[nau_lax21]

congrats man, in my class we only had one person drop the bike, 25% of the class dropping the bikes seems REALLY high

it sucks but i think its pretty funny that the instructor dropped his bike

[nau_lax21]

did it once, felt really bad. the driver seemed worried, but i talked to her and it was all good. if i think its gonna be close now, i dont lane split

[nau_lax21]

“The 500cc will drag two up, unless you likem big.” lol dude that was pretty funny

anyways as far as low maintenance and 500-600cc goes, I ride a gs500f and that seems to fit the description of what you’re looking for. Also the ninja 500 and 650, or the sv650 would be worth taking a look at. and if you’re buying used (from a private party) tell them that you require a test ride before you consider a purchase.

[nau_lax21]

Eddiepowerfm: jeans are absolutely not going to protect the skin on your legs at 20+mph. I lowsided in jeans going about 40 and tore my jeans up and got a little bit of road rash on my knee/upper leg. That was over 4 weeks ago, and the road rash finally starting to go away. I’d stay away from jeans if possible, however I’ll admit that I still wear them sometimes as long as I know I’m not going near the freeway.

Back to the topic, I don’t think you guys are getting what the cooling liner is. It’s the kind you dunk in water for 5-10 minutes, ring it out, and it will stay cool for 5ish hours.

I’m thinking about going with the mesh jacket (Scorpion Cool Rod) for running around town, and getting the cooling liner for the 5-6 hour rides to Phoenix. As Eon pointed out, it would most likely be a huge hassle to use cooling liner every day.

[nau_lax21]

Scratch what I said about you already have the fact that your dad rides going for you. I completely agree with what Elwood said. If you do crash, thats gonna cause some major shit with your parents if you try to get your dad to talk her into the idea of you riding.

Wise words Elwood!

[nau_lax21]

I was in the same boat. I’m actually a sophomore in college now, got my bike last August. Both of my parents were totally against it. I took the MSF last June and they were PISSED. I kept mentioning that I was going to buy the bike when I got back to Arizona for the start of sophomore year. Over time they were less and less bugged by the idea. Now more than half a year later, they are completely cool with it.

You’ve already got the fact that your dad rides going for you. I say go take the MSF class and try to ease your mom into the idea of you having a bike over time.

[nau_lax21]

seems like a good idea, but all of the extra airflow would dry out the cooling liner really quickly… defeating the purpose

[nau_lax21]

i wave when i can. its funny, im on a gs500f, and it seems the old cruiser guys are more likely to wave than fellow sportbikers

i dont wave at scooters tho lol

[nau_lax21]

i have a k7 gs500f. i just use plain 87 octane gas. i had the same problem in the worst part of winter when it was below 20 in the morning. (i rode year round unless snow was coming down)

for me the problem was solved by letting the bike warm up for a solid 3 minutes or so. sounds to me like you just need to let the engine warm up a little longer

i would also leave the choke in for the first half mile or so of riding in the morning

now that its high 40s-low 50s in the morning the bike needs 15 sec or so warming up most of the time with 5sec of choke.

so not sure what the weather is like for you, but if its brrrrr chilly outside, let the engine warm up a minute longer and see if that makes a difference

[nau_lax21]

if you look around this site for 2 minutes you will find that the general consensus of this site is that a 600, especially an I4 like the gixxer is a terrible idea for a first bike.

[nau_lax21]

theyre all right. take the msf, and dont get a 1k supersport as your first bike. that is a TERRIBLE idea.

there are plenty of good looking sportbikes that are a million times more suitable for a beginner like yourself. take a look at the ninja 250, ninja 500, gs500, even the sv650. those would be ideal, but just about any bike makes more sense for you than a literbike.

another plus about the smaller bikes, insurance is much less and the bikes are cheaper too!

[nau_lax21]

here ya go

http://www.cyclenutz.com/products/motorcycle_mounts/toll_pass_mounts/ez_pass_m-tag_ipass_handlebar_mirror_mount_toll_pass_holder.html

that should work to hold the express pass

[nau_lax21]

the difference between the 600 twin and 600 I4 is that the twin is a lot more consistent in power through the rpms making it easier to control. im sure someone else on the boards can explain it much better than me.

be careful out there man, phx has the some of worst drivers ive ever seen. the only time ive laid my bike down was on shea rd. (i could have avoided it if i was paying more attention)

i dont wanna come off as discouraging, just stay alert. that applies everywhere, but you cant stress that enough out where you are.

and dont forget to gear up! a lot of people seem to not even wear helmets out there. dont be one of them!

[nau_lax21]

ill be in temecula all summer, if you wanna get a group ride going on palomar mountain after the middle of may, count me in

[nau_lax21]

valentine 1s are pretty nice. just gotta worry about the laser based speed detectors

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