beginner questions, please bear with me!

[arktos08]

I am thinking of getting a motorcycle (within a year), and i have some questions.

1 - Is changing gears on a motorcycle similar to a car? My friend drives a manual car, and he told me he 'listens' to the engine to know when to change gears. Am I right to say it's the same 'listen' thing to know when to change?

1a - Changing gears on a sportbike is basically the same as a naked bike, right?

1b - Is the correct process for changing gears : clutch, shift then throttle?

2 - While on throttle, I can't imagine how to use it. I often see the term 'rolling' a throttle, what does that accomplish? Does it accellerate the bike? How do you maintain speed on a bike?

3 - Are full-face helmets absolutely nesscary?

4 - I'm eyeing a Honda NSR150SP (read on)

in Singapore, they split bike licenses into 2 catagories. class 2b, the lowest, is what I can get, after a year i have an option to upgrade to class 2a, and after another year, another upgrade to class 2.

Class 2b licenses allows riders up to 200cc bikes, 400cc for 2a and above for class 2.

Now that i told you that bit of info, is the nsr150sp good for beginners? If not, what bikes would you reccomend for a 1.6m tall (just over 5" if i'm not wrong) and weighs as much as a feather?

4a - will be reaching for the handlebars be a problem for me? I think i can touch the ground with the sp, but what about the above?

5 - what do i do if i stall in the middle of freeway (as in the centre lane)?

6 - Steering - I know what countersteering is and it's applications, but what about low-speed turns? Do I turn like i do on a bicycle?

7 - do sportbikes have crashbars under the fairings? and will the fairings offer a wee bit more protection in case of drops?

8 - what does a choke switch do?

Thanks for your time reading this many questions. I truly want to ride, and i want to be as well informed as possible.

[jonnythan]

Holy crap.

i) Take whatever motorcycle class is available to you and this will answer basically all of your questions. Learning to ride a motorcycle over the internet, from books, or any method that does not involve professional instruction is very dangerous. Here in the US we have the MSF basic rider course which, IMO, is a requirement for learning to ride a motorcycle.

1) Yes. If you have a tach on your bike knowing when to change is a little more scientific. You get a feel for it.

1a) Yes.
1b) Pretty much. Throttle as you let the clutch out.

2) The throttle is activated by twisting towards you. Twist towards you to accelerate. The throttle is on a spring so it automatically goes back to its place when you let go. It's exactly the same as a gas pedal on a car. Roll on is just like pressing the gas. Roll off is just like easing off the gas.

3) Only if you want to keep your face.

4) Don't know the bike.

5) In the unlikely event that you stall out in the center lane, you pull the clutch and safely coast over to the shoulder/side of the road, just as you would in a car.

6) You will lean the bike and counterweight to maximize your low-speed turning ability. You will learn how to do this in a class.

7) Not unless you install them. They don't really do much of anything for you anyway.

The choke richens the fuel mixture getting into the engine, meaning that there is less air and more fuel. A richer fuel mixture is easier to ignite. When the engine is cold, especially in cold weather, it sometimes needs a little help to start going, so you'd turn on the choke for a minute until the engine gets a bit warm. Richer fuel mixtures increase carbon deposits on your spark plugs and inside the cylinders, though, so you don't want to use it unless you have to and you don't want to use it longer than necessary. Normal use is perfectly OK.

[arktos08]

thanks for the prompt reply!

the law here requires that ALL would-be bikers go through a compulsary bike-learners course, which i suppose is similar to a MSF. I'm posting only for 'extra material', i feel it's important to know as much as you can about something before going ahead with it.

I don't get cold weather here much in Singapore, at least it doesn't get as cold as it gets in NY. average lows here are in the mid-20 degrees celcius.

I still have to warm up the engine, right?

Thanks for answering most of my questions.

[jonnythan]

I don't get cold weather here much in Singapore, at least it doesn't get as cold as it gets in NY. average lows here are in the mid-20 degrees celcius.

I still have to warm up the engine, right?

Thanks for answering most of my questions.

Depends entirely on the bike. Even two different bikes that are the same model and year may have different temperments when it comes to choke usage and cold starting. In general you definitely won't have to use the choke to start when you're talking about temperatures above 10-15C... but some bikes may resist cranking over without the choke when the engine is at 20C. It's not a big deal either way, just learn what your bike likes.

All bikes have unique personalities.

[jonnythan]

Also, it's a good idea to let the engine of any bike warm up a little bit after starting before taking off and to keep the RPMs a little lower than normal for a few minutes. This helps make sure the engine and transmission are nice and lubricated before putting much stress on them.

[arktos08]

thanks for the info.

the only thing i have left is the bike question. low cc bikes aren't exactly popular in the west, and i can't find detailed specs for the bike i'm looking at (it's a popular model here in singapore, kinda affordable at around $2000 singapore dollars, which i guess is around 750 - 800 USD.)

[jonnythan]

thanks for the info.

the only thing i have left is the bike question. low cc bikes aren't exactly popular in the west, and i can't find detailed specs for the bike i'm looking at (it's a popular model here in singapore, kinda affordable at around $2000 singapore dollars, which i guess is around 750 - 800 USD.)

It looks like a decent beginner bike. I read through a nice long review of it at http://www.bikepoint.com.au/portal/alia ... fault.aspx

This review mentions that the VTR250 would perhaps be a better idea, but with what I'm reading this one looks perfectly fine.

I would suggest that you visit some dealers and sit on a few different bikes in your price range before you settle on anything, though.

[arktos08]

The only thing that is irritating about the process here is that they limit you to 200cc bikes for your first year of riding, which virtually eliminates all the beginner bikes posted here.

Would buying off a cheaper bike from someone, or purchasing it from a dealership (who does all the paperwork) for a higher price better?



edit: I read through the article before, and i don't quite understand this part:

The six-speed gearbox is light and smooth, with sixth gear a genuine overdrive, allowing cruising at 100kmh to happen at a vibe-free 6500rpm - accelerating will require a down shift unless you are travelling downhill however.

oh yeah, 2k singapore dollars USED.

[jonnythan]

The only thing that is irritating about the process here is that they limit you to 200cc bikes for your first year of riding, which virtually eliminates all the beginner bikes posted here.

Would buying off a cheaper bike from someone, or purchasing it from a dealership (who does all the paperwork) for a higher price better?

edit: I read through the article before, and i don't quite understand this part:

The six-speed gearbox is light and smooth, with sixth gear a genuine overdrive, allowing cruising at 100kmh to happen at a vibe-free 6500rpm - accelerating will require a down shift unless you are travelling downhill however.

I'm a big, big fan of buying your first bike used. In the US, you can buy a beginner bike such as a Ninja 250, ride it for a year or two, then sell it for almost exactly what you paid for it. The demand for beginner bikes is always high so unloading one is never an issue.

When you do it this way, replacement parts are cheap, you don't sob if you drop it and scratch up the really expensive fancy parts on your brand new bike, etc. Get a bike you don't mind beating up a little bit as your first bike.

[jonnythan]

edit: I read through the article before, and i don't quite understand this part:

The six-speed gearbox is light and smooth, with sixth gear a genuine overdrive, allowing cruising at 100kmh to happen at a vibe-free 6500rpm - accelerating will require a down shift unless you are travelling downhill however.

Most engines produce their power at a high RPM. For example, a bike might produce a peak of 39 HP at 8000 RPM, but at 4000 RPM it might produce only 20 HP.

So, in general, if you're at a comfortable cruising speed (high gear/low RPM), you'll generally have to "poo poo" down one gear (low gear/high RPM) for the engine to have enough power to accelerate quickly.

This often isn't as important on a bike with a bigger engine, because even at the lower RPMs the bike will often have enough power available to accelerate at a good rate, allowing passing without having to downshift and rev the engine.