[Rab]

By the way, Microsoft Outlook reminders can run your life better than Post-It notes.

Little reminders pop-up all day on my computer, telling me what I need to to do next (sad or what!?)

(smiling)

[Rab]

Yes, I agree with TrailsRider.

Given where you are in the learning process, you should probably stay within the base until you complete your MSF BRC. Meantime, now’s a good chance to read up on some theory.

One step at a time…

[Rab]

I remember my first time on the freeway being a similar experience to yours, and a major psychological milestone.

Yes, you really have to watch those freeway off-ramps as many of them have a real tight bend, often sloping and with gravel at the sides.

I think your whole problem was due to, as you say, coming into the bend too hot (a very common mistake amongst new riders; and “fast guys”). Pay attention to the speed limit signs on the exit ramps as they often give you a clue as to how tight the off-ramp bend may be.

It’s never a good idea to take a bend with the clutch pulled-in. The best thing to do if you find you’ve gone into a bend too hot (which you can almost always prevent), is to lean more. So long as you don’t have a cruiser, the bike will lean a heck of a lot more than you’re usually willing to lean it. You lean the bike by counter-steering.

Another strategy to scrub-off some speed in a bend, is to sit the bike upright very briefly and apply both brakes, then ease-off the brakes and go back into the lean. You need to have mastered counter-steering and also have enough space to do this one. If not, you’ll run straight off the road. Try to brake OR lean as there’s often not enough traction to do both at the same time. When you take your MSF BRC, you’ll do lots of braking and swerving exercises, which should help some.

Make no mistake, going into bends too hot is one of the major killers of motorcyclists, so you’ve been warned.

Always do your braking BEFORE the bend, not in the bend.

Also, as you’re aware, it’s important to take a good line through the bend so as to straighten out the bend as much as possible and to let you see what’s ahead. The slower you go into the bend, the more time you’ll have to think about what line you should be taking based on the shape of the bend.

Anyway, you lived to tell the tale, now hopefully, a little wiser.

Oh! One last strategy… Avoid that freeway junction !

I’ve got a real bad one on my way home from work. Seven very busy lanes of traffic with cars merging off in the same few hundred feet of shared lanes that others are merging on in (criss-cross fashion). It’s the most convenient one for me to get off the freeway, but I just refuse to use it when it’s raining as it’s too busy and dangerous (I came off the bike there once before in the rain).

[Rab]

Riding on a freeway for the first time is daunting, but I think you’ll find that it’s not that scary once you actually do it. I would suggest that you just go as far as one or two exits to begin with and then ride the scenic route home. Next week, go a little further; maybe both ways. Statistically, freeways are actually safer than regular roads I believe.

It sounds like you’re taking this learning process seriously and that’s a good thing.

You have to walk before you can jog and jog before you can run. It’ll be a few years before you become proficient. Oh yes, you’ll be able to control the bike reasonably well long before that, but right now, you don’t know what you don’t know and after a few years, you won’t even be completely sure what you’ve learned that is making you a better rider, but you’ll know you are a better rider by the fact that you begin to have a lot less of those those “ohmigosh I’m gonna die moments”.

Get yourself a copy of “Proficient Motorcycling” by David Hough and that will go a long way to help put an old head on young shoulders. I’ll warn you though, it’s kinda scary in parts and you’ll be riding a lot more cautiously for a while after reading it.

Re. the stop sign, it depends how quickly you slow for the stop sign.

If you’re slowing down slowly, you can slow the bike using the brakes, changing down gears in the normal way as you go (see note below). Alternatively, if you need to slow quickly, it’s okay to brake/pull in the clutch lever and click, click, click your way down to first gear without releasing the clutch until you stop, at which point you either keep the clutch held in or put the bike in neutral and let the clutch out (probably the former for a stop sign). Or, you can use a combination of the two techniqes; the second technique being used towards the end of the slowing down.

No, it’s not a problem to put the bike into first when it’s stopped because you lost the place, but it’s good practice to be in first gear when you stop so that you’re ready to go again. You may find sometimes, that the bike doesn’t want to change gears when it’s stopped if you stopped with the bike in a different gear (or a false neutral). In such cases, if you gently let out the clutch to the beginning of the friction zone while applying pressure to the gear shifter, it will usually help it to shift out of or into the next gear (be very gentle with the clutch though!).

Note: The point of changing down gears (in the normal way) as you slow is (a) so that you don’t stall the engine as the bike slows down, and (b) so that you can be in the correct gear to accelerate away if circumstances suddenly change (e.g. the traffic light changes from red to green while you’re slowing).

[Rab]

The ZZR-600’s a nice looking bike and definitely a different kettle of fish from your old Honda, but it sounds like you’re getting to grips with it all right.

I used to have to do the trip meter thing with my previous two bikes but watch out if/when you take it to a dealer for any service that requires them to take the tank off, as they may not put back in all the gas they took out. This happened to me once on a bike with no fuel gauge. Fortunately, I had practiced reaching down and flipping the pet-cock to reserve, so I could make it to a gas station.

Re. lubing the chain, you might find it easier and safer to buy some spools and a rear stand if you’re not going to fit a center stand (many don’t because it adds weight and reduces ground clearance). T-Rex Racing make a sturdy rear stand that’s quite a bit cheaper than the well known brand.

Have fun and take it easy until you get used to your new found power

[Rab]

No offence intended Jeff, but reviews like the one above (motorcyclistonline) are why I stopped taking that magazine (Motor Cyclist) even though they were virtually giving away subscriptions for free. In fact, one of the dealers actually were giving away subscriptions to this mag for free; I still passed.

They, like many of the glossy motorcycle magazines, are all about pushing the biggest, baddest, fastest, and ultimately, most dangerous motorcycles, making anything less (i.e. practical every day motorcycles) seem like they’re only for losers.

They are probably the main factor in so many young guys buying bikes which are way beyond their capabilities to control, some of them winding up paralyzed for life or even dead. Where I work, we’ve currently got a young guy hobbling around on crutches with a broken leg from a super-sport crash.

Here is a more balanced review of mid-range practical sport-bike style motorcycles which are probably a lot less likely to get the novice motorcycle rider into trouble than a super-sport or hooligan bike.

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2010-kawasaki-ninja-650-vs-2009-suzuki-gsx650f-vs-2010-yamaha-fz6r-89460.html

[Rab]

I’ve had my black GSX650F for almost 3 trouble-free years now (35,000+ miles).

I like it a lot as it’s fast enough to be entertaining without being crazy fast (will do 130+ mph I’m told). It feels very stable and safe at speed, nice, almost upright seating position, but has a long seat so’s you can crouch sport-bike like if conditions dictate. It’s heavy enough not to get blown around in high winds, has twin-like torque (which means that you’re not constantly changing gears to keep the engine within a narrow power band (like on the now obsolete FZ6)), and it won’t go into unintentional wheelie’s on you. Looks like a GSX-R too if you’re into that sort of thing.

I actually went to the dealer ready to buy a V-Strom 650, but I ended up with this instead after having sat on them both. This was just more comfortable (and doesn’t make you look like you’re sitting on a carousel horse).

For perspective, this was the third motorcycle I’ve owned after a Nighthawk 250 and a 2006 Triumph Bonneville. I primarily use it for my daily commute (~32 miles each way); much of it on the freeway.

[Rab]

madjak30 is certainly right about the slow stuff being amongst the most difficult things you’ll have to master on a motorcycle; U-Turns especially.

I would add that, when going slowly, you must remember never to use the front brake when your front wheel is not pointing straight ahead or you will very likely drop the bike. Use the back brake only if the front wheel is not pointing straight ahead at slow speed.

At speed on the open road however, you should use both brakes together.

Another thing that nearly got me a few times when I was new to this, was stopping on a piece of road which was not flat left to right (e.g. some driveways on country roads). You may go to put your favored foot down (usually left), find no ground beneath your foot (because of the slope) and then the bike starts to tip over and you have a heck of a struggle to keep the bike from falling over when your foot does hit the ground (as a consequence of the bike falling over).

Another mistake newbie’s often make is to drive forwards into parking spaces. This is not a good idea as you will have less visibility when later backing-out of the space (than if you’d reversed into the space initially). It’s especially a bad idea if the parking space slopes downward (which is not uncommon). For one thing, your bike’s kick-stand (a.k.a. side-stand) may not hold the bike if you’re not in the habit of leaving your bike in gear. For another, it’s very difficult to get out of the space if your bike has no reverse gear (most motorcycles have no reverse gear).

[Rab]

I used BelRay Superclean for a while on my last bike as it looks nice when it’s fresh (leaves a white coating on the chain). I found that before long, it formed a grinding paste though, and it’s hard to clean off.

YMMV

[Rab]

I’ve had bikes with carbs and bikes with EFI and there isn’t much of a difference to my mind (bearing in mind that my motorcycle is primarily used for commuting).

Yes, my EFI equipped bike starts immediately and requires no futzing with a choke or “fuel enricher”, but how difficult is it to pull the choke out and then push it back in a bit later?

Once on the go, like most EFI equipped bikes, there are times when it adds an on/off character to the throttle, which causes an uncomfortable surging that is not present in bikes that have carbs.

I guess EFI bikes are a little more economical in terms of fuel consumption and are “greener” (if you care about such things), but I definitely wouldn’t let the fact that a bike has carbs be a deal breaker.

[Rab]

I agree with bigguybbr re. integrated tail lights.

These might look cool to some, but are not very good as directional indicators.

I’ll stick with the big, sticky-out factory ones.

We need all the visibility we can get out there.

[Rab]

Good info and good articles in your links Jeff.

I’ve been using the Dupont Teflon Multi-Use Lubricant as a chain lube on my O-ring chain for a while now (since I read that review). It seems to be doing a good job so far, with 33,000 miles and counting, on the original chain. I buy mine at Ace Hardware.

Other aerosol chain lubes I’ve used stay sticky and attract road grit to the chain. The grit mixes with the lube to make a grinding paste (which is pretty much the opposite of what a chain lube’s supposed to do for your chain). The Dupont lube however, dries non-sticky and doesn’t get gritty on the chain, so is great in that respect. It doesn’t fling-off much either (like some of the others do).

Like other aerosols, the Dupont is very wasteful though, as much of it ends up in the pizza box underneath rather than on the chain when being applied; even (or seemingly especially) when I use the little red straw with it.

Breathing in the fumes/vapors from aerosol lubes is almost certainly not beneficial to your health either.

A cheaper, no waste, alternative which also works well is plain old heavy gear oil, 80 or 90 weight, painted onto the chain with a half-inch paint brush. In fact, that’s what Suzuki recommends in my GSX650F’s owner’s manual.

It takes longer to apply, will fling a bit, and might wash off some in the rain, but I use it during the non-rainy parts of the year here in NorCal. It doesn’t attract grit either.

I’ve also heard people recommending chain saw oil on motorcycle chains. I tried that as it’s supposed to have additives that make it stick to the chain. Oddly enough though, it flung-off more than the gear oil, so I quickly went back to using the gear oil.

Anyway, the main thing is that you do lube your chain regularly, not so much what you lube it with.

[Rab]

A great looking *second* bike once you’ve cut your teeth on a 250.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/30/review-moto-guzzi-v7-classic-is-an-italian-beauty-you-can-live/

[Rab]

Something like this works with most search engines:

clutch site:www.bestbeginnermotorcycles.com

Will return all pages from the specified web site URL that have the word “clutch” in them.

Not great, but better than nothing.

[Rab]

A modern, well maintained (and not thrashed) motorcycle can easily reach 100,000 miles (depending on how much or little it’s ridden).

The reason you don’t see many higher mileage bikes for sale is that they:

(a) Are largely adult toys in the U.S. and most don’t see more than a few thousand miles a year. Then the novelty wears off and they get relegated to the back of the garage where they get old and rust, their seals dry and leak and rubber perishes etc.), so they get clapped-out through neglect and age rather than high mileage.

(b) They get crashed and it doesn’t make financial sense to repair them. Even a fairly minor crash on a bike with fairings can cost upwards of $2-3K to fully repair. E.g. A replacement muffler for my Suzuki costs ~$850 just for the part).

(c) No-one wants to buy a higher mileage bike because “common knowledge” has it that motorcycles are clapped-out by 50K (they may or may not be depending on a number of factors). This being the case, the owners just hang on to them and run them into the ground (or crash them) instead of selling them for peanuts.

My current bike (bought new by me) has >30K on it and it runs and looks like new (it’s 2.5 years old).

It’s also been “crashed” and repaired twice in that time. One more crash and the insurance company will write it off (see (b) above).

[Author]

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