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Firstgear HT Overpant – Crash Tested
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madjak30Participant
I took my msf course (well, the Canadian version of it) using 200cc bikes, and they had lots of zip…I’m 5’10-5’11 and 275lbs…I don’t think those bikes had much more than 12Hp, so I wouldn’t worry about it. It really comes down to how they are geared. They accellerated faster than most cars all the way to about 80kph, then started losing steam…and they were a blast to ride. I would have gone for one of those bikes myself if I didn’t need it to go freeway speeds…115-125kph.
Kool bike TrialsRider, but I don’t think I would want to ride it more than 20-30mins…but what a 20mins it would be…lol. That thing can’t be comfortable…?
madjak30ParticipantI picked it up for $5000 cheaper than I could find another one with similar mileage…so I’m still ahead, but just.
It actually does pretty good if you are driving down the hiway…I quite often see around 11L/100kms (26mpg imperial, I don’t know how to quickly convert to American gallons…), but around town…well, it could be better…I use it for work, which is mostly hiway…long road trips, oilfield electrician.
That’s why I got the GS, it uses 5L/100kms or less…(around 60mpg imperial)
Anyway, I’ll quit blabbing about my truck…this is a site about the love of biking…lol
For me it’s anything with a motor!!
Later.
madjak30ParticipantIt is actually a hiway if you look it up on the map, but it is not paved for parts of it…large parts, but it should be graded and fairly smooth. I don’t expect there to be loose gravel, at least not large sections of it. It should be like a Range Road or Township road…if you live near farm land you will know…
I think I will just head out this weekend and drive around the Range Roads near home to see how it handles it…if it feels decently stable, or at least managable, I will give it a shot…if not, I will wait until I get my V-Strom…could be a couple of years though…
madjak30ParticipantI needed a truck to pull my trailer, and for work I have to have a “crew cab with 4wd”. It was the best deal on a diesel that I could find…found out later why, needed a new computer, the front end was shot, and needed a new steering box with a stabilizer…nothing an extra $3500 couldn’t fix…so much for the good deal. I’m getting used to seeing over everyone though.
I want to take my bike for some rides down some “back roads” that are gravel…now I am not so sure if I want to chance it with street tires…
Thanks for pointing out, um my…um compensation issue…lol
Later.
madjak30ParticipantThe Suzuki V-Strom (wee-strom) DL650 is a great bike to look at. The seat height will be better for you at 32″, and is very good at two up…I’m pretty sure it will be my next bike. It is the most comfortable bike I have sat on yet…
The Kawasaki Versys is another bike that I am looking at…quite comparible to the V-Strom, just a little more sporting and a slightly taller seat height. Not quite as good for two up though.
I would also consider a Kawasaki KLR650, cheap, reliable, fuel efficient and good for gravel and dirt roads. Can also be used for touring, just don’t expect high speed touring…
Depending on budget, the BMW F800GS looks nice (along the same lines). Same for the Ducati Multistrada. But I don’t know how good they would be for a new, or returning rider…more power…
Good luck!
madjak30ParticipantWas the tire worn? Or midlife?
I would have to call a tow truck, my truck is too high (lifted 5″ and with oversized rubber) and has a topper on it…maybe I should concider getting a trailer…
madjak30ParticipantRode to work this morning (4C) nice and clear…around 11am, it started to rain and was looking bad…I don’t have rain gear yet…but luckily it cleared early enough for the roads to dry up, but it was windier than usual (80kph and gusty)…I got blown around a lot and the wind was strong enough to limit the speed of my bike (unless I down shifted)…and you were right, it was a couple of feet that I wandered, but that wasn’t the part that surprised me the most…it was the lean angle…wow, heading straight down the hiway and having to lean the bike like I was taking a corner. I figured the lean would be much less, but I guess it was pretty windy…
Just though I would eat some crow…definitely more than a couple of inches…it was enough that the vehicles around me were nervous and gave me a wide berth when they passed…
I took Rab’s advice and rode further toward the wind in my lane, ended up riding most of the way in the center of my lane…better safe than sorry.
A couple of other things too…yesterday I rode to work with my windshield removed, and I put it on this morning to see if there was much difference…all I can say is the windshield is not coming off. The bike may look better without it, but the ride is more calm with it. And there is noticable fatigue after just 30 mins of commute time. In the wind, I think the bike tracks straighter with the windshield. My next bike will have farings!
madjak30ParticipantI have only been riding about the same time as you, but where I live (Alberta, Canada) it is windy almost all of the time in the spring and fall (and quite frequently in the summer…lol). I have found it is best to just not panic…if you get the death grip on your bars it will make it worse, just relax and like Gary said “the bike moves a couple of feet sideways while the bike automatically leans against the wind pressure”…I think the bike only moves a few inches, but it feels like it is feet…but you will automatically lean into the wind. The only time I find I swerve, is in gusty winds, or when there is a lot of traffic that blocks and unblocks the wind…but like I said, I think it is only a 4 to 8 inch swerve. After you ride in the wind a few times, you will recognize the feeling and it won’t panic you…you kinda get used to it.
Good luck.
madjak30ParticipantHow do you like the bike? I am looking at that as a possible bike #2 for next season…that or the Gladius. I almost bought the GSX650F as a first bike (demo sale $3500 off, in Canada that brought it down to $5600)…kinda glad I didn’t, my GS500E is plenty bike to start on. The GSX seems to have a similar riding position to the GS, and the seat seems a lot more comfortable than the Gladius, which is my main reservation about that bike (I also might want farings for hiway use)…
I am also thinking about it’s big brother coming out this year, GSX1250FA. Basically the same farings from your bike on the Bandit 1250S. But that is a big step up from the GS500…I don’t really want to scare myself…I guess I will go to the test ride weekend next year, it was two weeks ago here.
I should have a better feel for what I want by the end of the season…I still may go cruiser (I really like the Yamaha Star 950)…I don’t know…still learning…
madjak30ParticipantI just started wearing the ear plugs…wow, much more relaxing to ride…I was avoiding riding on roads above 80kph (50mph), I didn’t like it and found it boring…after the ear plugs, the drone of the wind noise was all but gone and could hear the bike. I thought I wouldn’t hear anything, but the opposite is true. Now I can hear more because the wind noise is toned down to a level that is noticable, but not over powering everything….
madjak30ParticipantI bought some new mirrors that are similar to the stock ones on the Suzuki Gladius…wow, way better…still can’t see directly behind me, but the area that I can’t see is very narrow now. The mirrors I had must have been meant for a cruiser…small and kind of tapered (leaf shaped?)…would be okay on a bike where the handle bars are wider, or higher, but not on a sporty bike…I think the bar end mirrors would have been better, but no one had any in stock…I’m impatient and bought the bigger ones…
I’m much happier now, and feel safer. I guess there is a reason the stock mirrors on the GS500 look like dorky mirrors from the 70’s…they work…I got the more square ones from the Gladius instead because I thought they would look better…I think they do, and they probably work almost as well…
madjak30ParticipantI have started on the GS500, which I have pushed when accelerating in a straight line, but I haven’t come close in cornering…I still have work to do on my clutch control…this morning, I miss judged the closing speed of a truck while in a line up and had to “givver” to get out of the way…I dropped the clutch before twisting the throttle enough and the bike lurched before leaping…kinda scared me, and a little embarassing too…being to cocky, instead of just waiting…all part of the learning curve, I guess…lol…but if I had been on a more powerful bike, I may have had a different experience…unintentional wheelie, over correcting on the brake and probably wiping out…all in front of a 1 Ton welding truck, that I’m sure was taking a drink of coffee at the time…ROAD PIZZA…
These bikes would also be comparible to your SV650, since the Gladius is compared to the Ninja quite often…the GSX650F is the replacement for the old Katana 600 and 750 bikes…which were aimed at the bargain sport/tourer (more towards the sport)…they weren’t really a beginner bike, but were a beginner sport bike…if you read that on it’s own without the first part it will sound like you are endorsing the Katana as a beginner bike…??? I know you have mentioned in posts before that you could have learned easier if you had gotten a less powerful bike, and I think that is kinda where this side bar was supposed to be pointed…at least that is what I got from it…even if it does seem a little lacking in the clarity of the message…
madjak30ParticipantThis was a side bar within a story about the comparisson of the three bikes…Suzuki GSX650F, Kawasaki Ninja 650R and the Yamaha FZ6R…they are all comparible bikes, and some people have suggested the Ninja as a beginner bike…I was just putting this in here to show that they may be more bike than we should be suggesting for a beginner. Even the magazine, if not real obviously, is not recomending them as a beginner bike. I was just surprised to see them showing some kind of responsibility toward newbies…
madjak30ParticipantJust to be clear, this wasn’t my words, but when I read it I thought that really answers a lot of the comments that we are seeing reapeatedly in here…It’s a little longer that I would have liked to post, but it really covers a lot of ground.
I’m still new to this, so I don’t want to over step my bounds with giving advise…but there are quite a few newbies that are not getting the message of the site.
Just my two cents.
madjak30ParticipantThat’s what your waiting for someone to say, isn’t it…I think most of the comments have been that the GS500 is the better bike to learn skills on, but if you feel comfortable with your skill level to try the SV…it’s not like you are totally green to riding a bike…I don’t think anyone would hold it against you, just hope that you are careful, and smooth with your controls…not just throttle either, the brakes are alot stronger on street bikes than you will be expecting. Be sure to take the BRC and listen to them when they are telling you about being smooth with all inputs, they really stress being smooth…
If you are serious about the CBR, I don’t think anyone will tell you it’s a great “learning” bike…but good luck and be careful.
Saftey first…get the gear!
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