Mr. Lee said:
Bought a $200 icon full face helmet when I got back into riding, as I didn't want to spend the coin on a better helmet. The Shoei Neotech 2 I picked up last month on closeout has been an eye opening experience between the two. Quieter, better fit, feels better, The built in sun shade is freaking fantastic. Open face on and off, with full face coverage. I always worried about the modular helmets in a crash situation popping open, but after playing with one at the dealer I pulled the trigger for one online. Solid is all I can say. D rings are a pain in gloves, the camlock/ratchet system is a breeze.
edit - The icon starts buffeting and blurring my vision around 60mph, no buffeting north of 90 with the shoei on a 690 duke.
Broken down and got a carbon scorpion. Love the inflation option and its light and small and it is so quiet . Found a revit vapor 2 that fit extremely well. and has the space for the airbag. I have to find some decent gloves and over pants but I have enough to do the MSF again and be safe after. 
I have insurance now and I totally bought the wrong bike to get back into the swing of thing.
Berkeley me up the E36 this thing is heavy.
Wonderful when moving, great with cross wind, beautiful on the street, I made the mistake of packing in on a hill and yeah shes a fat bottom girl. I should have bought a cheap dyna at 700+ lb's all dressed even with my strength its a hard push.
Yeah the mass differences between my '73 H-D and my '07 Ducati are shocking. Coming of the kickstands are particularly eye opening/groan inducing.
In reply to wearymicrobe :
LMK when you're ready to sell the Flex.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to wearymicrobe :
LMK when you're ready to sell the Flex.
Flex not going anywhere. I love that stupid big blue box. It's about the most perfect car ever made for a daily driver.
Mr. Lee said:
And I can totally relate about not being a Harley fan, but every once in awhile you see one that screams, "I would ride the berk out of that!" My case in point.
Photo was shot from my LLV at work, hence the crappiness of it.
I am building my own version of that bike out of a 79 Ironhead, I guess I am moving too slow, another popped up right next to it. Oh no, their multiplying!
I love ratty builds. See my 550 Spyder. If I feel comfortable enough with my back a ratty club hardtail out of a dyna could be on the list next.
I will gladly take the spikes if you would sell them
In reply to wearymicrobe :
Nice bike!
bentwrench said:
Mr. Lee said:
And I can totally relate about not being a Harley fan, but every once in awhile you see one that screams, "I would ride the berk out of that!" My case in point.
Photo was shot from my LLV at work, hence the crappiness of it.
I am building my own version of that bike out of a 79 Ironhead, I guess I am moving too slow, another popped up right next to it. Oh no, their multiplying!
Got a build thread? These dirt-oriented Sporty builds have been on my mind lately.
I'm annoyed that Scorpion seems to be phasing out the visor prop lever that they had on the left side of the visor basically forever until a few years ago. I bought a new lid a year ago and found one of their models that still had it but it's getting rare. Nicest way I've seen to get a nice little breeze going in the helmet without really opening the visor.
The stickered up HD in pictures above has me wondering what a similar build based on a Virago would be like...
In reply to Furious_E (Forum Supporter) :
Not a dirt bike version, a very bratty burnout and wheelie machine
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
I'm annoyed that Scorpion seems to be phasing out the visor prop lever that they had on the left side of the visor basically forever until a few years ago. I bought a new lid a year ago and found one of their models that still had it but it's getting rare. Nicest way I've seen to get a nice little breeze going in the helmet without really opening the visor.
Not sure if its a new FIM or ECE thing but none of the helmets I looked at had something like that. Got my airbag vest in today from Hilite fits really good. Ordering some more cartrages so I can test it under my jacket.
Should have bought a hood rat sportster or beat to tar dual sport. Softail is fantastic on open roads it's terrible everywhere else. Cannot split lanes comfortably, parking in any incline is stupid though you can back in. Cannot find neutral and floor boards are hard to get used too. I have already gotten really close to a drop in a parking lot and I am a strong guy. A 700lb bike going over is berkeleying scary.
Going back to take the beginner msf I need to unlearn some stuff and then do some serious parking lot training. Even my usual drag the rear brake at slow speed trucks are not really working.
In reply to wearymicrobe :
Mistaking your way through learning/re-learning is a receipe for disaster. Too many motorcyclists forget this. Glad you're not one of them. I should retake the MSF myself, now that I think about it.
In reply to bentwrench :
Well that sounds pretty cool too.
In reply to wearymicrobe :
(Re)Taking the MSF is definitely a good next step, but building skills and regaining your confidence is going to be an ongoing effort and the 700lb Softail probably isn't the best tool for the job. I'd look to snag up a small/medium displacement "beater" bike for running around town and leave the Harley in the garage until you're more comfortable on it or can ride it where it's happiest. Worst case, you probably won't lose much, if anything, if/when it comes time to sell, or you may find out the Softail doesn't suit you so well afterall. Spikes aside, that is a good looking bike though!
Picking up a 3K mile DRz400SM this evening and going to ride that for at least a year. Planing on doing some threshold breaking classes and a few personal lessons with a supermoto school in about 6 months that a friend runs. Helped him get a car so he is squeezing me in.
Bikes are dangerous for me, they are cheap and they fit in the garage easy and they hold value well. Bet I loose 500$-1000$ on the DRZ in two years of ownership even if I drop it. I could buy and flip all day to try new ones and not even lose a nights sleep. Also a single drop would cost on the Softail to fix all the chrome from what I will lose on the CRZ. Was also looking at a MT03 and man I can whip that around like I used to be able to but I will get bored of that power quick.
I'll bet you loose zero dollars on the DRZ. Those things hold stupid value especially if you sell in the spring.
wearymicrobe said:
It's so beautiful and clean. You can never be wrong about the combination of black and chrome. You can visit 4WheelOnline if you are planning to add more accessories to this motorcycle.
So MSF class today on the range for about 5 hours plus 4 hours of classes before that.
So yeah I can still ride, only 5 people per instructor and they were really good. Have another 6 hours on the range tomorrow in the afternoon then I am done. It all came back pretty quick. I still ride really defensively and they were pushing riding with hands off the front brake and not covering the rear. I was on a beat to E36 M3 rebel 250 that likely has never been above 40mph and has been dropped so many times the handlebars were not even on straight. Once I stopped leaning like it was a dirt bike, IE the wrong way, everything clicked.
Got to spend some time on a CBR300 that was there. I like that so much more flickable and the shifter actually worked.
Passed flying colors. Life has been pretty hectic so riding is out for at least a month till it calms down here. Got to ride a DR200 on the last day of class for about 5 hours and I can wip that thing around like I used to after about an hour of practice. It was beat to E36 M3 and had terrible controls and the bars were not straight but man I forgot how much fun a dirt bike can be on pavement.
So no sure what my next move is. Maybe commute 1 day a week when I know I can leave early and miss taffic so I can build up some miles.
There's a supermoto school in LA that looks super fun: https://www.socalsupermoto.com/ Is that one your friend works at? They use DRZs for the teaching bikes.
thatsnowinnebago said:
There's a supermoto school in LA that looks super fun: https://www.socalsupermoto.com/ Is that one your friend works at? They use DRZs for the teaching bikes.
That's the one. I helped the owner get a car so he told me he can sneak me in when I want. I do need at least 3K miles on the road first My DRZ fell through when the title had a lien on it and the owner wanted to be paid straight up and he was underwater.
Still digging. Bikes are cheap as chips here and they don't rust so just need to find the right bike.
I figured out the Harley. Or at least I can ride it now. Spent some time in a parking lot and really tried my best. Just could not get my feet on the floorboards fast at low speeds.
my boots don't fit in between the heel and foot shifter. It's like 1/2 inch to big and I keep wedging them in there each time not thinking. Took off the heel shifter and everything got better. Started trusting myself in the slow corners and it's not great but way better then before. Also floorboards we're really stiff and not rotating up so I pulled them apart and lubed them. Much better.
still have to force myself into staying in a low gear then I think for the low speed stuff because the bike falls flat and I have no tach to tell me where I am.
I love it. Definitely better then I thought overall before.
