Life of an addicted rider

Well, back to bikes. I have a bit of inspiration for this installment of “want to get into motorcycles?”. There are several types of bikes out there. Generally, people think of only 2 types. Cruisers, defined clearly by any Harley Davidson, or Sportbikes, defined by any Asian import (while this is no longer true). New to the arena, in terms of stereotypes, are Dual Sports (they look like dirt bikes), Touring bikes (think of a Honda Goldwing), Standards (pretty much a mini cruiser but better handling), Scooters (vespas are the popular look now), and super-scooters (if you know what a Suzuki Bergman looks like, you know what it is). The last 2, scooters and super-scoots are the same.

1: Cruisers

These are extremely popular today. They style is a V-twin engine (2 cylinders in a V shape) that is exposed, round headlight, and a metal gas tank on the top. They are popularized by the Jesse James era on Discover Channel with their custom bikes. They may look different, but in terms of genre, it’s a cruiser. Cruisers are meant to do nothing more than cruise. They go up and down the popular strip. It’s a bike that is usually modified to be LOUD. They are generally big, heavy, and full of horsepower. The sizes range from 250cc to 2000cc. While they lack top speed, and handling, they are very comfortable bikes. If you have a big bike, you don’t have to worry too much. 1000cc is not a lot for a cruiser. However, 1000cc is a problem because you have a lot of weight. When you sit on one, you’ll notice how much the bike screams to be ridden slowly. It asks to be treated nicely. It’s good to start for any size, any level.

2: Sportbikes

These are death machines. They scream for speed and power. They scream, take me to the track. I am a victim of these awesome machines. They are typically personified as a machine that looks like it’s to be for racing. Here, more power isn’t a good thing. Being an “expert” (yeah right) on these bikes, the standard starter bikes here are the Kawasaki Ninja (250 and 500cc models), Kawasaki ER-6r, the Suzuki Katana 600, Suzuki SV 650, and the Suzuki GS 500. All are capable machines. Where a cruiser would stop cornering and start to crash, a sportbike will go even faster and tighter. Here is the last part. You have a lot to learn from a small machine. A race bike at 600cc is a lot to handle. Not impossible, but definatly not recommended as a starter bike. It requires a LOT of discipline. It takes a lot of courage and stupidity. Going to 1000cc sport bikes is too much for any newb. Even for experienced riders. I hear stories of guys who stop riding “litre” bikes because it’s just that hard. It’s too easy to go fast. You don’t realistically need the power. However, they make good bikes to dress up and show off. Needless to say, you aren’t stupid for choosing a smaller bike.

3: Dual sports:

These are a newer, unpopular, method of transportation. Typical sizes are sub-600cc. They are great starter bikes. They have enough power, they corner extremely well, especially at slow speeds, and they suffer minimal damage. No major fairings to destroy, no major chrome and steel either. They are built like tanks, but look like jeeps. When you go over 600cc, you tend to jump to the super-motard genre which is very similar to large sized sportbikes. Dangerous for the starter rider.

4: Touring:

These are a hit with older riders, and the sane. They are similar in weight to a cruiser, but handle closer to a sport bike. They are meant to be taken for the long haul. They can be heavy for the new rider. However, several sport touring models have shown up on the market that offer the comfortable seat and the agressive handling that many people crave. With and experienced rider, they are just as fast as a sportbike. Pure touring bikes, while they can carve corners just as well as a sportbike, tend to require more power to get up to speed, due to the amenities. These are expensive bikes. Upgrades include CB radios, full CD and radio systems, automatic windshield, heaters, and even 12V plugs.

5: Scooters

This is a city bike. While many people shun them as not a real motorcycle, they are slowly gaining acceptance. They are all excellent starter bikes. Most of them don’t even require a full motorcycle license. If you are in BC, and have your regular drivers license, you can buy a 50cc scooter and be on the road in no time. Great for inner city commuting. Cheap to repair. Easy to maintain. They are the essential twist and go machines. I do recommend a motorcycle school for these bikes regardless. You’ll learn a lot on how to ride in the city from a school. These bikes are probably hard to learn to ride properly due to their slower speeds. However, it isn’t impossible, and it’s probably just as enjoyable. The bigger the bike, the more expensive to repair. They are all great bikes.

The freedom of 2 wheels and no cage around you is intense. You learn a lot on your bike. You learn a lot about YOUR bike. For the new riders, treat your bike with respect. Going a year without an accident, you’ll likely be good. My completely unrational thought is, if you crash in your first year, you should be okay. Otherwise, you should be fine too. The first year is the worst. Regardless. Please also be careful when you change bikes. It’s not a bicycle. They don’t feel the same. Nor can you modify it to feel the same. Every motorcycle has characteristics. It’s important to learn them in a controlled manner. Work your way up slowly. Do not push it. If you want to push it, check around for local track days. They offer you a night, or a day, to get intimate with your bike and push your limits. Do this with all your bikes and you’ll be happy.

Side tip: Be careful when you start again in the Spring. Taking the winter off is dangerous. You lose a lot of your skills. Treat yourself as a new rider for a few months. Good luck, and ride safe.

The day started early. Super early. 5:30am early. You gotta eat before heading to the bus which is about 30 minutes away. Sucky. We were late, but that’s another story. We hopped onto the bus and off we went. I found out quickly that the Expressway is a parking lot. We got on, went a short distance, and stopped. Moved slowly, then went quick, then stopped. If you thought the #1 was bad, this is sometimes worse. The toll booth didn’t help either. I read the sign and it said, “20kms of congestion”. DAMN.

2 hours later and we pull into the break area. A nice big lot with some small food stands. An hour later and we are outside Motegi. Nice place. Super long lines to get in. Even though we are a bus, and don’t have to wait or pay to park, we still had to wait in line with everyone else. Add another 30-50 minutes waiting to get through the parking gate.

Once we got off the bus, all you can see is bikes. Hundreds of bikes. You name it, it’s there. Scooters, cruisers, sport bikes. All sizes. All colours, and replicas were there. I saw at least 20 Rossi Replicas. Half of them Repsol. I never seen so many replicas in one place. Maybe Laguna had more? NSRs and RRs were popular, but I did see a few Yami replicas. Really sweet. Tons of Ducati’s new and old as well.

First on the agenda was to walk around. I missed the 125 and 250 races because we were walking around. Who cares, I wanted to watch Rossi, not the other guys. Also wanted to buy some overpriced garbage. Add the heat and sun, and you just want to find the few A/Ced shops you can so you don’t get completely burned. Food wasn’t bad. It’s a MotoGP event, so expect to get your wallet cleaned out just for food. Not too bad though. I was expecting the prices to be more expensive. I picked up a MotoGP shirt. The Berik shirts were too expensive. Oh well. In the show, there were no freebies, but there were lots of bikes. Kawi had Shinya’s bike on display. Suzuki had Robert’s bike on display. Honda had Sete and Hayden’s bikes. Plus, I think you could sit on Hayden’s. They had an awesome Telefonica replica there as well. I’d buy that instead of the Repsol replica. Lastly is Yamaha. (side note, I didn’t really visit Ducati) They had all of their bikes from the start. All lined up. On the stage was 2 M1s. The standard blue, and the 50th anniversary edition. It’s beautiful when you see it up close. They also had an M1 you could sit on. I waited 20 minutes to be like Rossi.

Finally, the race itself. I was in corner 10 (I think it’s 10). The one after the hairpin and long straight. Better yet, the corner Rossi and Melandri had fun. I was at the 50m sign, and in the second row. Great seats. We got there early so we wouldn’t miss anything. Up first was the 2 seat Ducati taking some VIPs for a quick rip around the track. It is LOUD. I wish I could have an exhaust like that. Next up was the safety cars. It seemed like they were hauling ass, but going so slow. Then came the warm ups. Everyone was all business, except Edwards and Hopkins. Both waved to the crowd. Obviously, they cheered for the Japanese riders. Finally, the race started. I got a vid of the opening lap ride by. Nothing special. There were a few hairy passes, some riders going wide for no good reason, and the fans hated Biaggi. I clearly saw sparks come off the bikes as Rossi and Melandri had fun together. So dissappointing. The race kinda ended there for me. After the finish, I got a vid of the cool down lap. Biaggi and Tamada did a burn out for the crowd.

After the race, we had 2 hours to burn. We headed to the Honda Collection Hall. Some nice race bikes there. Old school (which I have no ideas on), and the new ones. Rossi’s Valencia bike is there, as well as his 500GP and 250GP bikes. Daijiro’s bikes are also there. Obviously. Saw some of the race cars too. The historic bikes and cars didn’t interest me at all. We then headed back to the bus.

The bus ride home was 5 hours long. The road into and out of Motegi is a single lane road. A few small farm towns along the way. Backed up for at least 20km. All stop and go. Bikes would pass on the shoulder and in the oncoming lane. You’d watch them do a crazy turn from oncoming, to the shoulder. Cars? Just cut them off. I saw some of the bikes at least 3 times. They’d pass us, head up to 7-11 or some other convenience store, take a 20 minute break, and continue. Needless to say, I was jealous, but thankful I didn’t have to use my energy to ride back to Tokyo. It was fun to watch the bikes. They may not be in the same group, but you could see 10 bikes traveling together. All in the oncoming lane. When one darted for the shoulder, you saw 10 bikes do the same thing at the same time. 10 cars buzzed by 10 bikes. When we got to the pit stop for “dinner”, we saw a ton of bikes. The same guys. It’s the last gas stop for a while. Better safe than sorry. The Expressway was backed up worse than on the way there. I passed out. Oh well. We finally got into town and I crashed when I got in.

No. I haven’t left yet. It’s not for a few more days. Be patient. My job has ended, and I have nothing better to do right now. This is the last installment on what you can wear when riding. Remember, wear what you want. It’s your decision. Take my advise and do as you please.

There are 2 extremes when it comes to full gear. Either you are wearing shorts and flip flops, or full racing leathers made of Kangaroo hyde. Let’s start with the most economical. No gear implies you wear nothing more than what you currently own as a non rider. It’s at best, jean jacket and jeans. Maybe just a cotton t-shirt. I strongly recommend you avoid any synthetic fibres. They melt rather than rub away. Cotton and denim will rip and fly apart, but it won’t melt into your skin such as a drifit shirt or that polyblend pair of pants.

A level up from jeans is textiles. Textiles is a fabric/nylon/kevlar material that is meant to be more protective than regular clothing. It’s made with the rider in mind. They generally have extra padding around the hips, knees, elbows, and back. They are marginally better than regular clothes, but offers excellent protection at slow speed impacts. It is the most economical and versatile protection you can purchase. There are many excellent, and cheap brands out there. From what I hear, Belstaff is highly recommended. From personal experience, Joe Rocket is not bad, impact wise. The thicker and heavier, the better. Many textile jackets come with a removable liner. This is great when summer comes and you can be a bit cooler. There are also “mesh” jackets. These are very similar to textiles, except they are extremely breathable. While they may be better now than when they first came out, I’d still be cautious. Hopefully, you never have to test anything.

The top level in gear is leather. No. Leather chaps do not count. Thick leather. Cow hyde or better is what you should get. Sheep skin is horrid. Do not buy it. When looking for leather, brands to trust are Vanson, Alpinestar, Dianese, Nankai. The more expensive, chances are, it’s better. A great tip to look at is the stitching. Quality is a nice supple leather that has as few pieces as possible. Take a Tecknik(sp?) jacket and compare it with a Dainese. One has more pieces to make up the jacket. Fewer pieces means there is less of a chance that it’d come apart in a crash. Stitching should be on the inside of the seams, and double ply. If the seams are on the outside, it will fall apart. Thread does not hold up to road rash, and it will burn off. There are 2 kinds of suits when it comes to leather. 1 or 2 piece. For the average city rider, 2 pieces are ideal. It has great flexibility. 1 is best for the track as it is safer. You must make the call. Lastly, if you find kangaroo skin and cheap, it’s the best stuff out there. Flexible and light. Yet more durable than cow skin.

Foot protection is also vital. Ankle high boots are a minimum. Doc Martins are okay. A little duct tape on the foot for the shiter helps too. Real motorcycle boots have protection for the shifter. You’ll want something that is stiff. It will move up and down, but not left and right. Many have carbon or plastic “vertebrae”. These are the best designs. Anything less and you may need screws in your foot.

Please keep in mind that there are various combinations of all types of gear. Leather with Textiles. Jeans with kevlar. The more protection, the higher the price. When buying, do your research. If you are commuting to work, textiles are excellent. They work very well in the city. If you plan to take the open road, leathers may be in for you. You don’t have to buy power ranger colours. You can always buy standard black. The final question is, how much is your life worth to you. A simple 30kph crash in leathers is a simple, “get up, dust yourself off, curse yourself for a silly mistake”. In shorts and flip flops, it’s a 1 week hospital stay, wire brush to get the dirt off your skin, and at least a month of recovery and pain. Even I like jeans now. It’s just more versatile, and people don’t look at me funny. Silly answer? Yes. But who said I’m not silly.

Next report on bikes should be on lane position. Maybe. Next report on me should be in Japan in about a week or so. My life, the Moto GP in Japan, and more.

My good friends know the news, and a few don’t. If you haven’t heard, I’m going on a once in a life time trip. No. It isn’t world youth day. It isn’t some sort of spiritual journey. It is a life finding journey. If you ever heard me talk, I hate my job. I am an underemployed teller. I have a bachelors degree and I work at a job that pays a little more than minimum wage. I make roughtly 20 grand a year. I deal with crappy customers who can stink. I deal with problems. Don’t get me wrong. I love it when I can make someone happy. I love it when I can help someone out. I hate it when I can’t. I hate the pressure of trying to sell things I don’t believe in. I hate rushing and clearing a line, yet having my boss say, “sell sell sell”. I call bull sh!t. (Sorry. Don’t know how candid I can be with Friendster) So, I’m taking the big leap. I quit my job a few weeks ago. My last day is on Tuesday.

What will I do. Where will I go. I have a beautiful lady waiting for me in Japan. She can’t come back here, at least not now, so I’ll go there. It will be a time to experience life in a different country. Learn a new language, I hope. I also hope to learn what I want to do in life. Who knows. While there, I’ll be going to the Japan GP (Moto GP) and the Tokyo Motor Show. That’s enough to make many guys drool. For me, it’s more of those, “once in a lifetime” things.

In the next week, I’ll be visiting friends like a mad man. I have already visited my old friends from high school. I have a big motorcycle party on Saturday, and meeting many of my other friends for lunch or snacks his entire week. I still have to store my bike for 10 months, and pack. I have been planning this for the last 5 months. That’s when I came to the decision to move. I have 1 free full day left. This is your LAST chance to try to catch up in all that I have done. When I get back, I’ll hopefully be different. Hopefully, I’ll have direction. I’ll definately have stories to tell.

If you have been reading my blog for the motorcycle tips, I’ll still update it with them. However, I’ll also have these stories. My trip to MotoGP. My trip to the Tokyo Motor Show. Any other journeys that I may have. Wish me luck, and if you have a job opening in July, let me know. I’ll need a job by then.