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5 Common Wear and Tear Items on Motorcycles
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LongRangerParticipant
If you have not looked at this website yet, I suggest that you do. Helped me out alot when I had my Virago 250.
LongRangerParticipantA wind shield would not help much in the conditions you described. They are good to keep the wind off your body when it is blowing straight at you but they do not make a difference in a cross-wind. In my experience crosswinds can be unnerving but are not likely to cause you to lose control or push you into other traffic. The more you ride the more you will get used to the winds. I think the best option for riding in winds like that are to do what you did, get off the highway, where you are unshielded from the winds, and ride on side streets where the wind is likely to be blocked by buildings or trees.
LongRangerParticipantVery nice. I am thinking about getting a 650 custom when I upgrade from the virago in a year or so. How does the 650 do on gas mileage?
LongRangerParticipantI have been having a tank venting issue with my virago. After riding about 10 miles or so it would start to choke out like you have discribed. It would happen more often with a full tank of gas. If I open my gas cap sometimes I can hear the air rush in when the seal is broken. The virago, non CA model, is vented thru the gas cap and I can not find any good answers as to how it vents, but I have disassembled the whole cap, lockset and all, and cleaned everything. Hopefully that will help with my problem. A quick way to verify if you are having a gas tank venting issue is when the motor is choking out and dieing open the gas cap and see if that stops the problem…it does with mine. At least with my problem, if cleaning the cap did not help, I can pull to the side of the road when the motor acts up and just pop the cap then continue on my way.
LongRangerParticipantIF you are going to store the bike for a while you should follow the owners manual instructions. This is for the 08 model but it will probably be the same as your 09
http://www.starmotorcycles.com/assets/service/manuals/2008/LIT-11626-21-25_VStar250_1477.pdf
My 2000 virago is supposed to have the tank removed and coated on the inside with oil and also remove the chain and store it in a plastic bag with oil in it. At least your manual doesnt go that far.LongRangerParticipantAs Munch has said, roll off the throttle before you squeeze the clutch so that the engine does not over rev, but you will not be slowing down much…just coasting for the few seconds that you have the clutch in. Easy the clutch out and roll the throttle back open and off you go.
When I first started, trying to remember everything during shifting was intimidating, but it comes pretty easy with practice, after you do it for a short awhile and get the muscle memory, you wont even have to think about it anymore.LongRangerParticipantThose are similar to the ones I bought
I removed the volume control because mine seemed to have a short in it and just use a straight 1/8″ plug from the mp3 to the speaker jack. Seems to make it slightly louder that way.
LongRangerParticipantI listen to my MP3 player using either earbuds or helmet speakers, depending on which helmet I am using that day. The helmet speakers I feel are alittle safer than the earbud since the earbuds seem to block alot of the outside noise that I can still hear using the helmet speakers.
LongRangerParticipantI would suggest that you use the clutch more than the throttle to control your speed. Once you are in the friction zone and have the bike moving, if you need to slow for a turn, control your speed with your clutch while keeping your throttle steady. And use a light touch feathering the rear brake to help control speed also.
LongRangerParticipantYou should be able to shift it into neutral. I rode a rebel for awhile during my MSF class and was able to shift into neutral while the bike was on. On my virago it is sometimes difficult to get it into neutral while the bike is still rolling but easier when it is stopped. It was also hard to get into neautral when I first got the bike but as I got more used to the bike it became easier to find. If you are trying to find neautral from 1st it is usually easier then trying to find it from 2nd. I would say that if you can not get the bike into neatral at all while the bike is running then there is something that needs to be adjusted with the transmission, take it to a service tech and ask them to check it.
LongRangerParticipantIn the MSF course I took they would not allow a bike larger than 500cc so you may not be allowed to use yours. There was one guy in our class who decided to use his new 500cc cruiser , cant remeber the type it was. 10 minutes into the riding course, just doing the power walk from one end of the lot to the other and turning around again, he dropped his bike during the walking turn around, the lot was on a little slant downhill at that point and his bike was a little too heavy for him to handle like the gz250s and nighthawks the rest of us had. On the next day he was riding a course bike.
Don’t try and use your bike unless you are not concerned about dropping it…you will be doing tight turns and things you are not used to. You probably will not drop your bike, or a course bike for that matter, but why risk hurting yours.LongRangerParticipantI have this jacket
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/39/1349/ITEM/Cortech-FSX-Jacket.aspx
I has been a very good so far. It is a thick material with removable CE armor pads in the shoulder, elbow and back. the jacket also has built in padding in the shoulders, elbow and back so if you want to remove the CE armor you still have some padding there. The jacket is vented but it is also waterproof and the air does not get to your skin. I have used this jacket in 90 degree weather it does provide pretty good cooling while you are moving. I wore a wind breaker on a short ride once on a 90 degree day and I was surprized at how much cooler the cortech jacket was. Another benefit with this jacket is that it has several pockets and a large one in the back at the rear vents.
LongRangerParticipantwell not meaning to be a wise ass but headlights and taillights are different. When you are riding you should watch the road ahead of you, looking thru the windows of the vehiles ahead of you if possible and not fixate on the taillights of the car infront of you. As far as using other car headlights, at night your bike headlight doesnt illuminate the road as well as car healights do so you should watch ahead of you in the other vehile headlights to see obstacles sooner. Good luck.
LongRangerParticipantI doubt it was the vendor that packaged the helmet. At least not the inside box and bag…probably from the manufacturer that way. I ordered my Z1R helmets from motorcycle superstore and they arrived in the Z1R box, which was a tighter fit than your helmet in the picture and that was overpacked by motorcycle superstore in a larger box with plastic air bags for cushoning. extremesupply could have done something similar to reduce the risk of damage but my biggest concern is the amount or space in the box to begin with.
I doubt there would be any damage to your helmet but there is no way to tell without spending money to have it tested. If you are still concerned return it and try a different brand and/ or vendor.LongRangerParticipantI agree that if the helmet gets banged around or dropped by the Fedex or UPS guys it could damage the helmet and ruin the “one impact only” for the helmet and you would never know…. but the problem with saying you wouldn’t order online for that reason is that, how do you think the local dealer or motorcycle gear store receives their inventory? The helmets should be packaged better by the manufacturer its not the retail stores that cause the problem.
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