Had my 250R for three days...low sided :(

[mfresh]

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

Well, with a high speed slide, most likely the bike is going to be f**ked either way amIright?

I want them mostly to protect my other fairing

The idea is that in a "high speed" crash the sliders will catch onto something (like a hole in the road) and cause the bike to flip which will compromise the integrity of the bike frame.

Whereas if the bike simply slides across the pavement your fairings get chewed up but at least the internals of the bike should remain intact.

[LT505]

This might sound stupid but have you ever ridden a bicycle ? I didn't really have to think about counter steering at all when I took my bike out for the first time which I guess is because I was use to a bicycle.

I have only ridden on back roads and parking lots so far until I take the MSF this up coming March. I can't wait!

[SwagenGTI]

I am quite good at riding a bicycle The thing is, like most, I learned how to ride a bike and never knew what counter steering was until I started looking into motorcycles. Now I know why the bike turns and how to properly turn it and now it goes through my head when I am on the motorcycle sort of creating a distraction; one of the many things that I have running through my head as a new rider :/

[SwagenGTI]

ANyone know what that hole is on my clutch/left lever set? (post #80) Is there supposed to be a bolt there?

[rojoracing53]

It's for a scooter style mirror

[SwagenGTI]

So mirrors on the handle bars? Is there supposed to be a cap that covers it or something?

[Alex]

Yes, there is usually a little plastic cap. Look on your other handlebar, there is a twin one there as well.

[SwagenGTI]

Hey guys, new question. It just snowed a bunch here and might snow a bit more this coming week. I wont be able to take it out and practice probably for another week or so. I was wondering, is it worth it to drain the carbs, add stabilizer to my gas and all that? Ie, would it be worth it to go through the winterization process? If anything it will probably just be cold for another two weeks or so. Would it be better to just start it every once in a while and throw the battery on a tender? Maybe take it up and down the street real quick to get things going?

[Motofool]

Drain the bowls of the carbs and connect the battery to a charger (less than 1.0 Amp), instead of starting it up.

[SwagenGTI]

Is it necessary to top off the gas tank and put stabilizer in? I have about half a tank

[YamiLionheart]

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

I am defnitely taking it, I just wish it was sooner...

I hear ya, signed up for mine about a month ago, have to wait until the second weekend of April to take it. The wait is killer. It will be worth it though.

Top notch riding lessons and your riding test waved.

Glad you made it through without injury.

And don't worry counter-steering is a blast once you get the feel of it.

[SwagenGTI]

Potential problem

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showt...984#post644984

[iZapp]

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

Is it necessary to top off the gas tank and put stabilizer in? I have about half a tank

just drain the carbs to be safe. those tiny pilot jets can get plugged with deposits from crappy fuel (been there). no need for stabilizer.

re your crash, the traction on the roads in the midwest during the winter months can be pretty sketchy due to the grime left over from salt/sand/etc, and i've felt the bike get loose here and there, and it can be pretty unnerving in a slow corner. believe it or not, the control and stability you have at faster speed is better. the gyro forces are higher and the amount of time you spend on a compromised surface is shorter. not saying to go faster to be safer, but that you can probably write your crash off as an explainable, learnable event.

for low speed riding, besides the obligatory helmet the most important piece of gear to wear is GLOVES. everyone WILL go down at some point, and do you really want to nurse your other wounds with bandaged hands? and the ability to effectively/confidently support yourself in a fall situation is huge in mitigating the damage to your other body parts.

for over-pants, i use the alpinestar textiles with the zip up sides. on/off in seconds, look almost like real leathers, and fit great.

[SwagenGTI]

so pretty much, any pants can potentially be used for overpants right? I guess my best bet is to just try and bunch of stuff on. I actually drove 45 minutes to a shop yesterday (in another town) and I guess I should have called because they decided to close early that day

[LoneRonin]

Originally Posted by BlueHairSar

What did you learn from your crash?

Good thing I didn't buy a brand new bike...dumb noob drops are very real.

Sucks though that it still had fresh bodywork. Welcome to the club.

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

I dont have my license yet; I was just out learning. I was planning on taking the msf, and was kind of thinking maybe I can just skip out on it, but now I am sure as hell taking it. Unfortunately the first one wont be until late March

After reading that I can't say I feel the least bit sorry for you. No license, no insurance, no experience, no proper gear and a mint bike riding around on public roads...What the **** did you think was gonna happen? Even though its just a 250 its not a damn bicycle. You learn at the course or at the very least in an empty parking lot.

You're lucky the cops didn't show up, your riding career would have ended before it even got started. If you didn't learn anything maybe you should know this; its the dumbasses like you that end up dead and on the news...Then we all have to pay higher premiums because of it.

[SwagenGTI]

ahem....I did have insurance, as well as my permit, riding around at 2 pm; nothing wrong with that

It was stupid of me though, I wont argue with that. Like I said, I road to a parking lot (down the street from my house), felt pretty comfortable/confident, and road down to an empty neighborhood...public road yes, but might as well have been a parking lot. Unfortunately, rather than learning braking procedures, drilling countersteering techniques etc etc, I was actually riding around and taking corners that are way too advanced for me to even have considered trying. Point is, lesson learned and it was most likely going to happen anyways. At least it was simple reality check with no traffic around, letting me know that bikes are not to be ****ed with and now I am going full atgatt rather than riding in just a helmet and jacket.

Am I bummed that I crashed? Yes. Could it have been avoided? Yes. Am I glad that it happened? Yes...I personally feel like I needed this to happen. If not I would have ended up riding later that week and probably would have been in a higher speed accident, in traffic, with just a helmet.

[akima]

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

bikes are not to be ****ed with and now I am going full atgatt rather than riding in just a helmet and jacket.

[LoneRonin]

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

ahem....I did have insurance, as well as my permit, riding around at 2 pm; nothing wrong with that

how do you get insured without a license to operate a motorcycle? Please explain...is there only one class of license for both bikes and cars? Even then, you said you have no license...

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by LoneRonin

how do you get insured without a license to operate a motorcycle? Please explain...is there only one class of license for both bikes and cars? Even then, you said you have no license...

I have heard of insurance companies that will insure you even without a license. The agent I went through even advertises that.

[SwagenGTI]

Originally Posted by LoneRonin

how do you get insured without a license to operate a motorcycle? Please explain...is there only one class of license for both bikes and cars? Even then, you said you have no license...

I signed up for progressive online. There is an option/drop down box that asks if you have a permit, or are getting a license. (something along those lines).

Kids ride around on motorcycles with just permits...why wouldnt insurance companies allow them to be insured?

[allanoue]

The guy I got my 250 from told me he has been riding on his permit for 5 years. he now has a cbr 1000. Insurance has no problem with just a learners permit. The only restrictions are no passengers, and no sun down rides

[SwagenGTI]

Isnt the permit only good for 6 months though? Or I guess he just kept renewing it?

[ai4px]

Originally Posted by LoneRonin

how do you get insured without a license to operate a motorcycle? Please explain...is there only one class of license for both bikes and cars? Even then, you said you have no license...

I had insurance with a beginners permit. Once I got my license, the rate went down a little.... like $13 a year for liability insurance if I recall.

[ai4px]

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

Isnt the permit only good for 6 months though? Or I guess he just kept renewing it?

A permit in South Carolina is good for a year... I renewed mine twice before taking MSF class.... bummer too... I'm just over 40 and having to renew a license every year caught me on the eye test... you see my arms are too short - so I have to wear glasses when riding.

Funny... "have to"... I can see signs on the roadside, I can see cars around me... I can't read a newspaper at less than arm's length... and for that, I must wear glasses that don't quite have the same field of view to the side as the helmet allows... so between 75 and 90 degrees to the left and right, I have a gap where my glasses end and this is in effect a blind spot for me....

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by ai4px

, I must wear glasses that don't quite have the same field of view to the side as the helmet allows... so between 75 and 90 degrees to the left and right, I have a gap where my glasses end and this is in effect a blind spot for me....

I highly recommend getting contacts for when you ride. That is what i do.
Another issue with glasses is they fog up.

[ai4px]

Originally Posted by allanoue

I highly recommend getting contacts for when you ride. That is what i do.
Another issue with glasses is they fog up.

You are absolutely right about contacts. I've resisted since I work in a paper mill and we do boilouts that release lots of alkalines into the air in the part I work in... but that's only every couple of weeks. Maybe I need to reconsider. Thanks for the prodding.

[SwagenGTI]

Originally Posted by ai4px

I had insurance with a beginners permit. Once I got my license, the rate went down a little.... like $13 a year for liability insurance if I recall.

Yeah I am at $175 a year for full coverage. Too bad I paid in full already. I know they take off a little for the msf course but would they just refund me that little bit or am I just sol for this year?

[ai4px]

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

Yeah I am at $175 a year for full coverage. Too bad I paid in full already. I know they take off a little for the msf course but would they just refund me that little bit or am I just sol for this year?

I'm sure they'd take it off.... maybe rounded to the nearest quarter of the year... dunno. We're at something like $108 per bike per year for liability and comprehensive. When mine was financed, I think it was about $380 a year.

[SwagenGTI]

Ok so I just got a new clutch lever, and holder assembly. How do I replace it? I have the bar end off, probably going to take some compressed air to slide the grip off. Then I unscrew the two screws to the head light switch housing

From there...do I have to disconnect/mess with the choke switch? I guess I should lube that cable while I am in there. Do I just disconnect wires harnesses and slide it off the bar as well? I dont have time until the weekend to mess with it but I imagine that is it. I just dont want to get to any surprises with the choke cable

[SwagenGTI]

I figured out the clutch holder thing. Got the new one on, but I am wondering, is it necessary to lube the choke cable? I am taking a look at it and it seems like I wont be able to completely disconnect the motor side of it without taking off a bunch of crap. Is it fine to just spray in some WD40 and lube and let it come out onto the motor? Just clean up after words?

So my tires are the IRC road winners. I doubt they are the originals since there are 17000 miles on the bike. Anyways, the front still has a good amount of life in it, but the rear is pretty dead; very little tread in the center, and plenty of tread on the sides. Definitely needs replacement but will it be a problem if I only ride in the dry? I dont plan on riding in wet roads at all for a while. I definitely dont want to stick with these IRC's since they are just as expensive as dunlops, bridgestones, and pirelli's but would it be really bad for me if I bought a rear dunlop gt 501 and stuck with the current irc front tire for a bit? I know its generally not good to mix brands but I have read about some people mixing and not having any problems. This bike is killing my bank account, mostly due to buying all the gear. At most, I would probably get a new front next month.

[SMman]

You'll be fine to mix brands front and rear. I have for years, except when I go to the track. WD-40 or a lubricant will work on the choke cable like you described. Money is well spent on good gear. Enjoy your bike, stay safe, and keep improving your riding skills.

[SwagenGTI]

Awesome. Guess Ill grab a one then

Also, I need to do an oil change. Does anyone know where I can get rotella t6 10w40? Walmart has rotella t6 but they only carry 5w40.

[SMman]

How many miles and how long has it been since the last oil change? Try your local bike dealer for oil.

[SwagenGTI]

Not sure, but the previous owner mentioned it could use it since it hasnt been dewinterized yet. I doubt it is 100% necessary yet but I would rather be safe and just do it as it is pretty cheap.

[SMman]

Oil is cheap so definitely do an oil change if you don't know how long its been, and don't forget a new oil filter while you're at it.

[nautica]

Originally Posted by SwagenGTI

Also, I need to do an oil change. Does anyone know where I can get rotella t6 10w40? Walmart has rotella t6 but they only carry 5w40.

You can run the 5w-40 Rotella t6 oil.

[SwagenGTI]

ahh yes, just looked around and there is no T6 10w40

[SwagenGTI]

So everyone, I got my bike all back together and have been riding around keeping to parking lots and neighborhoods. I am still scared to ride in traffic but I am getting there. I took the MSF course, it was helpful but I don't like how a lot of things were untaught, or just assumed was known. Also made things difficult because the bikes ran crappy, had bent shift levers, and broken speedometers. I was really good in practice (did figure 8's like they were nothing) but when we finally got tested, I did poor on everything; still passed but I was the first one to go for each test, did not get to practice much before hand.

Anyways, I have been wondering. Here is my rear tire





Those are the road winner tires, probably not originals since the bike has 17k on it. Anyways, obviously, the previous owner (he put on 16000 of the bikes miles) did not lean the bike over very much; the sides look untouched. I have been researching breaking in new tires and I am starting to think. Could I have fallen over because I leaned too much and the tires (sides) are still waxy?

What are some good ways to break in tires? I was planning on doing figure 8s and stuff but I am afraid to lean the bike over very far

[Alex]

:facepalm:

The tires need to be changed. Stop posting pics of them in multiple threads, step away from the keyboard, and put on tires that don't look like this:

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You've already crashed on them once, and if you're unable to feel why they are performing so poorly, it very possibly won't be the last time.

[csmith12]

At your stage of riding, you need new tires to "feel" what turning is supposed to be like. Those are far from saving with a "break in". Also, before you get new tires, google up "scubbing in tires".

Enjoy and ride safe!