Which sportbike is good?

[sze5003]

A few years ago I was riding home from work on my SV coming down hill to a stop light that was green, there was a car in front of me and we're both moving pretty good and I'm actually accelerating to try to make the light because it just turned yellow but I know I can make it, well, the guy in front of me decided to stop at the last second so now I'm going from accelerating downhill toward an intersection to emergency braking to try to avoid plowing into the back of the car in front of me. I am hard on the front brake and the rear locks up so the rear of the bike starts to slither around while the front is doing all the slowing. I did manage to keep it all pointed the right direction and I stopped a couple feet short of his rear bumper.

Lesson learned: NEVER EVER try to make a light on a motorcycle.

Yup and I didn't even give it that much front brake but I then remembered last summer I put on new front pads.

From now on I'll also not be going through lights unless it's clear at the intersection. I also usually slow down before each intersection even if it's green because who knows who may be running a red light.

Have to be light on the breaks. That slalom and the engine turning off scared me a lot. I really felt like I was going to fall over.

I also have to remember to stop trying to stay close to my friend even though he is on a supersport. There's no need to go so fast since I have a good amount of torque and power on the low end.

What is the average rpm's for each gear? Usually in fourth or fifth I'm at 4-4500. I notice my temperature go up the longer I stay at higher ranges but it goes back down once I keep it constant or go up to a higher gear. My sv heats up pretty quickly but no leaks or anything that I'm aware of. Highest it got to was 201 F yesterday and it was like 86 degrees out.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yup and I didn't even give it that much front brake but I then remembered last summer I put on new front pads.

From now on I'll also not be going through lights unless it's clear at the intersection. I also usually slow down before each intersection even if it's green because who knows who may be running a red light.

Have to be light on the breaks. That slalom and the engine turning off scared me a lot. I really felt like I was going to fall over.

I also have to remember to stop trying to stay close to my friend even though he is on a supersport. There's no need to go so fast since I have a good amount of torque and power on the low end.

What is the average rpm's for each gear? Usually in fourth or fifth I'm at 4-4500. I notice my temperature go up the longer I stay at higher ranges but it goes back down once I keep it constant or go up to a higher gear. My sv heats up pretty quickly but no leaks or anything that I'm aware of. Highest it got to was 201 F yesterday and it was like 86 degrees out.

Clutch in whenever you brake. I use the engine for slowing a lot so I'm always expecting a downshift when braking. Should be second nature.

You have to trust that your front brakes have a lot more power than you think. It isn't hard to give a good jerk to the lever and lock the front wheel but if you squeeze progressively they are a lot stronger as long as that front wheel keeps turning and doesn't lock.

Good job keeping it up. :thumbsup:

 

[sze5003]

Yea I did grab the clutch when I braked but not sure why it stalled. Could be my clutch needing some adjustments. Or I might have released it by accident, everything happened so fast and it was really unexpected because we were driving on a straight road.

 

[papadage]

The same thing happened to me once.. came to a stop and the bike shut down. I thought nothing of it, and it happened again a little later. I tightened up the clutch cable a bit, and it was fine after that. Clutch cables stretch so that that you are just barely holding the clutch when you have the lever tightly held. A bit of a loosening of your grip can cause it to let go.

As for the light.. yeah.. it's a bad place to be loose with discipline. You always have to maintain your following distance, and also keep an eye on your mirrors for the guy behind you. I had a guy try to squeeze by me once so that he could try to make a light I was stopping for. He went through my lane, partly on the shoulder, and he tapped my bar end with his mirror, almost wiping me out. I added the brake light flashers a week later.

 

[indy2878]

Question? Is there a book out there that gives you techniques on riding a motorcycle and is situational scenario based? Most motorcycle technique books tell you how to use a motorcycle, but what if there's a book that gives you around 124 different possible situations you may encounter in the streets while riding and gives a break down of what to do? Maybe perhaps even detailed to the point of giving the solution for each type of bike? Just wonderin....

 

[Fenixgoon]

Question? Is there a book out there that gives you techniques on riding a motorcycle and is situational scenario based? Most motorcycle technique books tell you how to use a motorcycle, but what if there's a book that gives you around 124 different possible situations you may encounter in the streets while riding and gives a break down of what to do? Maybe perhaps even detailed to the point of giving the solution for each type of bike? Just wonderin....

Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well

Basically covers most things you will encounter on the street, as well as situations like long trips, changes in climate, etc.

 

[indy2878]

Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well

Basically covers most things you will encounter on the street, as well as situations like long trips, changes in climate, etc.

Cool, thanks for recommending this book! :thumbsup:

 

[monkeydelmagico]

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Have to be light on the breaks. That slalom and the engine turning off scared me a lot. I really felt like I was going to fall over.

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Rear brake can be a liability in panic situation. So much weight transfer to the front.

Pro tip: At the beginning of every ride practice your panic stops. Gotta train that muscle memory to react properly. I make a braking game out of it, kinda like a drinking game. For the first 15 min or so of my ride every time I see a red car I slam on the brakes. This obviously only works in more rural situations where there are not other vehicles on your six.

I find that on most occasions I need to warm up my skills because I am not braking optimally.

 

[sze5003]

I used to do that too when I started riding but I wouldn't go too fast. I have to remember to do it each ride. Even pressure on both brakes. If the rear locks up you are suppose to keep it pressed until the bike centers out. I think this is what I did in my incident. But I didn't even think about holding the rear brake it just happened.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Rear brake can be a liability in panic situation. So much weight transfer to the front.

Pro tip: At the beginning of every ride practice your panic stops. Gotta train that muscle memory to react properly. I make a braking game out of it, kinda like a drinking game. For the first 15 min or so of my ride every time I see a red car I slam on the brakes. This obviously only works in more rural situations where there are not other vehicles on your six.

I find that on most occasions I need to warm up my skills because I am not braking optimally.

Make sure your tires are warmed up before doing this.

I don't find a rear brake lockup to be all that bad. It's not difficult to control. Didn't you ever lock up the rear wheel on your bicycle when you were a kid and come sliding to a stop?

 

[tortoise]

situations you may encounter in the streets while riding

Apparently unfamiliar with YouTube!

 

[papadage]

Make sure your tires are warmed up before doing this.

I don't find a rear brake lockup to be all that bad. It's not difficult to control. Didn't you ever lock up the rear wheel on your bicycle when you were a kid and come sliding to a stop?

Yeah, but on a high powered bike, in mid turn, that is a recipe for a classic high side.

Lose the rear.
Get traction back while under throttle.
Rear hooks up and throws the rider, and possibly follows him.

If you chop the throttle too much, then you just drop and slide.

But the above is a good reason that a new rider should stay on lower powered bikes. That, and the ability to spill the bike by grabbing too much brake while entering a turn. That happened to a guy riding behind me on my first track day. He was a new track rider like me, but his bike was a GSX-R 1000. He took the front straight fast, misjudged the tip-in point for the first turn, and panic braked and lost the front off into the curbing, and then the brush.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Make sure your tires are warmed up before doing this.

I don't find a rear brake lockup to be all that bad. It's not difficult to control. Didn't you ever lock up the rear wheel on your bicycle when you were a kid and come sliding to a stop?

I don't have a problem with it either, but that stems from my dirt riding background. Some road riders do. Rear lock up, a bit of slide angle, then rear brake release become a high side in the blink of an eye.

For you Jules rear lock up shouldn't mean a darn thing. The rear tire isn't even on the ground under heavy braking .

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah, but on a high powered bike, in mid turn, that is a recipe for a classic high side.

Lose the rear.
Get traction back while under throttle.
Rear hooks up and throws the rider, and possibly follows him.

If you chop the throttle too much, then you just drop and slide.

But the above is a good reason that a new rider should stay on lower powered bikes. That, and the ability to spill the bike by grabbing too much brake while entering a turn. That happened to a guy riding behind me on my first track day. He was a new track rider like me, but his bike was a GSX-R 1000. He took the front straight fast, misjudged the tip-in point for the first turn, and panic braked and lost the front off into the curbing, and then the brush.

You should be doing all your braking before you corner. My rear brake lockups were never in the middle of a corner and, yes, I know the danger of that turning into a highside.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I don't have a problem with it either, but that stems from my dirt riding background. Some road riders do. Rear lock up, a bit of slide angle, then rear brake release become a high side in the blink of an eye.

For you Jules rear lock up shouldn't mean a darn thing. The rear tire isn't even on the ground under heavy braking .

Stoppies and stuntin' aren't really my thing. And I'm not exactly Valentino Rossi either.

 

[papadage]

You should be doing all your braking before you corner. My rear brake lockups were never in the middle of a corner and, yes, I know the danger of that turning into a highside.

That was more for the benefit of more inexperienced readers, as an added reason why new riders should stay away from too powerful a bike.

 

[sze5003]

Yea never break in a turn or corner. Even if you have to slow down to 10-15mph for a turn you should do so before it. There is only one wheel providing power and if you break while turning not only do you go off course but you could easily wreck.

My brake lock up happened on a straight road.

 

[papadage]

It's not quite true. You can brake a little while leaned in a turn, and the amount of lean, speed and conditions matter a lot. But, as a regular practice, it should be avoided. If you need to brake in mid-turn, you need to get the bike upright so as not to lose traction. As you cut speed, your tires lose contact pressure with the road due to reduced centrifugal force, and that is what also holds the bike off the ground at larger lean angles.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

nothing wrong with trail braking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_braking

 

[papadage]

Exactly right. And on the street, as on the track, mid-lean adjustments may need to be made without room to straighten up. On the track, double apex, and descending, tightening turns meant I really needed to learn to at least brake a bit to get on a better line if another bike cut close I front of me. On the highway, it comes in handy when sudden obstacles appear, especially after this shitty winter, and the resulting potholes.

 

[JulesMaximus]

nothing wrong with trail braking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_braking

It is a bit beyond the scope of this thread though... which is recommending a decent bike to a total n00b and giving some basic riding tips.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

yeah good point. thread definitely got sidetracked.

 

[sze5003]

I think OP decided to go with a bicycle then the MSF course for scooters and get a scooter for the time being. He will be most comfortable this way if he does decide to get a motorcycle later.