[briderdt]

Well, not so much “winter” as sucky weather. Didn’t matter whether it was January or March, as soon as the sun came out, the number of bikes on the road multiplied by 10, easily (me included).

Tomorrow is going to be the nicest day in the 10-day forecast — partly cloudy and low 50’s… Every other day is RAIN!

[briderdt]

Oh boy, an ad.

Got anything more to contribute, or would I have to pay for it?

[briderdt]

… they should be providing roadside assistance.

[briderdt]

..

[briderdt]

“When sitting on sport bikes, remember: Your hands are NOT supposed to support your weight. “

And this is something that I had some trouble with when I was looking at bikes. I’d done a LOT of bicycle road racing in my life, so I’m REALLY comfortable in a forward lean. But when I was looking at the sport bikes, I kept having trouble with the whole weight-forward thing sitting on the bikes in the dealership. Until one thing happened that really opened my eyes — I sat on one with a center stand. At that point I could actually sit on the bike as I would when riding (both feet on the pegs), and was able to use my core to hold me up rather than having to hold much of my weight on my hands. And I found that comfort level that I figured I would have given my background. Quite the epiphany.

So make sure when you’re sitting on those bikes in the showroom that you’re doing it as you would when riding. Make it an apples-to-apples comparison.

[briderdt]

I know there are companies out there that make after-market levers that adjust the start point on both the brake AND clutch levers. CRG is one of them that comes to mind. Usually for the sport bike market, but I’m sure there are some for the Virago as well.

[briderdt]

… but I do on my car. You will want an oil finter wrench though. And a rear wheel stand.

[briderdt]

I use my fairing-mounted mirrors for viewing the lanes beside me, and a third, bar-end-mounted mirror (which I modded from an old bicycle mirror) to see behind me.

[briderdt]

Comes in sizes up to 650.

[briderdt]

I can’t imagine trying to do 300 miles (one way) on something like that.

[briderdt]

In my class, out of the 12, there were only 2 people who has never been on a bike before. Several had years of riding, and were there to get their endorsement for the first time (some so that they could ride and park on a military base). Of those, there were 2 low-cc scooters, one R1, one FJR-1300, a big bore Harley, and a Burgman 650.

[briderdt]

I’m really curious how an after-market one works on an SV650… Lots of engine braking on that beast.

[briderdt]

I do it all the time. I do it in my car as well. Depending on the bike (my SV is good for this), you can actually do it without being on the brakes at all. That can be bad, as it doesn’t light up the brake light to warn followers that you’re slowing (just in case they miss the turn indicators). So make sure you ride a brake a little, at least, to get that brake light lit up.

Downshift and ease out the clutch.

[briderdt]

And actually REALLY early on in my selection process I considered it. But I had read some reviews that talked about some reliability problems (and vibration). Probably something that has been addressed in more recent production years, but I was looking at used bikes anyway.

The bike I rode in the MSF class was a Honda Nighthawk 250 — what would be considered a “standard” riding position. The leg position was almost the same as my SV, but the handlebars were MUCH higher. My bike has Heli Bars, which raise the position up about 1.5″ and back about 1″ from stock clipons.

If you’re after the sporty look, then bikes like the Ninja 250, 500, or the GS500F (Suzuki) would be good options (higher handlebar position). Also, if you’re wanting something small with FI, the TU250 is a standard (though not much of the sporty look) that is about the only 250 I know of with FI.

[briderdt]

That I-4 will tend to have a boost-point, kind of like kicking in nitrous, when you hit a certain RPM. V-twins tend to be a lot more even throughout the RPM range (and are thus much more predictable).

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