All eventful trip to get the state inspection

[OddlyOrdinary]

So I've taken the MSF, but I have less than 50mi on my bike. Nearly dropped it at a right turn stop light, came to a stop on a sloped corner and bike started tilting, made my right thigh muscle kind of tight for a bit saving it. Then a dozen or so miles later momentarily locked up the front brake on a red light that was concealed by a big tree. Need quite a bit more practice to feel really comfortable, both of those events happened after 10mi or so of good driving and smooth shifting. Sad thing in my MSF class I never onced locked up the brakes and I had the best stopping distance in the class. Real world eh?

I have to say though the part I hate the most so far is the turn signal. I can't for the life of me kick it off on the first try. I'm always having to do two or three tries before it stays off.

I've been staying on the back roads, or at least as small as they get in my town but they still have mild constant traffic.

[rockNroll]

Originally Posted by OddlyOrdinary

I have to say though the part I hate the most so far is the turn signal. I can't for the life of me kick it off on the first try. I'm always having to do two or three tries before it stays off.

You do know that you only have to push the turn signal button and not slide it to the side to cancel, right?

[OddlyOrdinary]

Feeling sheepish, I tried just pushing them in but it didn't seem to work so I just slid them to the side. I'll have to play with that next time I sit on my bike.

[massacremasses]

dont use the rear break. Seriously I said **** that part of what i learned in MSF when I almost ate it locking up my rear brakes for the 3d time...

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

dont use the rear break. Seriously I said **** that part of what i learned in MSF when I almost ate it locking up my rear brakes for the 3d time...

How fast where you going when useing rear brake?

[Vampyre]

How the hell do you lock up your rear in the MSF? You aren't supposed to stand up on the brake.

[massacremasses]

Originally Posted by rusninja

How fast where you going when useing rear brake?

not fast maybe 25

Originally Posted by Vampyre

How the hell do you lock up your rear in the MSF? You aren't supposed to stand up on the brake.

not hard. They make you do it to.

[Lil_Green_Demon]

I use both the front and rear brake at the same time, no matter how fast I'm going.

[FrugalNinja250]

Always get in the habit of using both brakes. Relying on half your available brakes is a recipe for a wreck.

[Heed]

yeah.. when i get a bike im going to have it delivered to my house.

then once i get all my gear and whatnot im going to practice on it earlier in the morning when there isn't many cars on the road. ride about 10 minutes away from my house to an empty church parking lot and practice a bit there until im comfortable.

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

not fast maybe 25

I think rear brake is best for 15 mph to parking lot speeds then less chance off locking up unless you spaz out and like mash the rear.

[DarC]

I use the rear at all speeds, especially in those 70-80 mph corners. It's a system, you should learn to use it as such. There are many more things at work other than just stopping power when neglecting the rear. Chassis balance is one. You just have to learn how much is enough.

Luckily the rear on the RC is biased perfectly. I'm pretty sure I could stand on it and still not lock the rear...perfection.

[JLinde1339]

I still don't get how this has anything to do with a state inspection...did I miss something...?
Posted via Mobile Device

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by JLinde1339

I still don't get how this has anything to do with a state inspection...did I miss something...?
Posted via Mobile Device

That's where he was traveling.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

dont use the rear break. Seriously I said **** that part of what i learned in MSF when I almost ate it locking up my rear brakes for the 3d time...

BRAKE.

Now, you were probably a lot farther away from "eating it" than you thought. You can lock the rear brake as much as you want when traveling in a straight line as long as you don't release it with the tires misaligned (best to keep it locked until stopped). You are more likely to lock the front during emergency braking without the aid of the rear. Locking the front is a big deal but not the rear, so you should stop being scared of locking it up and just learn to use it...preferably, without locking it of course (for the sake of your tire), but you can safely determine its limits and go from there.

[JLinde1339]

Originally Posted by nickjpass

That's where he was traveling.

Ahh...okay. Was expecting to read about what they found/didnt find wrong with the bike. LOL
Posted via Mobile Device

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by JLinde1339

Ahh...okay. Was expecting to read about what they found/didnt find wrong with the bike. LOL
Posted via Mobile Device

I expected a long story of how it went.

[rockNroll]

Originally Posted by nickjpass

I expected a long story of how it went.

No school today?

[Kerberos]

Originally Posted by rockNroll

You do know that you only have to push the turn signal button and not slide it to the side to cancel, right?

When i first got my bike i kept letting go of the clutch a little too much and would kill it at stops lol.

[Kerberos]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

dont use the rear break. Seriously I said **** that part of what i learned in MSF when I almost ate it locking up my rear brakes for the 3d time...

I use both the rear and front brake. depends on the road and how much time but i havnt locked it up once. And the one time a car stopped dead in front of me i hit both brakes with out lockup and swerved. I enjoy having a rear break . The main thing i use it for is to flash my tail break light

[massacremasses]

I still use my rear brake... just not that much...

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by rockNroll

No school today?

I get a few chances a day to use a compooter.

[OddlyOrdinary]

So after doing some more service on my bike I find that the front tire is so deflated it doesn't even push out the stick on my tire gauge! I used a bike pump to get it up to 13-15psi and drove to the corner store and put air in both tires. I think that probably played the biggest reason in my front brake locking up and being weird.

So many things I'm learning about my bike now that, as of today, it's registered/titled/plated and I'm fully licensed. But unfortunately most of the quirks I'm not sure if it's normal or not. The steering felt 'ok' before but is obviously much much better now. It didn't help that I was driving at very low speeds to feel the difference though I'm glad I didn't go faster for safety reasons.

Some quirks that I'm wondering about. When I come to a stop light I'm idleing a little high, about ~1.4 but on extended stop lights of 30s or so the revs sometimes creep up to about 1.8. Is that normal? Also is that a symptom of something or do I just need to adjust the idle screw?

Put gas into my bike on the sidestand and could see the gas at the top. When I started up it shows half full, should I be balancing the bike to fill it up?

Downshifting from 2nd to 1st sounds much more mechanical than 4th to 3rd, normal?

Bummed I can't get friends interested in riding, and doesn't help I don't know anyone who does to ask questions. Every time I have a little experience I jump online but posting little things seems excessive heh. Like I hit highway speeds on the access road, my leather jacket ballooned a bit even though it's perforated but the feel of the wind is amazing. In a car I forgot how much resistance you're pushing through. Also the wind outside is crazy today and I can really feel it push me around when going by open areas.

I rode for like 30 minutes after getting my plates. Came inside for 20minutes and felt the need to go ride again, so I did.