Motorcycle Riders

Would be interesting to know

A) How many have gone down on the street? How many times? Fault?
B) How long have you been riding?
C) Injuries?

I went down on the freeway on a KTM SMC 690 after riding on the street for just under 18 years. Went for a long slide, had pretty bad road rash, broke two ribs, and my hand.

Could’ve been worse, for sure.

Littierally wrote

Would be interesting to know

A) How many have gone down on the street? How many times? Fault?

Actually, never.
When my dad enrolled me in Junior Cross when I was about eleven, he bought me a used 80cc Yammy dirt bike. No lights or turn signal therefore not street legal which didn't matter since I was too young for a license.
And he told me that if I was going to learn this was the place to do it. Slip sliding in the dirt and mud and learning how to control the bike and not panicking. I crashed many times and ate a ton of mud. The only thing white was my smile and eyes when I removed my helmet and goggles. So these were valuable lessons that were put to the test when I hit wet leaves, sand or tar snakes in a corner.

Littierally wrote

Would be interesting to know

A) How many have gone down on the street? How many times? Fault?
B) How long have you been riding?
C) Injuries?

A) Exactly once. Was rear-ended by a Volvo station wagon in a pouring rain storm in the 1980's. Not my fault, and no damage to the bike because a Volvo front bumper lines up perfectly with the rear tire's furthest back circumference. Also full hard saddle bags and a highway crash bar on the front.

B) Probably longer than LJ has been alive.

C) Does pride count? I didn't even report the accident.....

Ugly Kar wrote

Maybe you're the one to help me out then. I've been riding inline 4's most of my life, mostly Kaw's. Most have been great bikes but the most annoying thing is there has been a significant buzz starting around 5500 rpm til past 8000. That's where you spend most of your time on the hwy cruising around 70-80.

I just can't handle it anymore so I'm looking for something different. The Councours has dual balancers so it's really smooth, but it's to big and heavy. And others like the Gold Wing. I want something that's as smooth as a BMW inline 6 but light enough to be fun. I've heard the now Boxer 1300 engine is super smooth but I've never ridden one.

Is it a bike you can ride 6 hours at 80 mph and not have numb hands?

If you're having issues with numb hands from the high frequency vibrations through the handlebars, you can try a couple of things. First is to pull the bar ends off and see if the handle bar is hollow. If so, you can put in a brass insert to provide some weight to the handle bars. Also, you can look at putting on heavier bar ends. The other suggestion is to change your riding form. Don't weight up the handlebars with your hands.

Another alternative from what the others have suggested if you want to try a different bike, is a Ducati Multistrada.

Littierally wrote

Would be interesting to know

A) How many have gone down on the street? How many times? Fault?
B) How long have you been riding?
C) Injuries?

I went down on the freeway on a KTM SMC 690 after riding on the street for just under 18 years. Went for a long slide, had pretty bad road rash, broke two ribs, and my hand.

Could’ve been worse, for sure.

A) Once, and it was 100% the other driver’s fault.
B) Been riding for about 25 years at the time.
C) Barely anything — just a bit sore. I was way more upset about the scratched-up brake lever on my old FZ6 😂
I was stopped at an intersection waiting to make a right turn when a minivan came up on my left and clipped my shoulder, knocking me over onto the sidewalk. No real injuries, just some bruises and a wounded ego.

Littierally wrote

Would be interesting to know

A) How many have gone down on the street? How many times? Fault?
B) How long have you been riding?
C) Injuries?

I went down on the freeway on a KTM SMC 690 after riding on the street for just under 18 years. Went for a long slide, had pretty bad road rash, broke two ribs, and my hand.

Could’ve been worse, for sure.

A) Once on the street and once on track. Both were my fault. The first time was when I just got into riding and was cocky and having a "my ambition outweighed my talent". The second time was on track at VIR. Out lap, cold tires going into turn 3. Accidentally hit a false neutral in a ZX-6R. Realized I wasn't in gear. Clicked into gear which caused the engine to stall. Didn't realize it at the time. With the engine stopped, it locked up the rear tire and down I went.

B) About 23 years and about 18 years on track.

C) Nope....other than my ego.

Sláinte...! ( Slawn-Cha)

A ride to my favorite watering hole.

" O'Donoghue's Irish Pub operates out of the historic John T. Williston House, built in 1824 by Scottish stonemason Andrew Currie Located in Miramichi (formerly Chatham), New Brunswick, the iconic sandstone structure originally functioned as a residence, general store, and law office for prominent lawyer and politician John T. Williston."  

My dad flew Voodoos at the RCAF Airbase there before it was closed. My mother was a military nurse working a few kilometres away at the radar station where I was conceived. (Surprise!) My mum gave birth at the Chatham hospital. You might say that I'm went back to my roots.

zx10guy wrote

If you're having issues with numb hands from the high frequency vibrations through the handlebars, you can try a couple of things. First is to pull the bar ends off and see if the handle bar is hollow. If so, you can put in a brass insert to provide some weight to the handle bars. Also, you can look at putting on heavier bar ends. The other suggestion is to change your riding form. Don't weight up the handlebars with your hands.

Another alternative from what the others have suggested if you want to try a different bike, is a Ducati Multistrada.

I don't like it. But I do like the Aprilia Tuono V4. I've read both good and bad about it's smoothness. I need to find one I can test ride.

Littierally wrote

Would be interesting to know

A) How many have gone down on the street? How many times? Fault?
B) How long have you been riding?
C) Injuries?

I went down on the freeway on a KTM SMC 690 after riding on the street for just under 18 years. Went for a long slide, had pretty bad road rash, broke two ribs, and my hand.

Could’ve been worse, for sure.

A) Never
B) 3 or so years
C) No

Ironically the closest i got to any injury was running over a rock in a parking lot at 2 mph... but again that was fully my fault.

That being said, I don't follow typical motorcyclist rules -

1) This is not a commuter vehicle for me, it's strictly for fun.
2) It's only driven in perfect weather and only during day.
3) It's only driven on lower traffic backroads and during early mornings on Saturday / Sunday when there is little traffic on the road.
4) Always wear full gear.

Heading out on this Wednesday for a ~6000 mile/18 day road trip on my 2015 R1200GS. I'll be going with a buddy and his brother-- one's on a K1600 Grand America and the other is on a Triumph Tiger. Since the K-Bike's the limiting factor, this one'll be all (mostly?) paved roads. We'll be camping pretty much every night.

I've done a lot of solo moto-camping trips, so I'm considered the "pro"-- my buddy's? I keep trying to explain to them- "Lay out everything you're taking on the trip, then get rid of half of it".

They're.... not quite catching the clue.

It should be fun- but HOT. I think I'll stick with mesh (armored) gear with rain gear as a cover-- that should be warm enough if we hit a cool patch. I was going to bring my (armored) "under 75F" as well as my mesh, but it's been so hot lately, I think I can get away with one primary set.

Itinerary is: Denver - Dinosaur - Flaming Gorge - Jackson - Yellowstone - Bear Tooth Pass - Lola Pass - Oregon backcountry - Redwoods/Humbolt - PCH - San Gabriel Mountains - San Bernardino Mountains - Mojave - Gerome - Sedona - Flagstaff - Devil's Highway - Durango - Ouray - Gunnison - Home.

Should be fun.... IF I can get packed and prepped today!

R.

flybigjet wrote

Heading out on this Wednesday for a ~6000 mile/18 day road trip on my 2015 R1200GS.
Should be fun.... IF I can get packed and prepped today!

R.

Puncture kit and small tire inflator?

[QUOTE= flybigjet Heading out on this Wednesday for a ~6000 mile/18 day road trip on my 2015 R1200GS.

I'm tempted to break out the pom-poms and cheer you on through Sedona!!

Lady Jane wrote

Puncture kit and small tire inflator?

But of course.

Puncture kit, pretty extensive hand-tool kit, inflator, jump starter.

They're always on the bike. The GS is a sport bike with a backpack-- I've got a nice little metal box that fits behind the left pannier that's stuffed to the brim with tools.

R.

flybigjet wrote

But of course.

Puncture kit, pretty extensive hand-tool kit, inflator, jump starter.

They're always on the bike. The GS is a sport bike with a backpack-- I've got a nice little metal box that fits behind the left pannier that's stuffed to the brim with tools.

R.

Silly me... I should have known better. I always carried one but never had to use it except when I was travelling down to the Keys and assisted a Goldwing rider on the side of the Highway. He was an elderly Wingnut going to a Wingding. Don't ask. Anyway he was lucky that his puncture was near the center of the tire. I removed the FOD, reamed the hole, stuck a glued worm, trimmed the excess and plugged my inflator on his bike for a few minutes until the desire pressure was attained. I asked him to keep his bike running. Goldwings have really powerful alternators for a reason. I think he wanted to marry me.

The Centennial Bridge over the Miramichi River.

Littierally wrote

Would be interesting to know

A) How many have gone down on the street? How many times? Fault?
B) How long have you been riding?
C) Injuries?

I went down on the freeway on a KTM SMC 690 after riding on the street for just under 18 years. Went for a long slide, had pretty bad road rash, broke two ribs, and my hand.

Could’ve been worse, for sure.

A) Twice. The first time was dodging rain puddles. Lost the front end at a pretty slow speed. The second time was coming across the Greater New Orleans bridge when a pickup truck in front of me lost it (it had just started raining) and started to spin off the road to the right. It made it three lanes and then started back across to the left. The trucks rear bumper caught the rear most portion of the right exhaust and knocked the bike into the grass in the median.

B) 55 years.

C) My pride on my first, and my ankle on my second.


Like you said, could have been worse.

Lady Jane wrote

Puncture kit and small tire inflator?

Pulled my repair stuff off the bike to inventory/prep prior to departure tomorrow.....

flybigjet wrote

Pulled my repair stuff off the bike to inventory/prep prior to departure tomorrow.....

Damn. None of that would be practical with any of my sport bikes. My maxi scooter yes. But not my sport bikes.

I've had the misfortune of having a flat on the Ducati 848 I had owned. Didn't even know I ran over something that would puncture the rear tire. Interesting that the object didn't puncture the front tire first. Whatever it is, it was fairly big based on the hole it created. The object wasn't in the tire when I was able to pull over to check my bike. Good thing I wasn't railing around a corner when it happened. Just noticed the bike being sluggish when I was apply throttle and that it wouldn't turn. Got to a stop light and saw my entire rear tire flat. Fortunately, there was a Ford dealership service shop that was open on that Saturday. They were kind of enough to help put a tire plug into the tire. That got me going to my beach place. But on the return ride to my primary home, I hit a bump coming out of an on ramp to a highway and the plug popped out leaving me stranded again. Eventually got road side to come out to put another plug in to get me back home. Sucked sitting there on the highway in full leathers at 90 degrees.

flybigjet wrote

Pulled my repair stuff off the bike to inventory/prep prior to departure tomorrow.....

Can absolutely tell that's a 1200/1250GS setup.

Checking-out a S1000RR for size at a bike show some time ago.

Lady Jane wrote

Checking-out a R1000RR for size at a bike show some time ago.

Hat... check!
Jacket... check!
Shoes... oh, no!

Llarry wrote

Shoes... oh, no!

The bike show was in February. You will notice my parka on the tail. I left my boots in the vehicle. I wore heels to compete with he Brolly Girls.