Just bought a bike, now I need a jacket and helmet

that is one massive dent in the tank!!

Bike is nice otherwise. Enjoy cleaning it up. Hopefully the new tank is in great shape!

 

Yup - that's some crease alright. How's that happen exactly? Did I miss a post somewhere? Can see why you went with a replacement from flea-bay.

 

Well, the bike was near flawless when I bought it. I paid for it with the intent of going back to get it the following weekend with the trailer. My dad ended up going to get it for me with the trailer, a low-slung homemade utility type with a 3" angle iron rail around the perimeter. He tied it down with a strap on each side of the handlebars and one across the seat. He said he hit a pothole and the bike disappeared from view...so the tank landed on the rail.

The way I see it, I've destroyed enough of his stuff growing up that I really don't mind, a replacement tank was readily available, no one got hurt, and NOTHING else on the bike was touched by it falling. So really once I take care of the mechanical stuff and replace the tank, she's good to go.

Also, the tank still seals so I'm going to ride it until I get the new one. It's rusty inside (so said the seller) so I plan on trying the electrolysis method. My buddy is doing that right now with his CB350 tank, and it's freakin amazing how well it works!

-Rick

 

Bump for update!

I've been riding a little bit for the past two weeks. For safety equipment I ended up buying an HJC AC-12 helmet (not the carbon fiber one) and a Tour Master Coaster II jacket (black/brown).

So far I've been happy with the helmet. It fits my head reasonably well (although not as well as the Arai Quantum II), looks good. I can't comment on noise level as this is my first street helmet.

The Tour Master jacket fits pretty well, looks good, has CE approved elbow and shoulder armor, a zipout lining with zipoff lining sleeves, and plenty of vents. Standing around in 80deg sunshine yesterday at a picnic I was only slightly warmer than comfortable. Once under way it cools down nicely.

The problem I had was with the main zipper. The SECOND day I used the jacket, the die cast zipper pull came off in my hand. Granted, the zipper was stiff as new as it was, and moves freely now. You'd think, however, that the zipper would last a breakin cycle. I emailed Tour Master from their webpage and they suggested I go back to the place I got it from. Not sure why that is...anyway, I went back there on Thursday (6/7) and the guy I bought it from said he'd call them. Yesterday I happened to be at that shop on my lunch hour and asked about it; he said they still haven't called him back. My girlfriend suggested getting an 'aftermarket' heavy duty zipper pull from a fabric store rather than get a factory replacement that is likely to break again. I AM curious as to how the company will handle this. I'll post the result!

-Rick

 

Hey all,

Does anyone know the quality of the helmets off of jafrum? I am looking at getting a half helmet for around town use to compliment my full face and i liked some of the ones from jafrum, and more importantly i was attracted to the price, but i wasnt sure if they were of reasonable quality or not. Based on the price it makes me a little leary but i can get over that if someone with experience would be able to convince me with some first hand knowledge of the product.

 

I asked that question a while ago, and the general consensus was they're pretty good. I've been tempted to get their modular (flip-up) model and see.

 

I just purchased a modular helmet from them and I think it is real nice.

 

I wouldn't recommend any helmet without a Snell certification, and would recommend checking the list at http://www.smf.org/ to make sure it's really certified and NOT just a sticker on the helmet!

Joe, I see that Jafrum sells a THH TS-16 that is listed on Snell's webpage for having M2005 certification. None of Jafrum's half helmets are Snell certified.

-Rick

 

I'm not a fan of Snell certifications for motorcycle helmets in the least - their testing methodology is wrong for us, creating helmets that are too stiff, that transmit far too much energy to the head of the wearer in real-world motorcycle accidents.

Several studies now have shown that Snell certified helmets are NOT what you want for motorcycle accidents, and the DOT testing method and certification is actually preferable -- with the ECE (European code) certification being even better.

In the motorcycling world, Snell is a north american marketing tool now - nothing more, and certainly not better for your safety.

 

Snell-certified helmets will, to some extent, protect from much higher levels of impact energy than a DOT helmet. However, since the energy-absorbing material is stiffer, it will transmit more of that energy to your head.

There's a great article at Motorcyclist Online where they tested various DOT, Snell, and ECE helmets. The results sure surprised me...
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearb ... et_review/

It's kind of a long article, so here's my 2-minute summary:

Essentially, the Snell standard specifies that a helmet must protect from impacts up to 150 joules. DOT's limit is around 100. Since Snell helmets can withstand a higher impact energy, they must be better, right?

Well, not necessarily. Because the Snell standard allows the helmet to transmit up to 300 g's to your head and still pass. The DOT standard allows only up to 250 g's. Thing is, most head-trauma studies show that while most people can survive a 300-g head impact, you probably won't ever fully recover from any impact over 250. And the less g's, the better. So a softer helmet that transmits fewer g's is better in almost every case.

Finally, according to a study of some 900-plus actual motorcycle crashes, more than 90% of real-world head impacts are at energy levels under the DOT's 100-joule limit. And if you have a crash violent enough to cause a higher head impact, you probably won't survive it due to other, non-head injuries. So having a helmet rated for higher impact energy is usually overkill at best; at worst, it may cause more severe injuries than a softer helmet would.

 

Wow...I never heard that before. I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip!

-Rick

 

RickDick,

Sounds like you've already got your gear, so I'm a bit late for that, but did want to throw out motorcyclecloseouts.com for future considerations. I've bought a few things from them (gloves mostly, I think) and have been happy.
Prices aren't insanely cheap, but pretty good on certain items. If I ever decided on a pir of overpants, I'll likely get 'em from them.

Also, I wanted to say, "Howdy, neighbor!" I'm up near Great America. If you need to borrow a Colortune or YICS tool, let me know. I'd say "we should ride sometime," but as a recent dad and devoted husband, all of my riding is done on my commute. But who knows, maybe I COULD sneak away some weekend.

I've lived in the area my whole life, so if you need some tips on local stuff - motorcycling or otherwise - feel free to drop me a PM.

 

82XJ-

Thank you for the summary. I'll check out the link you sent...I think you posted your post while I was posting my last post, so I just now saw it. Another point on the helmet debate (not that I've done much research): My girlfriend's mother has been a nurse in Louisville for about 30 years. Based on the anecdotal experience of her and her doctor coworkers, if you have a helmet on, chances are your head is okay but your neck is broken or at least sprained. If you don't have a helmet on, chances are you have minor injuries. So her take on it is that a) helmets will do more harm than good, and b) why would I be so stupid as to ride a motorcycle?


Oblivion-

Good to hear from you! I saw your location on a carb clinic post. I'll definitely take you up on that Colortune...my carbs have been off my bike 3 times in the past week. I'm tempted to put a bullet in them. Seafoam and Berryman's have done little or nothing to help my bike. But hey, I've gotten to ride it around a bit and that's cool! I'll send you a PM.


-Rick

 

The idea of neck injuries due to wearing a helmet has been proven to be a myth for years -- I also work in healthcare and have never seen, heard of, or been shown any actual proof that a helmet caused an injury that would not have happened anyway.

And in counterpoint, I HAVE seen the result of not having a helmet on when meeting pavement or other solid object. "Minor injuries" ain't it folks. More like "hope you know a good mortician" or if you're lucky "hope you're friends with a plastic surgeon".

 

Altus,

I agree completely. Give me some abrasion protection at the VERY least, plus some padding and eye protection. At the age of 6 on my first dirt bike, a helmet saved my a$$ the first time, and at the age of 13 on a dirt bike, the second time. Second time would have been a 10-15mph collision of the top of my skull with the corner of our garage foundation. That wouldn't have been pretty.

I'll always wear a helmet and jacket at the bare minimum. Reading this article I'm starting to wonder whether the HJC I bought was the best choice.

-Rick

 

I definitely know the value of proper gear. I fell off in some gravel on a turn. Slid down the road and the gear saved my knee, left arm and chest. I just had a bunch of gravel in my pants to get out.

The helmet didn't hit the road, but it is good to know it was there in case.

I have the Icon Alliance...Snell rated...guess my brain will be mush if I hit it too hard.

 

Helmet has saved my life at least a dozen times on my dirt bikes.
Not the least of which was when I got hit by a truck. Hit the grill, went over the top, and hit the tailgate on the way down plus the pavement - with my head (lid).
If it wasn't for the helmet I'd be dead for sure. The truck was doin about 80 when he slammed on his brakes 20 feet in front of me.
All I suffered was a broken arm, the regular body bruising (ribs and such) aaaaaaaand some seriously messed up hips that will bother me for life.

Anyway - Helmet = Good. And no open faced harley bull either. Your skull will come off with the bowl.

*EDIT* that's 80 KMH

 

Yeouch Ease! Glad to hear you're still with us.

My grandfather was involved in three major motorcycle accidents in my time. It's a miracle he survived, as he never wore a helmet "cuz they block my got-damn vision!" I'll wear my helmet, thanks!

-Rick