[IBA270]

One last comment from me on this thread… When we get to the exercises that require the “slow, look, press and roll” technique, EVERYONE looks at me like I’m out of my mind when I say “Look right, press right/look left, press left” to initiate turns. Even folks who ride; they don’t realize what they are doing; cause and effect.

Someone mentioned earlier in their class that an experienced rider blew through the braking portion of the test. It’s my guess (and seems to common with self taught riders) that they don’t trust the front brakes and rely on the back, which aren’t very effective on their own…

But yea, there’s a group out there that “can’t be told” anything. It’s ashame too because there are so many cool experiences in life. If you’ll let someone who knows what they are doing flatten your learning curve, then you can get out there and start enjoying those things are lot faster and lot safer!

[IBA270]

Over my riding career, my taste in bikes has gone from big power litre bikes (early ZX-10’s and 11’s) and BMW K11 series bikes to progressively lighter and more nimble bikes. The DR-Z’s I’ve ridden are a total kick in the pants to ride! I love them, and one day I’m sure one will be parked in my garage!

[IBA270]

Unfortunately, the VAST majority never change the brake fluid on their bikes. Over a period of time, moisture accumulates in the system and causes all sorts of problems. Along with that, many people do no properly inspect the brake pads for wear, and, if the bike has some miles on it, the thickness of rotors.

Check: pads and rotor for wear, and consider bleeding your system. It’s a ten minute operation once you understand how to do it, and you’ll notice a difference right away.

Last thing to consider; if you haven’t serviced your bikes brakes at all, consider your riding style. 70% or more of your braking power comes from the front brake(s). If the rear is wearing much faster than the fronts, your riding style may be culprit. I have obviously have no idea, just trying to offer some suggestions and solutions to keep you and your bike on the road!

[IBA270]

Oh, I didn’t let them continue…I sent them off to WalMart or where ever before continuing. No way you can participate without the proper gear…serious no no.

[IBA270]

Forgot to add that! Sorry.

[IBA270]

Stern’s site has some great info and has been used for used in the M/C community for reference. I’d also agree that that the Cibie kit would be the way to go as far as improving the reflector.

On color temperature…the whitest light is right around 4000/4300-4600. After that, it becomes noticeably blue. Many of the kits you see on cars out there are 7000 and up. They aren’t better, they’re just popular. FWIW, the difference between a 4300 and a 5000 is immediately noticeable. The 5000 is blue.

[IBA270]

Sean, the HID conversion CAN BE really nice! There are a few drawbacks though, so do some research. Notably;

1) Not all reflectors are made the same; some housings seem to through the new HID light well, others not as much.

2) You won’t have the ability to dim the bulb; there is no hi/lo. There ARE kits with a small servo motor that “directs” the light onto different points of the reflector to help control how the light is thrown from the housing, but the effectiveness is questionable, as are the long term reliability of them.

3) While most kits are “plug and play”, I would recommend AT LEAST running a new, higher gauge ground wire. Ground is notoriously the weak link on most systems.

4) You’ll need to adjust the angle of your light much lower. If you have an easily adjustable headlight, then Bob’s your uncle. Otherwise, you’ll have to find the happy medium.

If you go that route, go with the lowest KV number available. The lower number= the most white light, which gives the greatest vision for you…and (from what I understand) draws the least number of unwanted questions by the cops.

Even with all of this, I haven’t heard the first person tell me it wasn’t one of the best upgrades they done for night riding/visibility.

HTH…

[IBA270]

I should have clarified…yellow lights; fogs, drivers, running, etc. really seem to stand out well on motorcycles. Main lights do as well, but you normally lose both distance and illumination capability. For instance, you will have a difficult time with some shapes/colors, etc. if you’re only running a single yellow light vs. a nice, bright PIAA or Silverstar main headlight.

Sorry for the confusion!

[IBA270]

+1…yellow bulbs work very well for visibility. FWIW…technically, NONE of my lights on my road bikes are legal from a pure “book” definition. In well over 300K miles with these various configurations, I haven’t gotten even a single question about it.

I can’t give advice on how you should configure your lights, but I do feel like reasonable lattitude is given to motorcyclists trying to improve their visibility to other drivers as well as enhance their own ability to ride in less than optimal lighting conditions.

[IBA270]

What TrialsRider said…as you progress and build your skills, you’ll probably notice that you want more “feel” from the levers thats normally gained when they are adjusted out a bit. We teach “four fingers” and I have to re-program my brain when instructing; I ride with one finger covering both for many different reasons, but comfort being the main reason; I use two for clutch (barely pull in on up shift) and one on brake, unless we’re getting hairy…and then only two.

On all my bike however, from my little Ducati through my race bike and my gynormous RT, one finger will stand them all their respective noses!

[IBA270]

Hello George!

Your views of motorcycling are actually quite common. The conventional wisdom is that motocycles (deathcycles, donorcycles, etc.) are inherently dangerous and while fun, that emotion certainly couldn’t outweigh the risk. Frankly, much of the media and many riders out there don’t help this perception.

At the MSF, we teach correlation between danger and risk management. I’ll let you self discover that should you choose to explore motorcycling further, hopefully through a Basic Rider Course in your area. I can address a few points for you from personal and professional experiences in motorcycling over roughly the last 20 years. From a statistical standpoint, there’s no question that motorcycles are more “dangerous” than other modes of transportation. When compared mile/mile with an automobile, motorcyclist are many more times likely to have an accident that a driver of a car. Naturally, the consequences are serious in any motorcycle accident. Quite frankly, a motorcyclist stopped at a light, without a helmet, can fall over and be killed without traveling a single inch. It has happened.

With all of that said however, motorcycling and especially safe motorcycling, depends on a few basic tenents; personal responsibility and risk management. George, I hope you won’t find my observations of your two fatal scenarios presumptuous, but judging only from your brief descriptions, you illustrated two accidents that shouldn’t have happened; they were both avoidable, likely without much fanfare, had the riders been properly trained and had managed the risks and conditions appropriately.

What crash data actually shows, and we as responsible riders see far too often, are folks who are untrained, poorly attired, riding motorcycles that aren’t appropriate for their skill level riding in an unsafe fashion. These riders don’t understand how to manage the risk as they haven’t been taught…which blows the first tenent; personal responsibility; they didn’t take the time to properly prepare themselves not only for that days ride, but for a lifetime of enjoyable motorcycling experiences.

Motorcycling is a fantastic sport. I cannot imagine my life without it. So many people in my personal and professional life always relate me to the sport, and I work hard to make sure I am a positive ambassador to it, just like every other motorcyclist should! George, I think you should weigh the risks based on what you know and what you want to explore, read all you can (just like you’re doing now) and invest a weekend to take a basic riding course. You’ll know within a few hours if it’s something you want to explore and continue with. If you’ve gotten this far, I’d say you’re ready to explore the course.

Hope all of this helps regardless of your decision!

[IBA270]

I trust you guys don’t live in CHL land, do you?

[IBA270]

Gary, you’ve committed the first sin of motorcycling…you’ve added up the costs, LOL!!!

[IBA270]

When I started riding more and more cross country trips, it became evident to me that motorcycle headlights, at least the one’s being produced when I started riding, were woefully underpowered to be safe. My first mount, a ZX-10R (no, the 1989 model) had an H4 headlight, and couldn’t reliably be upgraded…I had to tough it out with an 85w highbeam…not much difference. My next mount, a ’93 BMW K1100RS also had a single pathetic H4, but it also had 700w of power. First thing I did was add 85/100w main bulb and two (that’s right, 2) six inch 110w PIAA. Let’s just say it made traveling towards Crawford, CO at O’dark thirty a wee bit better!

My main road tripping bike now is a BMW R1150RT with full HID conversions, and an additionally 220w of forward looking lights. I only run the single (low beam) during the day, but it’s much higher intensity light is much brighter than a halogen.

I am cautious to try not to blind the drivers in front of me, or oncoming of course, but it’s a fine line between being seen and not. As someone mentioned, left turning drivers are one of the main causes for vehicle/bike collision…actually, they are the highest. Even with a high beam, some people have a hard time judging closing distance.

Here is another idea if you want to increase your visibility; try lower, fork mounted lights much like motolights. This gives oncoming drivers three lights instead of a single light to judge closing distance. I have not tried them, but I have heard that they seem to work…with the added advantage of not blinding drivers in front of you…

[IBA270]

Really good advice here, for sure. There is no such thing as beginner gear. While I understand that gear is expensive, and you may or may not become addicted to motorcycling like many here, you really DO want to invest in good, comfortable gear AND WEAR IT!!!

JackTrade; every now and again, you see some pretty wacky stuff! Weirdest was a woman coming into the braking zone on the test…she started screaming and pulled her hands off the bars to cover her eyes as she comleted a spectacular low side. I saw it unfolding…I was of course powerless to do anything. Bike and rider survived with no damage.

She failed.

“;-o>

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