My first bike!

[SVT_Power]

That was fast

Got her naked pretty fast eh   

Anyway final results:

[CaminoRacer]

Got her naked and then pegged her.

[giant_mtb]

Nice lookin bike. As someone who currently rides an air cooled 230, I understand your disappointment.  Not all bad, though. It'll allow you to focus on things other than pure speed like cornering, braking, posture, shifting, reading surfaces, etc.  Won't be long before you can wring it out without worry, and what's not fun about being able to push a machine towards its limits every time you use it?

[12,000 RPM]

Yea thats the goal here. Build them skillz, confidence and reflexes. All that shit goes a loooonnnnnnnggggg way.

I would try and find some twisties though even if you have to go a little out of your way. Maybe in a few months. I think it will "click" then and the power won't matter.

[SVT_Power]

Gonna go for a little ride with a couple of friends this Sunday. Plan is to head north of the city where the roads will hopefully be pretty empty so I can get some practice in, and maybe jump on the highway

[SVT_Power]

Luggage! Had to bring lunch and shoes, wouldn't fit in my normal backpack. On that note, the bungie cord net is a little annoying to use

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

4 years in I can't brake + downshift either

WOW! But you're not a lone. I ride with a few guys that can't! I do it without thinking.....

[MX793]

WOW! But you're not a lone. I ride with a few guys that can't! I do it without thinking.....

Definitely a lot of people who don't know how, or don't know it's even a thing.  I learned how to hold the front brake while applying throttle when I used to motocross.  Dragging the front brake while holding steady throttle in the middle part of a corner is a technique to help the bike turn better on a rutted/bermed corner.

[SVT_Power]

I noticed during the MSF that I naturally only grab the clutch with the index/middle fingers for shifting, and I'm still doing the same thing on my bike. This occasionally makes me pull the lever into my ring finger and it's starting to hurt a little bit. Think I'll order some cheapo shorty levers from ebay and see if I like it. Probably only gonna use the shorty for the clutch and keep the full lever for the brake.

[12,000 RPM]

You should use your whole hand for the clutch and fingers for the brake

Be careful with shorty levers, I've heard stories of cheapo levers locking up front brakes.

[Cookie Monster]

You don't need to use your whole hand on the clutch. As long as it disengages it doesn't need to go all the way to the bar.

That said I still use my whole hand because it feels more natural to me but I know plenty of people who don't.

I use my index and middle fingers on the brake. Going to replace both with shorty levers at some point.

[12,000 RPM]

Yea you dont have to pull it all the way in. Nowhere close.

[SVT_Power]

Filled the tank for the first time yesterday, thought it'd be harder to see the gas level in the tank as I was filling up.

Definitely not riding this thing in a gas friendly manner, went through more than half the tank while doing ~120 miles. If I had to guess, probably averaged roughly 40-45 mpg.

[Speed_Racer]

Filled the tank for the first time yesterday, thought it'd be harder to see the gas level in the tank as I was filling up.

Definitely not riding this thing in a gas friendly manner, went through more than half the tank while doing ~120 miles. If I had to guess, probably averaged roughly 40-45 mpg.

That's a decent sized tank, I can only get 140 miles before my fuel light comes on.

[MX793]

That's a decent sized tank, I can only get 140 miles before my fuel light comes on.

Is your fuel light as pessimistic as my Suzuki's was?  Seemed like mine would come on when I still had 1.75 gallons left in the tank (another ~90 miles on that bike).

[CaminoRacer]

Fuel light? Must be a fancy new type of petcock.

[SVT_Power]

That's a decent sized tank, I can only get 140 miles before my fuel light comes on.

4.5 US gal, most people seem to average around 70-80 mpg on these things 

[CaminoRacer]

Maybe it's because I'm lucky to get 16 mpg in my car, but I don't get the obsession some people have with mpg on their motorcycle. I'm not gonna go easy on the throttle to save $0.20, I'm gonna wring it out and enjoy life.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Maybe it's because I'm lucky to get 16 mpg in my car, but I don't get the obsession some people have with mpg on their motorcycle. I'm not gonna go easy on the throttle to save $0.20, I'm gonna wring it out and enjoy life.

[Cookie Monster]

Maybe it's because I'm lucky to get 16 mpg in my car, but I don't get the obsession some people have with mpg on their motorcycle. I'm not gonna go easy on the throttle to save $0.20, I'm gonna wring it out and enjoy life.

I commute too far to not care about MPG. I don't pay attention to it on fun rides but on my daily commute I always make sure I can get some decent MPG.

40-45 mpg on a a Ninja 300 is pretty shitty, too.

[12,000 RPM]

Dude is all in the city

I agree though that it's silly to talk about gas mileage on a bike. If there is any problem its with the stupid tiny tanks. I would be OK to have a ugly endurance 5-6 gallon tank. There is hella room under my seat, they could have fit another 1-2 gallons under there.

[CaminoRacer]

I commute too far to not care about MPG. I don't pay attention to it on fun rides but on my daily commute I always make sure I can get some decent MPG.

40-45 mpg on a a Ninja 300 is pretty shitty, too.

Yeah I'll cut some slack for commuters going more than a few miles. Otherwise the only reason I'd care about mileage is so that I don't have to stop for gas every 10 minutes

[SVT_Power]

I commute too far to not care about MPG. I don't pay attention to it on fun rides but on my daily commute I always make sure I can get some decent MPG.

40-45 mpg on a a Ninja 300 is pretty shitty, too.

That's what happens if you wind up the motor to 5 digits RPM regularly just for kicks, even if it's a 300cc motor 

[Cookie Monster]

Yeah I'll cut some slack for commuters going more than a few miles. Otherwise the only reason I'd care about mileage is so that I don't have to stop for gas every 10 minutes

Oddly enough, my overall mpg went up during my twisty ride today.

[SVT_Power]

With that said, I see the allure of having a slower bike. I can go to redline in 1st & 2nd and still be at a reasonable speed. Hell I wouldn't even be able to go on the highway with just 2nd (it's just shy of 60 mph). As much fun as the power would be, wouldn't be that much fun not even being able to approach redline in a single gear in town on a SS or something.

I also did a roughly 120 mile ride with a couple of friends today. Did my first noteworthy highway stint, even if it was a little less than 20 miles. Then took some country side roads back home. The 300 is definitely a step slower than a EX500, but I was easily faster than my friend on his Hyosung 250. I think I hit an indicated 90 mph, which should be roughly 80 mph actual. Bike was still pulling decently even with my fat ass on it.

I trolled my friend when we stopped to look up directions by turning his bike off and tossing his keys away...then I proceeded to shift into 1st with my kickstand down like a n00b   

[SVT_Power]

And I noticed a little crack on my instrument cluster. I could've sworn it wasn't there this morning, but it magically appeared while riding today. The only possible explanation I thought was a rock must've bounced off of my helmet and hit the cluster, except I don't remember getting hit by a single rock/pebble today.

Then I got home and googled it, apparently a relatively common problem with the damn 300's. The cluster cover for whatever reason likes to just crack. People have had it under a cover and found it the next day, other people have had it sitting out in the sun for weeks without issues and one day bam it happens. What kind of stupidity is this? Who designs a bike instrument cluster cover to be so damn fragile?

I emailed the dealer tonight mentioning that and a little condensation inside the high beam headlight housing. Obviously they might say "sorry used bike, out of warranty, out of our hands", but who knows. Maybe they'll replace the instrument housing in good faith.

[CaminoRacer]

Must be super sensitive to temperature change?

[SVT_Power]

Must be super sensitive to temperature change?

My parking garage is usually around 50F, I left my apartment this morning when the temps were in the low 50's. And I was out with my bike all day, and the temp peaked around 70F today although the sun was intense without a single cloud in the sky. Definitely no thermal shock, it did change a decent amount especially with sunlight but it wasn't a sudden change.

[12,000 RPM]

With that said, I see the allure of having a slower bike. I can go to redline in 1st & 2nd and still be at a reasonable speed. Hell I wouldn't even be able to go on the highway with just 2nd (it's just shy of 60 mph). As much fun as the power would be, wouldn't be that much fun not even being able to approach redline in a single gear in town on a SS or something.

I like an engine that rewards being wrung to redline but doesn't HAVE to be wrung. On anything beyond a 300 that shit takes commitment

On the street midrange is king. The appeal of something like a Ninja 1000 isn't that it makes 140HP or whatever.... its that you can keep it in 6th and give 99% of whatever you encounter on the highway in your rear view mirror. Or have a pillion and not have the bike be a total dog. Plus when you can surf the midrange wave you get to shift more if you want.

[Speed_Racer]

Is your fuel light as pessimistic as my Suzuki's was?  Seemed like mine would come on when I still had 1.75 gallons left in the tank (another ~90 miles on that bike).

After the light comes on, 3.2 gallons will fill it to the brim. So I guess that means it's coming on when I have 1.3 gallons left or maybe 50-60 miles. So not as optimistic as yours, but that's still a decent ride until I'm pushing it to the gas station.