This blog post could have been called so many things. I almost called it: how I decided my next bike would be the Aprilia RSV4. Or how I sold my soul to Italy. Well, in truth, I think it's just time for a change.
A year of owning Japanese Suzuki motorbiking perfection has taught me a lot about the art of motorcycling, and perhaps just as much about my own driving / riding personality. Cheesy, I know, but a motorcycle and its rider really do develop and share a personal connection (maybe something like dogs and dog owners as I've been told, but I suppose one could argue that for weeks).
Funny how motorcycling emotion works, this is now my 3rd winter in a row here in NYC, and my 2nd with my Suzuki GSXR 1000. In fact, I just went out for a ride earlier today to celebrate the new year. What can I say? This Suzuki GSXR 1000 K7 is a rock. Predictable as the seasons. Reliable as a hammer. Sharp as a knife. Every time I go to start it, it just works. After a full day of cold weather riding, with my heated vest on high, it just starts right up 300 miles from home, awaiting my return trip. In 110 degree heat in the middle of Manhattan, with the engine temperature up near 230 degrees, it never overheats, never stalls. It just *works*. If JD Power and whoever gave awards to motorcycles, the Suzuki would get every quality, high initial build, durability, and cost of ownership award they make. The Suzuki is everything I could have wanted in a bike. It's durable, flexible, hardy, and impossible to top out.
But something has been missing. I've been riding for a full year, and now have 15,000 miles on the bike (6,500 from my cross country trip a little more than a year ago). But those 15,000 miles were a different kind of miles than the miles I put on the Buell. Ironically, they were less interesting, less fun than I thought they'd be. In fact, although I'm going to offend a lot of people saying this, I think my Buell was oddly more fun ... on a per-mile basis. That's a funny thing to say about a 98 hp Buell vs. a 160 hp GSXR 1000. The Buell was definitely not fun on the highway, it was miserable in the heat, and it was lonely when it broke down on me in Atlantic city. But the Suzuki is really like riding a cloud... sometimes you forget it's down there, since it's so smooth. Some people want that in a motorcycle, but for me, I could easily get that same emotion from a car. And I don't risk my life riding motorcycles just to have the same emotions as 4 wheelers do.
I'm torn.
On the one hand, there's the trusty, reliable, rock of a Suzuki missile down in the garage. Riding it feels like riding a scalpel. You twist the throttle and it moves instantly. ... But maybe too instantly. I'd prefer if the engineers had built in some wind up time, so I could yank the throttle, and *then* feel the engine pull. The Buell did that, and it was just so satisfying when the engine revved and puuuuuuuulled. I felt like I commanded a temperamental machine. And it was rewarding when it obeyed my command and gave back. It was a little unpredictable, and that made it have "personality."
But now that I know how important horsepower is on the streets of New York City, I don't think I can go back to a weaker bike. I can count dozens of times the GSXR's instant speed has taken me out of the path of a crazy cab driver. Having horsepower has given me another tool in the war against traffic: brakes *and* speed. And my riding style has adapted to take advantage of both of these tools. Going back to a weaker bike would mean changing my safety-oriented riding style. So my next bike needs to be:
-Powerful (more than 130 hp at the crank, since that's about what I've calculated to be the most I would have needed in my worst near-accident this last year... I'm sure I would have gotten hit if I'd been on the Buell)
-Loud with a characteristic growl (with a year of the Suzuki, I now know this is easily 20-40% of the experience)
-Torquey at low RPMs (this is what the Buell and Harley engines offer, and it makes another 30% of the experience)
-Unique (the Buell was, no questions asked, the Suzuki not so much. I now know I prefer the Suzuki)
So really it came down to four bikes that fit the mold:
-Ducati Desmosedici
-Ducati 1198S
-New VMax
-Aprilia RSV4
To summarize my thought process, it went something like this...
Ducati Desmosedici
V4 is exotic, and the reviews are great. Track riders love them, and a few New Yorkers have them and ride them on the streets. But I hate the idea of exhaust blowing straight up my back... that just sounds hot and miserable in traffic. It's a little expensive, for that money I could buy one of each of the other three bikes in my list. I can tell from the pictures that the seat is going to be uncomfortable for rides longer than 30 minutes. And I don't really like the one guy I met who rides one, he's kind of a jerk, and when he drove away, the only image in my mind was, ugh... I'd be associated with *that* guy.
Ducati 1198S
Traction control! Um where's the slipper clutch? Ok, add another $3k to the price to get one of those (I'd consider that mandatory for city riding, especially coming off FDR offramps and avoiding pedestrians on hard corners in the meatpacking district). Another 10hp puts it right in the neighborhood of the Suzuki in terms of hp, and the legendary low end torque of the v-twin would make this a great city bike that could shoot up and down the FDR and 9A at speed. But these bikes overheat and stall in the heat, and hot weather riding in the city is a part of life for me. I can't deal with a bike that stalls at the light, especially not on 3rd avenue of Lexington with the consecutive lights - the mere thought of getting stuck in an open lane by myself with traffic bearing down on me makes me cringe. People seem to feel religious about them when they own them (I bet it's because of the way I felt about the Buell). But there are so many in NYC, and every banker buys one and then resells them. They're too well known for me. I'd surely get the white color when it comes out, but that's only available on the base model - why! I went into the NYC Ducati dealership to talk about one, and the salesmen was extremely pushy, like he was used to dealing with snotty bankers from downtown. The whole USA-Ducati community just rubs me the wrong way, sorry :(
New Vmax
V4 engine, perfect! Low grunt, strong torque. Video clips sound great. But it'd be a cruiser, and I'm not ready for that. As comfortable as I'm sure it is, I can't help thinking that buying one relegates me to the all-black leather wearing crowd of mid-life crisisers. I respect them, but they're not me. Plus, I like wearing bright colored reflective leather and touring suits when I ride, so taxi's don't hit me. Wearing those on a Vmax would just look ridiculous. Probably no one would steal it if they saw it parked outside on the street, but it's heavy! Cruisers get abused by cars on the LIE and I-95, and although truckers seem to respect them, people in general just seem to detest cruisers on the highways around here. I've seen middle aged minivan moms flip out when cruisers drive up next to them, and I'm sure they're thinking, "my kids are safe around this guy... I hope he doesn't take the same exit as I will..."
Aprilia RSV4
I've been the Greece, Ireland, Spain, France, England, Germany..., and Aprilia seems to be a respected brand there for everyday riding and commuting, so they have a much better reputation for quality. Huge downside is the first year issue of the bike and worse, a brand new engine. That's a huge gamble, so I'm going to need to be sold on a respectable dealership and his service department if I go this route. I like the Italian engineering, without the Ducati attitude... I'm more laid back, and Aprilia seems to build laid back, subtly powerful bikes. The V4 engine in a sportbike is very unique, and should in theory give the best of the low-end torque, and the high-end hp. Non-inline should give it more character. Sound clips and videos of the engine make growling sounds just like the Buell, rather than the whining whiiirrrr of the Suzuki.
Ok, I also looked at: B-king (too heavy, bulky, I like fairings for day riding), KTM RC8 (not enough power), new BMW 1300's (too heavy), and a few others, but most were scratched off the list for weight, power, reliability, or price reasons.
Of course by the title of the post, you already know which bike I picked :)
Earlier today, I drove to the closest and friendliest Aprilia dealership I could find (I gave them each quick phone calls, and this one just fit my personality perfectly), and just put my deposit in. Supposedly, the very first Aprilia RSV4 Factory that comes to the New York Tristate area available for customer purchase, will be mine to buy.
And now, the wait!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Monday, August 4, 2008
It's great to see this out on the streets!
"Jimmy Justice" is what he calls himself, and he wanders the streets looking for police who are breaking the law. Most of his videos show police illegally parked, or otherwise making traffic violations, so naturally I support his cause.
I've often wondered about doing the same as Jimmy, especially thinking that I would ride around with a video camera ready to take shots of police in their normal "I-own-the-streets" behavior. I'm now far more motivated, and in fact I might try it out this coming week.
Keep up the great work!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR2008080201503.html
And here's a link to his youtube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JimmyJustice4753
I've often wondered about doing the same as Jimmy, especially thinking that I would ride around with a video camera ready to take shots of police in their normal "I-own-the-streets" behavior. I'm now far more motivated, and in fact I might try it out this coming week.
Keep up the great work!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR2008080201503.html
And here's a link to his youtube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JimmyJustice4753
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Official Highway to Hell: Merritt Parkway
It's official: I've found the highway to hell, and damn was it fun! I was in Hartford, CT the other day, and I decided to try a different way back to the city besides I-95. I threw the coordinates into the GPS, and noticed this new highway that I'd almost forgotten about, which runs parallel to I-95 almost the whole way along the CT coast:
The Merritt Parkway, or Route 15
Hot diggity damn. This is the most fun I think I've ever had on a bike. How can I explain?
-Two small, narrow lanes
-Average speed of all traffic: 70 mph
-Tight, cambered turns
-Huge hills to climb up and down
-Traffic merging in from on-ramps on the right
-Scenic trees all around, with a nature (not rubber) scent in the air
-Picturesque, little roadway bridges crossing the highway
-Sharing the road with Porsches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis
-No Jersey drivers
-Dodging and weaving traffic
-Super fast left lane speeders
Seriously, this was an adrenaline ride like none other I've ever felt. It makes I-95 feel sterile, neutered, and sedate. It's probably the closest thing NY and CT has to an official race track circuit, with the added benefit of having full, neck-to-neck traffic spinning around at insane paces.
I recall my youth, when I was driving around in a car in CT and NY, and how scared I used to be driving on the Merritt parkway. I remember dreading the on-ramps, because of having to time the acceleration perfectly (this is so much fun now on a bike). I remember the tight turns and blind hills used to frighten me as well, and I'd be pumping with adrenaline. And that was in a car!
I have three different kinds of advice, therefore:
-Advanced riders: no way, stay off this road. That way I can keep it to myself.
-Intermediate riders: no way, stay off this road, until you've driven a few days in Manhatten traffic - at night - in the fog - on Park Avenue - in rush hour - in the winter - after a light snow - (insert 1 or 2 more compounding factors). That way I can keep it to myself.
-Beginning riders: no one ever considers themselves beginning riders, so why does it even matter? I hate these sections. How about this: drive to the Merritt Parkway, and drive a few exist. If you're sweating like a madman, with heart palpitations, jitters, and dehydration after 3 exits, you're an intermediate rider. Otherwise, you're dead and now you know: you're a beginner :-)
Seriously, be safe.
I've found that the best strategy is to ride near the dotted line, and then ride a car gap when approaching on ramps. Cars tend to drift into the left lane at he last minute. I'm assuming, of course, that you're in the left lane, because trying to ride the right lane is sure catastrophe, especially near off-ramps, where cars in the left rapidly cross 2 lanes to exit.
The Merritt Parkway, or Route 15
Hot diggity damn. This is the most fun I think I've ever had on a bike. How can I explain?
-Two small, narrow lanes
-Average speed of all traffic: 70 mph
-Tight, cambered turns
-Huge hills to climb up and down
-Traffic merging in from on-ramps on the right
-Scenic trees all around, with a nature (not rubber) scent in the air
-Picturesque, little roadway bridges crossing the highway
-Sharing the road with Porsches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis
-No Jersey drivers
-Dodging and weaving traffic
-Super fast left lane speeders
Seriously, this was an adrenaline ride like none other I've ever felt. It makes I-95 feel sterile, neutered, and sedate. It's probably the closest thing NY and CT has to an official race track circuit, with the added benefit of having full, neck-to-neck traffic spinning around at insane paces.
I recall my youth, when I was driving around in a car in CT and NY, and how scared I used to be driving on the Merritt parkway. I remember dreading the on-ramps, because of having to time the acceleration perfectly (this is so much fun now on a bike). I remember the tight turns and blind hills used to frighten me as well, and I'd be pumping with adrenaline. And that was in a car!
I have three different kinds of advice, therefore:
-Advanced riders: no way, stay off this road. That way I can keep it to myself.
-Intermediate riders: no way, stay off this road, until you've driven a few days in Manhatten traffic - at night - in the fog - on Park Avenue - in rush hour - in the winter - after a light snow - (insert 1 or 2 more compounding factors). That way I can keep it to myself.
-Beginning riders: no one ever considers themselves beginning riders, so why does it even matter? I hate these sections. How about this: drive to the Merritt Parkway, and drive a few exist. If you're sweating like a madman, with heart palpitations, jitters, and dehydration after 3 exits, you're an intermediate rider. Otherwise, you're dead and now you know: you're a beginner :-)
Seriously, be safe.
I've found that the best strategy is to ride near the dotted line, and then ride a car gap when approaching on ramps. Cars tend to drift into the left lane at he last minute. I'm assuming, of course, that you're in the left lane, because trying to ride the right lane is sure catastrophe, especially near off-ramps, where cars in the left rapidly cross 2 lanes to exit.
NYC vs. Europe: A motorcyclist's perspective
I've now had a chance to visit Rome, Dublin, Athens, Paris, and London, and in each city I've spent hours observing how traffic evolves, is similar or different across cities, and especially how motorcyclists adapt to the different styles.
Here's a quick run down of my city-by-city comparisons:
Athens - in a word, "chaos" - I'll start with the most chaotic. This is because the streets are generally well paved, but mini scooters can be seen everywhere. Riders run down the middle of the lanes, lane split, and bunch up near the stop lights in droves. Cars and taxis are frozen in place until the lights change, packed in as though surrounded by styrofoam peanuts.
Rome - in a word, "bumpy" - far less chaotic driving patterns, but here the lane splitting rules of the game are similar. However, generally wider streets, and the fact that so many are cobblestone, means that motorcyclists have a painful time navigating around. When they do, you can tell their top speed is limited by how frequently they're willing to get slapped in the rear or groin by their bike seats. Here too, scooters are the vehicle of choice.
Paris - in a word, "zippy" - a combination of cobblestones and pavement, here we really see many more motorcycles. Though there are still many scooters, there are even more "super scooters", which are the length of motorcycles, but have foot rests like scooters. Traffic is oddly mild mannered here by comparison to the first two cities, and motorcyclists really tend to have their way.
London - in a word, "speedy" - narrow streets, and lots of mass transportation double decker buses make driving cars very difficult. Here, there are scooters, but not nearly as many as the previous cities. Instead, there is a new class that the other cities don't see: racers. It's not uncommon to see full-leather racing gear (kit as they call it) on riders aboard japanese racing bikes or ducatis.
Dublin - in a word, "docile" - not as many riders as I'd expect, but almost all of them wear bright colored safety vests to ensure they stand out. Maybe because of the constantly dull weather, and rain, these riders have developed a survival instinct. Though other cities wear safety vests too, almost every Dublin rider has one on. Otherwise, the driving is mild mannered, and in general, highway drivers tend to crawl along at superhumanly slow paces, making it a heaven for motorcycles to zoom past.
Summary of Europe
The odd thing is that in each of the European cities, you see many female riders as well. This is almost unheard of in NYC. And to an outsider like me, the traffic patterns of Athens, Rome, and Paris seem quite chaotic and unpredictable. I'd never ride there if I could help it, because there seems to be an unwritten law of tolerance for spontaneous chaotic dodging left and right, entering lanes without blinking, pulling out from lanes in spite of red lights, etc. It's a nightmare. Riders are like fish, constantly weaving back and forth, avoiding narrow escapes, and drifting everywhere. Riding is a constant act of avoidance and defense.
By comparison, London is about acceleration through small, narrow roads, and so here we see the emergence of "offensive" riding. Here, there is an explicit difference between defensive moves, and all-out acceleration and aggression.
Comparison vs. NYC
By comparison, NYC is quite safe. This initially seems incomprehensible, but I have several explicit reasons:
-Traffic is always predictable in its disorganization. It is bounded chaos. You know, for instance, that cabs will always swerve to corners, so you can easily look out for them. Pedestrians generally don't cut across the roads, just as cars generally abide by traffic laws.
-Drivers follow laws at intersections, and so traffic always self-organizes into structure at stop lights. In between intersections, it's a free for all, but this means the strategy for driving is simple: at any light, get to the front and stay at the front.
-Motorcycles are unique. Cars still dominate, and so motorcycles are a curiosity when spotted, and cabs tend to notice immediately and avoid you. By comparison, European drivers and riders have developed a mutual symbiotic relationship, whereby they each assume that each is looking out for the other. In NYC, bikers are the crazy, reckless ones, and so everyone looks out for them, and you're assumed to be unpredictable. Drivers keep their distance.
Here's a quick run down of my city-by-city comparisons:
Athens - in a word, "chaos" - I'll start with the most chaotic. This is because the streets are generally well paved, but mini scooters can be seen everywhere. Riders run down the middle of the lanes, lane split, and bunch up near the stop lights in droves. Cars and taxis are frozen in place until the lights change, packed in as though surrounded by styrofoam peanuts.
Rome - in a word, "bumpy" - far less chaotic driving patterns, but here the lane splitting rules of the game are similar. However, generally wider streets, and the fact that so many are cobblestone, means that motorcyclists have a painful time navigating around. When they do, you can tell their top speed is limited by how frequently they're willing to get slapped in the rear or groin by their bike seats. Here too, scooters are the vehicle of choice.
Paris - in a word, "zippy" - a combination of cobblestones and pavement, here we really see many more motorcycles. Though there are still many scooters, there are even more "super scooters", which are the length of motorcycles, but have foot rests like scooters. Traffic is oddly mild mannered here by comparison to the first two cities, and motorcyclists really tend to have their way.
London - in a word, "speedy" - narrow streets, and lots of mass transportation double decker buses make driving cars very difficult. Here, there are scooters, but not nearly as many as the previous cities. Instead, there is a new class that the other cities don't see: racers. It's not uncommon to see full-leather racing gear (kit as they call it) on riders aboard japanese racing bikes or ducatis.
Dublin - in a word, "docile" - not as many riders as I'd expect, but almost all of them wear bright colored safety vests to ensure they stand out. Maybe because of the constantly dull weather, and rain, these riders have developed a survival instinct. Though other cities wear safety vests too, almost every Dublin rider has one on. Otherwise, the driving is mild mannered, and in general, highway drivers tend to crawl along at superhumanly slow paces, making it a heaven for motorcycles to zoom past.
Summary of Europe
The odd thing is that in each of the European cities, you see many female riders as well. This is almost unheard of in NYC. And to an outsider like me, the traffic patterns of Athens, Rome, and Paris seem quite chaotic and unpredictable. I'd never ride there if I could help it, because there seems to be an unwritten law of tolerance for spontaneous chaotic dodging left and right, entering lanes without blinking, pulling out from lanes in spite of red lights, etc. It's a nightmare. Riders are like fish, constantly weaving back and forth, avoiding narrow escapes, and drifting everywhere. Riding is a constant act of avoidance and defense.
By comparison, London is about acceleration through small, narrow roads, and so here we see the emergence of "offensive" riding. Here, there is an explicit difference between defensive moves, and all-out acceleration and aggression.
Comparison vs. NYC
By comparison, NYC is quite safe. This initially seems incomprehensible, but I have several explicit reasons:
-Traffic is always predictable in its disorganization. It is bounded chaos. You know, for instance, that cabs will always swerve to corners, so you can easily look out for them. Pedestrians generally don't cut across the roads, just as cars generally abide by traffic laws.
-Drivers follow laws at intersections, and so traffic always self-organizes into structure at stop lights. In between intersections, it's a free for all, but this means the strategy for driving is simple: at any light, get to the front and stay at the front.
-Motorcycles are unique. Cars still dominate, and so motorcycles are a curiosity when spotted, and cabs tend to notice immediately and avoid you. By comparison, European drivers and riders have developed a mutual symbiotic relationship, whereby they each assume that each is looking out for the other. In NYC, bikers are the crazy, reckless ones, and so everyone looks out for them, and you're assumed to be unpredictable. Drivers keep their distance.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
New tires - initial reactions
I recently purchased new tires for my GSXR-1000, and decided to opt for the Pilot Power brand. My initial reaction is... odd.
See, I've never owned a bike for a long enough time to need to replace its tires. Instead, I always handed it over to the next owner with worn down tires, assuming they'd pay for them. So when I realized I'd put 10,000 miles on the GSXR and still hadn't replaced the tires, I decided to try it out.
The first thing to notice is that the dealer told me not to take turns too hard, because of the wax layer on the outside of the tire, and the fact that it reduces traction. Knowing this, I played it especially cautious, so I can't tell you anything about the incredible new lean angles, grip, etc.
When the dealer put the new tires on, they made the bike look brand new. It was impressive, because the tread on my old tires had worn down so much, they clearly looked old, and so it made the bike look dated as well. The new shine on the rubber definitely stands out. But that's just cosmetic.
As for the actual ride, the new tires have definitely more curvature to them, and so turning is so much easier than it was with the old tires. In fact, it's downright embarassing that I rode the old tires for so long, thinking they allowed me to turn quickly. Now, the bike feels incredibly "flickable" (that's one of those terms they use in the motorcycle magazines all the time), and just a small force on one side of the handlebars makes the bike turn immediately. This tells me - in retrospect - that my old tires must have been way long gone, if they actually made the bike harder to turn.
The new feel of the bike also makes me think about all those people who buy bikes with really wide tires. They have no idea what they're missing out on. Like the ability to turn :-)
So far, the new tires seem fine, make the bike feel flickable, and I'm now a total advocate for regularly changing out one tires!
See, I've never owned a bike for a long enough time to need to replace its tires. Instead, I always handed it over to the next owner with worn down tires, assuming they'd pay for them. So when I realized I'd put 10,000 miles on the GSXR and still hadn't replaced the tires, I decided to try it out.
The first thing to notice is that the dealer told me not to take turns too hard, because of the wax layer on the outside of the tire, and the fact that it reduces traction. Knowing this, I played it especially cautious, so I can't tell you anything about the incredible new lean angles, grip, etc.
When the dealer put the new tires on, they made the bike look brand new. It was impressive, because the tread on my old tires had worn down so much, they clearly looked old, and so it made the bike look dated as well. The new shine on the rubber definitely stands out. But that's just cosmetic.
As for the actual ride, the new tires have definitely more curvature to them, and so turning is so much easier than it was with the old tires. In fact, it's downright embarassing that I rode the old tires for so long, thinking they allowed me to turn quickly. Now, the bike feels incredibly "flickable" (that's one of those terms they use in the motorcycle magazines all the time), and just a small force on one side of the handlebars makes the bike turn immediately. This tells me - in retrospect - that my old tires must have been way long gone, if they actually made the bike harder to turn.
The new feel of the bike also makes me think about all those people who buy bikes with really wide tires. They have no idea what they're missing out on. Like the ability to turn :-)
So far, the new tires seem fine, make the bike feel flickable, and I'm now a total advocate for regularly changing out one tires!
Friday, June 13, 2008
A new phenomenon in NYC: chicks on scooters
I dug around, and noticed an article on the rise of scooters in NYC:
http://nyscooterclub.com/press/09SCOOT.html
I was particularly struck by the authors comment, "Scooters are widely accepted in Europe and Asia, but in America, where bigger is often viewed as better, the zippy two-wheelers have had trouble gaining traction."
I'll paraphrase: scooters are cute, and made for women. But not in NYC, where traffic is so fast, and reaction time is too critical for most women's nerves. Why then, are there suddenly so many more females riding about on scooters? I have 3 theories:
1) Gas prices
The obvious one to blame, but clearly as gas prices rise, 2 wheeled transportation in general seems more attractive. But that doesn't alone explain why so many more women are riding around. Anecdotally speaking, the number of female scooter riders now appears to outnumber the male riders, so the trend is definitely significant.
2) Scooter marketing
There's a new store downtown, and they're running ads all over the city for scooter sales. But that alone can't account for the rise, because that's just stupid to buy into everything just because it's marketed well :-)
3) European invasion
This is my favorite theory. It goes like this: the US dollar is weak, so Europeans in general are visiting the city more. This much is true. Also, more of them are coming over for the summers, and maybe more are actually deciding to come over a live, maybe even work here. As women come over - especially younger women - they are accustomed to riding their scooters around in Europe, where it is an acceptable practice for women to do. So they don't even think twice about jumping on one in NYC.
The odd thing is, women scooter riders (hereafter called women scooterers) are complete idiots. The image of riding on a cute little scooter is so important to them that they throw caution and safety out the window:
In summary, if you're a woman living in NYC, and you ride a scooter, take it from a fellow 2-wheeled advocate: other people are looking at you, and think you're an idiot. Learn about rider safety, learn to ride a 2-wheeled vehicle, get some hi-viz gear at least (even pink will do), and if you absolutely must keep riding, don't ride on Madison or Lexington unless you want to die.
Please.
http://nyscooterclub.com/press/09SCOOT.html
I was particularly struck by the authors comment, "Scooters are widely accepted in Europe and Asia, but in America, where bigger is often viewed as better, the zippy two-wheelers have had trouble gaining traction."
I'll paraphrase: scooters are cute, and made for women. But not in NYC, where traffic is so fast, and reaction time is too critical for most women's nerves. Why then, are there suddenly so many more females riding about on scooters? I have 3 theories:
1) Gas prices
The obvious one to blame, but clearly as gas prices rise, 2 wheeled transportation in general seems more attractive. But that doesn't alone explain why so many more women are riding around. Anecdotally speaking, the number of female scooter riders now appears to outnumber the male riders, so the trend is definitely significant.
2) Scooter marketing
There's a new store downtown, and they're running ads all over the city for scooter sales. But that alone can't account for the rise, because that's just stupid to buy into everything just because it's marketed well :-)
3) European invasion
This is my favorite theory. It goes like this: the US dollar is weak, so Europeans in general are visiting the city more. This much is true. Also, more of them are coming over for the summers, and maybe more are actually deciding to come over a live, maybe even work here. As women come over - especially younger women - they are accustomed to riding their scooters around in Europe, where it is an acceptable practice for women to do. So they don't even think twice about jumping on one in NYC.
The odd thing is, women scooter riders (hereafter called women scooterers) are complete idiots. The image of riding on a cute little scooter is so important to them that they throw caution and safety out the window:
- Women scooterers don't wear full face helmets, they wear half helmets. Have fun when you fall on your chin! Don't think you'll get hurt? Do an experiment then: rub your chin at 5 mph over the sidewalk, and see if you get any scars. Now imagine what it's like at 30 mph. Yay!
- Women scooterers wear skirts. This is just plain stupid. There must be someone who can confirm a rise in road rash at NYC ER's? Anyone? This is the one here that I don't care too much, because in general these riders tend to be skinny, and have attractive figures, so it's at least nice to look at legs in any case. But every time I see them, I cringe and have a mental image of one of those bloody scenes from Saving Private Ryan.
- Women scooterers wear black. Because black is trendy and hip, they wear precisely the color they should wear if they want to be INVISIBLE!
- Women scooterers prefer tiny, cute scooters. Instead of the ones that would give the accelerating power to get out of the way of that cab bearing down on you.
- Women scooterers are sporadic and unpredictable. There's a difference between weaving and dodging to get attention, and drifting in and out, left and right, because you just don't know how to pilot a vehicle in a straight line. I don't know the solution to this one, but maybe attending a training course and actually learning the art of riding is a good place to start, no?
In summary, if you're a woman living in NYC, and you ride a scooter, take it from a fellow 2-wheeled advocate: other people are looking at you, and think you're an idiot. Learn about rider safety, learn to ride a 2-wheeled vehicle, get some hi-viz gear at least (even pink will do), and if you absolutely must keep riding, don't ride on Madison or Lexington unless you want to die.
Please.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The boomers are back - please be safe, guys!
It's just getting warm around here, and already the streets are taken with brand new motorcycles everywhere, brand new pipes, <100 miles on the odo, and with brand new leathers riding on top.
Yep, a fresh crop of mid-life-crisis riders are out with the first >60F weather. It's cute, sad, and funny all at the same time.
It's cute because of how much they over-invest in their bikes, just because they have the money. Like a brand new exhaust on this Yamaha I saw this past week on the FDR, when the rider should have known that a first bike like that is likely to get dropped, and so why would you invest in an exposed can as your first purchase?
It's sad because you can spot them immediately. They're the guys on 9A and the FDR scared out of their minds, holding a single line in the lane (not taking advantage of the full width of the lane), and usually riding in the center lane. Any city rider knows that the center highway lane is the most dangerous, and that the left lane is by far the safest. Even the scooters know this, for crying out loud!
It's also sad, because statistically speaking, there are a handful of these folks that won't make it through the summer without a serious accident. Likely caused by a combination of dulled reflexes, inexperience, and a big pot hole on West End between 73rd and 74th, heading South. You could have avoided it if you weren't driving in the oil-slicked middle of the lane, Mr. Saturday BMW driver... you know who you are.
And funny because of the all blacked out clothes they were, to become completely invisible to all traffic. What's the point? Why not just charge headlong into a cement highway divider, and save someone else the traumatic experience of hitting you from the rear because your black helmet, black jacket, and hidden license plate with fender eliminator and tiny little lights didn't stand out. No crud. To be fair, I did see a guy on the FDR recently with a white helmet, and a hi-viz jacket over his black jacket. And a couple where the woman in back hung a hiviz reflector pad over her back. Bravo to both of you. In the meantime, everyone else can tell me by the: white helmet, yellow pants, reflector pads, white jacket, extra rear blinking flashers, and additional headlights... and proud of it.
Yep, a fresh crop of mid-life-crisis riders are out with the first >60F weather. It's cute, sad, and funny all at the same time.
It's cute because of how much they over-invest in their bikes, just because they have the money. Like a brand new exhaust on this Yamaha I saw this past week on the FDR, when the rider should have known that a first bike like that is likely to get dropped, and so why would you invest in an exposed can as your first purchase?
It's sad because you can spot them immediately. They're the guys on 9A and the FDR scared out of their minds, holding a single line in the lane (not taking advantage of the full width of the lane), and usually riding in the center lane. Any city rider knows that the center highway lane is the most dangerous, and that the left lane is by far the safest. Even the scooters know this, for crying out loud!
It's also sad, because statistically speaking, there are a handful of these folks that won't make it through the summer without a serious accident. Likely caused by a combination of dulled reflexes, inexperience, and a big pot hole on West End between 73rd and 74th, heading South. You could have avoided it if you weren't driving in the oil-slicked middle of the lane, Mr. Saturday BMW driver... you know who you are.
And funny because of the all blacked out clothes they were, to become completely invisible to all traffic. What's the point? Why not just charge headlong into a cement highway divider, and save someone else the traumatic experience of hitting you from the rear because your black helmet, black jacket, and hidden license plate with fender eliminator and tiny little lights didn't stand out. No crud. To be fair, I did see a guy on the FDR recently with a white helmet, and a hi-viz jacket over his black jacket. And a couple where the woman in back hung a hiviz reflector pad over her back. Bravo to both of you. In the meantime, everyone else can tell me by the: white helmet, yellow pants, reflector pads, white jacket, extra rear blinking flashers, and additional headlights... and proud of it.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Riding a GSXR 1000 in NYC, Manhattan
I've had my Gixxer now for almost 9 months, and of course that means upwards of 9000 miles :) Most of those miles came from my cross country trip, and half of the remainder came from trips up to the Catskills and Adirondacks in the dead of winter. And the rest were logged in Manhattan.
So what's it like?
Image
Well, to begin with, people like me a whole lot less than when I had the Buell. There's something about people's knee-jerk reaction when they see a brightly colored "croth rocket" driving down the street. I'd say in general, that's not fun to deal with, but I get by.
Cruising
Someone once told me Manhattan's speed limit is 35 mph. Most of traffic goes around 45, with some crazies hitting 60 in straight avenues. Well, after 9 months, I now know what everyone means when they say, "you'll never leave 3rd gear". It's true, almost. 6th is for highway, and for getting 230 miles to the tank. 5th is for 9A, relatively straight riding. 4th gear is for the FDR, with a little more weaving traffic, and a greater need to change speed dramatically. 3rd is for 9A or the FDR, when I get a little nervous or anxious (like if there are lots of NJ BMWs around me). And I usually go between 1st and 2nd around the city. In truth, there's no reason to leave 2nd downtown, and 3rd on the highway. Up to 4000 rpms. That's ridiculous. In case there was any doubt, the answer is "no" - I don't use more than 10% of this bike's potential on a regular basis.
Handling
9 months, serviced twice, still turns like a charm. I was used to the Buell, which had high, wide handle-bars, so when I first got on the gixxer, I had some difficulty balancing sharp turns. But now that I've practiced, I'm just as good at turning small, tight circles as I was on the Buell. So it's not only possible, it's now second nature to me.
Braking
No complaints here. Sharp as a knife. Stops on a dime. Hydraulics and pads holding up perfectly after 9 solid months of rough stop-and-go.
Acceleration
There's no question about it - this motorcycle's gift is also it's curse. On the one hand, I can attest to 3 specific instances where the crazy acceleration of the 1000 got me out of tight spots (like a few weekend ago, when a cab was bearing down on my rear, and another cab decided to dart right - right into me). But on the other hand, I'm only in those positions to begin with because I'm on a motorcycle. So 6 of 1, half dozen of another. The morale of the story: if I'm going to be on a motorcycle, I want to be on a crazy fast one, for those times I need to get out of trouble in a hurry.
Overall
I've said it before, and I'll continue saying it. Riding a gixxer 1000 is like riding a scalpel. You cut from one place to the next. That's incredible, and for gixxer owners out there, you'll know what I mean when I refer to that insane 75% throttle whack on the highway that suddenly calms the bike as it moves into its power band, and suddenly the bike literally feels like it disappears out from underneath you. Simply amazing.
Yet somehow, something is still missing. It's too perfect, too clean, too sterile. It's all function, form, and perfection. It makes a BMW feel like a whale, a Buell feel childish, and a Ducati an unrefined drunken barman. But those characters are what I ride for... I'm leaning towards the inevitable evil: I need two bikes. The Suzuki is perfect for long rides through the countryside, out to Long Island, and back without and fear of breakdown, mechanical glitch, or hiccup. But the next bike, yet to be identified, will be for shorter rides, more adventurous flings, with a louder, growlier snare to it, and a bit more menace in the engine...
So what's it like?
Image
Well, to begin with, people like me a whole lot less than when I had the Buell. There's something about people's knee-jerk reaction when they see a brightly colored "croth rocket" driving down the street. I'd say in general, that's not fun to deal with, but I get by.
Cruising
Someone once told me Manhattan's speed limit is 35 mph. Most of traffic goes around 45, with some crazies hitting 60 in straight avenues. Well, after 9 months, I now know what everyone means when they say, "you'll never leave 3rd gear". It's true, almost. 6th is for highway, and for getting 230 miles to the tank. 5th is for 9A, relatively straight riding. 4th gear is for the FDR, with a little more weaving traffic, and a greater need to change speed dramatically. 3rd is for 9A or the FDR, when I get a little nervous or anxious (like if there are lots of NJ BMWs around me). And I usually go between 1st and 2nd around the city. In truth, there's no reason to leave 2nd downtown, and 3rd on the highway. Up to 4000 rpms. That's ridiculous. In case there was any doubt, the answer is "no" - I don't use more than 10% of this bike's potential on a regular basis.
Handling
9 months, serviced twice, still turns like a charm. I was used to the Buell, which had high, wide handle-bars, so when I first got on the gixxer, I had some difficulty balancing sharp turns. But now that I've practiced, I'm just as good at turning small, tight circles as I was on the Buell. So it's not only possible, it's now second nature to me.
Braking
No complaints here. Sharp as a knife. Stops on a dime. Hydraulics and pads holding up perfectly after 9 solid months of rough stop-and-go.
Acceleration
There's no question about it - this motorcycle's gift is also it's curse. On the one hand, I can attest to 3 specific instances where the crazy acceleration of the 1000 got me out of tight spots (like a few weekend ago, when a cab was bearing down on my rear, and another cab decided to dart right - right into me). But on the other hand, I'm only in those positions to begin with because I'm on a motorcycle. So 6 of 1, half dozen of another. The morale of the story: if I'm going to be on a motorcycle, I want to be on a crazy fast one, for those times I need to get out of trouble in a hurry.
Overall
I've said it before, and I'll continue saying it. Riding a gixxer 1000 is like riding a scalpel. You cut from one place to the next. That's incredible, and for gixxer owners out there, you'll know what I mean when I refer to that insane 75% throttle whack on the highway that suddenly calms the bike as it moves into its power band, and suddenly the bike literally feels like it disappears out from underneath you. Simply amazing.
Yet somehow, something is still missing. It's too perfect, too clean, too sterile. It's all function, form, and perfection. It makes a BMW feel like a whale, a Buell feel childish, and a Ducati an unrefined drunken barman. But those characters are what I ride for... I'm leaning towards the inevitable evil: I need two bikes. The Suzuki is perfect for long rides through the countryside, out to Long Island, and back without and fear of breakdown, mechanical glitch, or hiccup. But the next bike, yet to be identified, will be for shorter rides, more adventurous flings, with a louder, growlier snare to it, and a bit more menace in the engine...
Monday, February 4, 2008
Winter riding with a gixxer ... in the cold
I searched every forum out there, and couldn't find anything on riding a gixxer in the dead of New England winter, so here it goes:
It's wonderful.
First, as every hard core winter rider will tell you, you need enough power in the alternator to charge the battery, high beams, fancy flashers, heated gloves, and a heated jacket. The gixxer has more than enough power to handle all of the above and a little more - like maybe a second jacket, or a pair of heated pants (which I no longer use because I just bought better pants).
Second, the rumors of japanese bikes kicking it with cold weather are quite false. I've ridden in -20F on three occasions this past winter, and regularly went out in 0ish, with no oil or hydraulic troubles. So whoever started that myth, should know that it doesn't hold on a gixxer 1000 from 2007.
Third, and this is a big one... the gixxer's battery is battle hardened. It started up with no problems all winter long. I did leave it in zero weather for a month without riding, starting, and with a voltmeter plugged in that slowly drained the battery... and it died. On a Buell or modern day BMW, a dead battery would spell the end of the road, and you'd need a jump start and several minutes of idle charging to get back into charge (because the EFI and associated electronics need charge to work). But on the gixxer, I just bump-started it with 3 runs, and I was up and running. The Suzuki somehow charges fast enough for it not to be a problem... why all bikes aren't designed to start from a dead battery, I don't know. But thanks to Suzuki, the gixxer 1000 therefore makes the perfect dead-start winter bike.
The only recommendation I would have - though this is for any biker, really - is to invest in a thermometer and a voltmeter. I keep them connected all the time, just for mental health, more than anything.
It's wonderful.
First, as every hard core winter rider will tell you, you need enough power in the alternator to charge the battery, high beams, fancy flashers, heated gloves, and a heated jacket. The gixxer has more than enough power to handle all of the above and a little more - like maybe a second jacket, or a pair of heated pants (which I no longer use because I just bought better pants).
Second, the rumors of japanese bikes kicking it with cold weather are quite false. I've ridden in -20F on three occasions this past winter, and regularly went out in 0ish, with no oil or hydraulic troubles. So whoever started that myth, should know that it doesn't hold on a gixxer 1000 from 2007.
Third, and this is a big one... the gixxer's battery is battle hardened. It started up with no problems all winter long. I did leave it in zero weather for a month without riding, starting, and with a voltmeter plugged in that slowly drained the battery... and it died. On a Buell or modern day BMW, a dead battery would spell the end of the road, and you'd need a jump start and several minutes of idle charging to get back into charge (because the EFI and associated electronics need charge to work). But on the gixxer, I just bump-started it with 3 runs, and I was up and running. The Suzuki somehow charges fast enough for it not to be a problem... why all bikes aren't designed to start from a dead battery, I don't know. But thanks to Suzuki, the gixxer 1000 therefore makes the perfect dead-start winter bike.
The only recommendation I would have - though this is for any biker, really - is to invest in a thermometer and a voltmeter. I keep them connected all the time, just for mental health, more than anything.
Monday, September 24, 2007
A Yankee Gixxer in Cruiserland: My cross-country ride
I ran into quite a few fellow american bikers on my cross country tour, and most seemed in awe that anyone would chose a Suzuki GSXR 1000 K7 as the cross-country riding weapon of choice.
Further research indicates there are few, if any, internet accounts of brave (or idiotic) sportbike tourers. In fact, many Craigslist and Ebay superbikes - especially in the litrebike category - rarely if ever have more than 3000 miles on them, after 4 years. My gsxr1000 now has a proud 6,500 after 3 weeks of ownership. I think that makes me a first. It certainly makes me stand out a little from other sportbike owners.
Since there seem to be a lot of avid UK sportbikers, I thought I would offer this comparison: my trip was like driving the circumference of the island of England every day for a week :)
I also ran into quite a few cruisers on my ride, and so I thought I would offer another way to relate: it's like driving back and forth between Sturgis, SD and Daytona, FL 3 times in one week :)
Enough boasting already... what's the punchline?
It really wasn't that bad! The gsxr1000's riding position is actually downright tolerable, and only after about 400 miles did I start to have to shift my weight around from side to side to reduce numbness. But that's true of almost any bike. The vibration was significantly less than my old Buell - in fact the ride was downright smooth! The suspension let me vault over cracks in all types of road surfaces, and the quiet engine tolerated 80-90 mph highways speeds perfectly with no complaints. In fact, it almost seemed bored at that speed, whereas my old Buell would have complained the whole way.
If I had to do it all again, I wouldn't pick any other bike. No other bike would balance the handling I needed to get through the Rockies, Mohave, Adirondacks, and Smokeys with the speed to get through the plains and Utah in record time, with 200 miles to the tank, wind fairing for wind and rain.
Further research indicates there are few, if any, internet accounts of brave (or idiotic) sportbike tourers. In fact, many Craigslist and Ebay superbikes - especially in the litrebike category - rarely if ever have more than 3000 miles on them, after 4 years. My gsxr1000 now has a proud 6,500 after 3 weeks of ownership. I think that makes me a first. It certainly makes me stand out a little from other sportbike owners.
Since there seem to be a lot of avid UK sportbikers, I thought I would offer this comparison: my trip was like driving the circumference of the island of England every day for a week :)
I also ran into quite a few cruisers on my ride, and so I thought I would offer another way to relate: it's like driving back and forth between Sturgis, SD and Daytona, FL 3 times in one week :)
Enough boasting already... what's the punchline?
It really wasn't that bad! The gsxr1000's riding position is actually downright tolerable, and only after about 400 miles did I start to have to shift my weight around from side to side to reduce numbness. But that's true of almost any bike. The vibration was significantly less than my old Buell - in fact the ride was downright smooth! The suspension let me vault over cracks in all types of road surfaces, and the quiet engine tolerated 80-90 mph highways speeds perfectly with no complaints. In fact, it almost seemed bored at that speed, whereas my old Buell would have complained the whole way.
If I had to do it all again, I wouldn't pick any other bike. No other bike would balance the handling I needed to get through the Rockies, Mohave, Adirondacks, and Smokeys with the speed to get through the plains and Utah in record time, with 200 miles to the tank, wind fairing for wind and rain.
Take only memories, leave nothing but rubber
It took 8 days. 650 or so miles per day on average, with a couple of legs around 750. I stopped for gas, ate while refueling, and took pictures from my bike. I was accompanied by my best friend, who drove the whole time I rode.
Through the adirondacks, across the plains of kansas, over the rockies, through the barren wasteland of utah, through las vegas and across the mohave desert in california, down around the forests and desert of arizona and new mexico, across texas, through new orleans and up through the mouth of the mississippi across the bible belt, and finally back home.
Here's the link to my trip
For the most part, the stops represent nights where I slept, except for the markers in Denver, Co and in California (in both of those cases, I took a different route than the Google optimum route).
It was insane. I'm still remembering sights, sounds, feelings from the trip. And because it happened so fast, I'm sure it will take me weeks yet to fully digest. And yes, I did it all on my 2007 Suzuki GSXR 1000 K7 (with the gel seat). All of my belongings were stashed in a backpack that I wore the whole time.
Highlights: Utah, Arizona, Kansas, The Mohave Desert. The most serene moments of enjoying scenery, nature, and enjoying the power of technology-enabled independence. Somehow, riding the peak of modern technology in motorcycle form while enjoying the rawness of north american geography was deeply satisfying.
Lowlights: The rockies (it rained, there were high winds, rocks on the road, deer crossing, switchbacks, and dotted traffic lines that meant SUV's constantly swerved into my lane). It was hell on earth, and I repeatedly thought I was going to die. Also, I had the opportunity to ride through a number of great midwestern and southern cities, but none were as dangerous as Dallas. I feel perfectly comfortable riding in Manhattan, but have never felt more exposed and vulnerable as I did in Dallas. In NYC, everyone drives a constant speed: fast. In Dallas, some people drive slow, others drives fast, and some crawl - in every lane. Dallas highway driving was a constant chore to avoid getting swiped by a massive tinted-windowed SUV piloted by a cell-phone holding soccer! Finally, for some reason the plains of Texas develop some nasty crosswinds on the highway. I've never before felt like my bike was actually going to lose traction because of the wind (previous bikes were all naked, while the gsxr1000 is fully faired), and this was quite scary. However, I found that I could avoid the winds by riding in the wake of large trucks, who sliced the wind, and left behind a calm zone 20 feet around their trailers.
I took a few pictures, and even some videos from my seat. But none were as nice as the artistic ones you can find on fliky or google images. Apparently it was Chief Seattle who said, "take only memories, leave nothing but footprints." I'd like to propose a blatant / cheesy modernized biker ripoff:
Take only memories, leave nothing but rubber...
Through the adirondacks, across the plains of kansas, over the rockies, through the barren wasteland of utah, through las vegas and across the mohave desert in california, down around the forests and desert of arizona and new mexico, across texas, through new orleans and up through the mouth of the mississippi across the bible belt, and finally back home.
Here's the link to my trip
For the most part, the stops represent nights where I slept, except for the markers in Denver, Co and in California (in both of those cases, I took a different route than the Google optimum route).
It was insane. I'm still remembering sights, sounds, feelings from the trip. And because it happened so fast, I'm sure it will take me weeks yet to fully digest. And yes, I did it all on my 2007 Suzuki GSXR 1000 K7 (with the gel seat). All of my belongings were stashed in a backpack that I wore the whole time.
Highlights: Utah, Arizona, Kansas, The Mohave Desert. The most serene moments of enjoying scenery, nature, and enjoying the power of technology-enabled independence. Somehow, riding the peak of modern technology in motorcycle form while enjoying the rawness of north american geography was deeply satisfying.
Lowlights: The rockies (it rained, there were high winds, rocks on the road, deer crossing, switchbacks, and dotted traffic lines that meant SUV's constantly swerved into my lane). It was hell on earth, and I repeatedly thought I was going to die. Also, I had the opportunity to ride through a number of great midwestern and southern cities, but none were as dangerous as Dallas. I feel perfectly comfortable riding in Manhattan, but have never felt more exposed and vulnerable as I did in Dallas. In NYC, everyone drives a constant speed: fast. In Dallas, some people drive slow, others drives fast, and some crawl - in every lane. Dallas highway driving was a constant chore to avoid getting swiped by a massive tinted-windowed SUV piloted by a cell-phone holding soccer! Finally, for some reason the plains of Texas develop some nasty crosswinds on the highway. I've never before felt like my bike was actually going to lose traction because of the wind (previous bikes were all naked, while the gsxr1000 is fully faired), and this was quite scary. However, I found that I could avoid the winds by riding in the wake of large trucks, who sliced the wind, and left behind a calm zone 20 feet around their trailers.
I took a few pictures, and even some videos from my seat. But none were as nice as the artistic ones you can find on fliky or google images. Apparently it was Chief Seattle who said, "take only memories, leave nothing but footprints." I'd like to propose a blatant / cheesy modernized biker ripoff:
Take only memories, leave nothing but rubber...
Time for some changes
So after a full summer of incredibly great riding, and almost no time to write, I'm back on the web filled with incredible experiences and hopefully helpful insights for other current or aspiring NYC riders. Where to start?
How about starting at the top :)
I have a new bike.
I just rode cross-country on it.
I have my old bike, but will be selling it soon.
And I'm now officially an entirely different profile of rider, which is a mixed blessing.
It's time for some exciting posts!
How about starting at the top :)
I have a new bike.
I just rode cross-country on it.
I have my old bike, but will be selling it soon.
And I'm now officially an entirely different profile of rider, which is a mixed blessing.
It's time for some exciting posts!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K7 vs. Buell Xb12Ss 2006
I'm so excited to write this review, because I know an entire community of Buell riders out there dying to finally know what the real difference is between an XB12 engine and the best of the litrebikes, the Suzuki GXSR 1000cc.
What a world of difference! I've tried to mirror the sections of my previous Buell vs. BMW K1200R review, for objectivity sake. I've also added a few sections that are specifically relevant to this litrebike category.
First impressions of the Suzuki GSXR1000 K7
I will never leave 1st gear, ever. Wow. Actually, the only reason to leave 1st is to save gas on the highway. In the city, I'll never leave 1st. That makes gear shifts entirely a thing of the past. Goodbye cruel world of shifting. The bike actually feels freakishly similar to the Buell in many respects.
Engine revving
This engine is meant to be revved very very very high. I lied in my first impression comment. There are actually 3 meaningful gears on this bike: 1st for aggressive city riding through the financial district, 3rd for laid back city riding through central park on a weekday, and 6th for the highway. Oh yeah - it has 6 gears instead of the 5 on the Buell, but I don't really notice. The one big difference that I haven't gotten used to yet is the throttle position. On the Buell, I used to really crank the throttle to accelerate, and that gave me the impression of really pulling out all the stops and accelerating like mad. On the GSXR1000, that same level of power can be found within a quarter inch, making full open throttle whacks either a thing of the past, or downright dangerous.
Off the line and low speed riding
The Buell is definitely punchier off the line. There's no getting around it's higher torque at lower revs. But the Suzuki has the same amount of punch if the engine is revved slightly before letting out the clutch. The one weird thing about the gsxr1000 is that the clutch friction zone is TINY compared to the Buell. On the Buell, I would frequently ride the clutch, in order to hit speeds around 35-50 miles. I frequently found myself clutching an acceleration on the Buell. On the gsxr1000, the off-the-line ride is completely different. You essentially clutch to get into 1st gear until about 10 mph, and then you're done. I have yet to find a need to ride the clutch. Instead, all of my speed control is done with my right hand. To summarize, with my clutching Buell habits, I still haven't mastered the art of releasing the clutch from start on the gsxr1000, but as soon as I do I can pull away as fast as the Buell in almost every way. One last thing I'll note is that the Buell somehow gave me the "feeling" of accelerating quite hard, while the Suzuki feels like I'm accelerating less hard, but gauging from the speedometer and the appearance of cars behind me, I'm actually accelerating much faster than a Buell. I've figured out why: the Buell's upright seating position meant that as I accelerated, my body leaned backwards, and so I had to hold onto the handgrips to stay on the bike - the result was an out-of-this-world holding-on-for-dear-life feeling of acceleration. The gsxr1000's seating is bent down more, and so as I accelerate, I feel my weight naturally transfer through my legs to my feet. I feel the acceleration less, but I'm accelerating faster than ever. It's weird and counter-intuitive.
Cruising speeds
The gsxr1000 gets 45-50 miles to the gallon, and because of it's HUGE 5.2 gallon tank, that means about 200 miles in between fill-ups. The Buell got 50-60 miles to the gallon, but only had a 3 gallon tank, which meant I filled up regularly at about 150 miles to the tank. Oddly, in a strange alternate universe sort of way, this ironically makes the gsxr1000 a better road cruising bike than the xb12ss. I still find that odd to say.
High speeds
As I said before, I really don't know why you'd need to shift on this bike. I stay in first all the time, and that means I can theoretically go as fast as 100 mph just in first. That's just an unnecessary display of power, but needless to say, when I shift to 6th gear, I've found I still have so much power I can accelerate out of any scary situation. The Buell always started to choke up around 85 mph, which tended to be my highway cruising speed up and down I-87 (where the rest of traffic tends to go 85-90mph in the left lane). On the gsxr1000, it's more more comfortable touring for long distances at 85mph, and doesn't feel stressed at all at 90mph. In fact, I needed to avoid a Jersey driver on the highway, and simply got out of his way with a quick flick of my wrist. Over and done with. Whereas on the Buell, getting out of the way would have been a concerted effort. So it's clear to me now that the Buell is a bike built for sub-60, while the gsxr1000 is a bike built for over-30.
Handling / steering
Perfection in every sense. People complain that the Buell is scary at high speeds, but I never found that to be the case - perhaps because I had the XB12ss. The gsxr1000 feels just like the XB12ss at turns. The width of the gsxr1000 makes it slightly harder to lane split, which is fine since that's illegal anyway :) Also, the turning radius of the gsxr1000 is about 2 feet wider than the xb12ss. While I could comfortably do a circle on a street with cars parked on both sides with plenty of room to spare, the gsxr1000 makes it 75% of the way, and then needs a k-turn. I think I'll get better at this, but for the time being, I'm less efficient at u-turns on the gsxr1000 because of the bike's increased apparent width, and somehow the weight feels higher off the ground. By comparison, the Buell's weight felt like it was 2" off the ground (vs. about 1 foot for the gsxr1000), and about half as wide (even with the buell side pucks installed). Bottom line: the buell felt like a smaller bike, because it *was* a smaller bike.
Braking
Buell wins, hands down. It's stopping is far more stable. On the gsxr1000, I need to squeeze the brakes more, and more gradually. I also need to be more carefully balanced over the center of the bike when I decelerate, or the front will start to wobble slightly. And by slightly, I mean that the gsxr1000 is moving micrometers, so this is a very small downside. But somehow, the Buell decelerated in perfect stability. Score one for Erik Buell's crazy front brake. I'll surely be looking into how I can increase the braking stability on my gsxr1000 to match the Buell. In conclusion, the Buell as of right now is a slightly safer city traffic bike because of it's smaller size and razor sharp brakes - and consequently, I've ridden the gsxr1000 with a larger cushion around me than I did with the buell.
Nit picks
The buell had me trained to like the gauges and display anchored to the front steering. The suzuki's display is part of the body, which means that when I turn the front wheel, the display kind of juts out at a weird angle. I'm still not used to that. The buell had me trained to actually using the clutch. If the gsxr1000 had a centrifugal clutch (like the ones found on gokarts), I'm confident that I would never use the clutch again. However, the gsxr1000 still has a clutch, and I haven't yet mastered the tiny friction zone on it. This means that in every sense, the gsxr1000 is an expert's bike. It's more challenging to control on the the left hand and on the the right throttle (tiny movements translate to large amounts of power - so much so that when I readjust my right hand on the throttle to a more comfortable grip on the highway, I have to be very careful not to blip the throttle too much and almost wheelie!). I've added the gel seat option to the gsxr1000, which makes a world of difference, and actually results in quite a comfortable ride. It took me all of two days to develop the back muscles and wrist muscles to adapt to the gsxr1000's difference ergo/posture, which meant one sore day. But after that, it's been perfect.
Ultimately, the gsxr1000 is like ten different bikes in one. If I keep the bike in 1st gear always and always ride sitting straight up, it's like my old Buell all over again. If I always ride in 3rd gear, it's like every BMW K series I ever tested. If I ride in 5th on the highway, it feels like the Ducati 999 I test drove, and if I put it into 6th, it's like the sportiest touring bike I've ever ridden. Then, if I change the riding modes from A (full power) to C (600cc power), I have my own 600cc or triumph speed triple. And believe it or not, every single one of these bikes wrapped into one is incredibly fun, very predictable, and an awful lot of fun. I'm thrilled with my purchase, but also grateful for having taken the time to grow into this bike. I can echo the generations of others before me passing advice down to new riders: take your time growing into a litrebike. But when you do, you'll be glad you waited, and you'll be thrilled with your new bike. I am.
What a world of difference! I've tried to mirror the sections of my previous Buell vs. BMW K1200R review, for objectivity sake. I've also added a few sections that are specifically relevant to this litrebike category.
First impressions of the Suzuki GSXR1000 K7
I will never leave 1st gear, ever. Wow. Actually, the only reason to leave 1st is to save gas on the highway. In the city, I'll never leave 1st. That makes gear shifts entirely a thing of the past. Goodbye cruel world of shifting. The bike actually feels freakishly similar to the Buell in many respects.
Engine revving
This engine is meant to be revved very very very high. I lied in my first impression comment. There are actually 3 meaningful gears on this bike: 1st for aggressive city riding through the financial district, 3rd for laid back city riding through central park on a weekday, and 6th for the highway. Oh yeah - it has 6 gears instead of the 5 on the Buell, but I don't really notice. The one big difference that I haven't gotten used to yet is the throttle position. On the Buell, I used to really crank the throttle to accelerate, and that gave me the impression of really pulling out all the stops and accelerating like mad. On the GSXR1000, that same level of power can be found within a quarter inch, making full open throttle whacks either a thing of the past, or downright dangerous.
Off the line and low speed riding
The Buell is definitely punchier off the line. There's no getting around it's higher torque at lower revs. But the Suzuki has the same amount of punch if the engine is revved slightly before letting out the clutch. The one weird thing about the gsxr1000 is that the clutch friction zone is TINY compared to the Buell. On the Buell, I would frequently ride the clutch, in order to hit speeds around 35-50 miles. I frequently found myself clutching an acceleration on the Buell. On the gsxr1000, the off-the-line ride is completely different. You essentially clutch to get into 1st gear until about 10 mph, and then you're done. I have yet to find a need to ride the clutch. Instead, all of my speed control is done with my right hand. To summarize, with my clutching Buell habits, I still haven't mastered the art of releasing the clutch from start on the gsxr1000, but as soon as I do I can pull away as fast as the Buell in almost every way. One last thing I'll note is that the Buell somehow gave me the "feeling" of accelerating quite hard, while the Suzuki feels like I'm accelerating less hard, but gauging from the speedometer and the appearance of cars behind me, I'm actually accelerating much faster than a Buell. I've figured out why: the Buell's upright seating position meant that as I accelerated, my body leaned backwards, and so I had to hold onto the handgrips to stay on the bike - the result was an out-of-this-world holding-on-for-dear-life feeling of acceleration. The gsxr1000's seating is bent down more, and so as I accelerate, I feel my weight naturally transfer through my legs to my feet. I feel the acceleration less, but I'm accelerating faster than ever. It's weird and counter-intuitive.
Cruising speeds
The gsxr1000 gets 45-50 miles to the gallon, and because of it's HUGE 5.2 gallon tank, that means about 200 miles in between fill-ups. The Buell got 50-60 miles to the gallon, but only had a 3 gallon tank, which meant I filled up regularly at about 150 miles to the tank. Oddly, in a strange alternate universe sort of way, this ironically makes the gsxr1000 a better road cruising bike than the xb12ss. I still find that odd to say.
High speeds
As I said before, I really don't know why you'd need to shift on this bike. I stay in first all the time, and that means I can theoretically go as fast as 100 mph just in first. That's just an unnecessary display of power, but needless to say, when I shift to 6th gear, I've found I still have so much power I can accelerate out of any scary situation. The Buell always started to choke up around 85 mph, which tended to be my highway cruising speed up and down I-87 (where the rest of traffic tends to go 85-90mph in the left lane). On the gsxr1000, it's more more comfortable touring for long distances at 85mph, and doesn't feel stressed at all at 90mph. In fact, I needed to avoid a Jersey driver on the highway, and simply got out of his way with a quick flick of my wrist. Over and done with. Whereas on the Buell, getting out of the way would have been a concerted effort. So it's clear to me now that the Buell is a bike built for sub-60, while the gsxr1000 is a bike built for over-30.
Handling / steering
Perfection in every sense. People complain that the Buell is scary at high speeds, but I never found that to be the case - perhaps because I had the XB12ss. The gsxr1000 feels just like the XB12ss at turns. The width of the gsxr1000 makes it slightly harder to lane split, which is fine since that's illegal anyway :) Also, the turning radius of the gsxr1000 is about 2 feet wider than the xb12ss. While I could comfortably do a circle on a street with cars parked on both sides with plenty of room to spare, the gsxr1000 makes it 75% of the way, and then needs a k-turn. I think I'll get better at this, but for the time being, I'm less efficient at u-turns on the gsxr1000 because of the bike's increased apparent width, and somehow the weight feels higher off the ground. By comparison, the Buell's weight felt like it was 2" off the ground (vs. about 1 foot for the gsxr1000), and about half as wide (even with the buell side pucks installed). Bottom line: the buell felt like a smaller bike, because it *was* a smaller bike.
Braking
Buell wins, hands down. It's stopping is far more stable. On the gsxr1000, I need to squeeze the brakes more, and more gradually. I also need to be more carefully balanced over the center of the bike when I decelerate, or the front will start to wobble slightly. And by slightly, I mean that the gsxr1000 is moving micrometers, so this is a very small downside. But somehow, the Buell decelerated in perfect stability. Score one for Erik Buell's crazy front brake. I'll surely be looking into how I can increase the braking stability on my gsxr1000 to match the Buell. In conclusion, the Buell as of right now is a slightly safer city traffic bike because of it's smaller size and razor sharp brakes - and consequently, I've ridden the gsxr1000 with a larger cushion around me than I did with the buell.
Nit picks
The buell had me trained to like the gauges and display anchored to the front steering. The suzuki's display is part of the body, which means that when I turn the front wheel, the display kind of juts out at a weird angle. I'm still not used to that. The buell had me trained to actually using the clutch. If the gsxr1000 had a centrifugal clutch (like the ones found on gokarts), I'm confident that I would never use the clutch again. However, the gsxr1000 still has a clutch, and I haven't yet mastered the tiny friction zone on it. This means that in every sense, the gsxr1000 is an expert's bike. It's more challenging to control on the the left hand and on the the right throttle (tiny movements translate to large amounts of power - so much so that when I readjust my right hand on the throttle to a more comfortable grip on the highway, I have to be very careful not to blip the throttle too much and almost wheelie!). I've added the gel seat option to the gsxr1000, which makes a world of difference, and actually results in quite a comfortable ride. It took me all of two days to develop the back muscles and wrist muscles to adapt to the gsxr1000's difference ergo/posture, which meant one sore day. But after that, it's been perfect.
Ultimately, the gsxr1000 is like ten different bikes in one. If I keep the bike in 1st gear always and always ride sitting straight up, it's like my old Buell all over again. If I always ride in 3rd gear, it's like every BMW K series I ever tested. If I ride in 5th on the highway, it feels like the Ducati 999 I test drove, and if I put it into 6th, it's like the sportiest touring bike I've ever ridden. Then, if I change the riding modes from A (full power) to C (600cc power), I have my own 600cc or triumph speed triple. And believe it or not, every single one of these bikes wrapped into one is incredibly fun, very predictable, and an awful lot of fun. I'm thrilled with my purchase, but also grateful for having taken the time to grow into this bike. I can echo the generations of others before me passing advice down to new riders: take your time growing into a litrebike. But when you do, you'll be glad you waited, and you'll be thrilled with your new bike. I am.
Friday, August 31, 2007
It's official: I have joined the Squid ranks
I am now a squid.
Wow, that hurt to say. My other posts have blatantly made fun of, name called, and generally disrespected owners of absurdly powerful 1000cc Japanese race bikes. After all, how impractically fast, unnecessarily torqued, ridiculously light these machines are known to be.
But let me step back a bit.
I went in to the dealership knowing I was going to scrutinize the GSXR 1000. I wanted one in yellow, for visibility sake. And I wanted one stock with no squid mods like tinted visors, removed rear view mirrors, exhausts, gold chains, or chrome (choke). And they had one, so I sat on it and "tried out the ergos."
I was impressed. At 5'11", I'm pretty much average if not slightly taller than the average rider, and I found the bike perfect for my fit. Sure, the lean was more intense than the Buell, but the magazines were dead-on; the Suzuki is by far the most comfortable of the sportbikes I've ever tried. After an extremely scientific comparison of every single major literbike and 600cc in the store's inventory, I can definitively say that sportbike comfort comes down entirely to knee-bend angle. The R1 had a ridiculous angle of bend, the Honda put my butt further back and so my knees were higher than normal, but the Suzuki was perfect. Though my entire body was generally rotated forward, my knees were bent at the same angle as on the Buell - A+. Also, I didn't have to sit crouched over all the time, and in fact given my arm length, I felt perfectly comfortable turning my head freely.
So I bought it. On the spot. And 3 hours later, I rode it away... into the sunlight.
Wow, that hurt to say. My other posts have blatantly made fun of, name called, and generally disrespected owners of absurdly powerful 1000cc Japanese race bikes. After all, how impractically fast, unnecessarily torqued, ridiculously light these machines are known to be.
But let me step back a bit.
I went in to the dealership knowing I was going to scrutinize the GSXR 1000. I wanted one in yellow, for visibility sake. And I wanted one stock with no squid mods like tinted visors, removed rear view mirrors, exhausts, gold chains, or chrome (choke). And they had one, so I sat on it and "tried out the ergos."
I was impressed. At 5'11", I'm pretty much average if not slightly taller than the average rider, and I found the bike perfect for my fit. Sure, the lean was more intense than the Buell, but the magazines were dead-on; the Suzuki is by far the most comfortable of the sportbikes I've ever tried. After an extremely scientific comparison of every single major literbike and 600cc in the store's inventory, I can definitively say that sportbike comfort comes down entirely to knee-bend angle. The R1 had a ridiculous angle of bend, the Honda put my butt further back and so my knees were higher than normal, but the Suzuki was perfect. Though my entire body was generally rotated forward, my knees were bent at the same angle as on the Buell - A+. Also, I didn't have to sit crouched over all the time, and in fact given my arm length, I felt perfectly comfortable turning my head freely.
So I bought it. On the spot. And 3 hours later, I rode it away... into the sunlight.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Thought process review: Suzuki "Litre" bike
Can I honestly consider myself a Squid? That'll be pretty hard to swallow. But every magazine and comparison review I read consistently puts the Suzuki GSXR 1000 at the top of the list. Supposedly it's power is intoxicating, and you never want for more.
Toughness: Great
Japanese bikes are notoriously abused. They never get oiled, they get dropped, stunted (aka "stun'd" on Craigslist), run through rain and snow, and generally neglected. Yet they still run like mad and get raced down the FDR and 9A at midnight and generally stand up (until they get run into a divider by a young squid who never learned to counter-steer).
Handling: Great
It's a sportbike, and every review I've read says "it holds lines well" which I presume is racer lingo for "it corners well and is stable". On the street, I like to say, "my bike avoids cabs". Maybe it's not as nimble as the Daytona 675, but the GSXR 1000 wheel base is comparable to the Buell XB12ss, so I'll be familiar with it.
Coolness: Ok-Great
Ok - so I could say I own the fastest production vehicle you can buy. I could go 0-60 faster than the fastest Ferrari's, Porsches, or whatever that other banker spent to drive next in the Hamptons. But something inside will die a little bit everytime I have to tell a co-worker, client, or colleague that I ride a "racing sportbike". I'll need to work on another term. For instance, I like how they call them "litrebikes" or "superbikes" in the UK.
Comfort: Ok
I just learned that the Suzuki has "the best ergos of the litrebikes". That's a good thing, but I doubt anything will top the Buell or a BMW. I'm going to have to try this out to be sure. My primary concern is that I retain complete freedom and neck movement. I'll need to "check my 6" every 3 milliseconds, and I don't want to have to look down my back every time. I need to be able to swing my head around freely, and I'm quite concerned about this point.
Summary: Ergos and the squid image are my primary concerns. But otherwise, I've always been curious about the legendary litre superbikes "they" always talk about. I just have to be careful to balance safety against the obvious other points above.
Toughness: Great
Japanese bikes are notoriously abused. They never get oiled, they get dropped, stunted (aka "stun'd" on Craigslist), run through rain and snow, and generally neglected. Yet they still run like mad and get raced down the FDR and 9A at midnight and generally stand up (until they get run into a divider by a young squid who never learned to counter-steer).
Handling: Great
It's a sportbike, and every review I've read says "it holds lines well" which I presume is racer lingo for "it corners well and is stable". On the street, I like to say, "my bike avoids cabs". Maybe it's not as nimble as the Daytona 675, but the GSXR 1000 wheel base is comparable to the Buell XB12ss, so I'll be familiar with it.
Coolness: Ok-Great
Ok - so I could say I own the fastest production vehicle you can buy. I could go 0-60 faster than the fastest Ferrari's, Porsches, or whatever that other banker spent to drive next in the Hamptons. But something inside will die a little bit everytime I have to tell a co-worker, client, or colleague that I ride a "racing sportbike". I'll need to work on another term. For instance, I like how they call them "litrebikes" or "superbikes" in the UK.
Comfort: Ok
I just learned that the Suzuki has "the best ergos of the litrebikes". That's a good thing, but I doubt anything will top the Buell or a BMW. I'm going to have to try this out to be sure. My primary concern is that I retain complete freedom and neck movement. I'll need to "check my 6" every 3 milliseconds, and I don't want to have to look down my back every time. I need to be able to swing my head around freely, and I'm quite concerned about this point.
Summary: Ergos and the squid image are my primary concerns. But otherwise, I've always been curious about the legendary litre superbikes "they" always talk about. I just have to be careful to balance safety against the obvious other points above.
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