I've been interested in learning to ride for a while, but between the first sparks of my interest and today, there's been a partially-crippling complication from a back surgery. So my question to the thread is, can a person still ride with a drop-foot?
Are you in any kind of physical therapy for the condition? How much function do you have in your foot? Will you be able to put it down and steady the bike at a stop sign? The problem is that on a typical bike both feet are required to operate it. The left foot controls the gear shift and you must be able to raise your toe in order to shift. The right foot controls the rear brake, and although it only requires pushing down, you have to be able to regulate the amount of pressure. You can get away with using only the front brake on most bikes, though it's not the best situation. There are a few bikes now that feature automatic/CVT transmissions or electro-hydraulic clutches, like the Honda DN-01 and the Yamaha FJR, but they're expensive bikes. With enough thought and ingenuity, you can get around almost any problem though. What about a scooter? Most of them don't require your feet for controls as they have CVT transmissions.
I had a drop foot for a few years due to a rugby injury (severed the nerve in my right knee), and was able to ride just fine. My right foot was the one that was fucked, but I could still push down on the brake, as well as have no problems whatsoever with steadying the bike, etc. Downward force was not the problem, but I couldn't lift the foot to save my life. If it's your left foot, you're a little more fucked, in that most bikes require that you lift up to shift. That being said, I've seen "lever" style shifters before as an after-market replacement that allowed you to push down on the back of the lever instead of pulling up on the front. This meant that you could always push down with your foot to shift both up and down the gears. Have no idea where the guy found it, or if it was a one-off, but it was a solution. The other option is to go for a suicide or jockey shifter, which is hand operated.
It's the left foot (slipped disc surgery, nerve was knicked around L2). I can push it down but lifting it back up again is the rub, same as yours. This is without a brace or therapy - and a tendon-transfer surgery may be in the works next year in which case this is all academic. But as long as there might be aftermarket parts out there, sounds like that could be a way to go. This would be a casual thing for me, just for cruising outside of the city on the weekends, so no crotch-rockets or choppers for me. And zzr, no offense, but I'd sooner drive a new VW beetle with a Hello Kitty theme than ride a scooter. That's a death-wish in more ways than one in Dallas.
No offense taken. I wouldn't have even mentioned it a few years ago, but some of the new scooters look a lot more like bikes now and have 600cc engines. The heel/toe shifter Nettdata mentioned is common on cruisers. You might have to have something custom fabricated for a standard bike, but for cruisers from any of the big 5 there's probably a bolt-on kit.
Got my new Shoei in the mail yesterday. So very nice and so very shiny. That pic on the top doesn't do the artwork justice, in all the dark spots, there's some underlying subtle work that can only be seen when the sun hits it. Fucking awesome artists. Plus, I start my Basic Riders Course this afternoon, god I can't wait... this weekend is gonna be awesome!
There are also kits for air shifters available. The ones I've seen let you shift entirely with your left hand. You push a button to up- or down-shift, the kit cuts the ignition and an air ram shifts the transmission. You frequently find these on drag bikes.
I managed to find a Ninja 250 at a reasonable price. I'm trying to look up the VIN, as I do when purchasing a used car, but most sites are saying it's invalid. Is this typical? Only one managed to give me some info but it seems too little. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.motoverse.com/tools/vinDecoder/JKAEXMJ108DA11565" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.motoverse.com/tools/vinDecod ... 108DA11565</a> World Region: Asia - Should that be USA? I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give.
Most sites don't deal with motorcycle VIN's. Your best bet is just to go meet the owner in person and inspect the bike and find out the history of it. Ninja 250's aren't high on the list for being stolen or rebuilt, so you're probably safe as long as the owner has the title.
Hey Diablo how'd your motorcycle safety course go? I've been planning on taking one as a (partially) experienced rider to lower my insurance rates and bone up on basic technique. I don't suppose anyone has any bad things to say about them, but anyone have any big plusses to say about them to push me over the edge to fork over $200? Also, I live in the midwest and the 6 weeks since I bought my new bike, it has literally rained every weekend for 5 weeks ( and ONLY on the weekends) and this weekend is was 55-60ish but windy enough to change lanes for you. Anyone else been fucked by mother nature this season, or am I just being a pussy?
Hey man, The course was great for a first time, never been on a bike rider. It basically dealt with <25mph speeds, shifting, turning, maneuvering, object avoidance, braking, etc. that someone should be able to do well before they get out on the open road. I actually learned a lot of stuff seeing as I've only rode around my neighborhood and coming out of it, I feel 10x more comfortable on a bike. I'd recommend taking it if not for just the insurance rate drop, it really does help to brush up on the skills. If you have any other questions just shoot me a pm or something.
Congrats on the new lid. It looks tough. Shoei makes a good helmet, one saved my ass when some broad pulled a left in front of me. The only thing that I'd suggest is a brighter color. Other drivers seem to have their head up their ass 90% of the time anyway. Any thing to be more visible, if you know what I mean. There's probably a reason you have to wear a safety vest on US gov. property. (Besides making yourself an easier target for the MP's.) It's almost a fact that you're going to fall down at some point or other, whether it's wet/sandy asphalt or some idiot in a car trying to put on make-up. I'm not saying to get a bright pink helmet, just don't get a matte black one. Those guys have to be missing some important brain cells to begin with. Have fun with the new ride. Besides, how are you gonna match any of your shoes with a pink helmet? I mean, c'mon fer crissakes.
Plan on purchasing a 2007 Honda CBR 600RR early next week just looking for input on a fair price from a semi-local seller. I'm going out to take a look at it probably on Monday and want to counter his offer of $5k. 2007 CBR 600RR red/black Excellent shape Always serviced every 3k mi Never been dropped 20,159 mi Comes with the following addons: Pazzo Levers Zero G dark smoke windscreen Spencer custom seat Vortex rear seat Honda rear seat cover small front and rear turn signals stock passenger seat Two new Pilot Road tires All of this was listed on his Ebay page for the bike, but he agreed to meet me in person to let me check out the bike and counter his offer. Unfortunately I can't copy and paste pictures from Ebay, so you'll all just have to take my word for it that the bike looks immaculate and has never been down. I'm taking my buddy who has ridden for years with me to get his opinion as far as what to check on a used bike. Let me know what you guys think of offering $4600 as a counter because of the high miles. Basically looks like this with a small license plate attachment:
That's a good place to start. You can use the mileage as a bargaining tool, but don't let the mileage dissuade you from buying a good bike. If it really has been maintained that mileage is nothing. There's a guy here in Georgia who has over 120,000 miles on his F4i. The reason you rarely see bikes with that kind of mileage is that they're usually wrecked before they get there.
Hey guys, I wanted some advice on where to start for buying a motorcycle. I am currently 22 and am about to move to Las Vegas so I decided the first thing I wanted to do when I got there was sell my car and buy a motorcycle but I'm not sure where to start looking and what to look for at all. I have been riding dirt bikes since I was 12 years old and I passed my test for an endorsement when I was 15 so I am pretty experienced. Does anyone have any suggestions for good starter road bikes or places to look for such things?
I am in the same boat except I'm not selling my car and not moving to Vegas...lucky bastard. Anywho, when I started to look at bikes, the first thing I looked at was if they had been down or not. If the farings, cowling, handles, anything has a scuff that looks like it had been laid down, then that's an immediate check in the not buy column. Also, I looked at how the bike was used ie, street riding, stunt riding, track, etc and played that into the equation. Next I check out the actual hardware; wheels, forks, chain, etc that could be replaced without too much work. Next thing I checked was the brake fluid reservoir; if it had black shit in it then it shows they don't take care of the bike, but if it was a clean yellow look, then you're good to go. I narrowed my search to basically the big name brands: Honda CRB's, Yamaha R6's, and Suzuki GXR's. All 600's between 2005 and 2008. If you're looking to spend a little more for a little better bike or if you're a bigger guy, go for the bigger one's, like the 750's or even the 1000's. I started my search on Ebay but quickly found it to unreliable. Cycletrader.com is also legit, just more expensive. Also from what I hear about Harley's, they'll spend more time under the wrench than actually riding them, but that's just word on the street. Anyone have any corrections or anything, just throw em at me, I'm still a beginner.
I've owned my current bike for almost 5 years, and this morning was the first time I've ever taken a picture of it.
I'm trying to sell my Ninja 500 because I've never really found time to ride. Here's the craigslist post: http://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/mcy/1786368207.html (motorcycles/scooters) Mention TiB and I'll throw in some beer or something.
This will be mine. Even if I have to eat polar bear ass. Spoiler It's a huge picture, but it's so pretty.