[Rab]

I came across this and thought it pretty well described the absurd nature of political correctness.

Political Correctness – The authoritarian, racist, and discriminatory ideology that supposedly opposes authoritarianism, racism, and discrimination.

The Emperor, indeed, has no clothes on.

[Rab]

I don’t know what they cost, but I’m sure it would be really easy to order the parts and change the fairings yourself rather than sending the bike to the dealers (if necessary). By the way, it’s not a given that you *will* drop the bike; just “likely”, so all the more reason to go with a light bike (i.e. one you may be able to prevent from falling over).

You know, you *could* take the fairings off for the first six months and ride it without fairings; probably kinda ugly, but that’s where the streetfighter / hooligan bike came from, which, incidentally, has now gone commercial as a “design concept” (see the Triumph Speed and Street Triple, etc.).

Probably best all round though if you can find a naked bike.

[Rab]

Search the internet for keywords “Winterize” and “Motorcycle”.

[Rab]

Could be that it wasn’t smoke that you saw, but as you guessed, water vapor.

The smell could have been coming from a burning car up the road or whatever.

I know that when I first started driving a car, I’d often worry there was something wrong with the car when I smelled burning, but it never was the car, always something outside, so I learned to ignore it. Surprising that it wasn’t the car actually, considering some of the old junks that I (of necessity) owned in my youth

‘ Only reason I can think of that something might begin to burn in the rain is if water is getting into your electrical system causing a short circuit in the wiring, however, all electrical circuits on your motorcycle should be protected by fuses.

So! Just in case, you might want to ensure that all the fuses in your fuse-box are of the correct ratings (check your manual), make sure that none have been bridged with aluminum foil or similar by some DIY “mechanic” (a real no-no) and also ensure that if you have any accessories hard-wired to the battery, that they have an appropriate in-line fuse fitted.

I had an accessory tail/brake light-bar fitted on my last bike and, for ease of installation, had used those splices which have a razor blade in them that cuts through existing wiring insulation to tap into it. Anyway, I eventually took the light-bar off and didn’t bother taping over the slight nicks in the existing wire where the razor-splices had been (the wiring was inside the “sealed” tail light housing after all). Anyway, come Winter, I kept getting fuses blowing. I took it to the dealer and they could find nothing wrong and just replaced the blown fuse (of course the wiring had dried-out by then). Then I remembered the light-bar. I disassembled the tail light housing and put some electrical tape over the nicks in the wiring and voila, no more blown fuses.

[Rab]

I’d question your use of flashing the headlights on seeing a car exit from a strip mall, gas station, etc.

I’ve been riding for a few years now and in my experience, flashing your lights is often mistaken for “please pull out in front of me”, regardless of the obvious impracticality of said move.

I had a daylight headlight modulator on my last bike (on full beam only) and while it was great for lane splitting (most of ’em thought I was a cop and moved aside sharpish), I eventually stopped using it at other times as now and then, cagers mistook the (constant and very rapid I might add) flashing to mean I was giving them permission to pull out in front of me.

It’s like me “flashing the headlight” was going to suspend the laws of physics for a moment or two, regardless of how fast I was going and how close I was to them.

Be careful, there are some severely incompetent drivers out there…

[Rab]

I’ve got “Olympia Ultima I” waterproof gloves and I’ve been happy with them. They’re well made and indeed waterproof (which is important if you’re going to ride in the rain). There’s nothing worse than riding in cold, wet, heavy, leather anything.

Olympia make decent gloves at great prices compared to the famous name gloves.

http://www.olympiagloves.com/index.php

That said, once it gets really cold and you’re riding at speed, there are no gloves on the market, to my knowlwdge, that will keep your fingers from getting cold and numb (and I’ve done quite a bit of internet research on the subject).

A tip I’ve heard about but never tried, is to put on a pair of skin-tight latex gloves under your motorcycle gloves. They’re supposed to really stop the chill getting to you.

Another option is “Hippo Hands” or similar. These are big hand muffs that fit over your grips and you put your gloved hands inside them. Look kinda stupid but are supposed to work well. I don’t like the idea of having difficulty getting my hands in and out of them while riding though.

Heated grips or grip-wraps (like the Oxford’s I have) are a real comfort, but my thumbs still get cold and numb in Winter.

I’d suggest going for heated, waterproof, gloves if you truly want to be comfortable. They’re next on my shopping list…

[Rab]

You might want to check and adjust as necessary, your headlight aim, as they’re often not aimed well from the factory.

Could be that the throw of your dipped headlight could be improved.

[Rab]

Using the steering lock should be the absolute minimum security you use. Even if you’re just going into the store at the gas station. It’s easy for a thief to run your unlocked bike up a ramp and into the back of a van.

Add a Xena disk lock/alarm for more security. A heavy chain or cable to lock the bike to something immovable is even better.

Ultimately, if they want it, they’ll get it, but if you make it difficult for them, they might just move on to the other guys bike.

The “professionals” are mostly interested in the high-end stuff though.

[Rab]

The 3 bikes I’ve had all had a plastic rub plate on top of the swing-arm near the “engine end” of the swing-arm. Above the foot peg area.

It’s plastic, is flat and has a raised bar along the middle which goes in between the side-plates of the chain. If yours is shitted-up with lube and dirt, it might look like it’s grooved.

Your owners manual should tell you what the permissable chain slack is (measured with bike on side-stand). Usually about an inch of slack is good but check your manual. If it’s near double what the manual says then you must adjust it or risk throwing or breaking the chain (which can be very nasty).

Most say you should clean/lube your chain every 250-500 miles. I do mine every week-end (at ~300 miles) and paint on (and wipe-off) 80W-90 gear oil for lubrication instead of that sticky spray goo lubricant (which seems to form a grinding paste).

[Rab]

Munch said:

“Distracting? Can’t hear whats going on around ya……..I guess for those lucky enough to live near a main town where 35-45 mph is most of their drive…All of my traveling is on highway and at 75mph if you waiting to hear a car… too late. You need to use your eyes more then your ears. A 75 mph wind and rate of speed makes highway sound not close to your head almost non existent anyway”.

I mostly ride freeways too but the distraction I’m talking about has nothing to do with being able to hear other things. Our brains only have so much processing power available and our conscious (as opposed to subconscious) mind doesn’t multi-task very well. If you’re using some of that processing power listening to music, singing along in your helmet and/or visualizing things conjured-up by the music in your head, then that’s less processing power you have available to deal with the other aural and visual messages being received, processed and reacted upon by your brain.

You only have to watch someone in a car fiddling with the radio, eating their cornflakes or yakking on a cell-phone while driving, to realize that when they’re multi-tasking, their driving suffers; big time. I realize that listening to music is more passive than those things, but I’m sure it affects the ride nonetheless.

[Rab]

Yes SBL, many beginners are pretty sure they could control a bigger bike, and many have been proved wrong.

Some of them are dead now.

Seems like there’s hardly a day goes by here in the S.F. Bay Area that I don’t hear on the radio traffic report that a motorcycle has been involved in an accident on the freeway.

You’ve definitely got the right idea. Start small, learn how to ride that smaller motorcycle to its limits and you’ll be a better rider for it in the long run.

[Rab]

Can’t agree that reviews of the GSX650F have been mixed. I haven’t seen any magazine review that is less than glowing (Rider, Cycle World, Motorcycle.com, etc.). Haven’t really heard anything bad in fact, except from people who’ve never ridden one…

Anyway, that said, the big Bandit 1250 is indeed a well loved bike; I have a friend who has one.

Be aware however, that it’s a lot more bike than your 250 and is probably overkill in terms of usable power on the street; especially for a new rider.

Another thing to think about if you’re going to be doing much commuting, is that the bike is basically a consumable in that, depending on how many miles you do, you might be selling it in a year or two, so why buy an expensive bike you’ll just be taking a bigger depreciation hit on?

Anyway, just food for thought…

[Rab]

No, I feel it would be too distracting and I need all of my attention on the road.

[Rab]

Yes, it should go into neutral but it can be a little tricky to find on those bikes.

Practice (at a standstill) and you should get the hang of it. Briefly letting the clutch out just to the very beginning of the friction zone as you’re trying can help you get a feel for what’s going on in the gearbox.

[Rab]

The number in the new Suzuki cruiser designations refers to cubic inches, so a Suzuki S40 has a 40 c.i. engine, an S50, a 50 c.i. engine, etc.

Go here to convert from cubic inches (c.i.) to cubic centimeters (c.c.):

http://www.onlineconversion.com/volume.htm

[Author]

Posts