Bought my first bike!

[poormillionaire2]

Eh, I do know my way around cars, but I don't know shit about bikes yet. Willing to learn, but since its new, I may just let them take care of it for now.

But hopefully I'll have some pics coming this Satuday or Sunday, should stop raining and hopefully not be wet out. I'll keep you posted.

[quick69gto]

I want to repeat something aussieidiot said. Do not stay at a steady RPM during the break in period. Fluctuate your speed/RPM until after the bike is broke in. The comment on down shifting to use engine braking is a good one also.
Change the oil/filter at 600mi/1500mi/3000mi or every 3 months, whichever comes first.
After 3000mi, change the oil/filter every 3000mi or every 3 months, again, whichever comes first.
The reason 3 months is the limit is because of the condensation that builds up inside the engine case and eventually does not burn off (water and oil: bad). The other reason, which is probably the most important, is the fact of gas getting past the rings. No matter how well built the engine, gas will always get by the rings and into the oil. More so during cold start ups.
Follow the manufacturers recommended services, whether you do it your self, or you have the dealer do it.
It's always best to keep your ride in tip top shape, because if it fails on you, it can cause you pain.
As suggested by others, take the motorcycle safety course also. There is no room for mistakes while your on two wheels.
Good luck.

[poormillionaire2]

Thanks for the advice Quick. Yeah, I signed up for the safety course, taking it this summer after school gets out. Its expensive though. Anyways, that leads me to another question. The class requires footwear that covers the ankles with a heel no bigger than 2 inches. Anyways, I wear regular shoes when I ride that are comfortable with thick soles. I don't own boot and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on shoes/boots that I won't wear again after the class. You guys got any cheap suggestions that fit the criteria?

*Oh and sorry for the lack of pics yet. School is kicking my ass right now, but its suppose to be nice this Friday, so hopefully I'll get out there and get some pics before we go riding.

[richtazz]

Walmart and K-Mart both sell inexpensive hiking/work boots (probably under $25) that would meet that criteria.

[aussieidiot]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

The class requires footwear that covers the ankles with a heel no bigger than 2 inches. Anyways, I wear regular shoes when I ride that are comfortable with thick soles. I don't own boot and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on shoes/boots that I won't wear again after the class. You guys got any cheap suggestions that fit the criteria?

I'd suggest getting boots anyway. In the event of an accident, the more protection you have the better.

And only a 2 inch heel!?!?!?!

I can ride just fine in 6 inch stilettos

[richtazz]

Originally Posted by aussieidiot

I can ride just fine in 6 inch stilettos

I bet that's what caused your bicycle accident Blayne, your thigh high motorcycle stiletto's got caught in the pedals, didn't they.....

[aussieidiot]

Actually it was my g-string (thong) got caught on a dismount and caused me to crash!

[poormillionaire2]

As disturbing as that is, I have another question...

So, I went riding last night (sorry no pics, it was dark) and ran out of gas. Last time I filled up, I reset one of the trip-o-meters so I could have a good estimate how many miles I could get before I had to fill up again. Anyways, luckily I was in a subdivision and it started to sputter. So I figured it out and flipped to the reserve tank. Here's the thing, I was only at 135 miles or so and the tank was dry! Went to fill up and only took 2.2 gallons. The booklet and specs online stated I have a 4.8 gallon tank and ~51mpgs. Well, the mpg estimate is correct, but the tank capacity isn't...WTF? Anyone else have a way smaller tank than advertised? That pisses me off, I don't want to have to fill up every 100 miles, that's bullshit.

[poormillionaire2]

So, I finally took some pics the other day. It was beautiful out and definitely took advantage of it. Anyways, long overdue pics.











This is a pic of mine and my friend's bike. Its a Ninja ZX-6R, also a 2009. We bought them at the same time...

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

As disturbing as that is, I have another question...

So, I went riding last night (sorry no pics, it was dark) and ran out of gas. Last time I filled up, I reset one of the trip-o-meters so I could have a good estimate how many miles I could get before I had to fill up again. Anyways, luckily I was in a subdivision and it started to sputter. So I figured it out and flipped to the reserve tank. Here's the thing, I was only at 135 miles or so and the tank was dry! Went to fill up and only took 2.2 gallons. The booklet and specs online stated I have a 4.8 gallon tank and ~51mpgs. Well, the mpg estimate is correct, but the tank capacity isn't...WTF? Anyone else have a way smaller tank than advertised? That pisses me off, I don't want to have to fill up every 100 miles, that's bullshit.

Ya know, most bikes I've ridden tend to need to go to reserve at around 120-150 miles, regardless of actual tank capacity...

The Maxim holds about 3.5 gal and hits reserve around 100-120 miles, having burned ~2.5 gal...leaving me another 40-50 miles easy to find gas.

Less than half the total capacity and hitting reserve does sound weird though.

It's tricky to actually get a bike full, usually when close to the top there is still another .5 gal or more that could be filled, even more if the cap is centered on the tank and the bike is on the sidestand...which is why Yamaha thoughtfully placed the cap right of center on mine, to make filling easier...

[jeffcoslacker]

Hah! I never saw the original question.....the answer was correct though...it's tank pressure venting from the check valve.

[richtazz]

Hey poor, thanks for the pics. Love the Black! Both your's and your buddies bikes are sharp!

On the fuel issue, I wonder if that could be related to the vent issue? I know that if too much negative pressure builds up in the tank, it can cause a vapor lock effect that may be eliminated when you switch to reserve. I know that many sportbikes have a secondary fuel tank mounted down low (some have the entire fuel tank there, the "tank" per-se is just a cover for the airbox), which may be the reserve and when you switched, the additional weight of the fuel pushed past the vapor lock.


Since it's a new bike, either check the owner's manual or with your dealer to see what the reserve should be. I agree that you're switching way too early and if that's normal, what a PITA!

[poormillionaire2]

Thanks Rich, glad you like them.

The manual doesn't give much information on the gas tank. It just gives the reserve capacity and how to 'properly fill up the tank' and stuff like that. But the good news is that I am almost to 500 miles, so almost time for the first fluid change and stuff. So when I go back up to the dealership I will ask them about this problem and I will post the answer when I find it out.

So do you think it would be a good idea to run the reserve dry and see how much it actually holds? This way, when it runs out, I can flip back to the primary tank.

[richtazz]

That wouldn't work, because the primary tank just empties into the reserve tank first as you use fuel. If you left it on reserve, you'd be flat out of gas. It's not set up like dual tanks on a truck, where you can choose which tank you're using. On bikes with only a single tank, the petcock had two fuel supply tubes. The primary one is higher in the tank, so when the bike starts to sputter, you switch to the "reserve" side which is right at the bottom of the tank. This gives you notice that you're about out and you can get to a station.

[poormillionaire2]

Glad I asked before I tried that, or else I would probably be a pancake on the road by now. But that makes sense. Well, I am finally almost done with all my projects so I have some time to ride, but its suppose to rain here all week, damn the luck. So it will probably be a week or two before I get the fluids changed and stuff, I'll keep everyone posted.