New rider and new member with a new bike needs some advise

[Seamaster]

Hello everyone,

I just got my motorcycle endorsement a few weeks ago and went got a 2016 V7II Stone in flat black. The bike as today, is still at dealer. This is my first motorcycle! I know, I know, a new rider with V-Twin on the side, could be a disaster! Engine guards is on the way and I am not going to ride my baby until it is installed. I picked Agostini engine guard for the look, are these any good? I also need some advise on the bar end mirrors/mounts (Black only), adjustable brake levels, and a decent looking tank protector n(no fish bone please). can someone pass down some wisdom here?


Thank you!!

[oldbike54]

 Fish bones ?

 Diusty

[Perazzimx14]

My go to place for bar end mirrors is eBay. I do a search for "3" round bar end mirrors" and buy the cheapest ones I can fine. Usually about $15 per set shippped. I don't have the heart to spend $100 on a set of Oberlin's that look almost exactly like the eBay mirrors because I know I'm just going to break then off at some point.

Tank bags are a personal choice. If you get a magnetic one do not leave it on the bike for days at a time. Take it off at the end of every day's ride or the paint will distort where the magnets contact the tank.

[Tom]

Sounds like you bought from Moto International?  Hook up with some riders from there.  They'll let pick you their brains.  National Rally in John Day, OR.  coming up towards the end of the month.  There are local riders out there.

[Tom H]

Since you mentioned that you were new to motorcycles, my first suggestion would be a rider training course. Engine guards are nice to have, but with the skill gained from the course, you hopefully won't need them.

Enjoy the new ride!!
Tom

[Tom]

+1

[Seamaster]

I just finished motorcycle safety course that my work paid for it and I attend the class on the clock.

Most tank protectors look like fish bone 

Yes, I bought my bike from Moto International. Dave was really nice and he installed a lower gel seat for no charge and also gave me back the original seat!

I will check out those mirror on ebay, but can they hold-up with the wind or vibration?

[toaster404]

Pad up the bike.  Twist of the wrist.  Ride like a pro.  Get some cones, do the practice.  Don't go out on the streets naked.  Good gear.  Padded and anti-abrasion.  Bright colors. 

Learn the lines.  Civy lines, not racing lines.  Maximize chances.  Late apex cornering.  Keep it simple.  No trail braking etc.  You won't know the bike's limit (generally way out there) or yours.  So learn the mechanics of riding the machine, the skill of the 360 ( knowing where everything is all the time), and the pace.  Just a wonderful balanced pace with reserved and comfortable line, efficient energy state. 

Always improve.  Lean your body more than the bike.  A tiny lean, shoulder towards the inside mirror, eyes through the corner.  Start slow so you can roll on.  Every corner perfect, every shift just right.  You'll never get there, but strive for it.

The voice.  When the voice says slow down, do it.  When the voice says pull over, do it.  One day the bike may decide to go straight instead of left at the light.  Let the bike and the voice do it.  That one saved my life. 

Build a trauma pack and put it on your bike.  More important, learn how to evaluate, manage an accident scene, triage, extract, run a rescue.  I ran my own once, while carefully noting that I was headed for volume shock and didn't have a lot of time. 

Drop ego.  Ride for the ride, for the intimate feel of rubber on asphalt, for the wind, for the gentle build of power as the bike lifts into the straight, for dance.  Be quiet.  Listen to everything.  A little tick of something loose.  A change in the wind.  The faint sound of a big vehicle ahead, around the blind corners, for the crows watching and whispering that you are mortal, whispering that this gift is a dance with death.

You cannot ride the same road twice, never forget that the next corner may be different than yesterday, or earlier today.  Leave room for distracted, the too eager, the out of control, whoever - the fellow in your lane in your blind spot.

Have fun!

[Seamaster]

Pad up the bike.  Twist of the wrist.  Ride like a pro.  Get some cones, do the practice.  Don't go out on the streets naked.  Good gear.  Padded and anti-abrasion.  Bright colors. 

Learn the lines.  Civy lines, not racing lines.  Maximize chances.  Late apex cornering.  Keep it simple.  No trail braking etc.  You won't know the bike's limit (generally way out there) or yours.  So learn the mechanics of riding the machine, the skill of the 360 ( knowing where everything is all the time), and the pace.  Just a wonderful balanced pace with reserved and comfortable line, efficient energy state. 

Always improve.  Lean your body more than the bike.  A tiny lean, shoulder towards the inside mirror, eyes through the corner.  Start slow so you can roll on.  Every corner perfect, every shift just right.  You'll never get there, but strive for it.

The voice.  When the voice says slow down, do it.  When the voice says pull over, do it.  One day the bike may decide to go straight instead of left at the light.  Let the bike and the voice do it.  That one saved my life. 

Build a trauma pack and put it on your bike.  More important, learn how to evaluate, manage an accident scene, triage, extract, run a rescue.  I ran my own once, while carefully noting that I was headed for volume shock and didn't have a lot of time. 

Drop ego.  Ride for the ride, for the intimate feel of rubber on asphalt, for the wind, for the gentle build of power as the bike lifts into the straight, for dance.  Be quiet.  Listen to everything.  A little tick of something loose.  A change in the wind.  The faint sound of a big vehicle ahead, around the blind corners, for the crows watching and whispering that you are mortal, whispering that this gift is a dance with death.

You cannot ride the same road twice, never forget that the next corner may be different than yesterday, or earlier today.  Leave room for distracted, the too eager, the out of control, whoever - the fellow in your lane in your blind spot.

Have fun!

Thanks for your advises bro, I will remember them like bible!

[lucydad]

Master of the Sea,

Focus.

Be smooth.

Practice.

Watch the road far ahead, and put those bar end mirrors to use.

Evaluate.

Enjoy!

[vstevens]

Aprilia Tuono mirrors are superior to stock and offer excellent visibility.  Mirrors are a safety item.

[Lcarlson]

Countersteer consciously, look where you want the bike to go, and don't ride at a pace beyond that which allows you to stop within your line of sight, without drama.

[Cam3512]

I have the black one piece Agostini crash bar on my V7  Special.  Very sturdy.

Todd at Guzzi Tech sells adjustable levers.

Search AF1's website.  Lots of stuff for the V7's, including tank protectors.

Congrats on your first bike!    A Guzzi was a great choice.

[Seamaster]

Aprilia Tuono mirrors are superior to stock and offer excellent visibility.  Mirrors are a safety item.

I am looking for bar end mirrors

[Seamaster]

I have the black one piece Agostini crash bar on my V7  Special.  Very sturdy.

Todd at Guzzi Tech sells adjustable levers.

Search AF1's website.  Lots of stuff for the V7's, including tank protectors.

Congrats on your first bike!    A Guzzi was a great choice.

Thanks, I looked at KTM Duke 390 before I went to V7II. The KTM dealer is all about money. I am glad my friend Branden Hellman told me Guzzi is easy to maintain. Oh, I am a diesel mechanic by the way.

[charlie b]

Make sure to attend the monthly breakfasts.  Nice group of folks.  They also have a number of other get togethers in the area.

[twowings]

All the gear all the time...don't ever think 'I'm just running down to the store' and neglect your personal safety for the sake of convenience...the things you learned in the Basic Rider Course really will save your life someday...

[rodekyll]

There is a Bent Bike on Aurora in Everett and one on the Kent/Auburn highway (east valley rd?) in Kent.  They have universal accessories.  There are a number of UJM (universal Japanese machine or 'big4') shops on Aurora as you leave Moto International and head for Everett.  They'll have stuff you can use.

I agree that a m/c safety course is highly to your advantage.  If you've lived in the I5 corridor or near it you know that traffic pounces on the weak and inexperienced like lions on a wildebeest.  The safety course is your best way to NOT meet the head of the WA chapter of the MGNOC (Moto Guzzi National Owner's Club), Dick Guthrie.  He drives a WADOT trouble truck and just hates it when he has to mop up after a bike gets clobbered on the 405.  A survivor reads traffic and reacts/proacts instantly.  You can't do that if you don't know what to do and can't do it instinctively.

I did the combat commute for years from Oly to UW and Fall City to UW.  With a half million or so miles on bikes, I'm not about to enter the fray abruptly when I barge my Guzzi south this summer.  I'm going to do baby steps around Vashon and the Peninsula first.  Even with experience it takes some getting used to. 

[Seamaster]

Make sure to attend the monthly breakfasts.  Nice group of folks.  They also have a number of other get togethers in the area.

That is cool! Yeah, Branden spent 12 years to convince me to get a motorcycle.

[Fuzzy]

Don't trust anyone's turn signal, not even your own (don't forget to turn yours off)

[Seamaster]

rodekyll,

Agree, the I5 traffic is crazy, are there are always accidents. People, get off your phones!

[Perazzimx14]

Most tank protectors look like fish bone 

Carbon fiber?

[pressureangle]

Riding since '75, killed once and been on the ground both racing and streeting more times than I care to recount.

If you do no other thing, find a parking lot with clean pavement and practice your 25mph-0mph fast stops, with front brake only. Practice until you can lock and release the front brake without panicking.

This should take a long time to get comfortable, maybe 100-200 stops. Another few hundred to get good at it.

Set up cones, stop one direction and loop back around to the start point.

Discuss after you've tried it.

E.

[Seamaster]

Carbon fiber?

Sure.

[Tom]

If and when you go with a group.  Ride your own ride.  Find out where they''re going.  Go last and don't let your ego tell you to keep up.  Show up on your terms.

[oldbike54]

 Is it too late to say

                                                             Start on a dirt bike

 OK , probably too late

 Good luck , some good advice here . If no one has mentioned it , never panic , keep a light touch on all the controls .

 Oh , have fun , if it isn't fun , what is the point .


 Dusty

[rocker59]

Fish bones ?

 Diusty

[Seamaster]

Is it too late to say

                                                             Start on a dirt bike

 OK , probably too late

 Good luck , some good advice here . If no one has mentioned it , never panic , keep a light touch on all the controls .

 Oh , have fun , if it isn't fun , what is the point .


 Dusty

I use to ride mountain bike, well, that does not really count.

[Seamaster]

That is a fish bone, which does not belong to this type of bike.

[Guzzer]

If you get a magnetic tank bag, don't take in your workshop where you drill or cut metal.  The tiny metal slivers get on the magnets & can ruin a paint job very fast.  Always look at th magnetic contact points before putting the bag on you new tank!