How many of you guys have bikes?

[nodoze]

as far as my riding gear i have a nice jacket by castle that is made out of the ballistic nylon with plenty of air vents and a zip out liner Very worth the 175 bucks i paid , i dont like leather in the summer. Any my helmet was around 200 bucks at the yamaha dealership. i started on a
1.87 maxim 750 - great learner bike, had a slipping clutch so kept my power usage in line but would still pull a sweet wheelie in first and part of second and run down a wrx.
2. 93 gsx600 (katana) nice bike, handled decent , never quite got the carbs sorted.
3. 05 harley vrod - awesome bike, loads and loads of power, handled great, bad on your back and intown riding could be a bear.
4. 83 yamaha maxim - never really rode this one much because i bought it as a cafe project but had someone want to buy it after i cleaned it up and sorted it .
5. 71 triumph bonneville - will let you know

[KeithMac]

Ive been riding for 20 years and working on them full time for 15 years. The behaviour of car drivers and their awareness of other road users have got gradually worse over the years..

As for clothing, plan to fall off and work out what the best protection would be, not jeans..

[anyonebutme]

After my experience, my opinion is the "best defense is offense" when it comes to riding. Especially on freeways. Idiots can't hit what's not near them.

[Vantage]

Basically, just use your better judgment at stop signs & stop lights, always try to keep your potential lanes open as much as possible, & avoid bears as much as possible!!! (Says the guy who hit a medium-sized black bear on an old GS1100L) :suspect;

Holy crap, how'd that work out??

[wingnut]

If you understand counter-steering on a motorcycle, you'll be way ahead of all the others at the MSF class

oh yea, the long version would be gyroscopic precession...



the short version would be; push right-go right, push left-go left...

[DocWalt]

I like how your "short version" is a longer video

[B-Man]

It has more to do with suspension geometry and moving the contact patch out from under the center of the bike.

[HLxDrummer]

Hey guys thanks for all the info! I feel like I have a chance of surviving Hopefully the MSF goes well, I can't wait!

I read a little about countersteering and while I understand the "gyroscopic precession" from physics, I don't really get how that applies to counter steering. I'm sure I can figure that out in time though (or just learn to do it and not understand why, lol).

[IPD]

i vote for 650-700cc bike. small enough to be managable to learn on, big enough that you won't get bored with it after 5 minutes.

[RealMcCoy]

Despite all the physics involved, countersteer can be very crudely but accuratly described as intentionally highsideing yourself into your desired lean...