Today it has a full 3" exhaust, coilovers and various other modifications. It is really fast and handles very well. However, coilovers are a bitch on the street. And as modified as the car is (its actually pretty mild compared to some of my friends) I constantly worry about blowing things up. So.....
Because I had never ridden before I first took the MSF beginers course. As soon as I got on the bike I was hooked. How the heck had I missed out on this for so long? Just riding around in circles in a parking lot was a blast. About two weeks after the class I purchased the above bike. Sense then I've ridden it most of the time. I'm still not confident enough to ride in the rain much.
In three weeks I'm going to take the experienced riders course which I hope will get me built up to the point where I'll convert to the bike full time. The experience of riding a motorcycle is so much better than a car. The things you notice are amazing and the ride to and from work is anything but boring. Further, even though my bike is only has a 500cc engine it is as fast as any sports car. Admitidly I don't race on the streets, but when I need to move away from other cars I can move away very quickly.
One thing that I come across constantly from people is that it is dangerous to ride a motorcycle. Yes. Yes it is. Especially when you consider all the people who pay absolutely no attention to their driving. Women busy putting on their makeup, people with their cell phones screwed in to their ears. People who are in a rush to get where ever it is they are going. It goes on and on.
My response when people bring this up is to first thank them for their concern about my safety. I then, to be a jerk, point out that probably some well intentioned person just like them will eventually take me out as they talk on their cell phone while eating a taco and speeding to work. My point being that instead of worrying about other people pay attention to what you are doing.
Riding the bike requires a lot of attention. Generally the bike takes care of itself, its all the crap going on around me that requires attention. I generally move slightly faster than the traffic around me so that I'm not being passed from behind. That way most of my attention is focused on the cars ahead of me. That is where I get to see what people are really doing. Which as usual is anything but driving. I also notice that cars get way to close to each other. Most cars are so close to each other that if the lead car has to panic stop the cars behind are almost guaranteed to pile up. They generally have less than one car length between them. At 60mph that is nuts. A good sports car going 60 will take 150 feet or so to stop, so will a sport bike like mine. Even if the lead car takes 180 feet to stop, given the reaction time you need, if you only have one car length between you and the other car you are going to eat it.
On my bike I keep a minimum of 20 feet between me and the car in front of me and that it at 10 mph on surface streets. Once I'm on the free way I will back off one car length for every 10 mph we are going in addition to my first 20 feet. Yeah, cars jump in to the gap. I'm cool with that. But when traffic on i35 slams to a hault I don't have to react quickly. I have plenty of time. Hell, I could have order a pizza on my phone and still have plenty of time to stop.
The other piece is that people don't look ahead. They look about as far as the car in front of them and that is it. I've always looked ahead in traffic, but when I started to autocross I learned to also look through turns. On a bike this is even more critical. Bikes pretty much go whereever you point your chin. Turning a bike left while you look right is really hard to do. The advantage of having this burned in your brain is that I generally see what is about to happen a good 10 seconds before other drivers. It is a rare occasion that I get surprised on the road.
Also helping me keep myself safe is that I'm simply not in a big rush. I'm well paid and important to my clients. But I'm not their slave. When I leave my house to go to their office I arrive when I get there. I'm not a doctor, fireman, EMT or Police officer. Nobody is going to lose their life because I took my time. World economies are not going to crash because I arrive at 9:05 instead of 9:00. I suspect the same is true of 99% of the people on the road.
It really leaves me wondering about the people I see weaving through traffic and getting upset when things get jammed up. What are they thinking? I can understand driving fast. I love the sensation of moving at insanely high speeds. Blasting up an on ramp on my bike is a thrill. but it is simply not worth adding additional risk to do it. If traffic is too dense I lay off and wait, it will clear up and I'll be able to move on without additional risk to myself or other people. However, the people I'm refering to (I can think of several specific examples) seem to be willing to add a lot of additional risk when they are driving. It leaves me wondering about their beliefs and values...
Do they believe that they are so important that if they do not arrive quickly at their destination things will go wrong? If you are a doctor, police office, EMT or fireman; I can go along with that. But for anybody else, please. Or is it the other way around - if you don't arrive on time you'll get in trouble with your boss? The first case (I'm important) just needs to be drug out and shot. The second needs to quit and get a better job. Both need a reality check - the world does not revolve around you. The risk of having an accident or killing somebody is not worth the possible reward of arriving wherever thrity seconds earlier that you would have.
Wow - guess I had a lot to get off my chest. All I really wanted to do was brag about getting a new bike. Somebody needs a chill pill.
