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You change gears precisely to optimize use of your engine’s powerband (which includes 50% downshifting). If you were mimicking a racer, you would not stay in a gear after braking heavily. Whether or not your bike is torquey enough to tolerate the higher gear, a lower gear would be more optimal. For me, really controlling the bike through gearing is a huge part of the fun.

Not wanting to have to downshift and not wanting your bike to sound like a ballistic lawnmower all the time are two different things, and I totally sympathize with the latter. Being forced to ride the Ninja 250R, for instance, really hard (with all the vibration and engine noise) is a turn-off to a lot of people. But if you don’t want to be “constantly downshifting,” then you’re not really into real use of manual transmission. There’s nothing wrong with that at all; I was simply saying that I take my preferences for granted sometimes when recommending things to others.

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“But jumping gears all the time and having to listen to it revved up all the time is not for me.”

It’s funny, but I never understood why some riders hate the idea of changing gears. I frequently see this as an argument to get, for instance, a GSX-R1000 instead of a GSX-R600: more torque means you don’t have to worry about gear as much. Well…ignoring the fact that at any remotely legal speed you don’t have to worry about what gear you’re in on a 600 within reason (obviously 6th won’t work at 10 mph), I never really understood why having to change gears would annoy you. On the contrary, I get annoyed when I ride my gixxer in town and don’t GET to change gears.

It just now dawns on me (yeah I know…gonna be tough getting that Master’s innit?) that the people who buy automatic transmission cars also ride motorcycles. I apologize to anybody I may have been insensitive to in the past. If being in charge of your gearing isn’t your thing, that’s your choice to make. Even if it’s wrong

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I’m 6’4″, ~190 lbs and the Ninja 250R fit me fine. The only issue would be the length of your lower legs (balls of foot to top of knee). If your knees don’t quite fit under the knee grooves in the tank you can grab the $150 adjustable footpegs that I used to solve the problem for myself.

Best of luck sorting things out!

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AMA is going to be the next NASCAR. *tear*

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Buell was recently married to the AMA, as controlling body the Daytona Motorsports Group (DMG) has been favoring the domestic manufacturer heavily. In a very controversial move, the Buell 1125R was allowed to race in the middleweight class…yes, that’s right. Not alongside 1000cc I-4s, but rather 600cc I-4s like my GSX-R600 and the CBR600RRs. DMG/AMA claimed that the super-literbike was at a disadvantage thanks to its V-Twin engine, yet Danny Eslick won the Daytona Superbike Championship, and in some races made it abundantly clear how superior the power delivery of his steed was. In several early season races, he’d pull way far away at the beginning of the race, comfortably cruising and burning his lead for the remainder for an easy victory.

The whole thing is so messed up (i.e. the combination of Buell’s shutdown, the AMA/DMG non-sense, DMG perversion of AMA motorsports), I don’t really know what to say about it.

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If you’re shopping used, ABSOLUTELY bring your mechanic or gearhead friend to come run the motorcycle through its paces and give it a looking over. It may cost you a bit if you’re hiring a mechanic to come out, but for an hour’s “labor” you can save yourself several thousand bucks in dud motorcycle.

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Glad to hear there are more BJJ’ers out there. Semi-funny-at-worst-kinda-amusing story: my coach at the moment is Brian Johnson. Brian…J…Johnson. Heh. If anybody’s interested in BJJ in the Seattle area, definitely check him out. He’s SUPER friendly, extremely good, and an excellent teacher. The club’s cheap too: $100/mo for unlimited attendance.

http://nwjja.com/

I know what you mean about some guys though. I usually make a point to watch somebody pretty extensively before I ever agree to roll with them. I’ll refuse anybody that seems too testosterone-crazed, or insensitive to potential partner injuries. One of the things I really appreciate about NWJJA is that it is BY FAR the most “chill” of all the places I’ve been to. Everybody really wants to get better, but everybody’s #1 and #2 priorities are not to get hurt, and not to hurt others.

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I’ve actually been contemplating supermoto or MX as a next venture. All of the great road riders are fairly good sideways riders as well…they all recommend dirt track or supermoto as a way to really learn to control the bike when it’s out of control. It also seems like a great way to get a lot of the same thrills of track riding at much slower speeds.

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“Short shifting” is just the name for “shifting early.” While there may be reasons to do it in certain situations, it’s not really a “technique” in the same way that, say, “double clutching” or “clutchless shifting” are.

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Hahah yeah, that leather suit would be a bit overkill for my 6-minute commute down sandpoint way. I actually live about a mile from to that MSF lot (I took the MSF BRC there too), between there and Children’s Hospital. And yes, I should have about five months of school before I’m no longer “in grad school,” and definitely spend an inordinate amount of time in the U-District. I think when I saw you you were headed down the little hill westbound on 50th st at 15th ave. This was months ago.

I really got to check out some of those boonies roads that look so pretty in your photos. I haven’t ventured out on the twisties since I started track riding…gotta get over my feelings of insecurity on the street

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Earplugs dampen painfully loud and fatiguing noises, allowing you to focus better. Earbuds add new noise between your ears and things you actually want to hear (sirens, horns, other engines, impact noises). In addition, they also further distract you by getting you emotionally or dance-ologically involved in your listening material. I mean just check this guy out:

As far as what music corresponds to what styles of biking, here are my totally stereotype-based and caricatured thoughts:

Cruiser/Chopper: Either the country-listening type or the metal type (don’t know what I mean? Think Black Label Society:

Lots of those these days).

Sportbike: One of two possibilities. Either Rock, Metal, or beat-heavy electronica, or really fruity pop (e.g. J-Pop ) and dance tunes.

Triumph: Yardbirds, the Who, Stones, Led Zep, Beatles, etc.

Ducati: Verdi, Puccini, Bellini, etc.

Motocross/supermoto: Punk/alternative.

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Sounds like you’re just not a motard fan (am I right that that’s what you were riding?). Honestly, it’s a lot like me saying I don’t like big-bore bikes because cruisers are to heavy. That sort of bike can do crazy things:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeUK6aOEJKo

These guys are power wheelie-ing everwhere, and they’re not riding 1000cc superbikes. Like you said, gearing is low, grip is high, and center of gravity is high because they need a lot of ground clearance and suspension travel. Sounds like that’s just a combination that doesn’t suit you.

Low-end torque is always going to be lacking in smaller engines, but as I’ve argued before, it usually just takes a change in your riding style to make it safe. With the Ninja 250, for instance, you have to stay in a much higher RPM range to make use of peak power. There are also small-displacement bikes that have very different geometry, gearing, and handling characteristics.

That said, there are plenty of 500/650cc beginner-ish/intermediate bikes that have oodles of torque and go. It really depends on your priorities and preferences as a rider.

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I would argue, however, that no martial art is really any good against multiple opponents. Yeah, some will have you fairing better against untrained adversaries than you’d be by yourself, but if more than one guy who knows how to fight well take you on, you’re probably going to be screwed, regardless.

I am very tempted by Krav Maga, and will probably give it a try when I get some more free time in my schedule. I have plenty of things in my life to teach me discipline, patience, and “holistic thinking,” and plenty of other activities that keep me in good shape. I personally always got put off by martial arts that were too “wax-on, wax-off” about things without actually helping you with the self-defense aspect enough. If I’m going to train a martial art, it’s for the sole reason that, put in a situation where my life, or those of people I care deeply about, are at risk, I can do as much as possible to prevent harm. That means I don’t particularly care about a 10-minute kung-fu form, and would rather deliver a kick to the groin, a punch to the trachea, an eye gouge, etc. and be done. Hence my interest in Krav Maga: seems like a no-BS self defense approach.

Reasons I like BJJ so much are:

1) You can train at virtually 100% intensity. You don’t have to strike lightly or move slowly. If you’re rolling with a partner that you trust, and that has good lock-sense, you can go balls out without worrying about serious injury. Yeah, I’ve sprained things, strained and torn muscles, cracked a rib…but that heals just fine. Take too many hits to the head and you end up like poor ol’ Muhammed Ali.

2) You can avoid hurting an aggressor. This is really important in the age of frivolous lawsuits and some totally backwards legal loopholes. As you sort of mention in your video, if you’ve trained a martial art, you must be much more careful about how you defend yourself. If you’re most comfortable striking somebody until they’re incapacitated, you risk doing serious damage and incurring all sorts of legal liability. I much prefer a nice arterial choke Leaves no trace and does nothing to injure your “victim,” but properly done puts him to sleep in a few seconds.

3) Almost completely neutralizes a difference in strength. Marcelo Garcia is one of the best absolute-class (no weight limits) Jiu Jitsu fighters and submission grapplers, and he’s a mere 154 lbs (or so). He regularly submits dudes almost twice his size. One particularly memorable match I saw had him taking down former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez, a huge (by comparison) 250 lbs MMA fighter! A smaller, cleverer, and more technical fighter can take a bigger guy 9 times out of 10.

4) Takes advantage of the fact that most guys who’d provoke a fight probably suck at ground control (though perhaps this is less true in the post-UFC world). As shown in countless instances, BJJ is a fantastic real-world fighting style for this exact reason: real-world fights between relatively untrained fighters inevitably go to the ground. The Gracies were known for taking opponents down, exploiting superior ground work to gain an advantaged position, and then just beating the snot out of their opponents while they lay pinned and defenseless.

5) Gets you STRONG. We’re not talking Lou Ferrigno huge, but rather the kind of real-world strength that you only get by doing real-world stuff. Your core muscles will develop strength you didn’t know was possible. I’m talking have-no-trouble-breathing-while-a-200-lb-guy-is-sinking-all-his-weight-into-your-solar-plexis strong. All the random little muscles that don’t get exercised with your normal lifting routine get worked out constantly.

Ok off the soapbox. Heh.

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This is a pretty cool idea: GQ for the everyman (those of us who don’t wear fedoras). I dig!

On a side note, watched that first video, and I have to say, judging from your guys’ variety of martial arts, you may disagree with my ranking, but I’m all about that BJJ. I’ve been doing it for a while now. I think that, as far as real-world practicality and development of real skill goes, jiu jitsu is unbeatable as a martial art. Combine it with a striking discipline and you’re unstoppable

Then again, that’s how UFC started: the Gracie family’s way of proving to the world that their martial art could top all others.

Hey, I meant to ask somebody who’s doing it: what do you think of Krav Maga? Strengths? Weaknesses?

Cool site dude. Hope it picks up!

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I’m not sure if Elwood’s got the “low” version of the bike, but he currently rides a sporty. I’m sure he’ll have plenty to say about it.

In general, however, I think the consensus is that it’s not a particularly good beginner bike. While you may be able to learn on it, it will present a number of obstacles that will probably hamper your learning quite a bit, and make you rather uncomfortable.

The most obvious is weight. It’s hard enough to man up to tipping a Ninja 250 over at really slow speeds (I’m specifically talking tight U-turn type maneuvers) when you’re first starting out. You’re really worried that you’ll bone up the clutch or throttle input and either zoom off your trajectory too fast or lose power and let the bike fall inward. Now imagine that the bike you’re riding is 200 pounds heavier! Whereas I could usually man-handle my bike back upright in situations when I almost dropped it, you’d have no chance of stopping that (relative) behemoth once it started going down.

Given the longer wheelbase and greater rake/trail, it will also be less maneuverable than a more “standard”-type of bike, but that’s more or less true of cruisers in general, so if that’s your preference in bikes you might as well get used to it sooner rather than later.

The other thing is that the Sportsters pack a pretty good punch, so you’re probably going to run into more problems learning to smoothly apply and remove throttle than you would with a leaner, less frisky bike, BUT, as far as actual horsepower figures goes, it’s really not that unreasonable.

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