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5 Common Wear and Tear Items on Motorcycles
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chromium ghostParticipant
Thanks. It can be a bit intimidating, but I try not to think about it too much and just ride. I’ve been primarily riding late at night when the traffic is much, much lighter…of course visibility does become an issue, but I feel like I am building confidence and skills on the bike at night so I will be a bit better prepared for the gnarly stuff during the day. I’m also learning pretty quickly what streets to avoid. Broadway for example seems appealing because it’s only 2 lanes, but there’s a median with trees that blocks visibility. Also, TONS of double parked cars and people trying to dart out between them. Ditto for Park Avenue, a shame because it’s such a lovely avenue when traffic is light. The 4 lane avenues, 1st, 10th, 11th, seem more intimidating at first, but I’ve come to realize they are in fact safer in some respects because you have great visibility, and there are almost no peds brave enough to jaywalk through4 lanes of traffic. Luckily, I live only a few blocks to Riverside drive, which is only 2 lanes, but bordered by Riverside park to the West so no left turners! A lovely bendy road too with some amazing sights.
chromium ghostParticipantI actually think riding in Manhattan is much, much safer than riding in most suburbs or in the country.
I feel LESS safe when I am riding in Brooklyn or the suburbs.Think about it:
It’s very well lit.
Speed limit is 30mph, people do maybe 50mph on the avenues, 60mph or so on the West Side Highway/FDR
There are stop lights at every intersection.
I never have to worry about some yahoo pulling out of a driveway or parking lot.
Most Manhattan drivers are either very skilled (cabbies) or very cautious(bridge and tunnel crowd) and very few inexperienced drivers
There are cops everywhere
Compare that to the suburbs:
Poorly lit
Speed limits outside of small towns are usually over 30
There are parking lots and driveways EVERYWHERE
Stop signs instead of Stoplights
There are more little old ladies/kids driving
Fewer cops
Of course, our traffic is way, way more chaotic and there are a lot more cars, which can be more dangerous at times, but as long as you maintain your position and use your SONAR (aka the horn) it can be quite safe.
I was only in Thailand for 2 months. One month on a scooter but out in the country, never in Bangkok. You have to be a Buddhist or a masochist to drive in BK!
chromium ghostParticipantI do need to get my skills up a bit on emergency braking…but I am pretty sure if I didn’t lock the wheel I would have hit the limo. As it was I was only about 4 feet behind the limo when I was wiggling. Luckily I had both brakes going and not just the front as I would have definitely highsided without the rear.
chromium ghostParticipantYeah, Manhattan traffic rarely moves faster than 45 or so, and the posted speed limit is 30. Times Square area it’s more like 5 mph…but super fun to ride through anyway. I’ve been purposely avoiding the highway as I still only have about 300 miles under my belt…luckily the weather has been keeping me in the city and under 50mph…most of the time. Ice patches are a truly frightening prospect. I think I’m going to avoid riding for at least a few days after any snow. But still, fuck, you’re right some chucklehead tossing his big gulp in the street and….not pretty.
Speaking of, I saw something pretty damn funny in midtown the other night. Some idiot in a giant Escalade stops in the middle of a side street, with a green light and cars behind him, gets out of his truck and proceeds to drain his fire hose…by the time I rolled up the puddle had spread all over the street so I had to ride through some SUV drivers pee. Thanks dude.
chromium ghostParticipantForgot to log in. The previous post compliments of your friendly Manhattan layabout/recluse Chromium Ghost.
Also I just realized I truncated my shopping bounty: forgot the coffee(Kenya AA) cookies(whippets, like mallowmars but cheaper/better) toilet paper, and ice cream (Steve Colbert’s Americone Dream) for those of you keeping score at home.
chromium ghostParticipantI did 40 degrees in the rain on my way home from the shop today…(this was my first time riding on the new Pirelli Sport Demons as well, but that’s another post.) Haven’t been able to pick up a decent pair of gloves yet, so I just bought a $2 pair of rubber palmed work gloves from the hardware store around the corner from the shop…had on a hoodie, my Power Trip armored jacket($50 on craigslist) and a big honking yellow raincoat over everything. I was perfectly comfortable, if a little wet for the first 20 minutes or so of the ride, then the fingertips on my left hand actually started to HURT from the cold so I pulled over and let them thaw out for a bit. Actually, I think I may have gotten a mild frostbite on the fingertips as they even hurt a little bit now! I have an open face Arai with a flip down visor which I kept up to act as a kind of brim to keep the rain off my face. Worked fairly well, then again it wasn’t raining that hard and I was in going through rush hour traffic in Midtown Manhattan, so my top speed was maybe 35. Like an idiot, I forgot to check the gas before I left so I ended up running out of gas on 103rd street and had to walk the beast down to 96th to get gas. Not my proudest moment.
Anyway, picking up a pair of Olympia’s today. They really do seem to be affordable compared to the Icon’s and Alpine Stars… They get decent reviews too. Been looking at these: https://www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=868
which don’t seem too bulky at all, and have great protection w/ kevlar reinforced palms and knuckle protectors. They also have kind of a badass vintage feel to them which I like.chromium ghostParticipantDry the bastard off with towels, the spray all exposed metal with a bit of lubricant like wd40 or brush with a very light coat of oil.
chromium ghostParticipantAgreed. You should absolutely have some cage driving experience under your belt before even considering a motorcycle. In fact, I’m pretty sure most states make you pass the road test in a car and get your full car license before you can even take the MSF.
Elwood makes an extremely important point, as a beginning driver you WILL have minor, possibly major accidents. I had about 3 minor fender benders with my first car, and had I been riding a motorcycle, I would most likely have a few broken bones to go along with the slightly higher insurance rates.
You have to develop your ability to be fully aware in traffic and anticipate traffic patterns, it is most definitely not an innate skill. Drive a manual shift car for a few years, then consider a bike. Don’t worry, you have a few years left to impress the ladies.
chromium ghostParticipantThat’s happened to me in traffic a few times already. Scary.
chromium ghostParticipantWhat kind of bicycle do you prefer? If you are more comfortable on a racing bike, go for a sport bike, if you prefer the upright riding position on a mountain bike, go for a standard or cruiser. You can still “tuck in” on a standard, but you are basically forced into that position on a sport bike. If you plan on doing any long distance riding you should definitely buy a standard or cruiser.
chromium ghostParticipantThat’s a great bike. I think they are going to be selling alot more of these crossover type bikes in the next few years as commuters. Sport bike handling, but a more relaxed upright riding position. Perfection.
chromium ghostParticipantIt actually started out as a way to save money as my local shop, being one of only 3 or 4 {not including the BMW and ducati stealerships} in all of Manhattan it is notoriously overpriced. They wanted to charge me 150 per tire PLUS 150 for mounting for Dunlops which were about 40 bucks each at bikebandit. Not only that, but they ONLY had dunlops in my size. More than likely old ones too.
FYI Metzeler tires are standard equipment on all new BMWs.
chromium ghostParticipantJebus H Christ. The truck actually jumped a bit after it hit him. Also looks like he tried to get off the bike when he realized this douche was not slowing down.
chromium ghostParticipantThe only potential problem is that crackheads don’t know bikers won’t buy used, strapless helmets….I suppose if you live in a crackhead free town this is not an issue, but I would also assume teenage hoodlums don’t know this either.
chromium ghostParticipantI have issues finding neutral when I’m stopped sometimes. It’s weird. Can’t shift up or down. What I have been doing when this happens is letting the clutch out slowly to the friction zone, where it usually makes a clicking sound like when you put it into first, then I can find neutral easily. I think this is something called false neutral?
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