Most Important Things to Know For a Motorcycling n00b.

I don't know if this is good advice or not.

I read on some fjr forum to cover the clutch and take up the slack with your fingers when leaned over in a corner when you're about to crack on the throttle. This makes it so that if you hamfist the fueling and upset the bike, when your body is thrown towards the rear you will pull in the clutch a bit to get power off the rear wheel. This effectively gives you some traction control

I'm not going to say "Don't do that," but as far as I can figure, and with many miles on a sport bike through many a corner... I've just not experienced that it would work anything like that, nor that ham-fisting the throttle when leaned over would cause anything much at the low-end of a fuck up, and at the high-end a low-side or high-side - both of which are gonna happen pretty fast, with neither seemingly jerking the rider back enough to engage the clutch.

I'm gonna wait and hope for someone's more insightful input on covering the clutch that tightly.

Look where you want to go! Oh and if you're riding a torquey bike hard in twisties, ride the back brake a little when you transition from no throttle to throttle. It smooths out the hit on some of the snatchy EFI systems we have today.

The best advice my Dad when he gave me a Honda CB/CL (it was both) 350 to ride (he also never gave it to me, says he) was that everyone, EVERY ONE[!] is drunk and out to get you. Never trust anybody in a car.

That advice has served me well whether I'm in a car or on a motorcycle or on a road bicycle. Everyone is trying to kill you, ride/drive as though they were. In 40 years of driving something on the road I've had one accident and it was when I was pulling a Uhaul trailer and couldn't get out of the way.

I really miss my ol' Dad. He'd really like the BWM F800GS until he found I bought with his money ;-)

Although you're certainly not the first person to post this little gem of misinformation, pretending that everyone is drunk and out to kill you is really fucking stupid advice which has no basis in reality. The truth is that if drivers WERE out to kill us then they probably could and would kill/maim us with impunity.

A much more reality-based approach is to recognize that due to inattentiveness and/or physiological imperfections in human vision processing that's it's very possible for a driver not to be aware of your presence. Do they want to kill you? Nope. If for no other reason than they don't want dents in their car and being taken away from their normal activities to deal with the hassle of an accident.

Can someone "look right at you" and still pull out in front of you? Yes, sure enough, happens all the time. Does it mean they aren't sober or are homicidal? Nope.

If I actually rode like "everyone is drunk and trying to kill me" then I'd probably end up with a shitload of tickets and my license being pulled.

And, as a driver, if I'd really wanted "try to kill MC riders" then, at my age, I'd already have a quarter panel full of rider silhouettes by now.

"Pretend you're invisible" is much better advice which has a grounding in reality.

Noobs--for you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfaBt3sJSCs

Nice set of videos Capt!....
Perhaps the lawn will NOT get mowed today....

That FJR forum must be a struggle, with trolling like that going on.


Unfortunately, nobody that incompetent with the throttle is going to save himself by finessing the clutch.

(Except maybe an expert who has broken his right elbow and wrist and is trying to ride quick in a cast. )

For the low clearance crowd....

http://youtu.be/UD1Qhdy_-HE

:huh

This is how much currency I have spent on my DR650. I bought it new a few months ago and have since had all this stuff fitted to deck it out for endurance travel. The only thing I ain't got is luggage and panniers yet.

This is really how much it can cost, no BS. The fist service I had was expensive, the suzuki dealership I went to charged me a lot and I won't be going back there again because of that. But, anyway, I got a good deal on my clothing and the main thing for me is that I like my bike and my clothing fits me really well.

Hope this can help someone who's considering buying a new 650 for adventure riding, like me.
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Taking a Passenger?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a5e8cbgNBY

I took the MSF Basic Rider Course on 5/18/13 having only ridden as a passenger before, and the most helpful thing for me was having my best friend (and very experienced rider) either riding in front of or behind me and communicating through helmet intercom. I got a lot of "turn your blinker off"...."watch this weirdo on the left"...."you are turning too soon"....etc. etc. I realize not everyone may have this opportunity, but if you do...invest in a bluetooth system!

Words to live by...FWIW

Ride the road, don't count on all the hints from your GPS. Mr. GPS can make mistakes. Anyway, you should be watching the road.

Be aware of front tires when dealing with traffic. A car will almost always follow the front tires.

Back off or blast off...do not tail gate.

Thats all for now...

I would add.. Don't ride hung-over.. That got me once on light rain.. Trying to escape the girls house before the walk of shame! Anyhow over the years I have learned that you should not ride when you are not 100% able to devote your attention to the ride! Worried, depressed, stressed, angy.. or Late! Your emptional state can be just as detremental as alcohol or drugs! First take a few minutes to calm down, regain your focus, or decide not to think about it and then ride!

Great vid as always Crash.

True, but you forgot to mention the added mass pushing your upper-body forward during a hard stop. That can be quite disconcerting if you aren't expecting it.

I agree.

The last time I went drinking and riding was to meet someone from ADVrider who was in town (about a month ago). I started to ride home slightly buzzed from the 'party' area that had a lot of cruisers / Harleys (before I left - they all headed home before I did), knowing it was a bad idea... I had about 15 miles of super-slab ahead of me. Within the first mile I came to a slow-down that I didn't expect (construction at almost 2 AM on the weekend?). As we filtered down from the four lanes into one lane, a road worker there at the forward edge of the cones gave me a stare like the grim reaper... yet it didn't register why (e.g. why stare at me vs. all these other drivers in cars and trucks out here?).

Traffic got slower and slower in this single lane, even after being in it, to where we were down to like 4 MPH. Then I saw why as I passed the body and bike of who I was sure was a fellow partier who drank and rode (the news, later, was that he was coming from the same party road I was at, and his home / destination was the same place I live).

I took the chance he did that night, and the odds caught up to him.

Fresh chip seal can be unnerving. Once cured and sealed it is just road...

http://youtu.be/sWoerDAB1Lw

http://youtu.be/DMgYxsocN_Q

Watch out for a lot of camber in the road/track when you come to a stop, I have been caught out a couple of times, once the bike starts to go over, it is very hard to stop!

As said on previous treads before, if there are any extra training courses out there, try and get yourself on them, even as a refresher. It's good to practice emergency braking, counter steering etc on a regular basis.


Enjoy, learn and good luck!