV prior to the class as well (dual front disks and LOTS of stopping power). So I already had the habit of two-fingering the brake lever. Well, in the class they wanted you to use all fingers on the throttle unless you were braking, and then all fingers went to the brake lever. The reasons for that were not to develop that habit so much as to avoid potential problems with people who weren’t used to hand controls (separating the actions of braking and throttle, in effect). Several times I had to be reminded in the class to not cover the front brake while riding (but the instructors were just as quick to say that it’s a pretty good practice on the road).

I now have shortie levers on my SV (made them myself, and no, not from a drop), and I use two fingers on both the brake and clutch levers, and cover them at all times (though sometimes on the highway I’ll not cover the clutch).

[briderdt]

Not a matter of outdriving the headlights as it is the deer jumping from the side of the road unannounced.

[briderdt]

It’s funny, but Ninja 250’s seem to hold their resale price pretty well (due to demand). Around here, a 2008 will fetch something close to $3500, 2007’s maybe $3000, and anything older $2500. Don’t really know where the break-point is that it drops off from there though. Blue book on a 2003 is $2125.

But the question I’d ask you is this (as long as you’re not financing it): Once that money is gone, and you’re riding the bike, do you think you’re going to regret having spent it?

[briderdt]

I said it puts out more power. Either way, I will lose my nerve WAY before the bike does…

[briderdt]

“- Suzuki SV650: 72hp (or more, I could only find 2006 stats)”

My 2005 puts out more… because it’s yellow! (I kid, I kid)

[briderdt]

Also http://www.ninja250.org/

[briderdt]

If you’re in Washington (the state, not DC), MaxRPM has gotten a few US-legal (at least in Washington) Honda 250 Hornets. There was a couple of threads on PNWRiders about them. Looked sharp.

[briderdt]

Lots of info and ranting/raving from Buell owners. Worth checking out.

Also, the Buell isn’t the ONLY American sportbike. Fischer is now distributing (though it uses a Hyosung 650 engine).

I’m partial to the 1125R myself.

[briderdt]

Pros:

* Away from major metropolitan areas, but not a long drive to get there.
* Several decent motorcycle stores within a 45 minute drive.
* You can ride a good long ways and never touch a highway.
* Lots of group rides, just hook up with PNWRiders and find a group.

Cons:

* The area is growing. A LOT. So traffic is slowly getting worse.
* “Twisties” is a bit of a misnomer here, but you can find them, if you look hard.
* Rain… We’re just northeast of Tacoma. Wanna know when the rain will stop? July 11th. It’ll start up again in early September.

[briderdt]

They just don’t import them into the US of A. Which is unfortunate, in my opinion. Honda has an excellent choice in the 250 Hornet, and Aprillia makes some killer 125’s and 250’s (Europe only). I just find it baffling that these companies simply hand over the entire market niche to Kawasaki.

[briderdt]

…when doing something for the first time. Heck, it took me 6 months of riding before I took my bike on the highway. I’ve still yet to do so during heavy traffic (though around here that would mean almost parking lot speeds). I had to keep reminding myself to relax while riding, as I’d find my entire upper body getting tense (not good for fast reactions). I’m almost to where 65-70mph isn’t a “fearful” thing.

[briderdt]

…a 2nd gen SV650s, the catalytic converter is inside the pipe, but before the muffler. YMMV.

[briderdt]

…you could always just pop the visor up a little bit.

[briderdt]

“It’s okay to be afraid, but it’s NOT okay to let that fear stop you from moving forward.”

Courage isn’t lack of fear (in most situations, that’s just lunacy), but going forward IN SPITE of the fear. That’s not to say that I fly headlong into dangerous situations. I raced bicycles for many years, and I crashed many times in those years (though I never did because of a car, even when there were close calls). But I never let any of those crashes stop me from showing up at the start line as soon as I was again able to do so.

So many of those wrecked bikes and videos of crashed have one thing in common — a loose nut between the handlebars and the seat. THe ones that don’t have that cause generally would have happened whether on a bike or in a car.

[briderdt]

Ralphie is a kid about, what, 10 years old? Set in the 50’s… Anyway, all he wants for Christmas is a BB gun. Every time he tells this to anyone, all he gets in reply is “You’ll shoot your eye out.”

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