[briderdt]

I took the MSF with Puget Sound Safety out of Tacoma Mall. My wife too the class through the organization out of Renton (they use a Boeing parking lot in Kent).

In any case… I also drive a manual transmission car, but I have a lot of years of road bike (bicycle) riding and racing, so I was pretty comfortable on two wheels in traffic (and already had hazard radar down pretty well), so that was one less learning curve to have to climb. But… I had no problems with making the transition to left-hand-clutch, left-foot-shift. The one thing I find myself doing, though, is not using the rear brake so much (right foot), because I’ve been so used to both hands being brakes in my road bikes.

So I don’t think you’ll have a lot of problem with the transition, but give it some time. As much as you can, try to get some distance up one learning curve (say, using the controls) before tackling another (say, riding in traffic).

[briderdt]

…but this morning’s 8.5 mile commute at 30 degrees was just fine with ski gloves and the Cycra Stealth air deflectors. I’m amazed the difference those things make. Adding the heat to the grips may just be too much.

[briderdt]

..and I’m really tempted to make that a second bike. Likewise the Hyosung 250 sport — would make a great streetfighter project bike.

[briderdt]

Fuel injection. One of the reasons I went with the bike I did (I was down to 3 choices: SV650s, Ninja 650, and FZ6) was because I didn’t want to deal with carbs. With the TU250, though, that’s no longer an issue.

[briderdt]

But the ground-effects lights and engine hilights like this are illegal when moving. Parking lots? Fine.

[briderdt]

…many years ago (bicycle), I had a REALLY bad crash in a pack that broke my collar bone and bruised a rib, along with a lot of road rash. Happened in May and took me out for that entire season. The next year when I came back, I had a hard time engaging in the pack. After several weeks I was able to be active, but I still would start to lock up any time I had riders on both sides of me. It took me three years to get over it.

Fear riding? I think if you don’t have SOME fear, you’re either ignorant or stupid. But I’m not talking about the kind of fear that petrifies you into inaction. I’m talking about that little bit of fear that makes you hyper-aware.

You know what you did wrong, so just don’t do that again. Take it as a lesson. It’s good that you’re getting back out on the road, and the fear you’re feeling is a bot normal. Like Sangria said, don’t let it control you.

[briderdt]

I found myself tending to ride forward on my bike when I first started (a Suzuki SV650s, a little more upright than your Ninja). What I found was that I wasn’t using my knees against the bike enough, and that was allowing me to slide forward. Try clamping the bike a little tighter with your knees and see if that helps.

[briderdt]

NewEnough.com — got my jacket there ($79).

Leatherup.com — got my boots there ($80).

Motorcyclesuperstore.com — got my helmet and gloves there ($116 and 20, respectively).

Pants have been a bit of a problem though. I got some at New Enough, and they were a pretty good price ($75), but having bought them sight-unseen, turned out they were a bit short (if you’re about 5’6-7″ with a 34″ waist, I’ve got a good deal for you). I bought another pair of A* pants from some one on the SVrider.com site, and they’re long enough, but their 34″ is a bit bigger… So I’m still looking for that “right” fit.

[briderdt]

Safety is everything you do before the unscheduled get-off. After that it’s all about damage control.

I’d suggest jacket and pants with the armor built in. But that’s just my personal opinion.

[briderdt]

I have my policy with Safeco, for two bikes (an 800cc Suzuki C50 and a Suzuki SV650S) it’s about $85 a month (both bikes included). But the deal was that the amount made just small, incremental increases until it hit 1000cc’s, and then it started making big jumps.

So I guess what I’m getting at is that something more stature-friendly, like a DRZ400 dual sport, might not be much more insurance-wise, than the 250 rebel.

I know there are plates for the SV650 that will move the controls up and back (1.5″ up and 1″ back) that some have mounted in reverse to move the controls down and back, or down and forward (check eBay for svracingparts). Don’t know if that sort of thing is available for the Rebel though.

The real disadvantage of forward controls, to my mind, though, is that you can’t unweight the seat for bumps…

[briderdt]

…you could just walk on adverse weather days (as if you have anything that counts as “adverse” there).

[briderdt]

Especially if you buy used and ride it for 6 months, you’ll probably find that you can resell it for what you paid (depending on time of year). If you were to buy now, then resell in 6 months (still early in the “riding season”), you might even be money ahead. But get out there and sit on a lot of bikes to see what feels most natural to you. For me, it was a sporty. For my wife, it was cruiser all the way.

[briderdt]

I was surprised after having taken (and passed) the MSF course. My wife just barely didn’t make it, so I looked at the back of the WSDOT booklet, and they show the test maneuvers… They weren’t nearly as technical as the MSF class ones. The real advantage of the MSF class, though, is being able to test on little 250’s and such.

[briderdt]

…if for no other reason than being able to do the testing requirements on the smaller bike. I know in Washington, the MSF class maneuvers are more challenging than the DOL test, but I’m still glad I was able to use the 250 Nighthawk in the MSF class rather than my SV650 at the DOL.

[briderdt]

Lots of people will be jealous of the Duc… Take good care of her.

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