New guy here!

[Island3r]

Just bought a 1998 GS500.  My first motorcycle. 
It's currently with my mechanic as it's been sitting awhile.
Hoping for good weather this weekend! 
Will get pics up when I can.

[gregvhen]

are you a young guy who likes stunting (or who is interested in stunting in anyway, even if youve never, or never plan on doing it yourself) ?  if so, join the club, that so far i think me and just one other guy on here are a part of. cant remember his name though. he was selling his stunted out gs a little bit ago.

[annguyen1981]

are you a young guy who likes stunting (or who is interested in stunting in anyway, even if youve never, or never plan on doing it yourself) ?  if so, join the club, that so far i think me and just one other guy on here are a part of. cant remember his name though. he was selling his stunted out gs a little bit ago.

I seriously don't know what your post has to do with this new rider's thread.  

Anyway...  Island3r... WELCOME!  

Pics of the beast when you get her road worthy!

[ineedanap]

congratulations on your first post!

[Island3r]

Happy to join the community!  Thanks for the welcome!

and sorry Greg, I don't have any interest in stunting.  I'm better off being a by the book MSF guy. 

[mister]

Just bought a 1998 GS500.  My first motorcycle. 

Island3r:

Welcome. And yes please... pics... or it didn't happen.

As this is your first motorcycle I suggest spending a day or two riding around on a bicycle to help re-familiarize yourself with two-wheel physics.

Do a motorcycle riding course as well.

Also, find a deserted parking lot and spend time riding around it. Even take down some half tennis balls and make a small slalom course, or just zigzag in and out of the parking bays. The idea is to get acquainted with your GS without the pressure of cars on the road and other obstacles to deal with. Practice Slow riding too.

Michael

[Island3r]

Thanks Michael!

Safety is actually my (and my wife's) #1 concern.
I did the Team Oregon course a couple months ago, and have had jacket gloves and helmet for over a year. (I jumped on some good deals)  Hopefully I can weasel pants and boots for the Holidays.

Funny you mention the parking lot, I've been planning on doing some of the team Oregon exercises in the High School parking lot a couple blocks from my place.

And as far as bicycles go, I've been riding a brakeless fixed gear around town as my main transportation for 2 years now.  

I really do like how safety minded this forum is.  I've been lurking here and a few other places for a long time, I'm excited to finally have a bike to post about!    

[tt_four]

Awesome, sounds like you're ready to pull the brakes off your GS and go at it!

[centuryghost]

Welcome!

Now that's out of the way, I have to say that safety and fixie's without brakes don't mix! 

Hopefully those days are behind you. The GS is small, but not a toy 

[homeyjosey]

i always thought that when fixies had to slow down it was pretty cool having to power slide and get back on course

[tt_four]

Welcome!

Now that's out of the way, I have to say that safety and fixie's without brakes don't mix! 

Hopefully those days are behind you. The GS is small, but not a toy 

Oh don't you start old man! (just kidding, I have no clue how old you are)

I'm still sticking to my story that if you know what you're doing, a brakeless fixed gear will keep you a live a lot longer than one with brakes. I only put the brakes back on mine because I want to be able to walk when I'm 60, but I'm not where near as smooth as I used to be before I had them.

[centuryghost]

Actually, I'm old enough to just get out of that indestructible phase!

So fill me in, is it a performance enhancement to go without brakes on fixies, or is it fashion.

[tt_four]

It was performance enhancement, and now it's fashion, although I think it's at the tail end of fashion as I believe most people are moving on.

If you ride in the country, and are doing 40 mile rides then there's not all that much of a benefit, and you may get too tired to stop yourself going down some hills after the first hour or two of riding like that, but for those of us who live in the city it's very convenient. The first part being the fact that grabbing the brakes is rarely the right answer to any problem, and 99% of the time you're better off swerving around or jumping over the problem. The same is true for motorcycles when you're not sure if you're going to make it through a turn. First instinct is to grab the brakes, but that's the easiest way to stand the bike up straight, shoot off the ouside of the turn and land in the bushes.

The seconds is that same awareness that comes with riding a motorcycle that we blame car drivers for not having. Not having that steel cage around your body means you're going to be that much more aware of your surroundings and know your limits. Riding a bike without hand brakes means you're not going to take your eyes off the road, you're not going to take chances around cars you're unsure of, and you're just not going to push yourself beyond the limits you know you can handle, and various other similar situations. I switch back and forth between geared, single speed, fixed, and used to have a couple brakeless bikes, and I was 100% more focused and fluid on the brakeless fixed gears. With brakes you occasionally catch yourself staring at a distraction, or checking a cute girl on the sidewalk, and just not paying attention in general.

It's not something I'd recommend for someone who isn't comfortable on bikes, or never ridden a fixed gear before. I would expect anyone who does it to have ridden in traffic, on a fixed gear specifically for a while before they take them off. Same goes for motorcycles. A gsxr750 is perfectly safe to someone who knows how to ride and has experience on sportbikes, but I would still expect that person to have put in their time on a 125cc dual sport, then a gsxr600 before they need the 750. Once they're good at it they'll tell you that the gsxr750 is also safer on back roads and on highway traffic than the 125cc dual sport is, even if the 125 sounds pretty safe, that's not what you want to be on in fast moving traffic, but you also need more focus and skill to go with it.

Make sense?

If not, I recommend you wrap yourself up in an old matress and put training wheels on the GS before you go out, because the answers that looks the most obvious to the general public are always the right ones!

[XealotX]

are you a young guy who likes motocross (or who is interested in motocross in anyway, even if youve never, or never plan on doing it yourself) ? I think we should turn our GS5's into the world's crappiest motocross cycles. As a close second we turn them into the world's crappiest underpowered stunt bikes.

[Bluesmudge]

Welcome to the forum!
I just picked up road bicycling recently after a little over a year on my GS. I've noticed its made me far more confident on the motorcycle during slow speed maneuvers. I just have a better sense of balance. You should do great with all your biking experience.
The idea of a fixie scares me, especially one w/o brakes. I like my gears (especially in Seattle) and I also like coasting, I just don't see the appeal of fixies other than fashion.

Anyways, YAY FOR SAFETY. Crashing sucks  , but if it has to happen you will be much happier with good gear on.

[Island3r]

lol, I guess I should explain how I arrived at my current brakeless fixed gear state.

I built my bike (frankenstein style) with a friend of mine and rode with a front brake for about a year.

Said friend needed his brake for another build that required that specific style of front brake.  Around this same time I won a raffle at my local bike shop and ended up with a pair of $320 wheels for free.  Yay! 

However, these new, fancy wheels were not machined for brakes, and at the time I didn't have brakes.  I rode the new wheels anyway. 

I commute almost everyday on my bike.  I had more close calls when I HAD a front brake.  Not because I'm any more "zen" now or "in the zone", but simply because I ride considerably slower in the city than I did before.  I adjusted my riding style to give myself more time to react.  So far it's been great.

If I rode the way I did when I had a front brake, I would have had a major accident by now.  No doubt about it.

If I want to ride fast I find a nice bike path or back road and spin like crazy. 

The End.

[tt_four]

However, these new, fancy wheels were not machined for brakes, and at the time I didn't have brakes.  I rode the new wheels anyway. 

I'm also guilty of not putting a brake on a bike just because my rims weren't machined.

The other positive side to a fixed gear.... year round riding, the only thing that keeps my blood from freezing when it's only 10 degrees out is the fact that I don't stop pedaling, ever. You also get the traction control because you can feel everything your back tire is doing. On most bikes you don't realize your rear tire lost traction until you're already laying on the road, but when you're riding fixed you can feel it the instant your wheel starts to slip and catch it most of the time. Makes you much more comfortable riding in the rain or snow.

[Island3r]

However, these new, fancy wheels were not machined for brakes, and at the time I didn't have brakes.  I rode the new wheels anyway. 

I'm also guilty of not putting a brake on a bike just because my rims weren't machined.

The other positive side to a fixed gear.... year round riding, the only thing that keeps my blood from freezing when it's only 10 degrees out is the fact that I don't stop pedaling, ever. You also get the traction control because you can feel everything your back tire is doing. On most bikes you don't realize your rear tire lost traction until you're already laying on the road, but when you're riding fixed you can feel it the instant your wheel starts to slip and catch it most of the time. Makes you much more comfortable riding in the rain or snow.

Dude, good to know that someone "gets it".  So much more feedback on a fixed gear. 
When I tell folks why I love riding fixed, I usually say "I can make my 15 minute work commute without putting a foot down." 

If they don't "get it" then, they never will.  It's usually fairly polarizing when I have folks ride my bike, they either love it or hate it.

How much do you motorcycle vs. cycle for short trips around town? 

I've been wondering if my bicycle is just gonna collect dust once my bike is good out of the shop.

[centuryghost]

I don't get it 

[lamahug]

Welcome Island3r.  'Hope that you really like your GS500 and motorcycling.  Get some good motorcycle gear (decent jacket with padding, a good pair of gloves/pants, and over the ankle boots).  One place for gear is www.newenough.com - check out their closeouts...

Ride safe and enjoy your GS500...