[eon]

Sorry to hear about your little spill but glad it was a minor one. I guess it’s easy to get sucked into expecting certain behavior from other riders at a track. Easy to do on the street as well but there you kind of expect the unexpected. At the track I imagine other riders behavior is more predictable. At least till you come up on a beginner!

Oh and congratulations on your fastest lap.

[eon]

Yup, I have Sidi’s. Glad to hear they have thin soles, will help me in the transition when I finally get a real bike

I also come from a long tradition of bicycling (father was semi-professional back in the 50’s, parents met in a bicycling club), so I grew up on two wheels. That experience certainly helped in the transition to motorcycles and at least on a scooter, the braking experience is identical.

[eon]

Some interesting points being made in this thread. Interesting to hear experienced riders mention the lack of feel when braking with your foot. Having a scooter where the back brake is the left lever (same as a bicycle) I don’t have this problem just now but I am not looking forward to the day when the brake is under my right foot. I thought it was just me who thought this would result in lack of feel.

On my IRC in the braking exercises the instructor asked me if I had ABS. I thought he was taking the piss as I knew I had locked up slightly but he was being serious. Apparently I was locking in short pulses before releasing, similar to what an ABS system does. I wasn’t even really aware of doing this but I was obviously getting feedback through my fingers and reacting before my (conscious) brain even got to know about it. Hard to see this happening through a reinforced boot.

[eon]

Wow, exciting day for you then. I only had to deal with a Victoria Beckham lookalike tailgating me and not responding to my angry WTF glare.

Other than getting on the rear brake too hard it sounds like you did okay to me. I would suggest doing some braking practice when it is wet as it does make a difference. I also practiced braking across wet leaves which was fun (instant slide, so something to avoid like the plague).

[eon]

Can you return a helmet after wearing it on the bike?
I thought the reason they all have the visor covered with a large sticker was that as soon as you take it off, it’s yours! I seriously thought about returning my Arai as soon as I started wearing it due to fogging. I’m glad I kept it now as I have worked around that issue but at the time I may have returned it if that option was still open to me.

[eon]

I also own these knee/shin guards and mostly agree with your appraisal. I find they fit me perfectly so that undoubtedly means I like them more than you

I tend to wear them on my short commute to work but I wear them on the outside of my pants as that makes them easier to take on/off. I have noticed there is not a lot of room for adjustment in the straps so I’m not surprised people with larger calves have a problem (I’ve read that criticism of them before). But I’m not sure how that problem could be solved with simple velco straps. A longer strap would leave them flapping around on skinny folks like me. A more complex strap could work but that would add expense and inconvenience (longer to take on/off).

I also wear mine with full length boots (Sidi B2’s) without a problem. I tuck them in just a little bit inside the top of the boot and that is a perfect fit. I originally bought these for added protection when I only had over the ankle boots and I found there was a gap between the top of the boot and the bottom of the shin guard. Not a lot but enough to be disconcerting. So as well as width of calve, length of shin might factor into how well these fit you. I have a 32″ inseam but I’m not sure how closely that relates to shin length.

My biggest problem with these comes back to that Velcro fastening. I just don’t have a lot of confidence that they would stay in place in a high speed get off. I am not really comfortable wearing them on the interstate but they are perfect for my use, short simple intown hops when I don’t want to wear dedicated motorcycle pants.

edit: how to look like Mad Max

[eon]

I guess it depends upon how you read it. I read it as the car is going half the speed of normal traffic. That’s unusual and a red flag to me. If I cannot explain why someone is doing something odd then I cannot predict what they will do next and therefore plan on the worst.

You could also read it as you opened up the throttle to pass someone. At that point you are the one going twice the speed of normal traffic and a whole new set of dangers arise (having a scooter I don’t have this problem )

I’m with you on the speed differential between lanes of traffic. That’s one of my worst fears, even when in a car. Thankfully it’s rare I find myself in that situation. It’s just a nasty one.

I would like to add #51, cars driven by Victoria Beckham lookalikes. Maybe this is just a personal issue of mine but they seem to be even more self centered, obsessed and clueless than other drivers. It may even be down to just one person who I keep running into. Happened again this morning and this time I discovered she even works in the same building as me.
Repeat after me,
I will not let down her tires
I will not let down her tires
I will not let down her tires

[eon]

#9. You got to wonder why they are going so slow, what can they see that you cannot?
Maybe they are slowing and flashing their headlights to let someone come out of a sidestreet, someone you cannot see and who cannot see you. It’s been known to happen.
In short, if someone is doing something strange then be prepared for anything (even more so than usual)

[eon]

Umm..okay. I’m thinking you meant to post this on another thread.

[eon]

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say above.

I would add that on learning to avoid situations where you crash the internet is your friend. The Hurt report was a statistical analysis of some 900 odd (I think) crashes back in the 70’s. These days people are posting detailed analysis of their crashes online and you get back and forth discussion on why it happened and what could have been done to prevent it. I have found these a great resource in learning to recognize potentially dangerous situations, everything from your state of mind, to lane positioning to nuances of traffic flow. At the very least they are a reminder of the consequences of our mistakes and to reign in your enthusiasm at times.

Not always pleasant reading but something I try to do from time to time.
Face Plant over at advrider is my source of this info

[eon]

Hmm…seems I am more confused than I first thought
I know what I stated about car insurance is correct in the UK, I thought it was the same here as well but I could easily be wrong. Doesn’t seem to make sense though. So a standard situation is a teenager starts to drive their parents car. Are you (or cwa0513) saying the insurance company does not need to be informed about this? Cause obviously the risk of a claim has just gone through the roof. If the parents are not asked to pay for this increased risk then it means we are all paying for it.

As far as test riding bikes, I read about one person who crashed while on a group test ride and he had little or no insurance. He ended up paying thousands in repairs that he could not afford. The dealership had no insurance on the bike which kind of makes sense. Can you imagine how expensive it would be to insure a test bike that any idiot is allowed to ride? That would be a crippling expense I would think. Then again, that might be why so few dealerships allow test rides.

[eon]

Is this really true? I confess I get confused by insurance polices and could not tell you what I have (other than I try to get the best coverage I can). I am more familiar with car policies and there you have to name all covered drivers. Blanket policies are available but they will have conditions like driver must be over 25 etc, and you will pay for this privilege. Otherwise 18 year old squid can ride his GSXR-600 and insure it in daddy’s name and pay next to nothing. I’m thinking the insurance companies are not so stupid to allow that to happen.

[eon]

That butt first landing looks like a sure fire way to become a paraplegic; and I did not see any attempt on his part to land that way.

[eon]

Nice looking bike and I see you’ve gone for the color coordinated look

[eon]

I recommend you go read the section on helmet shapes and sizes over at webbikeworld.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmet-faq.htm

Not everyone’s head has the same shape, some are round, some are oval. It is strongly recommended to try on helmets before buying as it is hard to know how it will fit until you do. If you cannot try on an Icon locally I would look through the reviews on webbikeword to see what shape they classify it as. Then find another brand that has the same approximate shape that you can try on and see if it fits. Or go try on what you can and see what is comfortable, come back home and see what shape it is. That should give you an idea what brands to consider. Or at the very least make sure the site you buy from has a good return policy.

Best of luck (who said getting started was easy?)

[Author]

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