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The Motorcycle Thread V2


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Correct. Dirt bikes can be had for cheap. And for a new rider that's the route you should go. Riding on dirt is nothing like the street. Other than the controls of the bike you're almost starting fresh. And with the ability to push bikes off road due to less rules/laws as well as the unpredictability of surfaces off road you will lay it down. Another thing to consider is the type of bike. MX bikes like CRF, CR, YZs YZF, RMZ etc are high performance machines. Meaning motors are high strung and require work often. Keep this in mind when buying a used dirt bike, either buy a bike with a good maintenance record.. even if the owner did the rebuilds themselves it's good to know how many hours are on the motor. Or buying a bike from someone who just rode around their property and never raced it and therefore has low hours or very stress free hours. Someone who races MX will rebuild their top end(piston and rings) every 20-40 hours depending. Someone who just putts around trails or their property can see motors last hundreds of hours. While enduro/dual sport bikes are lower comp... less rpm and will often last for thousands of miles or hundreds of hours.

 

Like most things motorcycle related. Nothing can beat the Japanese bikes in terms of reliability and cost in dirt bikes. Cost to buy and cost to own.

 

I think for most people switching from street to dirt the hardest part is standing up on the pegs. Most street riding your butt is on that seat unless you're stretching or going over bumps or water etc. Depending on the type of off road riding you're doing when you're at speed you should be standing unless in tighter turns. I would say when I am going at it and not being lazy I'm standing 70-80% of the time during hard riding on groomed trails. Guys who track ride only let their butts touch the seat in tighter turns. Otherwise they are standing 90+% of the time.

Edited by 05GT Guru
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1)Started out on a cheap TW200 just to have something to putt around on after I got my endorsement, currently ride a 1990 Yamaha YX600 Radian that has been bobbed, and my dad's mint condition 1998 Yamaha XT350 off and on, hoping to pick up an MT-07 come springtime.

 

2) When it's riding season I ride to and from work (unfortunately only 8 miles round trip lol), and almost everywhere else unless I'm going somewhere that I need to transport large items or people.

 

3) Rode dirt bikes in the mountains and the country quite a bit as a kid, then didn't ride for almost 10 years until getting my endorsement in fall of 2016

 

4) Take a motorcycle safety course, well worth the money and time. Even just a beginner level course for a few days could be the difference between avoiding an incident or winding up in the hospital.

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1) I ride a 2005 ZX10R Ninja. Wife rides a 2012 CBR1000RR. Actually, I ride it more than she does. I have tons of great pics, not posting. Thank the rapists at Photobucket.

 

2) I bought it to commute, and used to do that. I rode everywhere possible. New job with a company vehicle, free is cheaper than cheap, don't want to leave it at work all day, now I just ride recreationally.

Wife still commutes on hers sometimes, but she's white collar and it's a little tougher to deal with riding gear, gym clothes, and a business suit on a bike. So it goes.

 

3) I started riding when I got tired of paying over $5/gal to fuel my Mustang GT that only got 17mpg. So, sometime just over a decade ago.

 

4) MSF course was completely wasted on me. That said, there is no easier way to get the M-cert on your license, and well worth doing just for that reason.

Also: tires. "I think these are still good" means it's time to throw them out. Learned the hard way, and there's nothing you want to learn the hard way on a motorcycle.

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The MSF courses are pretty basic, but anyone who hasn't taken them should. If nothing else, they will explain and reinforce some of the things you're doing without conscious thought (countersteering, eg) so you can get better at it. They may also help you break bad habits you've developed.

 

Once past the basics, and comfortable with riding at highway speeds, I recommend anyone that rides either take a high performance motorcycle school, or go to a trackday that has instructors available. The experience will make you a much better rider, and much safer on the street.

 

My FJ-09 from a trip last summer:

38511641114_2f959e7d56_c.jpgFJ Rushmore 1 by Rodan AZ, on Flickr

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Motorcycles! always good stuff

 

1) Right now I just have on the one back, a 2011 R6 race bike. I used to ride on the street when I was living in San Francisco, but haven't had the resources to snag a bike for street duty.

 

2) Tracks only at the moment! Thunderhill, Sonoma, Buttonwillow, High Plains, Chuckwalla etc. Highway 1 if I can get a ride on a street bike here and there, but my canyon riding aggressiveness has gone down a lot since racing

 

3) bought my first bike was I was 19, a '99 Ducati monster 750. Sounds like a beast but it's a great first bike. Simple, relatively light and it only had 65 hp. However we used to race dirt bikes (had a Yz125) so already had a familiarity with riding some

 

4) Be incredibly aware of your surroundings when you ride. Don't bother riding with music for awhile because it's cool, ride like everyone is going to hit you, or can at any moment, because they might. You have to be actively vigilant, don't put yourself in blind spots, don't cross lanes, don't blast through intersections where someone could make a left turn etc, you need to always be prepared, and it'll eventually become habit. Can't slack off on a bike if you want to stay safe.

 

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1) I ride a 2005 ZX10R Ninja. Wife rides a 2012 CBR1000RR. Actually, I ride it more than she does. I have tons of great pics, not posting. Thank the rapists at Photobucket.

 

 

There's a process (work-around) for the PB issue. Found here

 

LMK if that doesn't work.

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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Mentioned this before, but I taught the MSF Basic and Advanced Rider course for about 10 years. Excellent courses and I strongly recommend them for anyone who's new to bikes (basic), or ridden (non-competitively) for a while and need to sharpen-up your skills (advanced).

 

Those who ride professionally/competitively have built the skillset needed to operate the bike, and have excellent, heads-up, situational awareness

 

You learn something new each time, and you can (typically) take an immediate discount on your MC insurance and accelerate getting your endorsement that much faster.

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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I also taught MSF courses for a few years and second that recommendation.

 

I'll also kick in this bit: keep your skills and training fresh. When shit hits the fan, few people 'rise to the occasion' to pull off some heroic feat or skill. Most people default to what they have practiced in training.

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Jesus KRB... just because you rode head first into a Rolls Royce or whatever it was doesn't mean the rest of us want to confront our own mortality on this first business day of the new year. Save that crap for the 3rd or 4th business day of the year when I remember how much I hate business.
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  • 3 months later...
Finally bought another dirt bike. XR50R... hope I can handle the powaaaa. Actually, it was surprisingly peppy. Coming down the previous owners alley running out 1st, popped it into 2nd... front end came right up... mainly due to the fact that my butt was sitting on the rear fender and there is no clutch so it just pops into 2nd gear. Super clean... all orig, original owner. It's a surprise for my kids this summer. It's currently hidden in the garage.

xr50r.thumb.jpg.c4636fb07761e3554fb2a05a2205d1c8.jpg

Edited by 05GT Guru
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I decided that my dad's vulcan sounded too much like a scooter so I drilled a few holes in the exhaust under the heat shield so you can't see them. Sounds so much better. Hope he agrees lol

 

I know it's a janky way to get a better sound but I feel it's the best option without dropping 1500 on exhaust and a tuner. The only exhaust that is sold as a slip on for this bike looks like a chrome fart can. My dad would surely punch me in the face if I put a chrome fart can on his blacked out cruiser. Other option is to put a 1000 dollar+ full exhaust on it but then you need a tuner or it runs lean and throws a code... so another 300-500. And everyone who has a full exhaust on this bike says it too loud. So I drilled some holes and bought some high heat paint and sprayed them to prevent rust. And I think it sounds damn good. A little raspy at idle on a cold start but once the idle calms down or you're moving under load it sounds mean.

Edited by 05GT Guru
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I decided that my dad's vulcan sounded too much like a scooter so I drilled a few holes in the exhaust under the heat shield so you can't see them. Sounds so much better. Hope he agrees lol

 

I know it's a janky way to get a better sound but I feel it's the best option without dropping 1500 on exhaust and a tuner. The only exhaust that is sold as a slip on for this bike looks like a chrome fart can. My dad would surely punch me in the face if I put a chrome fart can on his blacked out cruiser. Other option is to put a 1000 dollar+ full exhaust on it but then you need a tuner or it runs lean and throws a code... so another 300-500. And everyone who has a full exhaust on this bike says it too loud. So I drilled some holes and bought some high heat paint and sprayed them to prevent rust. And I think it sounds damn good. A little raspy at idle on a cold start but once the idle calms down or you're moving under load it sounds mean.

 

Yeah exhausts for bikes are just hard to stomach, some price as an exhaust for a car, with a 0hp gain. Nice work on drilling it out.

 Brought to you by Pfizer

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That was another reason.... the hp gain. Everyone with the two bros full exhaust etc and a tuner said they gained 2-4hp but lost almost 10ftlbs of trq after the tune. What kind of a BS trade off is that?

 

The bike doesn't need to be faster, 500lbs and 65hp is plenty for my 60 year old dad who never travels on his bike more than 20 miles from his residence. Just needed to sound the part of a blacked out cruiser. It's an inline 2 cylinder. So it sounds more sporting than a Harley or other v-twin. Sounds like a FZ07 with exhaust.

Edited by 05GT Guru
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First ride of the season on the FJ09 today. It's remarkable how much faster this thing is than an LGT. Any gear it just wants to keep revving.

 

Took my FJ09 for a nice 200 mile ride on Monday... with all the car stuff I've been doing, it's really been neglected for a while. Hoping to spend a lot more time in the saddle this year than last... :p

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Paid my deposit and got my 2018 MT-07 ordered the other day. Manager at the local dealer managed to get an early release for mine, should get it within the next week(my color scheme was not slated for release from the warehouse until the end of the month). Also managed to fix a vacuum leak on my Radian(hopefully, will ride around a bit tomorrow to make sure issue is fixed), just in time to sell it to make room in the garage for the MT.
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Starting the remodel of my 1st floor bathroom this weekend. Then the kitchen in about a month. Every time I get some cash together the wife guilt trips me into going on a vacation or re-modeling the house "because it's better for the family". Last summer was the remodel of the entire exterior. Next time I get some cash together and she starts to talk about vacations or house updates imma cold clock her and run over to the nearest Yamaha dealer. Edited by 05GT Guru
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Picked up this beauty today. First one sold in my state, if not the country, as they weren't gonna be released for at least a few more days.

 

 

So get that thing out of the truck and ride it up to Bogus Basin! ;)

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