New Rider Eager to hear from long timers.

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Originally Posted by Kurtatron
I didn't accelerate as hard as possible, or try to show off to anyone. I am convinced riding with an eye for safety rather than an eye for turning streets into race courses will keep me alive.


These two sentences from one of your own posts is probably the best advice, and you gave it to yourself. A lot of sport bike riders could use this advice from you!
 
Lot of good advice here. The biggest danger not under your control is a rear end collision. There are after market companies that you can upgrade your tail light and brake lights to very bright flashing LEDS. This has saved me from accidents several times. Custom Dynamics is one company among several where you can buy these upgrades. Good luck, Al
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycles.
Don't feel the need to get a bigger bike to impress anyone else.
Been riding 41 years on tons of bikes big and small including Harley Big Twins and Suzuki Bandit 1200 that was a rocket.. My current favorite is a Suzuki VStrom 650 with biggest trip 10 days and 2,700 miles on it. I bought and sold the 1000 version, didn't like it as much due to extra weight and oher reasons..
Also recently had a Ninja 250 similar to your Honda and it was a lot of fun. Plenty of power for its size.

There is a motorcycle saying that it is more fun to ride a slow bike fast than to ride a fast bike slow.
With bigger comes more weight, expense (tires, insurance etc).

Wear good gear, always ride like you are invisible and look for movement like animals, kids, vehicles in driveways etc.

Also try to get out into the country where ther is less traffic and riding is more pleasant.

A few recommendations for you.
Buy the DVD "On Any Sunday" and watch during the winter
Dairyland Insurance has always been most reasonable for me and we had up to 9 bikes at one time.
Ride your own Ride, meaning don't try to keep up with other bikes if over your comfort level.
 
Thanks for the follow up guys. Accumulated another 500 miles since starting this thread. I can't get enough of how fun these machines are. I have tried to avoid driving a plebeian car as much as possible.
I also gave my first pillion a ride! It was much easier than I thought it would be! I thought the bike would be really hard to keep upright, but it wasn't bad at all!
 
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Originally Posted by Kurtatron
I also gave my first pillion a ride! It was much easier than I thought it would be! I thought the bike would be really hard to keep upright, but it wasn't bad at all!


Some advice - anytime you have as a pillon, make sure they understand that they must lean WITH the rider.

In my eary days, I gave a gal a ride and I didn't know she was inexperienced. First tight corner we came to she freaked out and leaned OPPOSITE of me and I almost didn't make it through the corner.

Ever since then, anyone riding behind me is asked if they know they are supposed to lean INTO the corner WITH the rider. If not, they get a lecture on how to lean.
 
Originally Posted by Kurtatron
*Biker Wave*
I Just got my license a month ago and picked up a 2011 CBR250R 3 weeks ago. I have already put 800 miles on it, and have been up to 85mph on the freeway. I have commuted to work several times now. All I can say is WOW. Motorcycles are exhilarating. It is perhaps the closest feeling to being a fighter pilot. Another way I describe it is having my own personal roller coaster. I am in love.

....


You may find your "85 MPH" is actually 78 MPH or less.
Many bikes, I suspect all Asian metrics have an over exaggerated speedometer error of 10%. Dont know if its intentional, most likely it is.
One way to check is GPS speed.
 
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Braking 100% on a bike is a learned skill that a savoy rider hones 100% of the time...

Step 1
Sort your bike out tire pressures and condition, suspension settings,
brake condition, then find a smooth, straight, clean bit of road
without too much camber. Do a few runs,braking fairly hard, to warm
the tires and get a feel for how it handles. As you line up for your
first hard stop, you need to be relaxed. If you need to stop yourself
pitching forward, grip the tank with your knees...

Step 2
The initial phase is important - how you first apply the brakes
determines how the bike reacts. Your brakes are not an on/off switch.
You're looking for a smooth initial application that transfers weight
on to the front tire without suddenly compressing the suspension. If
you just grab on the lever, the suspension bottoms out, and then can't
absorb any more movement. Something has to give, and it's the tire,
which will break traction. So smooth and firm is the key.


Step 3
Having transferred the weight onto the front tire, you've given
yourself bags of extra grip. To use it, you need to increase the
pressure on the lever progressively. On any modern Sportsbike and most
all Standards you should be able brake hard enough for the rear wheel
to lift off the ground. If it starts hopping that's because the engine
is locking it up... clutch in or slipped and it should stop, or rear
brake locks up, that's a good indication. This is hard as you can
brake in normal conditions. At this point, the rear brake's no use to
you at all. This is not a stoppie, by the way, that's a separate
stunt...

Step 4
Once you're up to full braking effort, you still have to assess what's
going on. If you're about to cross a patch of oil or go through a
puddle, you'll want to release the lever pressure slightly, then
increase it again as the extra risk is passed. You need to be relaxed
enough so that if you feel the wheel locking, you can let lever off
until it spins again, then get back up to braking pressure. The only
way to make this an instinctive reaction is to practice deliberately
locking and releasing the brake...

Step 5
As you come almost to the point of stopping, you'll obviously need to
actuate the clutch lever in to avoid stalling you can do this as soon
as you start to brake, but why not use the engine braking it'll help
you keep control. Secondly, slightly slightly release the braking
pressure at the very last moment. This gives the suspension a chance
to return to normal otherwise you come to a halt, and the forks bounce
up from full travel, which can unbalance you as try to put your foot
down and stop - you don't want to avoid an accident and then drop the
bike anyway do you?

BIKE
In good shape, well-adjusted, and with plenty of life left in brake
pads and tires. Wrong tires pressures or worn tires can destroy
braking feel and performance

HANDS
Some people use all four fingers on the brake lever, and some prefer
two or three. One is a possible with a modern race bike brakes, but
it's harder to get the fine control you need...

SURFACE
Constantly changing, so you need to keep changing your braking
pressure, and be prepared to let the brakes off altogether over really
slippery bits

ARMS
Don't lock them straight - you'll lose feel and control. Brace your
body weight by taking weight through the foot pegs and gripping the
tank between your knees

CLUTCH
Leave it engaged until the very last moment it should help you stop
quicker and more in control if you use the engine braking. If the
engine starts to lock the back wheel up, slip the clutch slightly
exactly as you would when you pull away...


BRAIN
Thinking to itself, "Do I need to stop? Couldn't I just bleed off a
little speed and ride round the problem? Where are my escape routes?"
If you plan ahead enough, you should hardly ever need to do an I
emergency stop. You should always be aware of your position in
relation to the perverted traffic..

EYES
Constantly looking for another way out of trouble - don't look at the
problem or you'll ride straight towards it rather focus on your escape
route... because where ever your eyes focus so goes the bike.

[Linked Image]
 
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Originally Posted by Kurtatron
I Just got my license a month ago and picked up a 2011 CBR250R 3 weeks ago.

Enjoy that bike. I tried one of those once and it seemed pretty fun. At one time I was considering buying a CB300F or CB300R. I guess I still might.

Motorcycle is great for commuting, though the advantages it gives (other than fun) don't apply everywhere: lane-splitting, HOV lane use, and non-traditional parking. Disadvantages compared to car include limited tank range, and tire longevity/tire cost. I expect the 250 is pretty good with that last one.

My commute is mostly freeway, though there's a fun option for part of it to go over some hills on twisty roads instead of freeway. I stopped doing that in the evening as commute time got closer to deer-30. Once we're on standard time it will be full-on dark when I'd be riding the twisty roads. Which brings up another disadvantage of motorcycles vs cars: the headlights don't light your way around curves. When you lean for a curve, your headlight cutoff leaves where you're going in the dark.
 
Originally Posted by David_g
Which brings up another disadvantage of motorcycles vs cars: the headlights don't light your way around curves. When you lean for a curve, your headlight cutoff leaves where you're going in the dark.


Hit your high beams when leaned over, it should light up more of the turn. If you want to get spendy, you can rig up auxiliary lights and aim them into the corners, or buy JW Speaker's adaptive headlight.
 
Originally Posted by David_g
another disadvantage of motorcycles vs cars: the headlights don't light your way around curves. When you lean for a curve, your headlight cutoff leaves where you're going in the dark.


That's why I don't like H4's in a motorcycle headlamp - for me here, in a right turn the cut off comes right down to my right bar, and can see nothing into the turn...reverse if you ride on the wrong side of the road. I have foglamps turned out so I can see into the turn when I ride back roads at night. I also don't use an H4, I've got an H6, which doesn't have the H4 cutoff. Still not a good pattern - I want the old motorcycle pattern, which was just a round beam.
 
Guess it depends on the bike and it's reflector setup. My Concours 14 is ok with H4's but I'm not laying over on the chicken strips in turns at night.
 
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