[canstaett]

I’ve got reflective tape on my helmet- got it at Wal Mart- and it was all of 2 bucks a roll. I designed some stuff to go on it and it looks great and lights up at night. I went through a couple of designs and had no problem taking the tape off with no damage.

[canstaett]

I have been freezing in the mornings for a while now- I’m up to microfiber long underwear top and bottom, a long sleeved t-shirt, a rain suit (not for the wet, but for the fact that air doesn’t really go through it), my armored pants, my jacket, liner, a scarf, the chin cover thingy on my helmet, and my isotoners under my riding gloves. And I live in AZ- cold mornings in the mountains, baking on the way home. Good stuff. It’s good to know that it’s doable when it gets colder- I would imagine that there’s a point where it can’t get any colder. Although I will be adding another layer to my gloves int he form of an over-mitten of sorts to close up those vents(15 bucks to make, vs 50+ for leather gloves).

[canstaett]

I usually use just one- it doesn’t affect what I can hear (not much anyway) and I still can listen to something other than whatever craziness is going on in my head that day. I will say though- I don’t do it when I leave at 3:45 in the morning, just on the way home. I figure my brain’s got enough to do, what with waking up and all.

[canstaett]

I haven’t had anyone rag on my S40 yet- and I get the wave from everyone from bad ass Harley to speedy Ninja riders all the time. Everyone I work with that rides just wants to know if I enjoy it and to give me advice. Of course they also know that I’m the only one in the office that rides in every day, in just about any weather. Once you add in the 150 mile round trip commute, I get nothing but respect from those who don’t even think about going out in the rain, let alone at 4 in the morning.

[canstaett]

try cruisercustomizing.com (i think that’s the address- just google if its not) they claim to want to help, and have a members(free to join) selling area where people sell old stuff. I ordered a few things and I really liked their set up.

[canstaett]

The way i figure it there are three parts of you getting hurt on a bike. Knowledge/Experience (how to ride safely), Gearing up, and the other idiots on the road. With an MSF under your belt and ATGATT you negate 1 1/2 of those, the other 1/2 is negated by choosing to ride safely. The MSF can teach you how, you have to go out and actually do it though. That’s two out of three right there. you can’t do anything about the idiots except anticipate the stupid thing they will do (like the three, yes three different people who pulled out in front of me on the way to work this morning and refused to do the speed limit).

This is the argument i will be using at the family get together in Sept. if my sister tells my mom/grandparents about my bike like she told my dad. Dad was actually pretty cool about it, but mom had always been anti-bike. We shall see if it works.

I will also have a picture of me in full gear to show them- see! No skin showing anywhere- even in the 100+ AZ heat! All I have to do is hydrate and watch for stupid people.

[canstaett]

That double u turn is a rough one- I never did get it. But I’ve also found that a lot of the things that made me nervous in class aren’t an issue out on the road because I relax a LOT more and trust the bike. And things really do get easier the faster you go- once you get a bike, find a nice low traffic road where you can open it up and really get a feel for how it gets steadier the faster you go.

[canstaett]

Me on my S40 in head to toe gear certainly sticks out here in AZ- the land of no helmet laws- but my gear is blue and black, the bike is blue and my full face helmet is black (with reflective tape that I “decorated” it with) and I think I look pretty darn cool. Besides, who cares that much about what other people think? Motorcycles are all about counterculture anyway. Trust me, the first time you hit 65 and a bug smears itself all over your face shield you will be LOVING that full face helmet.

[canstaett]

I found this tip on a UK site the other day when I was facing my ride home in a thunderstorm (luckily I missed the worst of it) but what it said was to let your knee fall outwards on the side that the wind is coming from and the bike will steady. Sounds crazy, but it really works- I guess the knee sticking out breaks up the wind flow enough that it doesn’t affect you that much. Out here in the land of the 50mph gust it has been all kinds of helpful. Yeah, you look all kinds of silly too, but try it.

[canstaett]

I went with one level less than I have on my car- so I’ve probably got way more than I need, but at 360 a year, I’d rather have too much. My S40 is fairly new (2007) and it is a 650- so that accounts for some of it. I started with allstate- which is where I have my car insured- and they ended up screwing up the policy and I got quoted 1500/year from them. I went next door to progressive and walked out with the 360 paid in full for the year. Shop around as much as you can take- for the same coverages geico quoted me 600 and some change- the prices will vary wildly.

[canstaett]

So AZ has no helmet laws- there are people everwhere without gear of any kind. Most of them at least wear jeans though. I was riding through town one day, and sitting a stop light this guy comes from the cross road making a left past me. Wearing a helmet, swim trunks and flip flops. That’s it. All I could think about is “wow, that’s gonna hurt.”

Me, I’m worried that the one time I try it without full gear will be the one time I go down. 100+ degrees or not- I’m in full gear. I think it was here where I read the story about the guy who took a quick trip to the store without gear he always wore and that was when he landed in the hospital.

[canstaett]

My commute has a section with some nice curves that are sharp enough to be thrilling (or terrifying) but not so sharp that you have a good chance of flying off the road if you take them too fast. I’m with Ben- although my internal dialogue is usually

brraaaakee
oh crap too fast
leanleanleanleanthe bike won’t fall over
leanleanyou cab do thislean
don’t hit the brakes leanleanleanlean
woohoo!

I guy I work with said he goes out with his son and they ride these same curves at 70+. Granted his son is 22 and perfectly capable of making rotten decisions, but really? Of course with no helmet laws this is all done in a tshirt and jeans. I’m finally to the point where I’m not doing them at 35. I took one at 55 yesterday and was freaking out. Then I made it through and learned that I’m really not the daredevil type for the hundreth time. I’m all about some straights though. Good stuff there.

[canstaett]

I have to wear glasses al the time. I wear them under my RF-1000- just put the helmet on first and then slide the glasses on. Takes a bit of practice to get it right, but its perfectly comfortable and I haven’t had any problems, andI only have to switch to my sunglasses for the ride home in the glorious AZ sun rather than switching out the whole face sheild. I just wear my regular glasses in the morning- again, no problems, even with oncoming headlights.

[canstaett]

The biggest thing I would say is go somewhere and try stuff on- even if you don’t buy you’ll be better able to get the right size from the internet- the sizes seemed to run odd for me, at least what I tried on. I ended up with Joe Rocket jacket, pants (I manage the 34″ inseam with the height of my boots, although it’s not that much difference for me) and gloves. They’re the mesh/textile combination that works quite well out here in AZ. The liner keeps me from freezing to death in the morning and the mesh from melting in the afternoon. Everything ran me just over 600 bucks, but then I also ended up with a Shoei helmet because nothing else they had fit- so that’s 300 of it. But everything’s really comfy for the most part and has armor in all the appropriate places. I would say- when you;re trying on gloves, actually grab a handlebar at some point becasue mine have this annoying tendancy to bunch right at the base of my fingers- not a huge thing, but it can get to you. I have old combat boots that I wear- being ex-Army I had them lying around and didn’t want to spend more money until I was really sure about this whole thing and they work great- comfy, fairly light and they have good grip. You can usally pick some up at surplus stores for like 20-30 bucks.

[canstaett]

The S40 is a great beginner bike, especially if you aren’t a petite person. The power isn’t too much to handle, although mine likes a lot more throttle when changing gears than the 250 I rode in the MSF- that took a little bit to get used to, but after a weekend tooling around the neighborhood I was already bored with slow and took it on the highway. I ride mine for my hour plus commute every day and it’s great. I was nervous at getting on a 650 too, especially being the the MSF was the first time I had even touched a motorcycle, let alone rode one. But it’s very comfortable and easy to use, and the power isn’t there that I would assume you would find in a lot of bikes of the same size. If you read the 40 vs 50 review it mentions that the get up and go really isn’t there, especially for passing, but if you’re not doing 80 on the freeway (I don’t, the fastest I get is 70 on a local highway) it’s more than enough to pass at 55-60 without problems. Did that for the first time the other day and it performed admirably.

The biggest thing is that for the price you won’t find yourself trading up in six months- it only runs about a grand more than like a v-star 250 brand new, but if you can find one used you’re set. I walked out of the dealer for under 6000- bike, full gear and extended warranty(mine still has the manufacture’s on it even).

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