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Arai Corsair-X Helmet Review: Rea-5 Graphic Edition
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zeppelinfromledParticipant
I was a little nervous before my class too. Then I got there, started riding, and I laughed at myself a bit for being nervous. Don’t worry about it – it’ll be a blast.
As Munch said, the main differences that you’ll find in gear are differing levels of protection (mostly from the road, but also from the weather). Sacrificing protection in any one area usually gets you a gain in comfort, particularly in hot weather. For instance, my full face helmet gets pretty hot when I’m sitting in traffic, but I wear it anyway because it gives me more protection. I could opt for a half or three-quarter helmet, but I wouldn’t be happy with the protection (or lack thereof) that they offer. Sneakers are much cooler (temperature-wise) than my riding boots, but in a wreck, the sneakers would offer no protection whatsoever, and that’s if they even stayed on my feet.
Another important thing to consider when choosing gear is visibility. Bright colors, reflective piping, other reflective stuff, etc. I’m not really a bright colors type of guy, but I was able to find a jacket that is agreeable with my stylistic concerns, and is also quite visible.
My suggestion, if it’s not too late, is to wait until after the course to buy any real gear. You’ll need some gloves, but I just used some work gloves. The course provided helmets, so we didn’t have to worry about that. This is just so you can be sure that you enjoy riding a motorcycle before you invest the money.
zeppelinfromledParticipantFor those of you who want a way to carry a little dog on your bike.
zeppelinfromledParticipantI don’t have much experience with motorcycle tires, but I recently got new tires for my car (all 4 tires at once), and I could feel a vast difference. I don’t know how to describe it though. You can feel the traction, especially in turns. You can feel it even when you’re maintaining traction. Imagine taking a sharp curve in a ferrari versus a mini-van. Even if neither of them loses traction, you can tell that one is better. This obviously isn’t a perfect analogy, but that’s the best I can do.
zeppelinfromledParticipantI like my dark shield because people can’t see where I’m looking. I often catch people looking my way at stoplights and in traffic. More men than women actually, but I suspect that the guys are looking at the bike.
zeppelinfromledParticipantAt Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, they let bikes just go around the barricades on the way in and out. There are plenty of corners and the like where cars can’t fit, but you can fit a few bikes, so we park there (and they encourage it, although it’s not marked as motorcycle parking). I think I’ll be riding to work a lot more – I work right by there, so I can park in their garages.
zeppelinfromledParticipantFor gear, look into some boots. Any over-the-ankle boots are better than sneakers, but I prefer riding boots. Mine have a leather pad on the top of the left foot to resist wear from the shifter, and (more importantly) have ankle bone protectors to protect my ankle bones in case of an impact. My budget for gear was $1000. Used gear is fine, except I wouldn’t trust used helmets – you might not be able to detect damage that will significantly decrease the helmet’s efficacy.
As for the break-in, how a used bike (or car, for that matter) has been treated is a matter of luck. The specifics of the break-in period aren’t all that important. Actually keeping it under 4,000 rpms on some bikes is very difficult. In my non-professional opinion, it’s more a matter of not pushing the bike to its limits, not keeping it at redline, etc.
If you can drive stick and ride a bicycle, the mechanics of the bike shouldn’t be too hard. But as was mentioned above, an 18-wheeler is very very hard to miss on the road. It’s unlikely that people pull out in front of you all that often. On a motorcycle, you have to assume that every person who can pull out in front of you will do it. Being comfortable with traffic is certainly a plus, but riding a motorcycle takes a different mindset than driving a truck (or so I would imagine).
I own a Ninja (650r), and it’s definitely not an off road bike (I should have a disclaimer that I haven’t had this bike for very long). I would take it slowly down a dirt or gravel road if I had to get somewhere. But I wouldn’t take it off road for fun, only for necessity.
zeppelinfromledParticipantYes. That is the perfect analogy.
zeppelinfromledParticipantI love the phrase “speed was a factor.” Show me a wreck between two people who aren’t moving, and then that phrase will be valid.
zeppelinfromledParticipantYeah, I know that’s the reason that people have them. I would just rather appreciate my bike when I own it, even if it loses me a little money when I sell it. And a caveat to that is that I don’t like the way that the tank bras look. If someone both likes the way that they look and wants to maximize value when the sell it, then a tank bra is perfect for them. But for me it would be a trade off, and I came down on the side of having it look good (by my standards) while I own it.
zeppelinfromledParticipantIf she has a bruise on her hand, then it seems that he did her hit. I suppose that 0 inches technically counts as “within inches.”
I agree about the earbuds no contributing. Unless he normally would have heard the parked ambulance, they’re irrelevant.
I’m glad the EMT is okay, and I’m glad the motorcyclist will be okay.
zeppelinfromledParticipantI just bought a black bike, and I love the color. I don’t think it detracts from visibility because I wear other things to make me visible. If you think that gender should enter into the equation (I have no opinion one way or the other), I like blue. I also hate the Kawasaki green.
zeppelinfromledParticipantI haven’t ridden a gs500, but I just bought a ninja 650r as my first bike. I can’t imagine that the power difference between the 500 and the 650 is that extreme. It’s obviously up to you, but I would just start on the 650, unless you’re planning a bigger upgrade than that. Others might disagree with me about the difference, and since I haven’t ridden a gs500, I’m certainly not an authority.
zeppelinfromledParticipantMine was with a different jacket. I had only opened the vent at the top of the back, and not the vertical ones down at the lower back on either side of the armor (that’s how mine is set up). Perhaps you were better versed with your jacket, but my situation improved drastically after I found those vents (only took me one ride to realize).
zeppelinfromledParticipantI like a generic cover. Especially if you have a nice brand of bike, you don’t want a cover advertising what it is to potential thieves. I just had to go look, but mine is made my Guardian Covers, and it’s fine. It has a heat resistant area at the bottom half so you don’t have to wait for the bike to cool down before you put the cover on. It closes up on the bottom below the wheel center line, and you can lock it closed.
As for a kickstand puck, I agree with Munch. I think the metal covers have gone up to $0.59 at Home Depot. They’re your best bet. Some have kind of sharp edges, so either cover them or make sure you don’t scratch your bike with them (shouldn’t be an issue unless you go at your paint with the cover, but I just figured I’d mention it).
Make sure that your discounted helmet is in good condition – not someone’s helmet that they accidentally dropped down the stairs or some such.
Make sure boots are high top, at least covering the ankle bone. And some armor to protect the ankle bone is good too.
zeppelinfromledParticipantMy understanding is that you never need one. It’s a matter of not wearing down the pain on the tank. Pants constantly rubbing against it, etc can wear down the paint with time. It seems a bit paradoxical to me. If you cover it, it doesn’t wear down, but you can’t see it so it doesn’t matter if it wears down.
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