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 :(

-

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.

-

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.

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 2007: 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

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