Taking bets......can I make it 5 miles to get my bike inspected!?

[FazerChic]

Next thing we know he'll be draggin' knee on the Gap.


Glad that everything worked out a-ok today.

[MnM]

Glad to see you did it...it only gets better as you get more comfortable being in traffic.....

Good Luck with the course

[ChrisNoF4i]

Is it too late to place bets??

[JeffL]

Originally posted by ChrisNoF4i
Is it too late to place bets??

Yes, I didnt die, so theres nothing to bet on anymore.

I actually lucked out and didnt get stuck in the middle of a lane waiting to turn left, or having to follow another car, which I was thankful for. I was simply amazed at how little steering input is needed to move the bike around, its nice to know that you dont have to fight the thing to turn, it just does it.

And whats all the fuss about 600's? Granted mines got several years and quite a few miles on it, but besides over-revving when I shifted a few times, I didnt seem to have any problem keeping the front wheel on the ground and myself from hitting a tree. I just took it easy and enjoyed all 15 minutes of riding!

Now to bust out the soldering iron and fix up the wiring connections in the rear.

[Honclfibr]

No fuss really, they just put a lot of power to the ground for their weight, and are getting more powerful and lighter every day. When you respect the power and are in control over the bike that's not really a problem, but they do tend to get squirrely easier than a small-output bike, especially in the high rev ranges. When you're a new rider starting out making the same mistakes everyone makes, that can be a bit hard to handle sometimes.

Case in point, I just switched my zx6r over to GP shift. Was tooling around getting used to it, started feeling confident and ended up in the left lane passing a car on the double yellow with a car coming towards me (bad move on my part). Got it up around 13k and went to bang a shift to third, only I got my ups and downs swapped and ended up in first gear. Let the clutch out halfway and the bike's banging off the rev limiter with the rear wheel starting to wash around under power. Pulled it in and banged down to third and the bike straightened itself out in time for a clean pass, but it felt a bit hairy for a split second there.

Now granted this situation involved a series of bad judgement calls on my part, and granted you can wash the rear with a misshift on a low horsepower bike as well. But new riders make mistakes, it's part of the learning process, and a good many of them also seem to end up drunk on the power that a modern 600 provides and tend to start doing things that they shouldn't early on, like passing on the double yellow. Of course you're never immune to mistakes no matter how many miles you've ridden, and there's nothing that says a new rider can't keep their ego in check and their wits sharp on a powerful bike either, so it's not cut and dry, it's just a numbers game and the odds are more against you starting out on the bigger bikes so just be aware of that and keep your cool out there.

Anyway lecture over, sounds like you're off to a good start, enjoy the new bike and stay safe out there.

[JeffL]

Whats an appropriate rpm to cruise in with these things? I kept it around 5k in 3rd as I spent most of my time around 40mph, and I think at most I touched 7k. Its not a problem for the bike at all is it? I'm just used to my cars where the rev limit is 6500 or 7200rpm, so cruising at 5k just seems odd to me, but I guess the argument about cruising with the revs high for an "oh shit" maneuver makes sense, easier to get the bike moving where you want by having the power right on tap I suppose.

I'll be alot better off once I get more comfortable with shifting. When the bikes under load, theres some resistance on the throttle, but as I found, if you hold the throttle steady, or are rolling back on it a little as you try to shift, once you pull the clutch in and take that load off, the revs jump up pretty freely. I dont think I hit the rev limiter, but still scared myself a few times. lol

I'll keep it local and in some big parking lots till I can get the MSF done, and can buy some true proper gear. I'll keep my head on straight and keep it on 2 wheels! Hope to join you fellers out on the roads soon!

[OreoGaborio]

... cruising RPM's... lemme see, how can i put this?..... you can cruise around anywhere between 2 and 10k

ok, so maybe not THAT extreme, but yeah it's really up to you. if i'm just puttin around town i keep it around 4-6k. Saves gas & is close enough to the powerband where i can roll on it & have somewhat decent acceleration... a quick downshift or two & i can be in the powerband quickly if i really need (want ) it. My bike doesn't even wake up till about 9k & I'm guessin yours is gonna behave in a similar way.

[JeffL]

But mine ONLY redlines at 11,500 rpms.

I only got sassy once and rolled into WOT in 3rd gear going like 40mph, what a beautiful sound.

[OreoGaborio]

werd

[JeffL]

Went out for like an hour today, staying with 3~4 miles of home. Mainly went out to go to the local community college parking lot, because once the bike is up to speed and moving its *easy* to maneuver around compared to low speeds. Was going to go work on pulling in/out of intersection-like turns, but alas, they were holding a hot air balloon festival there and the place was packed. That will be for another day I suppose.

Big points learned today though......stop missing gears, and also starting not to have to THINK about which way to turn the bars to go where, its starting to get a little more natural. Also realized its alot easier to just keep one lean angle through a turn at mid-speed, rather than......lean........stand up.......lean......stand up. Much easier to just keep a steady lean, but that again will come with bar/wheel control I suppose.

I'm going to have to ingrain stopping/starting a turn from a stop first, because as I'm finding, that seems to be what I'm finding myself having a hard time with, as it seems at the point when you have to start downshifting/clutching, turn signal, checking mirrors, the brake lever modulation gets kinda screwy when your mind is trying to do 13,000 things at once, but again, that will come with experience, once stuff starts becoming habit and less of a brain strain to think about.

All in all.......loving it.

Kinda scary how the bikes move though..........taking a corner at 50 in a 45mph zone that seemingly has your car suspension working pretty good doesnt even begin to phase the bike.

I gotta take my time and learn the basics first off, so I dont go killing myself falling over at a stop light or something.

Carry on, just me doing my motorcycle diary online, as I have no one local to ride with/talk about it with, and I'm just bursting to share.

[HBerry]

Originally posted by JeffL


Carry on, just me doing my motorcycle diary online, as I have no one local to ride with/talk about it with, and I'm just bursting to share.

Noone local, come on I am only like 3 hours of back roads away from you!

[a13x]

Wow. A n3wbie taking all the right steps and respecting his bike? This is unheard of!!! Stop the insanity..

Cool. Glad you are having fun and going about it the right way.

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by JeffL
Kinda scary how the bikes move though..........taking a corner at 50 in a 45mph zone that seemingly has your car suspension working pretty good doesnt even begin to phase the bike.

doesn't phase it much at 100, either..... uh.... not.... that i would know...........

glad to hear you're gettin more comfortable on the bike & learnin the ropes... gettin psyched up for MSF yet?


just one point of advice for the future... remember that most riders get complaicent around the 1-3k mile mark & that's when somethin happens... right now you're fully aware of your surroundings, what you're doing, what the bike's doing etc, but you start to get too comfortable right around that 1-3k mark & that's when you make "the" mistake... I did

[HBerry]

Or you are lucky and do it before that time when your not going fast!

[JeffL]

Yeah I'm pretty excited for the MSF. I really want to pass, hence I want to get to a parking lot to practice the low speed maneuvers. Today I got even sassier and rolled back the throttle to 8k.

Hit 65 in 3rd gear! WOoooooo. I was like "shit, steering inputs get alot more exaggerated the faster you go (much like a car), oh shit, I better slow down cause I dont know how to handle the bike at this speed." Luckily the bike doesnt want to do anything but go straight at that speed, so I couldnt fuck it up that badly.

And damn......the strangest thing. I live an hour from my g/f, she drives up tonite and I have a baby shower for my cousin to go to that my whole family is at. 2 hours and about 8 beers later for me, she says she has to leave! And shes mad at me!? She said if I knew I was going to stay so late, I should have told her not to come.

Gosh, its not like I planned on drinking beer all night and playing darts with my family! So basically what I'm saying is that she drove me back home as I hung out the window marvelled at the nice feeling of the breeze on my face, then told me she was leaving! The nerve of her, I didnt even get any sex!

[HBerry]

Originally posted by JeffL


Gosh, its not like I planned on drinking beer all night and playing darts with my family! So basically what I'm saying is that she drove me back home as I hung out the window marvelled at the nice feeling of the breeze on my face, then told me she was leaving! The nerve of her, I didnt even get any sex!

Why didnt she sleep over?

[gonzo6]

a guy at work hasn't inspected for over 13 yrs...

[JeffL]

Originally posted by HBerry
Why didnt she sleep over?

Because her dad is the gay. 21 years old and shes still essentially treated like a 12 year old. Shes leaving to go to school in Manchester, NH in the fall, so instead of being 1 hour away, she'll be 2 away. Not sure where we'll be after that, guess I'll just have to wait and see. Relationship of over 3.5 years. And getting bored................

[a13x]

dude. now that you got a streetbike... betta watch out. You'll be beating em off with a stick!

( unless you are Pete )

[Suf Daddy]

The Commonwealth gives a 10 or so day grace period for inspections.
Or you could skip them like someone I know since 1993.
-Suf Daddy

You'll make it.

Originally posted by JeffL
Well, finally took another few big steps to getting on the road today. Went and set myself up with insurance (liability, and bought $8000 worth of medical coverage), annual cost is $350. A-ok with me. Then headed off to the registry, got my plate, got my registration, and sending me my new MA vehicle title in a few weeks

[JeffL]

Another thing I noticed too was that when using your arms/hands to support yourself, it really starts to fatigue your left hand/wrist. Then I remembered people suggesting to tighten up your abs to support your body, or use your knees to grip the tank. The abs thing wasnt so bad, but I wasnt a big fan of the knee thing, as it made me really stiffen up on the bike and started making things pretty jerky. Oh well, it'll come with experience.

[FazerChic]

Another rule of thumb that you need to drill into your head - NEVER, EVER, EVER get fixated on a target. If you start staring at that telephone pole, guess what, you will probably end up smacking into it. Always try to keep your eyes on the road and remind yourself not to get wandering with your thoughts. If you want to go around the curve, just look as far ahead into the curve, and you will make it through it - even it you don't think you can, you will.

[JeffL]

Originally posted by NinjaChic
Another rule of thumb that you need to drill into your head - NEVER, EVER, EVER get fixated on a target. If you start staring at that telephone pole, guess what, you will probably end up smacking into it. Always try to keep your eyes on the road and remind yourself not to get wandering with your thoughts. If you want to go around the curve, just look as far ahead into the curve, and you will make it through it - even it you don't think you can, you will.

I've read enough about "going wide? Lean more." to figure that out. Oddly enough it really feels perfectly natural to me to have the bike banked over in a turn. Granted it probalby feels like I have it leaned alot less than it really is, but feels great. I've also read about the target fixation, and looking THROUGH the turn, not just the next spot in front of your tire.

Granted I have an entire 2 hours of riding experience, but I take out of it what I can. And I'm strongly aware I suck at low speed maneuvers, so I really want to hit a parking lot to practice. Like a few times I've gone to turn around at the end of a road, I damn near end up pulling a 3 point turn with my feet at the stop sign because I'm nto very confident with the rolling turns.

On a nice note, every time I had to stop to turn across traffic and was stopped in the road, people on FOUR occasions stopped for me and waved me through, even though I clearly did not have the right of way! I was shocked at the kindness.


Speaking of which, what are some good drills I can do on my own to get a little more comfy with the low speed maneuvering, or will I be fine just trying to pull figure 8's and doing circles to get a hold on it? I'd like to do something to practice, but on the same hand I also dont want to start teaching myself bad habits.

[FazerChic]

The MSF is taught at very low speeds, so your best bet is to wait to learn the maneuvers they teach you. Otherwise, you may start teaching yourself bad habits that could be hard to shake when you take the class. Figure 8's are a good way to learn turns at slow speeds....most people tend to favor turning one way over the other. When you realize which way you prefer to turn, start practising going the other way. Just get used to learning how to coordinate everything, because when you are out on the road, it will eventually come naturally. Once you have coordination down, you will be able to concentrate better on what's around you. Right now, you probably have a million things that you are trying to concentrate on...the shifting, the braking, what's in front of you, what's on the road ahead....etc. It just takes practice and time. It's great to hear that you are really wanting to learn the RIGHT way. Too many riders head out there without a clue and never take the time to learn the correct way. Sounds like you are on your way to being a great rider. When you get more comfortable and are ready, I'll head out on a ride with ya!