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Fourth-gen Ninjas have max load of 375-380 lbs.

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The reasons I poo-poo the RS125, despite being a hoot to ride (I’ve had the pleasure), are two-fold:

1) It’s a two-stroke. This means a number of things, but most importantly is that it’s mighty inconvenient in a number of ways. Read up on two-stroke vs. four-stroke engines if you’re unfamiliar with the distinction.

2) It’s categorized as a race/track bike, rather than a street sportbike. This means that it is MUCH more costly to insure, more costly to buy, and more costly to repair.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s a sweet little bike. Earlier, when I was really struggling with ergonomic issues on my Ninja, I took a look at the 125. It just turns out it’s more complicated than it looks on paper. Not a cost-effective bike at all.

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List has been updated

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You know you’re a motorcycle geek when you find yourself checking the BBM forums incessantly all day at work in the hope that you can live vicariously through somebody who’s actually getting to ride.

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You’re right in that you’re pushing the upper ranges of its capabilities at that level, but I’ve ridden with passenger (I’m around 190, passenger 130) without a problem. In fact, it doesn’t seem notice much difference in power response. The big difference is handling, but when the weight isn’t in a passenger, it’s not as much an issue.

Honestly, ergonomics will likely be the main issue, so check into some of the 650 twins.

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Welcome back big dawg. Looking forward to whatever treats you have in store for us.

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That’s what I’ve been using on my gixxer lately on account of a hookup with the local Michelin rep. The stock Bridgestone Battlax BT-016 rubber was also really solid (same two-compound “hypersport” street tire class); I switched for reasons of price, not performance. If you see a deal on either tire, I’d go for it.

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The same is pretty true of mesh though. For comparison, I have a Shift Vendetta perf’d jacket (leather) and a Shift Backdraft jacket (mesh). They’re basically in the same boat to differing degrees: much more comfortable moving, bad to brutal when stationary.

There is a substantial difference in how much air flows through a mesh jacket vs. perforated leather, however, since leather can’t be perforated nearly enough to equal a porous-by-design mesh textile without sacrificing structural integrity. That Backdraft jacket feels great in heat: like you have a fan aimed at your chest. The Vendetta cools down a bit, but in bad heat it’s still hot at 50mph. The JR leather jacket you linked though is really well perforated…looks like a pro racer’s summer leathers. It might do the job and keep you safer than the mesh. If it’s perforated, it’s your summer jacket, and that said I’d probably avoid black. With the exception, all of my street gear is black…brutal in heat. Looks so cool, but it’s brutal.

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As you’re saying, it’s very hard to see with your crappy headlights facing forward in turns. I completely lose confidence when I can’t see where I’m going, and thus usually try to avoid riding in those conditions.

But man, I know what you mean about random animal encounters. Things like that are suddenly much more of an issue when you’re on two wheels. If you run over somebody’s crazy cat in a car, you have to live with the guilt, but on a motorcycle that could spell baaadd news. Around here there are lots of possums, squirrels, and neighborhood cats to get in your way.

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If you’re racing, or if you are somebody that really pushes themselves on the track, you will likely want to invest in some super-stickies. However, for your average trackday, you definitely don’t need special tires. You have a Ninja 650R right? Fairly recent? Your stock tires are probably fine.

It depends on the track day, but most of the time there are a large variety of riders in the novice group. This is not intended as a slight against the ‘spaz at all, but part of the reason that he would pass so many people in earlier videos is that the novice group is really diverse. A lot of those people a) have never been to the track before, b) aren’t very used to the race line, braking, shifting, body positioning, etc., and c) don’t have enough confidence yet to push hard at all. At most track days I’ve been to, there are all kinds of bikes in the novice group: your 650R-type casual sport bikes, nakeds, SVs, even an occasional Harley. For most of these people, there is no need for race-oriented gear.

On your first track day, you will (or rather, SHOULD) be taking it easy. Get used to the feel of the track, learn the course, figure out lines, entry speeds, etc. Considering you’re relatively new to motorcycling and would be new to the track, there’s no reason to even approach the limits of your stock tires. You’d be surprised how fast you can go comfortably.

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Congratulations mate! Hope you find a beaut sooner rather than later…but remember, we need pics when it happens

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One of the most important discoveries on a bike (as opposed to a car) is that shifting REALLY fast makes for smooth upshifts. The super-simplified reason is this: when you’re in a lower gear, the engine will be spinning faster than it needs to in the higher gear. In a car this sometimes means you need to wait a bit to get a smooth shift. On a motorcycle, the engine spins down so much faster that you need to be very quick to catch the engine before it revs down too much.

To make this more concrete, let’s suppose that you’re going from first to second, and the bike is currently going 12 mph. In first gear on a Ninja 250R, that puts you somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-6K rpms…let’s choose 5,500rpm to make it really clear. Now suppose that, to go 12 mph, you need to get the engine to 4,500rpm in 2nd gear (the engine will spin SLOWER in a higher gear at the SAME ground speed). That means that you have from 5,500rpm to 4,500rpm to clutch in, shift up, and clutch out. The problem is that the engine revs down that much in about half a second, so that’s all the time you have. If you go too fast, the bike will jump forward a bit when you get the clutch re-engaged (because the engine is going too fast). Usually, however, and especially when you’re learning, you go too slow because you’re not used to motions yet. When you let out the clutch (especially if you dump it), it’s as if you’re applying the brake…sometimes really forcefully.

I’m thinking of writing a more in-depth explanation of this…we’ll see if I get around to it.

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Yeah, I bet! Can’t see the picture though…can non-members see pics on that forum?

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I remember drooling over the Arthaworks DB7 for a long time (Arthaworks is a tuning shop). This one was custom tooled for some super-rich dude, and unfortunately will probably never get ridden properly. Gorgeous all the same:

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2009_Bimota_Arthaworks_Motorcycle_Design_Award

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Glad she’s alright. Give her our best!

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