Extra excited for the spring now...

2006 Suzuki GSF650 Bandit, 3500km
Hopefully I won't need to bug you old guys for advice when I need to tune it- I was surprised they still sell carb'ed street bikes!

Congratulations !!

Nice ride

Those are probably the Minkuni flat side carbs that some use instead of SU's on the B18/B20.

Nice bike by the way.

"Keihin CVR32 carburetors with throttle position sensor"

whatever that means....

Very sexy Athal! Have fun!

I think they are flat side carbs as well. They are basically a modern SU! Weird part is you just bought your first carbed vehicle and I just bought my first fuel injected one!

And mine does 0-60 in 4 seconds where yours does 0-60 in 18!

And yours will get you killed in the blink of an eye. His won't...

No no, my vehicle is perfectly safe- it's HIS vehicle, running INTO mine that will get me killed and him a half hour of body work.

Trust me, it's taken me a few years to get comfortable with the idea of having a bike. It's only now that I trust myself enough to stay out of trouble, so all I have to worry about is every other wingnut on the road...

That girlfriend of yours is a bad influence on you. And SELFISH! She won't assimilate into Volvo-dom, but YOU have to buy a bike to fit in with her lifestyle... I say you should dump her.

Oh, right. I remember what she looks like now. Never mind.

Yup...rode a bike for a couple of years many moons ago. I came close enough to killing myself or getting killed a few times. Believe me, it's out of my system. The last straw was sliding the bike on some pea gravel in a parking lot and dumping it fairing-first into a curb...all at about 5mph.

The story is the same from every biker. I'm a safe driver. It's the other idiots out there I have to watch out for. True enough but those other idiots can't stop as fast as you, They can't see you in a blind spot and they can't anticipate a motorcycle coming from nowhere into the lane they are about to move into. Been there. Done that. Both ends. In fact, almost got creamed by my best buddy on another bike one night because he shifted gears, I didn't and went flying past him just as he was about to change lanes. He said when he checked his mirror I was a long ways back. In a split second I was passing him and we both were nearly road kill. Then there was the time we were on our way home from Vancouver, just east of Golden on some twisties. Went around a left-hander, hugging the centre line because there was a cliff on the other side. Almost dragging the footpegs and going way faster than we should've been, a semi coming towards us couldn't hold his lane and was drifting into ours. When you're leaning that hard and going that fast, you can't change directions very quickly. I don't imagine the semi driver even saw us, we went by him so fast. My guess is our helmets (the closest thing to the truck) were within 2 feet of the truck. There are more but I'll spare everyone the gory details...

We've all done stupid things in our cars too but at least there is some small degree of protection there when we step over the line.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not trying to discourage you. Riding a motorbike can be a ton of fun. I'm just firmly of the opinion the risks nowadays outweigh the fun potential. You're a big boy and are allowed to make choices some of us don't agree with. I won't hold it against you...honest...

Me thinks that the Canuck may just be a little faster than that. Heck even stock it could get to 60 in 17.999 seconds.

Seriously, ride careful and watch out for the monster trucks.

Thanks for the concerns guys, all duly noted. I've woken up a few times during the night wondering if I'm doing the right thing. I know I'm certainly approaching this from the right angle (CAUTIOUS), and I'll be taking a course next year, and limiting my traffic riding as much as possible.

Believe me, I've heard the stories. One of the people Jade rides with was almost killed last year because a deer ran out in front of him. Doing the speed limit, in control, clear day, straight dry road...no chance. I'll be getting good gear and staying the hell away from trucks when I can.

And still driving FOUR wheels on Volvo cruises!

LOL Matt, you make me giggle!!!!!

Athal

I just started the bike thing this year.. never did it before until I bought a funny looking 60's 100cc bike (just to screw around with.. wasn't even sure if I'd drive it). I never even got it running and a guy gave me a 76 suzuki 180cc in MINT shape. I went and got my learners and drove it it work daily.. then decided to take my drivers test and got that too.

It wasn't long till a 91 honda 750 nighthawk (4 cylinder) showed up. Lastly.. in October of this year I ended up with the bike I think I'll stick with for awhile, an 87 Kawasaki ZL1000.

Anyway, they are all cheap bikes compared to what you're riding. But my point is, it turned real fun real fast all in one year. I was the type that SWORE (I mean I was 100% sure) I would never ride a motorcycle and 4 wheels was the only way for me. I'm still scared to death about the idea of getting hurt while riding. But now that I'm riding it's different now.

Dale nailed it when he says you have to watch out for the other guy. You basically have to drive like nobody can see you, and you'll know everyone elses next move. But once you're on a bike you'll watch for these things. It's probably quite different Estevan vs Calgary though, I don't like riding in the traffic so much and you'll have a ton of that. Also, we don't have alot of crazy turns here so not too much can go wrong.

The ole Kawasaki is old school 80's muscle and they say "you don't turn it, you aim it in one direction and hold on" I don't have to worry about wheelies or anything since the bike won't do it.. just spins instead. That is something that would scare me with your bike as a beginner.

You'll have a blast, as long as you're careful!