[WeaponZero]

Ever since I’ve discovered the SHARP rating system I’ve stayed away from a lot of brand of helmets including KBC. By the way, KBC doesn’t actually make their own helmets. Their Shells and EPS’s are sourced from a company that supplies all of the lower priced helmet brands, including HJC. I discovered this while talking with the manager at a Cycle Gear.

IMO if you’re not willing to spend $300 on a helmet then there’s really only one helmet brand you should be looking to: Scorpion. The others just rate too poorly in crash tests for my tastes. That being said, I think I’m gonna be sticking with Shark helmets from now on because of their ability to consistently make helmets that rate AT LEAST a 4/5 stars on the Sharp crash test scale.

[WeaponZero]

You know you’re a motorcycle geek when you look at a picture of a scantily clad girl straddling a motorcycle and the first thought that pops into your head is “Where’s the riding gear? ATGATT!”

[WeaponZero]

I am 5’11” and when I first started riding on my SV650, I weighed about 335 lbs. I’ve lost a lot of weight since then but the bike was not bothered one bit by my weight. When it comes to power, your weight isn’t an issue. It’s where the suspension is concerned that your weight may be too much for the biker.

[WeaponZero]

I was born in Miami and spent most of my life living in those three areas of South Florida, eventually settling in Boca Raton (southernmost city in Palm Beach County and retiree capital of the world) for about 5 years before I finally moved up here to Pittsburgh. I can honestly say I probably would never have gotten a bike if I still lived down there because the drivers are so much worse.

[WeaponZero]

Yellowjackets are wasps, not bees, and can sting multiple times.

[WeaponZero]

Just weight loss for now. I want to wait until I’m at least under 275 before i start any exercise regimen to minimize stress on my joints.

[WeaponZero]

The way I heard it back in the 90s was that SQUID was an acronym for Stupidly Quick, Underdressed, Inevitably Dead.

[WeaponZero]

The bike hes linking to is not a ZX-7R. It is a ZX750 which is an ’80s 750cc sportbike which puts it at roughly the same level as my SV650 numbers-wise..

[WeaponZero]

Yes spoked wheels do always mean tubed tires. The spokes have to be able to rotate in the wheel for cleaning & disassembly purposes which means its not possible to have an air tight seal, which necessitates a tube.

[WeaponZero]

Only show currently on TV I make it a point to watch is Supernatural. I love that show. Aside from that I mostly only watch movies or standup comedy specials. I also watch Family guy sometimes but not a lot.

[WeaponZero]

Sorry for the late reply. the first generation SV650 charging systems are plagued with two problems: 1. Faulty regulator/rectifiers and insufficient wiring. The entire charging system was wired with 16ga wire when they should have used 12ga. These two problems together create a problem that causes you to have to replace batteries more often than you should, among other things. Only way to truly “fix” it is to use the FH008EB R/R unit from a Honda CBR600RR or CBR1000RR and completely redo all the wiring with the proper gauge of wire.

[WeaponZero]

my SV650 already has a GSX-R rear shock so rear suspension is not an issue. the front, however, is a concern. the GSXR fork is not a simple bolt-on modification and I’d really like to avoid doing any modifications to the bike that require fabrication.

the ergonomics on my SV are just fine but the fairing is an issue. The problem with naked bikes is that the only fairings big enough to actually FUNCTION make your bike look like it came out of the ’70s.

I’ve been very very happy with my bike but lately I’ve been running into a lot of problems that only affect ’99-’01 SV650s that were worked out by the time ’02 came out. These problems are design flaws, mainly with the electrical system, that make me think owning the bike is going to be one headache after another. If it weren’t for the electrical system woes that have been getting to me lately I wouldn’t even consider getting rid of it, but the truth is I don’t want a bike that needs to have fabrications done just to run properly and ride well. And things such as having to use the CBR1000RR regulator rectifier as a replacement recently because the OEM ones don’t hold up (my bike has gone thru 2 already) and requires soldering and splicing, they don’t make me feel butterflies about owning the bike for years to come.

EDIT: also, the FZ6 has way more comfortable pillion accomodations which, for what I have in mind, is a plus.

[WeaponZero]

The Honda Hornet is essentially a naked CBR600 retuned for more midrange. Older models from 2003-up were carbureted and built on an old CBR600F3 engine and were competitors for the SV650 nekkid, but newer ones (not available in the US) are fuel injected and are built on CBR600RR engines. These ones are decidedly NOT good beginner bikes with horsepower exceeding 100, but if you’re talking about an older carbureted model then I don’t see a reason why it should be bad. After all, on paper it’s nothing more than a lighter weight Bandit 600 and I’ve known plenty of people who started out on those just fine.

Because it was “retuned for midrange” it isn’t as peaky as the racebike the engine was originally sourced from, but it still does have that nature. Be careful and respect the machine and understand that the engine has an *on* switch that kicks in about 1/2 way thru the rev range. Below that it is docile and controllable, above that it’s a snarling, rabid beast. This is the nature of 4-cylinder engines.

Other bikes in the same vein worth considering, that may be even better choices, are the Kawasaki ER-6n, Suzuki SV650, Honda Hawk GT, and older Suzuki Bandit 600s.

[WeaponZero]

You don’t need to flat foot both feet at a stoplight. There is a “proper position” on the bike when stopped:

Left hand on the clutch, right hand on the handlebar, left foot on the ground, right foot on the brake.

[WeaponZero]

I’m not going to claim that its the safest or as good as leather, but Teknic makes a line of textile jackets that have the elbow, shoulder, and back armor on the OUTside of the jacket rather than the inside. My Teknic Freestyle is one such jacket and after having tested it on a 25mph highside and been able to get right up afterwards, I can confidently say that, regardless of standards the protection it offers is, at the very least, adequate for anyone.

Unfortunately it seems that they have discontinued all of the versions that have the waterproof liner (Freestyle and Diablo), but they still make the Supervent Pro, which is essentially the same jacket just sans the waterproof liner and with superior venting.

[Author]

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