[JackTrade]

is to go with amored mesh overpants.

I wear Fieldsheer Titanium Air pants over jeans. The pants are mesh with full textile on strategic points (knees, butt, hips) and with armor on the knees and hips. In the summer, I wear them w/o the liner, in the winter with the liner in.

Not as durable/protective as leather to be sure, but a decent compromise between protection and comfort, and as a plus, you can take them off at your destination so you don’t look like you’re heading to a nightclub…

[JackTrade]

Same here. For pretty much everyone here, it’s activity of riding that’s the main thing, not what you ride.

With cars, there are true enthusiasts who drive econoboxes, and ignorant poseurs who drive 6-figure supercars. Same thing with bikes.

That said, that’s why I like standards…you get a little bit of everything in one bike, which is good if you’re on a budget, either money or space-wise.

If I had the space and access, I’d personally go for being an onroad and OFFROAD motorcyclist…love to have a dual sport, or even a full-on dirt bike. One day!

[JackTrade]

Watch out Ninja…there could be some stiff competition in town.

But even more, hey Honda, how about some middleweights, huh? Talk about a gap in your U.S. lineup.

[JackTrade]

Most often, we don’t see snow until mid-January or so, and sometimes there’s nothing but flurries and slush until spring arrives.

OR it can be like this year (“Snowmageddon”) where we got more snow in the Washington D.C. metro area than Chicago did!

[JackTrade]

That’s a great picture!

It’s funny how for me, the riding season is really just getting started. I live in the Washington DC metro area, and for most of the summer (esp. this summer…record-breaking heat here), it’s simply too hot to ride in any sort of comfort (at least for the ATGATT types on this site). Even with mesh on, you poach after a little bit…it feels like riding through a sauna.

So for me, riding season usually goes fall through spring (we often don’t get much snow in the winter, so if the roads aren’t bad and it’s above 40 degrees, I’ll ride in Dec – Feb).

[JackTrade]

I’d like to know as well. I really like the ER-6n, but that flat black color (and the oddball gauge setup) is keeping me from getting one.

[JackTrade]

Draw your own conclusions. ; -)

Seriously though, it’s a good powertrain. Earlier ones had some quality-control issues, but I’ve not heard of many problems with the final ones. Buell did the best they could with that engine, and it was impressive what they were able to get out of it, all things considered.

Sure, it was outclassed by its pure sportbike competitors, but for “real world” use, it worked just fine (the 1125 that Buell was putting in its new sportbike at the time the company was shuttered was taking care of that competition gap, but…)

[JackTrade]

A small but important triumph for personal liberty and the idea that we’re all equal under the law…a judge decided against the State of Maryland on whether one can tape the police performing their duties.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-md-recorded-traffic-stop-20100927,0,4738246.story

Esp. relevant bit I thought:

“…took place on a public highway in full view of the public. Under such circumstances, I cannot, by any stretch, conclude that the troopers had any reasonable expectation of privacy in their conversation with the defendant which society would be prepared to recognize as reasonable.”

Guy’s no longer going to ride, which is probably a good thing, given what he was doing to get himself in this mess (the judge upheld the traffic penalties he got for being a stupid squid).

[JackTrade]

mean, anyway? I’ve seen it advertised on some jackets, but by looking at them, I can’t tell the difference between naked and regular.

[JackTrade]

Good choice…glad to have another Blast owner around here! They’re great all-around standards, and have plenty of torque. Plus, I love the cafe-racer look.

Yeah, they do vibrate at idle, but once you’re underway, things smooth out nicely as you state.

Aside from the rear tire, keep an eye on the oil level. Since they’re air-cooled singles, they do tend to burn oil more than other bikes. I check mine every fill-up, which is pretty regular given the size of the fuel tank (make sure you check when the engine is warm).

[JackTrade]

And I took the one-day experienced course, and thought it was worth it as well.

The ERC is good for those that already ride but haven’t had formal training, are returning to motorcycles after a long time away, or for those who had recently taken the BRC but still wanted some more practice/instruction under the eye of someone who knows what they’re doing.

I was in the last group myself. I did the BRC about two years ago in the late summer, passed just fine, but wasn’t 100% on everything (I had never ridden before, so it was all new to me).

So the next spring, after about 6 months of riding steadily, I took the ERC. A great chance to correct some bad habits I’d started to form, as well as practice some of the harder slow-speed stuff with an instructor watching and LOUDLY critiquing me. Immediately noticed an improvement in my skills afterward.

Plus, you’ll meet pretty cool, like-minded people in the ERC usually; everyone takes the BRC because you have to (and should), but few take the ERC…so the people there usually tend to be more like us here on BBM (though there was a girl my ERC who had passed the BRC only after taking it 3 times, her riding was pretty shaky, but she happily told me her next stop was to get a GSX-R (!). She was really cute; hope she still is.)

For totally new riders, the ERC is great to take within a year of doing the BRC. Really helped me fine-tune.

[JackTrade]

for the stock Dunlop rear. EDIT: Amazon (of all places) is showing one for $90 right now.

[JackTrade]

Is that first drop. It’ll make you reconsider everything. But push yourself past it (as you’re doing already….nice), and you’ll find your confidence will keep growing and growing, and soon, you’ll be riding without even thinking about it.

That’s what happened with me. When I dropped my bike when I first started, it really dazed me, and I recall thinking this whole thing was a bad idea and I was better off not riding. I even remember wondering how long it would take to sell my bike. It was really hard to get back on it, fire it up and keep going. But I did and pushed myself past that feeling. And I still remember grinning from ear to ear when I finally ventured out of my neighborhood and onto main roads…it was the best feeling EVER. And now, 2 years later, I can’t imagine NOT riding.

So hang in there, take it slowly as you’re doing, and it WILL work out for you!

[JackTrade]

(do this on a quiet street or parking lot at first, just in case)

As you’re moving in a straight line at a steady speed, just push a tiny tiny bit on a given handgrip. Not like you’re actually making a turn, just a tentative light push, less than 2mm or so. The bike will keep going straight, but you’ll feel it momentarily move in the predicted direction as well. Doing this gives you a real visceral sense of what countersteer really means.

I had the same issue when I started after I took the class (countersteer as more an academic thing than something I’d epxerienced), but after doing that a little, it made more sense, and gave me the confidence to really do it in turns.

[JackTrade]

I own an ’06 myself. Looks in good shape, and that looks to be an OEM windshield he’s throwing in, in addition to the stock flyscreen.

Be sure to check the rear tire for tread depth…Blasts are known to go through them quickly, so you may have to factor in the added expense to get a new one.

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