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Review of the Genuine Blur
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SafetyFirstParticipant
1800 miles on the Ninja 250 so far. I hit 5000 exactly on the odometer in the parking lot of the BRC classroom section. I can’t wait to get over 3200 under my belt, because then I’d have put half the miles on the odometer myself. The baby Ninja seems to like the attention.
SafetyFirstParticipantOK, guys, I got good news — I passed!
Capt Crash is right, the TW200s do make a squeak in the suspension. I noticed that the first day when I squeezed a little too much front brake the first day moving up in the line-up stop and go. Everyone who had the TWs seemed to like them. Heck, one of the rider coaches said she bought one because she liked it so much. I’ll stick with my Ninja 250, thanks. Getting on the 250 after the class was so much more fun. I found out Ohio actually used to use Ninja 250s, but not anymore. Bummer.
I think I’m literally drenched in sweat. 91 degrees at the moment. We had to take an extra longer chill break at one point today, because one of the riders was baked solid from the heat. She got so out of it, she just about lost it coming into the group-up, something you don’t see mid-way through the second day. A bite to eat, some water and chilling out in the A/C’d student lounge did the trick, and she passed just fine. I know her husband will be happy for her, he stopped by to watch yesterday — he rides a sport touring bike.
I did OK on the test. I ended up briefly outside the box on the right-hand U-turn (grr) which I think was due to my bike being about empty on gas and it’s power coming and going in spurts (and later stalled when braking towards the line-up after that part of the exam was over.) It made things a little more tense having to switch to reserve, then choke and keep the throttle open for a while because it kept stalling when I would roll off the throttle. Who knew that the time I ran out of gas on the road would come in handy in a class? Also, who knew I could go through that much gas in 14 miles according to the trip odometer?
I seemed to do fine on everything else. My favorite part was blasting out of the right hand curve doing easily 30 in the last part of the exam not to get screwed on time once it all clicked. It’s all about turning that head and looking at the way out. The muscles will make it happen.
The rider coach said that I need to work on consistency. He’s right. Sometimes I could do the exercises spot-on then sometimes I goofed up parts in practice when I did it just fine the last time around. And most of the time it was because my head was looking down, not the way out.
The other instructor suggested going slower, which really helped on the curve on the way in during the test and on the braking distance test, though I did screw myself a little by braking when I was too far past the line. I’m not concerned with that, since I can’t remember a time in real life where I need to START stopping at a certain place, as opposed to stopping clear of something once stopped. I found it helped stop the tension leading up to the mark by telling myself that I’m just out on the road riding having fun and how good the wind feels.
All around, a very excellent course. The first class seemed too monolithic with so many people, different groups and so many ranges. The classroom section the first time was mundane “ok, who has question number 14 from the back of the book?” as opposed to having us work in groups and write down and teach the sections to the class in groups on a piece of poster paper in front. I got more feedback and help from the instructors this time than I did the first time. And no one dropped, even in practice! The bikes were in great shape! Motorcycle Ohio seems to really take care of their bikes, as opposed to program in Metro Detroit where there were literally parts hanging off on the first day.
Also, you’re right — the bike you started with is the one you used all weekend. When I took it the first time in Metro Detroit, they had us playing musical chairs with our bikes. The bike you started on the first day might have ended up on a different range the second day!
The instructors mentioned how good a deal it is. I agree 100%. $25 for the program literally can cost $400 in some states. Or how Harley D makes their program 5 days long, which includes ample time to hang out in their store to shop for gear. *rolls eyes* Regardless of cost, I highly recommend anyone who rides to take it. It’s helped already. I did a low-speed U-turn at the gas station on the way back from the class that I wouldn’t have even bothered with before.
All in all, I had a great time, regardless of the heat. Once the cards were handed out, a group of dirt-bikers passed by on the street by the parking lot, and one of them gave us a wheelie. I can’t wait to get out my cones and practice some more on my Ninja in a parking lot.
SafetyFirstParticipantHey, cool, another n00b from the Buckeye state.
If you need encouragement to go out and ride, give me a holler. I’m over in Zanesville.
SafetyFirstParticipantSo far, so good.
The first hour or so on the bike felt like forever. Yes, I know how to start the bike. Yes, I know how to ride without dragging my feet. Yes, I know about the friction zone.
Just for fun, I picked a Yamaha TW dual-sport to ride on. It was between a Nighthawk 250 (snore), or a Suzuki GZ250 (snore.) In a nutshell, it’s love-hate. That thing is so light, and that’s coming from a guy on a Ninja 250.
The emergency braking sections were frustrating. The first thing I noticed, is the front brakes really needed a good squeeze, but the rear brake was so tight I locked it up twice without much effort, the first time with a cloud of burned rubber I’m told, much to the rider coach’s annoyance. I found that just putting the weight of a boot on it was enough to keep the rider coaches happy. It was so frustrating figuring out the sweet spot on the front. I thought I had it about right, but the other rider coach said I was close to doing a stoppie if I was going any faster. That thing is just too light, I think.
Also, the gear shift lever is a bit on the small side width-wise, and it took a bit of hunting around with the boot to find it at first.
The good part is that the TW has a lot of torque in first gear, which was actually kind of fun, but the rider coaches suggested using second for cone weaves so it’s less touchy. Either way worked for me. Don’t look at the cone you trying to passing, look at the one past it.
No problems with any other part, curves were fun, when I actually could take them at speed. Lots of slow-pokes in the class, and I seemed to get lucky being stuck behind them. Nothing is more fun than working the friction zone on a curve I’m supposed to be taking in second gear with clutching, rolling on the throttle. That made for a waste of learning that could have been had, but I did get a few good runs in. I got it beat into my brain again to look where I want to go. A lot of us were looking at the slow-poke in front of us, not the exit of the curve. By golly, she was right, you still can’t miss the bike in front of you in your peripheral vision. Also, I learned to use a little front and rear brake before a curve without using the clutch. All this time, I’d been clutching in, braking, then slowly letting it out into the curve, so it wasn’t in vain. No wonder I hate sharp curves and turning onto side-streets. Best of all was seeing the rider coach scrape the kick-stand on the TW in the demo, so that activity was worth it. And I learned where dirt-bike chokes are, kinda interesting. Three settings, choke, choke less, and choke off on the left side of the engine.
I’m debating grabbing a Nighthawk tomorrow, or wondering if I should just stick with the TW. It was fun on 9/10 of the activities, minus braking. Personally, I wish they had a Ninja 250 or two, but that’d just make it too much fun for me, right?
This class was a lot better than my first. My first (taken out of state in Metro Detroit) had a lecture of easily 50 people, three ranges, and two shifts per range. Which meant having to waste a few hours to baking in the sun in the layover before your next section.
This one has, I’m not joking, 12 people or so. Same number in the lecture. All together on the range. Started at 8 AM and we were out by 2 PM. And the classroom sections were much more enjoyable.
SafetyFirstParticipantI already have a Ninja 250, but it seems all the bikes I want I can’t seem to get.
I love the sound of an I-4. Back in the late 80s/early 90’s, Suzuki made some pretty neat GSX-Rs with the dual circular headlights. If they sold in the US or not, I’m not sure, because I can’t find them used anywhere. GSX-R400 and especially the GSX-R250. A 250 I-4, what a hoot of fun that would be to ride moving up from a parallel-twin 250, with about 10 HP more power. http://www.gsx-r.eu/History_gsxr250.html
It sucks that the only way it seems to move up to an I4 is take the plunge into a big CBR600 or GSX-R600 or R6. None of which are really a good idea with three months riding under the belt.
Then there’s the CBR-125R, which is a current model, but only sells, well, everywhere else in the world it seems, except the US. I could mess with customs to import a 2008 model in white and black from Canada, but it seems like a lot of work. Still, 95 MPG, FI, lighter than my 250 and a sportsbike design look would be fun to ride to work or ride around town.
Not a fan of the Rebel, it’s not ‘eye pleasing’ to me. It’s gotta have fairings.
SafetyFirstParticipantTo be honest, I wish I went with those. For a few more bucks than my Textile pants, I could have had those and worn any pants I wanted to over them, without looking like a power-ranger.
SafetyFirstParticipantI use my ashtray, but my buddy’s car honestly doesn’t have one. He flicks out the window. I’ve been training him to at least look around for motorcycles around him before he sends it out the trash portal, by explaining to him that it could cause mucho problems if it landed on a motorcycle riders gear or got stuck in their half-helmet.
SafetyFirstParticipantI used the doctor’s parking lot behind the hospital a block down the street. After about 6 PM, the daytime doctors have gone home for the night. And, the thinking was that if it ever went too far, I can crawl my way inside to the ER and save the ambulance charge. It wasn’t the best surface, there was some small gravel at parts and sand traps, but it worked. Imagine my amazement when I hit a small rock in the emergency braking practice, that stop took a bit longer.
My other favorite place to practice, once I got enough confidence up to ride around town, is the vocational school’s parking lot. Which just also happens to be where they teach the MSF classes, so the markings are on the pavement.
The main thing to worry about is car traffic, the edges of the parking lot, and the light poles. You don’t want to hit any of those. Also, watch out for parking lot crap, like smashed soda cans, beer bottles (college parking lots), McDonalds’s bags, chunks of broken concrete. Capt. Crash found a solution to that — use parking lot crap as cones in a cone weave.
And if someone tells you to buzz off, then do it. It’s so much easier just to say sorry and leave, then turn it into a trespassing charge because you had to be thickheaded.
SafetyFirstParticipantI focus on avoiding the situation as much as I can.
I have Harbor Freight cheap-China reflective white and red tape on the back of the helmet. I might be moving up to the DOT-C2 approved stuff Walmart has in the automotive section (like you see on the back of truck trailers) for more visibility at night. At night, that stuff lights up like mad, especially with hi-beams.
When I see someone behind me, because I’m always watching those mirrors, I give the front brake a little squeeze for a few to get the rear-brake modulator to do it’s thing. Usually gets noticed.
I leave about one car length between me and the car ahead of me at a light. I figure those few feet are enough to move and split between cars if I hear locking brakes, or at least buy the driver behind me skidding a few more feet to stop if I move up.
I’ve never had it happen, but it still worries me.
SafetyFirstParticipantFrame sliders are known to cause more harm than good in most situations.
SafetyFirstParticipantScraping Pegs: What happens when you are taking a turn too fast, due to heavy lean. Slow down next time before the curve!
SafetyFirstParticipantDrop: What gravity does to a bike, if it’s not on a stand or controlled by a rider.
Drops can vary from forgetting to put the kick-stand down when dismounting, leading to scuffed up fairings and pain to ego, to low-speed parking lot training drops, which lead to scuffed up fairings and broken turn signals and mild pain to the body.
Worst of all are high speed drops which lead to very noticeably broken fairings and large damage to the bike and large pain to the rider. Other riders and a potential buyer will surely notice and be concerned about evidence of the later more than the former on a beginner bike.
SafetyFirstParticipantSquid: SQuashed KID. What eventually happens when crazy antics catch up with them, such as, but not limited to, going double the speed limit on the highway, racing on public streets, or taking the twisties at warp speed. I4’s are the engine of choice. Generally, ego, overconfidence and most importantly, speed, prevail over actual riding skill, and worst of all, the lack of desire to actually acquire such skills. Helmet graphics are more important than helmet quality or price, assuming a helmet is worn at all. Sneakers, jeans and a T-shirt flapping in the wind on highway riding are also another signs of a potential squid. Accompanied by feelings of immortality and invincibility while on two wheels, and despite many drops, still feeling content with their riding ability.
SafetyFirstParticipantThey don’t list the Ninja 250 in their lists.
SafetyFirstParticipantMy manual says that choking while in motion is acceptable, so long as you turn it off after 15 seconds above 68 degrees F, 1.5 minutes under 68 degrees F, or 2 minutes below 40 degrees F. Also, don’t exceed 2500 RPM. And don’t choke for more than 5 minutes under any condition.
I have no problems starting when the bike has been cooking in the sun. If it’s in the shade in the day a little choke is needed, but using the throttle to keep engine speed up for a few seconds then slowly dropping it to idle works, too. Note I said slow. The trick whether using choke or throttle is to reduce engine speed slowly, not watch it dive down, because it’ll drop below idle and then you get the angry red oil light and a stall. And if it’s a cold night, then choking is a def, or else the problems as mentioned in the post a few up happen.
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