Anything Else I Should Do For 2 Year Maintenance? - Page 4

 


Three things:

a)I want to minimize my downtime during the warm weather, so I'd prefer to
check it all over the Winter.

b)A bike ain't a car.  If my truck loses a wheel, I might laugh about it
after a slide.  I don't think I'd be laughing if there were any sort of a
structural failure on a bike.  Keeping an eye on things seems prudent.

c)I don't see any reason to trash a piece of machinery unnecessarily.  That
thing was sold to me by a colleague for about $4,050 (from memory).  It is
cheap and doesn't perform especially well, but it has been great at
tolerating spills and so forth with me just having to replace bolt-on parts
(thankfully, my riding has become better and no spills recently).  I don't
see any reason to leave corrosion untreated, etc.

I'm actually going to run it out to one of my mom's friends (in her 50's)
this weekend and loan it out until the Winter starts.  Her and her hubby are
taking the MSF basic rider course this weekend.  She survived breast cancer
a few years back (the whole ugly package--surgery + chemo) and she is kind
of going through her "I'm glad to be alive" list.

Great learner bike (2006 Honda Shadow 600).  It will get you on the freeway
but it doesn't have excessive power.

I emphasized to her that it has been "pre-crashed" for her, so she doesn't
necessarily have to ...

 

David T. Ashley wrote:


Some might think otherwise.

Find her a small standard motorcycle, such as a Kawasaki EX250 or 500,
or a Honda Nighthawk. Anything without forward controls. A cruiser is
not a good starter bike.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CB250
http://www.kawasaki.com/Products/Detail.aspx?id 0

--
   -bts
   -Friends don't let friends drive Windows

 


I really find your point of view interesting (and it is certainly more
experienced than mine).

Could you be more specific what you mean by "forward controls"?  Do you mean
the gearshift and rear brake?

Could you let me know why your opinion is that this makes a bad starter
bike?

I had good luck with the Shadow 600, but of course I have no frame of
reference (one can really only "learn" once).

Thanks for all, Dave A.

 

David T. Ashley wrote:


Perhaps, as I've been riding since the early 60s, and have covered over
a half-million miles.  ;-)


Look at yourself from a side view. Your boots are not under your butt,
but are way out ahead of the central mass of your body. Go ride to the
mall parking lot, find a good speed bump, and try to stand up on the
pegs so your spine doesn't take the shock. Do you need to use a lot of
arm strength to pull on the handlebars to get yourself off the seat?

Now try a 'standard' motorcycle. The pegs place your feet directly under
your body mass, so you can just raise up by exerting a bit of leg
pressure.

I've ridden several cruisers over the years. One thing I find unwieldy
is their usual handlebar position, where you normally have your palms
facing each other. Countersteering is more difficult, in my opinion,
than using a normal bar where your palms face front and down, so a push
on a bar end is a more normal movement. Thus, handling is easier.

You also have to sit on the cruiser with a curved spine, like a "C".


Oops, see just above.


That's true. Other than your short foray with the Katana, have you ever
ridden any other bike? Any 'standards?'

--
   -bts
   -Friends don't let friends drive Windows

 


Nope, no other standards.  You are correct.

I didn't mind my feet being under my butt on the Katana.  But the slightly
leaned forward posture ... not for me.

I think I'll go V-Strom next time around, in a few years.

Unless the gal I'm loaning the bike to falls in love with it and writes me a
check sooner.