Good gear doesn't work.....
When you dont wear it.
I learned that the hard way. 2 Weeks ago whild coming home from work I pulled up in my driveway and my shoelace got stuck on my peg. Needless to say my bike fell on me and broke my foot. I had to have to pins put in my foot to hold it together. I have boots but don't wear them while driving back and forth to work, I will be wearing them from now on. No matter how short or insignificant the trip may seem, You never know what may happen.
Listen to your bike
Although i am a fairly new rider i ride my bike everday and know how it rides very well. While out riding in the canyons my bike did not feel right it wasn't handling like it usually does, instead of stopping and doing a check i chose to keep riding. While taking a right hander my bike started to shake so i had to straighten up and ended up running into the oncoming lane luckily there were no cars , Ray signaled for me to pull over and as it turns out i had a flat rear tire. I was able to nurse it down the hill to a gas station and get it fixed. Luckily i had noticed the bike was not riding right so i had slowed down but had i been a little smarter i would have pulled over and checked earlier and slowed it down even more saving myself from crossing over to ther lane. It certianly is worth it to stop and check your bike if something does not feel right the alternative can turn out much worse.
MSF and message boards
About a week ago i started my bike in the morning to let it warm up, put it in gear and it would not engage, there were MPH showing on my speedo but my bike was not moving, it turns out the nut that holds the front sprocket came off and the sprocket came off the countershaft.The great thing is that no matter what kind of bike you ride there is a message board for that bike. I did a quick search for R6 and came across a few message boards signed up and posted a question, within 10 minutes i had several ideas what to look for and was able to diagnose and fix the problem. Also by doing this i saved myself at least $200 if not more and i am not mechanicaly inclined at all. Well i got my bike again and no more problems right? Well 2 days later i go to start my bike and it is not starting, "great not again" is all i could think to myself, but i cleared my head and thought of MSF, T-CLOCKS ok now i know it's not the tires so ok check the controls........ooops i forgot to pull the choke, i enganged the choke and what do you know the bike starts up right away. So if you have problems don't panic start small and rule everything out and also there is also plenty of help on the internet and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty you may save yourself some money.
A smooth transition
I moved up to my first sportbike this week, I got an 01 R6. I had a 2 hour ride home to enjoy my bike, being that it was already 9pm and there was now were to practice i decided to jump right on the freeway, smooth sailing should be easy but not so quick there was construction on the 22 and it took about 45 minutes to get to the 405 and i wasn't about to lane split on a new bike, once i hit the 405 however it was smooth sailing the whole way. Overall it was a seemless transition between the GS500. The aggressive body postion of the R6 makes freeway riding much more tolerable and cornering much easier as it is easier to lean into your corners. However slow speed manuvering is much different and that is were i am grateful i had alot of practice on the GS500. I am treating this bike like it my first bike again going over all the drils i did on my GS500 emergency stops from varying speeds, low speed turns and just learning the tendancies of my new bike. It has been a great experience and i look forward to growing with my bike
What to do when it rains
Luckily living in Southern California this is not a question that I have to ask to often, but when it is raining it's a great time to read up. I am currently reading Sport Riding Techniques, I feel it is even more important to read for my sakes as I am trying to move up to a true sportbike instead of my more forgiving GS500. As i have just started reading i can't give you any great insights from the book. Just this even when you can't ride you can still do things to help improve your riding skills, being mentally prepared is the first step to being a safe rider.
