My New Motorcycle

[Brad]

@grindone you inspired me to the Suzuki Burgman  road ready for the season today. I went for a nice long ride with a big grin plastered on my mug.    Thanks for starting this thread!

[dogboy]

>A cousin of mine got hit by a truck when he was doing exactly that
yeah, that's always my worry. It's bad enough on a big bike that is fast enough to stay out of the way and loud... I think it may be worse on a scooter, hence my strobe light idea.

>one of his feet was amputated
One time I hit a fence post and my big toe basically popped inside the boot, when it got crushed, and left me with a 4" scar and a toe that doesn't bend on that foot. The surgeon didn't have to tell me I would have lost the inside of my foot had I not been wearing my boots, but he did (several times) as he put my foot back together.  I always wear boots and they saved me a number of times since then.

>a nice long ride with a big grin
awesome:)

[Rupert]

Jeee Dogboy, you live on the edge 

[dogboy]

One could just as easily argue I'm just suck at driving and I wreck a lot:) But if she just got her FIRST bike then she should hear about these kinds of things too, just to balance the equation. Make her think twice before wearing flip flops:)

"Wear your gear every time, no matter how short a trip. No one ever plans to have an accident."

...Simple as that.  At least then you'll never second guess yourself if you get hit by a truck:)

[Rupert]

Agree, alway cover up.  The one time Sue and I didn't, we went for an ice cream in shorts, and Sue got a horrendous burn off the exhaust.

Never been out in shorts again, or light trousers.

[grnidone]

Are you sure it's actually automatic? Or do you select the gears without using a clutch? If it's the latter, then what you have is a centrifugal clutch, not an automatic transmission.... but who cares:)

@dogboy:  it is completely automatic.  I don't choose gears, at all.  I just get on, kick it started and ride.  I've not taken it out yet, as I need to get a license plate for it and insurance.  But I plan on doing that today, so I'll prob go out tonight for a nice little ride.

And re:  riding gear:  I've learned through falls off my regular bike NEVER to go out without a helmet and gloves at minimum.  I've been hit by cars a few times and lived to tell about it.  I hit so hard I broke a helmet once.  That scared some sense into me.  I think I'd prob be a vegetable if I wasn't wearing a helmet there.  Also, when I was married to Rob, he told me to never be a squid after seeing a sign for the local children's hospital that said "Syd the Squid forgot to wear his lid" with a little octopus with a bump on his head.

For non motorcyclists, a "Squid" is slang for "someone who rides a motorcycle with no protective gear."  

I have no idea how those italians cram that much sex appeal into a machine,

Keep in mind, motorcycles and design are much more a way of life for Italians.  Everything from little Vespas to full on crotch rockets.  More people over there ride motorcycles than we do, so it's not surprising to me that they always have the most beautiful bikes.

[dogboy]

>bad weather
I'd think you far are better off with 3 wheels in bad weather, than two, but I never rode anything with 2 wheels in the front.  That new Ducati has ABS, traction control, and a 'wet' riding mode that cuts down the HP going to the rear wheel... it's really a breakthrough bike for them. the next generation with lots of computer aides to get all that power to the ground..

>it is completely automatic
how cool!  I can see why it may be a collector's item.

>I've been hit by cars
ah, yes, I like to think of these as 'calibration' events, although I don't recommend having too many but they keep you safe in the long run:)

[Brad]

>mp3

I rode one around the dealers parking lot. Nice.  I think having three wheels in contact with the road would be an advantage in areas that have a lot of rainy weather.

I have ABS on the Suzuki but so far have never really needed it.  Again, on rainy days I feel safer.

I try to stay visible so I favor white helmets that show up even at dusk instead of black or silver/gray.  I tend to also buy jackets that are either caution yellow or high-viz. I want all the cell phone yaking, SUV drivers to see me coming. 

[dogboy]

Yeah, I rock the white helmet too... even have reflective tape on 3 sides:)

My new jacket has lots of white in it too, but mainly to keep me cool down here in FL.  But I definitely prefer 'blur' to 'stealth'.

You know, grnidone, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go to a truckstop and buy some of that tape and touch up your bike so it really reflects.


>so far have never really needed it.
I assume you would know because you would feel it pulsate, like in a car, when everything gets mushy?

[grnidone]

Curious Dogboy, do you keep golf balls in your pockets for people who ride your a##?  I've found a deftly thrown golf ball will cause a car to SCREAM to a halt if they get too close to me.

The way I figure:  if the choice is between their paint job and my body...I'll fuck up their paint job in a heartbeat.

You know, grnidone, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go to a truckstop and buy some of that tape and touch up your bike so it really reflects.

I actually ordered some from 3M years ago.  I went to a fire department and looked at the coats firemen wear to find out where to get it.  I do think I'm going to add a bicycle air-horn to it (120 db of loud) and a strobe bicycle light to the back.

AND, I've got a reflective light weight vest thing my folks wore when they bicycled the Florida keys.  I'm set in the visual wear area.

Also, I've learned when I ride on a bicycle -- since both Texas and Kansas view a bicycle as a vehicle the same as a car -- to take up the entire car lane.

If you ride near the edge of the road, people think they can "lane share", and they usually end up not going far enough around you and you end up turning sharply into the curb (or if you're lucky a ditch).  If you ride closer to the center line, people have to go entirely in the other lane to get around you...AND, then you've got at least a couple meters to make a sharp turn to prevent hitting the curb.

I used to be ballsy enough to flip people off if they honked at me while driving slowly behind...but I seldom do that now.

[dogboy]

>do you keep golf balls in your pockets for people who ride your a##?
No, I haven't ever had that problem before, and I have an entirely new appreciation for you're ingenuity now:)

They see this at the light...



...and then they never see me again:)  It's one of the perks of trading in the golf balls for real ones, and grabbing hold of 134 horses with one hand:)

[Brad]

dogboy, I have not had to do a really quick or near panic stop since getting the bike so nowhere near a lockup situation with conventional breaks.  I had to pay a premium and special order one with ABS rather than take the non-ABS bike they had discounted on the showroom floor, but I thought it was important enough.

>golf balls

LOL Wow that is a new one on me but the best use for golf balls I've heard yet.

[dogboy]

heeheh no, doubt, huh? you just wait until she gets that trailer!!! We'll see who is laughing then with their fancy ABS brakes with 10,000 golf balls coming at them!!

[dogboy]

hehehehe wait, wait... serious...

hey, change out your fluids on that thing while you are waiting for your tags.  you said it was a two cycle, so I guess you dont have an oil sump, but it still may have transmission fluid somewhere?  And you have any brake fluid? Change filters, etc?  A clean air filter can make a world of difference on a little engine.

...AND TIRES! Fill up your tires and check them often!

[dogboy]

>I have not had to do a really quick or near panic stop

Well, I only had one on my '07 S4RS on this oil... note the big scratch in the pavement...



...and it didn't survive to see a second one, so you still might be on to something there!  That's why I'm looking at some of new kit even though I love my 08.  But like you said, it really jacks up the price.

But that $30 speedymoto slider I showed you saved me from replacing a $2500 watercooler that definitely would have needed replaced, and I was able to fire it up and drive it away like nothing happened, so a little prevention goes a long way on these things, so I'm long on prevention:)