Competely noob towards all things bike

[Danzano]

No more 70kmh limit. New limit is 150kmh for learners.


JUST JOKING. But really, no 70kmh limit.

Thank god for that I hated that rule and always thought it was dangerous glad to know I can stay with traffic flow legally :-)

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Maha]

Was thinking weekend trip but I guess if you where feeling hardy a day trip would be ok give or take 3hours each way so stop in whangarei for a feed and a rest round trip would be 10hours with rest and food I guess

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

To give you and idea of times...
We left New Plymouth last Sunday at 10:15 as a learner group..got home at 5:30, with a decent lunch stop and four other brief stops...420kms.

[Cam_NZ]

Was thinking weekend trip but I guess if you where feeling hardy a day trip would be ok give or take 3hours each way so stop in whangarei for a feed and a rest round trip would be 10hours with rest and food I guess

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

Im heading to Whangarei on the 16th of march, so if your still keen for this trip then i could come as far as whangarei and just peel off when we get there?

[Danzano]

Im heading to Whangarei on the 16th of march, so if your still keen for this trip then i could come as far as whangarei and just peel off when we get there?

As long as I have that weekend off then yeah I'd be keen as have to see though joy of working rosters

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[TheTengTheory]

As long as I have that weekend off then yeah I'd be keen as have to see though joy of working rosters

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

I might be keen...see how the funds are as I'm a student now (goodbye full time wage )

I'm actually keen for a city ride...Needa explore auckland...I fully see myself getting hopelessly lost very often this year.

[arcane12]

Was thinking weekend trip but I guess if you where feeling hardy a day trip would be ok give or take 3hours each way so stop in whangarei for a feed and a rest round trip would be 10hours with rest and food I guess

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

Oh no, no day trips (of that distance) for me! From Hamilton it's about 370kms. 250km from Auckland. The usual rule of thumb (for cars at least) is usually 1h per 80kms plus stops. The motorway part does change those numbers a bit as usually you'll end up doing 100 (ish) most of the time with no 50's etc so it usually knocks a good chunk off.

Put me down as vaguely keen - still getting used to long distances. I did well on the New Plymouth run, but that was only 250km for me. An extra hour or more in the saddle might do me in! My body asks a little more from my suspension and seat than some other riders

[Cam_NZ]

Ok bringing the thread back to newbie questions. Has anyone had any experience in changing the sprocket ratio? Im going to be doing mostly motorway riding and it sits at around 8000rpm at 100. Might just be me coming from 3000 in a car, but is it worth it to get a different ratio in the sprockets to bring down 6th gear rpm? ( milage-wise and also longevity) Or will keeping it at 8000 be comfortable enough for motorway and long trips.

[Gremlin]

Has anyone had any experience in changing the sprocket ratio? Im going to be doing mostly motorway riding and it sits at around 8000rpm at 100.

If you do that, you will also get a reduction in acceleration... your call.

[Cam_NZ]

Yeah might be alright. Im not really sure where 2fiddies should be sitting revs wise at 100. If its ok to be at 8000 for around 1.5hrs a day then i might leave it . Want it to last though so if its going to ruin itself after 2 years of motorway commuting and travelling then it could be something to look at

[xXGIBBOXx]

Look at it this way , it should be just over half it rev range. I changed both the front and rear on my 250 when i did the chain and saved a big 3 bucks a fill

[Glowerss]

Yeah might be alright. Im not really sure where 2fiddies should be sitting revs wise at 100. If its ok to be at 8000 for around 1.5hrs a day then i might leave it . Want it to last though so if its going to ruin itself after 2 years of motorway commuting and travelling then it could be something to look at

The ZZR 250 I had (basically the same bike) sat around 8-9 on the motorway with a 13,000 redline. Seemed alright.

The hornet sits at 8-9k at 100-110ish KPH. Granted, that has a 16k RPM redline.

Also, be warned, that on the Mway your bike is sitting right in the middle of its powerband (what little there is to speak of, anyway). If you gear it to run lower in the RPM range you'll find it really sluggish on the motorway. My ZZR250 was working a bit, but there was go-juice when you needed it. Hack off 1-2k RPM and you'd have to drop down a gear anytime you wanted any sort of forward momentum. Particularly going into a headwind, you'd really feel it.

Anyway, the kwackas probably OK for it to be honest. I saw a ninja awhile back that was 3 years old and had 80,000KM on it Clearly that guy made it work! It'll probably be fine.

Besides, I'd be pulling to put any amount money you'll be bored of the ninja's anemic ass performance long before your 2 years are up

[Cam_NZ]

Yeah could be bored of it by then but money money money for something bigger.

I wont change anything if it will be alright

[TheTengTheory]

Yeah could be bored of it by then but money money money for something bigger.

I wont change anything if it will be alright

You'll be fine. 250s are inherently made to be thrashed

Might as well drive a car if you don't.

[GrayWolf]

This is what you need to get into guys,
Learners riding with learners is a recipe for disaster. You are all so keen, yet so ignorant, it can all turn to custard at the first corner. I have seen it happen before, I would say others will have too. A group of learners on small bikes, with lots of enthusiasm and very little skill... Owch!
Go ride with experienced riders if you want to ride in a group, an LISTEN TO THEM, dont think they dont know cause they old or what ever.
Or because the bike that they ride is a quadrillion years old.....its still being ridden, and they still alive...why??

For sure, I respect the experienced ones the MOST. Would be great to get out with so cruisy people that probably know all the good roads. Just need to find willing people, must be quite frustrating riding with learners sometimes. But if anyone is interested to go for a cruise sometime in the next few weeks then i would be very thankful

Just went for my first ride to mission bay (taking the back roads, too scared to hit 100 just yet) was really good, a few idiots right up my ass dispite the fact i was travelling just over 60/speed limit. Gets quite hot and tiring after a while, dont know how guys go all day!!

Ill post the few pictures we took. My mate has a aftermarket exhaust on his... actually sucks following him. Dont know if i want to get one myself or just ride without him :P

I'd also add this Disclaimer...
Even though many of us have ridden for years, we do often have 'bad habbits'.. that maybe our road knowledge, 'skill' and experience has enabled us to 'survive/adapt' which if passed to a new rider, may be a recipe for disaster.
What I personally would recommend for you guys if you are going to hook up with 'experienced' riders

If all they do is talk about 'top speed', getting knees down on corners, climbing over the bike, sticking knee's out....... DONT
If they start riding and follow vehicles obviously 'too close' (tailgating) ride with the brakes constantly going on and off....... DONT
If they start overtaking and/or cut corners, do a 'rossi'.....DONT

What you guys need is steady flowing riding, I am not saying everyone who rides sprotbikes are Squids, or that everyone who rides a sport tourer,standard/dual purpose are not Squids, Age also can have little bearing... there are some 'fast/hoon' riders in their 40's and 50's.
What I would 'look for' is people who when you talk with them, are discussing things like 'roll on power for overtaking', travelling distances loaded up, using the engine's power/torque in twisty sections, rather than 'point n squirt' (brake hard, throw the bike into the corner, exit corner, scream the motor through the gears, brake hard) if they ride all year round, they have 'Winter/shit weather knowledge to pass on'... if you follow them, do they seem to 'flow' through bends with little to no braking, and dont seem to use much 'right wrist' but still 'progress' down the road? Without sticking knees out and climbing over the bike?

These are the guys/girls you want to ride/learn from......
Learn the 'BASICS' .. rossi didnt learn to ride 'sticking his knee out', he did the basics first like everyone else, then progressed to learning 'speed skills'.

[Cam_NZ]

Ok went for a ride today and noticed two problems with the bike.

First was that sometimes (all times have been when i have been stopped) I try to downshift back to first gear and cant find gears. Got stuck at an intersection today because i got stuck in 4th gear. I found that when i nudged the gear lever inward it worked again. Anything i can look at adjusting or changing to stop this from happening??

Second i noticed that there was a small scraping noise coming from the back ( I think) at certain parts of the wheels rotation. My guess (if its anything like a car) its break related and the disc is warped or uneven. Or could be something like a wheel out of alignment or something???

Someone more educated answer my questions!!

Cheers