So I picked up my new white ninja 300 se with ABS on Saturday afternoon... It's my first bike and I'm in love! I haven't been so excited about something in years haha. I put 50mi on it the first day (changed the oil and filter at 25mi) and another 50mi today. I'm gonna change the oil and filter again at either 150 or 200 miles. Probably overkill, but I'm not taking any chances with my new baby =)

I've been around some other forums for awhile now but just heard about this place after getting my bike. I hope to learn a lot from you all and hopefully contribute something as well.

Welcome Twisty!!! Those 300s are beautiful machines! Have you taken any safety courses yet?

Yep, took the msf course a month ago. I've ridden dirt bikes before and I've been practicing being on two wheels and dealing with traffic on my Dad's scooter for the past few months. I feel very comfortable on the 300 (but not complacent... I know I have a looooot to learn and I need to always be vigilant).

I'm looking forward to going to a track day in a month or two, hopefully with instruction. I still need to figure out where I can do that around here. The msf course was good practice but I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know; I really want to get some advanced instruction asap so I don't ingrain bad habits.

We have a lot of California trackers. I'm sure they will pop up soon

Aren't you from the other forum?

What kind of instruction are you looking for? There's the ARC (only?) at Sierra College. I saw an MSF guy and he said the next one will be in Oct. He mentioned things like getting your head down, and trailbraking which is definitely not covered in the BRC (head up, no brakes in turns).
http://www.streetskillsmotorcycle.com/advancedridercoursest.html

There's the Z2 RoadRider 2.0 at Sonoma Raceway:
https://z2trackdays.com/ti/z2/content/RR20.html

Precision seems to have something similar:
http://precision.mycustomevent.com/ShoppingCart.aspx?com=detailview&iid=89&source=search&returncom=productlist&cid=350

I think Lee Parks does a Total Control in San Mateo.
https://www.totalcontroltraining.net/


I don't have any experience with any of these but I took the Alameda County Sheriff's civilian basic motorcycle course way out in Dublin and then a track school/day.

You would probably get a better response in the riding skills section, BTW.

Welcome, John. Glad you found us! Sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders, or at least the right attitude about riding. No need to be so overzealous with the oil changes though. That'll get very expensive, very quickly, and you can definitely go quite a bit further between them. I doubt you're flogging the engine that hard. :p

Welcome John!

:welcome:

Congrats! Can I ride it :D

Welcome! great bike. Pics or it didn't happen!:D

pics are mandatory

Welcome.

Congratulations!!! :D

:worthlesswithoutpic

Welcome! great bike. Pics or it didn't happen!:D

pics are mandatory

http://i57.tinypic.com/zt9p41.jpg

No pics of me on it yet, except for the one on the dealer's Facebook page but I don't wanna dig that up. Isn't she puuurdy?

Congrats! Can I ride it :D

Fly out to California and we'll talk =)

That is hot!:thumbup:

^Purdy :drool:

I've had like 5 people ask me if it was a 600 lol. I get mostly positive feedback about the choice to go with a 300 for my first bike, only one or two people told me I'd get tired of it fast. If I'm tired of it, I'm not riding on twisty enough roads :D

Welcome to the forum... Congrats on your new ride!

Welcome to the forum. You have a great track right next to you. Thunderhill. And if you're interested in doing some great dirt track training broke mcallister and the prairie city dirt track is practically in your back yard. The msf is good. Learning to get comfortable sliding the bike on the throttle will teach you so much more.

I've heard that from a bunch of people, I'll look into getting some dirt riding training. I've ridden dirt bikes before but never at a track so I haven't really slid out the back end. Sounds like fun though. Are there any special pieces of gear I'll need for dirt riding? .

I would go over there with you. I work a pretty crazy schedule. I'm usually not off on the weekends. For gear it's knee pads a pair of motocross pants, Mx or road boots and some elbow pads would be the bare minimum.

I wear all of the above and a chest protector. The speeds are low so when you crash the damage is minimal.

I would go over there with you. I work a pretty crazy schedule. I'm usually not off on the weekends. For gear it's knee pads a pair of motocross pants, Mx or road boots and some elbow pads would be the bare minimum.

I wear all of the above and a chest protector. The speeds are low so when you crash the damage is minimal.

Unfortunately weekends are the only time I have off, but let me know when you're available and maybe we could figure something out.

Is any of the gear provided like at the msf courses, or would I have to go buy my own mx pants and knee/elbow pads? Are external pads required or would street pants/jacket with CE rated armor in the elbows and knees work? If I have to spend a couple hundred bucks on gear then I might find myself justifying the purchase of a used dual sport so the gear doesn't sit in my closet :D

Brok will provide some gear. I wouldn't go out and buy it. Borrowing is your friend. And if you like dirt riding buy everything used. It's really hard to buy a cool $50 Fox Jersey and tear it up after a low side.

All of the armor goes underneath the clothing. You can wear street oriented stuff just expect it to get dirty and be really hot.

So what do I need to bring that can't be borrowed? Is Brok one of the instructors or a member here?

He is the owner and an instructor for supermotoUSA and prairie city dirt track. You just need pants, knee guards, a street jacket can work (textile, or adventure riding oriented). He has boots and helmets. But using yours can work fine. I personally wear leathers for super moto and at the bigger dirt oval tracks leather is what most people wear.

If I use one of his helmets, is it open face and do I need to bring goggles? I have goggles for snowboarding, not sure if those are adequate tho.

Any recommendations for knee and elbow pads? I'd prefer to get knee pads that I can wear on the outside of my pants for street riding too. Should the pads be meant specifically for mx or are generic pads essentially the same?

I wear my mx knee pads when I ride since i don't have a pair of riding pants.

i don't see them being effective unless i only strike the front part of my knee, not much coverage for the side. but it's better than nothing.

http://images1.revzilla.com/product_images/0064/7535/fox_racing_titan_sport_knee_shin_guard_black_detail.jpg

Fox Racing Titan Sport Knee Pads (http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/fox-racing-titan-sport-kneeshin-guard)

I find the straps annoying, and the sleeve type knee pads would probably be more effective. Looking forward to getting a one piece riding suit.

Changed your oil at 25 miles?!?!?!?!?!?

What does your book recommend? I'm assuming you arleady went through that too.

Changed your oil at 25 miles?!?!?!?!?!?

What does your book recommend? I'm assuming you arleady went through that too.

The first scheduled oil change is during the first service at 600mi. But they also want you tokeep the rpm under 4k for hundreds of miles then 6k for even longer... I did a hard break in so I did an early oil change to get the metal flakes out sooner.

I'm already at 1900miles haha.