I own a Motorcycle

[SpazMan]

Wow, it looks just like the '78 KZ650 my Dad had when I was a kid. Those things are a blast to ride, and I'd say you got a good deal on it. I have a basket case '75 Kawasaki Z1 (900cc) in the garage that I am in the process of chopping. In the mean time I've been riding my '01 Shadow 1100 and love it. Don't let anyone give you a hard time about your choice of bike, the important thing is to ride safe and have fun. Besides, the really fun part of riding a Jap bike, is passing all the broke down H-D's on the side of the road 

My HD has never been on the side of the road broke down.......

[Maverick]

My HD has never been on the side of the road broke down.......

Izzat because you just take it around on the back of a truck?



 

[lazs2]

ya know.. I rode Harleys for 20 years easy...  I never had a breakdown that I couldn't fix on the spot and.. I ran the thing till it was long past due for an overhaul.. most of the Harleys in my day were 30 year old bikes that were worn out long before they were "chopped".   

That being said.. the older Harley was really a 20,000 mile upper end bike with a 30,000 mile lower end.   The new ones.. while lacking any character.. are 100,000 mile bikes.. 

In the old days.. women didn't ride Harleys nor did old men and you weren't to drunk to ride home from the bar if you could start the thing...  I am sure that I liked it better back then.

Helmets?   no American would ever let a government tell em they had to wear a helmet.

lazs

[SpazMan]

Izzat because you just take it around on the back of a truck?



 

Yeah I sit on the bike and my wife drives the truck.....

[Mustaine]

Picked it up tonight, got a pic I'll post tomorrow (on buddies camera)

OMFG I am in love!

I haven't ridden in 20 years, and almost dumped on my first take off from my buddies driveway Last bike I rode was a 125cc early 70's Honda. this thing isn't much newer, but 650 has a lot more torque, and the centrifugal force with that much more weight is a big difference than I remember. I rode about 25 miles total circling the blocks in his area and by the end I was able to slowly creep up his driveway and tuck it between the car and a wall in about a 4 foot wide space (not walking it).

Man i gotta learn traffic laws All my previous riding experience was off road, no signals, ride wherever the blank you want on logging trails in Upper Michigan.


Maybe it is a bad sign, back then I had my temp drivers license, riding on the shoulder of a remote road that doesn't even have a real name:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=t+rd,+michigan&sll=45.833344,-86.977043&sspn=0.106448,0.21286&ie=UTF8&ll=45.785721,-86.976185&spn=0.013317,0.026608&z=15

You can drive it up and down for an hour an see maybe 1 car.

I got pulled over by a state trooper making his once a month patrol. He let me go and advised me the bike had no signals, plates that expired 3 years ago (uncle's bike I had no control over that), and I didn't have an "M" endorsment. he knew I was doing off road trails and stuff which was fine, but told me I had to get back on the trails and off the "road". 

I was practicing signals, proper mini-lane driving and some made up crash avoidance from parked cars. I had a hard time with the swerve, and keeping proper mini-lane in some turns. A few weeks practice I think I got it though. It's amazing how you remember things from so far back.

I don't know if this is me being no good, or a bike thing, but engine running and stopped I can't hit neutral. kill the engine and it is SUPER easy, every time, but with the engine running I can't get her into neutral 

[Swoop]

Some gearboxes are like that.

I had a right whinge at a salesman once cos the GSX-R600 I'd bought wouldn't click into neutral at a standstill either, in fact I thought the whole gearbox was clunky and industrial sounding.  Salesman gave me a load of bollocks about Suzuki gearboxes being great and how "you can do clutchless gearchanges with them" and a long technical explanation of why motorcycles gearbox aren't designed to be used unless the bike is moving.

Horse****.  I never want another Suzuki cos both the ones I've had have had **** gearboxes.



Um....mate, if you havn't ridden in 20 years I'd HIGHLY recommend finding yourself a bike school and doing a back to biking lesson.  A lot has changed in 20 years.  And besides, you're probably either completely unaware or out of practice at methods like "slow control".  And by that I dont just mean riding slowly.

Slow control:  Put your foot on the back brake, not too hard just enough to feel it.  Set the throttle so the engine is revving, not being thrashed but not too low.  Then find the biting point of the clutch and ride it.  Dont move that damn throttle though, if you wanna go faster either less brake or more clutch.  You'll find using that method you can do some very controlled manouvers at slow speed without getting a wobble on.

U-turns in the road, for example.

The biking world is full of little tit bits like that, do a back to biking course.  You'll probably live longer.

[214thCavalier]

I don't know if this is me being no good, or a bike thing, but engine running and stopped I can't hit neutral. kill the engine and it is SUPER easy, every time, but with the engine running I can't get her into neutral

Classic symptom of too much engine oil, stand the bike upright on its wheels and check the oil level sight glass.
Other options are a badly worn clutch basket, basically the fingers on the clutch plates over time will wear grooves in the clutch basket. This stops the clutch plates separating correctly when the clutch is pulled while the engine is running. Symptom of this is when in 1st gear and stopped the bike tries to pull  slightly all the time and this will make finding neutral difficult.

And Hi Swoop

[JB88]

 mmmm.  tit bits.

 

[AKIron]

I had ridden for several years when the USAF required me take a MSF course to ride. I actually learned a couple of things from the course. You can initiate a turn much quicker by pushing on the handlebars. Push right, turn right. Also, counter balance in a slow tight turn. That is lean the bike one direction but shift your weight in the other. If you can take the course, it's worth the time and money imo.

[moot]

Like they said, practice till you don't have to consciously think your way through any maneuver.

[Maverick]

Go take an MSF course since you've been away from riding for so long. A refresher of the basics won't hurt you a bit. Besides it's a nice way to get a disount on your insurace.

[Mustaine]

Man it all comes back quick

I spent a good 2 hours today doing a lot of the basics. Starts, stops, slow turns with no lean, faster turns with leans, U turns at idle, and emergency stops.

Swoop, I was working on that, but the bike is a bit rough, the idle isn't set right or something. I am constantly moving the choke to keep from high RPM idle, to stall, fractions of a millimeter make a difference. What can I say a 30 year old bike has quirks. Anyway I can ride the slow maneuver clutch and do figure 8's all day on a small street, but I have to goose the throttle starting from a dead stop.

The only things I KNOW I have trouble with is turning off the blinker, starting from a stop turning right I get too close to the curb, and emergency swerves. Those I am not comfortable with at all. AKIron, the "push" thing confuses me a ton, it is mentioned in the book too I just don't get it. "Push right to turn right"? In my mind "pushing" my right hand moves the right handle bar forward resulting in a left turn.

I am looking into MSF courses here, according to the D.M.V. (I still don't ever trust them) some of the courses I can take award me the class "M" license upon completion, no D.M.V. road test. Money is tight, I have $250 that I can get a protective coat with, or take a course. Most of the courses are $350 (for beginner).

It was only $184 to insure the bike for a whole year, so that wasn't bad.



Oh yeah a pic, I don't normally put my pics online, but what the hell:

[Swoop]

the "push" thing confuses me a ton, it is mentioned in the book too I just don't get it. "Push right to turn right"? In my mind "pushing" my right hand moves the right handle bar forward resulting in a left turn.

ok firstly, don't try this for a while, you gotta get the feel of the bike before you do.  Secondly, it only works when you're going fairly quick, certainly not at slow speed.

What he means is if you push forward (gently!) with your right hand the bike will lean to the left naturally, and vice-versa.  You dont KEEP pushing once the bike is leaning enough to make the turn.  You'll find using this method the bike will get lean over quicker than the normal method of steering.  Racers use the method to flip a bike from one side to the other very quickly.  As I say, get the hang of normal riding before you start trying techniques like this.

P.S.  Alright Cav!  Long time no see.

[442w30]

Do a Wheelie!!!

And post a pic.

 

Here is a "sport-tourer" wheelie for you.  Sorry the pic is small, I have it for an avatar.

[442w30]

ok firstly, don't try this for a while, you gotta get the feel of the bike before you do.  Secondly, it only works when you're going fairly quick, certainly not at slow speed.

What he means is if you push forward (gently!) with your right hand the bike will lean to the left naturally, and vice-versa.  You dont KEEP pushing once the bike is leaning enough to make the turn.  You'll find using this method the bike will get lean over quicker than the normal method of steering.  Racers use the method to flip a bike from one side to the other very quickly.  As I say, get the hang of normal riding before you start trying techniques like this.

P.S.  Alright Cav!  Long time no see.

This is called countersteering and is necessary to turn.  Remember when you learned to ride a bicycle? When it started to lean to the right you pushed the  right handle bar and it would magically stand back upright.  A motorcycle does the same thing and in order to turn you either conciously or unconciously do the same thing to get some initial lean just prior to the actual turn.   Then many riders (too few as explained below) turn their wheel in the direction they are wanting to go and go through the turn.  This is perfectly fine for in parking lots, making that normal left turn at an intersection of turning into your driveway. If however you are riding in places like this...


You should learn to use countersteering because it is the safer way of negotiating a turn. It allows you to instantly apply more countersteering which quickens up the turn rate and radius that can allow you to react to unexpected conditions such as road debris, or a vehicle crossing the center line.  In addition a tire that is turned to steer through the corner will "push" and lose grip sooner than during a proper countersteer.  That can be real bad!
I just wanted to clear this up in case someone read the prior post and went canyon carving using that advice.  And no, I am not talking about riding like a maniac.  Repoman and his big ole hog would benefit from countersteering on that road just as well as a Gold Wing, one of my sport bikes, or Mustaine's old Kwak.  Mustaine, I recommend a motorcycle safety foundation safety course. They are very good for relearning old stuff and making sure that skills stay where they should be.  I know a professional motorcycle racer who makes a living teaching advanced courses in the off season on race tracks.  He retakes the MSF basic course every few years to get reacquainted with it. if it is good enough for him, it is good enough for anyone. The ~175 bucks could save your life and likely will lower your insurance rates.  And because my wife would hit me for not saying it, "Wear proper gear". She is a big advocate of proper riding gear.  Personally, I lean toward the, "You are an adult, wear what you want, but when you fall down and half of you looks like raw hamburger, don't whine to me."
Be safe