Travel advice

[oseaghdha]

Welcome to the machine.....

You should check out this site, it has a lot of good info for both new and "used" riders.

I agree, there is no substitute for ass time to gain skill and confidence.

[Larrym]

Departure Plan

Welcome to the joys of XS ownership and the open road. USA was designed and built as a driver's paradise so you're ahead of the game.

I've driven bikes for years but it is only recently that I've been doing it for pure pleasure. The most hours I spent in the saddle were commuting to/from work in that "high density" city traffic. No other choice for me at the time. NOT fun and required me to be hypervigilant just to stay alive. Definitely something you may have to do eventually but I'd suggest getting more time away from all that first. SLOF: Straight...Level...Ordinary...Flight on back roads with very little traffic and if you can do it on a weekday rather than a weekend then GO for it. Think of it like being a test pilot on an experimental aircraft.

You'll be ready for in city traffic wolf packs and join the "Anti-Destination League" when you've moved up to "Departures". I mean this as departures from Straight/Level/Ordinary/Flight: coming to an emergency stop from 30 mph without locking up the tires or laying it down, emergency lane changes using the brake/countersteer method, and a whole lot of other techniques that just shouldn't have to be done on a bike but will have to be done in if you want to spend the night in your own bed. Moves done without "thinking" about it cause well, You don't wanna be in a hospital bed saying, " I thought I knew how to ride."

Me? I don't drive during peak traffic periods, rarely on weekends, even less at night. But I'm old(er) now. I still have those skills I learned but choose not to put myself to the test. You? You may not have "Game" yet but you've got a great bike to get it with.

Just don't push the envelope to hard, too fast, and too quick for now.

ENJOY!!

[latexeses]

Greetings JayGTI,

Welcome.

Alot of good advise here. One of the things I did as as new rider was to ride out to one of the larger supermarkets that had an even larger parking lot and practiced riding around in the lot.
Used the lines and the planters as my own little riding course. That way I could do the slow speed riding and quick braking and manuvers in my own time. Weaving around the lines and such gave me great confidence it my balance.
Take care.

[Ivan]

If you want to ready for a trip, show up at a poker run, there will be lots of guys there, more than willing to keep an eye on you. Most would also stop to help if there is a break down. Honestly, once you get your xs11 running right, they are fairly bulletproof, so its not that big a worry.

Above all, a poker run is tons of fun and you always meet new guys that love bikes as much as you do.

[trbig]

Well, As always, I seem to be the odd man out here. I personally think there's nothing better to get to know a bike and get comfortable than to take an extended trip. 300 miles in a day with a lot of it interstate?? What.. 5 hour trip? Big deal... have fun and go fall in love. You can't get used to your bike while riding at someone else's pace.

As stated, check all your fluids.. might do it at each fuel stop for a while until you know if it's using it. Be SURE to check the middle drive and final drive fluids. The engine oil doesn't run these. Also, there will be a 4 digit number melted into the sidewall of your tires in a rectangle.. for instance 1505. The first two numbers are the week it was made and the 2nd two numbers are the year. So this in this instance would mean the 15th week of 2005. If your tires are more than 4-5 years old, regardless of how they LOOK, I would hold off on an extended trip.. or much of any trip until you can get some fresh shoes on. If you wonder what type of oil or tires to use.. do a search and read for hours.. lol.

My advice on highway riding... don't linger in blind spots. If you are creeping up on a vehicle running just one or two MPH faster than them, you'll be in their blind spot for a somewhat extended period and they will forget you were there and change lanes into you. You can adjust speeds more easily with the 11 than they can with the cage, so when you get close to a vehicle you are overtaking. .run it up an extra 5-10mph until you get by them. Also.. get in a habit of seeing the WHOLE road. A lot of people just see the road inside the painted lines. Those lines are just paint. Be aware of that extra 6-8 feet of shoulder you usually have and don't worry about the lines in the road. People WILL cut you off or change lanes with you right next to them... so learn to use the whole road. Most vehicles are 6-7 ft wide and most lanes are 12 feet. That leaves enough room for a bike and a vehicle in the same lane in an emergency if no shoulders.. even if it's two lanes and two vehicles together... there's almost always enough room to shoot a bike through, though I don't advise making a habit of that. I state again that I am only talking about emergencies here.

And lastly, watch out for tailgaters. You have enough power in your right hand to get away from most any car/truck. Use it to get a bit ahead, move over, and let them go by.(After a while you can do as many of us do.. just hammer down and keep going.. lol) And watch to make sure they aren't texting...


Tod

[Trainzz]

People WILL cut you off or change lanes with you right next to them... so learn to use the whole road.
Tod

LOL and she didn't even know ya yet.

[trbig]

LOL and she didn't even know ya yet

And now that she does... next time won't be an accident!

I wish I could say she was even the first person THAT DAY that had done that to me. She may consider getting something a little bigger though if she plans on running me over.

Tod

[Gator]

One more BIG thing on the highway... Your 'best friend' is also your 'BIGGEST' enemy... The BIG truck! As a truck driver myself... We (being the biggest on the road) tend to watch more than most and will always try to protect a bike if there is one close by, BUT!!! We have much, MUCH BIGGER blind spots and a MASSIVE draft around us... If you are approaching a big truck, go wide and throttle past! DO NOT under ANY circumstances stay next to a truck!!! Or really even behind it for that matter, we cannot see you, we WILL use the whole road when necessary, etc etc etc... If we know you are back there, our back door is a safe place (as long as you don't mind road spray), but if we DON"T know you are back there, we can slow down quite a bit without applying brakes (jake brakes/downshift) which means no brake lights either....

On that topic (referring back to 'tailgaters') remember that YOU can stop faster than ANY other vehicle out there!

Ride safe!
SSURSD!

[CatatonicBug]

It amazes me how some people will tailgate a bike! I've had to flash my brakes at several cages on the highway lately when I could almost see their eyeballs in my mirrors. It must be the whole depth-perception thing, where since we are so small, they creep up until we look as big as another car... Maybe my new hard bags will give me a larger cross-section, and make people stay back more than 6 feet...

[WMarshy]

Your 'best friend' is also your 'BIGGEST' enemy... The BIG truck!.....DO NOT under ANY circumstances stay next to a truck!!! Or really even behind it for that matter, we cannot see you, we WILL use the whole road when necessary, etc etc etc... If we know you are back there, our back door is a safe place (as long as you don't mind road spray), but if we DON"T know you are back there, we can slow down quite a bit without applying brakes (jake brakes/downshift) which means no brake lights either....

I will never stay behind any large truck that has a dual tires/axle. I have seen some monster rocks come flying out of the lugs and catch my windshield. A June Bug aint got shazit on a rock bouncing down the road at 65! You take one of those to your helmit, arm, what have you, and you'll have more than bite marks in your pants!

[fredintoon]

It amazes me how some people will tailgate a bike! I've had to flash my brakes at several cages on the highway lately when I could almost see their eyeballs in my mirrors. It must be the whole depth-perception thing, where since we are so small, they creep up until we look as big as another car... Maybe my new hard bags will give me a larger cross-section, and make people stay back more than 6 feet...

Hi 'Bug,
a trick us sidecar guys can do to discourage a tailgater is to twitch the bars and lift the sidecar wheel mebbe a foot in the air. Next time you check the mirror the tailgater is just a little dot on the horizon.

[DenyP]

I never - EVER let someone tailgate me! With the 11, you have the power to control this. I never ride behind a Semi for long as they do throw rocks and they hurt like hell - ether back off or pass them. Remember the semi has a large blind spot - don't be there long! Never put the bike in neutral at a stop. Watch in your mirrors for some As****e to cream you and be ready to jump out of the situation at a split seconds notice! I guess what I am saying, ride like the cages don't see you !!! Now that you feel real secure - have a nice day! (don't mean to be an alarmest - just ride and drive for everyone else around you)

Deny

Deny

[Ivan]

It amazes me how some people will tailgate a bike! I've had to flash my brakes at several cages on the highway lately when I could almost see their eyeballs in my mirrors. It must be the whole depth-perception thing, where since we are so small, they creep up until we look as big as another car... Maybe my new hard bags will give me a larger cross-section, and make people stay back more than 6 feet...

Its not depth perception, its the "I don't give a **** about anyone other than ME ME ME" attitude. I have a busted pelvis and back because of it.

As far as the 18 wheelers on the road, I learned how to treat them right away, there are lots of bull haulers in this part of the country. You figure out right away to give them room, and get by very quickly as to minimize the smell and taste involved with their cargo.