heya guys

i'm combining a few things here, cuz i'm too lazy to hit that [new topic] button twice - it's just so high up there  

i. gear

first off, i know there's a crapload of jacket posts here, but i have a slight twist on the old question.   i live in atlanta, where the temps range from 30s to 90s, and i just graduated college, so, naturally, i'm broke and (mostly) unemployed.  so, i can't afford two jackets, and thus i'm looking for a multiseason jacket that will actually work at those extremes.  do any of you know anything about the teknic spider jacket?  or can you recommend something else that uses the same idea...  a cold-weather jacket that has a removable layer that would make it nice for those 90*F, 90% humidity summer days?


ii. ok, on to mods :mrgreen:

the other day i decided to "finetune" the rear (stock) suspension.  so i read a bunch of posts, that article on suspensions, grabbed my trusty (yea right) preload adjustment tool from the baggie, tape measure, and a calculator (trying to find a metric measure proved futile).

so after about 5 minutes, i realized that there's really no way to adjust the preload with that tool w/o disassembling a few things so out went the tool and in came a wrench and a hammer.

long story short, 30 minutes later and a couple of dents in the adjuster ring i changed the preload from ~4 to ~6.3, which did almost nothing to the static and rider sag.  that's when i decided to leave well enough alone.

since i was in the 'suspension' mood, i also ordered some progressive springs from chaparral, and they should be here friday.  since i don't have a way to lift the bike, and i'm really not sure of my skills enough to take the forks off the bike, i'm planning on doing them the pantablo way.  wish me luck! and any suggestions welcome.

iii. odds and ends

right before doing the abovementioned preload adjust, i rode down to the gas station to get my tire pressure just right.  it was just raining, and so everything was wet. not good!

first, i was taking the bike out of the shed and i revved it up a bit too much while going uphil and so now there's a nice trench in the middle of the yard where i spun the wheel

then, a little later, while i was trying to put the bike on the centerstand, my foot slipped off the stand and i lay my baby down! :x the only damage is a small chip on the muffler, probably because my lardass was able to balance the bike and hold it up instead of letting it fall all the way.  still sucks

wellwishers and those willing to donate to my mental-anguish fund, pm me

ok, i'm done now... if you made it to the end, you get a cookie

p.s. - congrats mod kerry  

i. Can't help you here.  I'm not (yet) a poster pal for the "get good gear" slogan.  I'm working on it!

ii. I've never adjusted the preload on my rear shock (shocking!!   ).  But pantablo's "lazy man's method" worked for me on the front end.

iii.  Does saying "I feel for you!" serve as a micro-deposit in your mental-anguish-assuagement fund?  That's all I can offer right now.

Now where's my cookie?   :mrgreen:

(Sorry if I wasn't much help....)

i.  Joe Rocket Alter Ego Jacket carries the same idea. But I cannot comment much since I don't own one.

People have successfully adjusted the rear shock with the supplied tool. You have to use the tube thingie that is allso in the baggie for increased leverage, though. Not so sure about the 6.3 thing. If I remember right the adjustment works in steps.

Quote from: crashwellwishers and those willing to donate to my mental-anguish fund, pm me

PM sent.






:nana:

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6854&highlight=teknic+spider

I posted a review of my Spider jacket a while back.  Its been a great jacket so far.  The only real update I can give on my previous review is that I wish the arms of the mesh part had a velcro tightening strap like my Fieldsheer has around the bicep.  When the outer shell is removed, the mesh arms are not really snug and I'd be concerned that the elbow armor would move in a crash.  Since I have my Fieldsheer Mach 1, I would normally just wear that in hot weather.  The Teknic is great for chilly mornings going to school and hot afternoons coming home.  It does get into the 30's here in CA in February .

I'm sure velcro straps are easy enough to find and fit on the mesh part of the jacket.  I just haven't done it yet

It is also very waterproof.  I never got wet (under the jacket) on my way to class.  

ah cool... thanks andy.  i guess i should've actually tried searching for "teknic spider" :mrgreen:
does the jacket provide some way to attach pants?

markus, my problem was that when i managed to get the tool positioned, i only had about 1/4" in which to move it... maybe i was doing it wrong :dunno:

scorp, thanks for the suggestion
kerry, your cookie is in the mail
pantablo, your check bounced  

Ebay has tons of mesh jackets available and if you are patient, you can get one for around $50.  This should last you through to about November/December in Atlanta.  Then you can just ask for a leather one for Xmas!  

I bought a Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket earlier this season and I think it's a great jacket.  With the lining in I rode in 40 degree weather (with a long sleeve sweatshirt) and I was quite warm.  The lining is great at stopping the wind.  With the lining out, it's almost like wearing nothing - very cool while riding although it will heat up when your sitting in traffic.  Even at that, it's still quite cool since it is fully meshed.

well, i went around a couple of the local stores - mostly to see if i could find the teknic spider to try on, but also to see what else is out there.

the JR phoenix jackets (both 3 and 4) felt like crap to me.  i tried a couple different sizes of each with different adjustments on the sleves.  both version felt basically like wearing a sack, with the 'armor' sliding around all over...  definitely not a safe feeling   the JR reactors seemed to fit much better... more snug and with the 'armor' staying more or less in place.  the FG jackets (i think i tried a meshtex2) fit pretty well too.

i really want to find a store that has a JR alter ego and a teknic spider, so i can compare the two