Motorcycle Season 2021

@Fynlcut - Welcome to Mudspike!

Great bike, great photo! Don’t worry about the drops - I’ve heard it referred to as “ADV Patina” to have a few scratches around. :smiley:

A ‘Strom 650 was on my shortlist but due to lack of trails near me, and that it cost more - lead me to my Versys 650 since I’ll be on tarmac 99% of the time.

Guess you might be due for some TKC70 tires!

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Thanks Wes.
The first two drops were nothing more than some lightly scratched hand guards. I bought the V-Strom so I wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning and polishing. I knew she would be put in stupid situation. She has since obtained some additional mild patina, but nothing serious.

I haven’t tried the TKC70’s. I’ve been running the Shinko 705s and have not had any issues .Well except sloppy mud. Mud is my kryptonite. Well, sloppy mud, snow, and ice. I usually ride year round, so long as there is not a threat of lots of snow/ice. Occasionally that doesn’t even stop me!


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My daily rider…

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I had a question on those. The versys’ guards have small coverage for wind as it’s a small plastic part bolted onto a proper metal bark-buster bar.

When I looked at a strom in the showroom it’s guards were larger, so better wind coverage - but they were all plastic and only clipped over the bar ends (C shaped notch in the plastic).

To me it’s seemed backwards. The Versys being a mainly street bike having bark busters but the Vstrom having all plastic.

So the question is - how tough is the plastic?

Classic! Can’t go wrong with the ‘Wing. :+1:

Did you have a reason to pick the bagger model over the more traditional tour model (with the rear top case integrated)?

For wind protection they are better than nothing. Not great. The top is great, but the bottom lets air swirl up over your finger tips, which you know if the hardest part to keep warm.

They have done great in keeping the slap of branches and weeds off my hands out on the trails. They have stood up to impact with a tree at about 20mph and several drops. Partially I bet due to that clip. With a moderate impact that clip pops off and they just flex.

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Greetings! Although it’s been mistaken for a 'Wing in the past, alas, it is not. It is a CTX 1300 (non DCT)

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Track day 2 was completed. I got a new Mellon cover. I was a lot more confident,had a lot more fun.


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We can see that improvement in those photos, great work @Maico!

On the other side of the globe it’s still cool but we got a weekend with two days over 10°C and up to 14°C. I am so glad we are on summer time and daylight extends into the evening, especially now as riding in the cool weather is really only ok when you have the sun helping keep you warm.

I visited my friend’s parents to get their helmets setup with SENA 50S units which they bought at Christmas. I have become a bit of a resident expert in setting these things up! :rofl:

My friend’s step dad (BMW K1600) got a brand new Shoei GT AIR II which has a custom fit for a integrated custom SENA headset from the 20 series - but those 20 and 30 series units have poor reviews for the first generation mesh, hence we went to the premium 50 series. It was a bit of an awkward fit as the flared neck role meant no nice fit spot - I managed it by popping one of the integrated comm systems cover plates off. This helmet may be better suited to the Sena 50R where the unit can glue directly to the helmet with no mounting plate - but who wants to trust glue with a $350 headset? (Also some people have multiple helmets - so buying a second base kit means you can pop a 50S off and move it between lids).

Meanwhile, the Shark modular helmet his mom uses was a perfect for the mount using the medium rubber spacer/foot.

A test ride with myself and the step-dad showed the units to be wonderful - clear comms like talking in the same room almost, at road speed, and no ear plugs in for the test.

Overall, I rode both days this weekend for a few hundred kilometers combined. No action shots or photo stops yet, so Maico keeps the photo trophy for another week! :grin:

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Couple photos from a recent tour. Fuel economy is fantastic.

I also have a story about have ABS saved my skin & my ego, but I’ll get to that when I have some more keyboard time. 10/10 would recommend ABS on a bike.

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I can only agree. It’s a very humbeling experience when ABS bailed you out of a situation that could have gone horribly wrong.

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A few more photos from my ride last night, found a side road down by the Humber River. While not the prettiest place to stop, to be down by a river and hear the flowing water (through ear plugs no less!), and a bit of nature with only the a few disturbances of a single car passing by was a peaceful reprieve from the worries and stress of the times we live in.

It’d be my goal to live as far from urban, and even suburban sprawl as possible - while still having fibre optic internet!

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And that time is now - I hope you guys like AAR’s!

I was out enjoying a spirited ride on a road that I know pretty well, it leads up to a trail for hiking and cycling that I like to go to - so I have been down this stretch of road dozens of times. I’ll take the motorcycle out there and use the parking area as a rest stop too.

Early in the ride near home, I was practicing some hard stops (there wasn’t any traffic with me - so it was safe) and I managed to brake hard enough to trigger rear ABS and the loading went very heavily to the front. This is OK, near my own driveway I practice with stamping the rear brake and letting ABS do it’s work so I know what it feels like when it intervenes. This will be key later.

In the lead up to the trail there is a small valley, followed by a rise in which a stop sign and intersection is on the far side of. I sometimes forget how close the intersection is to the crest of the hill, but that usually isn’t a cause for alarm as you can see the stop sign before you crest the hill as it pops over the crest into view.

Here is the view - the street view image isn’t stellar but I added a orange rectangle there inside of which you can just see the stop sign. Why a rectangle? Well it just so happens the home’s driveway that is right about there had their garbage bin out that evening, perfectly blocking the sign.

So I didn’t catch the sign until over the crest of the hill.
The approximate distance from the crest to the sign is 300 feet. A quick search shows the stopping distance of a sport type bike is 175ft at the 80km/h I was doing, factoring in the time it takes to start braking and the time to stop. I wasn’t in peak concentration either, this sparsely populated area has a housing development finally going in and I was enjoying some music on my headset as well.

So hard braking ensued, but to ice the cake I have recently adjusted the adjustable levers on the Versys, to allow for 2-finger control on the front brake and the clutch (I could not do this on the Ninja, with it’s OEM levers that were too loose for that). Full hand control uses a lot more travel, so habit had me put more into the front brake then was needed for two-finger control. Weight shifted forward, and the front lost traction, ABS kicked in and the bars started to wander - tank slapper style! I am not sure what played the biggest factor, but I have dealt with that effect in violent form on a bicycle as a kid going down a muddy hill - and luckily managed to stay upright, but the Versys has wide straight handlebars so it was a very muted effect, and took no real “muscle” to contain. ABS kept the front wheel from sliding out, and I knew to ease back and stamp the rear - let ABS handle that and I stopped just past the painted stop line (again - no traffic! phew!).

That really sums it up. I haven’t been caught out like that before, so that really got me alert. I rode the last hundred meters or so to the trail, took a few minutes to reset and continued my ride - with a focus on safe, controlled front brake modulation practice so the next time I need that skill it’s tamed.

I try to do a lot of practice, and I have watched DanDanTheFireman’s channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1iNF4BnIucCD7J2QGZYkjg) for his accident AAR’s as well. Learn from my mistakes, and others too!

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Added a Puig clip-on Visor to get some added lift on the air stream and put it over my helmet and not into my eyes with the helmet open. Worked great!

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(Sigh) Those days are over for me . At 70 , i find i am losing the concentration necessary to survive our mountainous roads . Sold my riders , but i keep a 73 T120RV as a shop queen . Can’t even bring myself to work on it , so it’s just an ornament reminding me of days long past .
Still , i have DCS VR as a consolation !

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Say it ain’t so. Care to share any photos?

Embarrassed to show pics , but yes .

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She looks like she has good bones, and you with a lift. :+1: Here’s hoping that you get inspired one day.

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I have a BSA spitfire mk3 with pretty much the same engine. I’ll dig out a picture

Note missing mudguard, oil pan underneath (if its not leaking oil, there isn’t any in it) and a few bits that need replating. It’s a labour of love

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Another britbiker ! My favorite has always been the Norton . The 68-72 Commando Roadster is STILL the most beautiful bike ever built !

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