[zipperZee]

You can never be TOO experienced…

[zipperZee]

I do the gear thing all the time…thank goodness I’m not alone.

There is this uphill left to right corner that ends abruptly in a stoplight in downtown Vancouver and its really tricky to navigate, because 1) you have to stop right after a right turn, trying to bring your bike in a good position AND have it stop straight, which is harder to do than it sounds cuz of the downtown traffic and 2) its uphill.

Moreover, I have to turn left to go to Stanley Park. Ends up being quite the doozy.

I was waiting behind a couple cars, in a bad lane position and the light turned green. I revved the engine a little and started to engage the clutch…nothing seemed to move so I gave it a little bit more gas. Still nothing happened. I was really confused than cuz I wasn’t in neutral, the light wasn’t on, and the bike didn’t stall either.

Impatient drivers behind me started passing on my left didn’t help with my panic either. I ended up stomping down on the gearshift and it turns out I was in second.

After that I’ve gotten into the habit of stomping down at stoplights whenever possible, to check that I’m in first gear.

[zipperZee]

Lol. Great Vid.

[zipperZee]

I face a similar dilemma in that my 250, which I really love so far, was bought second-hand and has quite a few cracks/scratches and other mishaps in the fairings.

While it runs fine, fixing the cosmetics would run up to quite a bit of money…and wouldn’t be very logical for my first bike.

However, there simply aren’t any other bikes below the 600cc mark that appeal to me the ninja stands alone.

It seems a waste of money to trade in a 250 for a newer, practically the same 250 (minus the itty bitty damages)

However, the only step up, for sportbikes as far as I know, are the 650’s which are a lot more expensive to buy and maintain, *shudder insurance*, and probably too powerful for someone like me.

Regardless, I’ll see in a season if I would keep it or move up. Or if they bring the FI 250 stateside. (a little bit more power wouldn’t hurt either)

[zipperZee]

Got a bit better at shifting now…you really just have to keep practicing it ’till it becomes natural and quick.

I still don’t know when exactly to shift…I go mostly by the sound and try to keep the rev’s at around the 6k mark, if I know I’m going to speed up I roll the throttle for a split second than shift.

Moreover, I’m starting to go by sound rather than glancing at the gauge to know when to shift…would that be dangerous?

Is revving the engine in the higher grand’s a bad habit/poor for the engine? I’m always tempted to break the 10k rpm’s just to see what it sounds like.

Also, a strange extremely high-pitched whine (although it is very faint aka quiet) sound emits at the oddest intervals. It doesn’t seem to be anything with the clutch and/or brakes because even after I turn off everything it emits the sound for a few seconds. Anyone have any idea what it could be?

I also don’t really know when to pull the clutch in when I stop, do I full stop pull in shift to 1st foot down, or shift to 1st prior brake THAN pull the clutch in…right now I usually do the former cause that’s how I usually downshift (while braking).

Sorry for all the questions, I don’t know anybody in my neighborhood who rides so…not much places to ask questions. I usually just drop by the dealer whenever I have the time.

Great Forum this site’s got though…thanks for all the advice!

P.S. Any noobies like me around the Greater Vancouver, BC area? Would love to find a riding buddy (or two!)

[zipperZee]

Thanks for all the maintenance tips…will put them into effect.

I think I`ll just go through a full check (following the manual) once a week. Seems reasonable…I don`t think taking off the fairings and covers to check the chain EVERYDAY seems necessary…

Passed my MSA…it wasn`t too bad…really nervous through it all.

Went on the highway for the first time too…and wow 100kph on a bike and 100kph in a car are two entirely different beings.

Problem though, I was trying to check the oil level and I don`t see anything at all (the bike is upright and has been warmed). The view screen is all black…am I doing something wrong or does it just mean that the engine oil is maxed out.

And any good recommendations for engine oil brands…lube and greaseÉ Might as well stocking up now…

I`m still a bit hesitant about messing with my chain and brake fluids…mainly because if I mess up I`d probably end up on the pavement.

Which would probably hurt. A lot.

Thanks again for all the advice thus far

P.S. Any tips on shifting. I suck major at it. Specially from 1st to 2nd…which is a problem going through intersections.
I don`t even know how to drive a manual car before this…so maybe just more practiceÉ Only been learning for the last 4 days…
I was so bad at it my instructor told me to ride as his passenger to see how he shifts…he just feathers the clutch like once (a split second MAYBE) and the bike upshifts smoothly…jealous of his skills.

[zipperZee]

1st class of real riding…and boy it gets hot in the parking lot with all your gear on.

We’ve went over everything up to basic shifting…the tight slalom was annoying as heck…until the instructor told me to use the back brake.

The back brake provides, I found at least, the seem slowing/stopping power as engaging the clutch…its really forgiving. Really useful for the tighter slalom’s (which I hope I won’t fail at the MSA…really worried)

One thing I found out…it REALLY doesn’t matter what a bike looks like or even how much power it has, you can have fun either way.

I used an old beat-up Rebel 250, and it was still the most fun I’ve had all summer.

Question about maintenance though, there seems to be a lot of different opinions on how often to take it into the shop for a routine check, some say at least once a year, some say do a self-check every week…I asked the instructor and he recommended me not touch anything vital (such as the brake fluid) as if you screw that up it could really dangerous (riding along…squeeze the brakes…oh what do you know! they do not work…now how do I slow down from 80…)

I want to take good care of my bike, but I don’t think a mode transportation should request a full check-up EVERYDAY. A little bit unreasonable.

Any thoughts/advice?

P.S. sorry for the long post

[zipperZee]

One more day ’till the bikes comes in! Tuesday cannot come any slower.

A little bit off-topic, but is $500 for a full set of gear (jacket, helmet, gloves, boots, pants) too cheap (in regards of quality of gear).

The place has a huge sale going, and they’re offering large discounts when you buy full sets of gear (almost 50% off).

[zipperZee]

Yeah, it is my first bike.

$3200 did sound like a really good deal, and I was really excited at first. But I calculated in the taxes and repair for fairings, I think a whole new panel would cost around $300, and it comes out to around $3800, essentially the same.

However, this one IS in black.

I guess I’ll decide when I get a look at the bike, and some more info on the damages and problems.

Really excited for this though, the bike looks absolutely gorgeous for something under 4 grand.

Thanks for all the input so far.

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