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Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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My favourite bike was my '78 Honda CB750 Supersport, I purchased the bike for $400.00 from some guys who were really desperate for cash after they spent a few thousand dollars tweaking the bike for racing. Once I repainted it and added a fairing it was as pretty as it was fast due to the 812 big bore kit.

I test drove a lot of bikes but could never part with my Honda. If it would have failed me as some of my friends bikes did I might have considered it.

The Honda Shadow uses the same in line four as my old Supersport did; this engine has been used for better than thirty years and is as bulletproof as they come. You’ll have power whenever you need it and the 750 will cruise at 110kmh / 70mph all day while getting great mileage. You shouldn’t find yourself wanting more bike for quite some time.

One modification I would make would be to replace the factory air filter with a K&N, the engine will breathe better and get significantly better mileage / performance.

Most importantly, no matter what you ride there’s no excuse for skimping on your safety gear.

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Can bikes ride between cars all the time and at all speeds, or just in case of a traffic jam? That’s what they’re allowed to do over here: I believe the law says something about “speeds under 40 km/h and speed differences under 20 km/h”.

23

Yet more advice.

Get a really good pair of gloves. Make sure the seams are on the OUTSIDE, they are so much more comfortable. And if you live in a warm climate, get white gloves, your hands will thank you.
Try Z_Leathers

24

Minor point, the Shadow is a V Twin these days, and has always been one, IIRC. The CB750 was a sweet ride though, you have my full agreement on that.

But on topic, Lockfist when you get on that bike an amazing thing happens, you become invisible! In ANY kind of traffic (i.e. not a one way road with no cars and no possible cars entering) keep two escape routes open at all times, your primary can go from good to bad real quick. Ride in traffic like the cars are trying to run you down, don’t let them have the chance, give then room to screw up safely. Do NOT trust your mirrors, do a headcheck before changing lanes (I do this in the car, now, too). If both wheels are not firmly on the ground and rolling at the speed of the bike, something is way wrong. Good denim will last something like three feet while skidding on pavement, good leather lasts something like 60 feet. You will burn the inside of your right leg on the exhaust, learn from it. I believe that is the most common motorcycling injury. White helmets are amazingly more visible than other colors.

Enjoy the mountains and the coast roads, I do envy you for that. A Honda Shadow 750 is a “big” bike that is light and easy to handle, as compared to other cruisers. Looks good, too. Check http://www.traderonline.com for used bikes, if you like.

25

First thing about buying a bike, the dealer is not always that interested in selling for cash if the price is low, he can make more money selling you finance.

You should cut yourself a deal with clothing and accesories included, crash hat, jacket, pants, gloves, rainwear, boots, panniers anything at all.The dealer gets it trade and you can often make up a list of what you want, add it all up and name a price, you could save more on clothing than on the bike.

Its worth buying your machine from a good dealer and paying more if you can compensate your costs in this way, after all clothing and accesories usually give very few aftermarket warranty problems and if the dealer has stock he would like to get rid of for the new season you will be doing him a favour, and never let him forget it.

Many folk who are new to the game think that a real bike has a certain appearance and buy accordingly, all too soon they find it is a nightmare to turn in small spaces, very heavy if it topples over, costs a fortune to run, isn’t very comfortable, the controls are heavy and it need lots and lots of keeping clean. Now you might think I just described a Ducati but Harleys qualify in the previous list on most of those counts, the fact is you don’t realise what you don’t know.

In your position a bike that is competant but is not specialised in any particular way is a good option, something pretty conventional like a Bandit 600, a Honda CB750 Nighthawk, Seca, or that kind of style is a good bet.
For secondhand bikes Honda build quality is so good that I’d stick with them until you have more of a feel for bikes.

If you get the conventional type of machine then make sure you get crash bars fitted, they will stop your engine cases being damaged and some are large enough to keep the weight of the bike off the exhaust should the bike fall over, what’s more they provide a pivot point that makes the bike easier to pick up.

There is a way to pick up a fallen bike, its not about strength, its technique.
Squat with your back to the fallen bike against the saddle, tuck your hands a little way underneath, see if there is anything solid to grab. Now push backward with your legs into the bike and use that effort to lift your hips.Once you have the weight moving do not stop partway up.

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A friend of a friend of mine just got run over by a tahoe last week. Crushed pelvis, went through 14 units of blood before they got it slowed down. But they’ve upgraded him to a 60% chance of living throught it(they had to lift the car off his bike,as it was weged under it so far that the tahoe wouldnt eve move. Never kid yourself, this is a dangerous hobby. Keep that in mind every time you ride.

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I started on a 650 BSA Spitfire MkIII, I would never ride anything less than a 500 on the street. You need that power to get out of the way…your invisible, remeber?

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I believe the theory is that in a trafic jam you are more at risk sitting still, and being rear ended, than you are white lining it. Added bonus is that air-cooled bikes don’t like to sit still in the heat that long. It’s not the law here, but when I was young and stupid I remember flying between cars and semis on central expressway in dallas at about 80 with a passenger on the back. The was the day I had my first motorcycle accident. I was trying to impress the babe I had on the back of the bike. I didn’t, and thank God we weren’t seriously hurt. I think impressing the oposite sex is a major cause of Motorcycle accidents.