My first longer ride on the new bike! While I had a ton of fun, this ride also taught me that the bike really needs a higher seat to make my knees and wrists happy. The pain became unbearable at times. (Album (more photos))
Thankfully, I had ordered a custom taller seat a little while back and it wouldn't be long until it arrived.
#motorcycle #photography #photog #photos #photo #mywork
Took my new CBR650R on a spin through the Cascade Foothills to see the new Oso Landslide Memorial. The memorial was cool, but riding at 40 MPH north of Monroe was honestly pretty boring! (Album (more photos))
#motorcycle #photography #photog #photos #photo #mywork
My dad is thinking about getting something like a #BMW RnineT/R12 and rigging a #Ural #sidecar to it, complete with the driven wheel. #motorcycle
(We do both have the necessary license to ride a sidecar rig is our state.)
Finally got the chance to take my new CBR650R out for a day-long spin and had a blast! When this bike sings, it's like no other one I've ridden: it has a two-tone whistle of an induction noise, and since it doesn't have too much torque down low, I was able to hear it a whole lot more than the whistle of the Ninja 1000SX that this replaced! Switching to a smaller bike was definitely the right choice for that reason alone, but it was also much easier to get on the side of the tire because of its lighter crankshaft.
The route was one of my favorites: Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Port Townsend, atd Whidbey Island, but this time along the Pioneer Highway to spend as little time on I-5 as possible. There were so many other people out riding both motorcycles and bicycles since this was the best weather we've had in quite some time! One interesting rest stop was at The Rex in between La Conner and Conway, where there were motorcycles parked as far as the eye could see for a fundraiser barbecue for the owner of The Rex.
(Album (12 photos, 6 attached here))
#motorcycle #Honda #CBR #CBR650R
Analog Simplicity: Rene Herse Floating Chain
Now that the Nivex derailleurs have been in production for a while, Rene Herse is taking analog shifting to the next level with the Floating Chain. This system is lighter, has less resistance and costs far less than all derailleur systems available today.Jan Heine, head of R&D at Rene Herse Cycles, explained: “One-by drivetrains have simplified bicycle gearing, but it’s time to go a step further. Most cyclists need only three gears: one for uphills, one for flat roads, and one for downhills. The steps between these gears tend to be relatively large. Large steps between three gears are easiest to accommodate on the front, with a triple crank. So we’ve effectively turned the one-by around and put all the gears on the front.”
The Floating Chain system uses a triple crank and just a single-speed freewheel on the rear. As an added benefit, front derailleurs are lighter, more reliable, and less prone to damage when the bike falls over.
In the interest of keeping the system simple and to reduce mechanical resistance to a minimum, there is no chain tensioner. The chain length is selected for the big chainring, and it’s allowed to float freely when it runs on one of the smaller chainrings. There is no need to keep the lower chain run tensioned, as long as you don’t backpedal for more than half a revolution of the cranks.
#cycling #bicycle #biketooter #mastobikes @biketooter group @mastobikes group
I always love this little bridge across Ravenna Park and usually try to make it part of the somewhat longer version of my usual loop. (1)
#cycling #bicycle #mastobikes #biketooter #seabikes #seattle
I'm celebrating the return of Spring with a new Honda CBR650R! (Album)
After selling my Ninja 1000SX because I realized that it wasn't the right bike, I did a test ride on this exact bike at The Brothers Powersports in Bremerton on a stormy day a couple weeks back, then later that night I put a deposit on it. I had the shop put some comfort mods on the bike (heated grips, quickshifter, top case rack, frame sliders) over the past week and then took the bus and ferry last Friday to pick it up, which took forever because I had to wait an hour for the ferry! I did have to ride home with a backpack on, which wasn't fun, but I got it safely home and then spent all of Saturday started putting more mods on it (GPS charging mount and adjustable rearsets because my long legs were cramped). It was kind of a bummer missing out on the nice weather Saturday, but with the bike all buttoned up, I'll be able to any upcoming warm weather! Even better is that I bought it out of pocket and don't have to deal with financing!
On the ferry ride home Friday, I ran into the same lady I saw when I headed home from Bremerton after test riding the bike. Her name was Loki and she was headed with her partner Isaac from her home on the Olympic Peninsula to Seattle to teach circus performers.
(I realize my eyes were closed in the photos. Bummer!)
#Honda #motorcycle #CBR #CBR650R #CB650R
