[gitchy42]

We did the sharp 90 in the box, but not a u-turn. There were a lot of time that we were turning around, but I’m not sure if we ever really did it in that small of a space. But like I said, I can do it, just not every time. I need to find a good parking lot to practice in….

[gitchy42]

I think those are all nice looking bikes. I’d listen to the “Boss”, she seems to have it all figured out. Remember, not all cruisers are bad in the corners.

A note on insurance: For me, through Progressive the GS500 was less than the Ninja 250, the SV was a little more than either, but still not bad. Even the Monster wasn’t ridiculous.

[gitchy42]

This isn’t something I had to do in the training, but I have on the road; sometimes successfully…sometimes I have to make a couple of tries. Of course….I think if I had some cheesecake (mmmmmm, cheesecake) to fix my eyes on, I would probably make it every time.

[gitchy42]

I’ve found that the seller tends to use the price that makes them the most money. Don’t worry too much about NADA and KBB prices, but it doesn’t hurt to know what they are.

Remember that a transaction happens when the Seller is willing to accepts a price that they Buyer is willing to pay for the product.

[gitchy42]

Yeah, the ‘amber waves of grain’ are pretty (I know, it’s from America the Beautiful, but Canada is an American nation too, right?), but you’re right, long and straight can get boring fast. Maybe a cruiser, to make it more comfortable at least? lol, Now, if you have the conversation with the right person it could go more like:
“Why did you move?”
“I like the opportunity to ride my bike more often on more interesting roads”
“Oh, yeah, I can see that…”

Of course….probably not how it would go with your wife….

[gitchy42]

I noticed the same thing. I also realized that I was already using some of the techniques (ie looking through the turn) while driving…

[gitchy42]

Really it is just easier to get a waterproof textile jacket, textile jackets are USUALLY more versatile and you don’t have to ‘take care’ of a textile jacket the way you do leather.

I’ve had a lot of leather boots that I have taken care of that I wore the sole out on and a lot the I didn’t take care of where the leather started cracking or shrinking. If you get leather you just have to know how to take care of it, and be willing to do the work. It isn’t hard, but it hast to be done.

Also, now there are some textile jackets that are being described as ‘almost’ as strong as leather, and one that I was told by a salesman that is stronger than leather. But he was a sales weasel….anyways, just a thought.

[gitchy42]

The price point would kill it here in the States. The only reason we don’t get injected Ninja 250’s here are to hit a price point…..I’m with stu, too bad they didn’t make a new engine for it, would give better weight and price. Although, it would be a nice mid-size bike to have on the market here.

[gitchy42]

OK, I went out for a ride on Sunday (June 27). I left home, and went up the Clackamas River valley, through Estacada to the Ripplebrook Ranger Station. It is a really nice ride, mostly big sweepers until you get to the ranger station. I had to stop for a little sight-seeing and a couple photos. Just after going past the Ranger station, I caught up to a group of 12 (or so) Harleys, one a Trike. I tailed them for a while and stopped at the turn off for Ollalie Lake for a pee break, a quick snack and a photo op. Went a little bit further and crossed from the Mt Hood National Forest into the Willamette National Forest, stopped for another photo op. The road from Ripplebrook to Detroit is pretty good, mostly nice 30mph+ turns.

When I got into Detroit, I stopped at one of the more popular restaurants in town. When I walked into the restaurant the main portion was full, so I made my way back to the bar. There were a couple of chairs open, so I sat down. After a few minutes the bar was shoulder-to-shoulder, two deep from one end to the other. Another biker walked up next to me to ask for a couple of menus and he told me that there was a poker run out of Lebanon….so I decided that I probable wasn’t going to be getting a meal anytime soon and left to go down the road to Stayton. The ride down the hill was great till I got behind a carnival ride. He was going slow slow slow…..I took the opportunity to stop at a closed weigh station (650lbs, me and bike). Had lunch in Stayton and stopped by Grandma’s on my way home. Went up around Silver Falls, through Silverton, and made my way home.

Another 200+ mile day brings me to about 2200 miles total on two wheels. Now I need to get that mirror replaced before I ride too much more on the freeway. Here are some photos from the ride:

On HWY 224, East of Estacada:

On HWY 224 near Indian Henry:

S-Curve on Forest Service Rd 46:

Crossing from Mt Hood to Willamette National Forest:

Me and my bike:

Detroit Lake on HWY 22:

North Silver Falls:

[gitchy42]

OK, so this one is almost a week late.

Last Thursday (June 14) I went out to a Boy Scout camp near Tillamook to inspect their climbing facility and program. On the way out there I lost my right side mirror. Apparently another bad part of having bar-end mirrors is when you drop your bike it loosens the set screws, and if you don’t tighten them back up they fall apart. I ended up behind some slow traffic a couple times, and made some passes. Unfortunately during one of them I so intent on making the pass that I wasn’t paying attention to my RPMS….and I hit the rev limiter. At least I know that it works

I went out there after work, and didn’t get to the camp until about 5. The inspection ended up taking about 2 hours longer than I thought it would (I blame the other guy, blab blab blab). Anyways, I didn’t leave there until after 9:30, and I was already tired. The weather had gotten a little bad, there was a damp drizzle coming down. Every time a car came the other way I was blind…Really I wish that it was actually raining, at least then I would have been able to turn my head and have the water run off.

The sky cleared up about 5 miles inland, and I could see stars and a nice big moon for the rest of the trip and I had an uneventful. After about 200 miles of riding (there and back), I got home around 12:30am on Friday. I feel lucky that I have another method of transportation, because at 6 when I was leaving for work, it would have been dangerous for me to be on my bike….was probably dangerous to be in the truck, but not as bad. However, when I had to fill up the tank in my truck, I was glad that I had been riding my bike all week.

[gitchy42]

Looks like some pretty country, and a nice looking bike. Hope you didn’t get caught out in the storm…..or if you did, hope you didn’t get too wet.

[gitchy42]

I thought that the reason they wear 3/4 helmets was because it is easier to talk to someone and have them hear your instructions and you hear what they say clearly. Here in Oregon, most of the police use flip-up helmets.

I don’t really care what kind of gear or helmet they are wearing, personally I think that all motorcycle police are about as intimidating as Cadet/Officer Hightower from Police Academy would be if he pulled you over.

[gitchy42]

The bike is likely sputtering because of how the throttle position sensor is set. If you go below 3000-3500 in any gear the bike will feel jerky. In lower gears it is more abrupt, in higher gears it sounds/feels like the bike sputters. Unless you are going over about 60mph you should stay out of 6th gear. Also, it has pretty strong engine breaking.

Ideally, on an SV try to keep the RPM when cruising at or above 4k. I usually shift between 6-7k when taking it easy, usually closer to 6k.

Glad to have another SV rider in the group If you are interested in more SV specific information, check out: http://forum.svrider.com/

[gitchy42]

Looks like fun, some nice photos. Great to hear that it’s working smoother too.

[gitchy42]

Looks like fun. Now I’m looking at a little gorrila-pod tripod and trying to figure out if I can make it work with my point-and-shoot, on the handle bars…….

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