[eternal05]

I have a big bulk container of earplugs. The last brand of ear plugs I bought were too long and would create pressure against my helmet, so I’d have to trim them down a bit. Most work well, however.

[eternal05]

Hey dude,

Congrats on the good find! This is MOST LIKELY not an issue at all. As you can adjust the brake levers and pedal on most bikes, you need a way to adjust when the brake light turns on. For instance, if you lower the brake pedal, you need to make the brake light come on later than it normally would since it’s new resting position would have meant the brake was on at the previous position.

The SV650 definitely does not lack brake light under rear braking. Most likely the brake light trigger needs adjustment. Either way, doesn’t sound like a big hangup, but the next time you see the bike, take a look for it. Here’s a relevant page from an SV forum:

http://forum.svrider.com/showthread.php?p=1552294

[eternal05]

The Ninja 250R has no problem cruising in the 50-70mph range (80-110kph), though it does rev high due to low gearing. It shouldn’t bother you if you’re coming from a scooter.

[eternal05]

Your very first step, as you’ll know if you read through this site, is to sign up and take an MSF course. Do this BEFORE you buy anything.

Once you’ve taken the MSF course, here’s my two cents:

Ninja 250R:
It’s cheap, it’s “nimble, but not too quick to wrap you around a lamp post,” it gets fantastic gas mileage, yields low insurance rates, and is fun as all hell to ride. Some people say that they’d get bored on a 250 too fast, and while a few such people might be right, most are full of scheisse in my opinion. I own two bikes: a 250R and a Suzuki GSX-R600. The latter is a full-on race-bred supersport with 105+hp and a 3.6 second 0-60mph time. Which do I ride more? The 250R by far. The reason? The Suzuki is my track bike. It’s no good for commuting or running errands. You don’t ever shift while trundling around town (you hit freeway speed in first), and trying to ride it in an upright position (for safety in the city) is not at all comfortable. The 250R really lets you wring its neck WITHOUT risking $500 tickets or serious injury.

Suzuki SV650 or Kawasaki Ninja 650R:
The only thing that you might not like about the Ninja 250R is its ergonomics. Don’t worry about how you’ll LOOK, ’cause you’ll look awesome. The problem is your height. It MAY be slightly uncomfortable to really uncomfortable because of your potentially long legs, so what really matters is your inseam and the length of your lower leg (foot to knee), specifically. I’m 6’4″, and I wouldn’t be able to ride the bike without the lowered footpegs I bought. Even now, it’s too small for me, and that shows through in a lot of ways when I’m riding. In retrospect, I might have been better off on one of the more beginner-friendly sport middleweights like the SV650 or 650R. They have MUCH more power, and definitely require more caution when you start out, but many people have started on these bikes with great success. They are also much more expensive, have lower gas mileage, cost more to insure, blah blah blah. In short, ONLY go for these bikes if you don’t think a 250R will work for you ergonomically.

The real test is going to be sitting on these bikes. Go to a dealer (preferably with a buddy) and sit on all of these bikes. Don’t throw a leg over. Actually sit on them in riding position with both feet on the pegs. This is why you need your friend. Bikes are VERY easy to hold up even with a big guy sitting on it as long as you keep it vertical, so he can help you hold the bike up while you get a feel. Here’s what to do:

Get both feet (balls on your feet) on the pegs. Get a sense of where your knees are. Hug the bike with your legs, squeeze your heels into the rearsets, and take weight off your hands by providing support with your lower back muscles. If you are in proper position, your arms should be bent, and you should not feel any strain on your wrists or palms.

While maintaining your lower-body squeeze on the bike, go through the motions (independently of course) of shifting up and down and using the rear brake, returning the balls of your feet to the pegs in between shifts/braking. Is this comfortable? As you shift (particularly on the 250R), do your knees get pushed out of the grooves in the side of the bike? Can you maintain a strong lower-body grip on the bike while shifting and braking? Keep in mind, brake levers and pedals, shift levers, etc. can all be adjusted, so don’t worry so much if they don’t feel quite right. You’re worried more about things like the shape of the bike itself.

Oh, and the Triumph Speed Triple (and even the Street Triple) is a streetfighter. A streetfighter is a sportbike that’s been stripped of fairings and other cosmetic bits for that “hardcore” look, re-ergo’d for a more upright riding position, and detuned a bit for more torque and a bit less HP. These are NOT beginner bikes at all…even if they are totally sexy and drool-worthy. God I want to take a ride on a Speed Triple…

Well, that’s all I have to say, so if you’re still awake after all that drivel, welcome to the site, good luck with your motorcycling endeavors, and hope you’re at the beginning of long and fun-filled motorcycling career! Bienvenido!

[eternal05]

I’d feel much better if, like you say, there wasn’t the lingering worry that my summer mesh jacket would ride up in a crash. It’s on the longer side, which is good, but it’s a much more pliable and easily-deformed material than my leather jacket, for instance.

Honestly, I’m just not really willing to sacrifice choice of gear to make sure that pants and jacket have matching zips. It really is a stupid thing, but I’m not surprised at all that standardization hasn’t happened. In the end, I’m not going to buy Shift pants to match my jacket, though I might buy a Dainese jacket someday to match my Air Drake pants.

As with leather work, I don’t know of any tailors or custom garment manufacturers that know how to deal with the usually absent issue of durability in a crash. Even if I could find somebody to make a matching zip system, I’m not sure I could trust it in the event that I go down.

Ultimately, I solve this problem via back protector. Mine straps firmly around the waist and shoulders and will not go anywhere if I go down, even if my jacket does ride up.

[eternal05]

Because nobody agrees. Some manufacturer’s publish it, but it’s usually not city/highway, but rather some nebulous combined average. Other manufacturer’s don’t publish anything at all, so you have to take some dude’s word for it. And then in the end, they’re all about the same anyway…somewhere between 45-55 for 600cc+, and somewhere around 70 mpg for 250s.

[eternal05]

Sorry for the delay, but v1.0 of the stat sheet is ready to go. If you take issue with any particular spec or recommendation, or if you know the value of a spec that I don’t know, let me know. Here it is:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rU4QBnyJGHjHiCQAtii4KeQ&single=true&gid=0&output=html

[eternal05]

Every few days I try to add a few more bikes, but I’ve been busy lately…

We’ll see if I can’t finish up soon.

[eternal05]

As somebody who ends up in a leather suit fairly regularly, let me tell you a few things about suits:

1) Even in cooler weather, they are hot as all F@#$. In warm weather, you’ll be drenched in sweat before you even leave an air conditioned building, and you’ll be ready to die once the sun attacks from the sky and your toasty bike from the below.

2) Suits are very hard to get into and out of because they are made to be extraordinarily tight. Granted, I also have some additional gear that slows me down (chest/back protectors), but it usually takes minutes to get into my suit. It’s gotten better since it broke in, but it’s still a bitch.

3) Once you’re in, it may restrict your motion even once broken in depending on your body type vs. the build of the suit. I, for instance, am tall and relatively thin. To fit my waist size, I end up in a suit where I can’t really stand up. It’s comfortable in riding position (all that matters), but impossible to walk around in. If I anticipate having to move around off the bike (e.g. in between track sessions), I inevitably unzip the suit and pull the shoulders off so I can stand up and cool off.

4) Nothing is less practical for everyday use. It’s hard to carry a wallet, cell phone, documentation, take a piss let alone the other kind, etc.

So why do I have a suit then? Two reasons: dedicated rides and track days. For track days it’s required, and for a long three hour ride at a brisk pace through outskirt roads it just makes sense. You’re on the bike the whole time and the feeling of greater protection (especially lower body) relaxes me, yielding better (and safer) riding.

If you’re worried about synthetics, get a leather jacket. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen

[eternal05]

I’ve added them in. Finding some of these is a real pain…

[eternal05]

…that you have a Kawasaki EX250.

[eternal05]

I’m 6’4″ myself and my first bike was an ’08 Ninja 250R. It’s a GREAT bike, and it can be a lot of fun to ride, but the ergonomics simply aren’t ideal. If I’d known more about riding and the ergonomic issues that would come up, I’d probably have gone for an SV650 or something. I’ll sum up a couple issues I’ve had:

1) Your knees will be too high up on stock footpegs (I got lowered aftermarket pegs) to fit in the knee grooves in the tank.
2) You will be really tall relative to the bike. The Ninja 250R is SUPPOSED to be relatively upright, but because your torso will be longer than expected, you’ll end up in more of a sporty riding position. This means less wind protection and more work for your back and leg muscles.
3) Even with the rear brake and shift levers dropped all the way to their lowest positions, they’re too high. This is especially bad for downshifts because you can’t keep your foot on the peg.

Now about your friend’s offer, Kawi doesn’t make a Ninja 600 these days, so if it’s a newer bike, it’ll be one of two: the Ninja 650R or the Ninja ZX-6R. If it’s the Ninja 650R (649cc) and your friend is a responsible, cautious, and safe individual, go for it. If it’s the ZX-6R (599cc), don’t do it. The ZX-line bikes are all race bikes, and while it has 50cc less in engine displacement, it makes almost double the horsepower of the 650R, has a much more aggressive setup, lethally powerful brakes, blah blah blah.

[eternal05]

…I said I was putting together a long list of specs for a bunch of bikes? Well, I did a chunk of bikes (probably about 15), but that list was long, and I didn’t want to let it out until I’d finished it off.

I did, however, run into the problem you describe a lot. Motorcycle magazines, wikipedia, and really arcane Google searches are your friends.

And what the hell, here’s the half-completed spec sheet that I haven’t touched in an embarrassingly long time:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rU4QBnyJGHjHiCQAtii4KeQ&single=true&gid=0&output=html

[eternal05]

Above a certain level, money makes no difference to safety (and some would, rightly or wrongly, argue that sometimes it hinders). What you get are improvements in the following:

1) Comfort: If you’ve ever put on, say, an Arai (assuming your head fits), it’s like having your head in a pillow. It’s great.

2) Aerodynamics: How easily does your head cut through the air at speed? This often affects comfort and neck/shoulder fatigue on longer trips (30 mins+).

3) Noise: Sometimes this is a result of better aerodynamics, but for the most part, the top-tier helmets are much quieter than cheapos.

4) Ventilation: This is especially true of race-caliber helmets, but usually the higher-end helmets move more air through the helmet to cool you off (though most of them have vents that can be closed for cold-weather riding). On hot days, full-face helmets can get VERY hot and stuffy, so ventilation is great.

5) Fogging: Some higher-level helmets are better at resisting visor fog-up, but it’s really hit or miss as to which do their job. Also, a pin-lock visor can just about get rid of fogging issues regardless of helmet.

6) Gadgets and gizmos: Features like one-button drop-down sun visors, modularity (conversion from FF to 3/4 face), bluetooth, etc. will drive up price.

Aside from the fact that these features may affect your comfort and visibility, which in turn might affect your safety, none of these will protect you more when your head actually does hit something.

[eternal05]

Megaspaz, have you ever given Keith Code’s California Superbike School a try? If so, what did you think? Worth doing? Fun? Helpful?

[Author]

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