[paulurmston]

Thanks people… knew you would know what to do.

Yeah, I have a parking lot at my apartment. I don’t want to drive it so much, as to learn this friction point a little so that I am not a complete noob on the course.

I’m an English guy living in Chile. The Chileans wouldn’t stop taking the piss out of me if I turned up not even knowing where the friction point is.

; )

Thanks again everyone.

[paulurmston]

jajaja…. sure. The jacket is a must. A nice black one to match the bike.

I will try to make a video of the engine running… I swear. It sounds nothing like the factory fitted exhaust system.

[paulurmston]

Thanks…. I guess I am just panicking over nothing.

I went to the website… and they only have links to buy paper books… I live in Chile.

Can you imagine the expense and time I’d have to wait to get the book (if they DO deliver so far away) in Chile.

Would cost a fortune, and 2 weeks to get here.

Thanks anyway.

[paulurmston]

hey…. believe me. I am still awake at 2am going NUTS to try the damn thing jajajajaja.

I am sooo tempted to just get up in the morning… and jump on… but I am really trying to be an “adult” here and wait until I do the beginners course. ARRRGGGHHH!!!!!! I wanna go play jajajaja!

It looks awesome, the new exhaust makes it sound simply stunning, and yes… the black looks so nice huh… almost like Batman himself did the paint job jajaja.

The helmet is a nolan… I thought I might as well try to keep my brains albeit probably hitting the tarmac soon, but at least safe in a good helmet… rather than splattered in a cheap one.

I DO need some nice black gloves. Anyone know any good ones? Not expensive… I am going to be a little broke for a while paying for the bike now. Just something to tide me over for 6 months.

[paulurmston]

Ok.. so guess what is parked in my parking lot underneath my apartment?

jeejejejeje!!

I took some photos the moment the guy dropped it off at my place, before the sun went down.

right

left

(and yes, that is a yoshimura exhaust… nice touch huh?!)

Can you believe that I have had it now since 5 pm (it’s around 1 am now) and I still haven’t rode it. I haven’t even turned on the engine, because I know I will be tempted to just try it out… and in all honestly probably end up as a smear on the road.

The cruel thing is that when the guy from the store arrived, his friend was following him on another bike… to drive him back. A Suzuki Hayabusa… man it was like a friggin TRAIN on two wheels… simply HUGE! I was scared just standing next to it listening to the engine purring.. and I say purring like a lion purrs right before he rips your head off! Man, now THAT is a motorbike!

[paulurmston]

Yes… that is exactly the thing isn’t it. It doesn’t look like a starters bike… it looks like a real machine.

When I went to see it… it was parked in a way that was a great sales trick.

Picture if you can… 3 bikes parked next to each other… all looking the same way with 15 cm’s space between them

250cc Ninja Black a 500 Ninja Blue and a 650 green.

I swear… they didn’t look that much different. If I wouldn’t have known, I would have thought that it was the same, but maybe a 200, a 2005, and this years model… like a Kawasaki through the years kinda thing.

Oh yeah, and the Buell cube thing… I watched it on youtube.. what the hell is that about?!??

[paulurmston]

.. SO….

Today I went to see the ninja… damn it’s just so cute!

I think it was a case of love at first sight. I mean, it looks quick when it’s on its stand… it can only get better once it starts moving.

So…

I paid the deposit. I can’t believe I actually did it. It will arrive the very same day of my 3 day course on biking… so the timing is spot on. It’s a black model, I mean the green and everything is nice… but I love the black!!

I’ll throw up some photos as soon as I get it in my hands!

Thanks again to every one… happy riding

[paulurmston]

You see… this website ROCKS!!

Ok, Well. I am actually going to the Kawasaki dealer tomorrow to sit and try out the ninja… so I will if it “fits” me or not.

If not, I just (literally right now at 2am in the morning) a great bike that although it is a little out of my price range, I could still afford on finance.

Now, my dilema is that I love sport bikes. I mean, they look awesome. I never really did go for the chopper thing. Just personal taste. Anyway, I went to the yamaha website and found two models.

A fazer 250cc
a Fazer FZ6-SHG (which is the sports 600, not the naked one)

I know it is a much bigger engine, but (from what I can gather looking at the pictures) It seems to have a sports look, but a very upright riding position (perfect for my height I guess)

Now, I am assuming this is 4X more powerful than the ninja. Remembering that I am going traffic light to traffic light… will I ever get out of first gear? Jajajaja

The fazer 250 looks ok, but nowhere near as sexy as the ninja of course. Also the back brake is tambor (I really don’t know WHAT the hell a tambor brake is in English sorry people, but I am sure you know what I am talking about)
I keep reading to stay clear of these tambor breaks as they wear out constantly.

Anyway, hit me back… I am reading every word and taking everything in. I want a fun bike, nimble, and something that is going to start a love affair with motorbikes.

I put myself in your experience…. be gentle jajaja

And yes… I almost broke down in tears in Triumph. The sales guy was like “So. Wanna try it out for 30 minutes?”. I swear. I was so tempted, but just listening to that engine… it freaked me out. I was more scared about destroying the beautiful machine, and killing that lovely sound that the damage to my body should I crash it. No, I think I have a while to go before getting up to that level…

… it is an AMAZING bike though.

[paulurmston]

Thanks.

Yeah, I mean I feel very safe on the scooters. Look through the corners, never brake in a turn, counter steer whenever I can.. that kind of thing.

I do understand about the power/tattoo thing. jaja. I got a small tattoo about 3 years ago, it’s like 3cm long… nothing really, just my name in Japanese… but Now I look at other tattoos and think… yeah! jajajaja.

I already am signed into a beginners course here in Chile, starts next week. It’s the closest to the MSF as they have here.

My only real worry is my height. I don’t want to look like a big guy say on a small bike. I want to feel like part of the bike (I am sure you understand what that means).

Oh,I forgot to mention I will be commuting on the thing mostly. 5 minute bike rides to/from the office. Then in the evenings to pop around to my friends, etc…

I live in Santiago at the moment, the capital of Chile. It’s a huge city, with a REAL problem with congestion. I am normally to be found driving down the dotted white lines between the parked cars as they wait for the lights to change. So I really will be traveling in the city 90% of the time.

The good thing is that with my scooters, I am able to drive around 330 days a year. The weather here is just perfect for biking. The summers are blue skies, hot, and lovely to feel the wind whipping around you!

So. You agree.. go with the 250cc… and try not to get to envious of the 600cc’s flying around me.

By the way, I really don’t think I’ll be killing the motorbike the moment I get it… but I would like to ask a question about maximum velocity. I really don’t care how fast it goes, the limit in Chile is 120Kmh’s (around 70mph) and IF (a big IF) I go faster, it would only be to get to 80mph to maybe jump in front of a car on the highway. I would like to know what is it’s cruising speed. Not the maximum speed, but the speed in which it is ok on the highway, but not burning up petrol either.

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