nklr suzuki dr650se

[klr250not]

Ive got 200 miles on a brand new 2005 KLR 650 and havent scratched it yet. Dont want to. Love the bike and value my own hide too. But not afraid. Tips and lessons learned from the experienced would be appreciated. I'm 51, in good shape, but with little riding experience except on a Yamaha twin 100 in the late 60s. I did pass the MSF and get my Virginia motorcycle endorsement.

[Keith Saltzer]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "klr250not" wrote:

> > Ive got 200 miles on a brand new 2005 KLR 650 and havent scratched > it yet. Dont want to. Love the bike and value my own hide too.

But

> not afraid. Tips and lessons learned from the experienced would be > appreciated. I'm 51, in good shape, but with little riding > experience except on a Yamaha twin 100 in the late 60s. > > I did pass the MSF and get my Virginia motorcycle endorsement.

Go get Keith Codes book on how to ride called "Twist of the wrist II", not one. Then read it, and read it, and read it. Practice, read, practice, read, practice, read, practice, read, practice, read, ask questions, practice, read. If you actually buy the book, then actually apply it's lessons, you will be a better rider than 90% of the riders you see on the road. Congrats on your bike purchase. The KLR is an awesome bike to learn on, very forgiving and easy to ride when your new to riding. MrMoose A8 (Barbie and Ken special)

[Stanford Johnsey]

A lot of the advice you need will depend on the kind of riding you intend to do. Motorcycles have changed dramatically for the better since the '60s. I am 57 and use my KLR mostly for adventure touring and just ole plain utility knocking around with some dirt roads and double track thrown in. The Keith Code book is good but is geared toward sportbikes with goobs more horsepower and brakes so you will have to adjust some when he talks about rolling on and such. The thing that is gonna get you on the street is some little old grey haired lady driving a Mercury Gran Marquis. Take it easy and understand that you are more likely to dump your bike at low speed than something dramatic like overcooking a turn and low siding. Assume that know one sees you or if they do they might deliberately try to run over you at any time and you will be O.K. klr250not wrote: Ive got 200 miles on a brand new 2005 KLR 650 and havent scratched it yet. Dont want to. Love the bike and value my own hide too. But not afraid. Tips and lessons learned from the experienced would be appreciated. I'm 51, in good shape, but with little riding experience except on a Yamaha twin 100 in the late 60s. I did pass the MSF and get my Virginia motorcycle endorsement. List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Yahoo! Groups Links --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Conall]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "klr250not" wrote:

> > Ive got 200 miles on a brand new 2005 KLR 650 and havent scratched > it yet. Dont want to. Love the bike and value my own hide too.

But

> not afraid. Tips and lessons learned from the experienced would be > appreciated. I'm 51, in good shape, but with little riding > experience except on a Yamaha twin 100 in the late 60s. > > I did pass the MSF and get my Virginia motorcycle endorsement.

176 pages of tips MSF doesn't cover at http://www.msgroup.org/DISCUSS.asp Conall

[matteeanne@yahoo.com]

First and formost, assume every car cannot see you on the road, and when off road, be ready to walk home, meaning have whatever you need to get home, and if really off road, think about what happens if you fall off and cannot walk.... Leave word with someone as to where you are riding. What part of the world are you in? --- Stanford Johnsey wrote:

> > A lot of the advice you need will depend on the kind > of riding you intend to do. Motorcycles have changed > dramatically for the better since the '60s. I am 57 > and use my KLR mostly for adventure touring and just > ole plain utility knocking around with some dirt > roads and double track thrown in. The Keith Code > book is good but is geared toward sportbikes with > goobs more horsepower and brakes so you will have to > adjust some when he talks about rolling on and such. > The thing that is gonna get you on the street is > some little old grey haired lady driving a Mercury > Gran Marquis. Take it easy and understand that you > are more likely to dump your bike at low speed than > something dramatic like overcooking a turn and low > siding. Assume that know one sees you or if they do > they might deliberately try to run over you at any > time and you will be O.K. > > klr250not wrote: > > Ive got 200 miles on a brand new 2005 KLR 650 and > havent scratched > it yet. Dont want to. Love the bike and value my own > hide too. But > not afraid. Tips and lessons learned from the > experienced would be > appreciated. I'm 51, in good shape, but with little > riding > experience except on a Yamaha twin 100 in the late > 60s. > > I did pass the MSF and get my Virginia motorcycle > endorsement. > > > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at > www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: > www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced > search. Learn more. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at > www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: > www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > >

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[Keith Saltzer]

>The Keith Code book is good but is geared toward sportbikes with >goobs more horsepower and brakes so you will have to adjust some >when he talks about rolling on and such.

To put it bluntly, that's wrong. Everything he talks about is how every motorcycle handles, and wants to be handled. It does not matter how much power or braking that you have. The bike still requires the rider to do the right thing at the right time, and Keith teaches this very well. The first thing he covers doesn't even have to do with the bike. It has to do with what YOU do. You know, all the wrong stuff like chopping the throttle, gripping the bars too tight, stiffening your arms, off/oning the throttle, turning more than once in a turn, fixed attention on the wrong thing etc. He does talk about a few things that he teaches that just won't work on a cruiser, like a HD, but he tells you this in his book, and this is not an HD list, and all of you would benefit greatly from reading this book and learning what it teaches. Another wrong thinking about this book that I have heard is "I don't want to go fast, so it's not for me". Again, the book teaches you how to ride a bike. That's at any speed. I see hundreds of guys riding slowly and they are still unsafe becuase they don't know what the hell they are doing. If your like me though and quickly pick up on what he is talking about, and you are able to put it to use on the KLR, you will find that you ride faster, and/or MUCH SAFER. MrMoose A8 (Barbie and Ken special)

[klr6501995]

Ride with the bright headlight on during the day. Best Rule #1 . Be aware nobody sees you. I've seen some crazy stuff as a daily rider. The one that'll get us is cars making left turns in front of bikes. I plan a escape route at every potential left turning car. You coming to a stop or slow down for a turn. Getting rearended. Watch out for that. beaware of what's on your six. When coming to lights, don't pull right up the middle of the car in front you. Pull way to the side. No worries if the car behind now stops short. Cagers brains just aren't programmed to see bikers, they can see right through you. Like looking for the tv remote when it was in front of you the whole time. Take your bike to a dirt road and practice locking the wheels. Front from a stop even.then while moving 5mph. Just be careful with locking the front. The bike can go down quick. But good experience to have locking the front wheel. --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "klr250not" wrote:

> > Ive got 200 miles on a brand new 2005 KLR 650 and havent scratched > it yet. Dont want to. Love the bike and value my own hide too.

But

> not afraid. Tips and lessons learned from the experienced would be > appreciated. I'm 51, in good shape, but with little riding > experience except on a Yamaha twin 100 in the late 60s. > > I did pass the MSF and get my Virginia motorcycle endorsement.

[el_macho650]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "klr250not" wrote:

> > Ive got 200 miles on a brand new 2005 KLR 650 and havent scratched > it yet. Dont want to. Love the bike and value my own hide too. But > not afraid. Tips and lessons learned from the experienced would be > appreciated. I'm 51, in good shape, but with little riding > experience except on a Yamaha twin 100 in the late 60s. > > I did pass the MSF and get my Virginia motorcycle endorsement.

1- Don't drive when you're really, really tired. You won't learn anything when you're really tired, you won't have fun, and it's extremely risky. Spend $60 on a motel room, get even just a few hours shut-eye then continue to wherever you were going. Trust me, I know. 2- Read a book called "riding motorcycles professionally" by a London motorcycle courier named "Mick Bones". The problem is finding a copy as Mr. Bones has gone AWOL, and was self-publishing (selling it for 5.00 GBP). The person who mentioned the grey-haired old lady (code for any blind, stupid, inattentive, carelesss, or otherwise unfit car driver) as being your number one danger, is right. This book, though written for left-side driving, is the best explanation of how to anticipate and avoid obstacles and menaces (both moving and stationary). Email me offlist if you're interested in the book. 3- Enter corners slowly- it's easy to speed up as you exit. Slowing down once you are leaned over is hard. Enjoy the bike Devon

[tls97go]

Buy the best apparel you can afford. One of the magazines did a study 2 years ago. they dropped a dummy off a truck at 60mph. The dummy slid for 80'. Leather lasted for 80'. The new textile jackets lasted 40'. jeans lasted 4'. That's 76' of road rash. Dave

[Pat (M)]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "klr250not" wrote:

> > Ive got 200 miles on a brand new 2005 KLR 650 and havent scratched > it yet. Dont want to. Love the bike and value my own hide too.

But

> not afraid. Tips and lessons learned from the experienced would be > appreciated. I'm 51, in good shape, but with little riding > experience except on a Yamaha twin 100 in the late 60s. > > I did pass the MSF and get my Virginia motorcycle endorsement.

= = = = = = = = = = reply = = = = = = = Congrats on your new ride, you made a great choice - kudo's for taking the MSF course! Others have offered idea's on good reference books for new riders or those returning after a leave-of-absence. Here's mine: "Proficient Motorcycling" and the sequil, "More Proficient Motorcycling - Mastering the Ride" by Dave Hough. You won't be disappointed! Keep in mind that if you venture off pavement, expect that you WILL fall and the bike WILL get scratched. So make sure the head, hands, knees, elbows, ankles, shins and vital bike parts are protected. This bike is the best of some 14 or 15 previous dirt/street bikes I've owned. But as a 1st bike, the KLR is NOT the best off road learning tool! You probably know that the it's near the high-end limits of weight, CG & suspension range for aggressive dirt use, especially single-track. In the hands of an experienced dirt rider, it's a competent off-road bike, but a good workout. If you decide to go for the dirt, I suggest the following options to speed up your learning curve. The fastest way toward becoming a good dirt rider is with a real "dirt bike!" You CAN do it on a KLR, but you'll speed up the process, have fewer falls and less body/bike damage if you buy a cheaper, lighter, better suspended training aid. Consider buying a small used (125-250cc) dirt bike to learn the true 'art of dirt' to start training that all-important 'off-road muscle memory' that will translate to your KLR. That's my story & I'm sticking to it. Good luck & happy new horizons! Pat M "VERY late forties . . ." A14