Comfort on a Sportsbike

http://news.motorbiker.org/

Heh

Now that i have no bike....

....I keep bloody looking at them.

Attributes my next bike has to have:

1. Comfortable riding position - i'm thinking a streetfighter, naked bike of some sort
2. Comfortable for pillion on commuting distances. Gotta start pillioning one day!
3. Cost under 10K

The Street Triple of my dreams would fit points 1 and 2, but not 3 at this point (not enough second hand ones around).

I saw this GSR600 on Bikepoint. Fits all my criteria!



More about the GSR600 here

The whole problem is, i'm not in a position to buy a bike at this point in time. But it looks like these kind of bikes always come and go, so i'll have options when i'm ready to buy again.

Gone

I sold my yellow beast today.

:(

Bata Motor Sandal

When i was young, you said "Bata" and people thought "school shoes."

It looks like they've evolved into other sorts of footwear, including the Motor Sandal.

The perfect compromise between exposure and protection for summer?

Back on the bike

Had a nasty chest infection that took a month to go away, which means it's been 4 weeks since i've been back on the bike due to some bad chest pain.

Saturday morning i gave the bike a clean, did tyres and all the other usual fluid etc checks, and took her for a ride. Nothing had changed. I hadn't forgotten how to ride. My wrists haven't forgotten they don't like more than 20 mins of riding either :(

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I put the bike up for sale in the Quokka. I am both hoping and not hoping that someone bites.

If they do, i'll be richer and free to look around for a naked bike. There is/have been a couple for sale on the forum that have made my mouth water.

But at the same time, i wouldn't be getting a bike for a good long while if i did sell this one.

One week. If i get no interest in one week, i'm keeping her.

-

I don't own riding boots. Have been riding in hiking boots for the last year and a half, as they are the hardiest footwear i own. Lately i've been taking to wearing my wedding photographer shoes (black, flat soled men's laceups) to work as they're good to walk in.

Yesterday i rode to work in them, and what i've been watching so carefully out for, happened. The laces of these shoes, which are generous, got caught on the gear peg!

I got a shock when i lifted my leg away from the peg and couldn't. Luckily for me, only the loop of the lace had gotten caught around the peg so i could shake it free. It could have been majorly stuck, or worse, gotten caught in the chain.

It was a good warning anyhow. Need to work on shortening those laces and sticking them inside the shoe, or get some riding boots if i end up keeping the little yellow beastie.

Winter coming

It's been a long while since i last posted. My attention has been taken up elsewhere, with travel and making a little bit of money out of my other obsession.

Had i not run away to India in March, i would probably have another bike by now, as that wasn't a cheap trip by any standard. Still, it did put a few things into perspective bike wise.

There is little point in me getting a big bike at this stage, what with fuel prices sky rocketing. But the primary reason: I don't do anything with my bike other than commute from work to home. Considering i don't live very far away from work at the moment (10 - 15 mins each way), there isn't even the excuse of distance comfort i could give for needing a different bike.

I would gladly swap the GTR for a naked bike right around now though. Wrists are not happy. Why oh why did i not get a VTR/GT250. Oh right, the GTR is/was way too purdy to ignore.

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Winter is suddenly approaching, from a hot summer. It was 6 degrees when i woke up yesterday, which was enough call to bust out my scarf (i really, really should front up to a bike shop and get myself a neck sock) and zip the winter lining back into the jacket.

It always feels funny on the first ride with winter gear in. I feel much like a stuffed toy trying to operate a tractor.

All through summer i've been working on controlled cornering when possible, lower when slower. All of a sudden i'm back to cornering more upright because my armpits are all puffy and i feel bigger than i actually am.

I'm sure it won't last any more than a couple of days, but for the moment i'm just going to feel like a dork.

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Another thing about the morning dampness in winter. I've been down with the flu for the last week or so, accompanied by a bad cough.

Coughing in helmet means fogging up visor AND glasses. By god but that's annoying!

Awesome ads

By Kawasaki:



Classic. It made me laugh so much i couldn't breathe. Nothing better than watching great bike ads when one is at home with the flu!

And they should just extend this R1 and make a movie out of it:

Celebrity Motorcycling

Australian Road Rider posted a story about Executive Motorcycling some time ago:

There are more and more motorcyclists genuinely not short of a quid and who appreciate value for money before cheapness. Unfortunately, like many minorities, they find that few magazine articles or product reviews cater to them. Well, we’re going to change that!

Once a year, from now on, we’re going to bring you a feature about the Big End of Bike Town, the things you would buy or do if only you had the money (or could get your loving partner to untie the purse strings). Not that we’re looking at this stuff just because it’s expensive; you don’t get to be well off in the first place by spending more than necessary to get what you want!

Right! So let’s look at executive motorcycling, the feature designed to inform you when commuting is a choice between taking the bike or the Benz. Read it, all ye other scrooges (yes, me, too) and weep…

The image accompanying their maiden article was of course, the F4 CC MV Agusta. At about AUD$180,000 it's presently the world's most expensive (road going) motorcycle.

Puts into perspective, Tom Cruise is plonking down some pocket change for the Ducati Desmosedici RR this week - and is the first in the world to get it too:

"Top Gun" Tom Cruise is the first on the list to get Ducati's newest motorcycle - a $72,500 motorcycle bristling with titanium, magnesium and carbon fiber technology that can scoot up to 200mph.

Cruise is scheduled to take delivery of the Desmosedici RR at Beverly Hills Ducati this week.

Although Cruise rode a Kawasaki Ninja 900 in his iconic scene in "Top Gun," he'll get the first of only 1,500 of the red-and-white Moto GP racing replica motorcycles being made.

Cruise, whose net worth is upwards of $250 million, is known to have an affinity for fast vehicles, including motorcycles, Porsches and planes. Some estimate the actor spent $1 million in 2006 on fuel alone.

Full Article here

A million buckaroonies on fuel! He could buy me a Street Triple without realising he'd just put a $13K dent in his emergency coffee tin stash...

Accident Scene Management

Someone posted this on the PerthRiders forum. Forum members can get to the original post here, but i thought it was worthwhile reproducing.

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The first hour of trauma is termed the "Golden Hour'' by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The idea is that trauma victims have the best survival chance if they are in surgery within one hour after the accident. Qualified medical personnel are really the people who should be handling everything, but until they arrive there are things that we, untrained motorcyclists, can do to help the medical professionals before they arrive.

An extremely important point is "Psychological Management''. At an accident site, peoples' adrenaline will be going full-blast and the most important thing is for at least one person to keep calm and to think.

REMAIN CALM... THINK!

The first thing you need to do when arriving on an accident scene is to stop, take two deep breaths to help you remain calm.

Anyway, the idea of psychological management is that all the other people who are pumped and want to help will do whatever they are told to do by a calm person who seems to be in control and knows what he or she is doing. If you're excited and out of control as well, everyone will run around wasting precious time in an unorganized fashion (not to be confused with everyone running around wasting precious time in an organized fashion, mind you).

1) Get to victim, reassure, establish communication, first evaluation of victim
2) Safety factors
3) Best-trained individual (medically-wise) attends to victim (U-ABCC)
4) If breathing is taking place normally, LEAVE HELMET ON!
4a) helmet removal procedure if airway blocked or no respiratory action.
5) After initial evaluation of seriousness of injuries, call for ambulance
5a) Things to tell EMS operator
5b) Things that may be necessary for victim
6) Document personal information if possible (victim may pass out)
6a) AMPLE documentation
7) Wallets, purses, rings
8) Have person check pulse every 5 minutes & document it
8a) Have person check breathing every 5 minutes & document it
9) Watch for signs of person going into shock
10) Stop bleeding, using sterile bandages/dressings if available
11) In case of femur injuries (extremely common in moto accidents), check for blood loss
12) When ambulance arrives
13) At the hospital
14) Dealing with law enforcement
15) Thank yous
16) Couple of miscellaneous notes
17) Four most important points to remember

1) Get to victim, reassure, establish communication, first evaluation of victim

After a person has gone down, they will be in a confused and scared state. They probably don't know what happened when they went down. They may be confused, frantic, etc., and often the only thing on their mind will be their bike. It is important to reassure them and to make sure they will not try to move or get to their bike. You can tell them the following:

"You've been in a motorcycle accident. It is important that you do not try to move. My name is Jason (whatever your name is).''

Tell them the ambulance is coming (assuming someone has been sent to get one!) If your name is something like "Chainsaw'' or "Mega-death'', tell them your name is John.

Be careful what you say around the victim, even if they are unconscious. Hearing works in the unconscious state and if you say something like, "Boy, is this dude messed up bad! Maybe we shouldn't call an ambulance after all!'', it's going to register at some level with the person and can
do nothing but harm. How you say things will be important as what you say; keep (or at least sound) calm and it will reduce the panic of everyone else present.

2) Safety factors

An accident scene can be a hectic place with a lot of things going on at once. It is important to keep safety in mind; if you are helping someone lying in the middle of the road and a semi comes barrelling down on both of you, you aren't going to do that person much good.

a) Traffic If people are available, get someone uproad and downroad to wave down traffic. This is especially important in tight twisties where they may not have time to stop after seeing the accident site.

b) Hazardous material spills (gas, oil, brake fluid) People and vehicles will slip on this stuff. If ambulance personnel slip on oil while carrying the victim, it is bad. Either clean it off the road or indicate to everyone where it is.

c) Power lines If power lines are down around or near the victim, ambulance crews may not be able to get near the person until they are shut off. It is important to call the local utility company to get these live wires turned off at the same time an ambulance is called. If the ambulance arrives and they are still live, they will have to call the utility company and wait for them to come out, wasting a lot of precious time in the Golden Hour.

d) Fire People who smoke tend to light up under stress. Ask these people to either extinguish their smokes or move away from the flammable materials and/or bikes. It is easy to forget something obvious like this in a stressful situation like an accident scene.

e) Safety circle Establish a few people around the immediate accident scene to help direct traffic, to point out fluid spills, and to warn people who may want to light up (see (d)).

3) Best-trained individual (medically-wise) attends to victim (U-ABCC)

The person with the most training (first aid, CPR, etc.) attends directly to the victim. Assuming the victim is lying on the ground, this person should sit behind their head and should stabilize his or her head to avoid unnecessary movement (i.e. hold their head still). Assume the person has a back/neck injury and any unnecessary movement could risk paralysis.

This person should be doing "U-ABCC'' at the arrival on the scene and every 5 minutes thereafter:

U Unresponsiveness (?) Ask the victim three questions and document their responses;

Who are you? Where are you? What time of day is it? (Or asking what day of
week it is would be fine also. Many people do not know what time of day it
is without a watch even in a normal state.)

A Airway Is there something to impede their airway? Gravel in the helmet,
something down the throat? This needs to be cleared immediately, without
helmet removal if at all possible.

B Breathing Is the person breathing? Determined by listening, watching
their chest, feeling for breath, etc.

C Circulation Check the pulse on the throat initially and subsequently on
their wrist. This is the carotid artery, right next to the wind pipe/adam's
apple on either side. If pulse is not present, remove helmet if necessary
and begin CPR immediately. When checking pulse on their wrist, do not check
with thumb; use the two fingers next to the thumb.

C Cervical Spine Immobilization Support the victim's head and make sure
they don't move it. CONSIDER EVERY MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT A HEAD INJURY, CONSIDER EVERY MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT A CERVICAL/BACK INJURY! This is important even if they feel they can move their head normally! When you talk to the victim initially, add on a short bit to reassure them;

"You've been in a motorcycle accident. It is important that you don't move. My name is Jason. Answer me without moving your head. We don't know if you have a neck injury or not. An ambulance is on the way.''

Again, make sure that the victim does not move at all, their head or any other part.

4) If breathing is taking place normally, LEAVE HELMET ON!

It is very dangerous to remove someone's helmet if they have some type of cervical/back injury. The only time it should be removed is if the airway is blocked and cannot be cleared with the helmet on or if it is necessary to perform CPR.

4a) helmet removal procedure if airway blocked or no respiratory action.

This is the method recommended by the American College of Orthopedic Surgeons. It requires two people.

Remove glasses and unbuckle the chinstrap. One person should be to the side of the head of the victim and the other person should be directly behind the head of the victim, stabilizing the head to avoid excess movement (as seen in (3)).

The person on the side puts one hand behind the victim's head supporting at the base of the skull (not on helmet). They put their other hand on the jaw bone/chin (again, not on helmet). They will be supporting the head, so it is important to get a good solid grip. Keep some tension in the arms so that if the person pulling the helmet slips the victim's head won't drop.

The person sitting behind the head will then slowly pull the helmet directly back and off of the head. Watch out for catching the nose on the chin-guard on full-face helmets, as well as ears and earrings.

After the helmet is off, put a leather jacket or something under the head of the victim! If the person supporting their head lets go, their head will drop a good 4 inches or so. This would not be good. If possible, it would be best to have a third person ready with something to place under the victim's head once the helmet is off.

After the helmet is off, the person behind the head should again hold the victim's head to promote cervical immobilization.

AGAIN, THIS IS ONLY TO BE USED IN SITUATIONS WHERE THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION! Leave the helmet on until the ambulance personnel arrive if at all possible!

5) After initial evaluation of seriousness of injuries, call for ambulance

After there has been a quick evaluation of the number of injured people and just the most preliminary guess of seriousness, someone has to be sent to get an ambulance. Remember that an ambulance can only support one truly injured person.

It is important to remember that a lot of the injuries that don't look serious to us could very well be life-threatening and injuries that look fatal are relatively minor. Don't get fancy with the initial seriousness evaluation. If you can't tell, assume it's Urgent!

Send one or two bikes to the nearest house.

When you go to the door, REMAIN CALM... THINK! Take a second and a couple of deep breaths. It will not help to have this biker person in a very excited state on the doorstep of some person's home. The people will be far more receptive to someone who looks like they have a grip on themselves.

Do not ask directly for entry into their house; something like "There has been an accident. Please call 911.'' There is no need to specify that it was a motorcycle accident to them (it is important to let the Emergency Medical Services dispatcher know that it was a motorcycle accident, however). It is less threatening to ask to call 911 than it is to ask to come in and use their phone.

5a) Things to tell Emergency Medical Services dispatcher

General tips/things to cover when talking to the EMS dispatcher:

• there has been a motorcycle accident
• need an ambulance
• the # of injured people (and how badly injured they are). A severely traumatized person will require an entire ambulance to themselves, so it is important to give the EMS dispatcher some idea of the scope of the accident. If they only send one ambulance and there are two people who need one immediately, it will be a problem.
• location of accident (get help from the people whose phone you're using, they should know how to describe their location best)

You (the caller) hangs up last! The EMS dispatchers are well-trained and will get all the information they need from you before hanging up. Stay on the line until they do.

5b) Things that may be necessary for victim

It is helpful if you know some special equipment is going to be necessary
to tell the dispatcher;

a) Helicopter: Most rural areas cannot handle severe trauma and they may need to get the victim to a trauma center via helicopter. If they know there may be a need, they can get the helicopter ready to leave for the rural hospital when a doctor establishes the extent of the injuries.

b) fire: Should the fire department be called in?

c) Jaws of life

d) Utilities See (2-C) about downed power lines above.

6) Document personal information if possible (victim may pass out)

Before the ambulance arrives, if possible, document information about the victim. They may become unconscious and it will be helpful to have information like

• Full name
  
• Next of kin (plus phone number)
  
• Age
  
• Date of birth
  
• Doctor

6b) AMPLE documentation

Remember that "There is AMPLE time to document this before the ambulance arrives.'' Again, this will be very helpful to the paramedics if the victim passes out.

A Are you allergic to anything?
M Are you on any medications? Street drugs?
P What's your past medical history?
L Last meal - when did you eat last? (will help anesthesiologist if one is necessary)
E What were the events leading up to the injury? Document the mechanisms of injury. If the doctors and paramedics have some idea how accident occurred, it will give them better ideas on what kind of injuries to look for. Did the person low-side and slide for a while on one of their sides? Did they go over the bars? Did they head-butt a solid object, such as a car? If they went over the bars, is there any obvious damage to the tank/handlbars which might indicate they hit the lower abdomen/groin area? This kind of stuff could help the doctors/paramedics.

7) Wallets, purses, rings

Do not go rooting through personal effects of the person. There should be no need to go through their wallet or purse for insurance information; the hospital personnel will deal with all of that. If there is some important reason that you need something from their wallet or purse, make sure you have at the very least a witness! Preferably a law enforcement officer if possible. If the person is conscious, ask first and if they say "no'' then don't push it.

If the person has rings on, the fingers may swell up and it is important to get them off. Consent is paramount if the person is conscious. Make sure there is at least one witness when removing them.

8) Have person check pulse every 5 minutes & document it

Every 5 minutes the pulse should be checked at the wrist. If the pulse goes away at the wrist, check at the throat. This is a late sign of shock (see 9).

Write down the number of beats per minute and the time you took the measurement.

8a) Have person check breathing every 5 minutes & document it

Just like the pulse, check number of breaths per minute, the most reliable method being by placing your hand on the person's chest. Obviously if the victim is female it would be best to have another lady do this if at all possible.

Try to check their breathing rate without their knowing it. If they know you are counting their respirations, they may unconsciously alter their breathing rate.

Record this number along with the pulse every 5 minutes. Also note the type of breathing; fast, shallow, yodelling, gurgling, labored, easy, whatever. Even in layman's terms it may be useful to the paramedics.

9) Watch for signs of person going into shock

Signs of shock:

1. Inability to answer the 3 questions coherently (Who are you, etc.)
2. Pale, cool, clammy skin
3. Delayed capillary refill press your fingernail so that it turns white. It should turn back to pink in less than 2 seconds. If it takes longer, that is not a good sign.
4. Radial pulse (pulse at the wrist) goes away but there is still a pulse on the neck
   

There isn't much we can do once someone starts going into shock, but a few minor things that may help:

1. Assure adequate breathing. This really comes with the AB of U-ABCC.
2. Loosen restrictive clothing.
3. Reassure victim.
4. Keep the person warm (not too hot though).
5. Elevate the feet ~6 in. This is actually a judgement call since you shouldn't really do that with suspected spinal injuries.
6. Control bleeding. This is probably obvious but if you don't realize the victim is bleeding and they are rapidly going into shock, this should tell you something
7. Immobilize fractures. This helps relieve pain and control bleeding. Stop bleeding, using sterile bandages/dressings if available
   

Two important things here are to

1. Stop any bleeding as soon as possible and
2. keep the wounds sanitary as much as possible. Peripheral limbs are commonly lost to infection, but given the choice between stopping bleeding and using a nonsanitary cover, using the nonsanitary wrapping is preferred. Blood loss is bad.
   

If sterile dressings are not immediately available, women in the group may be carrying sanitary tampons, or Kotex napkins. Either can be used as a sterile dressing, although obviously the sanitary napkins would be superior.

EXCEPTION: If there are cuts anywhere on the head, do NOT apply pressure. If there is a bone chip it is possible to push it into the brain. It is also possible that stopping the flow of blood or cerebral spinal fluid can lead to a buildup of pressure on the brain which is not good. You should still bandage the cuts loosely.

11) In case of femur injuries (extremely common in moto accidents), check for blood loss

80% of motorcycle accidents involve someone going over the top of their motorcycle. Femur (the"thigh bone'') injuries are very frequent. There are huge arteries that run along the inner thigh; if these are compromised the person can bleed to death in a very short amount of time. It is important to minimize bleeding in this region! Use a pressure point above the cut to control blood flow out of the femur artery.

12) When ambulance arrives

Before the ambulance arrives, send people to the intersections in all directions to watch for/direct the ambulance.

When the ambulance arrives, it is important to stay out of their way as much as possible. Meet them and identify yourself as being ``in charge'' and to be the person to contact if they need anything (bikes moved, people moved, whatever). Make sure you

1. Provide accessable parking for ambulance
2. Let EMT's know who's in charge
3. Give factual account of accident ("And then the car comes along at 154 feet per second and hits our buddy here!'' is probably not going to help anything). At 40 MPH, there are 60,000 units of kenetic energy. At 50MPH, there are 120,000. It is IMPORTANT for medical personnel to have an HONEST estimate of the speed and circumstances at the time of the accident.
4. Give them all of the information that has been written down (periodic vital signs and the three questions from U-ABCC at 5 minute intervals, personal information about the victim, etc.)
5. Give EMT's an honest evaluation of patient's drug/alcohol consumption
6. Stay back or leave if told g) give EMT's time to work
   

It is important to give the ambulance people the most accurate information possible! If the person just had 10 beers in the past hour, tell them! They are not the law enforcement officials and their only immediate concern is the safety of the patient. By underestimating, trying to cover up, or not telling the whole truth, you are only keeping important information away from them which may be necessary for the safety of the patient.

If the helmet was removed, send it along in the ambulance. The doctors may use the visible damage to the helmet to assist them in what to look for in terms of injuries.

If there were leaking fluids, let the medical personnel know. The fluids may have gotten on the patient and they need to know if there was oil, gas, brake fluid or something like that on an open wound.

13) At the hospital

Only have one or two people in the Emergency Room at a time. If the doctors have questions and neither of the people in the ER know the answer, send one of them out to the other people to find out the answer. Crowding everyone into the ER will only make it more stressful and difficult for the ER staff to do their jobs.

14) Dealing with law enforcement

As with the the ambulance, when law enforcement arrives identify yourself as being ``in charge''. Let them know that if there is anything they need, such as bikes moved or people moved, you are the person to talk to.

For them, walking on to a scene of bikers who are all in a very excited state is intimidating and this will help calm them and give them some easy way to control the bike people.

It is obviously important to do whatever the law enforcement officials ask.

Before the officers do arrive, try to not move motorcycle parts any more than necessary! They may need to take accident scene notes and by moving things around you may confuse the situation for them. Parts will need to be moved off the road to avoid further accidents, but move them directly to the side so the law enforcement officials can determine roughly where it stopped if necessary. Try not to distrub the bike any more than necessary. (Petcock should be shut off, electrics turned off, bike propped up vertically, etc.)

15) Thank yous

Officers often get little or no recognition for helping out on the scene. It will cheer all of them up to no end to receive some kind of thanks for their help; any of the following are appropriate
1: cards 2: in newspaper 3: in person

It will improve our image as bikers and rewards all those people who take time out of their own lives to help others. It is important!

16) Couple of miscellaneous notes

Leathers will have to be cut off by medical personnel. Be mentally prepared for it. If they do not cut off your clothes, they will not be able to do a proper assessment of the wounds and you are not being treated properly! If you are conscious and insist that they do not cut your leathers, they cannot by law. If you are unconscious, it is implied consent and they will remove them if in doubt.

Over 50% of fatalities are alcohol related. I know it's a cliche' but don't let friends drink and ride unless you're prepared to lose that friend.

Like I said earlier, in 80% of the accidents involve going over the handlebars. If your bladder is full, the extreme pressure can easily cause it to break. Make a pitstop by the bathroom before you leave.

In an emergency situation, psychological management is important. If a central person takes charge and is remaining calm, this will transfer to all of the other people on the scene and will help the victim far more than if everyone is overly excited and pumped with adrenaline. Take two deep breaths when you feel yourself losing it.

Take basic first aid and CPR courses! They are offered through the Red Cross and several other organizations periodically. Go with some riding buddies or get your club to have a class!

17) Four most important points from this:

The four most important things were

1. Stay calm
2. U-ABCC
3. AMPLE
4. Who are you/Where are you/What time of day is it?

Front Licence Plates

The Victorian Police (almost uniquely of all the World’s Police Forces) seem to be unable to use well tested cameras to photograph the rear of motorcycles and scooters. In an effort to stigmatise motorcyclists still further for their own operational shortfalls, they are now once again pressing for front number plates for all motorcycles, despite the fact that internationally the only countries that require this are that paragon of road safety – India, and that defender of personal freedoms – Singapore...

...Users to Pay Motorcycle riders will be forced to pay up to $200 for every motorcycle they own as part of the retrofit/installation requirements associated with the introduction of the Frontal Identification. This even includes vintage machines only used on the road under Club permit limitations. Added to the costs are safety and aesthetic considerations for those motorcycles that will need brackets affixed to the front or holes drilled to hold the proposed decals.

Can't seem to get away from the motherland. It must be catching.

Wonder how long it will take for the other states in Australia to adopt this.

Full article here

And while i'm in the mood to post

... it's worth mentioning that 2 of my closest friends are going regional. One is moving to Yanchep (ok, not technically regional), and the other to Dunsborough. While i doubt that it's a permanent state of affairs, it certainly leads me to think that i could be doing a helluva lot more riding in the next couple of years.

Nothing much has changed with the riding side of things except that i'm a lot more relaxed on the road now, having been riding for a little more than a year. I do ride faster now than i used to, but mainly because i'm convinced my speedometer is clocking me higher than i'm actually doing. I now split regularly when traffic is stationary at the lights, which was a sudden decision at one point a couple of months ago, but i have a feeling i'll never split when vehicles are moving. Enough has/can happen when you're being good and following all the rules, and plenty has been said about what happens when you don't, especially when drivers around you are unaware of your presence, which again is too common. This bothers me, and more than it does most other bikers i'm guessing.

I want a new bike for all the reasons people don't stay on their 250 for long. Extra power, acceleration, a more effortless ride especially over distances, and in my case, a more comfortable riding position.

While the bike was in the workshop getting brake problems sorted, i was wandering around adjacent shops looking around while waiting. They had a couple of VFRs around, gleaming in the sun. It certainly is a beefy, great looking bike, but the sheer bulk of the thing still gets at me.

It would be nice to have a bigger, better-postured bike to ride long distances for. Something like a FZ6N would be nice...

...or a Street Triple.

Brakes

Unlike a lot of Hyosung owners, i've never had any problems with my yellow beastie. It could be that i haven't put many kays on her, as despite my best efforts, my only riding appears to be done for commuting purposes. And since i live something like 4 ot 5 kms from where i work, it's not a whole lot of commuting that i do.

However I had the first mechanical issue with it last week.

My front brakes started to seize badly out of nowhere. I'd ride the beastie to work in the mornings and she would be fine, no issues. Then 8 or 9 hours after being parked at work, brakes would start seizing, to a point where:

1. I'd not be able to back her up at all
   
2. One day, i rode most of the way home without touching the brakes - the calipers were clamped tight on the discs all the way. This scared the bejesus out of me, as it meant:
• She'd buck and nosedive when clutching in to change gear
• I'd be dragging ass moving from a standing start (surprised drivers tailing me really closely)
• Cornering was just... scary.

I had a look on the Google to make sure it wasn't something i was doing and came across this:

Brakes...master cylinder
The master cylinder is where the brake fluid is kept...usually attached to the handlebar for front brakes and tucked away, close to the rear brake pedal for the rear brake. The main problem that occurs with these is the brake fluid itself. There is a piston in the master that is activated by the lever that you pull. If this piston is leaking then the brakes can be mushy or there may be brake fuid leaking from the area around the master cylinder. There is a very small hole in the master that allows brake fluid to return back up to the master and if this is blocked due to corrosion then the lever will be very hard but no or little braking action will be taking place. If you experience problems with a master cylinder then you may be better off paying someone to look at this for you.

Brake Calipers
In the caliper a piston is activated by you when you pull the front brake lever. It pushes against the actual brake pads to apply pressure on the disc. One or several (depending on make) "rubber" o-rings seal the fluid from escaping between the piston and wall of the caliper. These rings serve another function and that is to return the piston to its original position (brakes off) These rings are the only thing returning this piston and when there is corrosion, the piston can be forced on because the hydraulic pressure is great enough to do so, however there is no (hydraulic) help for the piston to return and thus causes the brakes to be applied even though we are not pulling the lever. The resulting application of the brakes causes a heat build up, brake fluid expands (due to heat) thus forcing the brakes on even more. This is not a good situation to be in as a motorcyclist

I've seen bikes pull into the shop with the rear disc brake so hot that it is glowing cherry red with heat build up. The brake pads were totally worn away and the repair parts this bike would need include caliper assembly, disc brake rotor, wheel bearings and all dust seals. Expensive!!!

Article link

I don't know my bike mechanically, but it certainly sounded as though that could have been the problem, especially since it was playing up most on hot days (which we've had a few of). Took her to the shop and it did turn out to be a piston/valve/switch in the cylinder that wasn't adjusted properly, and thus wasn't letting the air out - at least, that's what i could gather from the mechanic, who sounded like he would probably have been more comfortable speaking German or French than trying to explain a mechanical issue in layman's English... which i made him do, poor guy.

But it's all fixed up now, and under warranty so i didn't have to fork out a cent. Bike is back to itself!

Ownership

27 November 2006: This was the day i paid the last dollar off my bike loan.

It's taken me a couple of weeks shy of 1 year to pay the bike off, but i've done it! I now fully own my yellow beastie!

FZ1N

I got to ride one back from the testing center to the bike shop which Brian operates out of. That was seriously fun. I need to do it again soon.

And the web has revealed that they come in yellow!

But still, Street Triple....

R Class

After 2 lessons my instructor just decided i should sit for a test.

And i did.

Today.

R CLASS BABY!!!! Big bike, here i come!

Test

I've had all of 2 lessons on the big bike, and my test is apparently next Wednesday.

Eek!

*

Riding a big bike is awesome though. I think it's a YZF 600 that my instructor has us students riding; unlike my current grumbly v-twin, it's a silky smooth inline 4. I've never been on anything bigger than 250 cc prior to this, and the 600 is a total power trip to ride.

The sport tourer configuration is so comfortable - my decision to not continue with sports bikes is making more and more sense. And aside from being reassuringly solid and nice and tight to shift, it just gets away like nothing i've ever been in contact with.

After my first lesson, i got back on the 250 and immediately wanted to go bike shopping. How the hell am i going to wait a whole other year to get my next bike?

R-class learner's permit

I got my open class learner's permit today as planned.

First lesson on Wednesday. Big bike, here i come!

Next Friday in order:

1. To DPI to get R class learner's permit
2. To Cully's Yamaha to organise lessons with Brian
3. New pair of Draggin Jeans, since my current pair is riddled with rips and holes-on-the-way. However because of what they cost, i need a special occasion to warrant another pair, and this one came around at the right time

On personality types

"ISTPs with more sedate careers usually take on high-risk avocations like racing, skydiving, and motorcycling. While aware of the dangers involved, they are so in touch with the physical world that they know they can get away with much smaller safety margins than other types." [+]

Apparently this motorcycle thing is a tendency of my personality type.

In saying that, i wonder what percentage of all voluntary motorcyclists are ISTPs...

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After so long of not riding, or doing piss poor 5-minutes-a-go riding, I managed to clock up a couple of decent hours on the bike in the last 2 days.

While freezing and rat-soaked on the highway this afternoon, i managed to observe myself not giving in to the usual trepidation of riding among big trucks in a downpour. Instead, i was actually feeling normal about it all.

Aside from the fact that it's been almost a year that i've owned and ridden my bike, there can be only one other reason: i was too pre-occupied with being cold and trying to get home to bother with anything else.

Rain pouring into the neck of my jacket, winter lining out and vents letting air in like they're supposed to make one pretty cold rider. Stopped for red lights 10 minutes from home and found myself shivering visibly. Drivers snug and warm around me must have laughed heartily to see it, while sucking on my exhaust :P