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Tips, Tricks, Advice learned from experience

Look at the cagers mirrors, if you are next to/slightly behind them and you look at the side view mirror and see something that doesn't even remotely look like a part of a person stop being next to them!

Seems like half of the drivers around here like to use their side view mirrors only to check which side of the car the gas tank is on, and if they closed it... they've arranged their mirror to give them a nice view of the side of their car, not the motorcycle or car next them. (it's actually how one of my drivers ed. teachers wanted me to adjust my mirrors, I asked if the ford explorer we were in at the time was at risk of having the sides fall off? She didn't like me.)
 
670cc said:
Let me get this straight. When I'm on my 49cc Ruckus scooter, I should expect to get the finger from NC700X riders, but when I'm riding my 1800cc Goldwing, I should give NC riders (DCT only) the finger? If I'm on my NC (manual, not DCT) and my wife is on her 250cc scooter, do I give her the finger? Or is it only when she's on her 49cc Ruckus? If we're both on scooters, can we wave? So confusing. . . .
Click to expand...

I once waved at a bicycle, Jerk didn't even wave back. Apparently those Trek riders are too good to wave at some one on an NC!
 
netizen said:
This is the free raindar app.
I've used this when riding in potentially heavy rain and thunderstorms. The blue dot is your location, the radar is a continually updating 30 minute animated loop, so you can see the direction it's heading at a glance. You can zoom in and out and adjust what area you want to see, and in how much detail. The cones show the direction of each weather cell.

You can see the roads your traveling on, so you know real-time what your riding into, and can adjust your speed and route to best avoid the nasty yellow and red stuff.
Raindar is a very fast loading app that uses minimal resources as far as weather radar goes.
It makes riding in rain a much better and secure feeling experience giving you the information you need to avoid the worst of the weather around you.

For keeping your phone dry while using raindar see post #43 in this thread

Sent from my Moto X Pure using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

That looks way better than the weather app I'm using currently. Gonna give it a try, thanks.
 
Back to the tips.

Predicting animal behavior:

The animals you encounter on the road depend on where you live. I don't have bear, armadillo, or alligator, so I have no advice on them. However, these are some that I encounter.

Squirrels:
Squirrels on the road, once they see you coming, are always heading for the nearest tree. If you have a field on one side and trees on the other, the squirrel is going toward the tree. Power poles are not trees; they seem to be ignored. The squirrel will cross in front of you on a diagonal path that would work fine if the bike was moving the same speed or slower than the squirrel. The squirrel did not evolve around motorcycles, so adjust your speed and path accordingly to avoid it.

Birds:
Large birds like hawks, turkey, pigeons, and doves are not usually agile enough to spin around quickly before taking flight. They tend to fly off the road in the direction they happen to already be facing.

Fox and raccoon:
A large enough animal that you wouldn't want to hit it, but they usually get out of your way.

Opossum:
Appear dumbfounded and react slowly. When you encounter them, you'd best go way around them.

Deer:
The deer that just crossed the road in front of you is not your problem. The problem is the two or three more that are chasing behind it. When you see one deer, assume there are more. Also, a deer behaves like the squirrel. If there is open field on one side of the road and woods on the other, expect the deer to head for the woods. If the deer just stands next to the road and looks at you, then brake almost to a stop because you have no idea what it will do at the last second before you pass by.

Rabbits:
Unpredictable. They dart about and head for cover, but beyond that it's just luck.

Large turtles:
Avoidance is all up to you. Just keeps your eyes on the road to see them in time.

Dogs:
Dogs try to predict your travel path and calculate a diagonal intercept course. Varying your speed abruptly throws their calculations out of whack, allowing an escape without direct encounter.

Before anyone spouts off about intentionally hitting animals, please be considerate of animals lovers and keep your comments to yourself. :)
 
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670cc said:
Before anyone spouts off about intentionally hitting animals, please be considerate of animals lovers and keep your comments to yourself. :)
Click to expand...

Not that I condone hitting animals because that's cruel, but a general rule of thumb I use is that if you can't eat it in one sitting you should probably swerve to avoid it. :)
 
Here's an NC700X Tip:

Before you fork over your money for a brand new / taller / differently shaped windscreen, try a pair of ear plugs first if you don't already ride with them.
You may find that the windscreen is okay and it is the wind noise that is really bugging you.

I have a reusable pair on a string, they work great and don't get lost, I can feel, but not hear the NC700 engine and the ride is much more peaceful and less distracting.
 
Best tip I can give is read David Hough. anything by him is worth your time. He's back writing a column for Motorcycle Consumer News and Amazon has his books. When it gets below freezing around here, I keep my hand in riding by reading Hough. He really is that good.
 
I am 6'4" tall and weight 230 lbs. I have noticed that the front end feels a little light on tight corners. If you lean forward a bit when taking corners you get better feel for the front wheel and you can tip the bike faster and with more control. I also ride in manual mode on my DCT when there are a lot of corners. You can keep the revs more steady and avoid that unexpected shift going in or coming out of a turn. The DCT is not a scooter and riding in manual mode will prove your meddle as a motorcycle rider. If you can't hack it in manual mode, then you need more practice because you are a scooter driver on a real motorcycle....:)

If you ride in areas where there are a lot of bees (like I do), get a windshield. Otherwise you will be wearing bees around your face and neck and that's not fun at all.
 
+1 on leaning in corners (for any size rider). It also helps to properly counter-steer without over extending (over extending reduces reaction time if you get in trouble in the corner)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
When you end up in a line of cars at a stoplight, don't stop close to the vehicle ahead of you, and angle the front of your bike towards the gap between lanes, if you should get rear ended it will push you into the gap and not the rear of whatever you're behind.
 
My take on leaning into the corner is to try to put my chin on the mirror on the inside of the curve. AKA "Kiss the mirror"
That gets my weight out there where it should be, focuses me on the turn/curve I'm making and keeps the bike a little bit more upright since I've got weight hanging on the inside of the curve, a la moto gp rider.
 
Tool tubes (or Fuel tubes etc).

Someone figured out that you can buy these waterproof plastic tubes used for owner's manuals on tractors and boats from Agri Supply (about $5) and mount them on the NCX and use them for carrying various things. I use one for my took kit and the other for a MSR 1 litre fuel bottle for an emergency supply of fuel.
These can be mounted in various places, the most common place is INSIDE the mount rack for your side cases (assuming you have them).

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.agrisupply.com%2Fmanual-canister-large-with-neoprene-seal%2Fp%2F67670%2F

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetooltube.com%2FToolTube.html

There are other tubes that are even bigger that could hold more. They may or may not fit in the same places as seen in these pics at the article I am linking to, or in the pictures below.

Here is a link to one of the threads describing how they installed theirs. http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-mods/2841-mounting-tool-tubes-inside-givi-panniers-post39865.html#post39865

Below are pics posted from another thread by JoeTx

Tool Tube 005.jpg

Tool Tube 004.jpg

Tool Tube 003.jpg

Tool Tube 002.jpg
 
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Fuelly

With the NCX delivering as much as 80+ MPG (driven very conservatively) there is quite a bit of interest in keeping up with your personal fuel milage on this bike.

Several years ago someone posted a link to the Fuelly website Fuelly - Track and Compare your MPG

There is also a fuelly app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fuelly.app&hl=en

I imagine there is an IOS app, but I don't dwell in the dark side so I wouldn't know for sure smileyteeth.jpg

Here is a link to a thread explaining in detail how to use fuelly, and also how to add fuelly to your signature so it will post your average fuel milage as a signature file with your posts
http://nc700-forum.com/forum/site-announcements/1759-fuelly-signature.html?highlight=fuelly+signature
 
Back on the riding in rain subject....

The slipperiest time is the first 30 minutes after the rain starts... Why?? Because all that oil and radiator fluid that leaks out (especially at stop signs and stop lights) gets pulled up to the surface of the pavement by the water and mixes with it, making a VERY slick road surface.
The most dangerous places are right in the middle of the road as you come to the stop signs and stop lights where cars sit idle waiting for their turn to go and any leakage is dripping right in the middle of the road under the cars and trucks.

I remember driving to work at Fort Bragg many years ago, and seeing a Honda 250 shadow approaching a light. It had just started raining about 15 minutes earlier. From the gear the rider had on, and the bike (the 250 shadow is a known beginer bike), I was pretty sure this was a new rider. That thought was confirmed when I realized he was not slowing down appropriately as he approached the red light for the rainy conditions... and he was planted right in the center of the lane.. not in either the left or right wheel path where cars drive as he should have been.

My first thought was "He is gonna go down". Sure enough... he grabbed a handful of front brake just like he probably would normally do in the dry and his front wheel just slid.. then the whole bike dumped to the side hard when the wheels slid out.

It is never wise to ride right in the center of the lane... even in the dry. If you take the MSF course they will tell you that you should ride in the right or left wheel path closest to the traffic to protect your lane. Cage drivers will try to share your lane with you if you are in the farthest wheel track from their lane. If you have lanes on both sides.. you just have to pick a wheel track and protect that side.
 
Another reason to ride in car tire paths is much much less debris on the road. Items in the center of the lane stay put, never touched by a 4 wheel vehicle, but anything in the tire pathsgets thrown around by cars until it lands out of the tire path. Less likely to get a flat riding in tire tracks.
 
When you find yourself behind a chicken truck in rural Arkansas and there is nothing but double yellows in sight, just pull over, find a shady spot, and enjoy God's creation for a few minutes.

Then put it in sport mode and go.
 
ATGATT = All the gear all the time. Riding 100 miles or 1 mile gear up. Helmet, jacket, gloves, boots, etc.

Ride like you are invisible. It is amazing how many people will stare at a motorcycle and swear they didn't see it.

Don't ever pick a fight with a cager -- you won't win.
 
IMG_0664.jpg

Don't follow this guy down the road. They secured the upper car to the lower one and the trailer with three nylon rachet straps and took off! I saw this today at a business down the street from where I work. If the scrap cars don't fall off on the road then the various pieces of interior trim lying loosely in the lower scrap heap could blow out into the road.

Along these lines I don't closely follow trailers of all sorts and trucks with beds pile up with stuff. Seat cushions, life jackets, and cooler lids fly out of boats. Lawn equipment falls off lawn service trailers, debris falls out of and off trailers of all sorts. I once dodged a canoe on I-10 that fell out of the pick up truck ahead of me.

If I smell burning rubber in traffic I start looking for the trailer ahead with a low or punctured tire that is overheating and getting ready lose a tire tread
 
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