So the Ninja has at least 2 weeks waiting list, probably 2 months for a black one. Bah! If they're selling bikes that fast, build them faster. It's basic economics. They've just lost a sale because I'm not patient enough to wait.
So on to Plan B, check out the cheap and badly-built Hyosung GT250R! In some lucky twist of fate, the dealer didn't have any in stock. But they did have plenty of CBR250's. I didn't really want one of these because they're a single cylinder, just like my current bike, and they look a bit skinny and feminine. Fortunately, I look a bit skinny and feminine, so I took one for a spin.
I hopped on and I said, "I'll be back in 20 minutes." The guy goes, "Err, you don't need that long do you?"
I said, "Fifteen then."
He says, "You'll know 5 minutes down the road whether you like it or not." Oh OK so it's unreasonable for me to want to give the bike a proper run before I drop $6k on it? Am I suppposed to guess what it feels like on the freeway? Or how the seating position feels after a proper half-hour ride? Pathetic. Does he want to sell a bike to me, or not? So I came back 15 minutes later, thinking I could always ride it again for longer another time.
I've had a couple of bad experiences with vehicle salesmen, and this guy isn't helping the stereotype so far.
Anyway the bike was fine, a definite improvement over my commuter. I always wanted to be on a sports bike. Positioning feels much better, sounds better, goes better.
On a dual carriageway, no other cars around me, a lady pulled right out across the road to turn right and I locked the front wheel for a moment before letting up and swerving to avoid her rear. It was that close. Stupid little tart. The worst part is, she had stopped to look for traffic, looked right through me, and accelerated right across my path. Now just imagine if I'd have hit or clipped her, I would be up for the cost of the entire bike since I signed the form before riding off! Crazy times.
So maybe I'll get a CBR250, maybe I'll wait around and check out a Hyosung or something.
CBR250 Pro's:
- It's a Honda, and that's worth something in my book.
- It's available right now, and in black. Brilliant.
- Cheaper to buy, more economical, and more torque at lower RPM than a Ninja (don't need to wring it's neck so much)
CBR250 Con's:
- 0-100 of nearly 9 seconds. That's pathetic! I've read the Ninja does it in about 6?
- Top speed of 150kph. Not quite as fast as I was hoping for.
Here are the two other paint schemes I saw in the shop. Which one is the best? I can't decide:
[Pictures removed from this entry because they didn't belong to me]
-Gray
Showing posts with label motorcycle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motorcycle. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
[Bike] Sunday Country CHARITY Ride
Sunday I will be riding a big lap, starting from my favourite little Country Cottage place in Swan Valley. This place is great, just a lovely little spot to sit outside with a cup of tea, maybe a scone, and relax before getting back on the bike. Nothing sexual about it. No tension. But lately I've had a problem -- I've seen 2 girls working there that are smoking hot. The problem is that they're about 10 years younger than me. And could be the owner's daughters, who knows. Kind of awkward. So instead of relaxing with my cup of tea, now I've got that sexual tension, that constant distraction of attractive females walking past my field of vision. To be honest I might have to find another place to get cups of tea.
So back on topic. This Sunday I'll ride from the tea place, up to Bullsbrook, then in to Toodyay, and finally across to Northam. That's 4 stops in total. I'll need donations to cover a bottle of coke here, a cup of tea there, maybe even a light lunch if I can find a bakery which isn't crawling with flies and filth. That's where the "charity" comes in. You guys pay me to have a pleasant weekend ride.
In return, I will learn one cool fact about each town I stop in, and teach you about it right here in my blog. So it's EDUCATIONAL! Yes. Brilliant.
I'll probably take a camera. And I'll talk to some locals and ask about their little backwater shithole-- I mean, "quaint country town". Get a feel for the local atmostphere. Put my finger on the pulse. Sip from the cup. Sniff at the flower of ages past. Immerse myself in a bath of pure history as I soak in the sights, sounds, and probably smells of country Australia.
For Monday the public holiday, I'm thinking of doing a similar run, but south. We'll see.
-Gray
So back on topic. This Sunday I'll ride from the tea place, up to Bullsbrook, then in to Toodyay, and finally across to Northam. That's 4 stops in total. I'll need donations to cover a bottle of coke here, a cup of tea there, maybe even a light lunch if I can find a bakery which isn't crawling with flies and filth. That's where the "charity" comes in. You guys pay me to have a pleasant weekend ride.
In return, I will learn one cool fact about each town I stop in, and teach you about it right here in my blog. So it's EDUCATIONAL! Yes. Brilliant.
I'll probably take a camera. And I'll talk to some locals and ask about their little backwater shithole-- I mean, "quaint country town". Get a feel for the local atmostphere. Put my finger on the pulse. Sip from the cup. Sniff at the flower of ages past. Immerse myself in a bath of pure history as I soak in the sights, sounds, and probably smells of country Australia.
For Monday the public holiday, I'm thinking of doing a similar run, but south. We'll see.
-Gray
Thursday, June 2, 2011
[Bike] New visor, and gear cost summary
Bought a smoky visor today. Not smoky as in "Can you spare a Winny Blue mate?" -- I mean tinted. Looks nice and dark from the outside, not so dark from the inside which is good. Cuts out all the glare. But I didn't care about that. It's the image I'm going for. Pure sex on wheels now.
The beauty about wearing all the bike gear, with the visor down, is that nobody knows what you actually look like. So when I roll past some hunnies and blow them a theatrical kiss, or stand up on the foot pegs and make pelvic thrusting motions against the fuel tank, they assume I'm good looking. It's win-win for me.
Here's a quick summary of gear I've purchased so far, in case you were wondering.
Helmet $200
Jacket $160
Gloves $100
Winter Pants $160
Tinted Visor $70
That's a total of $690. All I need now are some boots.
-Gray
The beauty about wearing all the bike gear, with the visor down, is that nobody knows what you actually look like. So when I roll past some hunnies and blow them a theatrical kiss, or stand up on the foot pegs and make pelvic thrusting motions against the fuel tank, they assume I'm good looking. It's win-win for me.
Here's a quick summary of gear I've purchased so far, in case you were wondering.
Helmet $200
Jacket $160
Gloves $100
Winter Pants $160
Tinted Visor $70
That's a total of $690. All I need now are some boots.
-Gray
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
[Bike] Filtering at red lights
I've started doing this most of the time now. I couldn't just sit back, in the queue, while other bikes filtered past me. Sick of it.
One of the first things I noticed was, after splitting, I feel obligated to speed. If I split to the front, and then accelerate to sit on the speed limit, the cars I split past are going to be overtaking me. That's just silly. So I feel like I have to do 5 to 10 k's over the limit.
The other thing is aggressive bogans. I'm dreading the day that I push up in front of the lead car, which is being driven by "Haydenn" and his girlfriend "Shyanne". He's had a shitty day putting up scaffolding, he can't find any weed to buy for tonight, he's got little "Brayden" and "Jai" arguing in the back of the car, he's all out of VB, and now this clown on the motorcycle is pushing in front of him! YEAH NAH, MATE!! GET F*&%ED MATE!! And before I know it, he's floored it, and his SS Commodore (which he's struggling to pay off) is going to sideswipe me on his way past!
My bike isn't fast enough to beat an aggressive driver.
What happened to the good old 90's, when a bogan would be stuck driving a rusted-out Corolla or his mates shit-box van? Now they're getting paid crazy money, and they're rolling around in $60,000 "performance utes". Don't even get me started on the utes. Why do they pay more, for a car that seats less people, and a tray in the back that they're never going to fill with tools? With the $3,000 metallic paint job, they're never going to drive it onto the building site. "But it looks fully sick parked outside the Wanneroo pub, mate. And wait until I get that finance approved for the 20 inch chrome wheels!" For crying out loud, finish paying off your swimming pool, or actually invest some of your inappropriately high wages. Put something away for your kids education. You know damn well you're going to sell this ute in 2 years, take a massive loss, and then buy a jetski anyway.
And the suits at Holden start thinking, "Hey, let's take this already-impractical vehicle, which is rear-wheel drive yet has about 5% of it's weight on the back wheels, and fit a high-powered V8. People will buy that." Crazy. Even more crazy is that people bought them. By the thousands.
Wow I got off topic here.
-Gray
One of the first things I noticed was, after splitting, I feel obligated to speed. If I split to the front, and then accelerate to sit on the speed limit, the cars I split past are going to be overtaking me. That's just silly. So I feel like I have to do 5 to 10 k's over the limit.
The other thing is aggressive bogans. I'm dreading the day that I push up in front of the lead car, which is being driven by "Haydenn" and his girlfriend "Shyanne". He's had a shitty day putting up scaffolding, he can't find any weed to buy for tonight, he's got little "Brayden" and "Jai" arguing in the back of the car, he's all out of VB, and now this clown on the motorcycle is pushing in front of him! YEAH NAH, MATE!! GET F*&%ED MATE!! And before I know it, he's floored it, and his SS Commodore (which he's struggling to pay off) is going to sideswipe me on his way past!
My bike isn't fast enough to beat an aggressive driver.
What happened to the good old 90's, when a bogan would be stuck driving a rusted-out Corolla or his mates shit-box van? Now they're getting paid crazy money, and they're rolling around in $60,000 "performance utes". Don't even get me started on the utes. Why do they pay more, for a car that seats less people, and a tray in the back that they're never going to fill with tools? With the $3,000 metallic paint job, they're never going to drive it onto the building site. "But it looks fully sick parked outside the Wanneroo pub, mate. And wait until I get that finance approved for the 20 inch chrome wheels!" For crying out loud, finish paying off your swimming pool, or actually invest some of your inappropriately high wages. Put something away for your kids education. You know damn well you're going to sell this ute in 2 years, take a massive loss, and then buy a jetski anyway.
And the suits at Holden start thinking, "Hey, let's take this already-impractical vehicle, which is rear-wheel drive yet has about 5% of it's weight on the back wheels, and fit a high-powered V8. People will buy that." Crazy. Even more crazy is that people bought them. By the thousands.
Wow I got off topic here.
-Gray
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
[Bike] Kings Park & Wet Riding
Yesterday, at the suggestion of my good friend "DJ Langy", I hit up King's Park. Lovely afternoon, lovely park, lovely ride. A lovely 40kph limit within the park let's me cruise in a relaxed, lovely fashion -- just the way I like it. This is important for my bike, because it let's me cruise along with the revs at 4 thousand. Below 5 thousand, it almost sounds like a normal bike, which I enjoy. Above 5 thousand, it turns into a whipper-snipper, which I don't enjoy so much.
Enjoyed a nice 'chicken and rocket' sandwich which cost over $7.
Today, his suggestion was to enjoy a "hot and cold" at the San Churros at Hillarys. I'll make a separate post about this place in a minute. But what was interesting was riding to and from there, in the pouring rain. Bear in mind I don't have wet-weather gear yet, so my jeans were soaked through, sneakers all squishy with water, and my gloves were wringing wet.
Rain takes a lot of the fun out of riding. You get cold. Sitting at the lights is annoying since you're steadily getting wetter and colder. And then cruising at 80kph is annoying since the wind feels pretty "arctic" against your wet clothes. You have to watch the road like a hawk, and adjust your position to dodge pools of water, slippery bits of tarmac, and painted arrows and such which basically become like patches of ice. Road paint has no traction when wet. I've known 90 year old ladies with arthritis that had more grip than those arrows.
When stopped, my visor fogs up even on a clear day. In the rain, it's pretty much like a blindfold. So I have to flip it up a bit to clear it. Then the rain hits my glasses, and that's worse.
Bah. Maybe after I buy a better visor and some waterproof gear, it'll be more bearable.
-Gray
Enjoyed a nice 'chicken and rocket' sandwich which cost over $7.
Today, his suggestion was to enjoy a "hot and cold" at the San Churros at Hillarys. I'll make a separate post about this place in a minute. But what was interesting was riding to and from there, in the pouring rain. Bear in mind I don't have wet-weather gear yet, so my jeans were soaked through, sneakers all squishy with water, and my gloves were wringing wet.
Rain takes a lot of the fun out of riding. You get cold. Sitting at the lights is annoying since you're steadily getting wetter and colder. And then cruising at 80kph is annoying since the wind feels pretty "arctic" against your wet clothes. You have to watch the road like a hawk, and adjust your position to dodge pools of water, slippery bits of tarmac, and painted arrows and such which basically become like patches of ice. Road paint has no traction when wet. I've known 90 year old ladies with arthritis that had more grip than those arrows.
When stopped, my visor fogs up even on a clear day. In the rain, it's pretty much like a blindfold. So I have to flip it up a bit to clear it. Then the rain hits my glasses, and that's worse.
Bah. Maybe after I buy a better visor and some waterproof gear, it'll be more bearable.
-Gray
Saturday, May 14, 2011
12 hours, 452 km, 2 cramped fingers
Went down to Donnybrook and back to visit my kids on the bike today. Probably won't do that too often (I'll use a car). Left at 7am, started getting pretty cold, especially when the wind picked up down past Bunbury. The last 30 minutes I was shivering.
It didn't start off too well. I stopped in Joondalup to fill the tank, and as I lowered the nozzle it ejected about a litre of fuel all over the top and front of the tank. Argh! I freaked out. After I filled the tank, I grabbed the watering can of water that they provide, and poured it over. It hissed and steamed as it ran through the engine. Oops. Luckily nobody was around.
Saw several cars full of youngsters heading for this so-called "Groove in the Move" thing. I believe it's a music concert. It was a bit of a double-edged sword -- on the one hand, there were P-plated Commodores full of young men that wanted to do 130kph. On the other hand, there were P-plated Daewoos full of cute young girls that wanted to do 130kph. So you have to take the bitter with the sweet.
Obviously, it's a bit of a strain keeping the little leaf-blower engine opened up, maintaining 110kph when all the bike want's to do is SLOW DOWN. A slight bend? Wind in more throttle. A minor slope? More throttle. Every single tiny gust of wind? You guessed it. Crank it up further.
Fortunately I made several stops so it was OK.
The way back felt better, I guess I was more used to it. Back didn't hurt much at all. But now my two index fingers are kind of cramped up. Also just after the sun went down, I literally started getting bombarded with little bugs on my faceplate. Annoying.
Highlights of the trip:
Had a little chat to some young fella at Settler's Cafe, as he was riding too. Nice chap. Now, I normally avoid Settler's because it's a little dirty for my liking. In Summer, there are more flies inside than outside. I guess they are "house flies", probably born in the filthy kitchen, and live out their entire lives inside the Cafe. No need to ever leave. Anyway, they've improved it quite a bit, including the toilets, so it's not a bad little place to stop now.
Also some toddler in the back of a BMW waved at me as he passed. I gave him an over-enthusiastic, geeky wave back, and of course had to correct my steering straight away. He nearly killed me, God bless the little tyke ...
Now I'm just looking forward to a good night's sleep, and some lower-speed riding tomorrow (Sunday). It's such a pleasure to cruise around at 60 or 80, everything is relaxed, no wind, the engine ticking over nicely, and plenty of torque when I need it. This 80kph+ stuff is a pain in the ass on my bike. Should have saved up for a Ninja. Never mind.
Final tripometer reading is 452km
-Gray
It didn't start off too well. I stopped in Joondalup to fill the tank, and as I lowered the nozzle it ejected about a litre of fuel all over the top and front of the tank. Argh! I freaked out. After I filled the tank, I grabbed the watering can of water that they provide, and poured it over. It hissed and steamed as it ran through the engine. Oops. Luckily nobody was around.
Saw several cars full of youngsters heading for this so-called "Groove in the Move" thing. I believe it's a music concert. It was a bit of a double-edged sword -- on the one hand, there were P-plated Commodores full of young men that wanted to do 130kph. On the other hand, there were P-plated Daewoos full of cute young girls that wanted to do 130kph. So you have to take the bitter with the sweet.
Obviously, it's a bit of a strain keeping the little leaf-blower engine opened up, maintaining 110kph when all the bike want's to do is SLOW DOWN. A slight bend? Wind in more throttle. A minor slope? More throttle. Every single tiny gust of wind? You guessed it. Crank it up further.
Fortunately I made several stops so it was OK.
The way back felt better, I guess I was more used to it. Back didn't hurt much at all. But now my two index fingers are kind of cramped up. Also just after the sun went down, I literally started getting bombarded with little bugs on my faceplate. Annoying.
Highlights of the trip:
Had a little chat to some young fella at Settler's Cafe, as he was riding too. Nice chap. Now, I normally avoid Settler's because it's a little dirty for my liking. In Summer, there are more flies inside than outside. I guess they are "house flies", probably born in the filthy kitchen, and live out their entire lives inside the Cafe. No need to ever leave. Anyway, they've improved it quite a bit, including the toilets, so it's not a bad little place to stop now.
Also some toddler in the back of a BMW waved at me as he passed. I gave him an over-enthusiastic, geeky wave back, and of course had to correct my steering straight away. He nearly killed me, God bless the little tyke ...
Now I'm just looking forward to a good night's sleep, and some lower-speed riding tomorrow (Sunday). It's such a pleasure to cruise around at 60 or 80, everything is relaxed, no wind, the engine ticking over nicely, and plenty of torque when I need it. This 80kph+ stuff is a pain in the ass on my bike. Should have saved up for a Ninja. Never mind.
Final tripometer reading is 452km
-Gray
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
[Bike] Got license, rode.
Not the most light-hearted post. If you have no interest in bikes, you probably won't get anything out of reading this ...
Passed my test today. To be honest it wasn't all that difficult. I was nervous as hell but there's nothing you can do about that. I rode down to the local park and practiced some U-turns. I put my foot down about 5 times. This completely shattered my confidence. Ergo, don't practice before your test. Just assume that you can do everything perfectly. It's the safe play.
My examiner was a serious type that my instructor had warned me about. He wears a moustache. That was a very bad sign. Fortunately, he was English, so I added just a touch of "cockney" into my accent. This put me in his good books immediately -- English people love their fellow countrymen. Try a similar tack for your own test. For example, if your instructor is Asian, casually mention that your 2nd-cousin on your Great Grandmother's side, is Chinese. It can't hurt.
Provided you've practiced the 4 areas until you're comfortable, you'll be fine. The areas are:
1 - General riding. For this, you need to spend time on the road. I did it by joining PSB rides (see here) mainly. The things to watch out for are lane positioning, holding a line through corners (if you're swinging wide from the left side to the right side of the lane, you're doing it wrong), head checks at every intersection (get's very tedious but, it keeps you alert I suppose) and riding confidently in traffic. Don't thrash it, but don't baby it either. If you're taking forever to get up to speed, it tells the examiner that you're not confident. The "illusion of confidence" is the secret to passing your test. Since you're obviously not confident, we're going to have to fake it.
Be on the lookout for squirrels. These nasty little critters will run right out in front of you. It's illegal to take emergency action to avoid wildlife, if that action directly endangers other road users or pedestrians. My interpretation of that law is literally, "Speed up and run over any squirrels on the road". Don't argue with the law. Just do it.
2 - U-turns. Get your instructor to help you with this one. Then just practice on your own in an empty car park. Do loads of them, until you've got it perfect. The key is using clutch control, so get your revs up reasonably high, rest your foot on the back brake, and then just alter the clutch by tiny amounts to adjust your balance. You will probably never have to do a U-turn on your bike in the real world, but whatever. I don't make the tests. I just tell you how to pass them ... Jesus.
Don't get discouraged if you have to put your foot down. That's not a fall. It's just putting your foot down. As you get better, you won't do this any more.
Also, if you ride a Hyosung GT250R, you should immediately sell your bike and buy something more suitable for the test. You can't do U-turns on the GT250R. It should be stated in the bike's manual.
3 - Emergency stops. I don't know if anybody else has trouble with these, but for me they were the easiest thing. When the instructor raises his hand, come off the throttle and pull progressively on the front brake for about half a second, then when the weight has transferred onto the front tire, you can pull HARD. I mean, HARD. I like to pull hard about 5 times a week ... No wait. Forget that ...
I practiced about 15 emergency stops before my test, and never managed to lock the front wheel once. I did lock the back once, so just rest your foot on the back pedal without pressing. The back tire has no weight on it, so it will lock up and slide with very little pressure. It will slide quicker than a greased-up fat man on a water-slide. Locking a tire looks awesome, feels cool, and sounds fantastic. But for some reason, the examiner will count it as a "fail" if either tire locks up. Strange but true.
4 - Looking cool and sexy. This part can be tricky. If you're already a cool person, you will automatically be cooler on a bike by a factor of 3. Done and done. Feel free to skip this section.
If you're not so cool to begin with, you're going to have to fake it. I recommend getting a helmet with a cool design. If you can't afford a Shoei, get a cheap one with a similar design on it. Learn to pop your bike into neutral at the lights, lean back, rest your hands on the petrol tank, and look around confidently. Be sure to make eye contact with every driver around you. Make sure they realise that you're going to be taking off faster than them, and that's not negotiable. Probably don't do this in your test, however (keep both hands on the controls at all times, even if you're waiting at the lights of Grand Boulevard and Boas Avenue, which literally take like 3.5 minutes ... Just don't release the controls).
Since you're going to be on a 250, here is another trick. If an SS Commodore or anything faster looks like he's going to race you, just bend to the side and pretend to investigate your bike. Peer down at the engine-type bits (that's the metal bits under the petrol tank). Rev it a bit. Look down again. Shake your head. Then when the lights go green, you're struggling with your bike which is 'acting up'. The race is cancelled and you didn't lose any pride! Brilliant.
When riding with the examiner behind you, or just a friend, make sure you stick your leg out to the side when you want to change lane positions. This ups your "cool factor" by several points, and also makes it look like you're "in the know" with motorcycles. Point down towards puddles, debris or other hazards. Although the person following you will have absolutely no time to react to your warning anyway, it creates the illusion that you're confident and in control. This type of behavior can only help you, and probably accounted for me passing my test.
Make sure you give a little nod to bikes passing in the opposite direction. My current total is 9 nods given, 0 nods received in return. I think the fact that I'm not on a sports bike is the reason. Bastards. I don't want their stinking nods, anyway. And remember, never nod at scooter riders! They are a lower lifeform, beneath us, and shouldn't be acknowledged in any way.
----------
Anyway, after I passed the test I went for a ride. I hit Gosnells. That was a mistake for obvious reasons. Then peak-hour on the freeway for the return trip. After 15 minutes of stop-start while other bikes lane-split right past me, I got off the freeway and finally started enjoying myself. A nice trip up the coast, with a stop at Hungry Jacks, and Mullalloo Beach for a quick smoke. Beautiful riding. Anything above 80 kph is unpleasant on my bike, but on the slower roads I really enjoy myself.
So I am now free to go on any rides with PSB or alone, that I feel like. I will give some nice ride reports in the coming weeks. I may even be attempting the Perth-Donnybrook-Perth round trip on Saturday. This trip is over 500kms, most of the way on 110kph roads. Now, at those speeds, my bike squirms around like a pogo-stick in a bath of jelly, so it could be an exhausting trip. I predict a constant stream of cars and utes trying to pass me for the 3 hours each way. I'll report back if I do it.
-Gray
Watch out for those squirrels!
Passed my test today. To be honest it wasn't all that difficult. I was nervous as hell but there's nothing you can do about that. I rode down to the local park and practiced some U-turns. I put my foot down about 5 times. This completely shattered my confidence. Ergo, don't practice before your test. Just assume that you can do everything perfectly. It's the safe play.
My examiner was a serious type that my instructor had warned me about. He wears a moustache. That was a very bad sign. Fortunately, he was English, so I added just a touch of "cockney" into my accent. This put me in his good books immediately -- English people love their fellow countrymen. Try a similar tack for your own test. For example, if your instructor is Asian, casually mention that your 2nd-cousin on your Great Grandmother's side, is Chinese. It can't hurt.
Provided you've practiced the 4 areas until you're comfortable, you'll be fine. The areas are:
1 - General riding. For this, you need to spend time on the road. I did it by joining PSB rides (see here) mainly. The things to watch out for are lane positioning, holding a line through corners (if you're swinging wide from the left side to the right side of the lane, you're doing it wrong), head checks at every intersection (get's very tedious but, it keeps you alert I suppose) and riding confidently in traffic. Don't thrash it, but don't baby it either. If you're taking forever to get up to speed, it tells the examiner that you're not confident. The "illusion of confidence" is the secret to passing your test. Since you're obviously not confident, we're going to have to fake it.
Be on the lookout for squirrels. These nasty little critters will run right out in front of you. It's illegal to take emergency action to avoid wildlife, if that action directly endangers other road users or pedestrians. My interpretation of that law is literally, "Speed up and run over any squirrels on the road". Don't argue with the law. Just do it.
2 - U-turns. Get your instructor to help you with this one. Then just practice on your own in an empty car park. Do loads of them, until you've got it perfect. The key is using clutch control, so get your revs up reasonably high, rest your foot on the back brake, and then just alter the clutch by tiny amounts to adjust your balance. You will probably never have to do a U-turn on your bike in the real world, but whatever. I don't make the tests. I just tell you how to pass them ... Jesus.
Don't get discouraged if you have to put your foot down. That's not a fall. It's just putting your foot down. As you get better, you won't do this any more.
Also, if you ride a Hyosung GT250R, you should immediately sell your bike and buy something more suitable for the test. You can't do U-turns on the GT250R. It should be stated in the bike's manual.
3 - Emergency stops. I don't know if anybody else has trouble with these, but for me they were the easiest thing. When the instructor raises his hand, come off the throttle and pull progressively on the front brake for about half a second, then when the weight has transferred onto the front tire, you can pull HARD. I mean, HARD. I like to pull hard about 5 times a week ... No wait. Forget that ...
I practiced about 15 emergency stops before my test, and never managed to lock the front wheel once. I did lock the back once, so just rest your foot on the back pedal without pressing. The back tire has no weight on it, so it will lock up and slide with very little pressure. It will slide quicker than a greased-up fat man on a water-slide. Locking a tire looks awesome, feels cool, and sounds fantastic. But for some reason, the examiner will count it as a "fail" if either tire locks up. Strange but true.
4 - Looking cool and sexy. This part can be tricky. If you're already a cool person, you will automatically be cooler on a bike by a factor of 3. Done and done. Feel free to skip this section.
If you're not so cool to begin with, you're going to have to fake it. I recommend getting a helmet with a cool design. If you can't afford a Shoei, get a cheap one with a similar design on it. Learn to pop your bike into neutral at the lights, lean back, rest your hands on the petrol tank, and look around confidently. Be sure to make eye contact with every driver around you. Make sure they realise that you're going to be taking off faster than them, and that's not negotiable. Probably don't do this in your test, however (keep both hands on the controls at all times, even if you're waiting at the lights of Grand Boulevard and Boas Avenue, which literally take like 3.5 minutes ... Just don't release the controls).
Since you're going to be on a 250, here is another trick. If an SS Commodore or anything faster looks like he's going to race you, just bend to the side and pretend to investigate your bike. Peer down at the engine-type bits (that's the metal bits under the petrol tank). Rev it a bit. Look down again. Shake your head. Then when the lights go green, you're struggling with your bike which is 'acting up'. The race is cancelled and you didn't lose any pride! Brilliant.
When riding with the examiner behind you, or just a friend, make sure you stick your leg out to the side when you want to change lane positions. This ups your "cool factor" by several points, and also makes it look like you're "in the know" with motorcycles. Point down towards puddles, debris or other hazards. Although the person following you will have absolutely no time to react to your warning anyway, it creates the illusion that you're confident and in control. This type of behavior can only help you, and probably accounted for me passing my test.
Make sure you give a little nod to bikes passing in the opposite direction. My current total is 9 nods given, 0 nods received in return. I think the fact that I'm not on a sports bike is the reason. Bastards. I don't want their stinking nods, anyway. And remember, never nod at scooter riders! They are a lower lifeform, beneath us, and shouldn't be acknowledged in any way.
----------
Anyway, after I passed the test I went for a ride. I hit Gosnells. That was a mistake for obvious reasons. Then peak-hour on the freeway for the return trip. After 15 minutes of stop-start while other bikes lane-split right past me, I got off the freeway and finally started enjoying myself. A nice trip up the coast, with a stop at Hungry Jacks, and Mullalloo Beach for a quick smoke. Beautiful riding. Anything above 80 kph is unpleasant on my bike, but on the slower roads I really enjoy myself.
So I am now free to go on any rides with PSB or alone, that I feel like. I will give some nice ride reports in the coming weeks. I may even be attempting the Perth-Donnybrook-Perth round trip on Saturday. This trip is over 500kms, most of the way on 110kph roads. Now, at those speeds, my bike squirms around like a pogo-stick in a bath of jelly, so it could be an exhausting trip. I predict a constant stream of cars and utes trying to pass me for the 3 hours each way. I'll report back if I do it.
-Gray
Watch out for those squirrels!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
[Bike] Final lesson
Just had my final lesson before the test on Wednesday. Pretty much nailed it. I don't want to float my own boat, blow up my own balloon, blow my own trumpet or yank my own chain -- but I'm pretty confident that the tester is going to watch me ride for 4 minutes, pull me over, and award me an Advanced Riding Permit.
Partly due to the generous folks over at the Perth Street Bikes forum who have allowed me to get 10+ hours of riding experience (legally). But mostly due to my extreme levels of natural skill with vehicles of any type. (Oh and also due to the fact that we inflated my tyres and found they were at 24 PSI, instead of 33 .... That might have sharpened the bike up a little bit .... Whatever).
So, is it really worth spending $1000 on gear, spending 5 minutes gearing up while the bike warms up, literally dripping with sweat at the traffic lights even on a pleasant 25 degree day, and being vulnerable to all manner of horrific injuries? Yes. There are also many benefits to riding a bike, such as:
1 - Sex appeal. Just carry your helmet into a bar, and watch the ladies come flocking like seagulls after some discarded chips (does not apply to me, obviously. It will take a lot more than a helmet to make me attractive).
2 - Speed. Blasting down the straights, leaning into the corners .... Sheer fun. (does not apply to me, since my bike struggles to beat a Hyundai Getz off the line).
3 - No traffic jams. Split between the cars and make your way to the front of every red light. BAM! Time saved. In slow-moving rush-hour traffic? Split your way past all the suckers and save yourself some serious time! (does not apply to me, I'm not confident enough to split moving traffic, and don't have the power to pull away at the front of the lights anyway).
4 - Never have to give lifts to your friends. You have a valid reason not to have to be the DD at your next pub outing! (does not apply to me, since I basically have no friends anyway).
5 - Fuel. A 250 bike will probably do about 4 litres per 100 KMs. So you're literally going to spend half on petrol than, say, a Commodore driver. Filling up with Premium for a total of $21 is awesome. (does not apply to me, since my Barina was nearly as cheap, and I don't ride often enough to make any real savings).
6 - Meet new people. Biking as a hobby will let you meet loads of people with the same interests. All sorts of people ride a bike, young and old, rich and poor, and it's a great way to socialise! (does not apply to me, because I'm too shy to chat to everybody and who wants to talk to the guy in the corner with the CBF250?)
As you can see, there really is no good reason for you to not sell your car immediately and switch to a bike. I'll see you out there!
-Gray
Partly due to the generous folks over at the Perth Street Bikes forum who have allowed me to get 10+ hours of riding experience (legally). But mostly due to my extreme levels of natural skill with vehicles of any type. (Oh and also due to the fact that we inflated my tyres and found they were at 24 PSI, instead of 33 .... That might have sharpened the bike up a little bit .... Whatever).
So, is it really worth spending $1000 on gear, spending 5 minutes gearing up while the bike warms up, literally dripping with sweat at the traffic lights even on a pleasant 25 degree day, and being vulnerable to all manner of horrific injuries? Yes. There are also many benefits to riding a bike, such as:
1 - Sex appeal. Just carry your helmet into a bar, and watch the ladies come flocking like seagulls after some discarded chips (does not apply to me, obviously. It will take a lot more than a helmet to make me attractive).
2 - Speed. Blasting down the straights, leaning into the corners .... Sheer fun. (does not apply to me, since my bike struggles to beat a Hyundai Getz off the line).
3 - No traffic jams. Split between the cars and make your way to the front of every red light. BAM! Time saved. In slow-moving rush-hour traffic? Split your way past all the suckers and save yourself some serious time! (does not apply to me, I'm not confident enough to split moving traffic, and don't have the power to pull away at the front of the lights anyway).
4 - Never have to give lifts to your friends. You have a valid reason not to have to be the DD at your next pub outing! (does not apply to me, since I basically have no friends anyway).
5 - Fuel. A 250 bike will probably do about 4 litres per 100 KMs. So you're literally going to spend half on petrol than, say, a Commodore driver. Filling up with Premium for a total of $21 is awesome. (does not apply to me, since my Barina was nearly as cheap, and I don't ride often enough to make any real savings).
6 - Meet new people. Biking as a hobby will let you meet loads of people with the same interests. All sorts of people ride a bike, young and old, rich and poor, and it's a great way to socialise! (does not apply to me, because I'm too shy to chat to everybody and who wants to talk to the guy in the corner with the CBF250?)
As you can see, there really is no good reason for you to not sell your car immediately and switch to a bike. I'll see you out there!
-Gray
Thursday, April 28, 2011
[Bike] First ride down the coast
A friendly chap from the PSB forums agreed to shadow me down to Freo. We rode down the coast roads. Bit of traffic but nothing too bad. Had a nice little dinner in Freo; I had to have lemonade with mine since I'm on L plates. Bah.
Started giving it a bit on the way back. I had to give it, since the bike wasn't giving anything. There's nothing to give. It's the same thing with cars -- if you can push your foot to the floor coming out of a corner, and not get scared, then you know it's not a very powerful car. Same thing here. Except my bike sounds like a whipper-snipper.
Anyway it will do for the next 12 months, then I'll be able to upgrade.
Less than 2 weeks to my test.
Started giving it a bit on the way back. I had to give it, since the bike wasn't giving anything. There's nothing to give. It's the same thing with cars -- if you can push your foot to the floor coming out of a corner, and not get scared, then you know it's not a very powerful car. Same thing here. Except my bike sounds like a whipper-snipper.
Anyway it will do for the next 12 months, then I'll be able to upgrade.
Less than 2 weeks to my test.
[Bike] New Gear
Yesterday I went and bought a helmet and jacket. The helmet was $200 after discount, the jacket was $160. Brilliant! The helmet looks kind of cool; sort of reminds me of a Shoei helmet, but obviously 1/5th the price :) It's a HJC one. Now I must save up for some special jeans called "draggins" or something, which stop your skin being grated off in an accident.
Also my test is booked; it's 2 weeks away. Time to practice my U-turns!
Also my test is booked; it's 2 weeks away. Time to practice my U-turns!
[Bike] First group ride
Hit the road with the PSB folks on Tuesday night. I have no idea where we started, rode, or finished. The word "Guildford" came up a lot, and I assume that is some 60-year old suburb to the East of Perth. Anyway it was lots of fun! I was concentrating so much on riding safely while keeping up, I had literally no idea of where we were heading. But we ended up at a food shack called "Alfred's Kitchen". Alfred was absolutely loving it! Lots of customers.
I was up the front with the other L-platers. I can tell you, there was more false starts than a lawnmower. We had more feet touching the ground than a marathon. We had more shaky turns than a geriatric on the dance floor. No, I'm joking, everybody was fine.
Apart from the couple of times when my bike pops into neutral after I stop, but doesn't show the green light so I don't realise until I try to move off! Argh! I will be having a service in a few weeks so maybe they can look at that. In the meantime, everybody assumes I'm stalling it or something.
Somebody hit a Roo apparently, I didn't see it though. Wasn't hurt which is good. This is further evidence that the Kangaroo is evil, and should be exterminated from the entire continent! <clenches fist> Anyway, I'll talk more about that in a later post.
On the way home the weather turned bad and it got pretty unpleasant. Sitting on the freeway, riding into a strong headwind with the single-cylinder engine struggling to get above 100kph was even less fun than it sounds. But such is the price of riding a bike I guess. I'll have to get some wet-weather gear ...
Anyway I ended up getting about 4 hours of riding time which was brilliant!
After work today I should be heading down to Freo with a guy from the Perth Street Bikes forum. More awesomeness for me! Yay!
I was up the front with the other L-platers. I can tell you, there was more false starts than a lawnmower. We had more feet touching the ground than a marathon. We had more shaky turns than a geriatric on the dance floor. No, I'm joking, everybody was fine.
Apart from the couple of times when my bike pops into neutral after I stop, but doesn't show the green light so I don't realise until I try to move off! Argh! I will be having a service in a few weeks so maybe they can look at that. In the meantime, everybody assumes I'm stalling it or something.
Somebody hit a Roo apparently, I didn't see it though. Wasn't hurt which is good. This is further evidence that the Kangaroo is evil, and should be exterminated from the entire continent! <clenches fist> Anyway, I'll talk more about that in a later post.
On the way home the weather turned bad and it got pretty unpleasant. Sitting on the freeway, riding into a strong headwind with the single-cylinder engine struggling to get above 100kph was even less fun than it sounds. But such is the price of riding a bike I guess. I'll have to get some wet-weather gear ...
Anyway I ended up getting about 4 hours of riding time which was brilliant!
After work today I should be heading down to Freo with a guy from the Perth Street Bikes forum. More awesomeness for me! Yay!
Friday, April 22, 2011
[Bike] Bought my first
A 2008 CBF250. Not the fastest 250 but it's comfy and should do me for the 12 months until I can upgrade to a bigger bike.
It's got indicators on both sides, a muffler, a cool digital display including fuel gauge ... What more could you want??!
First lesson on Saturday morning. Although I already took it around the local roads yesterday for a few minutes with no problems.
It's got indicators on both sides, a muffler, a cool digital display including fuel gauge ... What more could you want??!
First lesson on Saturday morning. Although I already took it around the local roads yesterday for a few minutes with no problems.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
[Bike] What to buy ...
Sold the Barina 2 days ago. About 3 hours after putting it online.
Now I'm looking for a bike. Going to the dealerships tomorrow night with my bike-riding friend. Hopefully I can buy something on the spot. I'd prefer not to wait until after Easter. I'm just impatient by nature.
My goal is a VTR250 for $4.5 or less. I've also seen a Yamaha FZX250 "Zeal" for only $2,500 with gear, but I'm worried about it mechanically. I don't want to be fixing it and paying for parts all the time.
I want a sports bike but I figure I'll start with more of a comfy, easy-to-ride bike, get my license, and then switch it up to a Ninja 250 later in the year.
-Gray
Now I'm looking for a bike. Going to the dealerships tomorrow night with my bike-riding friend. Hopefully I can buy something on the spot. I'd prefer not to wait until after Easter. I'm just impatient by nature.
My goal is a VTR250 for $4.5 or less. I've also seen a Yamaha FZX250 "Zeal" for only $2,500 with gear, but I'm worried about it mechanically. I don't want to be fixing it and paying for parts all the time.
I want a sports bike but I figure I'll start with more of a comfy, easy-to-ride bike, get my license, and then switch it up to a Ninja 250 later in the year.
-Gray
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Guitar/Surfing/Diving/Motorcycle - BAM!
Bought a nasty $40 guitar from eBay yesterday - it's only 3/4 size but I'm getting a full size one later today from a friend.
In the meantime, I have completely disregarded learning chords and scales, and I've jumped straight to learning popular songs via YouTube instructional videos.
As a result, I can now play the first few notes of several tracks, including Californication and REM's Everybody Hurts! As you can see, I'm well on my way to becoming the next Jack Johnson.
Also as part of my Jack Johnson-esque strategy, I hope to soon start surfing lessons with a mate who can already surf. This is the same mate that just did his Diving course, can play guitar, and rides a motorbike -- so I am literally riding this guy's coattails into a NEW IMPROVED GRAY!
Stay tuned for excitement in the coming weeks. I hope to sell my car and buy a Ninja 250 as soon as I can.
In the meantime, I have completely disregarded learning chords and scales, and I've jumped straight to learning popular songs via YouTube instructional videos.
As a result, I can now play the first few notes of several tracks, including Californication and REM's Everybody Hurts! As you can see, I'm well on my way to becoming the next Jack Johnson.
Also as part of my Jack Johnson-esque strategy, I hope to soon start surfing lessons with a mate who can already surf. This is the same mate that just did his Diving course, can play guitar, and rides a motorbike -- so I am literally riding this guy's coattails into a NEW IMPROVED GRAY!
Stay tuned for excitement in the coming weeks. I hope to sell my car and buy a Ninja 250 as soon as I can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)