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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> First Ride Report.... /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1335231809 Message started by gcsdls on 04/23/12 at 18:43:28 |
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Title: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/23/12 at 18:43:28 First ride report: Got the license plates, title transfer, and the insurance today...so now I'm ready to ride. Was a little nervous at first. Cranking up and taking off I found that first gear was a little taller than the 250 I rode at the MSF course. This engine is torquey, but doesn't like to rev. And boy, does it vibrate! I don't think the guy ever tuned it up, and I'm wondering about the fuel delivery as it tended to surge going down the road. Had it up to 35 mph at one point, in 3rd gear. Didn't go any faster 'cause that was the speed limit, and I was in our neighborhood, not on the highway. I'm going to give it a tune-up soon, and give it a thorough going-over. Funny...with the stock exhaust on it, it sounds kinda like a big lawn mower. :D Our neighborhood has about 5 parallel streets, surrounded by the main neighborhood roads, one of which we live on. I took the bike down the hill and turned left into the neighborhood. Forgot to cancel the turn signals at first, and beeped the horn when I remembered. :-) Hello neighbors! Found that my rearview mirrors show a wonderful view...of my shoulders. I can't angle them to see past me. I guess I'm just a wide guy. :-/ We'll have to work on that. I rode down two of the parallel neighborhood streets in addition to the surround roads, including our road. All left turns today. There's one sharp turn that I don't yet want to try going to the right. I'll work up to that one. On the two parallel streets, there were a total of 3 dogs that chased me. Boy, they were having fun. I found out these dogs can't run faster than 25-30 mph. After making a couple of laps, I came back home. My wife tells me that I look like a normal guy on the bike...not like an elephant on a tricycle, like I was picturing. That's good. She didn't get a view from behind, though. :D So, home again safe...fun stuff! I have broken the ice! |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by verslagen1 on 04/23/12 at 19:26:52 congrats 484C5C4B435C2F0 wrote:
check the engine mounting bolts Quote:
Quote:
you must have drag bars... get a set of 30" wide bars Quote:
don't ask don't tell |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/24/12 at 06:25:47 Here's the bike. I don't know what kind of bars they are...I thought they were stock. Thanks for the advice about the engine mounts. I'll check that. :-) |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/24/12 at 09:16:20 Tune up? How many miles on it? Run some Sea Foam thru it, about 2 oz on a full tank,,may need that a coupla times,, Ive always dodged such stuff,, but it cured a nasty injector knock on the back hoe & seriously smoothed out an old pickup, so, now, it goes a dash here & there in everything old that I have. |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/24/12 at 09:19:17 It's got 10,600 on it, and the previous owner just changed the oil. Should have gotten another spark plug at 7500 or so. :-) |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/24/12 at 10:35:18 Honey, does this bike make my a55 look fat? |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/24/12 at 14:10:47 Yeah, that's it. :-) |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by Dead Fish on 04/24/12 at 18:50:44 Welcome. I saw your introduction over in the other section. I also am a first time rider (at 62, not 49...trade ya anytime) and just completed the MSF course. Bought an 07 S40. I rode about 50 miles around the same few blocks over several days working on just trying to be smooth. starts and stops, and keeping my head up. It was a lot easier, particulary the throttle control and shifting with the S40 than the nasty little 250cc bike I used during training. Anyway, last week I ventured out of the neighborhood on some two lane roads with speed limits ranging from 40 to 55. Once I got past the Oh S*** response the first time I hit 55, it was actually quite satisfying. Keep after it and let me know if you find a solution to the mirror issue. I have the same restricted view. |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/24/12 at 19:06:51 7A7D6B72721E0 wrote:
This makes me think even more that there's something wrong with my bike. LOTS of vibration is making it very unpleasant to ride...and it's certainly not better than the Nighthawk I rode during the MSF course. This is troubling. I'll let you know if I come up with an answer to the rearview mirror problem. I did spend some time adjusting the mirrors this evening, but I didn't ride afterward. I'll ride again tomorrow. I tried to see if possibly the motor mounts were loose...but it looks like they're tight. So I don't know what the problem is. Thanks for the welcome! Better late than never on the riding, eh? |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/24/12 at 19:33:31 Makje sure the foot peg bolts are tight & theres a couple above the head, under the tank. Never seen them be loose, but the peg bolts loose are a known problem., |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by Dead Fish on 04/24/12 at 19:39:34 Quote:
I agree. If I have to break a hip, I would rather it be from a spectacular slide off a a Suzuki than by tripping over the cat or slipping in the shower. I will let the guys that really know the gear work with you on the vibration and surging. My bike has only 3700 miles and has a very linear throttle and no surge. best regards |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/25/12 at 17:58:17 Took another ride tonight...and I can tell there's only a little vibration in the engine. Rough ride was still there when I pulled in the clutch and let the motor idle down. Most of the jarring vibration seems to be coming from the handlebars, and the front end. I think the suspension is way undersprung for me. Seems like I'm jarring on every little pebble in the road, at least when I get up to speed. I think also that the engine is stumbling a little (like with a dirty carburetor), and when it does, it jolts the driveline forward and back. Same thing when it lugs a bit. All this together makes it feel on one stretch like I'm riding a buckboard down a washboard road...but maybe I exaggerate. I can't tell you how happy I am that it isn't the engine, though. I was looking at the options if it were...and coming up short. There's no such thing as a remanufactured engine for a motorcycle (unless you have a Harley). There's no such thing as a crate engine for a motorcycle (ex. Harley). If you rebuild your own engine...better hope the basic block is in good shape, or you're out of luck. :-/ Well, I think this bike is a keeper after all...but I do think it's going to need a little work. :-) Thanks to all of you who gave suggestions. I appreciate it! |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/25/12 at 20:59:02 You keepin it in a low enough gear when youre rolling slow? |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by scottnj on 04/25/12 at 21:17:15 Quote:
+1 for that thought. If the motor's bogging down because you're in too high a gear for the speed it'll shake the bejeebers out of you (more throttle = more shaky) unless you shift to a lower gear. I don't find the S40 vibrations to be too bad -- it's a single but it does have a counterbalancer that makes it tolerable. I see enough vibration at low rpm (idle) to create some mirror buzz, and at to top of the rpm range it's a little buzzy, but for most of the rev range it's not all that noticeable to me. Give it a little more gas and see if she smooths out for you! |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by scottnj on 04/25/12 at 21:27:36 Quote:
I had the same problem at first. Did you just adjust just the actual mirrors themselves by hand, or did you try loosening the bolts down where the stalks (not sure if that's the right word) attach to the bars as well? From the pics looks like your mirrors are pretty far back towards you. I loosened up the bolts at the bottoms of the stalks and rotated the stalks forward a couple of inches so that the mirrors were ahead of the bars. After that I could adjust to see around my wide shoulders. Wider bars would really do the trick, but you may be able to adjust what you've got a little more and see if it helps. |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/26/12 at 06:12:16 Thanks y'all. Yes, I was probably bogging the engine down a little. Still, there seems to be lots of jolting coming up through the front end. All the bumps on the road seem magnified somehow. I know it's not the engine because I put the clutch in and coasted with the engine idling for a bit...and the jolting from the road was still there. I'm thinking I may need to look at the steering head bearings, or the front wheel bearings. I also need to beef up the suspension to handle my big self. I drive a diesel car, so I'm used to having an engine pull hard from idle...and maybe I'm just too used to that. :-) And I did get my mirrors adjusted...wider out, and as high as possible, and angled to go around my upper arms. I can see pretty well, now. My brother told me about some extensions he found to bring them up even a little more. Anyway, thanks again! |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/26/12 at 06:23:48 Engine off, in neutral, grab front brake, rock the bike, or get it rolling & grab the brake, feel for a clunk. Shove down on the bars & feel of the front suspension, maybe the tubes arent sliding well? Mite need to check the oil level,, are the seals leaking? |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/26/12 at 06:31:16 Did that...didn't feel a clunk. Tubes seem to be sliding well, till about 1/2 way down, then the spring rate seems to transition. No leaking seals. |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/26/12 at 09:22:46 Are you leaning on the handlebars? |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/26/12 at 09:29:31 Well, I might be.... :-) |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by Nimbus on 04/26/12 at 09:41:27 3A3E2E39312E5D0 wrote:
This makes me think even more that there's something wrong with my bike. LOTS of vibration is making it very unpleasant to ride...and it's certainly not better than the Nighthawk I rode during the MSF course. This is troubling. [/quote] I just put a bigger windshield on my bike, at Husband's advice. It made a huge difference in how much more stable my bike feels on the road! :o LOL about the open roads being scary at first ... I can tell when I'm outside of my comfort zone for too long when I realize my fingers are numb! ;D ;D ;D |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/26/12 at 09:45:50 Try focusing on sitting up using your gut muscles & take the weight off your hands, get your head back on your shoulders, pulling the ears back over the centerline of the shoulders, Thats better posture anyway, protecting the curvature in the neck, |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/26/12 at 09:46:45 I was talking to a buddy of mine at work about the vibration, and he told me that some stretches of road cause a sympathetic vibration in his handlebars, at a certain speed. I think this might be a large portion of the problem. That and my tendency to lug the engine a bit. I think much more practice and experience are in order. :-) My bike has a small windscreen, and I've not even tried riding without it yet. I should compare.... ;) |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/26/12 at 09:48:44 I don't think I was curled up and resting on the handlebars. I think I was just gripping them tightly and holding my upper torso too tense. Thus it was transferring the vibration into my head. I'll get this yet.... |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by Nimbus on 04/26/12 at 09:51:55 5E4147405D5A6B5B6B53414D06340 wrote:
That's good advice. Thanks. I've also found that if I loosen my grip to a normal tension (as opposed to nerves and terror), the blood circulates a lot better. ;) |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/26/12 at 10:11:58 676373646C73000 wrote:
The muscles in the hand/fingers are apparently tied to the nerves in the anal sphincter,, if you can get that thing to relax a bit, youll be allrite, Get gloves that have gel pads in the palm, like for running a weedeater. Lowes has them,Then, practice on back roads, away from traffic & see just how lightly you can hold the throttle without it closing by itself, Took me a while to learn to just use my palm, once I did that, I was able to ride further in comfort, of course, I close my hand, I dont just use my palm, well,, it was the area justbefore the first knuckles, the edge of the palm.,but play with it, pay attention to your muscles, focus on loosening up physically & stay alert mentally,, |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/26/12 at 10:16:09 Thanks...I will. :-) |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by scottnj on 04/26/12 at 14:00:24 One other thought -- I don't know what your tires look like, but I know when I went from the worn out stock tires to a new set of Dunlop tires, the ride got way better. It felt all wiggly and harsh with the old, hard tires, then rock solid and plush (well, except for really big bumps) with the new. Just one more thing to consider -- may or may not be contributing to the vibes/ride on your bike. I'm sure once you get some saddle time on your scoot you'll get it dialed in. Get out there and enjoy the ride! |
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Title: Re: First Ride Report.... Post by gcsdls on 04/26/12 at 14:06:43 Thanks Scott. They're new Dunlops, so the only possibility there is they didn't balance the front right(?). :-) Yeah, once I get myself dialed in, the scoot will probably be short work. :D |
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