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I don’t know what I should have done with the throttle/clutch. I don’t even know what I did. For all I know, I flapped my arms and kept the bike upright. I guess that’s why we practice, because when you really need the skill, you need to do it without thinking.

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Eon raises an interesting point. I have been riding in pretty basic Sidi boots. They would protect against friction, but they aren’t tight enough to really provide ankle support. I know that they are expensive, and look a bit extreme, but what about the higher end Sidi “race” boots that can be adjusted to hug your calf and lock your foot in place? Anyone recommend, or not, getting boots like the Sidi Vertigo series?

Thanks.

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Thanks for the answer. Just a little clarification

You can use the cowl from the 696+ with the touring seat as well. The seat isn’t gel, but it is softer.

Thanks for the info on the pipes.

My comment regarding SUVs was more to say I don’t care about the acceleration to keep up with a sports car. Few new riders do. I suspect that good braking skills are more important than acceleration, and that an accidental wheelie would be less worse than a little less torque. It does strike me that lower gearing may make a bike less controllable/smooth at low speeds or from a full stop. Am I wrong.

As this is, in theory, a beginners site, glorious acceleration is not necessarily a huge plus.

Also, how do you adjust the mirrors to avoid a beautiful view of your arms?

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I have read the following: that the Versys is the same, except now legal in CA. The R has a lower seat, as well as rubber mounting in the rear, and a different shape on the gas tank. The naked version is the same as the R but for the fairing, and a .2 inch seat difference. From the specs, the Versys is about 10 pounds heavier, and the front and rear shocks are adjustable where the other two are only adjustable in back.

What I can’t tell is if there have been other modifications to the R and naked, that don’t show up on the Versys. Reading between the lines, i wouldn’t be surprised if the instruments were different on the Versys from those on the other two bikes. By lowering the seat on the R have they made it less comfortable for taller riders?

I could be wrong about what I conclude in the first paragraph. I would really like to know about the questions raised in the second paragraph. Feel free to correct and/or enlighten.

Also, when the hell will they get to dealers?

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Zen-like Calm and Reasoned Analysis would be nice, but you’ll have to settle for my comments. I live in Massachusetts. Looking at various threads about MSF courses I have formed some hypotheses.

First, I suspect that BRCs in various places can be very different. I had never been on a bike. The riding portion of my class was two three hour sessions over two days. Leaving out rest breaks and lectures, I spent about 30 minutes max, per day, actually riding. Only 2 of us, out of 8, had never ridden. Others have described their course as having more instruction, more riding, and more practice.

So, maybe some are better than others. I was not unhappy with my course. I did arrange for an instructor to spend a couple of extra hours with me, (I paid per hour), so that I could learn what I wanted. And then I went and practiced. I didn’t learn to drive a car in two days, and it is probably unreasonable to expect the BCR to do the whole job. I certainly learned a lot, including enough to make me want to keep riding. Still, the course could have been much better where I took it.

Second, in Massachusetts, having the option to take your road test privately is worth the cost of the MSF course. No one put a gun to my head. The MSF course was a far more pleasant experience, and far more supportive. I consider it money well spent. And I do get 10% off on some of my insurance, which will defray the cost over time.

Had I grown up on dirt bikes, and been cost sensitive, I might have practiced, gotten my bike and license, and waited for an advanced course. But I am happy I took the course, even if it has flaws. Frankly, as a 54 year old responsible car driver, having to listen to over an hour of talk and rules about not drinking and riding was torture. But I figure the 17 year old class members (who all rode better than I did) might benefit from hearing it.

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Did you go with the standard seat or the touring seat (which is somewhat more upright)?

Did you purchase the rear seat bag?

Other than power, did the carbon fiber pipes improve the smoothness of the engine that you noticed?

Gearing the sprocket down would give you faster acceleration, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t you need to give it more throttle from a full stop? Would that be a mod that a beginner, or any newer rider, would want to make?

What is your height, weight and inseam? It would help to see how comfortable others would find it?

Comment: Redlining that bike in top gear would probably put you at 130 mph. That is not a requirement that I’m looking for in a beginning bike. As a beginner, I don’t really feel the need to keep up with Boxters (hell, I don’t even want to go near the Porshe with panties) or 911s or M5s. Getting out of the way of an SUV driver on a cell phone would be good, though.

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Gravel began on the right side of the paved road, and covered the pavement up to to the edge of the road which was grass and gravel.

Sorry OT, some senator just referred to the Treasury having used up “all the bullets in its quiver”. Brilliant.

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I was kind of hoping that there could be a thread where someone could look and find out about the folks answering questions. I have been as guilty as the next guy of going off topic and don’t claim to be holier than thou. But maybe we can either re do this post somewhere with the information, or say on topic? Just an idea. I’m as in favor of free speech as anyone else here. But the thread, while fun, has wandered.

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Matt, yes there are a number of negative comments about the 696 mini monster. Fewer about its bigger brother. The 696 is really nice to ride, but is a compromise, and is incredibly expensive (as one is expected to add new pipes and seat for an additional $2,000.

Daisy’s were 60’s symbols. Nostalgia. I really wonder what the new Bonnies will be like with fuel injection. Don’t think I’d put a Union Jack on my tank-too Austin Powers.

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Yeah, it was late. Too much happening in the real, or at least the financial, world. Don’t know why I was posting that stuff either. Need a little present to myself, but can’t decide whether to do something three weeks before it gets cold.

Looking for answers that don’t exist leads to philosophy and verbosity, which tend to be related.

It’s still late!

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Didn’t mean to offend your family. I hope you will accept my hole hearted apology butt will understand if you don’t.

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Thank you for the links. Can’t say that those comments make me want to run out and buy the 696. Forget whether the bike is good for a newer rider, is it good? There aren’t tons of people who love this bike. Is that the price, or the bike?

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Rab, yeah you did, but it was a good push. Thanks for the opportunity.

Elwood, like the post on free speech. We’re probably both overreacting. But, was it Barry Goldwater (before your time?) who said that “extremism in the pursuit of virtue is no vice”? He probably overreacted too. But I don’t know if my motorcycle makes me equal, hell it makes me small and more vulnerable than I do in an M5. Being human makes us equal. Riding motorcycles makes us like talking to each other. Sharing respect for riding leads us to respect each other. Shared culture, shared respect (even if some of us prefer different styles).

Damn, it’s just way past my bedtime. I’m sure that could have sounded less pompous. Forgive me ’cause I’m so OLD.

But did I goof or are you in your 40’s? If I didn’t goof, you aren’t old you just have more experience off of a bike. The next thing you know, some 28 year old is going to say they’re old.

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Interesting site. But better for some Japanese bikes and Harley. No information for any european bike. Also, be aware that they are selling this information.

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I may be wrong, but I don’t know that anyone ever tried to answer this question. Your statement seems to be as accurate as anything I have read in the “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Motorcycles” or in other books. There are more bikes than definitions. See Sport-Touring, Enduro, Adventure, Dual Sport (etcetera ad nauseum).

It might, perhaps, to be more accurate to say that a café racer was a street bike, decorated and customized to look like a racing bike, but was primarily aimed at display to others for bragging rights at the local bar or coffee shop. Triumph makes an “upright” bike, designed to be ridden by a rider way forward hugging the tank. Real sport bikes are, at the extreme, street legal rocket ships which are racing bikes. I’ll leave it to others to decide if a sporty looking bike with less threatening power should be called. I mean, what is the Kawasaki 650R, or the Suzuki SVs?

Warning: the preceding was my best guess based on reading. I wouldn’t be surprised if I were wrong, or offended if someone has better information.

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