Motorcycles! Anything and Everything
 

Well I could not find a motorcycle thread so I figured I would make one. If anyone has any questions or comments on anything motorcycle related maybe they could put it here. I don't really know shit so hopefully more experienced motorcycle inclined members will be able to help. This also leads me to my first question...

I recently got a windshield for the bike to keep the damn bugs from smashing into my helmet and getting all over me. In that regard it does its job wonderfully. However, the wind seems to be directed straight into the top part of my helmet and my head feels like someone is lightly shaking it. It is a minor annoyance on shorter rides, but anything over 100km or so it really fatigues my neck.

Is this normal? Anyone else experienced this or know how to stop it? I tried changing the angle on the glass several times but it does not seem to diminish this effect at all.

What type of bike blah? That could be very normal on certain bikes. I ride a V-Star 1100 (a cruiser) and with the OEM windshield I get the head shake like you describe. Installing lower deflectors solves that issue on my bike.

Other bikes might require a taller than OEM windshield. Cee Bailey's makes nice windshields for lots of models: Welcome to Cee Bailey's Aircraft Plastics Inc.

I have an 08 Honda Shadow 750 Aero. I bought an aftermarket Memphis Shade. It cost about 1/4 of what the Honda one would have, and it is removable.

They should have lower deflectors to fit that shield. I'd give them a try.

Sounds like you got the wrong size windshield, might be too short. A lot has to do with how tall you are. There are deflectors that go near the top of the shield to direct the wind over your head too. I ride a VTX-1800t and the stock windshield is perfect (I am 6'). I took my son's 1100 Shadow out the other day to blow it out, and when the wind caught my helmet, I thought it was going to rip it off my head. Good luck with the deflectors. I don't know how I ever rode without a shield.

the general rule of thumb for bike windscreens is that the angle of the screen should match the angle of the fork (as in be parallel with). here's a pic of my bike which shows this pretty well. of course, the height of the screen as well as your own play key roles in determining whether the air will pass over your head or hit you in the face, as does the width to some degree.

a picture of the bike with you on it in your normal riding position would give us a better idea of what needs to be done.

finally, keep in mind that this IS a motorcycle we're talking about, so you are always going to have at least SOME degree buffeting at highway speeds...you just have to find the level that you are comfortable with. note also that for longer rides (say 75 miles plus) you are going to want to shift position now and again to keep muscles from cramping. this too can help alleviate your fatigue. and have you considered exercising your neck muscles to better withstand such forces?

Yeah, I just take the bugs to the face and jacket. It's annoying and really hurts sometimes but I don't mind getting a little messy. I also prefer my bike to be as bare bones as possible aside from some necessary "ooh, shiny." I definitely don't want anything that'll increase vibration on the bike.

...

One of my favorite add-ons for my bike is the highway / freeway bar. In the pic, you can see it go from the top of the front cylinder to the control pegs. It's basically a tubular piece of chromed steel that guards the engine and your legs by sticking out beyond the width of them. The highway bar adds protection to my legs when my feet are on the control pegs such as when I'm toolin' around heavy traffic. I've also put folding cruising pegs on it so I can put my feet up when I get out into no-stops-for-miles land. I wouldn't ride without one. Any bike that I get in the future will have to be able to mount one. I like the sense of security it provides, the comfort of using cruising pegs, and it looks mean as hell and really beefs up the front end of your bike.

http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...pt07_Small.jpg

I've got an '08 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 and I love the look of it bare but I do a lot of riding and really need the wind protection I get from the windscreen, the bars are so wide that I am just a big sail on top of my machine.

cool custom...no kick stand !

Kladblog's MoviePage

xoxoxoo

If the screen were any bigger it would cut right through my vision. I am 6' and I figure I have an average sized torso.

I have plenty of neck muscles, the way it goes I actually prefer riding it with no windshield on.

Here is a picture of it before I put on the screen.

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8048/img7939large.jpg

I wish this was mine.

http://www.bikeexif.com/wp-content/u..._gold_wing.jpg

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/assets/c...1_e9520182.jpg

I'm picking this up today. I'm excited!

thats about the coolest goldwing i've ever seen :thumbsup:

Hey crompsy, I want to get some highway bars/pegs. What kind do you have and did you get them online or in a store? The ones I was looking at come from meancycles online and I think they were called Paladins. I seem to remember seeing that the freaking pegs cost almost as much as the bars.

blah, I've got no specific recommendation for engine guards (aka crash-bars) or highway pegs other than to definitely get them...you'll appreciate being able to stretch your legs out on longer rides. plus, when you do that, it puts you in more of a laid back position which will help with buffeting, as your head will be further back and slightly lower.

also, in standard riding position, you should be able to see over the windscreen without having to crane your neck or stand up on the pegs. this is a safety concern in case something gets on the screen (rain, snow, leaves, whatever) blocking your vision.

Blah,

CruiserCustomizing.com is my personal favorite site to buy motorcycle accessories. Go to the site, put in the make and model of your bike (it's near at the top of the list, above my bike) and it'll list a wide variety of accessories that are guaranteed to fit. I've used it to purchase a wide range of items and haven't had a single issue with quality or fitment... which is something I can't really say about any other hobby.

For your bike, an '08 Shadow 750 Aero, I believe Cobra and MC Enterprises both make full size bars for around $180.

Check it out, lemme know if you have any questions. And like I said, having highway bars / engine guard makes the motorcycle feel a whole lot safer and gives you a place to hang your feet on long trips.

Motorcycle Riding Positions:

http://i.imgur.com/q8K7Sl.jpg

Great site plan9, I am going to order up some stuff from there pretty quick!

What kind of pegs did you put on your highway bars?

I want to get a sissy bar to strap my backpacking pack to, and a luggage rack for stuff too. I plan on going on a 3,000km trip this summer to Vancouver Island so need a little luggage space.

All I have to do now is wait for the snow to melt!

---------- Post added at 09:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 AM ----------

Thats hilarious fresnelly!

I use Kuryakyn dually ISO pegs, but Kuryakyn makes a zillion different types of pegs from functional to fancy as well as a wide variety of mounts. I'd recommend getting an adjustable mount so you can adjust the pegs forward or back to find your personal comfort level on the bike. The one thing that becomes an issue with cruising pegs is that it puts more of the weight on your ass and often at a different angle. I had to upgrade the saddle on my Sabre because the stock one was brutal on my non-padded tailbone after about a 90 minutes of highway speed. I bought a Mustang cruising saddle and it's been smooth sailing since despite the less cool perch.

Sadly, the motorcycle accessory market is incredibly expensive. The highway bar might cost you $170, and the pegs / mounts will cost you just as much.

Check this out, this is what I am going to do with my seat
http://www.shadowaero750.com/files/seat2.pdf

I hear you can also fill the hole with memory foam for a good time too. If it fails all I need to do is get a new seat, which is what I was planning on doing originally anyways.

blah (et al)

should you end up getting a new seat, you might consider Russell Cycle Products ( Custom Motorcycle Seats and Touring Saddles - "Day-Long" Touring Saddles and Motorcycle Seats by Russell Cycle Products ) unless the price of $500+ is a problem. I can't speak from personal experience yet (planning on getting one this spring) but a LOT of the riders from the IBA (Iron Butt Association www.ironbutt.com ) and the LDRiders email list ( Home ) recommend them highly. These are people who do a thousand miles in a day...some have done as much as 50 or 100 thousand in a year. If they say the seats are as good as you can get, I believe em.

Soon as my tax refund comes in, I'm planning on getting a Russell seat, and gonna do a SaddleSore 1000 once the weather gets nice enough.

Sion that looks pretty cool, definitely something to check out if my custom seat mod does not work.

I have until the end of July to figure out the seat thing, as that is when I will be taking the big trip. Before then the most I will go in a day is 450km, still a fair bit but I have done it on the shitty saddle already.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...valkyrie03.jpg

1998 Honda Valkyrie

5" truck stacks around 18" glass packs, carbs rejetted to match, spark advance kit installed, dyno'd at 109.8 hp
Progressive suspension, Ultimate seat, OEM rims sandblasted and chromed

sweet ride stant...

blah, be sure to get your seat situation resolved well before your trip....NEVER make changes (large or small) to a bike right before a big trip....you'd hate to be 1500 miles down the road only to find out the new seat just doesnt fit your butt well...

gents, I think the problem here is with the idea of trying to go fast for long periods on a cruiser. It's just not set up for that. The only thing worse than trying to ride a Fatboy over 55mph is trying to ride a Fatboy over 55mph in an open race helmet. I had to get from SF to LA in a hurry once, went down the 5 freeway at 80 all the way and by the time I got to LA my arms were a foot longer and my face looked like the Picture of Dorian Gray.

NB I am NOT capping on Cruisers; they are rad for *cruising*. The great thing about motorcycles is that they aren't as expensive as cars and you can stuff a bunch of em in a garage. So I suggest trying a tourer if you want to do distance, or if you have a few extra bucks go test ride a BMW. You don't have to buy new but you might like it. I was converted for life when I bought a 1200GS, and I ride all over the US at 80+ mph.

That's a beautiful ride, Stan. Those pipes are brutal goodness. 110 HP gives me a warm and fuzzy.

the big bmw GS bikes are a god send to motorcyclists... very very good at highway touring, plus they don't mind getting muddy as hell or even an occasional stream crossing :thumbsup:

personally i can't stand windshields. i like an unobstructed view of the road, plus a windshield acts like a kite throwing you and the bike around more than the wind it's supposed to block.

no windshield also looks much better imo. stock fixed fairings are ok though because they sit low enough they don't bother me.

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...in/bikecar.jpg

Aaah, saw so many bikes out this weekend but was too busy to do anything with my own, hopefully next weekend will have some nice days. =/

Is that a 650? I've been thinking about getting a Ninja 650 as an inexpensive zoom-zoom toy.

2008 Ninja 250 actually, even less expensive. First year of the newer re-model and it's quite nice, light as a feather when cornering and carries me fine on the highways.

Well, I want something with bigger balls than that... I think a mid-sized engine is what I'm looking for. I don't need a 1100... ya know, the airplane without wings.

The '08 Honda Interceptor is very appealing. I don't know what is up with me lately, but I definitely think a bigger or faster bike is in my future.

Anybody have recommendations on a mid-size engine'd crotch rocket for a cruiser guy?

Plan9....if you like to do long distances as well as carving twisties, you might consider the new Honda NT700V

Rider magazine raves about it:

2010 Honda NT700V ABS

I'm a huge fan of the vtwins. You could try a Buell Firebolt 1200 cc. they have a great torque band and are better for road riding than inline 4's imo.

futzing around on youtube, I came across this video, which I present here only because these are the same horns I put on my bike to replace the wimpy factory horns

i need one of those clocks :thumbsup:

Ugh, I can't do it. That thing screams "sensible middle-aged man" and I'm not there yet.

I understand...as the article stated:

"Competence. Like common sense, it’s all too uncommon. Motorcycles today, while generally reliable and well-engineered, tend to be specialized, designed to fit particular images or play specific roles. All-round bikes—like the go-anywhere, do-anything UJMs of years past—rarely win popularity contests or break sales records. Wide-ranging competence isn’t sexy or glamorous. Competence gets overlooked, collects dust, fades away."

Of course. People settle for such in their cars and figure they should have something more eccentric in a bike.

Posted by a user named MrKala on Reddit, possibly from a SomethingAweful.com photoshop contest:

http://i.imgur.com/G168L.jpg