motor cycles

[Andrew Bohan]

the one and only time i fucked my shit up was when i had the bike for about a week. i had just put my 40th mile on it, and i was turning off the street into blu808's driveway. i was going way too slow to have the clutch out, and it started hopping when i hit the dip in the bottom. i gave it some gas but it was too much. i bumped into the back of his roommate's step dad's dodge ram and bashed the tail light out.

my right headlight shattered, along with the whole right side of my fairing. then the bike tipped over onto its left side and bent the bar end screw, broke the clutch lever, and broke the shifter lever. somewhere in there my radiator got bent too.

my headlight somehow still had the place where the bulb mounted, so all the lights worked. and the radiator still held water, so i just ziptied the fairing back together, got a new clutch lever, and put a bolt through the end of the shifter and it was all gravy again.

[rainier]

the only drop i've ever had was when i thought i was tight, so i took my bike up to a local canyon, tearing it up for a few miles, grew more balls during that ride so on the next couple runs i ran it harder, one corner i went too wide and didnt lean enough so i hit a patch of dirt, it slid under me, my bike and i ran into the side of the mountain/dirt. i wasnt hurt much, but my bike had messed up plastics, bent forks, broken headlight, broken ignition.

[just1pepsi]

I had to lay my bike down once after going through an intersection, a truck nails the brakes (smoking, screeching to a halt) in the middle of the road for no reason that I could see.. I tried to stop but had to either lay it down or run into oncoming traffic. got a little road rash on the left cheek and maybe a little on my arms.. nothing bad, broke my shift rod (inside the trans) peg, bent the bars, scratched up the tins. destroyed my wallet and acouple cards that were in there.

[theicecreamdan]

Almost a year, no crash.

[!Zar!]

I'm still waiting for my time.

[blu808]

since all the drifting events have been canceled in our area I have been drifting my r1 around. I can pull off some sexy smokey powerslides on hwy9 at full lean, and the other day, I did a 600ft manji down union ave when I was riding with Kyle.

I think ima bring my bike upto thunderdrift.

[GSXRJJordan]

Jesus Luke, you manji'd your r1? I've never tried/wanted to swap the back end around like that on a bike I paid for

For the record, I've put over 100k miles on bikes, and I've crashed more times than I can remember, probably around 10. Never at the track (had lotsa close calls/runs off-track though), and only twice doing "stunts" (one wheelie on someone elses bike, caught his huge ass exhaust can on the ground @ 11 o'clock, *tumble tumble*, and one doing an endo through an oil patch). I've had a couple low-sides while splitting lanes (who opens their door in traffic??), dropped it at a gas station when someone ran into me, spun the rear wheel going through an intersection->highside into a lexus's grill, and the usual little shit.

All in all, even crashing at 80+mph, my helmet's never touched the ground. Crazy lucky I guess.

[js13l]

suzuki all the way!!

[eastcoastS14]

hey been lookin at helmets need some opinions

between an arai rx7 corsair and a suomy spec 1r....

tried on the arai and it was really comfortable but the 2 closest places to me dont have suomy's so i have no way of trying one on....any comparison would help

[!Zar!]

They both fit great.

Some people have an Arai shaped head, while others have a Suomy shaped head.

[Andrew Bohan]

i'm in utah this week, and it sure is weird to see people riding with no helmets

doesn't matter cruiser, tourer or sportbike, sunglasses seems to be the minimum protection. i've even seen people riding 2-up on a sportbike on the freeway with no helmets. it's crazy.

[!Zar!]

People who enjoy riding without gear have issues.

It feels weird when I don't have gear on.

Let alone would I want to choose to ride without it.

[Andrew Bohan]

even if i wasn't concerned about safety, i still wanna keep shit out of my face, and i don't care how hot it is, going 80+ is cold, not to mention noisy.

[eastcoastS14]

Originally Posted by !Zar!

They both fit great.

Some people have an Arai shaped head, while others have a Suomy shaped head.

haha I have a dome....wear a 7 1/2 hat lol...a bunch of my friends have arais and they are pretty comfortable...but im wondering if id really be able to notice the difference in comfort if i went with a suomy of if the differences are very subtle

but here are the helmets im looking at

[Vision Garage]

heres my current helmet. Fits great and keeps my head cool even on 100 plus days.

[CantSTOP]

I would just get the tommy gun.... but its up to the shape of your head!! if i put on a shoei the top of my head would hurt. weird huh Arai FTW

[NervGS]

1989 Honda Hawk GT.

650 V-Twin.

One of the first modern naked sportbikes, came out the same time the CBR600 F2, and cost more, so it basically made more sense to get the CBR because of the performance. This thing is so ahead of its time it gets mistaken all the time for an Ducati monster because of the super sexy single sided swingarm, and the beefy aluminum frame helps too. It sounds awesome (total opposite of an high winding inline 4), and handles great.

In a nutshell, the Ducati Monsters, Suzuki SVs, and Triumph Speed Triples all took something from this bike, and made it into their own.

Mine is pretty much stock right now aside from the pod filters (I have no clue about state of tune the carbs are in, nor the jetting), Supertrapp, and F2 clipons. I have a ton of parts like adjustable CBR F2 forks, a (super sexy) carbon fiber rear hugger, extra spindle to be modified (to bolt up a 5.5" VFR rear wheel) waiting to bolt up when I have some time and extra cash.

-glenn

[!Zar!]

Glad you have such a passion for your bike.

It's a cool bike with great resale value.

[rainier]

yeah, that hawk gt looks good no matter how old it is.
its comfy, looks good, and holds enough power.
i wouldnt mind picking up one of those just to roll around town or something.
im actually thinking of getting a scooter just to fuck with again.

[DohcKA]

cbr 600rr...

[ALTRNTV]

I'm going to take the MSF course in about two weeks.
I learned how to ride about 2 years ago, but I need a
refresher course.

Wanting to pick up either an '07 or '08 CBR600. I will
have to finance it through this one dealership
(http://www.bertsmegamall.com/). They're offering a
$0 down, $99 month promotion, and $1000 in free gear
if you buy from them... hmmm. I can't afford right now
to pay cash for a bike.

[NervGS]

Watch out for insurance...

I got my license and bike 6+ months ago, and at first was looking at an CBR600 F2, with just liability they were asking $600+ for the year (which isn't horrible @ $50+ a month). I don't want to even imagine what a 07 or 08 CBR600RR will run me, having to insure it at full coverage.

BTW, I wouldn't goto Burts... They have deals that seem nice up front, but in the end they're not so great when you're signing away those papers and apps... My friend got shafted on his GSXR 750 and vowed never to go there to purchase a bike...

I can direct you to an brand new 07 R6 that a dealership wants to get rid of for $7,999, and if I recall, Yamaha has a similar financing deal for $99 a month @ like 5.5% a year or something, (though I dunno if its applicable to this bike), but no free gear.

-glenn

[rainier]

simoun, buy my bike. you can start on a 900cc i believe in you. haha

ill throw in some "jordans"

[Jung918]

STAY AWAY FROM BERTS MEGA MALL

[ALTRNTV]

Can you give me some reasons on why to stay away
from Berts?

Any other places I should check out in the LA/OC area?
A place that sells used but good bikes, that I will be able
to finance, will be great.

NervGS, I had my mind set on a CBR, since it felt the most
comfortable on it, and it was the one that I could almost
flatfoot. I hopped on the R6 and it was a bit too high.

Rainier... Jordans eh? hahahaha

[CantSTOP]

Originally Posted by Jung918

STAY AWAY FROM BERTS MEGA MALL

++++++111111111 go to OTD cycles

[ALTRNTV]

Thanks for the OTD Motorsports suggestion.

Thoughts on a CBR600F4i? I've heard good things
about them.

[GSXRJJordan]

I posted up on the last page why those deals suck.

Originally Posted by GSXRJJordan

$89/mo for 36 months, then they want the rest IN CASH, or financed through another bank (good luck getting a loan for $8k on a 3 yr old 600cc bike).

Don't get suckered when you buy new bikes people. If you can't pay cash, get a loan through your bank, or plan on paying it off within the manufacturer's 'finance timeline'.

DO NOT PAY $18000 FOR YOUR STUPID 600cc BRAND NEW FIRST BIKE.

You'll feel even dumber when you drop it in a week and realize it's only worth $5k.

Please, please don't get suckered into those deals. And please get an idea for what insurance will cost you before you buy the bike. Berts isnt a bad place to go, because their inventory is so high - but I would only buy from them if I was paying cash.

If you can't pay the bike off @ a normal interest rate (usually around $300/month for a $10k bike), don't fucking buy it. Save your pennies, and buy a used bike... you can finance those too.

CBR600F4i's are great first bikes. Personally I think they're right next to ninja 250's as far as power output, but they're comfortable and insurance is cheap. AND YOU CAN PAY CASH FOR ONE.

[ALTRNTV]

I really wanted a used bike, and it's not out of
the question yet. Any other places?

Thanks.

[SimpleS14]

Awesome thread, got some real good info.


It's looking like I will check out the MSF class. After that head over to a local dealership just to sit on some bikes (not buy them) and see what fits me best.

I'm def. eyeing the Ninja 250, but my only issue is most of my daily commute is on the freeway and having a bike will allow me to use the carpool lanes...yet it appears this bike can't keep up.


hmmm...