The Original 'Ode To Joy' thread

[Uncwilly]

I will also endorse Xilman's words.
There are only 2 types of motorcycle riders:
1) Those who have gone down.
2) Those who will go down.

Unfortunately the transition from the later to the former can be quite definitive in the history of the rider. I personally know more than one individual that had that be their last act, one was during his first year of college (not his fault) and a relative that pulled a newbie riding boner that sent him in front of an auto (his fault). Have witnessed a "rear tire vs. auto" incident, too. Another relative was forced to sell his motor, the buyer died on it within the month.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

There are only 2 types of motorcycle riders:
1) Those who have gone down.
2) Those who will go down.

True.

Another saying is that there are old bikers and there are bold bikers but there are very, very few old and bold bikers.

I'm not trying to discourage you --- as I say, I've been riding bikes for 37 years --- but I am trying to encourage you to take appropriate precautions.

Personally, I think it would be an excellent idea to pay for some lessons given by professionals and, preferably, on a rather smaller, less powerful and more controllable machine.

Paul

[Christenson]

Xyzzy:

I'll second xilman's advice too...we'll be happiest if you become and old rider.....

[Prime95]

Woohoo. I got PPTP working!! This let me fix the "Axon bug" on the PrimeNet server while I'm not at home.

The only downside is I don't think I changed any settings from my failed attempt in May. A real head scratcher.

[Xyzzy]

Multi-Reply:

We are beginning the process of securing the needed gear. There is not much to choose from in the small town we are in. Since the items need to be sized, we may have to go into the "big city". We want to make sure we purchase high quality gear and not discounted junk. (For example, we know Arai and Shoei make excellent helmets, but what we have seen so far has been generic $99 helmets.)

We rode at the school parking lot today for about two hours, practicing getting moving, getting stopped and doing various turns and stuff, like snaking through parking lines. Yes, we are currently without protective gear, other than our BMX gloves and long jeans. We realize that is not-too-cool but we accept the risk for now. Please do not dogpile on us.

We have ridden tens of thousands of miles on our (extremely cool) road bicycle without a helmet or gloves or any protective gear. (When we started riding, that was the way things were.) We have developed, over the years, a sense of paranoia and a mindset that could be best described as extreme situational awareness. That said, we do wear a full-face helmet when we race our BMX bicycle and we wear a regular bicycle helmet when we race our mountain bicycle.


Obviously, bicycles and motorcycles are different animals.


We are looking into a safety course like the MSF deal. We were told the state highway patrol is the point of contact for that. We are required to report there within 30 days to pass a competency test. (We have been told the test is not very challenging.)

So far the overall experience has been fun, but extremely humbling and scary. While we feel totally comfortable on our race bicycles, and we can do all sorts of extremely crazy things with them, the motorcycle feels much less friendly. Perhaps it is the quantity of things that need to be done at once, or done in sequence in some cases. Mentally, riding has been exhausting.

When we purchased the motorcycle we were using "car" thinking. Since we have had some very fast cars in the past that were very docile during ordinary use, we figured a powerful motorcycle would have the same laid-back behavior, and then it would rip when you wanted it to. However, this motorcycle is extremely hypersensitive to throttle input and it revs out significantly faster than we anticipated. We have not gone past 4,000RPM yet, and at that point the engine is beginning to make some sort of evil shrieking/wailing sound. The tachometer indicates that the redline is 13,000RPM.

We had no intention of buying a motorcycle. We dropped by the dealer to pick up an air cleaner for our lawnmower. It was on sale, it was red and it was a Honda.

Hopefully all of the stalling we are doing is not damaging the motorcycle! It sure is embarrassing! There is a mile strip between the two schools on our street so we have been riding back and forth between them. Fortunately the street is not busy at all. 30MPH feels really fast and 40MPH feels ballistic. When we roll the throttle on and off the bike bucks a bit, and our shifting is pathetically rough. We are using maybe half an inch of rotational travel on the throttle at this point. If the throttle was electronic they might be able to map it to an exponential curve, but since it is cable operated it is linear. A "reduced power" mode would be cool. We do not grip the throttle entirely. We leave or fingers on the front brake and wrap our thumb and first finger around the throttle grip. So far this has enabled us to "dial out" some sensitivity and (hopefully) avoid whacking the throttle open due to arm movement.

The bike does have some neato features like anti-lock brakes and an electronic steering head damper. The steering damper is very impressive. We have experienced severe headshake on our road bicycle before, always at 43MPH. (This happens, of course, going downhill.) The only remedy on the road bicycle is to ride through it. We tried today to induce headshake on the motorcycle and it tracked straight as an arrow. We can ride no-handed with almost no effort. We are amazed at how stable the motorcycle is at low speeds. We assume the rotating parts of the engine create some sort of gyroscopic effect.

We have been waiting since the age of eight or so to have a motorcycle. Most of that time we pictured ourself ripping into a blind canyon turn fully leaned over with our knee puck kissing the road. As we leave the apex of the turn, we whack open the throttle which breaks the rear end loose and drifts the rear tire out a foot or two. The rear tire hooks up and transitions the motorcycle into a leaned over power wheelie and we then tuck in behind the windscreen as we rocket away with the front wheel crossed up in the air. (Well, that is how it works in the video games!)

Now we picture ourself riding in a much more subdued manner. In our life we have been exposed to some dangerous situations, and not very much scares us, but we are genuinely scared shitless with this motorcycle. When we finish every ride we are shaking and soaked in sweat. (It is 100°F, though! And the bike radiates an incredible amount of heat.)

In summary: It is probably not a beginner motorcycle. It scares us a lot. We need protective gear. We will purchase and wear protective gear. It sure is a lot of fun even though it scares us. A lot.

Bike info: http://powersports.honda.com/2011/cbr1000rr.aspx

(Ours is a new 2009 model, just pulled from the crate. Apparently the poor economy has been brutal to motorcycle sales. Fortunately Honda has not changed the bike other than the graphics each year, so we do not feel like we have "outdated" technology.)

PS - Specific protective gear suggestions are welcome, perhaps via PM.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Multi-Reply:

We are beginning the process of securing the needed gear.

Spend the money needed on the helmet, don't skimp and shop for the features that you will like/need. Try to get the best visibility that you can. Per an EMT friend, get a full helmet; the half-helmet 'brain buckets' dislodge on the first bounce. #2 priority, get a good jacket with the spine protector. All else is of third importance.

[Christenson]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

Spend the money needed on the helmet, don't skimp and shop for the features that you will like/need.
(snip)

Surely you mean *do* shop for features you will like....

I don't think any of us realized how much biking was in xyzzy's history....he's already at leaast half of an old biker.

I think it might be worth stopping by the dealer and asking about a less sensitive trhrottle...there are ways of doing that even in cable-operated systems.

does the bike have good "be seen" features on it, like a wobbly headlight and something flashy on the tail and sides?

[davieddy]

BORN TO BE WILD

Take it easy

[Xyzzy]

There are only 2 types of motorcycle riders:
1) Those who have gone down.
2) Those who will go down.

We dropped the bike today. We were on a pretty steep incline and we stopped at a stop sign. We were holding the bike on the hill with the rear brake and when we (gently) let out the clutch we stalled the bike, which then rolled back a bit and tipped over. It was pretty embarrassing but as far as we can tell, nobody saw us. The bike has some scratches on the plastic fairing and a slight gouge on the end of the handlebar and on the end of the mirror/blinker.

We really thought we had broken something because the bike refused to restart. Fortunately, after calming down and thinking really hard, we remembered from reading the owner's manual (mon Dieu!) that there was a section about a "tip over" fuel pump disconnect, which is reset by turning the ignition off and then back on. Whew!

Obviously, this was not a "real" accident, to be told and embellished for generations.

In other uninteresting news, we spent some of the forum donations on a helmet and gloves this morning. We had to drive to Memphis to get them. It figures our first ride with the gear is our first wreck!

We purchased an optional tinted (light smoke) visor, which should be mandatory equipment. No more squinting! We have no idea why a piece of plastic costs $50, however.

We have committed to practicing for one hour a day, and we have stuck with it. We are starting to get the hang of shifting it smoother than before. (We can upshift without the clutch and the bike does not complain. We are researching this oddity.)

Apparently, motorcycles do not have fuel gauges. (Guess how we know.)

Two days ago we made our first journey off of the side street we live on and onto a 30MPH feeder street, and survived. 30MPH sure seems fast!

Today we tested the highway at 55MPH and it was probably a little too much for us right now. The gusts of wind from trucks coming the other direction were very powerful.

Next week (?) we plan to get a leather jacket with the plastic skeletal stuff built into it. And maybe some sort of boots that do not look dorky. (We are somewhat tempted to purchase a jacket like Doctor House wears.)

Also, today we got whacked right in the center of the visor by a huge bug, probably a dragonfly, since it is apparently mega dragonfly season here. We are glad that the visor was there!

Our biggest concern with the helmet deal was a loss of peripheral vision, but that proved to not be a problem. The reduced wind noise is an added benefit. We think you could go deaf from long term exposure to wind noise.

Thanks for the advice so far and any future advice!

[Xyzzy]

Per an EMT friend, get a full helmet; the half-helmet 'brain buckets' dislodge on the first bounce.

In a previous life we served two tours as a combat medic, so we are (unfortunately) very experienced with head injuries.

We are unsure why we never converted to wearing a helmet on the road bicycle. Perhaps we like to be a maverick? We take a ton of heat from the sheeple who constantly bombard us with statistics and anecdotes. Perhaps we do it to drive them nuts. (It certainly looks cool, and Le Blaireau never wore a $150 piece of Styrofoam.)

Of course, the bicycle has about ¼ horsepower, and the motorcycle has 178 or so.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Of course, the bicycle has about ¼ horsepower, and the motorcycle has 178 or so.

Your head is higher above the ground when in the riding position for a bicycle, than the same for a motor.
It is often the head hitting the ground and not a vertical surface that causes the injuries.