[madjak30]

Oklahoma seems a lot like Alberta in Canada…we don’t have route 66, but we do have some of the strangest road side attractions…Vulcan, Alberta. Huge Star Trek mecca, even Leonard Nemoy has visited. They have a statue of the USS Enterprise Starship (not the air craft carrier of the same name), and a UFO landing pad…Vegreville, Alberta…a huge Egg…Beaverlodge, Alberta…a huge beaver…Drumheller, Alberta…huge T-Rex statue…Edmonton, Alberta…worlds largest cowboy boot…maybe we should start a thread for pics in front of some strange roadside attractions that we come accross…

Maybe on Saturday, I will head out and get some pics…as good of an excuse as any to go for a ride…

As for Owlie’s beer comments…well, we drink a lot of beer too, but our beer (Canadian beer) is better. Much more flavour…

Later.

[madjak30]

So our prices are higher than the States…but the GS500, in either style, seem to be anywhere from $2800 to $3500 for a bike in good shape. Those prices are for anywhere from 2000 to 2005…newer models go up from there…new the bike has an MSRP of $7100 ish…the used prices in the States is probably about $1000 cheaper…you just have to keep an eye on the classifieds and online…you will know a good price when you see it, and take a friend with you to help you with the bike knowledge, and to help you not get too excited…

Good Luck!!

[madjak30]

This list shows all the suggested bikes, and is quite easy to understand. I have seen some before that were just a spreadsheet, but I think had been modified over time and were getting pretty garbled up…

[madjak30]

I think it is a crap shoot (buying used), but if you get one that has a little extra mileage on the odometer and it still runs smooth and seems to have the power that you are expecting (not burning oil, or leaking it)…it should be a keeper…I would be leary of a bike that is just past the breakin and is up for sale…why would they be selling it so soon?

My opinion on the issue is that you should follow the manufacturers suggested breakin, if for no other reason than to preserve your warranty. They want it to last so you don’t have any reason to bring it in and you don’t want to be without your new toy…seems to make sense to me. You do need to create enough heat in the engine to seat the rings and bearings, but the manufacturer should have taken that into consideration…I am not guaranteeing that they have done testing, but they should be able to make an educated guess from warranty claim experience.

My two cents…

Later.

[madjak30]

Sliding the back tire is fun…I just got a little carried away with the “fun”…lol

[madjak30]

I am refering more to the decision I made to just do a 180 without ever practicing…it had been 25yrs since I had done one, and I figured I would just jump right back into it…nope…that is the idiot part…

I was laughing at myself even as I rolled in the dirt because of the stupid assumption that I had made, and I knew it was wrong the second I let go of the clutch…

Oh well, lesson learned…

[madjak30]

Go all out and try to pull a stunt…I used to do it all the time when I was a kid, but a lighter bike and knobbies (that actually have grip in loose dirt) make a better stunt ride than a 420lbs street bike with smooth street tires…it was like I was on grease, it just took off…sideways…hehehe…not something I would recommend trying.

[madjak30]

Just had to wait for the wife to finish with the computer tonight before I could load them…I didn’t take as many as I would have liked…the mosquitos were eating me alive and I couldn’t wait to get the helmet back on and get out of there…

First, the wipeout…

Here is a pic of the marks in the gravel looking towards the grass…notice the near perfect 270 deg turn…

Here are the same marks looking at them from the grass…

Here is where my bike ended up on it’s side after “ejecting” me…notice the mosquito that is trying to get in on the picture action…lol

Here are a few pics of the bike against the canola field…the sunset was the other way…bonehead!! But I did take a pic of the sunset…but it was a little early, and I wasn’t going to feed the bugs anymore…

Hope you enjoy the pics, and as you can see (well, kinda) the bike is fine…just a couple of scratches on the right side…

Later.

[madjak30]

I would ride to the nearest parking lot and practice right and left turns…and doing turns from a stop…those are the hardest things that you will have to do on a regular basis…also practice the panic stops, you just never know when a kid will run out in front of you or a dog for that matter…

I dropped my bike last night doing a u-turn on a gravel road…practice, practice, practice…I’ve been riding/commuting for about two months now, and was feeling pretty comfortable on the bike…so even when you think you are getting good…keep practicing until you can do those things in your sleep…

Nice choice in bike, excellent starter. I bought a Suzuki GS500, which is similar…maybe a little heavier bike though…

Anyway, remember to have fun…even when you drop your toy…lol

Later.

[madjak30]

I didn’t know about the solid state thingy…or what that really means, but I gather it shouldn’t cause any issues…

The camera is just a point and shoot, but it is older (read BIG)…I was trying to carry it in my jacket pocket, but it digs in a little…I had the string around my neck last night with the camera under my jacket…that worked better, but it still dug in…

I actually don’t have a tank bag yet, but I wasn’t sure if I should get the convenient magnetic bag or the strap on one…I think I will get a magnetic and a net for the back of the bike to carry my lunch bag at work…it was 32C (94F ish) here today and the back pack doesn’t let the air flow through my jacket as good as I would have liked…

Thanks for your input guys.

Later.

[madjak30]

It has a 30 in. seat height before sag…depending on your weight (not asking), it may sag enough. You could also check out the Kymco Quannon 150, it’s seat height is about the same as the Ninja 250R. I know there is a lowering kit for the Ninja, not sure about the others. They will all top out around 90ish mph, which is quick enough. Maybe not for the freeway, but everywhere else they should be good, and they are all quite light bikes. Excellent for learning.

If you were here in Canada, you could check out the Honda CBR125R…my 12yo daughter who is 4’10 can touch with both feet, not flat foot (she only weighs 70lbs), but she thinks that will be her first bike…we’ll see about that one…mom may not approve at all!!

I think if you dial the preload to the minimum on those bikes, it may sag enough for you to put you feet down…

Good luck!

[madjak30]

This is me to a tee…I achieve my goals, then immediately set them higher (read another post where eon and eternal gave me a deserved “poke”)…I never seem to be content. I have done well for myself and my family, yet I still seem to want more…I have a great house, nice truck, a travel trailer and my newest toy…my GS500…not to mention the wife that deserves an award for putting up with my “crap” and mood swings that go with the stress of always trying to achieve more…my kids are great…I just need to “slow down and smell the roses”.

I was complaining about my GS not being comfortable enough “my knees hurt after 90 mins riding”…someone actually said “I don’t have that problem, I stop every hour to take a picture and a break…”, or something along that line…I didn’t even realize what they were trying to tell me…

I think I will try a cup full of contentment…my job is low stress, and I have aquired all the “things” I could need…I just need to learn to enjoy what I have (especially my kids), or I will end up some grumpy old fart that wishes he spent more time enjoying life…

Sorry…end of rant…

[madjak30]

Two kicks in the shorts in a row…man, that sucks…

Remember, this is peer advice…(atleast that is what I thought)…and I never said that he shouldn’t get the 250cc, just that he would probably be looking for more accelleration quite soon…but as you know better than I, it’s not all about the stop light race…and I don’t feel my GS is under powered, just not as powerful as I would sometimes like. As for the drooling over 1500cc bikes…doesn’t everyone drool over bigger and (perceived) better? I always seem to, but if you read that post more closely, I am more concidering the 800cc M50 cruiser…and that is for next year, after riding for one season (I know, still a realative newbie after only one year)

Yes, I have been riding for just over a month…but after researching (and begging the BOSS) for over two years before the purchase and rider training, it feels longer…I appologize if I sent anyone away from the general direction of the site, that wasn’t my intent…I am just trying to be an active member of the community instead of lurking like I did for about a year before joining…

Thanks for the kick though, sometimes I do need one…even if it is a double whammy…lol

Later.

[madjak30]

It probably has more to do with my riding skills, or lack there of…but if you read the whole comment, and like you mentioned in your own post, you get used to the accelleration of your bike pretty quick…the skill and fun of riding the bike is carrying the speed through the corners…

As for the power to weight ratio…mine is a little different. 1. I think my carbs need tuning (I can smell raw fuel when I stop at a light) 2. My weight adds more than most (275lbs). This makes my bike with me on it weigh in at nearly 700lbs, which is a lot of mass for 47hp and 29lb/ft of torque to move. It moves that mass quite well, quicker than most vehicles…but not all. With me on the bike, it’s like others riding 2up…

I don’t expect to be the fastest thing on two wheels, and I am glad that I am not…sometimes the fun of riding makes me act immature….?? Hence the improptue drag race…I should be more mature and just nod, let them floor it and take off from the light while I just start out normal and civilized…but sometimes you think “yeah, I can take him!”…but even losing is fun…

And just in case you think I am a total idiot (stop light racing in the city), the lights I was stopped at are the last set of lights heading out of town onto the hiway…no side streets and speed limit of 110kph (65mph ish), which is where I stopped accellerating (I guess my maturity kicked in…no speeding)…

Later.

[madjak30]

I have been checking on the cruiser chat sites, and none of them seem to mention the – sore butt syndrome – but on the magazine sites they do. I am wondering if the magazines that are probably more used to the standard or sporty position are complaining because they just are not used to the position…I was hoping that it was more like sitting at my computer in a chair (like Munch mentioned) than the “sporties” complaining about their butt after 20 mins…

I am hoping that my knees stop hurting after a while and I get used to the riding position of my GS500…I really do like my bike, but my knees…I am kinda dreading some of the longer rides that I am planning this summer…I guess I had better work on my flexibility and maybe exercise more…it will only help with the power and handling anyway…lol

On the cruisers, do you not try to lift your butt when going over bumps (like train track crossings)?

I really like the Custom cruiser look of the Suzuki M50, the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom and the V-Star 950…but I don’t want to change bikes if I won’t be able to walk after a “few” hours in the saddle…I also like the sport touring bikes…Concours, FJR, Bandit (the Euros are nice too, but the price jumps and the dealers are only in the major centers…)

Thanks.

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