using both brakes (was galfer 320)

[tracycm55]

I was wondering if anyone had tried to modify their fairing in order to provide a bit more wind protection on cooler days? Using plexi glass and a heat gun I have been able to shape some pieces to extend the fairing. I have had some success but I was wondering if anyone esle had tried this and had any other ideas without buying a full- dress bike. I also came up with a way to protect my legs but I wasn't crazy about the look.

[Roy]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "tracycm55" wrote:

> I was wondering if anyone had tried to modify their fairing in

order

> to provide a bit more wind protection on cooler days? Using plexi > glass and a heat gun I have been able to shape some pieces to

extend

> the fairing. I have had some success but I was wondering if anyone > esle had tried this and had any other ideas without buying a full- > dress bike. I also came up with a way to protect my legs but I > wasn't crazy about the look.

I use a Clearview +11 windscreen and tank panniers for coverage,the tank panniers provide wind protection for the legs on cold days,got them at Wally world for around $18. Roy Cope

[Mike T]

Affirm Roy's answer - the pair do VERY well. -----Original Message----- From: roy [mailto:coaster@...] Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 8:27 PM To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: Extending the KLR Fairing?

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "tracycm55" wrote: > I was wondering if anyone had tried to modify their fairing in order > to provide a bit more wind protection on cooler days? Using plexi > glass and a heat gun I have been able to shape some pieces to extend > the fairing. I have had some success but I was wondering if anyone > esle had tried this and had any other ideas without buying a full- > dress bike. I also came up with a way to protect my legs but I > wasn't crazy about the look. I use a Clearview +11 windscreen and tank panniers for coverage,the tank panniers provide wind protection for the legs on cold days,got them at Wally world for around $18. Roy Cope

[Stan]

We NorCal bastids who raced at Sears Point had a nice opportunity to practice all-out braking. You come out of turn 10 WFO, keep it open down the short back straight, and then brake like hell for the hairpin turn 11. Failure at that point puts you into a cement wall head on (with a tire wall and hay bales in front). Or it did, anyway. I haven't seen the track since the upgrades a few years ago. I had a chance to ride a few different bikes out there, some that had not very sticky rubber and/or stoppie-inhibiting geometry. And so I've had a chance to lock the front and howl the tire on a number of occasions. What I learned is this: Locking the front at high speed on the track while upright and going straight was a repeatable and not that scary of an experience. The gyroscopic effects of the rotating rear wheel and engine bits were so strong that there was no tendency but to remain upright and continue forward. I experimented with this at low speed also, and the instability was much more apparent, but still allright. The requirement is to be absolutely upright, so as to place the center of mass perfectly over the contact patches. (The gyroscopic forces are not to be sneezed at, incidentally. I was at a track where I'd be entering a fast turn after the front straight at 135 or so, and it took significant pressure on the bars to lean the bike.) As others have pointed out, practicing locking the wheels in the dirt is a very valuable experience. I couldn't agree more. The gentle transition between rolling and sliding friction (and back) is ideal for experimentation and learning. To any new riders on the list, I would also recommend practicing hard evasive maneuvers and very hard braking from different speeds on the street, regularly, to keep your skills sharp for when it hits the fan. In a high-stress situation, you will typically have only those techniques at your disposal which you can execute without consciously attending to them. In other words, things you do all the time in your normal riding. Skills such as rapid turn initiation and threshold braking need to be at the "brainstem level" as much as possible. It is difficult enough to deal with the target fixation and freezing response in a bad situation. Your attentional resources need to be allocated to observing the dynamics of the situation and plotting an escape route, not on the mechanics of handling the bike. And meditate also on the idea that evasion is better than braking. Statistics show that all too often people see a bad situation, fixate, and brake (with various degrees of success), whereas the better option by far was to steer around the problem. Or a combination of braking and steering, sometimes separated and sometimes blended. To fixate, lock the (back) brake, and slide into the target is the way of the newbie, or the way of 80% of the Harley riders out there whose greatest riding skill is heaving their gut into the saddle. Don't be like that. Ride hard (but not foolhardy), and you will have a much better chance of dealing with the bad situations that inevitably come up. And wear your freaking riding gear. And look where you want to go, not at the target. And.. and... Getting off the soapbox, Stan Jim The Canoeist wrote:

>Really well written persuasion Arden. I agree and have some passion in this >arena. I'm reminded of my learning time back in about '59. My experts told >me to never touch the front brake (it will throw you over the bars), learn >to 'lay it down' (it's the only way to really stop in an emergency), and, >run your rear end solid because a suspension allows the rear wheel to lose >contact with the road. We've come a long way. >I'm not dis'ing anyone who is trying to accentuate the knowledge that weight >transfers to the front wheel under braking and that very little rear brake >is available - especially on slippery or loose surfaces (but the stiction >for the front wheel decreases on those surfaces too). If there is a >situation where the available braking is say, 90/10, front/rear, one is >better advised to not throw away the 10% just because it takes experience >and skill to use it. >Oh, about learning to lock the front end: I hope everyone understands that >the most likely thing to happen if the front tire locks up is to immediately >fall down. How one really gets to know what that front lock-up feels like I >am uncertain how to describe. To be totally honest, I don't believe I could >demonstrate a deliberate front wheel lock-up just riding down the road. To >be fair, I almost always think in terms of dirt and do not do stoppies as >part of my riding practice. On the other hand, I can manage a controlled >descent down incredibly steep and loose drop-offs using my brakes alone or >in concert with engine braking. Sometimes you want the tires to slide but >mostly to stay rolling. Higher speed lock-ups? ...like the plague. >One last thing, here is a stoppie to watch. >http://users.pandora.be/alfons.wittoeck/bmv/bmv.htm (the fourth pic) >-Jim in AZ > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Arden Kysely" >To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> >Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 1:48 PM >Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: Using both brakes (was Galfer 320) > > > > >>Dunno who wrote the > > stuff below defending the back brake on the >>KLR, but I think it's right on. The rear brake is just another tool >>in the bag for KLR riding, and does a good job of squatting the whole >>bike down in a stop, rather than just diving the front end and >>upsetting the balance of the bike and rider. It also adds to the >>braking force available, decreasing the stopping distance. This is a >>bad thing? >> >>Just because someone might lock up the rear end while using the back >>brake is not a good reason to tell them not to use it. They might >>also pop the clutch with the revs too high and loop the thing. Should >>we tell them to avoid the clutch and throttle? >> >>I think it's better to give new riders a little talk on braking, then >>let them practice with both brakes and experiment until they're >>comfortable using all the braking they have available. Find a smooth >>dirt road and learn to lock up the rear, then learn to lock up the >>front, then both. I've always used both brakes on a motorcycle. >>That's what they're there for. Becoming a human anti-lock braking >>device is a goal we should all have, not a challenge to be avoided. >> >>__Arden >> >> > > >List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html >Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: >DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >