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To add to what Jack said, ride along with your earbuds in but no sound and you will see how much (ie. little) they block wind noise (I’m thinking of standard iPod earphones here, I know there are better types out there). Any music you listen to has to drown out that noise before you hear it. Or, turn your music off, walk into your house (or suitably quiet place) and turn it back on. If you get surprised by how loud it is then that’s not a good sign.

Was on a group ride with a cruiser chick and she had speakers blasting out her music. As she pulled away from the lunch stop she had Steppinwolf’s Born to be Wild blasting out. Gave us all a chuckle or two.

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Glad you had a great day but where are all the pictures of this fall scenery? Pictures of bikes + scenery = great ride report

Had a great day myself yesterday just wandering aimlessly for 100 miles or so. Started out just going for some parking lot practice and just kept on going. A good day.

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I read an article in the February issue of Bike magazine (uk rag) where they tested the new ABS system on Honda’s CBRR 600 and 1000cc bikes. If I remember correctly they brake tested bikes with and without the system and without fail the ABS bikes stopped quicker. These are guys who ride fast bikes all day for a living, are generally disdainful of stuff that gets in the way of showing of their skills but they had nothing but good things to say about ABS (at least on these bikes). If it’s good enough for them then it’s good enough for me.

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I’ve always wondered why Ben allowed comments on those articles. I rarely go there as it’s hard to follow the thread at times due to recent comments getting mixed up with comments from years ago. But I was reading the recent comments on that 600cc thread with some amusement. I guess if the trolls go there to feed it keeps the main forum respectable. One of the reasons this is my favorite site is that people can have a polite discussion even if their views are polar opposite. I also spend a lot of time on advrider.com where there are some very experienced riders who do amazing things (ride round the world type of thing) but the good posts get drowned out by the bad.

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Great, I now have the mental image of Megaspaz riding around the track with his butt camera showing us a rapidly disappearing thong. Time to go lie down.

And FWIW, I think very few street riders are able to match the braking abilities of ABS in wet conditions. Unless you have done it, I suspect you are overestimating your abilities.

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It is their Freeway jacket. MotorcycleSuperstore have it in stock but maybe they are just emptying out their current supplies. They ran out of this jacket not long after I bought and got another shipment in at the start of the year and bumped the price up to the MSRP. They are still selling it at MSRP.

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I like the shot from the front forks, that was neat. Now you just need someone to chase you to get the external shots.

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That’s a sweet looking bike. I’m no expert but I would say that bike has been around a few years. That gives you a pass to over the 600cc limit

Sounds like you are having a great time. And dad owns a bike shop!. Lucky man.

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So Teknic’s US distributor breaks the contract and Teknic have to redesign their entire product range to sell in the US? Are you sure? If that is correct it is the most f***** up thing I have heard in a long time.

Also, I see Teknic gear on both NewEnough and MotorcycleSuperstore. And not the knocked down clearance prices either. The jacket I bought for $170 last year is selling for $315 today.

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Pretty much all of the original forests in Scotland were cut down centuries ago, only a few small pockets remain. Any other trees you see will have been planted by the Forestry Commision, a government run dept that balances commercial logging with access to the country, with the emphasis being on the commercial side.

Riding in the rain isn’t too bad if you have the proper gear. I stupidly did not have the rain liner in my pants (I thought I did, it quickly became obvious I did not) and I had my gloves outside my jacket allowing the rain to run inside them. Doh! Combine that with the first night/rain/cold of the season and it was a “why am I doing this” moment. I plan on getting getting some hippo hands to protect my hands from the rain/cold and give my gear another chance. It worked well enough last year so it should still be good. If not I will have to break down and get an expensive winter setup or get myself a car.

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I was hoping you would chime in, always interested to hear the opinion of someone who actually does this sort of thing (unlike me who just reads about it). After my last post I got to wondering about the effect of just raising your head. If you assume an average bike weight of 400lbs, how much difference to the center of gravity is raising your head by 1ft going to have? I also noticed in pic 5 his upper body was slightly off to the side compared to pic 4.

I went through a phase awhile back of shifting my butt before corners but I quickly gave up on that as on a scooter, it’s freaking hard to get back on (not having anything for my knees to hold on to). I think I lean my upper body now but I will pay more attention to my form next time I am out.

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Sorry about the image being cut off, I tried to resize it but was not able to. You can view the image directly here http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/plasticweld/46139713-O.jpg

Briderdt, the last pic is being presented as the best setup, pic5. In this one he is raising his center of gravity which allows for less lean, which is the important thing. And is this necessary on public roadways? Absolutely I say. It is not about maximizing your speed through the corner, its maximization the traction you have available to you. And it is on public roads you need the skill to adjust mid-corner, due to those unexpected obstacles.

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Those are great. I’m jealous you have such great country nearby, although I cannot complain too much as I have mountains all around me here.The ones from Hatcher Pass look uncannily like Scottish mountains. No trees, bare rock, heather, boggy ground.

Temperature is starting to drop here also. Got caught in my first heavy rainfall last night. I forgot how much fun riding in the rain at night is (not!). Plus somehow over the past year my waterproof gear has taken on the properties of a sponge. Was very cold and miserable for the first few miles, then I started to warm up a little (maybe the gear was acting like a wet suit). Then, when I had finished playing soccer, I had to put all this cold wet gear back on and ride home in ~45′ temps. Nice

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Terrific pics. More please
I love mountains which is why I love the Seattle area. I used to head into the Highlands of Scotland every summer when I lived back there. Used to rejuvenate my soul. And here is a gratuitous link showing the homeland at its best (having an expert photographer certainly helps)
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120351

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The advice given to beginners obviously has to cover a wide range of talent so take it with a pinch of salt. To me the most important thing is understanding your own limitations and attitude. You come across as being a level headed kind of guy who is interested in staying safe so I think you would do fine on any of the bikes you mention.

I have been looking at the F650GS as my second bike and I have heard many people comment on how fast it is. For a beginner it could be too much but that all depends on the beginner and how much risk you want to take. Owlie’s comment on the sensitivity of the throttle is important. Even my 40hp scooter can throw you backwards if you are not prepared for it.

I’m glad you aced the MSF but don’t read too much into that. It is just toodling around in a parking lot after all. Learning to be safe on the road is a whole different set of skills to learn than brake/clutch/throttle control. But I’m sure you know that

Good luck with your search. Sounds like you have some very cool bikes lined up.

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