yup
who's still riding? (in toronto)
- Thread starter frugalman
- Start date
Rye - did you lose the front end?
I find those the hardest to deal with. That's what happened in Australia ...lost the front end on green moss ( tropical equivalent of black ice ) and down I went in a heart beat...shoulder still hurts.
Rear slides are easier to deal with even if the bike goes down the rider often stays standing but front wash outs....gnarly and some of the stuff is really tetchy out there on the corners.
I find those the hardest to deal with. That's what happened in Australia ...lost the front end on green moss ( tropical equivalent of black ice ) and down I went in a heart beat...shoulder still hurts.
Rear slides are easier to deal with even if the bike goes down the rider often stays standing but front wash outs....gnarly and some of the stuff is really tetchy out there on the corners.
Yup that was it! The front tire just lost traction completely, even though I was going pretty slow, bike slid and I was already slightly leaning so I just lost balance and before I could correct it I was already lying on the ground. I'm a newbie so you could chalk it up to inexperience as well as road conditions, but I'm just glad I had my gear on and was going slow enough that I was able to pick up the bike and ride away!
I know you're excited but there is no reason to ride in bad conditions when you don't yet have the automatic responses on what to do for various road conditions. If you have another vehicle, use it. I'm obviously not riding today with snow and ice on the roads.
No I wasn't touching the brake while I was turning.
Sunspark - the roads were dry that day but there were some remains of salt & sand at some spots....I'm not going to not ride just because there's a chance I could hit that stuff, there's always a chance someone could smash me off my bike too but that's not going to stop me from riding either. I know you just want me to be safe though so thanks.
Sunspark - the roads were dry that day but there were some remains of salt & sand at some spots....I'm not going to not ride just because there's a chance I could hit that stuff, there's always a chance someone could smash me off my bike too but that's not going to stop me from riding either. I know you just want me to be safe though so thanks.
Let him think that a modern Japanese engine, which can spin at 12,000 RPM all day long without grenading, can fall victim to Jack Frost
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My 2003 cbr1100xx runs really lean , but I never had any problems whatsoever with it down to -16c, once the block saw about 10 seconds of forced detonation. Lean due to the stock cbr1100xx map on the Power Commander III, which seriously improves the fuel economy and smoothness at the cost of low-end torque.
The 2013 K1300S has a little hesitation between -2 and 2 Celsius. The one time I had it out at -3.5c, it was fine until the air warmed up to -2c.
According to a Honda company website I was reading today, in specific reference to E10 they said:
"Ethanol has 28% less energy density than gasoline, so it reduces fuel efficiency."
So in a liter, the 1/10th fraction with Ethanol representing 100 mL of ethanol only has 72% of the energy of regular. If using 91 in a bike specced for 87 causes you to lose 3% efficiency (some quote i remember hearing off a random site) it seems to me it's actually better to run 91 energy density wise. Except I'm bad at math and need help here. Do I take that 28 and / 10 to see what the equivalent loss across the board is?
"Ethanol has 28% less energy density than gasoline, so it reduces fuel efficiency."
So in a liter, the 1/10th fraction with Ethanol representing 100 mL of ethanol only has 72% of the energy of regular. If using 91 in a bike specced for 87 causes you to lose 3% efficiency (some quote i remember hearing off a random site) it seems to me it's actually better to run 91 energy density wise. Except I'm bad at math and need help here. Do I take that 28 and / 10 to see what the equivalent loss across the board is?
Yes the bikes with liquid cooled engines won't notice overheating or cooling but you forget, when your sports bike is parked in the garage for 3 weeks in a row in -10, -25 temperatures, then two days later its +5, +10 and you take it out for a ride, things like internal parts contract and sudden start after freezing cold temperatures and going for a ride.. your timing chain expands prematurely. When your bikes stays off all winter long and you start it in April, by then the internal parts have gone back to normal temperatures, and there is no real big difference between outside temperature in inside temperature, and nothing to go wrong, as the internal temperature has come warmer with the outside over time, in winter, the internal parts hit such low temperatures, and then warm engine temperatures that is affects parts like timing chains adjusment tremendously, specially on a super sports bike engine of high revving capabilities.
And since the engine applies sudden heat to the internal parts in winter, even though timing chain should be done every 18 to 20k, when i was riding all year, i realised i didn't expect to have redone the timing chain in under 3000 kms, with extremely shiit weather here "temperature fluctuations" metal expands and contracts...basic science! even INSIDE THE ENGINE! so what happened was the chain skipped a tooth as it stretched too much & blew the head (from riding in cold weather then it cooling off in freezing temps right away, then starting it again and sudden engine warming) ever hear that ticking noise from inside the engine after shuting the bike off? parts are contracting "cooling off" .
IF i had taken this into account both times my bike would be alive, but i was also told riding in winter alot causes alot of stress on the internal parts of the engine, mild weather is best... too hot or too cold is death for an engine. And thats when i realised why my other bikes lasted forever because i did regular maintainance, for "normal" weather seasons, and only rode them in "normal" weather all the time, so there was never extra claculation, or early service needed to be done due to change in weather, and nor did extreme weather such as winter cause and change in the parts itself internally.
Once i realised this i decided i'd never ride sport bikes in less then 15 degree temperature, to me it's just not worth it, due to the fact super sport bikes are so high powered, high reving and high stress engines one small maintanince lapse and boom engine is gone, or there is a bike problem.
The best bikes for winter are single clinder carb supermoto's like drz 400's yamaha 250wrx's etc. even those can be a pain because you have to service them ALL THE DAMN TIME.lol
No thanks lol, i got me a nice 4X4 for winter, i can't be bothered with the winter riding crap i did to save money when i was in uni, never again being a student sucked aSSS!!, it's just not worth it, when you get a bit older in your mid 20's you start to feel the "cold" bones from the excessive winter exposure. I just can't be bothered to ride anymore street unless its 25 plus, LATE at night 4am, just me and not a single fkin crackhead on the road.
Im sick of the all year riding i did for years in uni... took the "giddy fun" out of riding & it became a transportation/chore thing, i want to ride to put a smile on my face, not because its all i got and no other option. yea its kinda fun once or twice taking the dirtbike out late at night and playing in the park in snow, but thats as far as i go now in winter.
The other reason is that there just TOO many careless crackheads driving around in Canada, i once almost got ran over by a civic, and the driver kept appologizing, and i kept saying its cool, im not angry at you anymore because you manned up to your fault & that instantly cooled me down, then he replied i feel really bad, because i give shiit to cagers because i ride too and here i am in a cage almost running you over, its November, i just didn't think there would be anyone out riding now, he had a good point, but then again as a rider you should know anything can happen anytime....
So winter is more dangerous because its true most people don't think that anyone would be riding anymore so it makes the sub concious not look for riders when you drive in winter, in summer bikers, scooters, cycles are everywhere so drivers automatically subconciously remember to watch out for two wheels.
...anyways it came to a point i just put my hands up and said, its not worth it anymore....this is coming from a guy who's crashed more times then you can imagine, so much so, my local hospital nurses know me by first name and i'd get personalised hospital wrist tags sent to me to my house back in the day!!!! in 4 years of my uni, i was in the hospital every 2 to 3 months, for 4-5 years, shiit got old QUICK!!
I can understand why people ride in winter, but when you do it for years and all year round, your basically going to with your own accord kill your desire to ride street. You know that feeling you get after riding the bike first time after weeks. thats what i want to feel like every time i ride my bike.
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Very good point, again another reason why now i leave my sportbike riding for the "season" and not all year, There just too many things that can go wrong inside the engine if one thing is off, and winter temperatures "naturally" just make everything off.
Cars last in winter, becauee manufacturers build and test them in those weather systems before production for this exact reason the problems i had with my bikes in the past that engines don't blow or seize or things inside don't get destroyed, motorcycles don't go through this prossess, so for those who like riding in winter, if your going to own your bike for more then 25ks 35ks, you'll find out soon enough...most people would argue against this point because they never have problems, but most people never own a bike for longer then 10 to 20 thousand kilometers before they sell it off. an most sportbikes need a "full" service every 18 to 29 k's...and this is based on i believe normal summer like temperatures, not winter riding based.
kiwi
Well-known member
I remember reading reviews of the K1300S and in the photos there was snow all around. Possibly the temp was above 0c, though... But in Europe do those guys "winterize" ??
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Cam Timing Chain Tensioner should be adjusted every 18k's.
There is this nut usually sticking out of the bottom left side of most ss bikes head, its called the cam tensioner.
Basically you have to tighten this as your bike ages, the cam chain needs to be adjusted just like your rear wheel chain.
If you notice, clunky starts, hesitation, roughish engine noise, it means you need to adjust your cam chain...if you don't in time...you can get FAACKED! and unless your like me able to open up an engine and fix it, it becomes a "blown motor" for most people.... if the chain gets too loose and skips a tooth, there is usually no damage but then if you don't know how to fix it, you'd have to pay a mechanic *** load of money just to re time it.
this video should give you a great idea of what i mean....This is a very important part of maintenance. So if you're ripping your bike, you need to keep an eye on this. This is how most SS bikes engine blow, if your racing your bike and on high revs you notice your engine power dying out and you hit the throttle again you can blow a rod right through your block, all because your cam timing was not right, skipped a tooth because chain got loose etc. very important to mainatain vales, timing chain etc.
[video=youtube;HwPYeKlIhqs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwPYeKlIhqs[/video]
....so cold weather dosent effect the internals of the engine right?
get ready to take your pants off buddy...
Watch the whole video and mabye you and others saying winter dosen't affect motorcycles will learn something too...
[video=youtube;lK1XtUJ2KbI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK1XtUJ2KbI[/video]
every cold start affects your cam chain, now multiply that by -10/-20, then starting the bike a week later in 5 degrees, it will prematurely stretch your cam chain x10 faster, and rape your cam tentioner...i.e engine=BOOM! that one time you take it out and hit high rpms, same thing happened to my bikes both times, i had to learn this the hard way, you can too if ya'll want.lol
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A) synthetic oil doesn't thicken up like regular oil.
b) seems the cam chain tensioner might be a Harley problem but nada elsewhere that I can see - storm in a teacup.
If it was -40 maybe ...not our balmy climate.
b) seems the cam chain tensioner might be a Harley problem but nada elsewhere that I can see - storm in a teacup.
If it was -40 maybe ...not our balmy climate.
