[dcJohn]

I promptly loaded up on the full season of Top Gear when it showed up on AppleTV. Fantastic series.

[dcJohn]

Awesome. As soon as CafePress and NewEnough combine shops, we can get some proper leather jackets made.

[dcJohn]

Motorcyclist (hey, they gave my bike Bike of the Year), American Motorcyclist (not so much because of the magazine itself as the AMA behind it), and MCN.

[dcJohn]

I got a pair of the Spidi Fjord H2OUT gloves, and so far I’m not a fan. They are warm, and they’ve got excellent protection, but I’m left with very little feel of the throttle or controls. They’re leather, so I’m hoping the stiffness and clumsiness will fade, but after three days of riding I’m still far-from-sold.

[dcJohn]

Owning one, I’m a bit partial to the Versys. I wasn’t sure if you meant “pricey” in terms of your budget or pricey in terms of what you get for the money. Can’t speak to the former, but as for the latter, I think the Versys is a good value.

It’s hard to find an ’08 Versys at dealers–it was a slow seller at first, but picked up heavily after Motorcyclist named it motorcycle of the year–but the ’09 models should start trickling in soon. There aren’t substantive differences–just a new colors and now CA emissions compliant–so I expect they’ll be at the front of ’09 Kawasakis that hit dealers.

Since the Versys has been out for a while and very popular in Europe, there are already some great add-ons for it. For example, lots of windscreen add-ons to help with highway comfort (I went with the Givi) (http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycles/kawasaki-versys/windscreen/). There also are lots of bag options, which can help with commuting.

I learned–1,500 miles on it–on a Ninja 250, and despite quickly turning around to sell the bike, I don’t regret starting smaller first. I think I could have learned safely on the Versys, just not as quickly, because I would have been distracted by “being careful of the power” and wouldn’t have developed confidence or pushed my skills as much as I comfortable could on the Ninja. I also don’t happen to be very tall (5’8″, 30″ inseam), and the Versys’ seat height would have been a big source of stress for me when first starting out.

As other folks have pointed out, you can do highway riding on the Ninja 250. Personally, I found highway riding on the Ninja do-able, but stressful. It’s light weight makes crosswind and trailer drafts a real pain, and while it goes along at the speed, there’s not much left to rapidly accelerate out of trouble, which takes away a big chunk of escape path for some situations. My long-ish highway commute went from just do-able to fun when I switched up to a Versys.

Finally, I wouldn’t get two caught up on the V-Twin when it comes to comfort. The Versys was built with an eye toward touring. Between its balance tube for smoother power and improved suspension (versus the 650 Ninja), the Versys makes for a very comfortable ride. If nothing else, I’d try to track one down to sit on and see if the ergonomics match what you’re looking for.

[dcJohn]

Shovelhead of the Cracked Craniums MC — apparently not an ATGATT kind of group.

[dcJohn]

Well I’m not about to turn down a Chuck Norris comparison The Versys seems to be one of those bikes that people either really like the look of… or really don’t. Personally, I love it.

There’s a lot of bags available for it, and a lot of folks set them up as sport tourers, like this…

While they’re new to the states, they’ve been popular in Europe for several years, so there’s already lots of good OEM and aftermarket accessories for it. It’s been getting stellar reviews, and Motorcylists named it 2008 motorcycle of the year (http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/122_0809_motorcycle_of_the_year/kawasaki_versys.html).

As for the ride, that’d be great. There’s some gorgeous riding around here, parkway and small twisty backroads all along the Potomac.

[dcJohn]

Good news: you only had to deal with batshit crazy, nasty person for a couple of seconds. She has to live with the fallout of that bad behavior for her whole life.

[dcJohn]

You’re going to have a blast (and learn much, much faster). Also, you know, stay alive

[dcJohn]

It wasn’t all bad. At least you separated braking and downshifting from initiating your turn. Things would have been a lot hairier if you’d had that same sudden downshift mid-turn.

[dcJohn]

Ok, these statements shows that you you’re not really paying close enough attention to the bike’s dynamics:

“-stay in gear and accellerate out of the turn – In the beginning i stuck to that but then i noticed that it really does not matter that much if youre even in a gear. (of course as long as you dont pull a stunt such as rev up and drop the clutch …)
-dont break while cornering it will straighten the bike and I will end up going straight instead of continuing my path – ok I mean dont lock up your wheels while cornering … duhh but breaking has not yet caused any of the above.”

Both of these behaviors radically change the bike’s suspension, and with that traction, in the midst of a turn. One reason you haven’t noticed the effect is that you’re riding well within your traction “budget” and there’s been room for rider error. That’s a good thing. But at some point you’re going to, intentionally or by accident, be riding closer to the edge of your bike’s traction. Doing either of these things–not accelerating through a turn (and being in neutral is even worse since there’s not even an option of doing the right thing) and breaking in a turn–will put you over the edge.

While it’s not getting you in trouble now, every time you take a turn and ignore these basic rules of traction you are training yourself to do the wrong thing.

By the way, since you’re driving nice cars, start practicing these same habits on four wheels. The same principles apply, and they were drilled over and over again in the autocross and track certification courses I took.

If you’d like an explanation of why these are important basic principles for riding (plus get lots of other good riding information), I’d suggest:
Parks’ _Total Control_
http://www.amazon.com/Total-Control-Performance-Street-Techniques/dp/0760314039/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224542720&sr=8-2

and Code’s _Twist of the Wrist 2_
http://www.amazon.com/Twist-Wrist-Basics-High-Performance-Motorcycle/dp/0965045021/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224542804&sr=1-1

[dcJohn]

I still haven’t taken out the dSLR to take any proper pics of the Versys–work’s been hectic, and it’s far more tempting to ride than photograph–but here’s a snapshot I took with my phone while out on a lunchtime ride along the Potomac.

[dcJohn]

If you find yourself interested in Suzuki’s Gladius, you might also be interested in Kawasaki’s new (to the US) ER-6N. And if you find yourself interested more in commuting and sport touring, there’s the Kawasaki Versys. The ER-6N is a naked Ninja 650. The Versys is also based on the Ninja 650, although with some significant changes in suspension, engine dynamics (much more mid/low torque), and ergonomics.

[dcJohn]

25 hours into new bike ownership, and I dropped the Versys. Ooof. (1500 miles on the Ninja 250 and I didn’t so much as stall, much less drop, that puppy.)

I was peddling backwards into a parking space, talking with my friend, and didn’t notice that I was turning back on a slope. I lost a little traction on my foot, the bike tipped, and slowly it got away from me. Fortunately, it was about as graceful as such a thing can be (or so I tell myself). While I couldn’t stop it from going over, it really was more of a slow lay-down, since I was on top and pushing back till the end.

Total damage: very slight scuff on the edge of the right brake lever and a my right brake pedal bent just a little bit in. I picked the bike right up. Reset it and everything ran just fine. My ego was left to take brunt of the damage

So, Ranette, the added height is really just fine… until I get stupid, distracted, and haven’t gotten into good habits managing it.

As soon as I got home I plunked down the $ for the Kawasaki lowered gel seat. The 2-inch difference it makes should help a great deal with the footing.

Despite that, um, hiccup, it was a joy out on the road. I’m still amazed how well the bike handles, and the extra power is mighty handy. I hopped online and ordered a new brake pedal ($25 total damage for a drop seems like a good deal, and it’s entirely rideable in the meantime.) It’s getting a bit nippier here in DC, so I ordered a larger Givi windscreen, and while I was throwing money at the new baby I also ordered a Zumo 550. Fun, fun, fun.

I’ll try to take some pics and post them over the weekend.

[dcJohn]

When there’s not a center stand option, I’ve usually found that sales folks are usually willing and able to steady and balance the bike so you can hop on and get both feet on the pegs. As you noted, it’s hard to really get a feel of the ergonomics of a bike when you’re not fully up on it.

[Author]

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