Tailight ebay #320691104025 On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 10:46 AM, Michael Bosworth <[email protected] > wrote:
> I also find that motorcycle riding has a lot more mental work than driving > a car, sort of constant 'vector analysis', contingency planning, road > surface and traffic monitoring at triple or quadruple the level done in a > car. Part of the attraction is that extra level of being one with the road > and environment and that extra mental work....perhaps an academic study will > investigate and deem motorcycle riding a great inhibitor of the onset of > dementia and Alzheimers. > > With each of my two 1985 CB-650SCs (regards touring, which I only do a bit > of, being more a daily commuter sort), I have an aftermarket Sargent seat > and the notoriously short range (I fill up at about 120 miles on the odo). > Absolutely not a problem in my commuting, and even in my Washington DC > centric touring....I like to stretch every 120 miles or so anyways and > hydrate. It would be more of an issue in the West where I used to ride (and > sometimes do with my brother NoCal or son SoCal...we each keep two bikes > running so we can ride as a duo when one flies in for a visit). > > My daily commute (Spring, Summer, Fall....I wimp out in winter circa > Nov/Dec till about Mar/Apr when the 0600 temperature is below 36-38 > degrees....I just ride winter on the weekend in the middle of the day) is 19 > miles each direction, made up of about 10 miles of stop and go, about 8 > miles of riverside parkway, and a mile of freeway. The parkway makes it > pretty fun ride, for a commute. I save quite a bit of money commuting by > motorcycle three quarters of the year, vice by automobile....not so much in > the gas though there is that....more in the free parking, the reduced > insurance, the cheaper (mostly self) maintenance and greatly reduced number > of cold starts and warmups on the more expensive sedan (and thus extended > life of the sedan). > > After paying for the motorcycles and their maintenance, I compute I save > between $2,000 and $3,000 per year in commuting costs per year (including > buydown of the acquisition costs...fairly minimal at a average of $900 > each...). I spend that windfall in taking care of my horse....another fun > ride, but in the red ink, vice the black ink of the motorcycles. > > I somewhat got the 2nd Nighthawk as a 'running parts bike' but the durned > machines are so reliable it seems a bit of overkill....it is however > convenient to be able to have one down for a while awaiting a convenient > time to do maintenance or repair. But I'm basically keeping two for now for > the brother or son visit. Maybe someday I'll have to cannibalize one to > keep the other rolling, but so far....two in good shape (if not cosmetically > perfect....in particular I'd love to find an affordable source for the rear > brake light red plastic....both of mine are cracked and glued back > together). My main regrets with the Nighthawks I have are no ABS and > insufficient electric generating power for grip heaters....and perhaps the > lack of a lockable box sufficient for a full face helmet. Someday that may > take me to a box add-on on one or perhaps another model, but not envisioned > for any time soon. But for now, I warm my hands on clod mornings on the > engine at a stoplight, avoid the deepest cold, and a tad more conservatively > than I might with ABS, and helmet lock, bungies and cord net are my friends > for cargo. > > Regards, > > Mike > Vienna VA (work in Washington DC) > 1985 Blue CB-650SC > 1985 Black CB-650SC > Shiloh Chestnut 14yo 15.3hh quarterhorse gelding > On Apr 29, 2011, at 6:03 AM, [email protected]: > > Today's Topic Summary > > Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers/topics > > - Options for carrying extra gas? [1 Update] > - Trail, gyroscopic torque, and countersteering [1 Update] > > Topic: Options for carrying extra > gas?<http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers/t/18afc5c12732a0a> > > Lie Njie <[email protected]> Apr 28 09:37PM -0700 ^ > > I've done several 4-6 hour rides so far, with stops along the way, > which is my > plan. I'm figuring about 200 mi / day on average, with some days longer > and > some much shorter (or no riding at all). > > I *definitely* have felt the difference between the bike and a car -- I > can do > 8-14 hours in a car no problem, but there's so much more mental work on > the bike > that I have to stop and clear my head every 100 miles or so. > > My fear with the gas is being stuck on a long stretch in Kansas or > South Dakota > where there's 100+ miles between towns. But I'm sure with planning, > I'll be ok. > > I've got two GPS's, one on my iPhone that has stored (and updated) > maps, one on > my Android which downloads real-time from Google, so I think I'm set > there. I > occasionally turn on turn-by-turn directions and have that play on the > bluetooth > in my helmet. > > But yeah, I totally understand this isn't like any of my previous > cross-country > car trips. That's one of the main attractions of this kind of > adventure. ;) > > Peace, > +Lie > > On 11-04-28 20:52, Joey Kelley wrote: > > > Topic: Trail, gyroscopic torque, and > countersteering<http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers/t/e6dbbe2a7351364> > > Kurt Nolte <[email protected]> Apr 28 09:08PM -0400 ^ > > Seriously. One of the comments also pointed out that their bike still > had a > caster angle, just a negative one instead of a positive one. > > Also, look at kid's foot-powered scooters. They have some pretty > minuscule > caster angles on the steering shaft, and they don't stay upright very > well > at all without a person at the controls. Now, some of that is > undoubtedly > the effect of very tiny wheels and slow speeds resulting in low > gyroscopic > effect, but the caster angle likely plays some part in it as well. > > -Kurt > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. 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