2002 FZ1 for my first bike

RennGent said:
Yes, that is what it means. I've been doing this but once concern I have with it is that I can slow down quite well with just the engine but then I'm not engaging the brake light so a car behind me may not realize I'm slowing down. I've started to tap the rear brake when someone is right behind me so that they know. I've also switched to just using the brakes and pulling in the clutch when I know I'm going to come to a stop so that the brake light is fully engaged the whole time. Does anyone have further advice to offer here?

I, also, took my bike on the highway last night to see how it did. It went well so I'm going to take my bike to church this morning, a little over 20 miles on way. I figure a Sunday morning is a good time to get some practice on the highway as traffic will be low. During my downtown riding last night I found it tricky to ride at about 5mph with the traffic, if anyone has any suggestions on keeping it going slow I'd appreciate them!
Click to expand...

Well, just remember that it won't hurt the clutch (at low speeds) to slip it (modulate it) and that really helps with a bike geared fairly high like the FZ. The clutch is not an on-off switch and should be used to ease the bike forward in traffic. It will give your hand a work out and having the clutch cable properly lubed will make that much easier. Like every thing else in riding, practice makes perfect. Keep at it. Also keep in mind that stop and go traffic is the least fun part of motorcycling no matter how long you have been riding.
 
+1 to what Oldschool stated. I will add to it that at low speed like that the rear brake is your friend as well. A bit of a combo between slipping the clutch and slight rear brake pressure and it's amazing how slow these bikes can go and be steady.

Good work guys!
 
Thanks for the advice folks! I've been riding my bike every day and it has been fantastic. Rode to church on Sunday, and have been riding to work every day this week (72 mile round trip). It's been fantastic!
 
Another thing to help keep you steady at slow speeds is to look ahead and not all around, you can knock yourself off balance pretty easy at slow speeds looking around. It's amazing how much difference can be achieved on a bike just by looking in the correct direction.
Like cornering for example if you look thru the turn and not down at the bike/ speedo/ ground you will be able to keep a better line at higher speeds.
 
Hi everyone,

Just a quick update on my riding experiences so far. It's been a little over a month since I started riding my 2002 FZ1 just about everywhere....hardly drive the car anymore. I'm starting to get used to riding in heavy rush hours. Once I weasel my way out to the carpool lane, its pretty much a smooth ride at limit speed, with a couple of slow down. I'd also started learning to tread the lanes just last week.

With that said, I had a real scary encounter today while treading lanes at 25 MPH. The lane quickly closed on me, and I'd panic and hit the rear brake a little bit harder than I should causing the rear tire to skid and swerve right (thought I was going to hit the slow moving cars on both sides of me). But then I'd remember from MSF class that when your tires lock and start to skid...just quickly release the brake and hopefully the bike will straighten out. As it turned out, that is exactly what happened, the bike straighten and stabilized and I'd ride on (with more caution) :eek:). This was a very close call and I'm so happy to made it out without an incident.
 
You can learn much about your motorcycle in a large empty parking lot. I like to set the timer to go off on my phone and when I feel it go off, I stop as quickly as possible. With gravel, blind turns and bad drivers, it's smart to be good at emergency braking.
 
My 08 is my first bike, but I grew up on dirt bikes, then rented HD from 2001 to 2010. Take your time and your skills will grow into the bike. I have gone up to 8500 RPM twice and realized THIS is allot of HP/Weight. Someday, I'll have a weekend to take track lessons on fast riding and cornering.
 
Aside from the safety factor I've also found that big bikes early on can lead riders to become lazy.

From my experience with people who go big early, they soft foot around initially whilst they are scared of the bike. After a while they get used to the power and find they can easily keep up with their friends or keep a good pace by powering in the straights. This means that there is less pressure to work on corner speed, braking points etc and given the weight of the bike, more reluctance to work on these skills.

I guess it depends on what kind of rider you want to become, but be aware that throttle control is only one aspect of successfully riding a larger capacity bike.
 
tricky said:
Aside from the safety factor I've also found that big bikes early on can lead riders to become lazy.

From my experience with people who go big early, they soft foot around initially whilst they are scared of the bike. After a while they get used to the power and find they can easily keep up with their friends or keep a good pace by powering in the straights. This means that there is less pressure to work on corner speed, braking points etc and given the weight of the bike, more reluctance to work on these skills.

I guess it depends on what kind of rider you want to become, but be aware that throttle control is only one aspect of successfully riding a larger capacity bike.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the tips. I want to be a rider that don't end up being another statistic. I'm learning to be a rider than can commute to work and around town safety, and can take trips on mountainous road to the beach or camp sites. I don't have any intention to become a pro racer or gungho rider.
 
tricky said:
Aside from the safety factor I've also found that big bikes early on can lead riders to become lazy.

From my experience with people who go big early, they soft foot around initially whilst they are scared of the bike. After a while they get used to the power and find they can easily keep up with their friends or keep a good pace by powering in the straights. This means that there is less pressure to work on corner speed, braking points etc and given the weight of the bike, more reluctance to work on these skills.

I guess it depends on what kind of rider you want to become, but be aware that throttle control is only one aspect of successfully riding a larger capacity bike.
Click to expand...




Hello fellow FZ1 rider!! Just checking in to let everyone know I'm doing fine and learning everyday. Haven't touch my car since I started riding about 3 months ago. I live in San Jose, California and getting used to splitting lanes. I watched many YouTube videos on splitting lanes and learning to do it safely.
 
Ringo said:
Hello fellow FZ1 rider!! Just checking in to let everyone know I'm doing fine and learning everyday. Haven't touch my car since I started riding about 3 months ago. I live in San Jose, California and getting used to splitting lanes. I watched many YouTube videos on splitting lanes and learning to do it safely.
Click to expand...

Glad you are doing well.

Notes on Lanesplitting/lanesharing/filtering/queing whatever you wanna call it.

* Differential speed: I have found that a differential of 20-30mph is the max I am comfortable with and still feel safe and have the ability to slow or stop if needed.
* Space shrinks when the freeway has a slight bend: Drivers who are not paying attention will drift when the freeway has a slight bend, be extra careful when splitting in those sections
* Each Freeway and section of freeway is different: learn where the lanes get smaller and splitting becomes less desirable, I have that not all sections of freeway are created the same.
* Let faster riders pass you when sharing if possible.

I wear a Go Pro and record all my commute. I mostly delete the footage, but when something interesting happens I edit it up. Here is my Playlist on my youtube channel of Lane Sharing Adventures:
Adventures in Lane Splitting - YouTube
 
Ringo said:
Hello fellow FZ1 rider!! Just checking in to let everyone know I'm doing fine and learning everyday. Haven't touch my car since I started riding about 3 months ago. I live in San Jose, California and getting used to splitting lanes. I watched many YouTube videos on splitting lanes and learning to do it safely.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Now have you done mines road yet or up skyline way?
 
hmmmm don't know which way to go here...Depends of what kind of person you are I guess...
I was in a similar situation as you, drove a 50cc scooter for 5 years before I bought a gen2 Fz1...Friends allready started writing obituarys...
So far, no problems and no scary situations, 12000km of pure fun :) It doesn't matter if its windy or raining and cold I'm out riding...
I do have about 300000km in car expirience so I easily recognize a dangerous situation and react properly...
Still a begginer on the bike though, trying to learn every day, but that's the fun part :))
Also...always suit up!
 
When I was learning on a street bike everyone said buy a Ninja 250, a friend had a Ninja 500 & I found that it was not enough. Bought a Ninja 650R & had that for about 2 months, sold it & bought a Ninja ZX6R & it was a fun bike but to buzzy for me, made my finger go numb. Traded that off for a ZX10R & loved that bike until someone ran me off the road & its in the shop getting fixed now. Picking up an FZ1 this weekend, because I GOTTA RIDE!!! while the weather is still good until insurance sorts out my Ninja. I think I am going to enjoy the FZ1 more because I like to go on distance rides & the sportbike configuration is not what I thought I needed.

Point is, try a few bikes & find one that fits your needs & purposes. I have gone thru a fair share of them to find the one that fit my needs.

Start slow & work your way up, a 1000 cc's is no joke, I recommend a smaller bike like a Ninja 650r to learn on. It still has the upright positioning of a FZ1 & you can find them cheap enough.

Ride safe, it's so easy to find yourself in dangerous situations like I did. It happens in a blink of an eye & it usually isn't your fault. We are invisible out there, always ride like everyone is out to run you over.
 
swing2hard said:
It happens in a blink of an eye & it usually isn't your fault.
Click to expand...

This is bad advice. With a few exceptions (wildlife for example), incidents on a bike aren't 'sudden' and are usually avoidable by the rider (or at least manageable)

If you are always being run off the road or need to make panic maneuvers or emergency brake, it's most likely the way you ride. Those things tell you you've failed to read the situation around you in an active way
 
Dustin said:
This is bad advice. With a few exceptions (wildlife for example), incidents on a bike aren't 'sudden' and are usually avoidable by the rider (or at least manageable)

If you are always being run off the road or need to make panic maneuvers or emergency brake, it's most likely the way you ride. Those things tell you you've failed to read the situation around you in an active way
Click to expand...

I agree, because I didn't see the guy behind me speed up & weave thru other cars & cross 3 lanes to get into a Mexican restaurant & I just barely caught him out of the corner of my eye it was my fault. I absolutely agree that maybe I should have been more aware of what was going on behind me instead of looking for trouble ahead. I learned something that day & that could have been alot worse, I consider myself lucky & my cat like reflexes helped me maneuver an immediate right hand turn at 25 mph along side his car into the parking lot. Going into the parking lot side by side I bounced off the side of his car & almost saved the bike but my hand slipped & got a little to much throttle & had to let it go.

But it can happen in the blink of an eye, my bad for saying it usually isnt your fault........

Thank you for your input. I stand corrected.
 
Last edited:
All that matters is that you're OK and learned something valuable for the next ride. I never stop learning. The frequency of incidents I have has been reduced dramatically as I learn along the way. Let's hope I keep it that way :)
 
I just had a distracted woman on a cell phone chage lanes without looking and then turns on her turn signal, DUH.

No problem, I was able to see her start to drift and got on the brakes gave her a blast of my very loud piercing horn and scared her.

You have got to pay attention in all dimentions around you at all times.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top