And I just bought my first motorcycle. (1998 F3)

What are some things that I should buy to prepare for the arrival, and ask friends/family to get me for Christmas? It's winter here in Michigan, so I'm going to get the bike and not be able to ride it for at least 2 months.. so I have time to stock up on goodies.

(Christmas) List Of Stuff I /need/ for the CBR:
Helmet (prolly HJC)
Gloves
Jacket
Maybe boots.. I have /ok/ boots for my bike.

Stuff I should eventually get:
Pants
Front/Rear stand?
Oil..Oil filter..?

What else? I'm sure you guys have tons of ideas.. thanks. Spit out some stuff a guy with his first bike needs to get.

 

chain wax homz

 

holmes
gear is a first, stands are nice, any sae/api compatibly rated auto oil will do as long as it doesn't have friction additives (ie:new mobil1 formula) regular filter. Get frame sliders for sure and just ride. Riders make bike fast, not bolt ons like cars are more adept to.

I have some gear for sale... A barely used pair of fieldsheer sport 2 leather armored pants (non perforated). I'll include some sliders if you want. Size 32 regular, I wear a 32/30 in jeans and its actually a tad loose. And it has adjustments for larger/smaller fit. Also have a pair of alpinstars smx boots in red/black size us 10-11. Very good, I have another pair in black that I'm replacing them with. I 7 plate dainese back protector, dual elastice kidney belt. Very hard to get, backordered w/ every US distributor as far as I know. I got mine from a european hookup. That's about it, I'll keep the rest as backup gear I guess. I really recommend alpinstars sp1 gloves, very good feel, and very good protection. Course I've only punched stuff w/ them, not crash tested but they don't show any wear. They have also yet to bleed dye onto my hands, course I only ride 2-3hours at a time.

 

Well Tony, I think I'm too big for you're gear. I'm about 6'3", pant size 34/34-ish, size 12-13 shoe, big hands so your gloves are probably too small.

Is a helmet, gloves, jacket (all good quality) with regular boots (not bike specific..) be enough to start riding with? I think I will invest in frame sliders too.. I don't know much about them though except that they help save your bike if you lay it down.

What are good cleaning products? How exactly do you "clean" a bike? Can you hose it off?

I feel like such a newbie..

 

Frame sliders are a must, but you have to drill your plastics......

md wright trunk kit. (electronic seat release and storage compartment below the seat.)

Leather outfit, and quality boots. (dont go cheap....)

look at the pointy rear footpeg. That will STAB through anything if you have a spill, be well prepared..... I will post pics of my boots when i get home, it pierced goretex leather boots and damaged my foot very bad. Also if you are going to wear jeans, at least get a pair of draggin jeans. Trust me roadrash on your A$$ hurts and bluejeans provide no protection.

 

I thought they made framesliders where you didn't have to cut practice. Personally, I don't know anything about them so this could be a complete lie.. but I don't want to cut the plastics.

I'll look into the draggin jeans, cbrman.

 

They do for just about everything except the cbr 600 and 900. All you have to do is use a key hole saw and mark the hole from the backside with playdoh and drill it out.... i did it and its easy as pie... Here is a pic of the f3 one installed direct from the companys website. Check your email, i will send you a pic of why you should buy good boots.

http://www.inturace.com

 

I don't wanna cut the fairings.

And I know good boots are important.. but do you think I should have them right off the bat or is it something I can get a little later down the road?

 

I'd say budget setup would be a nice armored jacket, nice gloves, steel toed work boots that cover ankles and jeans should suffice. Course you're going to get fooked up if you low side. It'll save you some major injuries if you go high though. Maybe some dirtbike knee pads under your jeans. They're like $15. Course a well fitting helmet. Really get those frame sliders. Cutting fairings may seem painful but so is seeing them after the bike tips over or worse yet crashes. Everybody's seen the crash where the guy's gear is smote to **** but there's no damage to the bike except worn sliders and bar ends. My back protector is actually your size if you're interested. I bought it nonetheless b/c it was a great deal on a rare piece. But the conclusion is FRAME SLIDERS

 

Boots is a must have (they are much more protective and much lighter than heavy duty shoes). In addition to that you get a better shifting feel as well. Pants are necessary too. And throw in a back protector while you are at it.

Gear first.

 

Ugh.. I don't even know where to start when looking at gear. I know I can't afford a $600 arai helmet though.

A basic HJC Helmet that fits correctly will be okay right?
As far as gloves, jacket, boots (probably not pants right now) I don't really know. I don't really want anything that 'matches' the bike. I'd rather get solid black I think.. but color isn't the most important thing. So how does a newbie pick out gear? I try hard to make educated decisions when buying /anything/ so this is going to be painful.. help?

 

They do make one's that DO NOT require cutting on either side of the fairing. I need to get some, theyre like $100. I just bought my Fieldsheer Jacket today, only $90.

 

As far as gear is concerned, hjc helmets are good. I have one and havent had a problem. They may be a little noisier than an arai/shoei, and may not be as flashy but they protect your head. Get something that is dot and snell approved to their newest rating. As far as jackets, i have seen not so good results with the joe rocket phoenix gear. Gore tex would be better than nothing, but leather is really the only way to go.

Really when looking for gear, look at seams of the material. check for double stitching as that is usually where something will fail. Alot of the companies offer gloves/jackets with kevlar linings/inserts and they will help out alot. Just fyi i have crashed a hjc helmet with no probs and a few of my buddies have crashed em to and it didnt let any of us down.

Just remember that when you start riding the likelyhood of crashing usually is highest when you are fresh to riding so be very well prepared.

Good luck dood, oh yeah and just fyi i have been riding my own streetbikes for about 7yrs. I have been riding 3 wheelers/4wheelers/dirtbikes since i was 4.


I hate to break it to you blue95accord but they DO NOT make frame sliders for an f3 that do not require cutting. If you look on the new 929/954, gixxers, r1/r6's the bike has an engine mounting bolt exposed in the side mid fairing. The true frame sliders bolt to a solid point on the frame. There are some el cheapo generic fit ones that look like little mushroom heads and use a very small trim bolt to hold it in place. do you really think the mushroom style slider and a trim bolt is going to prevent damage to your bike?????

What do I know, Its not like i own the same friggen bike as him.......
And oh yeah you must have an f3 since you are an expert on what will work for HIS bike......

Here is a pic of the mushroom style slider. It is held on by the trim bolts. They are what is used on the kawasakis because of the coolant overflow bottles position. The break on a tipover...



[Modified by cbrman, 4:52 AM 12/3/2002]


[Modified by cbrman, 5:15 AM 12/3/2002]