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Ride to work
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You need to move! I couldn't handle those flat strait roads. Come to Tennessee, you'll love it!
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Nice. Looks like a decent commute. Ive got about 20 miles of interstate...then 2-3 miles of town roads. Pretty boring. I havent made any vids with my gopro of the bike yet but I think Im going to mount it on the tank. Ive seen a few vids of them tank mounted and the view is pretty cool.
Keep the vids coming!
Keep the vids coming!
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I've been wanting one of the little GoPros for some time now and went ahead and bit the bullet the other day. The things are awesome! You can pretty much mount them anywhere. I'll try some various mounting positions on the bike next rather than the helmet. In answer to where I am, it's Madison, Mississippi. I commute to downtown Jackson, about a 15 minute commute each day. I live right off the Natchez Trace so I ride it a lot. For justification to get the camera, tell your wife you can also take still shots!!!!
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Actually, I moved here from Memphis!! I'd love to ride the Tail of the Dragon sometime.
Nice vid - and nice commute! My commute is about 35 minutes of lane splitting in Bay Area traffic!!! It would probably frighten you guys if I posted video of me doing 80mph between cars....it scares ME sometimes!!!
Im surprised how many of us ride with no jacket or gloves on....
Also, loosen up on the bars a bit! Looks like you have a death grip on them! I also ALWAYS have my forefinger and middle finger resting on the front brake lever...and usually on the clutch lever as well. By the time you see something and react to it, loosening your grip, reaching for the brake lever, applying brakes....takes about half a second. That might be the difference between an accident and a near miss... And, when you have your fingers over the brake lever, it tends to naturally relax your grip on the bars...which reduces fatigue, numbness from vibrations, etc.
Im surprised how many of us ride with no jacket or gloves on....
Also, loosen up on the bars a bit! Looks like you have a death grip on them! I also ALWAYS have my forefinger and middle finger resting on the front brake lever...and usually on the clutch lever as well. By the time you see something and react to it, loosening your grip, reaching for the brake lever, applying brakes....takes about half a second. That might be the difference between an accident and a near miss... And, when you have your fingers over the brake lever, it tends to naturally relax your grip on the bars...which reduces fatigue, numbness from vibrations, etc.
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"Im surprised how many of us ride with no jacket or gloves on...."
I live in Mississippi. The afternoon temperature here gets into triple digits regularly, like 103 or so riding without gloves is a necessary evil sometimes I prefer to wear gloves but sometimes it's just too hot and muggy here.
As for my "death grip", Yeah, I guess I kind of do have a grip on it
. I'm coming off a big cruiser, a 1700 Yamaha Midnight Warrior with ISO Grips (very large) and I'm still getting used to the Z. Bear with me.
I live in Mississippi. The afternoon temperature here gets into triple digits regularly, like 103 or so riding without gloves is a necessary evil sometimes I prefer to wear gloves but sometimes it's just too hot and muggy here.
As for my "death grip", Yeah, I guess I kind of do have a grip on it
. I'm coming off a big cruiser, a 1700 Yamaha Midnight Warrior with ISO Grips (very large) and I'm still getting used to the Z. Bear with me.
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154 Posts
It's a good bit more, but the contour GPS camera is pretty damn sweet. I'm savin for one of those.
Its gets that hot out here in Cali too - and I still wear all my gear. Sweat washes off - road rash doesnt. Sure, its miserable...but it beats the alternative. When you go down in a tshirt, you cant go home and shower it all off...
At the bare minimum, at least get a pair of mesh gloves. To be honest, I cant stand riding without gloves now, as when it gets hot, my fingers are sweating and I feel like I cant get a good enough grip on the levers. Not a problem when wearing mesh gloves... You can buy them from any shop the sells dirtbike gear for under $20!
And, I realize I made a mistake - I ride with my middle and ring fingers covering the front brake, my forefinger covering the clutch. Give it a try, man. It will help with fatigue and it will help loosen your grip on the bars. That was perhaps the hardest thing for me to stop doing too...but I learned that if you want to go faster, you have to loosen that grip or you end up putting too much feedback into the bars.
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I can't wait to hit it either! Ive only been on sections of it in a car. Hope to hit its this fall. We have a couple good sections just south of here. Hwy 30 from Spencer to Fall Creek Falls. Very nice switch backs! Hwy 70 out of Baxter has some long sweeping curves you can hold at 70 to 80. Just watch out for the Opossums.
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In Mississippi and specifically on the Natchez Trace we have to watch out for the deer. One of my riding buddies hit a deer about 6 months after getting his Harley Sportster. Luckily, the deer was heading for me but fell down after deciding to turn around and head the other way. He got right to my bike, fell and Bill center punched the poor animal, killing it instantly and throwing the rear of his bike into the air. I looked back right at that time to see Bill in a death grip with eyes like saucers. But he didn't crash. He's the luckiest rider around, didn't even put a scratch on his bike! Dude in a car saw it in his rear view mirror and came back to see if we were ok and ended up taking the deer home to process.
ccasion:
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Thats insane! We have plenty here too. Not a major problem though. I wonder if its best to gas it and power through the animal or hit the brakes? Either way its prob going to hurt.In Mississippi and specifically on the Natchez Trace we have to watch out for the deer. One of my riding buddies hit a deer about 6 months after getting his Harley Sportster. Luckily, the deer was heading for me but fell down after deciding to turn around and head the other way. He got right to my bike, fell and Bill center punched the poor animal, killing it instantly and throwing the rear of his bike into the air. I looked back right at that time to see Bill in a death grip with eyes like saucers. But he didn't crash. He's the luckiest rider around, didn't even put a scratch on his bike! Dude in a car saw it in his rear view mirror and came back to see if we were ok and ended up taking the deer home to process.
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Wow...your buddy is one lucky dude!
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Dude, "lucky" doesn't even begin to explain it. You should have been there! He's the luckiest rider on the planet!!! And he had only been riding for about a year! Unbelievable!
Here he is in all his Harley regalia. He traded this Sportster for a Super Glide.
Back then I was riding this Warrior:
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Ahhhh, to be independently wealthy! Or possibly retired.Heheee, my morning commute involves waking up, getting out of bed, making & pouring cuppa coffee (Bunn-0-Matic, FTW!), walking to living room, sitting down in recliner with laptop and TV on
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