Spice of Life

Variety. What a world we live in that we have the option of hundreds of different makes, models, sizes, shapes, and colors of two-wheeled entertainment! My Dad just bought his first bike: a Yamaha Star-950, and graciously allowed me the opportunity to try it out. Before getting into the meat of this post, allow me to caveat that I am much more of a sport/sport-tourer guy than I am a cruiser guy. But beyond that, I am definitely a motorcycle guy. So onward...

My first impressions of the V-Star 950 were of its excellent ergonomics. The bike was easy to mount, the controls well-placed, and the seat height pleasantly low. The mid-size weight of the bike felt very manageable. My Dad got the touring package, so it included the side bags and windscreen. One minor negative was that the voluminous side bags are not large enough to hold a full face helmet. The windscreen seemed excellent for around-town use; most will probably want something a bit larger for heavy-duty touring.

A turn of the key and press of the ignition was rewarded by a very nice exhaust note. The sound is beefy and low without being obnoxious. I snapped it into first gear and pulled away smoothly. The clutch required very little effort and had a nice wide friction zone. The throttle response was a bit jerky at the slowest (walking) speeds, but quickly became steady at anything above that.

I was a bit hesitant on turns because I had heard that cruisers in general, and the 950 particularly, do not allow for very deep lean angles. But what I found was that the bike actually handles quite well. I made some pretty sharp slow-speed turns without incident. I did not try to get a knee down or anything, but also didn't have a problem scraping the floorboards.

What I ultimately learned was how fun it is to ride something as different from my normal experience as a cruiser. If you are in the market for one, I recommend you take a peek at the 950. It offers a great selection of features at a rather economical price point. And the new engine is fuel-injected.

Now who has a Ducati 1198 that they'd let me try...

Protection x Infinity

One of my larger purchases arrived today: a Rev'It Infinity one piece touring suit. The suit is absolutely spectacular, lighter than a 'stitch, and loaded with the latest in space-age fabric technology.

The Infinity has four torso vents, two on the chest and two on the back. It does not have vents on the legs or arms. The zippers are TiZip storm-proof zippers.

I am 5' 11.5", 185 lbs., and have a 36" waist. The XL fits me perfectly. My local store was able to order one so I could try it on before purchasing. Unfortunately, the one they ordered was the all-black suit. Besides not wanting to roast in the California sun, I wanted much higher visibility. So I plunked down my coin (well, $1200 anyway), and they ordered the light grey suit for me. In my opinion, it is very stylish. My wife's reaction upon seeing it for the first time was: "Why don't they make these for women???" Good question. Anyone at Rev-It want to answer?

Here's another pic of me on my bike:

It takes about twice as long to put on the Infinity than just putting on my Cayenne Pro riding jacket, but considering it is offering the same level of protection for my legs too, I am not disappointed.

Is the Infinity expensive? Hell yeah. Is it worth it? A much harder question to answer; I hope to never find out.

Schuberth C3 Helmet

Forgive me, for I am about to gush...

I have owned an Arai Corsair RX-7 helmet for eight years. It has been a great helmet during that time -- perfect fit, excellent comfort, two visors (smoke and clear), and light weight. But as any helmet manufacturer will tell you, these things should be replaced every 5-7 years. Something about the protective foam breaking down over time, or profit margins or something. So in honor of my FJR, I decided it was time to replace the Arai.

I first looked at a new Arai. After getting over the shock of the increase in sticker to $800, I realized that it was not significantly different from my original. I also realized that I was very tired of changing shields over and over. It was a guarantee that whenever I wanted to ride, I had the wrong shield on. A flip-down sun visor would be awesome.

I was not looking for a modular (or flip-up) helmet at all. But it seems that with very few exceptions (like the HJC IS-16), getting the flip-down sun visor means getting a modular helmet. In reading all the reviews (special shout out goes to WebBikeWorld for their excellent helmet reviews), I realized that one helmet stood out above the rest: the Shuberth C3. The main downside: it isn't available in the United States.

I deliberated a ton on this one. Buying a helmet without being able to try it on is a Bad Idea. What if it doesn't fit? I don't want to have to return the thing across the pond. Argh. In the end, I decided to have my wife very carefully measure my skull and take my chances. A twice-checked measurement yielded a skullsize of 58.25cm. Schuberth's Large is for 58-59cm heads. I chose silver for high visibility and pressed the order button from Bikers Direct UK.

To my astonishment, the helmet -- ordered Thursday -- arrived on Monday! Score one for Biker's Direct. I pulled it carefully out of the cloth bag, and gingerly tried to put it on my head. And tried again. My eight-year-old helpfully suggests that maybe it would be a good helmet for her. Then I realized: it is a modular helmet. Lift the chin! And the helmet fit perfectly. Absolutely perfectly.

I had to ride in this morning on my naked 850. Slipping the C3 on, I sped off to work. My first impression was the panoramic view; it was like a theater buff experiencing IMAX for the first time. Huge visibility and crystal clear distortion-free visor. I flipped the switch on the left side to lower the sun visor, and did a virtual dance of happiness. Light and glare were instantly cut to manageable levels. All with the flick of a switch. The C3 also includes a Pinlock anti-fog insert. The entire ride I kept my face shield closed, and had zero fogging.

The second thing that I noticed as I eased up to 60MPH on the freeway was that I literally felt that I was already wearing earplugs. The helmet was so quiet it was actually eerie. I found myself in a state of calm as I negotiated the morning's traffic. I cannot overstate how quiet this helmet is.

So that's my tale. I hope it was helpful. And sure, the C3 is not endowed with the mystical DOT seal of approval, but I am willing to bet that the Europeans value their lives as much as us Americans.

I Love This Bike

This post is long overdue, but as you can imagine, it has been hard to find time to sit down and write; I have a brand new FJR afterall! As a teaser for my next post, I'll just say that I did not ride at all on Sunday -- I was busy purchasing the most important farkle you can get. More to come on that later.

Ergonomics. I have spent four months sitting on FJR's at various dealers. Seeing where the controls are, how comfortable is is to reach the bars, and imagining how it would be to be riding down the highway on one. You learn more in 30 seconds of actual riding than you can possibly learn in a lifetime of sitting on a static bike, though. I am delighted to say that in those first dynamic thirty seconds, I learned that the FJR is fantastically comfortable, and matches my personal ergonomics perfectly. For reference, I am a fairly average 5'11", 180lbs. My concerns before purchasing the bike had been largely whether or not I would be able to comfortably handle the weight (I had nightmares about dropping the bike at the dealer!). Would the bike be easy enough to back up and maneuver when parking? Again, my fears were instantly put to ease as I gained personal experience with the bike. I have no issues with the weight; I pull into the parking garage at work and back into the motorcycle zone without incident.

Performance. Holy crap. Even babying the rpm's for the break-in period, the bike pulls from any speed with a vengeance. The power is incredibly smooth, controlled, and vast in scope. The bike handles like a dream. It falls naturally into corners, holds a rock-solid line, and feels 150 lbs lighter in motion. Braking is solid and sure; I have yet to have to brake hard enough to engage the ABS -- again, trying to be careful during the break-in period -- but the bike has no qualms stopping on a dime. The nose does not dive very much even during aggressive braking; I think some of this may be due to the linked nature of the brakes.

Amenities. Between the up-front storage with 12V socket and the underseat storage (both rider and passenger), I have been able to store my Cardo Scala Rider pod, ear plugs, maps, Rok Straps, Cycle Pump, real tool roll (ditched the included one), manuals, and complete tire repair kit. Adding the side bags is pure luxury! At the moment I use them to store rain gear and my helmet while parked, and still have tons of room left over. The seats are very comfortable. My wife likes the grab rails that surround the pillion seat -- they stick up about 1.5", and provide just enough support that she doesn't feel like she is going to fly off the back of the bike. Heated grips are a wonderful luxury. The ability to pull the side cowlings out, drawing engine heat toward your legs is also a nice winter touch; close them and the heat is directed away. The adjustable windscreen is really nice; it isn't perfect -- at freeway speeds the highest position does not shut the wind completely off for me -- but it does a decent job of deflecting the elements under most circumstances.

Issues. The only issue I have had so far is that on occasion when accelerating from a dead stop, the autoclutch seems to engage/disengage a few times in a "chunk-chunk-chunk" manner, as if it is momentarily confused. Most of the time the clutch is completely smooth from takeoff. And I have no issues when shifting into other gears or downshifting. I will take it in and have the dealer look at it if the problem persists.

Conclusion. I am completely smitten by my FJR. It is a fantastic bike: powerful, comfortable, flickable, convenient, gorgeous, and economical.