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MT-07 2018 My first bike, any tips on how to not die?


Blake

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2 minutes ago, Cruizin said:

Good quality gear is the first recommended upgrade for new and old riders alike.   

Certainly can't argue with that.   

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11 hours ago, gregjet said:

Often agree with Cruizin but in this case I have to differ considerably on one point. For any real beginner with no experience, I strongly believe this bike is not a desirable bike, unless the ecu is reflashed. Not for the purpose of getting more power, but because the fuelling makes the throttle extremely jerky. Check out the youtube videos, and even seasoned riders are wheelstanding the bike all over the place. A proper reflash will not just improve the smoothness of the throttle response but allow you to get used to the directness on motorcycle throttle/bike response. Coming from cars, you are used to low power/weight ratios smoothing even very badly fuelled throttles.

Other than that, what he said about protective gear and others have said about proper riding courses and Twist of the Wrist are all pretty useful and desirable.

Note: Suspension is much more important on a bike than cars, and this one will reward you for chucking money at it sensibly.

You picked a doozey of a bike for a first one. With the fueling fixed it will give you a truly fun bike.

No sh*t he picked a doozey of a first bike! Throttle twitch and gobs of torque make for a vicious combo. Even with it flashed a beginner needs to be very wary about the torque/power this bike can produce in the lower gears. I'll put it this way, cowboys usually don't jump on bucking broncos the first time they ride, they start on tame horses. This can be a Bronco, it can throw you off,  be careful. I don't mean to scare anyone, just give a stern warning. 

 

I recommend good, quality judgement and staying very alert along with good gear when riding. It can keep you out of trouble more than anything. Of course I don't always practice what I preach. Wait, did I just preach? I just preached. 😮  (Pale Rider) ugh!

 

 

Beemer

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I should clarify something here. Especially to Topaz.

When it said the bike produces unintended wheelies, I refer to the tendency to LIFT the front wheel off the tarmac. I agree with you that the bike is unlikely to loop itself. The nature of the 07's annoying liftoff is a small , but off the deck , lift. For a rider of any real experience and confidence it is just a bit annoying ( unless you do it midcorner and lose the front). And yes it is not entirely the throttle/ fuelling proiblem but compounded by the slush stock suspension allowing the rear to drop despite the antisquat design. But for a beginner, especially lacking confidence, that lift will create a panic response and reflexive shutting of the throttle, which will slam down the front. Any developing confidence will be shaken and riding a motorcycle without sufficient confidence is dangerous.

ANY lift off in the sight of a policeman, in this state, will result in immediate loss of your provisional ( beginner's) licence, and probable loss of your motorcycle , under our antihooning laws. Not a great start for any beginner.

My concern is for the beginner and their safety only. Not a self glorification of my macho skills.

It also reflects badly on other motorcyclists to have the antihooning law statistics trotted out, especially when motorcycle accident rate is dropping.

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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On 7/25/2018 at 4:58 PM, Cruizin said:

Good quality gear is the first recommended upgrade for new and old riders alike.   

Either that or purchased BEFORE the bike.

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NRWhiteKnight

Ditto Cruizin's points on gear. I'm a firm believer in that department. Also believe in getting some training, whether you are a experienced rider or a new one who has never sat on a motorcycle. An MSF course will provide a new rider with a foundation of skills to build on. Will it go perfect? Probably not since you are learning, but that is the point. You'll make mistakes, but in a more controlled environment with coaches who have been trained and have experience guiding new riders and who will be able to assist you and answer questions and provide suggestions for using techniques you may not be used to, such as turning your head when you corner (look where you want to go, not where you are going). I've even has experienced riders take a class and learn something new. Worry about bike mods later, after you have become comfortable with your riding. Learning at lower speeds is a bit more work, but it pays off in the end. 

 

Above all, have fun. 😀

2018 MT-07 - Mods: Shorty Levers, Radiator Guard, Puig Sport Windscreen,Air box  Snorkel Removed.

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Wow, the strength of emotions with regard to the fueling is pretty funny. I am coming up on the one year anniversary of not only my FZ but my first time on a motorcycle or dirtbike in any real capacity. Coming from sports cars, the power isn't too special outright, but the delivery is definitely unique. Because of that, I just knew I'd have to adapt to the bike anyways. It seems the strongest emotions are held by people who want the bike to adapt to them, and new riders just won't have that bias, or, rather, they shouldn't. Yes, the choppiness is terribly annoying, but dangerous? Not at all. As with any bike or car or whatever, give it the throttle it needs. How much is needed varies on every single motorized thing, so adapt. 

 

Back to the gear topic, better mirrors should be included in that category. I felt completely blind to what was going on around me with the stock mirrors - no matter how I adjusted them I could only see my own arms. Turning my head 110* on the interstate produced a decent change in the wind, and it meant I was not looking ahead, so changing to CRGs made me soooo much more aware of my environment. In rush hour DC traffic, this has been huge for my comfort level. 

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On 7/25/2018 at 7:58 PM, Cruizin said:

Good quality gear is the first recommended upgrade for new and old riders alike.   

budget a minimum of $500 and deck yourself from head to toe. If you can't afford the gear, you can't afford the bike.

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Sorry cycow5, but after 43year of motorcycling, racing and teaching riding I seriously cannot agree with you. The fuelling , especially on a fly by wire ( at least partial FBW in this case) , you can't directly give  the throttle it needs because it chooses what the bike chooses what it is going to do with it's input. And this bike will lift the front off the deck even for experienced riders, when they don't want it. Watch the youtube videos from when the bike was first introduced. Unintended wheelies all over the place. That is NOT something that should be on a bike that beginners are riding.

And dangerous is a wide term. In this state if you wheelie , even a tiny bit , in front of a policeman, you can lose your bike under the anti hooning laws.

A bike should ALWAY be fitted to the rider, NOT the other way around. It has a huge effect on your reaction time and handling. Unlike a car , rider position and mass are a substantial part of the vehicle mass and bike attitude. That is affected by fitting the rider correctly. Unless it is a cruiser. Then nothing will help.

BTW fitting new mirrors, because you can't see with the stock one, IS adapting the bike to the rider. My stock ones fit me ( properly positioned) just fine in my riding position and size.

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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1 hour ago, gregjet said:

Sorry cycow5, but after 43year of motorcycling, racing and teaching riding I seriously cannot agree with you. The fuelling , especially on a fly by wire ( at least partial FBW in this case) , you can't directly give  the throttle it needs because it chooses what the bike chooses what it is going to do with it's input. And this bike will lift the front off the deck even for experienced riders, when they don't want it. Watch the youtube videos from when the bike was first introduced. Unintended wheelies all over the place. That is NOT something that should be on a bike that beginners are riding.

And dangerous is a wide term. In this state if you wheelie , even a tiny bit , in front of a policeman, you can lose your bike under the anti hooning laws.

A bike should ALWAY be fitted to the rider, NOT the other way around. It has a huge effect on your reaction time and handling. Unlike a car , rider position and mass are a substantial part of the vehicle mass and bike attitude. That is affected by fitting the rider correctly. Unless it is a cruiser. Then nothing will help.

BTW fitting new mirrors, because you can't see with the stock one, IS adapting the bike to the rider. My stock ones fit me ( properly positioned) just fine in my riding position and size.

I'm only 155lbs and the only time I've wheelied was when getting on the gas hard, so I find it extremely hard to believe the bike is the bucking bronco you are describing. It really sounds like it is mostly a problem when ridden like a carb'd bike which - and this is my point - is a bias a newbie won't have. Regarding the mirrors, there was no way I could change anything about my posture or physical shape to make them work. This is just a fit issue but it added tremendously to my personal safety. 

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Motorcycling is an EXTREME sport.

The only things keeping you riding upright is two very small contact patches and forward momentum.

Never forget this because loss of friction, balance, control and too much adrenalin will remind you painfully, in body and wallet.

Mistakes are paid for in blood and flesh, sometimes with your life. There is NO margin of safety like with a car.

 

Road and weather conditions are constantly changing, ride conservatively and intelligently. Ride aware, ride alive, ride happily for a long time.

 

Practice, practice in a parking lot.

Read Hough, watch twist of the wrist, relearn your defensive driving habits.

 

Get a full face Snell rated helmet, the highest std. Get the most padding you can afford in your jacket, pants and get Moto boots. Foot injuries are long to heal and you're immobile recovering.

 

Add extra lights on your motorcycle for increased visibility. The brighter the better. Many other vehicles do not see motorcycles because of the small and narrow profile.

 

Your best safety equipment is between your ears.

Watch Fortnine on YouTube for valuable information on safety and quality gear. U will learn allot on gear, bikes and safety.

 

Stay out of blindspots, doubly attentive at intersections and oncoming or merging traffic, drive defensively, always aware and have an exit plan/ route at all times. Stay in the slow lanes and follow traffic, avoids being cutoff till your avoidance skills improve.

Never drive faster than your ability or try to keep up with a better or more experienced Rider. There's no room for ego to start.

 

Become a master with your brakes, control, balance, countersteer and throttle. Your life depends upon it. Practice braking and avoidance maneuvers, watch YouTube videos on this. Most newbie riders have a serious crash within the first six months iirc, be extra careful.

 

Practice shifting first in straight line, then add braking. Practice circles clockwise and counterclockwise. Big and wide and gradually sharper smaller. Then turns and braking. Always brake before you enter into a turn.

Then progress to figure eights in both directions. Practice a few hours each day but don't overdo.

 

Pick your routes of travel, less traffic is safer. Always give yourself time and space from other vehicles who might not see you. Ride on the far right and with lots of distance/space gaps from other vehicles, if right hand drive country, far left for left drive countries. This is extra reaction time, avoidance insurance.

 

Riding a motorcycle is the closest thing to flying while staying on the ground. Lots of fun but also the most dangerous next to flying. 

Become a skilled pilot with training, both mental and onbike practical.

Your life depends upon it.

 

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I think that there have been many good points raised in this thread. Points that have experienced riders considering alternate points of view and that's a good thing.

 

 It seems as though something very important has been overlooked however and that's Blake. A new rider approaching a group of seasoned motorcyclists, sincerely seeking advice.  At this point Blake has posted 3 times over a week ago and seems to have left the conversation.  He may also have left the group and maybe even motorcycling. I hate to think that He's been turned off of bikes because of what probably looks like bickering to him. I hate even more to think that He's out there on his own trying to figure things out by himself.  

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16 hours ago, cyow5 said:

I'm only 155lbs and the only time I've wheelied was when getting on the gas hard, so I find it extremely hard to believe the bike is the bucking bronco you are describing. It really sounds like it is mostly a problem when ridden like a carb'd bike which - and this is my point - is a bias a newbie won't have. Regarding the mirrors, there was no way I could change anything about my posture or physical shape to make them work. This is just a fit issue but it added tremendously to my personal safety. 

With all due respect, although it may be true that your front end has never came up unless you got on the throttle hard doesn't mean other riders throughout the whole world (that's a lot of other riders to prove otherwise) with less experience than you or less careful haven't popped a clutch or accidentally given the bike too much throttle, causing an unexpected wheelie that surprised the f*$# out of them or simply accelerating harder than they imagined with too loose a grip and the bike gets away from them. (that's happened to me and I'm no spring chicken on bikes)

 

This bike doesn't behave like you average beginner bike with very little torque. Simply put, this is a torque monster and it demands respect. MT = much torque. Much torque = advanced bike.

Beemer

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2 minutes ago, Beemer said:

With all due respect, although it may be true that your front end has never came up unless you got on the throttle hard doesn't mean other riders throughout the whole world (that's a lot of other riders to prove otherwise) with less experience than you or less careful haven't popped a clutch or accidentally given the bike too much throttle, causing an unexpected wheelie that surprised the f*$# out of them or simply accelerating harder than they imagined with too loose a grip and the bike gets away from them. this bike doesn't behave like you average beginner bike with very little torque, this is a torque monster and it demands respect. That makes this bike dangerous for beginners. 

I fully get what you're saying, and I think that's what makes it appropriate as a beginner's bike. It has just enough teeth to let you know you screwed up, but not so much that it tries to kill you every time like, say, a liter bike. It teaches you that you have to be careful. Something like a Duke 390 or Ninja 300 may let you get away with really stupid aggressive inputs and you'd never know that you are building bad habits. 

 

The snappiness gregjet and others are referring to though is how abruptly it goes from no throttle to just barely on-throttle because of the fuel cut on decel. Popping the clutch, whiskey throttle, etc, are dangers that will in no way go away with a tune, so that's why I say the tune isn't safety critical to a new rider. Heck, a tune often bumps up the midrange torque and will make the bike get away from you that much easier. 

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7 minutes ago, cyow5 said:

I fully get what you're saying, and I think that's what makes it appropriate as a beginner's bike. It has just enough teeth to let you know you screwed up, but not so much that it tries to kill you every time like, say, a liter bike. It teaches you that you have to be careful. Something like a Duke 390 or Ninja 300 may let you get away with really stupid aggressive inputs and you'd never know that you are building bad habits. 

 

The snappiness gregjet and others are referring to though is how abruptly it goes from no throttle to just barely on-throttle because of the fuel cut on decel. Popping the clutch, whiskey throttle, etc, are dangers that will in no way go away with a tune, so that's why I say the tune isn't safety critical to a new rider. Heck, a tune often bumps up the midrange torque and will make the bike get away from you that much easier. 

I understand what your saying but I don't think he meant that it was just a twitchy throttle that made the bike dangerous, he did mention the you tube videos with people pulling wheelies left and right and it's obvious those people were hard on the throttle and not just cracking it a little. That just demonstrates that the bike is not your average beginners bike that tends to keep the front end down when getting on the throttle hard, this bikes front end tends to come up easily which makes it dangerous for beginners. beginners don't have the experience yet to deal with wheelies properly.

 

When I first got my bike I knew it was a wheelie machine and I tested it myself. Big 1st and second gear wheelies by simply cracking the throttle fast, about half throttle and at around 4k rpm. If a beginner got too zealous and cracked the throttle like that he or she might be in for a big surprise and they could get hurt. A good beginner bike won't do that even accidentally. I don't know how else to say it.  

Beemer

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2 minutes ago, Beemer said:

I understand what your saying but I don't think he meant that it was just a twitchy throttle that made the bike dangerous, he did mention the you tube videos with people pulling wheelies left and right and it's obvious those people were hard on the throttle and not just cracking it a little. That just demonstrates that the bike is not your average beginners bike that tends to keep the front end down when getting on the throttle hard, this bikes front end tends to come up easily which makes it dangerous for beginners. beginners don't have the experience yet to deal with wheelies properly.

 

When I first got my bike I knew it was a wheelie machine and I tested it myself. Big 1st and second gear wheelies by simply cracking the throttle fast, about half throttle and at around 4k rpm. If a beginner got too zealous and cracked the throttle like that he or she might be in for a big surprise and they could get hurt. A good beginner bike won't do that even accidentally. I don't know how else to say it.  

Gotcha, so there's two aspects to this then and I was thinking he was referring only to the first. There's the disconnect. 

 

That being said, I am oftentimes of the type "let's remove the warning labels and let the idiots take themselves out". I knew going in that the bike could wheelie, so I demonstrated self control and never had a problem. Shocker. I also waited until I had matured a bit in my cars before getting the bike for the same reason. Yes, if you are an idiot with the throttle then scary things happen, so tip #1 for a newbie is then "Don't be an idiot". That same idiot could get a smaller bike and just have a different problem.  Spitfire's post is an excellent summary of what "Don't be an idiot" means in more words. 

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3 hours ago, cyow5 said:

Gotcha, so there's two aspects to this then and I was thinking he was referring only to the first. There's the disconnect. 

 

That being said, I am oftentimes of the type "let's remove the warning labels and let the idiots take themselves out". I knew going in that the bike could wheelie, so I demonstrated self control and never had a problem. Shocker. I also waited until I had matured a bit in my cars before getting the bike for the same reason. Yes, if you are an idiot with the throttle then scary things happen, so tip #1 for a newbie is then "Don't be an idiot". That same idiot could get a smaller bike and just have a different problem.  Spitfire's post is an excellent summary of what "Don't be an idiot" means in more words. 

"let's remove the warning labels and let the idiots take themselves out" 

 

LMAO! I'm going to every bike dealership in my area to peel off all the warning stickers on all bikes and become a sensation, a real hero!

Beemer

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On 7/24/2018 at 9:19 PM, Blake said:

I was a die hard car guy until recently. Any tips would be appreciated, and any mod recommendations would be great since a lot of modifications say 2017 fz-07 and older. 

Bubble-wrap. Lots and lots of bubble-wrap.  I recommend wrapping trees in it, fellow (moving) cars in it, post boxes, telephone poles - anything that'll hurt you. Wrapping yourself and your bike in it is optional though.

@Blake have we lost you because of the Extreme-ness?

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7 minutes ago, pattonme said:

Bubble-wrap. Lots and lots of bubble-wrap.  I recommend wrapping trees in it, fellow (moving) cars in it, post boxes, telephone poles - anything that'll hurt you. Wrapping yourself and your bike in it is optional though.

@Blake have we lost you because of the Extreme-ness?

I haven’t died yet haha, this bike is insanely fun. 

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  • 1 month later...

I think the best tip I can give to someone who has bought an FZ07 as their very first bike and doesn't want to die is be at least 30 years old.  Hahah.

Engaging with people that have personality disorders on a message board is like arguing with a rock.

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