[eon]

The Motoport stuff comes highly recommended by owners and if the claims of the business owner are to be believed, it is the best stuff out there. I couldn’t quite get over the style of them though, plus the owner came across as a bit of an asshole to me. But if you like it it is supposed to be very safe. I ended up with RevIt gear, mainly on the recommendations of webbikeworld. Have not crash tested it but so far really like it.

Most (all?) jackets/pants come with zippers that allow you to attach them together. This gives you the flexibility to wear just the jacket for a small trip, and you will want to cut corners at some point. You might not believe us but it will happen. I don’t wear my motorcycle pants for my shortest trips as the danger (ie speed) is low and the inconvenience high.

Haven’t been able to check all your links as I’m having to enter this on my phone, but check out high end boots from the likes of Sidi, Alpinestars and others. I just cant bring myself to wear just a pair of “sturdy” boots.

[eon]

I have been eyeing a versys as my second bike for a long time now and there really is not a bad thing said about it (apart from the slight vibration mentioned). Keep in mind it is not narrowly focused on sport or off road so it it necessarily a compromise between the two (though much more focussed on street than dirt). I did a 300 mile 12 hour day yesterday with a new Versys owner. This guy is very experienced across a wide range. Dirt bikes since he was 12, sport bikes since he was 18 with lots of track days. He just sold a KTM Adventure to get the V. After yesterdays ride which included fast twisties and plenty of mountain gravel roads his verdict was a huge thumbs up. Its not a dirt bike but he quickly gained the confidence to thrash it across those mountain roads. His opinion has move the V back to my top spot.

Kawasaki brought oy a 2010 model with minor upgrades and a cosmetic upgrades. This means you can get great deals on unsold 2009 versions (while stocks last!)

[eon]

It usually means you are off the beaten track and not sure where you are going (at least around here). Plus sliding the back wheel is fun.

[eon]

If you manage the MSF class with relative ease then I would say this is a manageable first bike. Its power to weight ratio is a lot less than the SV650 which some folks on here started out on. I know nothing about the engine characteristics but I would not expect it to have the sudden power delivery of the highly tuned sport bikes. The weight/height may be a problem but we are talking about zero mph drops here and it looks like it can handle that (so long as you are prepared to get scratches on your new bike) but I am concerned about the height. 5’4″ and 32.5″ inch seat height sounds like a tricky combination. You would certainly want to make sure you can manage that before buying.

If you struggle a bit in the class I would recommend something a little tamer to start out on, it would make those first few hundred miles a whole lot easier.

[eon]

LOL…let’s hope you get enough control to get to that gas station before you run out of gas Congrats on the new bike and for taking it easy and practicing the simple but difficult things.

One word of warning for all relative newbies. Be very careful when you think you are getting good, that’s when overconfidence creeps in and mistakes can be made. I know I went through various phases where I thought I was getting the hang of things and started to override my skill limit. I think around the year mark is the most dangerous time for this but it can happen just about any time.

[eon]

The class is more or less the same as the BRC but without the videos. There are a few new exercises (one handed cone weave and the “peanut” come to mind) but go in expecting much the same as the BRC and you won’t be disappointed. The real benefit is having an experienced eye look you over while you are doing these exercises. Guarantee they will tell you you are not turning your head far enough in the turns
(or maybe that’s just me).

[eon]

Or throw a cover over it

[eon]

Didn’t mean it to be a kick, just an observation. At the end of the day it’s up to you to decide what type of bike works for you. My experience has been different than yours but that’s not to say one of us is right and the other wrong. I seem to recall you mentioning the roads near you are pretty much straight. In that situation my mindset might be closer to yours but I don’t know. Just was a little concerned that your words would convince someone to start larger than they needed to as “they would get bored”. I know you started out on a sensible bike but I think people with no riding experience do not appreciate how fast a 250 actually is. You only have to look at the comments in the “why 600cc is too much” section to see how much bad advice is out there.

I honestly do not lust after a large engined bike. At one time I was looking at a V-Strom for my next bike and time and again I read how the 650 is a better bike than the 1000. In all aspects it is the same bike but the 650 is lighter and has more than enough power for most circumstances. Read the same advice for many different bikes. My next road bike will be 650cc but I am inkling towards some off road riding and for that I am looking at a 250.

Keep posting your thoughts and experiences. I am in no means trying to stop you doing that. This is just one of your peers making an observation based on your posts.
And if you disagree with anything I say please feel free to say so. I make plenty of mistakes and welcome people telling me where I go wrong. For example, after my recent advance cornering class someone (eternal?) asked me if I was feeling more confident. Well, I am feeling overconfident, almost invulnerable and I need to dial things back a bit. I read somewhere before that this is a pretty common feeling and it allowed me to recognize that I have fallen foul of it. So much to learn…..

[eon]

Sorry to hear about your crash. Getting over these things takes time (I had a low drama low side but it still took time to get over it). I agree with everything Eternal said but would add in take more training classes. Get back to basics and work your way up again.

Oh, and I would recommend starting a new thread. Adding onto someone else’s with a completely different topic is considered bad form.

[eon]

My combined weight is 713lbs and I only have 40bhp and 31 lb/ft torque. In 2 years, 18000 miles of riding I have rarely found it wanting in acceleration, and certainly not during the first few months of riding. These days, occasionally, but only when I want to execute an overtaking maneuver.

I have no doubt you can accelerate faster than I can so why is it you feel this lack of power and I do not? You only been riding what, a month? But then you were complaining about a lack of power from the very first day, on the 250s in your training class. I think you also mentioned the lack of power on the GS500 from the very beginning and are now drooling over 1500cc bikes. It could be you have different expectations than me, but I get concerned when you start confirming to newbies that they will get bored with a 250. Out of all the contributors to this site I think you are unique in feeling this lack of power. Just something to ponder upon.

As mentioned, you do get used to the acceleration pretty quickly but that does not mean it is time to trade up. Carrying speed through corners has NOTHING to do with how much horsepower you have beneath you. My fat pig of a scooter can easily reach unsafe speeds for any corner. Learning how to take the corners quickly but safely with a good safety margin is where I have fun on a bike. Perhaps that’s why I’ve not felt a lack of power.

[eon]

I’m thinking about getting a 250 dual sport for my next bike (I keep changing my mind about what kind of bike to get but this is the current favorite). Do you have any advice about what to get? I was thinking about the Kawa KLX but then I read the Yamaha WR250 is a lot better (if more expensive). I think the Euro options are not worth it for me just now, maybe later. Am I on the right track? Anything to look out for?

[eon]

1) Depends. I think in general yes, leather does a better job but it all depends on the fabrics involved (both leather and textile). There are some hi-tech textiles out there like SuperFabric that claim 4x abrasion resistance of leather. This is expensive stuff though and is only used in impact areas on expensive gear.

2) Look at the denier number for Cordura products. Higher numbers are better. 500 is about the standard with some offering higher numbers in the impact zones. Avoid polyester as that melts in the high temperatures generated during a slide. Some jackets though will have a polyester outer layer as I think that helps with waterproofing, but should have a Cordura inner shell for protection. Not always easy to get all this information though.

The route I have taken is to have a separate Gore-Tex rain jacket that I wear over my motorcycle jacket. This is wind/water proof and allows me to wear a light (expensive!) mesh jacket underneath. I am very happy with this and would probably have bought a leather jacket if I’d planned on doing this. Trying to find one jacket that does it all is near impossible. The climate where you live will go a long way to determining what kind of jacket you should look for.

[eon]

No. The SAS Tec is one solid piece of rubber looking type material. It’s kind if cool, you can press into it with your thumb but try and hit it and it is solid. Pro 4 is completely different, almost basic in comparison. It is 8 thin slices of foam type material encased in a basic plastic case. Looks very low tech but it obviously works. It is also quite a bit thicker than the sas-tech but is does have ventilation holes that go all the way through.

I wouldn’t sweat too much over which protector to get. All of the ones mentioned here will do a good job. I think its important to consider your overall protection (boots, pants etc). We all have limited funds and this stuff can get expensive.

[eon]

Sources man, sources?
I know you value the opinion of the SportBikeTrackGear guys and they rate the Knox as the best, but watching their review I was not convinced. Dismissing the numbers and scientist tests seemed a little odd to me. Obviously each persons opinion will vary and I value theirs, but I’ve found the Sub4 to be very comfortable.

This is an indepth review that is 2 years out of date now and has the previous version of the TPro and probably the Contour as well.
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload/Ride%20Magazine/Product%20test%20pdfs/6%20JUN08%20Back%20protector%20test.pdf
But I don’t have an updated version so this is all I have to go on. If you have links comparing the newer versions I would be very interested in seeing them.

[eon]

That BMW jacket is a nice looking jacket but like you I don’t know anything about it. General consensus when it comes to BMW gear is that there is a ’roundel tax’. It’s usually good gear but you pay more for it than you really should. The webbikeworld guys rave over the RevIT brand and I’ve been buying a lot of that and really like it. They seem to pay attention to the protective qualities of the gear which I like. Other brands to consider would be Aerostitch, Olympia and Motoport. That last one may give you the best protection around but it looks like shit IMO. I’m all for protection but it needs to pay some attention to style.

Whether any of these brands give you any more protection than the cheaper ones is a bit of a crap shoot.

[Author]

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