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5 Common Wear and Tear Items on Motorcycles
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Jeff in KentuckyParticipant
I like the Total Control book, but different people like different things. I rode from 1967 until 1975 on dirt and 1980 to 1985 on the street with no training except the “school of hard knocks”.
I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Experienced Ridercourse in 2002, and was glad that I did, especially after not having a motorcycle for 17 years. I consider the magazines, books and classes as seeds of knowledge that take years of practice to become better skills. Here is a pain pill primer that I wrote recently:
I have had several injuries the last 40 years, including broken bones, pulled tendons and bruises, and recently a partially dislocated shoulder that kept waking me up at night from the pain when moving in my sleep and rolling onto that shoulder.
Here is a list of pain pills I have used, from weaker to stronger. The weaker pain pills have fewer side effects, like constipation, internal bleeding, addiction and possible liver damage. Try the weaker, safer ones first, then move up as needed. Read the labels carefully before using them:
1. Aspirin- cheap, does not last long, good for a short term headache. It may cause intestinal bleeding after long term use, including hemmoroids. You can tell if you took too much if your ears start to ring. A small 80 mg pill taken daily may reduce the risks of having a heart attack or stroke, but check with your doctor for your circumstances. If you have a heart attack or stroke, 2 larger 360 mg aspirin taken immediately after calling 911 with water might save your life.
2. acetaminophen (Tylenol) – less chance of internal bleeding, lasts longer than aspirin but not overnight, can be dangerous for your liver if you overdose or drink more than 3 alcoholic drinks a day with it. You can buy a timed release version for arthritis that makes it last longer for duller types of pain including bruises.
3. ibuprofen (Advil)- works a little better than acetaminophen for me, but it has more side effect risks. Good for taking just before a long ride, and before you go to sleep after a long ride. It works better than acetaminophen for joint and tendon pains.
4. naproxen sodium (Aleve)- better for lasting all night or all day than the above choices, but it has higher overdose risks than the above choices. I am taking this at night now for my shoulder pain, it works better than the above pills for my last 2 hours of sleep.
5. Vicodin- by prescription only, for higher pain levels, addictive, and causes severe constipation for me.
I take 3 fiber therapy pills a day from Walmart when I am healing from an injury and using pain pills for days at a time; and I found if I mix the expensive Miralax laxative with some of the less expensive cherry flavored Milk of Magnesia laxative, I get gentle constipation relief within about an hour or two.
A doctor can often prescribe a muscle relaxant pill, an anti-inflammatory pill, or other ways to heal faster. I found that stretching reduces injury chances and makes an injury heal faster, especially if stretching makes a dislocated tendon snap back into place sooner. Some riders have a favorite chiropractor, but others prefer a regular doctor.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantAround here in the summer, I see people wearing bathing suits and sandals on motorcycles- they might look like raw hamburger if they crash.
I wear knee and shin armor made for a dirt bike- it has vents to stay cool, under my padded nylon motorcycle pants, and they cost less than $25. Your stronger jeans are a good way to hide armor:
This guy just went for a short, slow ride around the parking lot:
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantFor the street in the summer, I recommend these because they are not nearly as hot as leather, and you can add dirt bike knee and shin armor and armored underwear underneath them:
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/olympia-recon-3-mesh-pants
In his book, Lee Parks recommends the Aerostitch Roadcrafter textile (nylon) suit for the street, and leather for the track. He recommends leather from Z Custom, Bates, Vanson, and Syed; with Syed having the most protection and Vanson with the best fit and finish. For higher end clothes, getting them custom fit does not usually cost much more than off-the-rack, and is especially important if you do not have a typical body shape.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI landed hard on my butt during a motorcycle crash in 1984, and during a bicycle crash 2 years ago. The bruises were less painful and healed a lot quicker when I was 25 instead of 50. I was not able to lay down to sleep or able to sit for 3 weeks after the last crash, because I bruised my tailbone and pulled tendons in my back and belly- there was no way to lay down or sit that did not hurt, even with Vicodin. I paced back and forth all night, and took little naps until the pain made me get up again.
The armored underwear looks like a much more useful item, if you ever crash without it like me and wish you had it on.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI put my shift foot down first, so I can use my back brake longer, then I put both feet down. After a car stops behind me, I shift to neutral and let out the clutch lever. When taking off, I keep my right foot down and shift into first with my left foot. At slow speeds it is best to use just the back brake. At high speeds it is very important to use mostly the front brake- it has most of the stopping power.
The more armor the better, but it does get hot in the summer. I am planning to buy this underwear below eventually, with mesh so it is not as hot:
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantShift is getting out of the street gear business and focusing on their dirt gear, so there are a lot of good closeout deals now. I wear one of their kidney belts designed for dirt riding- it makes long street trips less tiring and gives me a little more protection during a crash.
I would like to add the Bohn armored underwear with mesh so it is not as hot, and the Sidi boots with a lot of ankle protection, but I have not spent the money to buy them yet- my wife is not too happy with the $5500 I spent this month for a second bike, and my back tire blew out yesterday (a big bang) from age and being parked on the same tire section for years; luckily it happened at 5 mph near our house- I have another big expense to replace both tires, even though they have less than 500 miles on them during the last 4 years.
This guy below survived because of his safety gear, and he should have added a steering stabilizer for that type of stunt riding that is illegal on the street:
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantIf you are going race speeds, pulling in the clutch to coast or brake in a corner probably will cause a crash. For normal street speeds, this method is less comfortable, and it is a distant second choice to braking before the corner and using some throttle in the corner. If you are going a little too fast, it is usually best to lean more instead, if the pavement is clean and dry.
Many racers do late braking to pass, going faster than normal into the turn and putting on some back brake and/or engine braking in the turn, and much less likely some front braking before or after the apex (the middle of the turn with the maximum lean angle), but they know they increase their chances of crashing when doing this.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI had to switch to Internet Explorer, to get past the CAPTCHA problem.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantIt takes a big hit on the helmet with your head in it to compress the inner styrofoam- yours should be fine.
Most people wear out a helmet from sunlight weakening the outer shell and heat inside the helmet starting to break down the foam, it starts to smell inside from sweat (Febreze spray helps), or they get tired of it.
The helmet companies want you to buy a new helmet every 5 years, probably a good idea if you have a Snell 2005 helmet because that standard was not very safe, but generally if you store your helmet out of sunlight and do not do any big crashes, most helmets will last at least 10 years, with at least one new face shield needed because of vehicles throwing sand and gravel off their tires. Dropping an empty helmet on the pavement rarely reduces the safety, just the appearance.
I think Arai will check their used helmets for just the shipping cost, if you want to be extra safe.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantThe ZZR 4-cylinder reminds me of my old 2-stroke dirt bikes from the 1970s- it is weak at the lower revs, but really screams on the top end, with a lot of shifting to stay in the narrow powerband. I have not had it over 9,000 rpm yet, quite a ways to go before getting to the 14,500 rpm redline on the tach.
Since it was new in 2008 and still has the original tires, my guess is that the tires are starting to get hard, so I pretend dry pavement is wet pavement until I get new tires for it. It was kept in a garage out of the sunlight, helping to preserve the tires. I have not felt the tires slide yet. I will be extra careful if I ever get caught in the rain with it.
I took it on my usual 22 mile loop with curvy roads at 60 mph- I like my V-twin cruiser better for this type of short trip at slower speeds. The ZZR is a lot more comfortable for longer trips and faster than 60 mph, because it vibrates less and is not starting to run out of power at 75 mph- not Goldwing comfortable, but more comfort than I am used to, along with more cornering ability than I am used to.
From the 2005 Motorcyclist magazine best of the year list:
Best Bang For The Buck:
Kawasaki ZZR600
Who knew Kawasaki jacked up the ZZR600 logo this year and slid a 2002 ZX-6R underneath? Along with nondescript Metallic Ocean Blue paint in place of the Ninja’s Team Green livery, the ZZR wears a $7299 sticker price–$1400 less than a new ZX-6R. The ZZR can’t quite match its racier brother’s performance or tech-appeal. The 599cc four inhales through a quartet of 36mm Mikuni carburetors and weighs about 15 pounds more. This decommissioned Ninja won’t win another 600 shootout. Do you care? Armed with a stout aluminum chassis, a ram-air-fortified engine that does serious business beyond 8000 rpm and six-piston front calipers, it’s still miles ahead of any other bargain bike. Kawasaki’s new Z750 is more comfortable and almost as good an all-arounder for $200 less. But vastly superior suspension, brakes and overall sporting competence put the little ZZR out front and keep it there. Here’s another piece of welcome news for residents of the real world: Losing that Ninja badge should shave a few bucks off the ZZR’s insurance premium. So unless you’re out to impress somebody besides yourself, nothing in anyone’s ’05 lineup delivers more for our money.
Alternative Take
Suzuki SV650
The SV650 has earned thousands of fans, evolving into a blue-chip sporting staple over the years. Commuter or track-day trainer? It weighs about the same as the ZZR and makes a lot less power. So what? For $5949, the fuel-injected 645cc V-twin lets you choose.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI have prescriptions (subscriptions are for those not addicted to the riding drug) to Motorcyclist and Sport Rider magazines, and skim a few others at the stores.
The newest sportbikes are really for someone who does track days, with a trade of more speed for less comfort, and the smartest people start with a 250cc Ninja track bike for at least a year, then a 600, then maybe the Suzuki 750, then a 1000+. Most of the writers at Motorcyclist magazine have years of racing experience, and it is a racing oriented or fast street oriented magazine. They review all types of bikes but mostly sportbikes, since other magazines specialize in cruisers, tourers, show bikes, antiques, drag racers and dirt bikes.
When they write that a bike is heavier, I see a bike that has more comfort at street legal speeds, but is not capable of making a racing or street emergency turn as fast or stop as quickly. When they write that a bike has an engine map setting for rain (mostly Suzukis), I see that someone who insists on ignoring all good advice and buying too much bike should stay in that rain setting for the first few months, and stay out of the top of the tach for even longer.
Most of my generation (I was born in 1959) started by racing bicycles then riding dirt bikes- many of us went to see On Any Sunday at the theaters when it first came out. I started on a minibike at 8 years old. I went from a 3.5 horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine for a year, to a 65cc 2-stroke for 2 years, to a 100cc 2-stroke for 2 years, to a 650cc 4-stroke with 45 horsepower for 5 years, then a long break for college and raising two young children, to a 600cc with 30 horsepower for 9 years, to a 600cc with 95 horsepower three days ago.
Everything I have seen in all of the magazines tells beginners to START SMALL. The dream bikes should stay a dream for beginners, but sometimes they have more money than sense and buy too much power, raising their safety risks and raising the insurance costs for all motorcyclists, especially squids who skimp on safety gear because it is not cool, both for temperature and peer pressure. I am guessing that cave families told their youngsters to slow down and be more careful, or they might get hurt, and to not try to throw the spear designed for the experienced warrior hunting big bears- to start with the smaller beginner spear for rabbits.
If I could afford it, I would subscribe to one or more of the British bike magazines- I think they are higher quality for their writing and reviews. I sometimes go to bookstores to skim them, and will buy an issue once in a great while. I think Motorcyclist writers are honest, but I keep in mind that their advertisers do not want too many negative comments, and they have years of experience riding very fast bikes on race tracks. The cruiser magazines are more for slower more antique looking bikes, or the thicker Cycle World magazine that covers a wider variety of types of motorcycles. I like the Motorcycle.com articles, but some people are going to be attracted to the sexier, lighter, faster Triumph Street Triple and its R version with more expensive suspension parts, instead of a bike that is heavier and slower, hopefully not as their first motorcycle.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantHere is a review for some of the light and sporty street-oriented bikes with higher handlebars:
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/122_0804_650cc_motorcycles/index.html
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI stay in Internet Explorer to come here. If I want to add a link, I switch to Mozilla Firefox, copy the link, then go back to Internet Explorer to paste it here.
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantFor covering the brakes, different riders do it differently, and some instructors want it done differently than others. I always keep my right foot near the back brake pedal, I use my index finger and thumb to turn the throttle, and the smaller three fingers on my right hand are for the front brake lever or throttle.
Many sportbike riders only use one finger to put on the front brake- their front brakes can easily lift the back tire off the ground. Some riders use all four fingers for the front brake, but as a former dirt bike rider I learned that this causes a loss of throttle control while and just before or after using the front brake. I only cover the front brake lever when I see traffic nearby or it is an especially tricky road, but some instructors will have you cover the front brake lever all the time, since it is safer for a beginner.
It is best to cover the brakes without touching the levers, so the brake lights do not go on too often, unless you want to give early warning to a driver behind you. You can flash the high beam headlight to warn drivers in front of you, along with the horn. I also do head bobbing and sometimes stand on the footpegs, to make myself more visible if I think a driver has their head up their ass (not paying attention).
Jeff in KentuckyParticipantMy favorite Suzuki V-Strom 650 review- they have a strange look, but a lot of comfort:
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