First About myself. I am a speed freak . When I was a kid.Toy cars and
motorcycles where the ONLY toys. everything else was used to play with
the cars.
Hot wheels ,slot cars Tonka trucks. I would race them or just try to see how fast they would go.
Later
I would build karts . Big wheel rear wheels on a wagon down a hill. My
first discovery that feet don't work as brakes as well as I had hoped.
Bicycles where my next thing Fast but with brakes. We have a hill near
buy . I got a 15 speed bicycle and went up the hill . I thought I would
hit 60mph. I pedaled my ass off looking at my speedo I could not get 30
mph . I was sad but determined. My bike got stolen and I wanted a car
anyhow.
I bought 3 cars before I was 15 . I worked doing lawn shit
and washing tractor trailers after school . Still living at home with
out bills was great.
At 16 I got my license to drive. I counted the days for 3 years . Then failed the test HAHA.I was SO pissed
I got it a week later.
At 17 I sold my cars and bought a V8 Chevrolet Monza. I pulled the engine and put in a 283 from my friends wrecked Chevelle.
By
this time I had fallen in with a group of hard core street racers . My
grandmother had a george so I lived there . My friends needed the
garage so we had it made
Drag racing was the thing to do in the late 70's and 80's
Later I worked for a company building turbo systems and suspensions and doing service work to pay the bills
I
bought my grandmothers house so she could move to a one level thing.We
live in a bad neighborhood and my grandmother said she would not feel
safe in the new place because .We had 15 motorcycles lined up in the
driveway. We did not even need to lock the doors.
After working and
trying to push everything faster and faster . I got bored. I had a
Mazda Rx7 I put a Race beat 13b engine in That is a 300 hp rotary
engine. It was VERY fast. Faster than a 5.0 Mustang. But I was bored
with it all.
I started mountain biking and racing bicycles on the
road. Fun ,but I suck . I hate to work out but I sold all my cars and
only rode bicycles for like 10 years.
Then I messed up my knee so I bought a scooter. An Aprilis Sr 50.
Guess what . Ya , I wanted to see how fast I could make it go. I got a job at the Aprilia dealer and started to play with it.
I pushed it to 64mph with 70cc and it would do a wheelie and a smokey burnout .It was cool.
I
had always heard of Bonneville. You know the great salt flat where you
could go as fast as you can . I decided to see what was the land speed
record for a 70cc scooter. It was 65 mph
As I was looking that up I discovered Maxton www.ecta-lsr.com.
A two mile runway in North Carolina .Only 350 miles away. I was going
to go and see how fast it would go. But One night testing top speed I
seized a piston . I missed the 2006 season.
Then in 2007 they changed some rules and I needed 15inch wheels . So the scooter was not really going to work.
I
saw the new ninja was coming out so I ordered one . I hoped it would be
faster than the first generation. Looks faster but it is not. O well.
I got it in Freuary and started to prep it for April .
Last saturday a group of bikers blew past me on route 33. I couldn't help chasing them down on the mountain. The ktm 690sm was a nice machine, i think i could have caught the zx10r guy.
I decided to upgrade my turn signal relay to an electronic one and also move it's location. The reason I did this upgrade is; 1. More reliable than standard 2. Increased capability 3. Necessary for future turn signal upgrades
Cost: $6.00
The one I installed was a Long Life Electronic Flasher w/ variable load capability, 11-15V, 15A, 2 pin, 6 Lamp capacity. This type of flasher is essential toLED Turn Signal Upgrades. Without it LED lights will not work. This flasher or a brand like it will work both incandescent and led bulbs with no problem. (thus the name variable load) If replacing your original turn signals with LED's, make sure they are 2-wire.
The first step was to remove the left side body panels and seat. The flasher is standard flasher is hanging on the left side of the frame. Unplug the flasher relay, the remove the wire from the plastic wire tie down, replace the tie down. Relocate the flasher wire somewhere near the other relays. Plug in the new flasher. I chose to mount the new flasher relay in between the fuse box and headlight relay. I did it with the rubber holder and zipties from the old flasher for easy access. You can choose not to change the location, but you will need a way to mount the new flasher relay. Test, then re-assemble
I thought I would add a few Riding & Safety Tips about riding in the rain. A few people have get to ride in the rain and snow, either on purpose or by accident. In either case there are some things to consider for those who have not had the joy of doing so yet.
One of the first things to consider is visibility. Your ability to see in either a light drizzle, shower, fog or downpour is essential. So make sure your visor is capable of repelling water and potential fogging on the inside. A little wax, polish or Rain X for plastic helps. Drizzle and fog get worst at slow speeds because the water droplets are smaller and do not roll away as fast as bigger drops. Most times your speed will decrease with less road visibility.
Second is to make sure you have good traction. The biggest problem here is braking, stopping and slowing down on rain slick roads. Keep your tires properly inflated and make sure the treads are in good condition. If you plan to do extended periods of riding in the rain, you may want to lower the pressure in your tires by a few of PSI. This and reducing your overall speed (this should be a no brainer)can help reduce the potential for hydroplaning and help provide a little extra rubber contact if you should lock up the rear or front during braking. Using a tiny bit more rear braking (or feathering your braking) can help prevent a potential lock up or slide. Also reducing your lean angle in a turn helps keep as much rubber on the road as possible.
Third, make yourself more visible if you can. Sometimes this may not be possible, however prior planning and preparation goes along way. Whenever I go on long rides (which is most of the time), I keep a reflective belt and vest, portable air pump, the waterproof liner to my jacket, glove liners, flashlight, cable lock, a couple of small microfiber towels, kickstand disc and cable lock in my back pack. (I know it sounds like a lot) Wearing anything reflective will increase you chance of being seen. Most drivers will turn on the headlights when it is raining. Water on a windshield and light reflecting off of an object can be readily seen by an alert and cautious driver.
You are going to be much better off if it starts to down pour by pulling over in a safe spot if and when possible. I would not recommend riding on snow or ice to anybody on two wheels. You are asking for trouble, however sometimes it can not be prevented. Car spray, standing or moving water and high speed are not good factors when riding, especially when streets start to hold water. Be more observant of the road surface your are riding on and take the appropriate action for the riding condition.
So ride smart, ride safe and enjoy cleaning your super dirty motorcycle after the ride!
I think everybody knows that one of the greatest dangers
of riding a motorcycle in traffic is not being seen by other drivers.
Visibility of you and your bike can make you better off where safety is
concerned.
One of the easiest and cheapest upgrades you can do
is change out the stock light bulbs. Do not get me wrong the stock
lights are just fine...for some. But if you want to make a difference in
seeing and being seen, then this is the ticket. I changed both the rear
brake light bulb and headlight to something a little brighter and it
only cost about $45.
I switched out the stock rear brake 1157
bulb for a 2357LL. What's the difference? As far as brightness for
normal operation...none. However when braking the 2357 bulb is brighter
than the 1157 (42 lumens vs 32). The LL simply means longer life. Cost
for two bulbs: about $5.00
I also changed out the two
headlight bulbs. I replaced the stock H7 bulbs with Philips
Motovision Bulbs. these are designed specifically for motorcycles.
They have a unique orange reflection that helps you see and be seen
(headlight appears "orange" but light output is bright white), they put
out about 40% more light than standard halogens and a longer beam of
light. Cost per bulb: about $20.00
So if you are
looking for an easy, inexpensive light upgrade this is a place to
start. Note the keyword 'inexpensive'. You may be able to find
other H7 headlight bulbs that are brighter compared to stock but maybe
more expensive or lower quality.
Philips is known for making very
good lighting products. Some others are listed below.
PHILIPS
MotoVision Light Bulb (pic is bulbs installed on my bike)
PHILIPS
Xtreme Power H7
Philips Blue Vision
Bikemaster Vision X H7 Bulb
GE
Nighthawk H7-55NH/BP
Sylvania SilverStar Headlight Bulb
I took the ninja out for 450 miles today. Managed to cross the 7000 miles to and now its ready for a good service. Now that i have officially broken the baby ninja in, id like to tell you what i really think about it.
After work this morning, I felt like testing out my new throttle cable
on my Ninja.
I headed west.
I came up behind a guy towing an ATV.
I
figured I'd see where he goes. I mean, anywhere an ATV can go a Ninja
can go, right?
He headed into west Virginia, through the serious
twisties. Screw that. I love the twisties, but not when I'm behind a
truck towing a trailer.
So I turned left. Gravel. Well, okay. Then
dirt. That's alright. Then mud. Well, it had just rained for 3 days
straight.
Then a big freaking river.
What the hell, I want to
see what's on the other side.
Half way across: Damn! This is deeper
than I thought. Oh, that's a pretty flat rock next to me--I bet I could
put my kickstand down on that! So I flip the stand down, hit the kill
switch, jump off, grab my camera and take a few pictures.
Whoopee, that was a fun
break. Back on the bike.
Um...did you notice I said I hit the
kill switch? But I didn't say anything about turning the keys...and more
importantly, switching off the headlight?
Well, that's a freaking
terrible place to get a dead battery!!!
I mean, really, can you think
of a worse place to get a dead battery???
One of these days I'll
learn.
Well, probably not. I mean, it's not the first time I've done
that.
Switch everything off, wait 5 minutes. Still can't start
it.
Get back off, and push the bike to the other side. On the
other side, I ponder the logic of that, since this side is nothing but
wilderness, while on the side from which I came there is a busy highway
filled with lots of dirt capable trucks bound to have jumper cables. Now
I'd have to talk them into not just giving me a boost, but driving
through a freaking river. But I really wanted to know what was on
the other side
So what is on the other side? Well, a really
muddy, slippery hill. Uphill, of course. I remember hearing that you can
bump-start a bike by riding it down a hill and dropping the clutch. So,
I pick up my Ninja and carry it to the top of the hill, and roll it
back down, dropping the clutch while pressing the starter button.
Finally, at the very bottom of the hill, as I'm about to go back into
the river, it starts. I actually really didn't expect that, but I'm not
complaining. At this point I tear off the headlight plug. Don't want to
go through that again.
So, what is on the other side?
Rocks.
And a dead end, about another 25 feet past the hill. There are big
downed logs and trees blocking any way further--not that there's a trail
past that. The logs look tempting, but really, the Ninja is a
motorcross bike, not a hillclimb bike. (Well, okay, actually it's a
sport bike.) So I turn around and go back over the river, and try
another route.
Great, no rivers to cross on
this route!
Why not? Because the entire route is flooded, so even
if there were any rivers, I wouldn't know about it.
I go through
anyway. I mean, hey, it's not like a wet road could be deeper than the
freaking river I just went through, right?
Well, that marks the first
time I've ever had both mufflers completely submerged. Screw what those
Harley folks say about the sound of their bikes...nothing beats the
sound of a bike's exhaust bubbling up from underwater.
After
another 1/4 mile or so of incinerating my clutch at 13,000rpm to break
out of the quicksand-like mud at the bottom, I finally emerge only a few
small boulders away from the main road. So I went home.
(0 vote)
Electronic Flasher_2.JPG
(2 votes)
(1 vote)