| Author | Message | ||
     Nikponcherello |
On Thursday afternoon I wanted to go for a ride. Asked the wife if she wanted to come along. 400 miles later¡K. We ended up in Marquette Michigan in a hotel. Then on Friday, we rode all over the Keweenaw peninsula for a few hundred miles. And home on the 4th. Totally, about 1,300 miles in 2.5 days. Some notes from 2009 1125R. My American bike on an American holiday. - My butt hurts. - My wife¡¦s butt hurts. - The riding position is fine on this bike. The passenger seat is small. - The stock springs are fine. (me = 160lbs. Wife = 140 lbs) - The power is okay for 2 people. Enough, but a few more ponies would be nice. - No chain lube on the rear wheel is awesome, but it¡¦s a trade for the exhaust crud. - Solo, the rear brake is perfect (a bit muted, but I love it that way) for 2-up though it is lacking. - The wind coverage is much better than I expected. And as a bonus, it did a decent job of pushing the bugs out of the way as well. - The touring range is too good. ƒº I can do about 120-150 miles before needing to stop and stretch, and the gas tank on my jap bikes was the limiter. On this 1125R it¡¦s my butt/back/neck¡K - I invented (I think) the best option for music and earplugs. I took a small set of earbuds and threw away the rubber part. Then with my swiss army knife, chiseled a hole in a set of small, cheap, foam-rubber earplugs and inserted the buds. Perfect. No pain, blocks out other noise, no head-ache or fatigue. Total cost about $20. - Saddle bags are NOT always the best option. Wife and I jumped on the bike on a whim. No packing. Bought cheap new socks/undies/t-shirts as we went at grocery stores. Threw away the previous day¡¦s stuff. I could do this for several summers before it would cost more than saddle bags and I don¡¦t have to deal with saddle bags. But the jury is still out on this option¡K we didn¡¦t get rained on, had it rained and I didn¡¦t have gear I might have a different opinion. - And here¡¦s the biggest conclusion of the weekend¡K. ¡K.as a general rule, I don¡¦t like most motorcyclists. I don¡¦t really have anything in common with most bikers. A handful of the bikes/bikers that I ran across on the roads or at the gas stations, restaurants, rest stops, and hotels seemed like decent guys. But I was amazed at how many guys out there were juvenile asshats who are just looking for attention. It was like a leather-clad clown-show. You guys with the loud pipes; grow up already. You¡¦re ruining it for everyone. You impress each other and 10 year old boys. No one else thinks you¡¦re tough because you can afford an aftermarket pipe. Hogging the centerline with your left foot and left hand in the oncoming lane doesn¡¦t make you hard either. It makes you look like you have a complex. I don¡¦t understand assless chaps, chrome, tattoos, brain-buckets, extended swingarms, colored Mohawks stuck to your helmet, tinted windshields, revving your engine at stoplights, neon lights, or knee-pucks on your street pants. But I don¡¦t need to understand these things. More power to you and to each his own. What¡¦s obnoxious and needs to stop are the loud pipes and hogging the road. You¡¦re giving everyone a bad name. I know that¡¦s your goal. You bought a bike because you want to LOOK like a hardened bad-ass and you need to do these things to perpetuate that culture and project the image you just paid for. But some of us bought our bikes because we appreciate the ride regardless of what everyone else thinks. Sorry to be a hater. But after seeing all of the people on the way who had to stop their conversations as a train of Harleys or gaggle of sportbikes rode past and then roll their eyes it was the biggest take-away of the trip. I don¡¦t have anything in common with most of these guys and I have no love for them.  | ||
| Badlionsfan |
get the select rider and passenger seats, your butts will thank you. you should be using more front than rear brake anyway, it does more work better. | ||
| Brandon_m |
Oh come on... the colored mohawks on the helmet make you faster (but only if they're stuck on there crooked). Blocking out all the sound around you with earplugs or audio? Bad bad ju-ju.... Whatever though, to each his own. Beautiful machine and beautiful setting, by the way. | ||
| Ccryder |
Nik: Very good write up of the 1125r. As mentioned, there are a couple of things that can be done to make your ride more comfortable like foot pegs and seat options. Ear buds and ear plugs, been there and done that YEARS ago but a viable option none the less. After 35+ years of riding I have tried your option of throw away wardrobe but it can get expensive, uncomfortable and, inconvenient and that's in good weather. Being able to carry spares for you and your bike as well as clothing for various weather conditions has some definite advantages. It sounds like you had a nice weekend for riding. It is unfortunate that you ran into motorcyclists that didn't meet up to your expectations. Just like in normal everyday life, you run into a wide mixture of people and personalities. Most riders that I have met would do anything that was required to help another rider in need of help regardless of their ride or dress. IMHO it is a shame that you judge people by the way they dress or what they ride. Maybe you just need some more experience with American motorcycle riders. Please take these comments as my own and not representative of anyone else on this forum or on the road less traveled. BTW, no matter what you ride or how you are dressed, I will still talk to you and I will pull over on the side of any road to see if you need assistance or help. Maybe that's just me but..... that has not been my experience in 48 states, B.C. Canada and over 500,000+ miles of riding. Time2Ride Neil S. p.s. If you ever find yourself around Nashville, my hospitality will be extended to you and yours (even if you are riding a white 1125r ;+} ). | ||
| Nikponcherello |
I thought that was a cool picture because there was such a mix of blue, black, and white on the horizon with the lake and the lighthouse and you can't really tell but the stampsand on the left is black, not sand colored. It fit the bike's blue, black, and white nicely. On the rear brake... I use 99% front brake. On the racetrack, I go so far as to bleed air into the rear lines. But with a passenger I use a lot more rear for a couple of reasons. 1) if the brake works, it's more effective because the bike has more weight over the rear wheel and less transfer to the front under normal braking. 2) I use it rolling up to stops when I need to shake out my hands and hold the bike in place on hills at stops to relax my hands (Michigan Tech Univ is built into a hill and the stops are CRAZY!) I also found on a dirt road (near copper harbor) that I had to take my heel off of the peg to get enough force on the rear brake lever during braking to skid the tire on dirt! Having said that though, I admit that the brake is perfect for solo riding. I wouldn't change a thing, I'm just saying that one needs to pay attention of the force required with a passenger. And the earplugs.. for anyone who hasn't tried riding with earplugs. I HIGHLY recommend it. Seriously, just put away your assumptions for a minute and try it. You'll find that you hear more. Seriously, I hear more and hear better with plugs in. It only takes the edge off of the wind noises. Also, if I'm riding more than about 30 minutes, I'm less fatigued and a more alert, safer rider with plugs in. Am I crazy on this one? Does anyone else think they pick up more of the important stuff when they ride with ear plugs? | ||
| Zac4mac |
Wow... I have several pairs of buttless chaps. I have tattoos. I have a loud Drummer exhaust. I have one set of full leathers, no pucks. I rev my engine at stop-lights (just got the Drummer and the sound is AWESOME). I am 54 years old. I don't "hog the cemterline" or zig-zag thru traffic. As an average, I stay within 5mph of the posted speed. In town, I ride softly, a gear or two above power. I do not believe in limiting my vision or hearing while on 2 wheels. Have a nice day Nick - Get the Tour Firebolt seat and the Tour pillion. Try a set of Lightning or Ulysses lowered footpegs. Zack | ||
| Court |
GREAT write up and great summary of the kidlet corps. I ride alone. The rear brake is a matter of personal preference. I use it very sparingly but, from the one time I had it go out, I find that I'm used to having the pedal there. I enjoyed the two up observation. My favorite part was the "spur of the moment" element. I used to do this a couple of weekends a month in the early days when there were only a couple Buells in the USA and folks wanted to see them. I'd leave Kansas at midnight and be in AZ, TN or PA the next morning . . fun stuff. I like earplugs and tried a lot of them. I finally broke down and went to the "Audiologist to the Stars" at Carnegie Hall, Dr. Dominic Servidio. He did the complete battery of tests and designed and built a set of custom plugs. I just grew weary of all the "top of the line" units I'd bought to try and how they felt after 5 hours. I do like your idea and will likely be hacking up one of my spare sets of Bose. I can see putting the Bose unit in a foam plug. Nice write up; fun read. Court | ||
| Ccryder |
Buttless chaps, aren't all chaps buttless??? ;+} I have a set of Koss "ear buds" that are basically, as described, ear buds in foam ear plugs. They even offer different sizes of foam plugs. With my Starcom intercom on the ST1300 I have their headset in my RF-1000. Since the RF-1000 is very quiet to start, the headset was the perfect mic/ speaker set up with very good outside noise reduction. Placement of the speakers is critical for both sound quality and noise reduction (velcro is your friend). I utilize this helmet set up on the 1125rt with a Zumo 550/ AmpliRider/ Passport 8500 X50 and XM Sat radio. B/T road noise and wind noise it can be very distracting and fatiguing without some way to reduce the noise level. You do need to adapt how you brake depending on the "load" and road conditions. Bleeding air into your brake system can be dangerous (IMHO). So what kind of ergo improvements are you thinking about for your 1125r? Bars, windshield, pegs, seats? We have a couple of suggestions if you are interested. Keep on riding and, it will keep that SEG eternally on your face. Time2Ride Neil S. | ||
| Ruprecht |
Nice pic. Funny rant too. I can almost see your face...  'course I like loud pipes myself, and never more so than when I'm riding by myself through the hills in the wee hours of the morning. ...but don't let that stop you from making massive sweeping generalisations about (other) people that ride motorcycles.  | ||
| Nikponcherello |
Oh, ya. I forgot my comment on the engine vibe of this bike. LOVE IT! On the jap inline fours, the buzziness of the engine at high revs gets almost vague. On my old jap bikes, i could easily feel the engine RPM at low rpm. But when they started singing it all got lost (could tell where I was on the tach by sound/pitch, but not feel) This bike is exactly opposite. Cruizing at 3500 it's hard to distinguish the rpm by vibration alone because it's so smooth. But step it up a notch (like in the twisties) and the higher rpm are perfectly transmitted to my feet and rear. ...of course it renders the mirrors as blinkers only... As far as judging people by their appearance; well, no on puts a purple mohawk on their helmet to stare at it in the mirror. They do it to change their outward appearance. To change the way they are percived by others. It works. It changes my perception of them. But I don't dislike these people. As I said. To each their own and more power to them. I don't understand it, but I don't need to. What I take exception to are those who extend their freedoms past the point to where my freedoms begin. If you want to run your loud bike at the dragstrip, or the roadrace course, inside your garage, at a rally, in the HD shop parking lot, or even on a remote road, go for it! Think of it in different terms. These kids with the huge bass cannons in the trunks of their cars. The ones that almost shake the trunk spoiler off of their fwd honda civic. Do it kids! Go for it, in the high school parking lot, in your garage, on the freeway, etc. If you love the loud music, roll up your windows and rock out. But knock it off in town, in the neighborhoods, driving past houses where babies are sleeping, etc. The pipes are no different. If you love the sound, put your garage door down and listen to it. But don't parade it around town because this is the crap that drives legislation that ruins it for everyone. I love to ride and I don't want that to change. And for the record, I have a lot of very close friends and family that ride. They have crazy-loud pipes. I raz them for it and I'll ride with them. I've just made up my mind that I don't fall in that group, don't subscribe to the logic, and do not agree with it. I hope I can change some minds before the legislators change the game for all of us. ..back to the bike.. As far as modifications, the jury is out on the luggage. Neil makes good points about the spares and not having a good place to put a camera is a small hassle. This ride was a bit of litmus test on the finer points as a touring bike. The riding position doesn't bother me that much. 1300 miles are going to ache a bit on this bike regardless and I won't trade comfort for feel. The bike already feel like a lazyboy recliner compared to my racebikes. I thought I wanted a clear double-bubble style windshield to throw the wind higher and I get rid of that rediculous blue tint. But i was suprised at how well the stock one worked. I might lower the rear pegs for the wife. I need to look at it and decide how I want to do it. Zack, thanks for the advice. Do the uly pegs work to lower the passenger ones as well? And just a bit more on the rear brake as long as I'm typing a freaking book.. When I started racing it was pretty much known that the rear brake is only used for off-track excursions and the gods like Hayden, Rossi, Stoner, and Spies who can 'back it in.' Then, one time at Mid-O my shift linkage broke coming into the braking zone off of the back stretch at about 140 mph and I freaked out. Ran it wide because I was expecting some engine braking that I didn't get due to the fact that I was still in 6th gear pitching it into the turn. I went off track and was doing fine until I decide to stomp on the brake in the grass (again, pucker factor at work) and dumped the bike right when I could have easily slowed it and rode it out. A much better racer than me gave me the tip of putting some air in the line to dull the effect of the rear. He said it wasn't just that alone but also the mental aspect that you don't want the rear as a real option. He was right. A couple of years later I even put the bike on the podium at BeaveRun in the rain with no rear brake. I think a good enough rider could probably go either way (with or without). But I'm not a good enough rider. When I know I have some rear brake and i get into trouble (dirt/grass/grease/rain) I tend to use it more than i should when concentrating on the front or steering would have served me better. But to be clear, I'm not advocating putting air into this one. This one is weak enough that it's just about perfect as it is. I was really just making an observation/comment about how you really have to stomp on it for it to work with a passenger. | ||
| Halowse |
If you want to get rid of the blue tint, i'll happily trade you my stock clear windscreen for your blue one. I'll even pay the shipping. | ||
| Dirty_john |
Use the front brake, it is fitted for a reason. Get rid of the standard exhaust to stop the crap going over the rear wheel, I use a Remus can which is no louder than standard. I have been riding for 34 years and the 1125R ticks all the boxes. I swapped the seat from my firebolt with the 1125R and it makes a difference. There may be aspects of your riding that irritate others so whilst I can appreciate your views don't be so quick to critise others. Ride Safe | ||
| Slojon |
After my 3k plus ride last week I can see some of these points. Got over the "profilers" the year I went down Main St. at BIKE WEEK Daytona(93-4?) and it appeared all the Riders were 'NEW' Bad. Loud pipes belong on track- if You believe loud pipes, or brightly colored clothes are gonna save yer arse...awareness of surroundings and riding skills...will go further. Think I'll go check on the Uly tour seat- looks like a solution | ||
| Gregtonn |
When I was twelve I saw a guy on a Cushman scooter go into a tank slapper and dump it on the road in front of our house. He was wearing new jeans but still tore a chunk out of his knee that exposed the bone and tendon of his knee cap, his butt was uninjured. I'm sure he would have appreciated the protection offered by a pair of "buttless chaps" on that sunday afternoon. G | ||
| Zac4mac |
Firebolt seat NOT Uly. Uly pegs are bigger than the lightning ones. I have black Uly pegs on Loretta. Z | ||
| Gregtonn |
...and gods like Hayden, Rossi, Stoner, and Spies who can 'back it in.'... "Backing it in" is not done while on the rear brake. It is done by sliding the rear tire under power. G | ||
| Slojon |
Thank You for correction on seat. Stock pegs did put an indent on shoe soles but feel comfortable. May investigate further | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Loud pipes suck. YOu guys want to lose the right to ride (or at least not be able to ride the machine of your choice). Keep bothering Joe Public with your loud pipes. Flyin under the radar is what we should all be trying to do. (Message edited by fresnobuell on July 07, 2009) | ||
| Nikponcherello |
Gregtonn, Backing it in on dirt or ice might happen with the throttle, maybe even a skilled super-motorard rider. I iced raced in district 14 with the AMA and I understand perfectly how to slow the bike by slamming the throttle open while pitching it sideways. I don't think I've ever seen it done on a roadracer, at least it isn't common. It happens when you dump a bunch of downshifts and then drop the clutch and the rear can't keep up, usually simultaniously hard on the front brakes (also usually in the ripples that the cars create in the deep braking zones) the rear gets light and the good guys push it out sideways to further slow the bike and give a bit of headstart on pointing in the right direction to get on the gas sooner to get out. Some guys tap the rear if it needs help getting in there. | ||
| Nikponcherello |
New update on the earplugs. I tried drilling a hole in a pair and it didn't work because they just twist on the drill bit. So I tried a few different options and the best method I found was to dip them (the really cheap, soft foam ones) under water and squeeze them a few times to get some of the air out of them. Let them regain their shape while underwater, remove them from the water and then Freeze them. Then drill about an 1/8" hole in them. Thaw them, and then set them out to dry for a couple of days. Perfect. That little hole is just enough to allow them to be easily pulled/stretched over the earbuds. I tried thru holes and blind holes and it doesn't make much difference to the sound, probably because the thru hole just get's sqeezed closed inside your ear anyway. But I even used them last night for mowing my lawn and it was awesome. Little mower noise, little music, nice. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Dude, you can buy what you're making for $30 (or less in most places). Why all the effort? http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAFX33A-Marshmallow-Ster eo-Headphones/dp/B000IS1ZYY | ||
| Ccryder |
Or these: http://www.amazon.com/Koss-SPARKPLUG-Stereo-Ear-Pl ugs/dp/B00081A2DQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics &qid=1247247454&sr=1-1 BTW, with a sharp drill bit you can readily do it by hand and forget the water/ freezing process (been there done that). | ||
| Nikponcherello |
Put plugs in water = 10 seconds. Turn 180 degrees and open freezer and put plugs in = 3 seconds. (I have a small kitchen) Some other time later... remove plugs, walk into garage, load bit in drill, drill plugs = 2 minutes. Set plugs down to dry, put away drill = 30 seconds.  I actually started with a pair like in the links, but threw away the ends after the first few hours of riding with them because I didn't like them as well as the ones I made myself with 2 minutes 43 seconds of screwing around. Anyone can buy these ones in the link. This is just another option that I liked because those cheap ear plugs are the softest and fill the ear canal the best IMHO. The ones that usually come on the buds are 'optimized' to not distort the sound. That's not my goal. Some of the music gets muffled. If you're looking for long term comfort and want to trade sound quality for noise abatement then this is a decent option. |
