View Full Version : The Naked Experience
Jelster
27-02-06, 06:41 PM
So today I commuted into London on my nice new shiny SV. "So what ?" I hear you cry...
Well for the first time I wasn't going head first **** up through the traffic. I am now another inch or so higher and I can easily look over the top of the cars. Despite the ultra wide (yes they really are very wide) Renthal bars I soon be accustomed to filtering through the traffic, it doesn't take that long to get the confidence to push through the gaps. It's done about 160 miles now, not bad since Thursday afternoon, especially as I lost my weekend pass due to the ongoing decorating needing to be done :roll:
Cornering..... Nobody told me that nakeds can turn like this... Those wide bars give so much leverage it's amazing how quick you can change directions, and the cornering experience is so different too, I'm not sure if it's because you seem higher up, but I do feel that I'm leaning further than I expect to, but again, this may be to do with the amount of counter steer that I'm applying....
However, what I really noticed this morning was the looks.... Cage drivers, scooter riders and other bikers all gaze at the bike, it's a wonderful feeling. The styling is quite subtle but seems to have worked very well. I guess the ultimate came from a guy on an S2R "That's a lovely looking bike mate", from a Ducati owner, I was enjoying my ride in..... 8) :lol:
So, is better than it's stable mate, my RR3 FireBlade ? No, but it's different because they do different things. My wife has a light and sporty 1.4 Fiesta which I enjoy driving because it's fun. Mt Vectra SRi on the other hand is a bit of a more "serious" car, much better equipped and better for longer journeys especially at speed. Well that's sort of the difference between the two bikes. One is great for few hours fun at a time and nothing too serious, the other delivers power and precision for a more specialised type of riding.
I realise that I am a very lucky guy, having two bikes that offer so much difference in road riding. I'm looking forward to this summer, commuting in lighter weight gear on the SV, and then being able to take the 'Blade out for some "serious" riding, track days and touring.
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chazzyb
27-02-06, 06:52 PM
Don't forget: depending on the roads you choose, you can do "serious" riding on the SV too! My favourite roads have a 'B' prefix. :lol:
Last Action Pimp
27-02-06, 06:59 PM
yeah the naked sv loves b roads, i might have to start a club soon (the Naked SV Owners) :wink:
Yes on B roads, a well sorted SV can keep up with virtually anything, which just sooooo annoys R1 riders :lol: .
Glad you liked it Steve, head in the air and wide bars do it for me every time. Now all you have to do is get that front wheel off the ground ;).
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naked, retro, call it what you like. does it for me especially with the renthals. :) roll on summer.
Caught on camera.......
The Jelster Guide to Commuting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-MtXymQkjs&search=motorcycle%20japan) (big streaming video, not for the narrowbanders, SORRY!)
:riding: :shock: :help: :twisted: :notworthy: etc. etc.
Halonic
27-02-06, 09:55 PM
an interesting point here, I've never ridden anything that wasnt a sit up and beg naked.
Those new fangled "clip-ons" are certainly going to be interesting :twisted:
Tell me more of those Renthal bars that you have fitted!
Did you need to fit new cables etc?
Caught on camera.......
The Jelster Guide to Commuting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-MtXymQkjs&search=motorcycle%20japan) (big streaming video, not for the narrowbanders, SORRY!)
:riding: :shock: :help: :twisted: :notworthy: etc. etc.
That was Jelster? :shock: :lol:
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Jelster
27-02-06, 10:56 PM
Nah, I'm faster than that.... :lol:
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3 cheers for the Naked variety then.
I agree with you Jelster, my wife has a 2.0 D Turbo 206 while I have an Audi A6, two different machines entirely. For me there is nothing better that a bit of sport in the chuckable 206 with all its torque whereas for a longer more involving drive the Audi does it for me with a bit of V6 power.
Enjoy your collection.
morning all..
i'm going through a similar transition from faired to naked and i have to say.... i hate it. i hate it. i hate it . i hate it... got my BLD hire bike at the weekend.
find it far too wide, and strangly uncomfortable. wind, perched up high.. list endless.
I had my worst commute in, ever this morning, as i wibbled and wobbled through traffic that i would normally breeze through.
Admitedly its possibly an expereince thing, and this is just highlighting my lack of riding experience, where steve has cocked his leg over quite a few bikes :D
so fingers crossed it'll all come together by the weekend and i'll be enjoying it again.
120 mph wind blast is ace fun (private road of course) :D
naked is definitely the way to go! :D
rictus01
28-02-06, 01:08 PM
So what's new, any "sports" bike worth it's salts only really starts to reward a silly speed, and lets face it these days not to many safe opportunities about :? .
Proper wind on your chest riding is the only way to go, practiced counter-steering will put you under most of the power rangers out there 8) and boy does it shock them.
80 on a naked = fast
100 = very fast, some work involved here
120 = not to often but don't it feel good
150 = once in a blue moon, that will be muscles poping (but fun though), I'll give a few months before trying that again :twisted:
80 on a sports bike = whatever
100 = getting there, oh so easy
120 = starting to go, come on, come on
150 = now this is riding
180 = sorry officer, don't shut that door and why are you throwing away that key :shock:
enough said :?:
Cheers Mark.
Warthog
28-02-06, 03:37 PM
I tried 103 mph on my naked (on a private road of course hahaha) and I found it a bit ridiculous. I could feel my face peeling off my skull and I even had a helmet on! To be honest I was wishing for fairings and a lower riding position when I did long motorway trips, but around town, along b-roads and anything else, the high up yet aggressive naked is brilliant! I tried a gsxr 750 and it seemed really long and wobbly and had no power whatsoever cos I was only riding at about 3-4000 rpm.
Last Action Pimp
28-02-06, 05:46 PM
you wusses, i have had 98 (Private Test Track) out of my 33bhp and come june 8th i will be flat out (and i dont think the wind is that bad)
i wonder what a naked TL would be like . . . . Hummmmm Idea brewing . . :twisted:
Ahem, I've had 133 once, and 110-120 are pretty normal (again on a private test facility).
You get used to the windblast and it really makes you appreciate the speed you're actually doing, rather than being cocooned behind a fairing and needing to go to ballistic speeds in order to get some excitement.
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Last Action Pimp
28-02-06, 06:47 PM
yeah i agree with you there, i dont care about top end, i dont see the point in a bike that can do 180mph! i just cant wait till i know where my top end limit is on my bike, as my mate has only done 112 (private test track) and she is full power i can see me doing 120+ on mine (also on private test track)
DanAbnormal
28-02-06, 07:54 PM
I had 130 out of my bandit on a regular basis (all private roads of course). It's not very comfy but then neither was doing 160 on my ZX-7R with my chin resting on the tank. Top speeds to me used to be the be all and end all but then I had a big accident, matured and realised that you can have buckets of fun on the twisties doing quite normal speeds but hanging off the bike and scraping your knee on most bends (when appropriate of course). Knee sliding is the future and you don't have to ride fast to do it. Afterall any monkey can take part in a traffic light grand prix but not all riders can scrape their knee. I've overtaken R1's on corners riding my Zephyr 550 with my knee on the deck. Of course then they've thrashed me on the next straight bit of tarmac but it made me feel good! It takes a bit of practice but well worth it. Just don't do it on busy roads or busy roundabouts, bikes don't stop very well when leant over (just ask my elbow). :D
northwind
28-02-06, 08:57 PM
I'm faster if I just ride than I am if I muck about with all the knee-waving ;)
Steve W
28-02-06, 09:22 PM
Where are all these private roads you all keep going on about.... :wink:
Personally haven't ever ridden a faired bike and don't see the need... they don't look like proper bikes to me but then I am 105...
DanAbnormal
28-02-06, 09:35 PM
I'm faster if I just ride than I am if I muck about with all the knee-waving ;)
lol. But for me hanging off the bike means that I can have the bike more upright therefore more rubber touching the ground and that means I can corner much quicker than if I were sitting normally. When sitting normally lean angles are much greater reducing the amount of grip as the contact size is smaller meaning less grip through corners. Phew, man I'm tired now! :) But..........it also looks cool 8)
Tell that to a Class 1 Police rider ;).
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Jelster
28-02-06, 09:58 PM
When sitting normally lean angles are much greater reducing the amount of grip as the contact size is smaller meaning less grip through corners.
Crash !!! That was my GSXR, leant over too far on a roundabout going over a manhole cover.... No if I had been riding properly, had my **** off the seat etc, it may not have happened....
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northwind
28-02-06, 10:30 PM
Aye, and if you're monkeying about trying to get your knee on the tarmac instead of focusing on your lines and on the road, you'r more likely to balls it up. Plus, if your weight is far off the bike and it gives you a little slide, you've got much less chance of catching it since you don't have the freedom of movement you get by having your weight more centralised.
I hang off, I just don't waste the brainpower thinkign about where my knee is ;)
Plus, if your weight is far off the bike and it gives you a little slide, you've got much less chance of catching it since you don't have the freedom of movement you get by having your weight more centralised.
;)
Much better positioned for an Eddie Lawson style "knee save" though :wink:
northwind
28-02-06, 10:39 PM
I'd like to see you try ;)
DanAbnormal
28-02-06, 10:42 PM
Well to each their own of course. And I certainly don't spend all day doing it. In fact it's been a long time since I even tried due to the crap weather we have in this damn country. I also don't do it on roads I don't know for the very reason that there could be a manhole cover/dodgy surface that you don't know about. It is good fun when you do it though and feels real good. And yes Mr plod will not be too impressed if you wizz by him knee sparking all over the place. But then he won't be impressed with my Remus can either :twisted: But then if we all worried about what Mr Plod thought about everyday I doubt we'd ever take our bikes out! Anyway I seem to be knee dragging this thread off topic, ahem. Sorry 'bout that. Nakeds rule! Chicks, bikes, hamsters. Er, forget I mentioned that last one. :wink:
I'd like to see you try ;)
Well I would of course, er, er, um, er, but my Mum says I'm not to because its showing off. :lol:
northwind
28-02-06, 10:54 PM
I have, of course, overlooked the fact that getting your knee down is, regardless of whether it makes you faster, very cool ;)
Does anyone else find themselves laughing when they see someone hanging completely off a bike like a gibbon as they trundle round a roundabout at 20mph? Too scared to lean the bike, so they compensate with heroic acts of contortion. I swear some of the giuys I've seen could get their knee down with the bike totally upright ;)
rictus01
28-02-06, 10:56 PM
Not surprisingly I'm what might be termed "old school", having learnt most of my go faster stuff before all this knee out business, on faired bikes I wing my weight around close to the bike and on nakeds tend to say put and just give the inside bar a good push.
I've tried the knee out in the wind bit on a couple of track days, but to be honest, in order to grind it I have to go slower :shock: , it's not a nice feeling and I can't really see the point (perhaps 25yrs back, but not now).
Generally I'm good enough to keep up with anyone just sticking to what I know, so I think that's what I'll do. :wink:
Cheers Mark.
21QUEST
28-02-06, 11:07 PM
Does anyone else find themselves laughing when they see someone hanging completely off a bike like a gibbon as they trundle round a roundabout at 20mph? Too scared to lean the bike, so they compensate with heroic acts of contortion. I swear some of the giuys I've seen could get their knee down with the bike totally upright ;)
Depends .... Don't know about looking like a gibbon :roll: :lol: but I may tend to hang off, shall we say a bit more than normal if the bike for some reason is not handling right. eg tyres worn. I may look like a gibbon but that's just modifying my riding to suit the bike.
Last time I got my knee down , I got run over by a lorry lol. After recovery did it one more time and called it quits. :lol: .
Half a cheek to a cheek does me now(normally) :wink: .
Cheers
Ben
And yes Mr plod will not be too impressed if you wizz by him knee sparking all over the place.
Ah no, you miss my point. What I was getting at was that top police riders go bloody fast with great angles of lean and yet maintain their armchair stance.
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Half a cheek to a cheek does me now(normally)
Ben, your private life is not something you need to share with this forum :lol: .
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northwind
28-02-06, 11:14 PM
Depends .... Don't know about looking like a gibbon :roll: :lol: but I may tend to hang off, shall we say a bit more than normal if the bike for some reason is not handling right. eg tyres worn. I may look like a gibbon but that's just modifying my riding to suit the bike.
That's different though... I had in mine mainly people on brand new UJMs in shiny Dainese leathers ;)
rictus01
28-02-06, 11:17 PM
And yes Mr plod will not be too impressed if you wizz by him knee sparking all over the place.
Ah no, you miss my point. What I was getting at was that top police riders go bloody fast with great angles of lean and yet maintain their armchair stance.
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Indeed, on the course they teach the benifits of smoothness and not upsetting the bike, you can obtain considerable speeds that way, a little well timed slide can be far more effective that most peoples jumping all over the place.
Cheers Mark.
21QUEST
28-02-06, 11:30 PM
Half a cheek to a cheek does me now(normally)
Ben, your private life is not something you need to share with this forum :lol: .
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:lol: What can I say , feels much better that way :lol:
Depends .... Don't know about looking like a gibbon :roll: :lol: but I may tend to hang off, shall we say a bit more than normal if the bike for some reason is not handling right. eg tyres worn. I may look like a gibbon but that's just modifying my riding to suit the bike.
That's different though... I had in mine mainly people on brand new UJMs in shiny Dainese leathers ;)
In that case they deserve to be laughed at then :P . One more thing. Em... what's UJMs(hope not being thick here :roll: :lol: )
Cheers
Ben
northwind
28-02-06, 11:47 PM
Universal Japanese Motorcycle. :wink:
DanAbnormal
01-03-06, 07:47 AM
And yes Mr plod will not be too impressed if you wizz by him knee sparking all over the place.
Ah no, you miss my point. What I was getting at was that top police riders go bloody fast with great angles of lean and yet maintain their armchair stance.
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And you should see how some top police riders behave when not on duty. I have two friends in the forces and both have recreational bikes and knee sliders that are quite worn. They cannot hang off their Pan's for many reasons, 1. it would look daft, 2. They must be seen to be sensible/safe riders, 3. Polica cannot look cool when on duty....it's the law! :D Although I have seen them do wheelie's on their Pan's which was something to behold!
Fair enough, yes some off -duty riders are advanced hooligans (and nothing wrong with that :lol: ), but the point I was making is that very fast cornering can be had without getting your knee down - I honestly think that on the road it's nothing more than a fad.
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chazzyb
01-03-06, 09:23 AM
I honestly think that on the road it's nothing more than a fad.
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Hear, hear :lol:
DanAbnormal
01-03-06, 01:06 PM
I honestly think that on the road it's nothing more than a fad.
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I see your point. Many bikers I know were like "You're not a real biker until you get your knee down etc etc". Well. I managed to get my knee, elbow, head and teeth down once............and it hurt. Lots. :) Although I do still remember the first time I did it, felt amazing. But I belive that you're not a real biker until you've travelled on the M25 a night in a blizzard on a GN250! The single most scary thing I've done ever. Sometimes being an all year round biker (as I have no car licence) has it's disadvantages. But I will never give it up whiel I'm still able, despite what all my family/non-biking friends say. Anyhoo, ride safe! :D
northwind
01-03-06, 02:41 PM
There's very little point to hanging off a bigger bike, either. I forget the science, but a heavy bike like a pan doesn't have to lean in the same was as a lighter bike. And of course, 70 kilos of rider is less significant against 300 kilos of police-issue Pan than it is on 200 kilos of sports bike
DanAbnormal
01-03-06, 03:20 PM
There's very little point to hanging off a bigger bike, either. I forget the science, but a heavy bike like a pan doesn't have to lean in the same was as a lighter bike. And of course, 70 kilos of rider is less significant against 300 kilos of police-issue Pan than it is on 200 kilos of sports bike
Ah very true. The Pan weighs about 2 tonnes dry!
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