Sat 25/09 Ride - JazBug5 goes "splat" and tests out her riding gear

[phil_elvey]

Went for lunch right after that (well, got lost briefly again first) at a really nice cafe in the area, where we happend to meet another KB'er & partner.

Great to meet all you guys and jaz, hopefully we will catch up again soon.

[mccool]

Hey Phil, great to meet you too. You are lucky to have those roads in your backyard without 20kms of motorway to get past first. Good job converting that cute young woman to bikes.

[LB]

.
Have come into this thread a bit late, but I had caught up with the story from the horses mouth (as it were) at the sprints on Sunday.

Good on you for getting right back into it Jaz.

Take care of those stitches. I hope my friends didn't make you laugh too much at the Fish after the sprints when they were talking about their wee willies. (Jim2, where were you when we needed you??)
.

[toads]

Hi there Jazbug, I hope you are well and truly on the mend, you're certainly a tenacious being, getting right back into it again.
I couldn't help thinking when I first read the beginning of this thread that the Gn250 in my opinion, is a particularly difficult bike to handle in regard to cornering etc, I found mine really didn't handle at all well, as cornering was so unpredictable, I never felt "at one" with it, and as soon as I got on the kwaka I knew straight away she could be trusted. I'm saying this because you might be going over " what did I do wrong" in your own mind, and I think it is likely that it is the wheel barrow nature of the GN that is the likely cause.
They are great bikes with regard to fuel economy and so on, but in terms of handling they have issues. It doesn't help of course that I am incredibly short and that I have trouble touching the ground even on a GN 250, so I binned it quite often, usually in the driveway LOL

[ching_ching]

Thanks, everyone;

(note to all; please try to be very, very unfunny for ten days or so... must... not .... laugh...)

This guy walks into a bar and there's this horse in the room at the back standing next to a pot of gold and...

[jazbug5]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Somebody stop him!

Toads: thanks for that; you're right, I have been stressing about cornering a bit, but how much of it is due to my own inexperience (probably a fair bit!) and how much the dynamics (lack of?) of the bike I'll only be able to figure out by riding about some more... but I'll be bearing what you say very much in mind.
Think the loose gravel was the biggest factor overall, though...
I'm short too, as it happens; definately played a part in falling over a few times in the beginning!
(Also generally at a stop.)

[F5 Dave]

Do you have low bars on it? hey help a lot more than the silly risers they had std. Some more oil in the front forks makes them dive a little less so they are more stable.

[jazbug5]

Pretty sure I've got the 'standards'. Will look into that; possibly a few calls to some breakers yards etc, then... and will attempt to put more oil in my front forks. Thanks, Dave (again!)

[Ms Piggy]

Hey Jaz,
Did ya find out if you have to get new pants (not the g-string kind) or if the old ones can just be repaired.

Are you gonna be riding to Larry's on Saturday morning or still hangin' onto Stoney for dear life!

[jazbug5]

You mean they make armoured g-strings?
Sign me up!
Hoping to ride there, but depends on ankle. (Blaaaaahhhhhh)
Pants should be okay with a little stitching. Remember, woman, and repeat this 5 times until you get it... "Jazbug is Scottish". And from Aberdeen, too..!

[Ms Piggy]

You mean they make armoured g-strings?
Sign me up!
Hoping to ride there, but depends on ankle. (Blaaaaahhhhhh)
Pants should be okay with a little stitching. Remember, woman, and repeat this 5 times until you get it... "Jazbug is Scottish". And from Aberdeen, too..!

Auch you're a wee Scottish lassie through and through. I'm of Scots descent so I'm pretty tight with my money too...oh hang on I have none! HA!

Armoured g-strings...possibly. If they don't amybe we could start a market for them

[Motu]

Yeah,I reckon the bars on a GN250 are all wrong,they just don't fall into the hands easy,everyone I see riding one looks stiff and not at one with the bike.Sit on your bike Jazz,and put your arms out to where you want them to be,get you hands angled right too...see how far this is away from the original bars.If your hands fall on the original bars I'm talking through my arse,but better bars will transform the bike.Find some westerns,or a set of dirt bars - not the modern type,they are too low and flat,but an older set are wider,higher with more pull back,this will put you in control of your bike.

[jazbug5]

Cheers, Motu: I'll try that too.
A busy weekend coming up!
Oh, and are you coming to the Waiakto rally now?

[toads]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Somebody stop him!

Toads: thanks for that; you're right, I have been stressing about cornering a bit, but how much of it is due to my own inexperience (probably a fair bit!) and how much the dynamics (lack of?) of the bike I'll only be able to figure out by riding about some more... but I'll be bearing what you say very much in mind.
Think the loose gravel was the biggest factor overall, though...
I'm short too, as it happens; definately played a part in falling over a few times in the beginning!
(Also generally at a stop.)

Have a ride on my bike when we meet up at tokaanu and you'll see what I mean, the GN250 really is a great bike for learning on, but they do have handling issues, and when you have a bike that behaves predicitably in corners it makes the whole riding experience a huge buzz, I realise you are stuck with a 250 for a while but once you have your full licence, there's a huge world of fantastic bikes out there (drool, slurp) . Pretty much no bike handles well in gravel/tarseal mix, and I know how it feels to be flung off . congratulations for having good protective gear.
Don't let people pressure you to the extreme left of the road either, a lot of motorists are real arseholes when they see a bike with an L plate, they try and force them off the road by passing excessively closely.
I refuse to be intimidated by them and ride smack bang in the middle of the road, I know they see me that way, and I also have a particular dislike of gravel etc at the side of the road, also potholes!

[toads]

I also want to add, that adding more oil to your forks may stuff 'em completely, your bike is pretty new and probably has the correct amount of oil in it, I would suggest checking your tyre pressures firstly and also Motu's suggestion of seeing where your bars sit with your arms, rather than getting new bars though I'd suggest adjusting them first, as they are mini apehangers all your cables etc will be very loose if you put lower bars on, and being short the lower bars are no good for my pathetically short arms, you may well find the same thing.
Your tyre pressures incidently make a huge difference to the handling of the bike and they need to be spot on.