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Here’s Why Every Pickup Owner Needs a Quality Truck Bed Mat
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Ear plugs although a very healthy choice simply are not the solution to your problem. An F-18 with afterburners lit makes you duck and do things you might not ordinarily do in the absence of that noise.
The sound of a Harley 883 ain’t gonna frighten anyone into submission. If it does riding is simply not gonna work out for you and earplugs wouldn’t work anyway.
Learn to ride, gain confidence and 50mph plus is gonna be easy
90mph on a Ducati is an entirely different experience than 50mph on an 883
lbh you have an inborn instinctual mechanism that’s only job is to protect you. That mechanism is telling your brain that riding above 50mph is jeopardizing your health. It’s an extremely valuable tool us humans have but unfortunately some lose the ability to heed it’s warning and others still just ignore it. Keep riding, keep learning, keep safe and that mechanism will adjust and 50mpg won’t feel intimidating.
There’s no such thing as frequency specific passive ear plugs. It’s virtually and utterly impossible to “just” take out wind noise
If one could design frequency specific ear plugs it would then be easy to sample your significant others voice. You’d hear everything around you but when you gazed at your significant other all you encounter would be their lips flappin’. Sweet silence
I’ll flip the coin here
I went to a demonstration by the CHIP several years ago. I believe it was billed as the Olympics of Motorcycle riding or California Motorcycle Olympics or something along those lines.By and large the Police issue helmet is not full faced. Some don’t wear gloves and some wear the highly made fun of fingerless gloves. They have highly recognizable knee high black boots of course, but in general no one would consider them “all geared”. I challenge anyone to match those guys skills. Borders on the unbelievable.
I’m not here to advocate anything except making sensible, informed decisions about what is the correct choice for each individual rider. By and large I never ride without full face, boots and gloves with the rare exception of days I dawn a Davida helmet. On the other hand I find it difficult to judge others based on my personal opinions of proper gear.
That said of course, it’s safe to say there are new riders here and all over the country that are geared up to the n’th degree and still represent a danger to themselves and others. Conversely there are California Highway Patrol guys and gals that although not totally geared up are undoubtedly among the safest, most talented motorcycle riders on earth.
It’s of course obvious there are some pretty bad riders out there and some of them aren’t wearing enough gear to hedge their bets. Natural Selection ultimately settles that score.
Gearing up however, in and of itself, does NOT make anyone a talented, informed or safe motorcyclist.
This is a great article! Having lived in many cities here, and a few abroad, it’s always interesting to see how some regions (as a community) seemed to adhere (or not) to the very simple concept of pacing. I think despite the challenges California drivers do an ok job of pacing perhaps in part cause traffic is almost always heavy.
I visited a friend recently who lives in the midwest. The driving was utter insanity. The mindset appears to be “accelerate until something physically impedes your progress.” I was doing 75 in a 55 and people were rocketing up to my tail light almost endlessly. There were open lanes on either side of and I wasn’t in the high speed lane yet it seemed that the driver behind me only became aware that I was there when they were breathing down my neck. When they did finally realize I was there…their eyes bugged out of their head, their hair short straight up like they just stuck their tongue in a electric socket and generally I got the feeling that I might have ruined their life. There was ample room and time to pick another lane had they just looked down the road a hundred yards or so and perhaps made an attempt to at least notice the general pace.
Absolute zero concept of pacing. Give me L.A. any day
You’re right owlie. But for the record a 650 S-40 (albeit a great little bike) is as far away from an SV 650 as is possible in the motorcycle world.
The 1st bike I ever rode was a Savage. If Greg is interested in a Savage (S-40) I’m all for it
A 650 sport bike ie: SV-650 or a gixr 650 or even a Ninja 650……..as my father would say is a whole “nother” ball game!!
I’ve never ridden the Ninja 2 up but based on “my” experience I’m guessing it’ll do more than you could possible handle for now
Hey Greg,
So hard to put into words. The Ninja 250 will do 80 mph with utter ease and do it all day long on the freeway’s out here. The comp ratio of the Ninja and therefore the powerband is COMPLETELY different than my Intruder. The Intruder will get up and go but in a completely different manner than the Ninja. Indeed a different feel
With the Intruder I gotta work through the gears and lumber (maybe “lumber” is a poor choice of words.. but close) up to 80. With the Ninja I can wind out 1st and 2nd and be damn close to 80 in a blink of an eye. I love the way the Ninja feels a bit wound out anyway and it’ll do 80 standing on it’s head. It will feel hi-rev but the bike likes hi-rev. As opposed to the Intruder that will do 80 but not NEARLY as smooth even though the rpm’s aren’t nearly as high.
I’m telling you Greg the Ninja 250r is MUCH more bike than your giving credit to. It’s just a fun little rocket. Will you want more?? Maybe but there really are some who never feel the need to go more than 90 in a blink of an eye.
Everytime I see a “busa” I wonder where that dude is gonna wind that thing out…can’t be done here in L.A. without running into something. You can wind that 250 flat out and it feels good…maybe great.
Just my 2 cents man
You know Greg I’ve had an Intruder 800 for 3 years now. I mention that merely for perspective. I have a friend here however who has a 2010 Ninja 250 and that bike runs RINGS around my 800. Next to my Intruder I ride that Ninja 250 the most.
I’ll be damned if I had to pick one over the other I believe I’d be in a pickle. For canyon rides and all around nimble jaunts the Ninja 250’s got it all over the Intruder. It’s true if you want to keep up with gixers you’ll be winding the thing out but I’ve discovered there’s a great feel when that thing is kinda on the edge, wound out. Now the Gladius I rode was much quicker but if if you’re gonna ride that thing wound out as a beginner I’d think your days would be treacherous.
You know I’ve always thought for long day rides or even overnight rides the Intruder was the obvious choice. Honestly I’m not so sure. I’ve wound that Ninja out and I’m telling ya 70 mph comes in a heartbeat. My ego’s long left me so the thought of riding a Ninja 250 presents no problem and truth be told that little thing is a GREAT bike….period.
The SINGLE worst thing about a Ninja 250 is it’s forum reputation as a wimpy bike. It’s wimpy compared to bikes that have insane capabilities (like a busa) but how many times do you think you’ll wanna go 240 mph up the 405.
The Ninja 250 is a very cool bike. Don’t underestimate it
I don’t want to beat a dead horse here Greg and I know you want an SV650 badly:) The issue is not HOW responsible you are as a beginner….and for the record I believe you’re a responsible guy!
The issue regarding beginner riders is about mitigating and minimizing mistakes. Responsible as you might be and as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, you’re still gonna make mistakes. Your safety and your GF’s safety will depend on your ability to keep those mistakes within a manageable margin. If you can’t there gonna be consequences. When speed goes up the margin of maintaining a low risk of mistakes goes down exponentially.
I rode a friends Gladius this weekend and I’ll agree with you those bikes are a ton of fun to ride. Suzuki even touts those things as “entry level” sport bikes. Still if I had a friend who was just starting to ride that bike would not be on my suggested beginners bike list.
As always just my two cents worth
PS: Where are you in SoCal??
gregj I wouldn’t confuse the phrase “a harder learning process” with the phrase “a more dangerous learning process”. For some (and you may well not be in this category) an SV650S can be dangerous.
Things happen in a heartbeat when you first begin to ride….you don’t often get a second chance to correct a BIG mistake that your surprised to have made in the first place. A torquey, quick bike just speeds that process up.
What ever you decide here’s hoping you remain safe through your learning process and beyond
