| Author | Message | ||
     Sinjhin |
Ugh, so I have been riding for a couple weeks now with a permit and I decided to go practice the test at the DMV tonight so I could take it tomorrow. I was doing fine with the test (though portions of it are notably harder than regular street driving) until my friend said he saw a spark come from the bottom of the bike and roll along the ground. He said it looked like a cigarette cherry. So anyway, I drove it off the test pad over into the parking lot and was riding around at about ten miles per hour in slow easy circle around him so we could locate what was causing a spark. Then out of nowhere my front wheel completely came out from underneath me and I laid the bike down... it was wet, but I was seriously going 10 mph or so and was just barely leaning. Damage is somewhat minimal, scratches on the pod and rear frame puck thingy, mirror broke off, and the left peg broke off. The main thing I am concerned about is the scratches on the engine. I will post pics tomorrow... don't feel up to it tonight. Fairly bummed out, and confused as to why it happened... oil spot maybe? | ||
| Metalrabbit |
Seems to be a bad habit forming with the stock tires. I've always said the slow speed handling of the 1125 sucks. The fork angle is so steep it seems like you could fall off the hill at any moment. I put Michelin Pilot Powers on after the Corsa III's and its much better at slow speeds without a doubt. I know how you feel, I dropped mine the second day I owned it at about 3mph. It's got scratches on the left pod, bent shift lever and scratched Aluminum lower left cover. That stuff is staying on there as long as I own it, It's my way of cussing it. I have 7200mi on it now and always ride it like I stole it,,'cept when the law is around. | ||
| Chessm |
ya..probably an oil spot...no way it could have been rider error. | ||
| Sinjhin |
Yeah, maybe it was rider error. It usually is. Next time you crash your bike, remind me to repay you in turn with sarcasm. | ||
| Sinjhin |
So, where is the best place to look for oem part numbers and prices? American sport bike has a few oem parts, but not some of the ones I will need. | ||
| Wbrisett |
post up some photos of what you need. Is this an R, or CR? I have the parts book for the CR and can help there, but not the R, so if it's specific to the R somebody else will have to chime in. Wayne | ||
| Westmoorenerd |
I'm with Chessm on this one....with only a couple weeks of riding experience I'd have to say your lack of seat time, wet conditions, and steep rake were to fault. Easiest way to get parts in my experience is just to go to the dealer and they can look everything up for you. Then you can buy from them or take the PNs and search online. | ||
| Reepicheep |
If you whack the front brake quickly, particularly while leaned and while traction is low (wet), it can lock up. The way you know you locked the front wheel is because you just fell over  Once you get the weight transferred to the front wheel, it can take an amazing amount of force to break it free, even in the rain. The MSF class (which you should definitely take ASAP) talks about your "traction pie". The amount of force a tire can hold before breaking free is constant. You can consume all of it for breaking (front line stop), or you can use some of your traction pie for turning, and some of it for breaking (breaking while turning). If your are in the rain, you have less pie to eat. You ate you traction pie!  | ||
| Scottorious |
sad to hear you dropped it. | ||
| Milt |
+1 MSF. | ||
| Guard_rail |
Wait. Sinj' you dropPed it. Shit sorry man. However bad it is, just realize it could have been worse. That's the first step in getting past it. Then go over it a thousand times in your mind if you gotta tell you figure out what went wrong. There's a great line in twist of the wrist about saying what you did so you can correct it. "You can't correct what you didn't do"-(totw) I love that line. I'm still trying to get my wife to understand that one. Now that I think about it. I bet I know what you did wrong! Oil, gravel or just those brand new tires with the wax still on,(the wax plus you) But what YOU did was made a sudden movement. You can ride on ice all day as long as you don't make a sudden move! Think about it. A thousand times if you gotta! | ||
| Pbharvey |
I'm guessing I'm old enough to be your father, so I'll say it, "you should probably start your riding career on a different motorcycle." I've ridden motorcycles for almost 30 years and the 1125R turns me into an irresponsible, lunatic hooligan. Be careful. | ||
| Guard_rail |
Yeah get that craigs list bike we spoke bout sinj' even a 125-250cc | ||
| Scottorious |
there is some truth to what pbharvey says. The first motorycle I had was an 81 kawasaki KZ550 and boy was it a great ride. Being my first bike I had plenty of thrills on it and I rode it to pass my test and then rode it for about 5 months before buying a xb12ss and then I graduated to an 1125r. There is a lot of truth to the 1125r being an ok first bike if you ride within your means but I think everyone pushes the envelope sometimes, and with the way the 1125 is set up as far as steering geometry and unforgiving torque. It may not be a great first bike. If you drop it again the cost of repairs will easily be the cost of an old 80s bike. So what I suggest is to buy a 600 dollar bike and get more comfortable riding and then sell it and make your money back rather than just keep putting money in parts into th 1125. The next mistake could have much more serious consequences which would be great to avoid. | ||
| Sekalilgai |
sorry to hear about dropping the bike, it sucks...but keep practicing (riding not dropping!) I agree wih Pbharvey.... 1125 is a test of self-control....there are days I'll take the Super Sherpa instead just because of that : ) | ||
| No_rice |
Seems to be a bad habit forming with the stock tires. I've always said the slow speed handling of the 1125 sucks. The fork angle is so steep it seems like you could fall off the hill at any moment. thats an odd statement. especially since the buells have been voted the best handling bikes made for a few years. they handle virtually the same as the xb's down low, but at speed tip in noticably easier then the xb's and what "bad habit forming" are you refering to? i havent heard of one. ive only slid the frontend a couple times. at full speed dragging parts on the track. funny thing is it still didnt hit the ground. i just transfered more weight to my knee and off the bike, it hooked again and away we go.(stock diablo III's) and as far as the steering angle, its been the same on the buells since 03 atleast, 21 degrees(except the long frame versions) as far as the crash, it could have easily been riders error. it just as easily could have been oil. i mean you are in a parking lot, and a little oil with some water goes a long ways. | ||
| Mountainstorm |
Sorry to hear about the down. It happens. Better to analyze it and correct whatever error you made next time than other less painful ways of dealing with it. I've got close to 100K miles of seat time and I can honestly say each and every time I went down I could have prevented it by riding better. I'd like to think I learned to ride more safely from all those dents and scabs. | ||
| Sparropie |
Sinj, it's what all the above say... I do like the Pilot Powers' better, but the 1125 is just plain twitchy at low speeds. Once you get this sucker rolling and yer blood boilin' she turns like a rabbit and jumps like, like... some kind of jumpin' dealio. MSC is a brilliant posibility I too would recomend. ps. I bought the case savers from EBR. They are less than half the price of the parts they protect...  | ||
| Guard_rail |
Yeah sinj' you just became a better rider. Really | ||
| Duphuckincati |
Gravity is pretty dependable. But at least now you can consider your bike broken in. Oh yeah, that craigslist beater bike deal? I TOLD YOU SO!! Listen to us old motorcycle hippie farts! Glad to hear you're ok. Even parking lot speed falls can do surprising physical damage depending how you land. Make sure you tell the chicks a better story though. OK I'm done. | ||
| Captain_america |
Effff It dude. The 1125 is my first bike.... wa wa waaaaa, I shoulda got a small bike to practice on ... WTF? efff that. I went from ridding no bike, sophomore year in high school (15), to the baddest dirt bike made (CRF450) and had no problems, didn't kill myself, or anyone else, and I even schooled the old guys who told me that bike was too big for me... It's too big? Too much power? THAT'S WHY THERE'S A THROTTLE IDIOT! Went from that dirt bike to to the 1125CR and can probly show up most of the fat asses on here (no offense) and I have only been ridding since the new year (5230 miles). I don't mean to piss people off but I am really tired of "old guys" telling us "young guys" that the bike is too big and we should start on something smaller. If we die, then we die, Its called natural selection. All you did was a booboo. Shit happens. All it does is make you better. Yup your bike will get scratches, and there's nothing you can do about that. When I come to IL I'm gonna hunt you down so we can ride like young, dumb, hooligans!  Done.  | ||
| Scottorious |
haha I am not old. I am 25 and I do think that you can totally manage on an 1125 as your first bike. But you would be crazy to think that you arent more prone to crash in your first few yeas of riding due to inexperience. So I am only saying that a cheap bike is easy to fix or replace and you wont be doing 150 mph before you realize it. It isnt my money so I dont much care and Yah when you come to IL hunt me down too because I am only 50 minutes from sinjhin and I do like riding like a young stupid hooligan If I didnt enjoy that I would still be riding a kawasaki 550. | ||
| Wbrisett |
Hey Capt, as Sgt Hulka said... "Lighten up Francis". Personally if you want to buy a superbike as your first bike, hey more power to you. I guess what a lot of us who have ridden for a number of years (I've got 30 years under my belt), recommend is riding a less powerful bike to start out on because as Scottorious points out, you're going to drop it, or twist the throttle and ride way over your comfort zone. It's your choice, you can do what you want. I make smaller first bike recommendations because I hope to meet new riders on the road at some point, and it's hard to do when you aren't riding anymore. That's it. I know it gets old, but having a 140 HP bike it not something I recommend as a first bike. I'll leave it at that. Wayne | ||
| Captain_america |
I'm always light. Braaaap brap! I'm gonna air drop from a plane on the CR to you Scottorious and sinjhin, land a wheelie, and we will go terrorize whatever you guys got over there haha. Wish I could come right now! | ||
| Reepicheep |
LOL. Tell that to somebody who just hopped on a CR-500, or a big KTM two stroke. Another strategy is to get a dirt bike. Get a KLR-250 (not a 650) or a KDX-200 or something, and spend a season riding offroad. You will learn a ton about managing traction, controlling the bike, picking lines, and build up fantastic muscle memory for the street bike. Drops and wrecks will be par for the course, and for the most part will be cheap and painless. You could buy either of those bikes for about what a good lowside will cost you on a modern faired streetbike, and sell the bike for about what you paid for it after a season. | ||
| Father_of_an_era |
Listen, if you feel comfortable on a larger bike then ride it! I learned how to ride on a Harley Road Glide that had a 1550 in it. I now have a Buell 1125r and absolutely love it. I would not have been happy on a smaller bike and I knew it. So, why start small? Just be cautious on the large bike and get to know it before you get too comfortable on it and all will be fine. Don't get carried away and don't forget that you will kill your self on any sized bike if you don't learn how to ride it first. Besides that, the 1125r is one of the easiest bikes to ride that I have ever ridden. Enjoy! | ||
| Spiderman |
most of the fat asses on here (no offense) Well since you said 'No Offense' LOL tool... | ||
| Family_buells |
If you whack the front brake quickly, particularly while leaned and while traction is low (wet), it can lock up. The way you know you locked the front wheel is because you just fell over Really? You can tell that much from Sinjin's description? It could very well have been something like oil, especially if the rain had just started. The first few minutes of a rainstorm are the worst as the rain is still washing the oil away. Once you get the weight transferred to the front wheel, it can take an amazing amount of force to break it free, even in the rain. The last thing you want to do is transfer more weight to the front wheel while leaned over in the rain. If you are straight up and down, yes, you can transfer surprising amount of weight or apply front brake in the rain, but not while leaned over. The MSF class (which you should definitely take ASAP) I do agree with this. The amount of force a tire can hold before breaking free is constant. No it isn't. It depends directly on the condition of the surface you are riding on and your lean angle. The amount of force it takes to break action goes down as lean angle increases. You can consume all of it for breaking (front line stop), or you can use some of your traction pie for turning, and some of it for breaking (breaking while turning). Close, but not exactly. For a given lean angle and surface condition (how much grip the surface provides) you only have so much available traction. The scenarios are something like this: You can use all of your available traction for turning at extreme lean angles (which is pretty rare) You can use some but not all of the available traction for turning. An example would be a moderate lean angle at a constant speed but not so much speed that the tire is sliding. You can use a combination of turning and engine braking. You can use all available traction for braking. (only if you are completely vertical) Yes there is a limited amount of traction that you have available under any given conditions. The trick is to learn how to balance the turning/braking/accleration forces without exceeding the limit | ||
| Captain_america |
I'm an arsehole sorry. Ya I forgot about the 5 hundos. Those are pretty wicked. But in a straight line I only fall about a bike length behind, I whooop them in the sand drags. I dunno bout the service Honda 500 in the 250f frame.... I wanna try one of those | ||
| Pariah |
Sounds like you grabbed a bit too much front brake indeed... in slow maneuvering, that will bring you down instantly. DAMHIK. When you're moving slowly (less than 15mph): head and eyes up, friction zone and a bit of rear brake (keep your right hand off the front brake lever altogether unless your bike is vertical with the the handlebars straight). You can use your rear brake fairly aggressively with no ill consequences when you are moving at a walking pace on warm dry pavement. Please commit to learning everything you possibly can on a motorcycle... books, MSF, trackdays and rider clinics. The 1125R is definitely not the easiest bike to manage at slow speeds. I got the 1125R first, but after some harsh advice from my friends here, I got a DR-Z400SM soon after. The smaller bike GREATLY improved my skills and confidence, which translated well to the 1125. Don't be discouraged and good luck! |
