Just bought my first bike, anybody regularly riding over Port Hills? (Mushu)

[Asher]

If your familiar with torrents

Although its focused more on racing its defiantly worth the watch.

[mossy1200]

-It doesn't take long to realise sport bikes aren't made for comfort -

.

funny thing is that one of the most aggresive seat,suspesion,bar height bike i have owned was one of the most comfortable.

Honda SP1

The weight on arms reduced weight on butt and i never got sore.
i found one off the worst for me was Honda Blackbird because once the comfort factor of soft seat wore off(2hrs)the numb turned to pain to the point of making me tired.

I guess everyone wears out in different ways.

current bike MT01 i like because theres room for me to move around and take weight onto legs even with passenger.
It may also be im tall with bad back.I now wear my race back brace when riding as i find the waist(thick)strap seems to take the jolts out that give me back pain after 500+km in a day.

BMWR1200S was the ultimate mile muncher for me.I regret selling it sometimes and wife liked the back seat.

[Mushu]

funny thing is that one of the most aggresive seat,suspesion,bar height bike i have owned was one of the most comfortable......

As I was told by the first couple people that replied to this thread, mostly my uncomfort was due to the riding position being unfamiliar (I had ridden a few bikes before this one but even the farm bike I had I was only on for 15 min at a time at the most, and the thumpster doesn't count) and my inexperience - fighting the bike takes it out of you

So obviously I have learned much during the last couple of weeks with my bike (just shy of 2000km now) and there is still far more to learn I watched Twist of the Wrist 2 on the weekend and I have just bought the book off the internet, and just watching it I was amazed about all the ideas and information I had figured on my own and been told that is just plain wrong.

Even just after an instructional DVD and a few kays to practice the techniques the amount I relaxed on the bike made a huge difference in both control and comfort. Most of the uncomfort I was feeling before was to do with gripping the clip ons too hard - I think this comes as an automatic reaction after learning to ride a bicycle, you kind of just forget that on a motorbike you don't have to pedal so can (and should) hold on with the legs.

The seat is still solid and painful after a couple of hours but I maintain that it's just part of the trade-off buying a sport bike and I can handle that. Its not really that much worse than the back pain that results from driving my MR2 on anything but a pefect road so I am willing to put up with some discomfort if I can have a bit more fun on it (I have a second cage that is completely standard and very easy and comftrble to drive when I can't be bothered)


Thanks heaps Darkwolf, as I said above, watching Twist of the Wrist II has and will continue to be a major catalyst in my rapid improvement and I know for a fact that I am much safer out there than I was before I watched it
I watched on YouTube though so if you have the means to copy it (or already have a digital copy) I still want to get my hands on it (I'm still not sure if I can PM yet but will try in a couple of days when I can get my post count up

[slofox]

I learned to ride on the port hills - without the aid of anybody or any books or dvd's (they weren't invented back then...dvd's I mean - we did have books - just).

Only bad experience was when the headlight went out mid-corner one dark night. There was a face on the right and a drop on the left. No fences back then. Near shit me friggin' pants an' all.
Managed to stop without falling off the cliff or ramming the face. Had to push the bugger all the way back to the Sign of the Bellbird to get to a phone.

[sil3nt]

Sorry but you don't have a sport bike. The Hyosung is more of a sport bike in terms of seating position. The ninja is much more upright. Get a better seat.

[gammaguy]

i live in the Port Hills

let me know if you feel like a ride sometime.

[Mushu]

Sorry but you don't have a sport bike. The Hyosung is more of a sport bike in terms of seating position. The ninja is much more upright. Get a better seat.

I don't have a sport bike?
What would you call it (toy maybe because of the size, but that can't be helped) I know some of the earlier 250 Ninjas were ZZ-R250s which are more like a tourer but the current model is nothing like that.

Next to the ZX6 the EX250 are pretty similar in terms of size and shape. I find the seating position more agressive than the MC22 CBR250 or the FZR250 3LM I've ridden but never having had a full license I have ridden very few bikes over 250cc and most of those were trail bikes or road/trails so not really a basis for comparison.

Not saying you're wrong but if its not a sport bike, what is it?

Also I wouldn't buy any Korean vehicle, I hear they are a nice bike to ride (My brother has one, but I haven't seen it yet) but the build quality isn't very good compared to japanese equivalent, as this is the first vehicle I ever bought brand new I want to do everything I can to ensure quality and reliability. IMO the Kawasaki even looks alot better and I like that most people can't tell its a 250. The dealership I bought it from sell hyosungs too but I decided on the Kawasaki after quite a bit of thought.

I learned to ride on the port hills - without the aid of anybody or any books or dvd's (they weren't invented back then...dvd's I mean - we did have books - just)........

Yea thats more or less how I learned to drive a car, just keep trying stuff untill you find something that works, but that was when I was younger and *more* stupid and as a result, one of my biggest regrets was the fate of my Celica - Late night, wet road, rear wheel drive, young driver, guard rail....... F&^k

This time around its a fair bit more complicated so I'm trying to (as much as I can) learn from other peoples experience, for example how long would it have taken me to realise the effect of supporting my upper body weight on the inside bar while going around a bend? - probably a couple trips down the road on my arse. But with a simple instruction from an experienced rider, I am now aware of it and can feel that I have more steering control mid corner now, I just have to work on changing the habit and was able to skip the whole figure it out for myself part.

i live in the Port Hills

let me know if you feel like a ride sometime.

Yea, I'm up there more or less everyday although I'm not riding in the rain, so today is out (I'll probably go for a drive up there in my Levin though) but it looks pretty good for the weekend so I'll be up for a ride atleast on saturday I'll send PM saturday morning, meet up if you not too busy

[sil3nt]

I don't have a sport bike?
What would you call it (toy maybe because of the size, but that can't be helped) I know some of the earlier 250 Ninjas were ZZ-R250s which are more like a tourer but the current model is nothing like that.

Next to the ZX6 the EX250 are pretty similar in terms of size and shape. I find the seating position more agressive than the MC22 CBR250 or the FZR250 3LM I've ridden but never having had a full license I have ridden very few bikes over 250cc and most of those were trail bikes or road/trails so not really a basis for comparison.

Not saying you're wrong but if its not a sport bike, what is it?

Take a look at http://cycle-ergo.com/

In terms of rider position the new ninja is much closer to the old ninja than it is to a ZX6R or any other sports bike. The ninja 250 is a sport tourer dressed as a sports bike.

[ducatilover]

It's a sports commuter, even then it's marginal.
I'd love to see an MC22 that had a less extreme position as an EX250 (which is essentially the same position as the GPX/GPZ/ZZR and the same size etc etc it's a sport-touring esque position, but it's too small and under powered to be a sports, or touring bike.

They're a good little bike, treat it well.

[Mushu]

Take a look at http://cycle-ergo.com/

In terms of rider position the new ninja is much closer to the old ninja than it is to a ZX6R or any other sports bike. The ninja 250 is a sport tourer dressed as a sports bike.

Looks like I've been told, atleast it looks like a sportbike lol

Guess it was a long time ago that I rode the FZR and the CBR but it still feels more like those two rather than a ZZR or a XJ (which are the only 2 tourers that I have had a chance to ride.)

In regards to my comfort complaints, I already stated that a bit of time on the bike and some improvement in riding position and riding style pretty much cured it, the seat is quite hard and is a bitch after a few hours but I can deal with that.

[Hawkeye]

The seat is still solid and painful after a couple of hours but I maintain that it's just part of the trade-off buying a sport bike and I can handle that. Its not really that much worse than the back pain that results from driving my MR2 on anything but a pefect road so I am willing to put up with some discomfort if I can have a bit more fun on it (I have a second cage that is completely standard and very easy and comftrble to drive when I can't be bothered)

Thing I've found useful when doing long rides is to wear a pair of padded bike shorts under the leathers. Makes a huge difference!

[Mushu]

Well, almost 5000 kays and still loving it

I am far more comfortable on the bike now, and can ride for hours (Rode chch to kaikora and back on sunday just cos the weather was good) without major discomfort. (Yes, the seat is still quite hard but I dare you to sit in any seat for 5 hours without moving and see if it becomes uncomfortable)

I have noticed I do have problems with my shoulder after riding for long periods, especially on open roads I think, because I tend to get lower to get behind the screen and that puts more strain on my shoulder (result of a dislocation about 15 years ago). Luckily as this is my left arm, I get plenty of chances to rest it.

The important thing is I have improved on the things that I was having difficulty with, I have gotten used to the 'go where you look' phenomina and can now use it to my advantage. I am getting smoother with throttle control and gear changes (I have been having trouble with the transition from engine braking to acceleration during a corner, I'm prety smooth, but not perfect).

I think what I need now is to find an experienced rider who can ride with me to identify anything I might be doing and not noticing and so I can watch up close their lines, riding position etc...

The big problem in this is I have to trust them or it wont work and I pretty much don't know anybody that fits that bill, I know a few that ride but just because they ride doesn't mean they know any better than I do. (I'm sure there are heaps of people out there that got their full license have done less kays than I have, and then there are those that are dumb enough to think they were born with the knowledge, ability and even muscle memory that is required to be a good rider)

I have had a couple of close calls in the last couple of weeks though, I have to be even more vigilant as far as road condition goes. Twice I have had the front wash out during a corner - the second time wasn't too bad, it was on entry to the corner and I was moving slow enough I think I could have caught the bike by putting a foot down if it came to that.

The first time - I still can't figure out how I stayed upright, I definatly did everything right (except see and avoid the patch of gravel in the middle of the lane). I was heading downhill back to town down Dyres pass and the very first corner I managed to hit some gravel with the front tyre just before the point where I would start bringing the bike back upright. Scared the crap out of me as I was pretty close to as fast as I am capable of taking that corner luckily I somehow have managed to beat out the natural want to grab front brake (which would have had me on my arse real quick) and instead grabbed a handful of throttle and after a bit of wiggling around and a second of me waiting for the back to come out over the gravel and high-side me, I managed to get it upright (Interestingly, I think if I had been going slower I would have been in a higher gear and wouldn't have had the extra power available to get some weight off the front).

These 2 situations have robbed me of my cornering confidence a bit, but that might be a good thing coming into winter

[CelticSam]

I would recommend a call to Mainland Motorcycle School. Mike is great and will help you out. I think ACC are still subsidising courses.

[haydes55]

The first time - I still can't figure out how I stayed upright, I definatly did everything right (except see and avoid the patch of gravel in the middle of the lane). I was heading downhill back to town down Dyres pass and the very first corner I managed to hit some gravel with the front tyre just before the point where I would start bringing the bike back upright. Scared the crap out of me as I was pretty close to as fast as I am capable of taking that corner luckily I somehow have managed to beat out the natural want to grab front brake (which would have had me on my arse real quick) and instead grabbed a handful of throttle and after a bit of wiggling around and a second of me waiting for the back to come out over the gravel and high-side me, I managed to get it upright (Interestingly, I think if I had been going slower I would have been in a higher gear and wouldn't have had the extra power available to get some weight off the front).

Yikes! I hate gravel! I always go slow around any gravel (even after it says works end). My bikes a motard so should handle it a bit better than most, had a close call on my old bike where the road had be repaired, so half of my lane was old road and the other half was a few inches lower and new surface. came around the corner, saw it half way around, couldn't adjust my line fast enough (I would feel comfortable adjusting my lane faster mid corner now), my wheels ran into the change and dropped into the lower surface, freaky feeling having the bike feel like it is dropping out from under me, then I just carried on. Lucky I was riding like a nana.

[Subike]

Hey fella.
if you are interested, I am going to the sundowner rally sat,
via cheviot, then the leader road to waiau, then back to the huranui camp site.
I ride the little 250 cruiser you met on the wed night ride to little river .
I dont go much over 110kph, because basically I cant lol.
So I will not lead you into anything at sub sonic speeds
but you are welcome to tag along with me.
If you have not done the leader road before, its a good one to practice corners on , and hill work.
Oh I been riding for a little while.........