Motorcycle Thread

Lejina · Dec 27, 2017

I got a versys 650 2015 last spring. I wanted something more upright than my old ninja, with better cargo space but still with a sporty feeling. Been pretty damn happy with it so far. The 1000 clearly felt more polished, even the plastic seems better quality, and the 4 cylinder is a great engine but at $1000 below msrp out the door, the 650 was too good to pass, that and it's more lively in the turns, if I'd use the highway for my commute I might have swayed to the 1000.

Either way, they are both great bikes. They don't get anywhere the attention they deserve.

Sludig · Dec 27, 2017

Lejina said:
I got a versys 650 2015 last spring. I wanted something more upright than my old ninja, with better cargo space but still with a sporty feeling. Been pretty damn happy with it so far. The 1000 clearly felt more polished, even the plastic seems better quality, and the 4 cylinder is a great engine but at $1000 below msrp out the door, the 650 was too good to pass, that and it's more lively in the turns, if I'd use the highway for my commute I might have swayed to the 1000.

Either way, they are both great bikes. They don't get anywhere the attention they deserve.

I test rode the 650 same day as the 1000. I was take it or leave it vs the vulcan. It felt almost too light and even more touchy throttle/engine braking than the vulcan. I knew it would be fine with time in it, I can see some of why it is so popular in non usa. The 1000 really spoke to me. All the power put a smile on my face, with the size I'll be tomorrow still in turns but hoping that works itself out well. Hoping the trac control and abs helps me too as a newer rider though with a few fast stops on vulcan I've been good about not grabbing that fist of brake.

I think I'll end up highway at least in mornings, evening traffic bad enough these back country roads while bumpy probably best with low traffic and doing 60 to 70 still.

Leadsalad · Dec 27, 2017

I had a Versys 650 as a loaner for a day. The engine ran out of steam at high revs, the suspension was terribly undersprung for my weight (210 with gear), and the plastics did seem budget. But it seemed like a perfect economical bike for commuting. Great wind protection, plenty of mid range for city stop and go. Just stick some stiffer springs in it and maybe look at some Oxford heated grips.

Hekotat · Dec 27, 2017

I keep forgetting this thread exists. I bought this bad boy and now I need to sell my grom. I don't care that it's a 390, it's a sexy bike with a ton of torque.

Lejina · Dec 28, 2017

Leadsalad said:
I had a Versys 650 as a loaner for a day. The engine ran out of steam at high revs, the suspension was terribly undersprung for my weight (210 with gear), and the plastics did seem budget. But it seemed like a perfect economical bike for commuting. Great wind protection, plenty of mid range for city stop and go. Just stick some stiffer springs in it and maybe look at some Oxford heated grips.

Yeah they tamed the top end of the power curve to boost it on the low and mid range. Same engine as the ninja 650 but you can tell the difference in tune. With that said, it's a power plant known for its reliability and not much else. The suspension needs some tuning to hit the spot: front fork has preload and damping adjustment and rear has only preload. Helps to set them right but even then the suspension will still feel soft. It's kind of the point tho, make the suspension stiff and you lose the advantage of the extra suspension travel.

That nose dive the first time you brake hard tho...

Sludig · Dec 28, 2017

Lejina said:
Yeah they tamed the top end of the power curve to boost it on the low and mid range. Same engine as the ninja 650 but you can tell the difference in tune. With that said, it's a power plant known for its reliability and not much else. The suspension needs some tuning to hit the spot: front fork has preload and damping adjustment and rear has only preload. Helps to set them right but even then the suspension will still feel soft. It's kind of the point tho, make the suspension stiff and you lose the advantage of the extra suspension travel.

That nose dive the first time you brake hard tho...

This is one place in going to be very lost on my v1000. Has front and rear preload. Front and maybe rear dampening, and i think a 5th thing i can adjust.

I assumed soft for my back road/highways and I'll not be running canyons or pushing it to 140, but unlike a car i guess running too soft might be dangerous even in just normal higher speed curves etc if you hit a bump or something i think i saw?

Leadsalad · Dec 28, 2017

Lejina said:
Yeah they tamed the top end of the power curve to boost it on the low and mid range. Same engine as the ninja 650 but you can tell the difference in tune. With that said, it's a power plant known for its reliability and not much else. The suspension needs some tuning to hit the spot: front fork has preload and damping adjustment and rear has only preload. Helps to set them right but even then the suspension will still feel soft. It's kind of the point tho, make the suspension stiff and you lose the advantage of the extra suspension travel.

That nose dive the first time you brake hard tho...

Stiffer springs for a rider's weight actually let you use all of the travel in the suspension. Your shock or forks aren't doing much good at 60% sag and hitting the bump stops whenever you brake or hit a bump in the road.

The other side of the coin is how important rebound damping is for safety. And most bikes won't have it on the shock, and few have it on the forks on base versions of their higher models (el oh el at a $12k Ducati Hypermotord having only preload front and rear with no compression or rebound adjustments).

Leadsalad · Dec 28, 2017

Sludig said:
This is one place in going to be very lost on my v1000. Has front and rear preload. Front and maybe rear dampening, and i think a 5th thing i can adjust.

I assumed soft for my back road/highways and I'll not be running canyons or pushing it to 140, but unlike a car i guess running too soft might be dangerous even in just normal higher speed curves etc if you hit a bump or something i think i saw?

Search around and see if you can find a reputable motorcycle suspension shop in the area that does set ups and bring the bike to them.

They'll measure sag, give you a baseline for any compression and rebound options you may have and let you know if stiffer or lighter springs are recommended. Should be ~$40 for a basic setup and it's worth it if you're completely new to motorcyling. Suspension is a huge part of safety on a bike next to tires.

I'm in the SF Bay Area so I get a bit spoiled for shops and the guys at my track days (Dave Moss).

Sludig · Dec 28, 2017

Leadsalad said:
Search around and see if you can find a reputable motorcycle suspension shop in the area that does set ups and bring the bike to them.

They'll measure sag, give you a baseline for any compression and rebound options you may have and let you know if stiffer or lighter springs are recommended. Should be ~$40 for a basic setup and it's worth it if you're completely new to motorcyling. Suspension is a huge part of safety on a bike next to tires.

I'm in the SF Bay Area so I get a bit spoiled for shops and the guys at my track days (Dave Moss).

Need to post pics when i pick it up, not sure how fast i should be replacing my tires. They are the stock GY battleax whatevers, date code late 2014. Weather permitting i can hopefully wear them out sooner than they got the 4-5 year age Mark. So many tire optime, not sure if Pilot 5s are with the money vs a lot of people seem happy with cheap shinkos.

400mile/week commuting in good weather, not sure there's any good 80/20 tires vs straight street. CO is pretty bad for random gravel and shit on our roads figure something a hair more off road like might be wise?

Hekotat · Dec 28, 2017

Only exhaust I've heard on my bike that sounds good and it's 1k+ for it. Fucking rip off.

Vepil · Dec 28, 2017

Look around on random forums if you haven't for what others are saying. When I bought my vrod I found a forum with a guy that took stock mid part of the exhaust and modded it to a single out with a new bracket for cheap. Took the baffle out of the single larger pipe and the sound was great and only cost me $100 bux and my part in exchange.

KTM makes some solid bikes, you will get a lot of use out of that.

Lejina · Dec 28, 2017

Leadsalad said:
Stiffer springs for a rider's weight actually let you use all of the travel in the suspension. Your shock or forks aren't doing much good at 60% sag and hitting the bump stops whenever you brake or hit a bump in the road.

That's what preload is for and the versys can adjust preload both front and back so you sit square in the middle of the suspension travel. Add a few clicks when you carry extra luggage or a passenger.

But yeah, that only do so much. For a heavier rider, more aggressive riding or if carrying heavy loads or passenger regularly, the preload can only do so much. It's still a cheapish suspension, so in your case the OEM likely wouldn't cut out.

Lejina · Dec 28, 2017

Sludig said:
This is one place in going to be very lost on my v1000. Has front and rear preload. Front and maybe rear dampening, and i think a 5th thing i can adjust.

I assumed soft for my back road/highways and I'll not be running canyons or pushing it to 140, but unlike a car i guess running too soft might be dangerous even in just normal higher speed curves etc if you hit a bump or something i think i saw?

Not sure what you're referring to for the softness of the suspension. Damping? On the 650 you can adjust it only on the front. Dunno what's the deal with the 1000, I'd assume you can do both front and back. Too little and the suspension will bounce up and down after a bump before settling back to center.

Preload sets where you sit on the shock under neutral load. Essentially your feet off the ground at a stand still, you adjust so you're at half way on the shock travel range. When you carry luggage or a passenger, you turn the rear knob to compensate for the extra weight.

Your owner manual should have decent settings suggestions you can try out. If you really want to tweak it just right, to do like leadsalad suggested and get pros to do it might be the way to go. Suspension adjustments can easily feel overwhelming if you don't know what you're doing.

Leadsalad · Dec 28, 2017

You need two people to set sag properly. And it's going to be closer to 30-40mm of sag front and rear. 50% (60-70mm) is way too much, means you've got nothing left really for active suspension travel.

Preload is really only for minor adjustments as well +/- 10lbs in rider weight. My R3 was sprung for a rider ~130lbs from the factory. Maxing the preload did nothing for me. It was ok out on the road but felt bad under spirited riding and downright dangerous on the track.

Araysar · Mar 24, 2018

Chukzombi said:
this "movement" is being funded. once those dollars dry up, he will be left high and dry wondering wtf happened. he is already ditching college to be a useful idiot for the midterms. he assumes he is going to network it into a gig with CNN , he doesnt realize his window relevancy is already closing

March for our lives will have as long and relevant of a shelf life as the pink pussy hat parades.

In other depressing news, i laid my bike down during my final motorcycle exam today and automatically flunked the class. Then i went to buy a gun after (COMPLETELY UNRELATED SEQUENCE OF EVENTS I WAS ALREADY PLANNING ON DOING IT TODAY) and the gun store closed.

Whole day today was just ass. Might as well start drinking

Zapatta · Mar 24, 2018

Araysar said:
In other depressing news, i laid my bike down during my final motorcycle exam today and automatically flunked the class.

Better on a closed course than a CA freeway.
Not trying to break balls, but motorcycles arent for everyone.

Araysar · Mar 24, 2018

Zapatta said:
Better on a closed course than a CA freeway.
Not trying to break balls, but motorcycles arent for everyone.

No doubt about it. The most frustrating part is that the maneuver i wiped on, i did about 10x flawlessly during class and never laid my bike through the entire class once

Zapatta · Mar 24, 2018

Araysar said:
No doubt about it. The most frustrating part is that the maneuver i wiped on, i did about 10x flawlessly during class and never laid my bike through the entire class once

sounds like you probably just need more time on a bike. getting to the brain thinks and the bike goes is mostly just time in the saddle. off road motorcycles and even mountain bikes help with that a lot.
A lot of riding is about confidence. Oddly riding horses is the same in that regard.

Araysar · Mar 24, 2018

Zapatta said:
sounds like you probably just need more time on a bike. getting to the brain thinks and the bike goes is mostly just time in the saddle. off road motorcycles and even mountain bikes help with that a lot.
A lot of riding is about confidence. Oddly riding horses is the same in that regard.

Yep, i agree. Its "10 hours of track time" but its actually about 4 once you figure in all the standing around, idling, wauting your turn, listening to instructions, watch instructors do demos, answering oral tests, etc.

Come to think of it, i probably drove a car for at least 30-40 hours before taking my driving test when i was 16.

Zapatta · Mar 24, 2018

Araysar said:
Yep, i agree. Its "10 hours of track time" but its actually about 4 once you figure in all the standing around, idling, wauting your turn, listening to instructions, watch instructors do demos, answering oral tests, etc.

Come to think of it, i probably drove a car for at least 30-40 hours before taking my driving test when i was 16.

I would get a mountain bike (bicycle) and fuck around. also I would take the motorcycle to empty school or mall parking lots at night and just fuck around. newbs always think too much and riding is pure reflex and balance.

no better balance drill than 'slow racing'

Motorcycle Thread

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