[eon]

If you have done any type of research you will know that a GSXR 600 is pretty much a rocket ship. It’s a hard core super sport designed to do one thing, go fast. Because of that it’s favored by young men with small penises, an overwhelming sense of immortality and no patience to learn the skills needed to exploit 1/10th of its capabilities. I would be very cautious about buying a low mileage bike of this type as it may have had slightly more than a kickstand drop.

I’m confused by your comment about the MSF class not being enough but then wanting to buy a GSXR. The MSF class is a *basic* introduction on how to ride safely and the *basic* mechanics of riding a motorcycle. It certainly does not prepare you for riding a GSXR but hopefully puts you on the path to learning how to be safe while you develop your skills.

If you are looking for a 600cc class sportbike then look at the SV650 and the 650R, both recommended by the folks in the know here. That is a more realistic goal for you at this point. It is not just about respecting the machine you ride, it is about having the skills to control it and that takes time and experience.

[eon]

Can’t say I’ve had that experience but I think my windshield deflects a lot of the crap that gets thrown up. It gets much dirtier than my visor ever does. And while it is a rare (and it might depend on your geographic location) it is possible to get ‘dirty’ rain. If there is dust/dirt in the atmosphere it can get washed to the ground by rain. Usually easy to tell after the fact as you can see the dirt on cars once the water has evaporated.

But light rain by itself can be a PITA. Very soon after I started riding I was out in a very fine light rain in an urban area, lots of shops, parked cars, cars coming out of side streets hidden by the parked cars. That light rain just coated my visor and I couldn’t see anything. If I had been going 60mph it would have blown off but at 20mph, it just stuck to the visor. And with all the traffic and hidden dangers I really needed good visibility. I ended up just riding with my visor up. Not too bad at 20mph but it was a rude introduction into the world of riding in poor visibility.

[eon]

DC, not sure you will get many takers buying things online from an unknown source. Even though you have been a member of this site for longer than I have it’s obviously not a site you have used over the past year.

But, I will give those gloves the thumbs up as I have the exact same pair and I have crash tested them and was impressed with the results. I will also say your pair looks only lightly used. The tan color on mine got dirty pretty quickly from road grime and my sweaty paws. $80 looks like a decent price for them.

Hope you find a buyer.

[eon]

I saw this on another site and it was pointed out it is a satire piece. There is some website where people write satire news articles for fun and this was one of the articles. Forget which site I read it on though. Havee to say it sounded very much tongue in cheek to me when I read it.

[eon]

I really like the MP3 but I cannot say I ever fell in love with it. It’s a lot of fun and I’ll probably keep it whenever I buy my next bike but it’s never ignited a passion in me. Maybe I need to get a Ducati or something

Where it does excel is in practicality. Not exactly typical praise for a motorcycle (or scooter) but important when you do not have a car. I can load that thing up with a week’s worth of groceries fairly easily. I see me buying something else and keeping this as my work horse and go to bike in foul weather. But it could be I do not appreciate what I have and will come to love this ugly thing when I get something else. Part of the reason I want to hang on to it.

[eon]

I ended up using my Halo on my new helmet but have used small strips of solas tape to make sure it stays on. Can’t say I notice any difference in brightness in how each reflects light. The solas tape is almost metallic so it can reflect light in bright conditions but that’s not exactly a huge benefit. Either one works well I think.

Oh, and my order from the website mentioned above came through on time so if anyone is looking to buy some tape then they get my recommendation.

[eon]

Welcome to the site. Glad to hear you are having fun and riding through the winter. Looking forward to Spring and some dry non greasy roads myself.

[eon]

I’ve no personal experience with handlebar mounted shields, but I’m sure i read somewhere they *can* be more troublesome than other types. Your personal experience is worth more than my read something somewhere sometime ago based opinion

[eon]

Your tolerance for heat/cold and the temperatures you ride in are going to have a large impact on what makes a good 4 season pant for you. I think I have a good tolerance for cold and I’ve been okay with a goretex layer over a mesh jacket with extra layers in temps in the 30’s (I’ve not been cozy but I’ve been okay). I did just buy the Cayenne Pro pants which is a winter pant and they are very comfortable on the bike but I think they will get too warm for me pretty quickly. Even with the liners removed I’m not sure how great they will be in summer temps.

[eon]

If you are looking for protection from the winter elements then I would say the larger the better. My screen goes up to about my chin level which means I am very nicely protected and can still see over. I have seen extra tall shields that go over the riders head but I think those must be dangerous (no wiper to clean the water off them).

Personally I would avoid shields that attach directly to the handlebar mounts. Any wind gusts would have a direct input on the steering and that is something I would not want to contend with. Apart from that your type of bike will have a large say on what you can get. If you have to stay with a smaller one look into things like laminar lips that help deflect the air over you.

[eon]

+1 on the MSF class. It’s your life we are talking about here so it’s best to do all you can to stack the odds in your favor.

Can you learn on a Ninja 750? It’s not a simple yes/no answer. The more you move away from the recommended 250 class the more difficult you make things for yourself. Can it be done? Of course it can. Is it recommended? No, probably not.

The other thing I would say is you have to be honest with yourself about your self-control. The one person guaranteed to get hurt if you ride outside your limits is yourself. I’m a 40 something who has never given a crap what other people think (I ride a 3 wheeled scooter for chrissakes). The first time someone gave me a compliment at a light I cracked that throttle open to show what it could do and nearly face planted into a concrete wall. Will you be able to control yourself when riding with your cousin? Will your ego be okay eating his dust? Just saying it’s easy to get suckered into riding outside your limits. If I had been on anything more powerful I would have had a painful crash that night.

[eon]

I’m not sure what the differences are between the various reflective tapes, it may be minimal for our purposes. I know when I read the SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) stuff was used on lifejackets that made up my mind. I initially bought two 15″ strips from a local marine store for about $20 I think. I’ve just ordered a 30’x1″ roll for $40 from a n online store (http://www.colebrothers.com/solas/) so hopefully I’m not going to get ripped off. I hate buying from unknown websites.

More Information on SOLAS

[eon]

Use the following code but replace [ with < and ] with >

[img src=”http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/deg856/ArroyoSeco.jpg&#8221; /]If your image is on the large size you can add width=660 to that and it will reduce the size so that it fits nicely on the page. Any larger than that and it overlap into the menus on the right.

[eon]

“I talked to the manufacturer and he actually said that it was a safety feature designed to make riders less visible to LEOs when you’re blasting down the road at illegal speeds.”

God, I’ve not laughed so hard in ages. I think I would have cussed that person out after I’d stopped laughing. What a retard.

[eon]

You seem to be pushing your boundaries these days
Riding back roads at night is something I have not done yet and I’m not in any hurry to start. I do plenty of riding at night but around me most roads have street lights (there has to be some advantages to living downtown). While freeway riding might be scary I would be more scared on the back roads. More chance of crap on the road and i would think anytime you get above 40mph (maybe a lot less) you are going faster than your sight distance.

Keep an eye on the tightness of your Halo band. Mine started to loosen up after 5 or 6 months and came off a few times when I removed my helmet, leaving it dangling around my neck. That scared me so I put it in a drawer and have not used it since, moving onto reflective tape instead. I’ve heard some folks use a dab of glue to keep it in place.

I caught up with a guy on the freeway once and for miles back it looked like he was wearing an illuminated vest. I think it was just a standard reflective vest but you could certainly see him for miles under the bright freeway lights. I’m going to cover my jacket with the SOLAS tape I use on my helmet. That stuff is supposedly the most reflective tape around and is used on lifejackets. I’ve had it on my helmet for most of 2009 in all kinds of weather and it looks as good as new. Even the strip on my old jacket has not come off and that has been in the washing machine several times.

[Author]

Posts