401 replies to this topic

[thefirstimmortal]

OK, I gotta get back to work here. If I got enough gas to get me past midnight I'll do some more posting here.

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[rwac]

Looking at this pic angle gets me leaning toward the black. It's subtler to be sure, but look at the bike at that angle and it just looks sinister. You almost expect to see Darth Vader getting on it. It's kind of a draw, I think I would have to see 2 up close and also watch them go down the road before I could decide on what color would be best.

Hey, No fair!
You're comparing a 650r to a ZX6R, a completely different beast.

Here's a pic of a black 650 & a red one, and a better black one.
what do you think now ?

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Edited by rwac, 26 January 2009 - 02:06 AM.

[thefirstimmortal]

Hey, No fair!
You're comparing a 650r to a ZX6R, a completely different beast.

Wow, no wonder I was liking that pic. I downloaded a bunch of pics, they should have all been 650R’s. I don’t know how that slipped in there.

Here's a pic of a black 650 & a red one, and a better black one.
what do you think now ?

Bottom pic, I would have to reject it on the Gaudy mismatched colored rims. The top black bike looks fine as far as color scheme goes and works well with the silver rims but it just doesn’t have enough fairing to pull it off. The bike looks nice but not sinster or sporty. Red wins hands down. It’s color matched all around and the red just looks sporty, you picked the right color.

[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

Hey Rwac, those are Cool-looking slightly petal-shaped brake rotors. Two in front and one in the rear. Your Twin-piston sliding front calipers are fitted, and a single-pot sliding caliper is employed in back. By the way, your front calipers look identical to what you’ll find on a Suzuki SV650S.

You will find braking to be strong, easy to modulate and consistent, with light lever effort. Add to that your high-compression twin-cylinder engine also provides considerable compression braking if you know how to use that, so you should never lack stopping force.


All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.

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Edited by thefirstimmortal, 26 January 2009 - 05:19 PM.

[thefirstimmortal]

This is a picture of your front tire. It is designed for touring-oriented riders who also enjoy a sporty ride. Both of your Bridgestone Battlax tires have Silica compound for improved grip in wet and cool conditions.

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Edited by thefirstimmortal, 26 January 2009 - 04:52 PM.

[thefirstimmortal]

Your rear tire is a Mono-spiral belt for increased high-speed stability. Dual crown radius improves cornering grip and stability. I know I said to replace them with another set, but I found a better tire option for you.

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[thefirstimmortal]

When your set wears out you want to upgrade to the Bridgestone Battlax BT021 Motorcycle Tire. It’s designed for riders who want serious performance and high mileage. Check out the new front pattern design, it is designed to provide good shock absorption with less vibration and noise to minimize fatigue on longer rides.

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[thefirstimmortal]

Key features of the rear tire is Dual Tread Compound with Cap Base Construction providing mileage from center compound and grip from shoulder compound, while enhancing tread stiffness for better grip, shock absorption and all-weather performance. Great wear and durability, decent traction all the way to the edge. I like these tires.

These babies will do some deep cornering although hard deep braking could take a heavy toll on the tires. A little more coin for these, but definitely worth the money.

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[thefirstimmortal]

OK, I gotta get back to cryonics, I'll leave this thread alone till 8:00pm.

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[thefirstimmortal]

There is another reason why you really want to upgrade to the Bridgestone Battlax BT021 after you wear out your first set. Your damping rates are non-adjustable at both ends which means your going to find the bike to be a tad harsh over sharp edged bumps, and repetitive pavement seams will send it hopping. The extra good shock absorption will help your suspension so it doesn’t turn as harsh over nasty freeway seams and square edged pavement craters.

And let’s face it, how do you turn away from a set of tires that has a rear tire with Dual Tread Compound that will hold a line through a corner nicely and feel stable at high speed.

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Edited by thefirstimmortal, 27 January 2009 - 04:49 AM.

[rwac]

There is another reason why you really want to upgrade to the Bridgestone Battlax BT021 after you wear out your first set. Your damping rates are non-adjustable at both ends which means your going to find the bike to be a tad harsh over sharp edged bumps, and repetitive pavement seams will send it hopping. The extra good shock absorption will help your suspension so it doesn't turn as harsh over nasty freeway seams and square edged pavement craters.

And let's face it, how do you turn away from a set of tires that has a rear tire with Dual Tread Compound that will hold a line through a corner nicely and feel stable at high speed.

Speaking of harsh, how soft/hard would you set the suspension to ?
Would you tune it to comfort or ... ?

Yeah, I do have a couple of biker friends. They're both out of town right now, though.
One of them took me to the dealership, and what do you know, I have a bike.

[thefirstimmortal]

Speaking of harsh, how soft/hard would you set the suspension to ?
Would you tune it to comfort or ... ?

I favor a stiff ride, you lose comfort that can easily be gained back by upgrading your seat. But a stiff ride is a tight safe ride in my opinion. Your non-adjustable conventional 41mm front forks and the preload-adjustable rear shock are set by the factory on the sporting side of the scale, you want them set there. A stiffer ride will keep you from things like front-end dive during braking, so it is a safety issue in my mind. The sporting nature of the firm suspension does make uneven pavement jarring at times, but it’s a small price to pay for solid handling.

Yeah, I do have a couple of biker friends. They're both out of town right now, though.
One of them took me to the dealership, and what do you know, I have a bike.

Ooops, waddya know, how did that happen.

[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

Speaking of seats, that looks like a wide, slightly cupped seat. How many miles does that seat keep butt-burn at bay for? I’m guessing you can go about 100=125 miles before butt burn sets in.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.

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[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

Mull this idea over. A Solo seat cowl, there are pro's and con's.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.
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[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

Pros, on some bikes it improves the appearance.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.
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[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

I can't seem to find and example of red, but here is green at different angles to give you an idea.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.

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[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

My original seat sucked, it was vinyl with very little padding. These are pics or bikes the same or close to the same year of my bike.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.

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Edited by thefirstimmortal, 27 January 2009 - 02:04 PM.

[thefirstimmortal]

I added 2inches of foam cushion to the front and an inch under the passenger seat. I covered that addition foam padding with ¾ inch black fur. Warmer in the cold weather, the hot sun won’t heat it up like it will vinyl, and longer range before butt burn sets in.

Nowadays, you have better options, you can simply buy a gel pack after market or addition to your seat if you lose comfort or want extra comfort.

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[rwac]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

Speaking of seats, that looks like a wide, slightly cupped seat. How many miles does that seat keep butt-burn at bay for? I'm guessing you can go about 100=125 miles before butt burn sets in.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.

I have gone about 100 miles a couple of times. No butt burn yet.
So that sounds about right.

[rwac]

Here's some more pics for ya.
There are the new 2009 models.

Looks like they took your advice on the 650r looks.
It looks meaner, I think.

Also new is the naked version.

btw, Did you know that the 650r sold in europe has ABS ?!?
Not too many bikes in the US have ABS.

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[thefirstimmortal]

Here's some more pics for ya.
There are the new 2009 models.

Looks like they took your advice on the 650r looks.
It looks meaner, I think.

Meaner, perhaps, but it looks ugly. They took a step back on that.

Also new is the naked version.

Yeah, that's one of the problems, I like seeing some fairing. This looks too stripped down. Is the top pic a 650R??? It looks different from the bottom pics.

btw, Did you know that the 650r sold in europe has ABS ?!?
Not too many bikes in the US have ABS.

I didn't know that, I knew that Europe and California had different standards but did not know about the ABS.

[thefirstimmortal]

Here's some more pics for ya.
There are the new 2009 models.

The two lower pics look good, nice headlight and fairing design. What's up with the top pic?

[rwac]

Here's some more pics for ya.
There are the new 2009 models.

The two lower pics look good, nice headlight and fairing design. What's up with the top pic?

It's basically a 650R without the fairing, and a crappy looking headlight.
It's called a ER-6n (n for naked).

It's been sold in Europe for a while, new in the US for 2009.

Edited by rwac, 28 January 2009 - 01:29 AM.

[thefirstimmortal]

It's basically a 650R without the fairing, and a crappy looking headlight.
It's called a ER-6n (n for naked).

It's been sold in Europe for a while, new in the US for 2009.

LOL, yeah, that headlight is soo not cool. Let me make a bold prediction, they are not going to sell too many of those models in the States.

[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

My first bike was a Honda CB super sport. I don't have any pics on my computer, but I have a few photos somewhere kicking around. I didn't even buy it to ride, it bought it for resale. My friends brother lost his licence and the bike only had 600 miles on it, and he tried putting the bike up for sale in Novemer. Not a hot season to try to sell a bike. I offered $1,200 for it and he sold it. The following sprig I registered the bike and started driving it. I was hooked on ridig but that bike was too tall for me, I could barely plant my feet on the pavement. I started to look for another bike that would be easier to ride. Here are a few pics of bikes that are close.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.

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[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

My Honda CB didn’t even have the fairing like the first pic, here is a closer pic. Standard non sporty touring style bike that wasn’t even all that fun to ride. I was looking to replace it with something sportier and lower in the seat.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.

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[rwac]

Here's a couple of pics of the same model as my bike, back in India.
(TVS Suzuki Samurai)

Mine was in sparkly dark green, because none of the other colors were sparkly.

It was a 100cc 2 stroke, and I managed to drop it a bunch of times.
Not to mention the whole silliness of doing a faceplant without a helmet.
It was only 25-30 mph, but still.

It was loads of fun, and now my brother rides it back home.

He's managed to burn out both the brakes.
I have no understanding of how he could even think of riding it without any brakes ...

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Edited by rwac, 28 January 2009 - 10:55 PM.

[thefirstimmortal]

Here's a couple of pics of the same model as my bike, back in India.
(TVS Suzuki Samurai)

Mine was in sparkly dark green, because none of the other colors were sparkly.

It was a 100cc 2 stroke, and I managed to drop it a bunch of times.

I dropped my Honda twice. embarrassing.

Not to mention the whole silliness of doing a faceplant without a helmet.
It was only 25-30 mph, but still.

Don't underestimate the dangers of a low speed crash, what were you doing without a helmet? remember, helmets are cool as long as you have a cool helmet. Got pics of your helmet?

I estimate that I hit the guardrail on my accident at 25-30 miles an hour, and that was enough to snap my leg bone, shatter my hip and nearly amputate my leg.

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[thefirstimmortal]

Long Live Freedom of Speech

He's managed to burn out both the brakes.
I have no understanding of how he could even think of riding it without any brakes ...

Not the sharpest Knife in the draw.

All of my threads will be moved to the Freedom of Speech Forum Soon.

[rwac]

Don't underestimate the dangers of a low speed crash, what were you doing without a helmet?

I was stupid, young, having fun and going to get a helmet the next day.

remember, helmets are cool as long as you have a cool helmet. Got pics of your helmet?

It's just your standard black helmet. The dealership didn't have any helmets I liked in my price range.
So I got a basic one. Planning to buy a nice one at some point.
I don't ride without it.

I estimate that I hit the guardrail on my accident at 25-30 miles an hour, and that was enough to snap my leg bone, shatter my hip and nearly amputate my leg.

Mine wasn't so bad, I spose.
My right handlebar locked on the dividing rail, and threw me over the front, and I woke up the next day, in a hospital.
Just a cracked skull and an epileptic fit. Could have been worse.
I was riding again less than a month later.