How to use the bike? ...Specify it here..

[Jaz66]

Posted by Janne
I have used the NTV now in 3 year. The main use is for me to go to work with it

- I feel more fresh than sitting in the car or bus when I come to work.

-Its less expensive and lower consumption of fuel.

Together with a local MC group I use it running by Winding roads on the country side. Feeling the power under the seat and the vibrations is something special.

The leader of the group told me the first time to always run with the bike at the motors normal power RPM and correct gear.
Never use the highest gear if not run on highway. To use the brake to take down the speed can make me more in trouble than use the motor. ( do this wrong can make me to out of the road).

After this I run the NTV faster and more safer than the sport bikes on the winding roads in speed 70-100km/h.

Please explain your use of the bike or other notes good for all.

[Jaz66]

Posted By buzzin

Hmm...I prefer revving quite high actually....makes the cornering smoother (maybe just my lack of experience).
The engine make sweet sounds at 8500 RPM! (Don't try this too often)
And always, ALWAYS warm everything up before trying anything at speed.
This includes tyres, the engine and, also important, yourself. Don't try to brake the speed record in the first corner

I use the bike for work as well, but it does depend on the weather (I don't mind rain too much.....but I hate snow or high wind). The car is always an option for the worse weather, and when I feel like it (tired or ill etc)
The one thing I added to the NTV (like alot of us) is a small screen, as it just makes motorway driving a bit more relaxed.

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Posted by jaz66

Used for commuting mainly at moment
With some unneccessary rides just for the fun of it..

Sunny days BIG smile on way to work...
Miserable days Smaller smile on way to work..

Fresh, revived,....... ALIVE is the word that really covers it best.

Cheap to run, easy to park, fun to ride.

Use front brake too much,
(Find placement of rear brake too high for my foot... )
Love to use engine braking, has such a great sound and has an excellent braking effect.

Click through gears to high (5th) on most runs.
Love pull of bike from 3 thou revs onward...
Mix of high st (40%) duals (40%) and motorway type road (20%)

Most used gear 3/4 torque is great on bike
1st is ok from lights.
2nd missing..
so usually click thru' to 3rd pretty quickly as 1st starts to rev too much
(quick from lights then lags til 3rd selected, then away again)

sun/Wind/rain/cold...OK
Snow /ice ......Not for me

Best advice?
On sunny days.... RIDE and enjoy!
.... they don't last forever..

On wet days?
Ridden through 2 years worth, and starting to feel much more comfortable on machine.
(Now have taken advice of others...
was that your tip, JJ ? ))
keep bike as upright as possible in corners by moving YOUR ass off seat into turns, not leaning bike over unnesseccarily.

(wet road/Metal manhole covers/white lines all Scary at tyre limits)

I never hit 8.500 rpms

Small screen..(should have been standard equipment)
added mine after i got it...
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McF

Use front brake too much,
(Find placement of rear brake too high for my foot... )

keep bike as upright as possible in corners by moving YOUR ass off seat into turns, not leaning bike over unnesseccarily.



Half an hour with your spanners should cure the placement of your rear brake pedal. You will need to remove the right hanger to reach it, but do not need to undo any of the hydraulics.

The brake pedal is attached to the rear brake master cylinder by a threaded rod. There is a forked plate at the bottom that connects via a lynch pin to the pedal. Disconnect the pedal and screw the forked plate onto the threaded rod. When you reconnect the pedal you will have raised the rear of the pedal and therefore have dropped the height of the peg that your foot presses on - presto - genius You might need a few trial refits to get the height right.

Quite right on cornering in the rain - the only reason we lean the bike at all is to get the weight inside the corner we wish to make and the bike turns around the centre of gravity. It's no where near as much fun - but it does the job well enough.
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rj2para

Twist and grin then as she hits 8500 grin some more.

I use mine for work as well which is about 2 miles from home. Not much opportunity but if I go the Long Way home I can up the trip to about 15 miles and get a chance to give her the guns.

I love the riding style in traffic, I think being naked (almost another dodgy joke ) she may help save my licence as over 75 mph she is not as much fun.

I like her better in the twistys on dry roads.

Roll on the spring and some good ride outs.
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jaz66

Cheers for that McF

Didn't think to change brake pedal height
Just thought it was a design flaw i was stuck with...


Rj writes

Quote:
but if I go the Long Way home

IF.............IF...........
The long way home IS the only way home if you got a motorcycle
(and an understanding partner of course.... )

Even on the shortest trip to the shop we are all trying to build a route that includes some decent fast road....?
(or is that just me... )
Eg: Walking to shops for a pint of milk 7 mins tops
taking the bike.....1 hour +.....easily..
3 A roads, 2 dual carriageways and 1 Motorway, 6 boroughs, 5 speed limits and 4 Speed Cameras )
(sounds like a xmas song to me... )

Now banned from getting the Milk.....Ever! .



Quote:
Roll on the spring and some good ride outs.

+ one to that...
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rj2para

Interesting Jaz, I have rear brake pedal issues as well as my bike has been over earlier in its life and thus the pedal was bent.

I have been watching ebay for some time and have just today recieved.

HONDA NTV600 NTV650 REVERE REAR BRAKE LEVER from ebay

Back to the interesting point, this one has a smooth rubber insert at the pivot point (not sure I have the right thing yet re Mfc's threaded bar comment ) It looks to have 3 other fix points. Is yours be bent as well?

I am hoping to fit mine next weekend and will post pictures.
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jj

I use my bike every day - ditched the car in July

Great in dry, wet, and windy weather. Only off put I have is puddle in tank bag in heavy rain but that is nothing to with my lovely NTV

Commute to work is just the right distance (6.8miles) to travel without wearing me thermals in the freezing weather. Having a well heated office help

Only once has the ignition froze while getting ready to go to work at 7:30am, WD40 came to the recsue.

Lovely to cruise at 80mph - heaven

BIG SMILE ALWAYS
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McF

I have been watching ebay for some time and have just today recieved.
HONDA NTV600 NTV650 REVERE REAR BRAKE LEVER from ebay
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Roger

Don't throw your old one away. I saw it and believe you could straighten it with the aid of a large engineering vice, a little patience and then paint it to keep as a spare (someone is bound to need it if not yourself)

The threaded rod is on the Master Cylinder, the forked plate is called a "Clevis", see Haynes P7.14.

I suspect the rubber insert you describe are the o ring seals to help keep some of the muck out of the brake pivot.
If I recall correctly, there are 2 lugs at teh back of the pedal. One with a large hole for the clevis pin to attach the master cylinder to. The other has two holes which are for brake switch (attached by a spring) and the return spring to keep the pedal in the "up" position
Hope this makes sense!
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hubcap

Of late, my bike's been mainly used for commuting, though it went to liverpool last weekend!! Not enjoying riding her in this horrible icy weather, but the CG's got a bit of an electrical fault so when needs must.. plus, windchill's less on the CG 'cos it doesn't go as fast.. lmfao!
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ant

I use it to go town and back most of the times.
Cruising at legal Speeds,and some times a bit faster, im getting used to the machine so im taking it easy,but to be honest im more of a cruiser.

but for long journeys its hard.

Eg;
Drove from dartford to stanstead airport last friday,and i swear that the m11 was stretching,this bike is not good for long motor way drive's at least in my opinion.it would be good if it had some sort of wind protection.

Approaching curves is sometimes a nightmare for me ,eg:if im doing a left turn its smooth,if its a right turn its abit tricky,i have to correct it,dont know what im doing wrong here,
there might be something to do with the front forks they are a bit dodgy,or it could be my sh>> skills,it would be good for someone else to drive it and to check if it is just me.

braking,if under the rain,i normally reduce,rear brake,
last time i had to do an emergency brake,i just pressed the rear brake hard,and ended up sliding and creating a distinctive smell of rubber.

braking in curves,i never used the front brake,

Morning starts with a 5/10 minute warm up.

but in general its a great bike,and the v twin sounds really good.a millions times better than being stuck in traffic listening to radio presenters getting payed to talk """"",


small screen?yeah,hummm
where can i find one,i really need one.
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McF

Eg;
Drove from dartford to stanstead airport last friday

Approaching curves is sometimes a nightmare for me

there might be something to do with the front forks they are a bit dodgy

braking,if under the rain,i normally reduce,rear brake,

last time i had to do an emergency brake,i just pressed the rear brake hard

braking in curves,i never used the front brake

small screen?yeah,hummm
where can i find one,i really need one.


Stanstead - did you take your handcuffs and some fencing panels?

Screen - lots of places will seel a universal screen - Wemoto shop.wemoto.com/index.dyn are worth a look and have a good reputation

You might want to rethink your use of brakes:
Brake before you start to corner - accelerate through it
Even with only one front disc - most of your braking efficiency is up front, but keep pressure on both in balance.
In the rain think ahead far more, anticipate, keep your speed down, assume every other driver is an idiot, hasn't seen you and will do the most ridiculous manouvre. Adjust your speed with engine and gears where you can. Brake lightly, but I would recommend - use your brakes (when you're upright and travelling in a straight line on good tarmac (avoid brakes on manhole covers, white lines, gravel, leaves etc etc) - don't be afraid of them - they just need a lot of respect

Other drivers - As a general prinicple on wet or dry roads, I often
find myself "reading" what other drivers are doing through signs like:
Hands on the wheel - a good indicator if they're going to turn (or are occupied with their phone, cigarette, razor, newspaper/map/paperback/lipstick/sandwich)
Head movement - talking avidly to passenger, shouting to kids in the back seat, or making a life saver check over their shoulder (must be a biker!)

If you think your front forks are dodgy, I'd recommend getting them checked and sorted. It might cost a bit now, but one day the handling will let you down and the results will be a lot more costly. Unlike a car, you don't get a second chance when things start going wrong. On a bike it all happens quickly and with little warning.

[De Graaf van Salland]

I drive (ride ?) about 4500 km per year on my Honda. This is mostly commuting to work & back.
I don't like riding in the dark and in the rain (I hate riding in the dark when it's raining), so this is mostly done during the 7 months a year we have "summertime".
This way I can ride to work & back in daylight conditions.

On my daily trip there's a bridge which I have to cross. During the summer months it often opens to let boats pass. This of course creates a long traffic jam on the road. It's always a pleasure to pass this traffic jam on my bike and ride to the front of the cue.
At the front of the cue you'll often find one or two other bikers which have just done the same.

Braking: It's only possible to effectively brake a wheel when there's weight resting on it. Otherwise the wheel will just skid.
Because of the short wheelbase and high centre of gravity of a motorbike, most of the bike's weight gets transferred to the front wheel during braking.
If you brake extremely hard the rear wheel even lifts up, that means that it has a negative weight at that point.
This all means that there is only one effective brake on your motorbike, and that's the one in front.
I do almost all of my braking with only the front brake.
That does mean that you have to replace the pads more often, but that an easy job.

As for driving around bends/corners: I've been tought to lean the bike as far as necessary, while keeping the upper part of your body as upright as possible.
There are three advantages with this method:
1. The contact between the road and your tyres is more on the side of the tyre. This is usually a softer rubber compound, thus giving more grip on the road surface. Also the side of the tyre is usually less worn, creating more grip on a wet road surface.
2. With your body upright you have a better view of the situation in front of you.
3. This method is also much faster if you have to go from a left-hand into a right-hand bend (or the other way around). Flipping the bike over from one side to the other, with the upper part of your body upright (it sort of hinges at the waist) is done a lot faster than shifting your body from one buttock to the other. Try this if you done believe me.


Franklin

[McF]

An interesting view on riding technique, and opposite to that which I have always been taught.
Instruction does go in phases, so I may well be "behind the times"
I was always taught to lean bike and rider into the corner and maintain balance throughout.
On wet, slippy, greasy etc roads, keep the bike more upright and get your bum off the side and into the inside of the turn.

Motorbikes turn by moving the centre of effort (applied through the wheels and in particular - tyre contact area) around the centre of gravity.

The main thing at the level we're riding (non competitive) is for rider to feel comfortable, balanced and in control. If your method works for you that's great, but I think I'll be sticking to my own when I need to.

I took and passed the Institute of Advanced Motorists' Motorcyle test many years ago and resolved to take a check ride this year. I loaned someone my manual and therefore unable to look up their advice, however, I will speak to some professional riders shortly and ask their advice on current thoughts.

An interesting topic - anyone else care to enter the debate?

[blitzman5]

HI Mfc i havent took the advanced cource but im with you on this one maybe old age (me)but what you saying is correct if you realy think and watch what you are doing when cornering you are in fact turning the wrong way on bars its the effect of going round to your left you put pressure down on left thefore your looking at bars turning right its a giro effect because of the camber on forks try this slowly just dab left or right at tip of bars and you will see the bike go oppisite way as for braking in corner def a no no decrease speed into accelarate out

[De Graaf van Salland]

The technique of keeping your upper body upright, while your lower body grips the motorbike (tank between the knees) was tought to me when I took lessons for my motorcycle driver's licence (at least 10 years ago).
But more recently I've also done a few 'advanced riding' courses (For the dutch readers: VRO1, VRO2 & ROC van de KNMV).
The dutch KNMV is the Royal Netherlands Motorcyclists Association. I believe they know what they're talking about.

They teach this technique for fast manouvres (avoiding obstacles) and sharp bends.

The technique of shifting your bum from one side to the other is only necessary when the speed is so high that the ground clearance of the bike is not sufficient.
In other words: it's a racing technique.

Looking forward to other peoples views on this issue.

Franklin

PS.
Apart from my clothing, the advanced riding courses were also paid for by my employer.......

[rj2para (Bisto)]

My guess:

Are you an Ambulance Biker?

Or transplant courier?