Motorcycle Thread

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LachiusTZ

LachiusTZ

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Prolly a perception thing. It bothers you, you only notice the ones on your ass etc.

I'd get comfortable going 5-7 mph over the limit. Will significantly reduce the amount of cars wanting to pass you, and prolly be a bit safer bc less interactions with cars.

Ride on Sundays etc. Ride as a daily driver until you find guys to ride with.
 
Ronaan

Ronaan

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Maybe take a dedicated motorcycle lesson or three while you're at it? Don't know if you guys have those safety courses or whatever, probably a good idea.
 
SuperNaught

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Malinatar said:
So hitting my mid-life crisis (and something that I've wanted to do for 20+ years) I bit the bullet and got my motorcycle permit and got my endorsement last weekend after passing the BRC. The first time I've really ridden a motorcycle was at the BRC so I am a total novice.

I bought a used 2008 Suzuki M50 which I love so far and have ridden it for a few hours this past weekend. I live in the country (sort of) where right in front of my house is a road where the speed limit it 55 so I've taken my bike up to that speed (it freaked the hell out of me at first since it feels like you are going to get blown off your bike and in the BRC you never went above 20 in the parking lot), but I'm slowly getting used to it. One thing that does bother me however is cars behind me as it feels like I'm always going too slow for them and sometimes I wave them past me.

So for your experts out there, I ride a cruiser and going fast it not my #1 thing, but I love not being in the 4-wheeled cage. Any tips/tricks on how to start out this chapter in my motorcycle journey?

In my "circle" I don't have anyone that rides hence my question here!
Click to expand...

I'm a cruiser guy.

I try to stay on low traffic roads. I stay away from other cars as much as possible. That means either going fast or going slow depending on the situation. I stay THE HELL away from semis and that usually means going VERY fast, punching the wind core, and getting around and away from them. Don't get boxed in by cars, don't tailgate cars.

Google your bike's speedometer. There seems to be a common issue out there that bike speedos report speed 10% under actual. My Shadow does it. I've seen VTXs, Furys and a few Harley's that do it. I don't know if that applies to crotch rockets.

Ride safe and live to ride another day.

#EDIT#

my lisdexia completely screwed the point I meant to convey on speedometers. I MEANT to say they report 10% over actual. sorry guys.
 
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Sludig

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Id say opposite. 2 of my 3 actually indicate over actual. Ie 50 indicated is like 47. At least comparing to police radar speed signs.
 
jooka

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The speedometer on my F650GS was under, never knew till I got a Garmin GPS mounted on it. Big thing for me when I first started was just keep riding. Lessons will definitely help if you can find some. Riding a lot tho is what really helped me the most.
 
Malinatar

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Thanks for the advice all. The speedometer thing really piqued my interest and doing some quick Googling, I'm not the first one to notice this with the M50, or most bikes from what I read for that matter. I just installed Waze on my phone and will see if there is a big difference although I'm not sure how accurate this will be on my Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge.
 
Hekotat

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Malinatar said:
So hitting my mid-life crisis (and something that I've wanted to do for 20+ years) I bit the bullet and got my motorcycle permit and got my endorsement last weekend after passing the BRC. The first time I've really ridden a motorcycle was at the BRC so I am a total novice.

I bought a used 2008 Suzuki M50 which I love so far and have ridden it for a few hours this past weekend. I live in the country (sort of) where right in front of my house is a road where the speed limit it 55 so I've taken my bike up to that speed (it freaked the hell out of me at first since it feels like you are going to get blown off your bike and in the BRC you never went above 20 in the parking lot), but I'm slowly getting used to it. One thing that does bother me however is cars behind me as it feels like I'm always going too slow for them and sometimes I wave them past me.

So for your experts out there, I ride a cruiser and going fast it not my #1 thing, but I love not being in the 4-wheeled cage. Any tips/tricks on how to start out this chapter in my motorcycle journey?

In my "circle" I don't have anyone that rides hence my question here!
Click to expand...


The biggest threat in my eyes is people pulling out in front of you, everything else should be avoidable most of the time if you keep proper distances from people and stay alert.

What usually happens when someone pulls out in front of you, they see you, panic and then stop blocking your path. You should always be watching those people the most, I always anticipate them to pull out in front of me not matter what. I've had it happen twice this year and both times came inches from hitting them, then cussed them because both times they were looking at their phones.

Also, this morning a Marine ran a red light and almost hit me. I pulled up beside him and ripped on him for it and he laughed at me. It was so hard to contain my rage, I wanted to fuck his shit up so bad. Dude almost killed me and then thought it was funny.
 
jooka

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Came across this podcast this morning while checking out my new ipad that replaced my broken pixel. Disclaimer, I've only listened a little bit so far. Thinking if it is good it will help new riders like Malinatar Malinatar Just browsing the podcast topics, it looks like there is something for everyone of varying levels as well.


Learn to ride a motorcycle • MotorcycleMentor.com
 
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jooka

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Heard back from the KTM dealer:

Thanks for giving Fay Myers Motorcycle World the opportunity to earn your business.

We have yet to order the new KTM 790 Duke, would you like to be contacted when more information on it becomes available? We are excepting deposits on them if you would like to get your name on the list.
Click to expand...


I've the official release date is sometime in August, but am forgetting where
 
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lurker

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Malinatar said:
So hitting my mid-life crisis (and something that I've wanted to do for 20+ years) I bit the bullet and got my motorcycle permit and got my endorsement last weekend after passing the BRC. The first time I've really ridden a motorcycle was at the BRC so I am a total novice.

I bought a used 2008 Suzuki M50 which I love so far and have ridden it for a few hours this past weekend. I live in the country (sort of) where right in front of my house is a road where the speed limit it 55 so I've taken my bike up to that speed (it freaked the hell out of me at first since it feels like you are going to get blown off your bike and in the BRC you never went above 20 in the parking lot), but I'm slowly getting used to it. One thing that does bother me however is cars behind me as it feels like I'm always going too slow for them and sometimes I wave them past me.

So for your experts out there, I ride a cruiser and going fast it not my #1 thing, but I love not being in the 4-wheeled cage. Any tips/tricks on how to start out this chapter in my motorcycle journey?

In my "circle" I don't have anyone that rides hence my question here!
Click to expand...

Get some real gear and wear it. Always wear a helmet. Don't do the cruiser thing and get some cheap ass helmet because it looks cool or some "assless" chaps because all the other cruisers out there wear them. That silly shit the loud pipe gang wears is mostly worthless.
 
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lurkingdirk

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lurker said:
Get some real gear and wear it. Always wear a helmet. Don't do the cruiser thing and get some cheap ass helmet because it looks cool or some "assless" chaps because all the other cruisers out there wear them. That silly shit the loud pipe gang wears is mostly worthless.
Click to expand...

Truth. Get the pants with kevlar knee pads, the jacket with kevlar elbow pads and back shield, and a good helmet. So worth it.
 
latheboy

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Being in Australia where wearing a helmet is law, it has always confused me why you WOULDN'T wear a helmet even if given a choice.
I do some dumb stuff but i'm not going to smash my brains out just to look cool.
Learn how to ride dirt/gravel roads on your road bike. Then learn how to do it fast. If you can keep upright on dirt with the rear stepping out or a front end loose, you will be fine on the road.
Take your time though and expect to drop it more than once.
I do like hanging the back out :)
 
latheboy

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I've hardly ridden the last summer here, i spun the clutch and it's being a pain... not too hard to fix but i don't have the time to make all the parts to fit a lock up.
I've had to turn the boost down so it's not as much fun now, better fix it...

IMAG0021.jpg
 
Ronaan

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Yes get real leather or good tex gear. It's going to cost you but it's also going to keep your skin intact. Definitely a quality helmet, it's your brain, duh.

Also, learn how your bike brakes. Not just usual traffic braking but also emergency braking. Maybe find an empty parking lot or a very empty road and experiment there.

Not sure if you have anti locking brakes on that bike, but if you have, you can just grab her by the pussy and slam on the brakes. I got to try one during a safety course once and that was fun. Never had them on my own bike though.

Also learn how to brake, release, evade, and brake again. It's a standard maneuver you have to do in germany if you're trying to get a license.
 
Malinatar

Malinatar

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Good advice thanks all. I got a DoT approved helmet (Full face) which the "chin" part can flip up to make it a 3/4 helm and no way in hell am I going to ride w/o one, beyond keeping your brains intact, just the bugs and rocks and shit that I see ping off my helmet, no idea why the hell someone would ride w/o even on a cruiser. I just bought a jacket a few days ago with the shoulder and elbow "armor" fitted. No pants yet and I might hold off on those for now. I am looking at getting a bigger windshield (right now it's a shorter 12" on there which doesn't seem to take too much of the brunt of the wind so looking at something a few inches taller which should help with my nerves going higher speed. I really dislike the look of windshields, but this is where functionality will trump form/style. Thankfully the bike has Quick Release setup already installed.
 
Hekotat

Hekotat

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latheboy said:
Being in Australia where wearing a helmet is law, it has always confused me why you WOULDN'T wear a helmet even if given a choice.
I do some dumb stuff but i'm not going to smash my brains out just to look cool.
Learn how to ride dirt/gravel roads on your road bike. Then learn how to do it fast. If you can keep upright on dirt with the rear stepping out or a front end loose, you will be fine on the road.
Take your time though and expect to drop it more than once.
I do like hanging the back out :)
Click to expand...


It's the law here as well, you have to get special insurance even to be able to ride without one AND you still get harassed for it if you have it by police. I have a friend that refuses to wear a helmet, has the special insurance and still has to go fight tickets and prove he's right.

He's still retarded for not wearing a helmet.
 
Sludig

Sludig

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Malinatar said:
Good advice thanks all. I got a DoT approved helmet (Full face) which the "chin" part can flip up to make it a 3/4 helm and no way in hell am I going to ride w/o one, beyond keeping your brains intact, just the bugs and rocks and shit that I see ping off my helmet, no idea why the hell someone would ride w/o even on a cruiser. I just bought a jacket a few days ago with the shoulder and elbow "armor" fitted. No pants yet and I might hold off on those for now. I am looking at getting a bigger windshield (right now it's a shorter 12" on there which doesn't seem to take too much of the brunt of the wind so looking at something a few inches taller which should help with my nerves going higher speed. I really dislike the look of windshields, but this is where functionality will trump form/style. Thankfully the bike has Quick Release setup already installed.
Click to expand...
I would say that was maybe a mistake. Virtually all helmets are dot approved but their standards are garbage. Generally you are looking for schnell and ece standards.


You don't want to ride with the face bar up so why get one? It is convenient if you have glasses like me, but those flip up chin bars are inherently less strong than a standard full, especially cheap ones. Fine in town but if yuppy intends to do highways or other >60 mph places it would not be my first choice.

Not saying you need to spring for a shoei, but modular helmets in the 150 range are kinda a get what you pay for thing.


Let us know what jackets and if you do pants yuppy are looking at. Can get very expensive but they're are some good bargain options that may not look or nice or have extra bells.

Boots i wear my heavy duty boots for work, could use some actual ankle plates but i want dropping $200 on shoes when is have to carry my work boots with me. Don't just wear sneakers or high side boots that are just soft/thin sides. Google degloved foot.
 
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