Motorcycle Riders?

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  • tv1217

    N6OTB
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    Mar 11, 2009
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    I have a tail tidy/fender eliminator on the way for the CB. My back might get a little dirty/wet when it's sloppy out but the bike'll look better without Skeletor's spine hanging off the back.
     

    tv1217

    N6OTB
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    Back to riding gear for a moment, I gotta have a laugh at all the unestablished brands that advertise riding clothes on Facebook charging sometimes hundreds more than well known, quality brands like Klim and Dainese. Tobacco Motorwear is particularly comical because their jeans don't even have armor pockets.
     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
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    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
    23,985
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    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    Tobacco Motorwear is particularly comical because their jeans don't even have armor pockets.
    But they are STYLISH!

    Be careful with moto clothes. If you want REAL protection there are standards. Of course we don't use those standards in the USA, but they are used all over Europe.

    Jackets and pants should be CE "A" ore "AA" Certified Garments. This means the seams won't rip apart, it means the materials will not shred (like blue jeans or Charhartt pants) when they impact the asphalt, it also means they have energy absorbing armor at the knees, hips, elbows and shoulders. "AAA" rated is required on the race track. "A" is the minimum standard for street use.

    My new KLIM Induction Pro jacket is AA rated. My Rev'it Tornado pants are AA rated. Most STREET certified garments are A rated. The good stuff is AA rated. I believe KLIM is the only company that current offers a AAA rated street garment set and that is over $1000. BUT many of the garments sold in the USA have NO safety certification at all.

    Many of the lower priced brands sold in America don't get their garment certified. They simply make a jacket, drop in "certified" armor into the elbow and shoulders and then claim it is as protective jacket. There is a great low speed slide on YouTube where a guy is wearing what appears to be an "ICON Mesh AF" jacket and it shreds. The crash happens at under 20mph, the guy low sides, catches a peg and his foot on a curve and the bike simply slides, the guy rolls 1 or 2 times and comes to a stop. No big deal. But the whole chest of the jacket is shredded open exposing his torso.

    Here is a little information about CE certification: https://www.revitsport.com/gb_en/learning-center/revit-ce-certification/
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
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    I was in the car today, behind a couple riding matching KLR's. It was raining, after hours of sunny heat. These riders were turning left at the bottom of a long curved downhill grade. When they stopped for oncoming traffic on the busy roadway, my first thought was that this was a terrible idea on dry pavement, much less in the worst of fresh slick.

    Do you folks keep road conditions and getting hit from behind in mind when riding? Will you go out of your way to avoid the possibility of getting run over from behind? Especially when attempting to turn left, with oncoming traffic?
     

    Nazgul

    Master
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    Near the big river.
    Needed a new lid and upgraded to a Shoei, 3/4. Very comfortable, lots of ventilation.

    My wife has no problem with me riding, helmet is mandatory. I always wear one for multiple reasons.

    Yes, cicadas stick in your beard at 60 mph.

    Don
     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
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    . . . Do you folks keep road conditions and getting hit from behind in mind when riding? Will you go out of your way to avoid the possibility of getting run over from behind? Especially when attempting to turn left, with oncoming traffic?
    Sometimes the choice may be between: 1) make the legal turn in a limited sight area -or- 2) not make that turn and take a different route to your destination.

    I think most riders take option 1. But you have to have an escape route in mind.

    Many motorcycles have MINIMAL rear lighting, that makes visibility of the bike worse. They do sell multi-function license plate frames that included LED strips for TURN/STOP/TAIL light functions and that plate alone meets the minimum legal D.O.T. standards for a motorcycle. I think they are a good addition to the factory lights. And switching factory lights to brighter LED lights also makes sense.

    I have one of these on my bike, in addition to my factory lights. Instal took me maybe a 90 minutes with quick connects. These things are available in black or chrome. Pretty much invisible until they light up. But when they light up they make the bike for visible. While it is legal to install one of these and then remove the rest of your lights, in my case I installed it to supplement my rear lights and increase reward visibility.

     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
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    Apr 2, 2008
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    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    bwframe said:
    Will you go out of your way to avoid the possibility of getting run over from behind? Especially when attempting to turn left, with oncoming traffic?

    For whatever it is worth, here is the rear view of my bike and my wife's bike. She does not have the multi-function license plate light frame on hers but she almost never rides alone so between our 2 bikes we make a pretty big visual footprint for cars to see. My bike has more lights, but I ride 2x the miles she does, day, night, rain or shine.

    My luggage cases are quick detach. There are LED RED tail + AMBER turn lights on the luggage cases too. Wiring to disconnect the side luggage cases are quick disconnect. So I can remove both cases, disconnect the wires for both, in a total of about 2 minutes, probably a bit less. Her luggage cases have RED running lights installed behind the factory reflectors; also has both quick detach cases and also quick detach wires.

    Bottom LEFT photo: Rear view of the bikes as you'd see them running at night.

    Bottom RIGHT photo: Rear view of my bike as you'd see it at a turn at night.

    CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?


    fullsizeoutput-72ac.jpg
     
    Last edited:

    bwframe

    Loneranger
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    Those lights are great!

    The other part of the issue though is, even when driving your car, do you consider going farther on your route to avoid a bad place to turn?

    Especially with poor road conditions, if oncoming traffic forces you to stop traffic behind you so you can turn left, do you consider an alternative?
     

    yeahbaby

    Expert
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    Dec 9, 2011
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    Portage
    I rode many a years back. Gave it up after being in a serious accident on 41 in Lake county with a buddy. Actually I fared really well compared to my buddy and my bike. My buddy was in the hospital for about a month and a half. Punctured lung, various contusions and such. I got bruised and scrapped up pretty good. I would love to ride again. Although the way people drive anymore, is just ridiculous and dangerous. If you ride wear all of your safety gear. Be safe!
     

    cbhausen

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    Feb 17, 2010
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    I’ll be back on 2 wheels again next week. Signed the paperwork on this earlier today and I’ll be taking delivery Monday. And yes, I’ll be wearing at least a proper lid, boots and gloves, maybe jacket and pants if I can score some before then. This should make the daily commute a bit more invigorating.
     

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    melensdad

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 94.7%
    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
    23,985
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    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    Do you folks keep road conditions and getting hit from behind in mind when riding? Will you go out of your way to avoid the possibility of getting run over from behind? Especially when attempting to turn left, with oncoming traffic?

    The other part of the issue though is, even when driving your car, do you consider going farther on your route to avoid a bad place to turn?

    Especially with poor road conditions, if oncoming traffic forces you to stop traffic behind you so you can turn left, do you consider an alternative?
    Don't recall every intentionally passing a turn while in a car, but I've intentionally driven past turns while on the bike if I felt it was unsafe to make that turn.

    Turning onto my road, which is at the base of a steep hill, I flick on the turn signals early so any cars behind me have ample notice that I'm going to be making a left at the blind intersection that they may not even know exists right over the next hill.

    Sometimes its as simple as riding fast and not realizing the upcoming place I wanted to turn was so close, so I simply didn't feel it prudent to stand on the bike's brakes to make the turn (typically in unfamiliar areas while traveling). Sometimes because the weather & road conditions seemed to make it an unreasonable place to turn.
     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 94.7%
    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
    23,985
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    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    I’ll be back on 2 wheels again next week. Signed the paperwork on this earlier today and I’ll be taking delivery Monday. And yes, I’ll be wearing at least a proper lid, boots and gloves, maybe jacket and pants if I can score some before then. This should make the daily commute a bit more invigorating.
    And on Monday night you need to give us your impressions of the Honda DCT transmission.

    Those Africa Twins are just so damn sexy!

    FWIW, I just picked up a KLIM "Induction Pro" jacket. Of the the 6 jackets I've purchased in the past 4 years, including 3 full mesh jackets, this one is, by far, the nicest jacket for hot weather. Flows far more air than the other mesh jackets, and unlike the other mesh jackets it feels like an actual protective jacket despite it's light weight. Euro's CE certified as "AA" for street safety, making it arguably the most protective mesh jacket in the world.
     
    Last edited:

    EyeCarry

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    9   0   0
    May 10, 2014
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    Bloomington
    I’ll be back on 2 wheels again next week. Signed the paperwork on this earlier today and I’ll be taking delivery Monday. And yes, I’ll be wearing at least a proper lid, boots and gloves, maybe jacket and pants if I can score some before then. This should make the daily commute a bit more invigorating.
    Congrats CB! Nice looking bike.
     

    tv1217

    N6OTB
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    3   0   0
    Mar 11, 2009
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    I actually strongly considered the Africa Twin before the CB but I wanted to get back on two wheels ASAP and the CB is 6-7K cheaper.

    Now I'm deciding between the AT and Indian Scout when it's time for my second bike.
     

    JCSR

    NO STAGE PLAN
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    May 11, 2017
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    Santa Claus
    Don't recall every intentionally passing a turn while in a car, but I've intentionally driven past turns while on the bike if I felt it was unsafe to make that turn.

    Turning onto my road, which is at the base of a steep hill, I flick on the turn signals early so any cars behind me have ample notice that I'm going to be making a left at the blind intersection that they may not even know exists right over the next hill.

    Sometimes its as simple as riding fast and not realizing the upcoming place I wanted to turn was so close, so I simply didn't feel it prudent to stand on the bike's brakes to make the turn (typically in unfamiliar areas while traveling). Sometimes because the weather & road conditions seemed to make it an unreasonable place to turn.
    I have passed dangerous left into traffic turns on the bike and car. On the bike I also use hand signals without fail.
    download (8).jpg
     

    tmschuller

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    41   0   0
    Feb 25, 2013
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    Grant county
    Clutch demons have me down until the new clutch master cylinder comes. New clutch plates.. new gaffler clutch line. Bleed and bleed and couldn’t get much pressure and took the perch off and found where the demon was hiding. Bike has 46k and it was time for a clutch rebuild.. can’t wait to ride it with the clutch not slipping!
     
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