[Clay Dowling]

That woman is going to do time for vehicular manslaughter because doing her nails was more important than driving.

[Clay Dowling]

Unless you buy their touring bikes, the pillion seats on a Honda bike are designed for very short trips by small people. It’s probably okay for giving my daughter a lift to school. Not for taking my wife to Mackinaw for the weekend.

Still somewhat irrelevant for me, as I’m nowhere near ready to carry pillion yet.

[Clay Dowling]

I don’t know the exact model. I went to the cycle shop closest to my work one day and bought it with the following requirements:

1. Full Face.

2. Snell & DOT rating

3. Fit properly

4. Brightly colored

I actually wanted a metallic flake helmet, but they didn’t have them at the shop, so I got a graphic design instead. And thankfully, they had a color that matched my bike.

[Clay Dowling]

https://www.bestbeginnermotorcycles.com/forum/forum/2345/why-i-wear-full-face-helmet

[Clay Dowling]

It has nearly the same engine that’s in my Magna. It was a very good, reliable bike when it came out. There’s a good chance that your parents hadn’t met yet when that bike was built. That’s a gigantic warning sign.

I haven’t ridden an Interceptor, but Honda sport bikes are not generally recommended for beginners. Honda really loves speed. Even their cruisers are fast. Their four cylinder cars are generally faster than their equivalents from other companies. In other words, you might want to steer clear of this bike right now. Cool as the Interceptor is, that is the bike that coined the phrase Crotch Rocket, which does not suggest beginner friendly.

[Clay Dowling]

blows the light as often as anybody. The worst offender is known as the Rich People’s light, because it’s where two very expensive subdivisions join the second busiest road in the township. Although to be fair, they need that light or they’d never get out of their subdivisions.

[Clay Dowling]

Anyone who doesn’t wear a helmet doesn’t have anything worth protecting anyway.

[Clay Dowling]

A couple of communities where I have business are notorious for their fast yellow lights. You’ll have maybe two seconds of yellow tops, then it turns red. It’s common to be forced to blow a red light, because even by locking up your brakes you couldn’t have made the light.

[Clay Dowling]

The escape route I try to plan out for these situations is to go sideways, out of the path of the vehicle. At the intersection, I would make a right turn that might be less than optimal for my chosen route, but would involve a lot less crashing.

Another important trick is to control where you’re keeping the gears at. On my bike you want to keep the revs in the 3k to 4k range, it may be different for your bike. Then I’d have enough power to open up the throttle and get out of the way if necessary.

[Clay Dowling]

The shorter flyscreen windshields offer better protection. A cruiser windshield causes a ton of turbulence behind it. The flyscreen creates a smooth stream of air. With the caveat that there’s nothing that will tame the turbulence caused by other traffic. So at rush hour you’ll just have to cope with the turbulence. But in off hours, a flyscreen seems to offer the best solution, if you’re wearing a full face helmet.

[Clay Dowling]

The state and motorcycle manufacturers contribute a lot. Michigan is obviously huge with any kind of motor sports, so the state figures it’s better to sponsor the classes and cut down on first responder costs. Also, biking encourages tourism, which is a huge industry here.

[Clay Dowling]

They won’t give you the kind of protection that crash bars on cruisers give, but they should keep the plastics mostly off the cement. My bike has tipped over twice, and the crash bars prevented any damage but to my ego.

[Clay Dowling]

I’ve got Joe Rocket’s Alter Ego gear, and it’s pretty good for all weather wear. I haven’t noticed any problems in design or quality of materials, but considering it’s their most expensive textile that’s not shocking. The waterproof liners, in particular, are great on cold mornings. If I get the bug I’ll ride 45 miles when it’s just above freezing, and the jacket itself is quite comfortable. Heated grips are still something I’d like though for those temps.

[Clay Dowling]

The idiot forcing me to pay for someone else’s mistake is the guy not wearing the helmet. There’s nobody else up the line who can bear responsibility for that.

[Clay Dowling]

He reports it as being brutal to ride for any kind of distance, and a super limited range. But fun as heck. He has the DR-Z400 though, not the DR-Z400SM. Tires probably make some difference, but probably not a lot.

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