Motorcycles

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murphyreedus
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Re: Motorcycles

#21

Post by murphyreedus » Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:27 pm

Got my Helite vest, mounted the tether, and went for a ride.

The XL Helite fits perfectly, so that was a win. I've got the tether mounted under the seat so I can just stand up on the pegs and it's pulled tight, so hopefully that's going to work out in a crash.

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Re: Motorcycles

#22

Post by hsilman » Thu Aug 26, 2021 4:53 am

murphyreedus wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:27 pm Got my Helite vest, mounted the tether, and went for a ride.

The XL Helite fits perfectly, so that was a win. I've got the tether mounted under the seat so I can just stand up on the pegs and it's pulled tight, so hopefully that's going to work out in a crash.
Awesome. And yes, that's absolutely the best place to mount it so it will go off no matter which way you come off the bike.

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Re: Motorcycles

#23

Post by mikeylikey » Thu Aug 26, 2021 12:32 pm

murphyreedus wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:27 pm Got my Helite vest, mounted the tether, and went for a ride.

The XL Helite fits perfectly, so that was a win. I've got the tether mounted under the seat so I can just stand up on the pegs and it's pulled tight, so hopefully that's going to work out in a crash.
But what if you forget to take the safety off?

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Re: Motorcycles

#24

Post by murphyreedus » Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:26 am

mikeylikey wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 12:32 pm
murphyreedus wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:27 pm Got my Helite vest, mounted the tether, and went for a ride.

The XL Helite fits perfectly, so that was a win. I've got the tether mounted under the seat so I can just stand up on the pegs and it's pulled tight, so hopefully that's going to work out in a crash.
But what if you forget to take the safety off?
Adult males over 200lb who can deadlift enough to have an opinion on barbell rows only carry CZ, and most models can be had with either manual safety or decocker, so this is a non-issue. I'd personally carry one of each type, just in case. CZ is also solid and heavy, like geology, so can be used as a club in a pinch. But yeah, tether vs electronic is a calculated risk thing, and I've chosen tether for now.

There's the possibility that you can activate it if you dismount hard, but:

1) It takes 66lb of pressure or something to activate the canister, and just trying to get off the bike normally will not come near that
2) The KLR is a tall bike and I have a trunk on the back, so I stand on the footpegs and swing my right leg over. The tether is set to be tight at just where I am standing up fully, so I feel it before starting to swing my leg over. I have 3-4 rides (with multiple mounts/dismounts each ride) in since getting the vest and have tried to get off twice without disconnecting - no issues so far. It's becoming part of my dismount routine just like putting the kickstand down.
3) The Helite, unlike other fancier vests, is user-serviceable after an inflation and would only need to be pulled out of service if it's damaged. It inflates with a standard 60CC co2 canister, and the canister can be swapped with just a hex wrench in a few minutes.

The disadvantages of the tether system are mostly that if you ride the bike down it's not going off, and since it depends on a tether to be pulled there's the possibility that it doesn't activate as quickly as a fancy electronic one when you are ejected. That said, the electronic ones have their own things (only going off above certain speeds, needing to be charged, less inflation/coverage, more expensive, etc.).

The Fortnine video on airbag vests is really good, and is one of the reasons the Helite was on my radar.


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Re: Motorcycles

#25

Post by murphyreedus » Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:38 am

hsilman wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 4:53 am
murphyreedus wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:27 pm Got my Helite vest, mounted the tether, and went for a ride.

The XL Helite fits perfectly, so that was a win. I've got the tether mounted under the seat so I can just stand up on the pegs and it's pulled tight, so hopefully that's going to work out in a crash.
Awesome. And yes, that's absolutely the best place to mount it so it will go off no matter which way you come off the bike.
Yeah, my only question is whether I should pull some more slack out of the tether so it's tight before I can stand up (and would theoretically go off sooner in a crash), especially for street riding. One thing that annoys me about the KLR is that multiple bolts have to come out to get the seat off, so I can't adjust the tether tension quickly where I have it mounted now.

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Re: Motorcycles

#26

Post by hsilman » Fri Aug 27, 2021 5:30 pm

murphyreedus wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:38 am
hsilman wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 4:53 am
murphyreedus wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:27 pm Got my Helite vest, mounted the tether, and went for a ride.

The XL Helite fits perfectly, so that was a win. I've got the tether mounted under the seat so I can just stand up on the pegs and it's pulled tight, so hopefully that's going to work out in a crash.
Awesome. And yes, that's absolutely the best place to mount it so it will go off no matter which way you come off the bike.
Yeah, my only question is whether I should pull some more slack out of the tether so it's tight before I can stand up (and would theoretically go off sooner in a crash), especially for street riding. One thing that annoys me about the KLR is that multiple bolts have to come out to get the seat off, so I can't adjust the tether tension quickly where I have it mounted now.
Probably. I wouldn't really worry about it going off accidentally, takes quite a bit of force and worse case ontario you have to resnap it and replace the canister if you somehow over tighten it.

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Re: Motorcycles

#27

Post by murphyreedus » Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:18 pm

hsilman wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 5:30 pm Probably. I wouldn't really worry about it going off accidentally, takes quite a bit of force and worse case ontario you have to resnap it and replace the canister if you somehow over tighten it.
I tightened it up, not like I'm standing fully upright on the pegs on the street. Now it's just before the point of stretching in a normal riding position. I need to order a spare canister.

Today's adventure was the bike starting to surge/hesitate/something going down the highway. My butt dyno could feel something, but nothing was obvious on the tach.

Tore it apart tonight and checked all the obvious things, fuel cap vent, vacuum lines, breather lines, air filter, spark plug. The spark plug was loose enough that it moved when I was trying to figure out which socket could fit on it, and I was able to easily remove it by hand in a few turns. Not exactly ideal. Plug itself still looked good.

Put everything back together and rode for a couple miles and wasn't able to reproduce the issue. I guess time and some longer rides will tell if it was as easy as an undertorqued plug.

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Re: Motorcycles

#28

Post by murphyreedus » Sun Sep 26, 2021 7:07 am

Got to take a nice ride down in the Driftless Area on the WI side of the Mississippi on Friday. Lots of twists and turns and valleys, nice color to the leaves, very little traffic. Pretty peaceful.


I also decided it would be funny to have a KLR with an old-timey aooga horn on it. I had planned to mount it under the fairing, but it's kinda huge and there's no good place to put it where it doesn't interfere with the forks. For now I have it zip-tied (in true KLR fashion) to the crash bars and wired to a 12v adapter switch that plugs into one of my accessory ports. Not pretty, but it definitely gets the lolz from kids and the people who like to wave at random motorcyclists riding down the road. I'll have to find some bar clamps or something that'll fit the crash bars to mount it a little more professionally.

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Re: Motorcycles

#29

Post by hsilman » Mon Sep 27, 2021 5:37 am

Finished up my last track weekend on my sv. Going to do a couple of more tweaks over the winter, install the zx6 shock and stainless steel brake lines. Switch my tires to q3+ or something, by the end of the day my pilot powers felt slippery which killed my confidence. I'll probably run these on the street through the fall to use them up.

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Re: Motorcycles

#30

Post by mikeylikey » Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:46 am

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Re: Motorcycles

#31

Post by murphyreedus » Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:44 am

mikeylikey wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:46 am back2thefuture
If this is directed at me, I got the black Helite vest, so I didn't lose my street cred.

I do feel like a Mondoshawan walking around with all my gear on, though.

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Re: Motorcycles

#32

Post by JohnHelton » Mon Sep 27, 2021 8:52 am

I have a 2015 BMW R1200GS. I haven't ridden in awhile as it has been too hot. I'm a ATGATT guy. Summer of 2020, I rode it to Colorado and did the Colorado BDR. It was a blast, but my bike plus gear was a bit too much for some of the mountain passes. I don't love riding in the city, and it takes a long time to get out of the city here.


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Re: Motorcycles

#33

Post by murphyreedus » Mon Mar 14, 2022 3:40 pm

Spring approaches.

My to-do list:

Upgrade boots to something more protective than the cheap Harley-level boots I have (hopefully done, ordered Alpinestars Tech 3 Enduros)
Install Tusk handguards (done, hopefully. need to ride it and make sure they aren't annoying for glove/lever clearance)
New KLR decals (done)
Stainless brake lines/new fluid (shop sent me 2 front lines, so haven't started)
Oil change
Chain tension and lube

Not necessary, but I also want to replace the plastic radiator and coolant guards with metal ones. Torn between the nicer-but-not-available-in-Kawasaki-Green US-made ones and the cheaper-but-comes-in-green Chinese ones:

https://kronoparts.com/products/radiator-guard


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Re: Motorcycles

#34

Post by EggMcMuffin » Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:15 pm

is riding a motorcycle more or less as dangerous as driving a lowered miata in heavy traffic where basically no one in am SUV/crossover can see you because of how short and wide your car is

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Re: Motorcycles

#35

Post by hsilman » Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:03 am

Anaphase wrote: Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:15 pm is riding a motorcycle more or less as dangerous as driving a lowered miata in heavy traffic where basically no one in am SUV/crossover can see you because of how short and wide your car is
more

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Re: Motorcycles

#36

Post by murphyreedus » Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:11 am

Anaphase wrote: Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:15 pm is riding a motorcycle more or less as dangerous as driving a lowered miata in heavy traffic where basically no one in am SUV/crossover can see you because of how short and wide your car is
TIL you can lower a Miata.

My WAG is that, driver/rider skill being equal, the lowered Miata is safer than a motorcycle in heavy traffic. I mean, if you're OK being a filthy cager.

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Re: Motorcycles

#37

Post by murphyreedus » Sun Apr 03, 2022 8:36 am

Heh. Dropped my bike in the mud the other day and had some parts fall out. Gave me the excuse to take off the tank/fairings and swap to the stainless brake lines/change fluid.


I bought a Joe Rocket Phoenix 6.0 jacket for summer riding, and holy hell does that thing breathe compared to my leather one, even with the airbag vest on.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/joe ... id=1745508

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Re: Motorcycles

#38

Post by hector » Sun Apr 03, 2022 9:23 am

hsilman wrote: Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:03 am
Anaphase wrote: Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:15 pm is riding a motorcycle more or less as dangerous as driving a lowered miata in heavy traffic where basically no one in am SUV/crossover can see you because of how short and wide your car is
more
With the miata you still have a cage around you, air bags, maybe an after marker roll bar. And a seat belt. Minimal chance of being launched from your vehicle from an impact.

Not so much on a motorcycle.

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Re: Motorcycles

#39

Post by hsilman » Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:00 am

murphyreedus wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 8:36 am Heh. Dropped my bike in the mud the other day and had some parts fall out. Gave me the excuse to take off the tank/fairings and swap to the stainless brake lines/change fluid.


I bought a Joe Rocket Phoenix 6.0 jacket for summer riding, and holy hell does that thing breathe compared to my leather one, even with the airbag vest on.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/joe ... id=1745508
I've got a Phoenix jacket that I've had for like a decade. It's a great summertime jacket. I've been happy with every joe rocket product I've bought. Got alter ego pants that are my go-to and big bang boots(the boots are for when I ride to work)

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Re: Motorcycles

#40

Post by mgil » Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:39 am

I know you’re all h8rs, but catch me out side in my Honda Ruckus in summer 2022.

#wutang #bringdaruckus #49ccfatboy

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