Took a long ride today, around 3 hours total. Realizing that my helmet is still causing pressure points after that long (but at least it's not 45 minutes like it was with the thicker pad..) -- I think it's the ends of my glasses frame pressing against my head, so hoping that maybe I can get some really thin / floppy frames that will alleviate that problem. Maybe the Flying Eyes glasses that are always advertised by moto youtubers, since they're like, purpose built for going into helmets.

Had a water bottle and camera in my backpack and woof, even with the chest strap, I was really starting to notice the weight toward the end of my ride. Also I think I figured out what Growler Jams' signature move is for ... I started doing the same thing to alleviate discomfort in riding position.

Also damn I'm just ... exhausted. My legs are tired and wobbly, my core is tired, my brain is tired.

Was a good ride though -- went to the top of Del Cerro, there's one of those rental security camera trailer things, with a flashing blue light and multiple cameras surveilling the entrance to the open space park up there. Fuckin rich old people -- it's not like there are troublemakers or homeless people or anything, it's just kids that go into the open space park but ... old rich people hate kids I guess, enough to band together and rent a camera trailer.

Then out to OB via Friars. I forgot to bring earplugs, I think that is part of the discomfort -- I tried to keep off of the freeway and off of freeway-speed routes, and visor down when I was going fast enough that the wind noise was pretty intense, but still came away with not the happiest ears. I should just stash multiple extra earplugs in my jacket. (Although it could also have been from 3 hours of pads pressing against them..)

Went through OB then up the hill to the naval base, drove out to Cabrillo Monument and back. Stopped for some pictures on the OB cliffs, and at the national cemetary overlooking North Island, then along Harbor Dr past the airport, past downtown, down to National City, and looped back toward home. Some people crashed on Harbor Dr, which caused a big traffic jam as four lanes of airport traffic merged down to two, which was not super fun - everybody drives like a freakin maniac in that little stretch, something about driving to the airport brings out the worst in everyone. So I got to work on my slow speed crawling pace while merging into all the giant SUVs - although dude on the Indian Bobber who rode past me, who was confident enough to filter through traffic, got through much quicker / easier ... but I'm not there yet.

Noticed my controls got really choppy after ~2 hours of riding - I wasn't nearly as precise on the throttle, stalled out while trying to do a stop sign without putting my foot down, guess I was getting fatigued.

Overall pretty good though. Guess I should see if my pictures came out at all - it was so bright I couldn't really see much in the viewfinder / on the camera screen while I was out there.

Oh did notice my left mirror is not in the correct spot anymore -- it does sometimes hit the fence when I park it in my tiny spot between fence/gate and shed. Which I need to get fixed because I can't monitor left side traffic with peripheral vision, I need to like crouch down to see that one. So I guess the bike must have been leaning against that mirror and bent it out of place, or it creeped out of place by combination of sun and pressure, but either way ...

The mirrors were kind of ... too low and too small to begin with? Would be nice to get bigger ones that sit higher and can fold inwards for when I need to squeeze into the parking spot.

(...)

OK I ordered some Doubletake ADV mirrors with 6" arms. This should be a nice upgrade over the round mirrors on the scram scram currently, and they are easily articulatable so I can fold them out of the way when I park, and apparently even if you bang them against something they just fold inwards.

Also, Gemini is telling me I might have just turned the mirror mount with the bike's weight, and if I just go out with a coupla wrenches I might be able to get it back into position. That seems likely actually, because I don't see any visible bending of the mirror bar.

(...)

it's a little bit funny riding out in traffic and CONSTANTLY encountering "hazardous situations" like the ones I see in youtube crash analysis videos. Every single day, every single ride involves people trying to 'shoot the gap' for left turns, people turning "out in front of me" (like, yeah, it's traffic, I shouldn't expect to just keep my current speed no matter what), someone going ahead at a stop sign even though it technically wasn't their turn, rail tracks and tiny ledges on the road that need to be navigated in a not-parallel way. I don't even remember most of the situations I encountered today, because they happen every day, whether I'm on the bike or in a car.

So I'm just... very confused how there are SO MANY motostars / etc videos where someone is banging through traffic honking their horn at every single person just for existing lol.

Like how did you get this far in life? Do they just not have traffic where you're from? Maybe they live in narnia and only visit city so often so they don't get as much practice.

Or, I guess I have been driving for like ... fuck how old am I? Like 17 years or whatever.

Went East for a ride through the hills -- headed up toward Alpine (Harbinson Canyon Rd up to Arnold Way, then turned down Tavern Rd which ended up taking me back to Japatul Road which I have ridden before. (Tavern Rd and Dehesa Rd both meet and become Japatul Rd heading east.) Then took the same route out Lyons Valley Road. If we had just continued on Japatul, that would bring us to the 8, approaching the route to Green Valley Falls from the south (Route 79).

I still struggled in two spots...

(i) The steep downhill hairpins (right around Harper Ranch Rd - they come up shortly after passing the general store.) I wasn't freaked out, but, wooof those are some sharp turns. Brain was still trying to figure out like, should I be on the brakes? Should I be in maintenance throttle? It's just such small moments that I don't actually remember what I did or didn't do. I should try to find some tight downhills that are closer to home so I can do more passes at them and be able to debrief it properly.

(ii) The stop sign - hill start - extremely tight right turn where Lyons Valley meets Lawson Valley. I did the hill start just fine, but once I was moving, I couldn't transition into the tight turn - wobbled a bit and decided to park for a minutes break at the same dirt spot as last time. Honestly ... the move might just be to plan on not making that turn from that stop. The dude in the big pickup who came through while I was parked on the same turn went completely wide using both lanes to make it so, at least it's not just me who thinks it's ridiculously tight.

On a lot of turns I also struggled with trying to find an appropriate speed that wasn't too slow. It's good I decided to go out midday on a weekday - I thought about going toward the ocean but decided I didn't want to deal with rush hour traffic coming back. In the other direction, hardly anyone was on the road, so I didn't have to worry about someone right behind me as I took the turns (most of the time). Rolling the throttle totally closed, the engine braking is so strong that I'm going too slow for a lot of the curves. There's some advice floating around that if it's a blind corner, stay with the brakes until you see an exit so you don't overcommit.. but I guess if I'm going so slow that engine braking is causing me to go too slow, then those curves could probably be navigated just with maintenance throttle.

I'm a little bit worried about making any changes to the vehicle dynamics during a turn after watching a million crash videos lol. But I think even if I needed to tighten those type of curves (not super steep downhill hairpins), I could just roll throttle closed a bit to slow down, being cognizent to not snap the throttle shut which could cause a jolt that might destabilize me ??

9:12am Saturday morning. Praise the sun.

I have some practice to do today for sure.

I'm going to do some of the slow race / stopping exercises that Andrei from Moto Control suggests here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z58I-9VKLPY

1. Slow race - go as slow as possible while slipping clutch, release power until it feels like bike is starting to tip, then apply a tiny bit of clutch to add power and make bike stand back up - repeat.
2. Next, when coming to the near stop / bike tipping point, balance it with fast steering inputs - if falling to the right, turn handlebars to the right. If falling to the left, turn handlebars to the left.
3. Next, want to synchronize clutch and rear brake when coming to a full stop. To stop, pull clutch just past biting point (on side of no power), then apply rear brake. If applying rear brake, clutch should be fully disengaged (for this exercise). When coming to a full stop, put left foot down to balance.
4. Same as 3, except instead of putting left foot down, use the fast steering inputs to balance. If feel like we're falling, release brake and move clutch past biting point to add power and bring bike upright.
5. Stop Box exercise - Set up a box with cones and approach from various angles, stopping within the box. Can use foot at first to balance but should work toward not needing to put foot down. Keep handlebars straight and head up when stopping. Once we're good with stop box, add a turn of head to left and right (eg looking for traffic), while fully stopped, before taking off again. (Don't look around before we stop.)

Ooh, that was good. Didn't get all the way to 5, was pretty tired of slow speed stuff, but these definitely helped - and something to practice consistently. When I went out into the neighborhoods afterwards, I was able to come to a (pretty close to complete) stop at stop signs where I have plenty of visibility, do a quick head turn to look, and go again without having to put my foot down. I think I kept looking down when I should be looking far ahead.

Definitely still struggling with doing slow speed clutch feathering and maintaining a straight line - although to be fair the Grossmont parking lot I'm practicing in is on various slight angles, but, it's not like roads are perfectly flat either.

Kind of getting the balance with steering inputs, a little bit - consciously no, but brain is kind of figuring out what inputs to make to maintain balance. Definitely couldn't do it as slow and as smoothly as Andrei shows in his video, but he's obviously a pro at this.

6:36pm Thursday evening. Praise the sun.

About 250 total miles under my belt! Took another long ride today - got done with work early, came home so I could go out riding and back on the road by 4pm. I knew it was going to be rush hour but ... went anyway. It was a bit stressful to be honest, traffic is heavy everywhere.

Started out southeast, out around the backside of Rancho San Diego, then southwest until I somehow made my way to the South Bay, by that gigantic Gaylord Resort they built on the water front.

Riding in heavy traffic is its own challenge ... not at all sure how to do stop & go traffic, like when it's too slow for me to just feather the clutch in 1st and go real slow, but slightly too quick to come to a full stop. Had to throw my feet out a bunch of times to keep balance.

My balance just kinda sucks in general -- I haven't ridden in a few days, been too exhausted by work to go out afterwards, and had a whole bunch of wobbly stops at stop signs... luckily mostly in quiet neighborhoods where nobody could see me. Trying to do the whole, lean forward when accelerating and backwards when braking -- although I only actually remembered to do it while accelerating. But it definitely helps both with wind not feeling like it's gonna blow me backwards off the bike, and trying to keep arms relaxed.

My freakin legs are sore from 2+ hours of gripping the tank though; trying to consciously keep knees and ankles tight against the bike for support, and trying not to slouch. I had planned to walk the dog when I got home but dang my legs are way tired - luckily he's mostly interested in getting a second dinner right now.

Also kinda suck at finding a good lane position.. we don't have very big lanes, and with the right side of the right lane needing to be clear for people trying to turn, and left side of left lane _should_ be clear so I don't get hit by people trying to clip their way to the turn lane, it doesn't leave a whole lot of room to not be directly behind a car. Also I'm not very good at like, stopping in the desired lane position with my handlebars straight so that I can smoothly stop on my left leg - probably a consequence of deciding what position I want too late and not setting myself up for that position before getting in line. (Also not at all confident enough to filter through stopped traffic..)

Only got in a bad spot one time though, red light had like 3 car spots, and behind that a big ol keep clear, and rest of cars waiting behind. I misjudged and ended up like, RIGHT behind the person in front of me, kind of tried to hang out on the side so I'm not in the keep clear, but didn't land straight.

At least my 'oh I fucked up' was just a bad position for safety, one piece of swiss cheese ha.

Some of the advice is like, 'move faster than the flow of traffic'. That shit don't work, even if I did want to filter, I'd have to drive like motojitsu which honestly in the video I was watching, sure he has mastery but, just driving down the middle line of a two lane busy san diego road in traffic, seems to violate his own 'use strategy so you don't have to use skill' - like one random lane change or unexpected whatever and he's in trouble.

Seems safer, esp for rn, just to like, stay staggered, pass slow cars if they're really slow, but just chillin, cruising, looking for safe positions, stay out of blind spots, keep with flow of traffic. There's just no open space to be moving faster than the flow... In all, it was a decent ride, but I was so focused on traffic and balance and not fucking things up that it was a bit stressful. It was definitely a training ride. Good information to use for next time I go out, which will for sure be a parking lot training session - maybe even with snacks and water and a planned break.

I've been out every weekend at least, both Saturday and Sunday. One of them I went out and did some low speed drills at Grossmont College in the parking lot, and some emergency braking practice. Was definitely feeling a bit more confident after about 45 minutes of that, but can tell it's the kinda thing I'm going to need to do more, and continuously. I'm starting with Dan the Fireman's cone drills.

Then the other weekend day was a ride out to the edges of Santee and back around the far side of El Cajon - less of a training ride and more of an exploration, which was nice.

7:39pm Sunday evening. Praise the sun.

Took a long ride today, longer than I had planned - just headed East out of El Cajon, out Dehesa Rd past Sycuan, and was feeling pretty good, so just kept on going... Japatul Rd until it seemed like a good time to turn toward home on Lyons Valley Rd, which does a nice loop to the south and back up toward Jamul.

Lots of twisties, a couple sharper turns than I was really comfortable with, since my brain was trying to figure out how to get down to speed, and whether/how to brake through the corner. Even though I was going like, 15 mph through the very sharpest turns it was still rather exciting...

Right at the end of Lyons Valley Rd there's a stop sign on a very steep incline - I don't have my hill start technique down, so I spent a couple minutes there with a car behind me while I stalled out repeatedly. I felt like I was trying to use the rear brake to hold me but it wasn't enough? I think I just wasn't pressing hard enough - definitely something to practice under more controlled conditions. Once I did get it going, there was a car coming in the cross direction, so had to abort and try again.. sorry, lady.

I parked on the side of the road to get a breather after that, and to get a break from the pressure of my too-small helmet (smaller pad should arrive Tuesday, I think that will work just fine.) Took a couple pictures, and while I was there got asked by two separate people if I was good -- how nice. Or, maybe they're sick of people on motorcycles killing themselves out there. Either way.

10am Saturday morning. Praise the sun.

I changed my mind at the last minute, wore my riding boots into the Triumph store and sat on the Scrambler 400 X and... it's no problem. I easily get two feet flat on the ground, and part of my 'dream riding' is going out into weird places and asking "Hey what's up that dirt fire/truck road?". So Speed 400 is out, Scrambler is in.

Finally went and picked up the bike yesterday! Ended up taking the day off from work so I could just ride. The Triumph shop is out by Morena / Mission Bay, so no matter what, my path home was going to take me through some busy routes. I spent 10 minutes or so in the tiny neighborhood directly behind the shop - it's so small that 10 minutes is all I could do without just riding around the same people's houses over and over. Headed over into Clairemont which gave me another 20 minutes or so of quiet neighborhood riding until I found myself on Balboa, which is a big ass arterial route headed toward Clairemont Mesa, and that's really not where I had intended to go. (People drive like crazy over there...) Luckily being midday it was pretty quiet, and I think I also just exude an aura of 'Noob', since mostly everyone gave me a lot of space and patience while I drove slow as fuck.

Rode into Tierrasanta, knowing I would have no choice but to come back the way I came, because Tierrasanta NIMBY's have made sure to keep the entry/exits to their neighborhood locked down. (Three arterial routes on the west side, one freeway connection on the north side, and no routes to the south or east.)

It was about this time that I realized my helmet is indeed too small for me... the pads on the back of my head started hurting like crazy, intense pressure points on my 'reverse temples', so the rest of the ride home is a bit of a blur, but I managed to get the rest of the way home. (Luckily I know the non-freeway routes home like back of my hand from years of 'wow I cannot be sitting in this freeway parking lot for one more minute, I'd rather spend 1.5x as long on sidestreets'.)

Went out for a second ride a few hours later with my dad's helmet, which I know to be too big for me, and presses on my glasses in a weird way. Headed over to the local community college which is open, but it's summer break (and apparently no summer sessions are even going right now), so all the parking lots were empty. Except that they've installed a lot of solar in the parking lots - good for the kids going to school there now (holy crap that place is BRIGHT AF and hot AF, sitting on top of a mesa), bad for someone who was hoping to have wide open parking lots without concrete pillars all over the place. But still, got a good amount of stop & go practice, stopping at stop signs, turning from a stop, couple Estops, riding over speed bumps.

Headed down what used to be an aterial route but has been replaced by a freeway. It's kind of a weird road with almost nobody on it, but it's still wide enough to practically be a freeway. I was just put-putting along the right side of the right lane, and whoosh, there goes a CRV at like 75 mph. Speed limits like 50, buddy. (I was going like 40, about as fast as I was ready for at the time lol.) Something about CRV drivers... like the freeway is right there next to us and has entries at the top and the bottom of the hill...

Took a couple big streets home. Going up the hill back toward my mesa, hit that point where I'm going like 50mph, and the wind is pushing me back, but the motorcycle is propelling me forward, and it's a little terrifying and a lot exhilarating. 50 miles down for the first day.. didn't drop the bike, didn't have anyone pissed off at me for going slow af, I'll call it a success.

... time to go out again!

(...)

Ya know, just riding around neighborhoods around here is still pretty fun due to the whole mesa / canyon topography. There's a little bit of twisties... at 25 mph. And some nice views of the mountains, and of the city below. I get bored pretty quickly of just being in quiet neighborhoods, so got a little bit of city riding in too. Throwing myself into the deep end, although I don't think it's too deep -- couple of moments of brain trying to downshift nicely while I'm braking and a teensy bit of panic as I wonder if my hands/feet are going to figure it out in time. And one bad start near the end of my ride - I was doing so well, but in traffic getting going from a stop at a stoplight, kinda lost my balance and had to Flinstone Feet a little bit, which is embarassing :)

But overall, everything was fine - another fun ride. My helmet is for sure just slightly too small though ... after a little more than an hour riding I could feel the pressure points building, and even now that I've had the helmet off for 30 minutes I can still feel a little bit of pressure back there. My Shoei has the default 9mm pad in it now, I bought the smaller 5mm pad but it'll take a couple days to get here - I guess they don't keep it in stock at Cycle Gear.

Driving up the same freeway-adjacent former-arterial street I mentioned earlier, once again seemingly out of fucking nowhere there's some asshole in a jeep right behind me. Either he ran the red light from cross-street, or he came speeding through the turn the same way I came, but either way, way the fuck too fast. I think once he figured out I'm a noob he slowed down and gave me space, until I moved over to pull into the college and he went racing past again. With his dog in the car! Like if you crash while driving like crazy your dog is gonna die dude. Maybe I should just stay away from that road...

I'm only 34, but I'm already a grumpy old man driver :)

One more note... I'm so tall on this bike! The scrambler is already pretty tall, and then the standard/upright riding position, and I'm also pretty tall... with result that I'm above most SUV/Trucks, on par with the lifted bro trucks, and it really is confidence inspiring to be able to see everything and not feel like I'm hidden down in traffic. Driving my car afterwards felt so strange, since being a "normal sized" vehicle the ride height is very close to the ground.

Motorcycle endorsement? - Added to license.

Real ID and license renewal? - Done

Insurance? - Updated with bike I don't even own yet

Motorcycle store? - Closed on Monday.

Aaah I am too excited to wait...

I'm a bit nervous about riding home, though. They said they would tow it to my house for free, but I kinda want to drive it home. Problem is, there's really not a good quiet way to get from Motorcycle Store to my house - too many canyons and hills in the way that will force me, one way or the other, onto some busy streets / intersections.

The fastest way home is just to hop on the highway, but I'm very much not up for that.

So, rough plan is

• Go to bank in the morning, get a cashier's check for $6200
• Go to Motorcycle Store in the morning, buy bike, add accessories (Upper roll bar, Lower roll bar, Sump guard, Radiator guard) (Assuming they can install the stuff and have bike ready to go later in the day..)
• Go to work
• Leave work (so that I can stash my car at home and grab riding gear)
• Arrive to Motorcycle Store to pick up bike a little bit before they close at 6pm (ditching mandatory weekly team work-late-and-receive-dinner... the grandboss will understand, he's a motorcycle guy)
• Go out into neighborhood behind Motorcycle Store to practice for ~30 minutes, getting used to the clutch and brakes and general feel
• Journey home, but staying off of the really big streets and intersections and staying off the highway. (At this point it'll be like 6:30-7pm so hopefully traffic has calmed down.)

...

Not sure my pants (Sedici Alexi 2) fit so well.. I adjusted the knee armor into the highest pocket ("short") and... I think it just barely works in riding position. (If I sit down, and then fall to my knees onto the floor, I'm landing on pads.) But it still feels a little bit lower than I'd like. Understand that I want the pant leg to be pretty long so it doesn't ride up and expose my ankle in a crash...

But I think 32" inseam might be just a wee bit too long for me. Of course, this particular pant only comes in 32" inseam

Yesterday I did the shopping. $1400 later, here we are...

Combination of wanting to have a decent set for ATGATT, and finding the right fit, and finding a style I can stand. It's fine. Sounds like a lot of money but really isn't that bad.

We ended up with...

• Helmet - Shoei RF-SR (Matte blue) - $500 - Small
  • Apparently I'm a small in helmet sizes, whereas my naive assumption was that my dad's XL Bell fit 'just right', but in reality it was way too loose.
  • Intermediate oval.
  • Modern helmets are much better about allowing glasses to slide in, mostly. But apparently wearing glasses adds another fitment point for safety, ie if helmet can roll forward enough (in a crash) to drive my glasses bridge down into my nose, that would seriously fuck me up.
  • Was planning for the $300 range but the fit on the Shoei felt much better, and they have a bunch of customization for the inside layers so I can dial in the fitment. ie, I'm maybe still not perfectly centered in the viewport, and if I roll forward hard enough I can still hit my glasses bridge, so maybe that can be dialed in some more.
  • Note from future me: Ended up downsizing the inner lining pad from the 9mm default to the 5mm due to pressure points developing after about an hour of wear.
• Gloves - RevIt Cayenne 2 (Black/Sand) - $170 - Large
  • This is actually the only pair of gloves that was in stock at my local Cycle Gear that felt good - that is, not overly constrictive when flexing knuckles / making a fist. (And I tried a lot of options...)
  • Also has the palm sliders, which is nice, because I really, really don't wanna break my fuckin wrist/hand bones.
• Jacket - Reax Alta 2 Mesh (Green) - $225 - Extra Large
  • It is a jacket.
  • I forgot to buy the back protector while I was there. Can they just include it? I'll pay the higher price if you just include the damn back protector so I don't forget.
  • Note from future me: Oh, I actually have multiple options for size depending on shoulder-waist measurement, so maybe that's why it's sold separately. I am the largest option.
• Boots - AlpineStars Monty V2 (Brown) - $300
  • Turns out these are 1-2-2-1, and the motorcycle subreddit's only advice was to make sure that last number (transverse rigidity) is a 2. Whoops.
  • They look really damn good though.
  • Zipper down the side makes them pretty easy to get in & out.
  • They are laced boots, but there is a holder thing on the front of the tongue to tuck excess lace in so it doesn't get tangled on anything while riding.
  • Note from future me: I still haven't figured out how to use the lace holder? I'm just double knotting and tucking the extra down somewhere, but not into that tongue holder.
• Pants - Sedici Alexi 2 (Silver/Black)- $153
  • I couldn't find any pair of riding jeans (or of the dorky cargo pants that I would 100% have rocked) that actually fit good. I'm a 32-33 US size waist pant wearer. But all of these were way too long?
  • I did see a dude in the store shopping for gear for his kid, dude was wearing riding jeans tucked down into his boots. There was a lot of extra material, so maybe they're meant to be that long and tucked into the boot?
  • Wait no, the bottom length isn't the problem, it's that the knee protectors kept slipping out of place too far down my leg. Like maybe they would stay in place while sitting on a bike, but for sure they would not stay in place while sliding across the road.
  • Anyway these seemed to fit... okay. I'm not as confident in my pants fit as with everything else, but they were the cheapest part of the kit so...

I got my skills test waiver form on Saturday, so Monday I can finally go to DMV / AAA / The Bank, and finally Triumph Shop.

If I was supposed to get any work things done on Monday... they're probably not gonna get done.

Potential options for things to buy:

• Gloves...
• Measured circumference of my hand at 9 inches. (However, on the Bilt Spirit 3 size chart, this would be a large, and that would definitely not fit...)
• I bought some $40 gloves to get me through MSF, size XL Bilt Spirit 3. They seem to fit ok (in the sense that I could get my hand in easily) but they're too stiff - when I bend my knuckles they gloves are good up to about 90 degrees, but anything past 90 degrees on that second knuckle and the gloves give a noticable amount of resistance. Also they don't have palm sliders...
• Plan is to try a bunch on. Probably going to get a gauntlet style to maximize protection, but we'll see how it feels.
• Jackets...
• $199 https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/sedici-chicane-2-mesh-jacket
• $249 https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/reax-alta-2-mesh-jacket
• $254 https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/rst-moto-ventilator-xt-ce-jacket
• Pants...
• $139 https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/sedici-federico-2-mesh-pants (match Sedici jackets)
• $200 https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/reax-logan-air-pants (match Reax jacket)
• $219 https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/rst-moto-ventilator-xt-ce-pants?rrec=true (match the RST jacket)
• Helmet
• $299 https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/agv-k3-helmet?rrec=true ?
• Really just need something that will fit with glasses.
• Boots, suggestions for wide feet
• Icon Elsinore
• Alpinestars Toucan
• Everything from Indie Ridge
• https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/rst-moto-tractech-evo-iii-ce-boots?rrec=true ?

Informative notes on gear:

Gloves

• Cert
• CE 1 KP
• Overall fit:
• Snug like second skin
• No restriction of movement
• No excess / loose material
• Fingertip clearance:
• Not jammed into ends
• No significant empty space
• Knuckle flexion:
• Able to make comfortable, nearly closed fist without resistance
• Pre-curved fingers can help reduce fatigue when gripping handlebars
• Palm sliders:
• Important so that the gloves don't grab the pavement when you throw your hands out to stop a fall - sliding allows more energy dissipation and helps prevent breaking bones in hand/wrist.
• Gauntlets:
• Abrasion protection for wrist/forearm
• Helps keep gloves on in a slide
• Helps seal out elements
• Wet weather riding:
• Look for waterproof membrane, eg Gore-Tex
• Warm weather riding:
• Look for perforated leather or mesh panels

Jackets

• General:
• Look for armor at elbows and shoulders, and a pocket for back protector.
• A few brands include the back protector, most sell separately.
• Summer Jackets
• Lightweight, breathable materials
• Mesh panels for airflow, with durable textile in high-impact areas
• Street / Sportbike Jackets
• Prioritize aerodynamics and close fit
• May include sliders in high-impact zones
• Pre-curved design to suit forward-leaning riding position
• May have zipper to connect to riding pants
• May be styled with graphics / logos
• V-Twin & Cruiser Jackets
• Designed for upright riding position
• Prioritize comfort, durability, and some classic style
• Typically leather (cowhide or buffalo)
• Armor in elbows/shoulder may be less bulky / more discreet than sportbike jackets
• ADV & Touring Jackets
• Most feature-rich, designed for long distance touring or adventure riding in various terrains.
• Typically advanced textiles with multiple layers, including waterproofing and removable thermal liner
• Lots of pockets
• Fit may be longer in torso (to 3/4 length) for weatherization
• Cafe Jacket
• Comfortable for slight forward-leaning position
• May have a vintage look
• Low-profile / discreet armor
• Minimalist design, minimal branding.
• Waterproof Jackets
• Dedicated waterproof jacket, may either be worn over a protective jacket or standalone piece including armor.

• Dairyland Insurance, $1555/12 months => $129/month. Absolutely absurd.
• Geico, $129 for 6 months? I may have accidently told them I have been riding motorcycle for 16 years, rather than altogether driving that long.
• AAA, 153 for rest of term 163, whole term is 390. Oh, I'll just do AAA since I already have my car & truck with them. Little more than Geico but, I think it's worth it to just keep everything together and not have to worry about another membership / annual payment.

It is 6:41pm on July 27, 2025. Praise the sun. (Which is still quite up.)

I went to the Triumph shop during my lunch break and saw the RE Meteor 350 I was eyeing online, but decided against it as (i) it's underpowered, maybe good for learning on and putt-putting but not adequate for after I get out of my beginner stage and (ii) it is a cruiser style, which I don't think I want right now. With the big rounded gas tank it felt too wide and bulky, and the feet forward didn't feel right for right now. It still seems like a lovely bike, but I can kinda see why this one has been sitting around unsold for 2 years - it doesn't really fit anyone's niche.

I sat on the Scrambler 400 X that I thought I wanted initially, but decided that it's too tall for me right now. It seems like if I were more confident with holding on one side at a stop it would be totally fine, as I could just get the balls of my feet to touch the ground, but about 1-1.5 inches from having both feet planted. And despite what Triumph Shop guy says, I think I really want to be able to have both feet planted at least at the beginning here.

So then that left the Speed 400, which did feel quite good, but this is all considering that the only bike I've ever been on is a Suzuki Van Van 200, which is quite small and narrow indeed. The price is a little bit more than I want to pay for a first bike that will probably get a bit beat up as I practice and find its limits and my limits. ($5k sticker price, maybe around $7k out the door after adding crash bars). Logically I should buy used... meh.

I'm gonna go another shop where there are three more bikes I want to check out, with two serious contenders...

• 2017 KTM 390 Duke, under 1000 miles used (but I think taller than I'd like and ... not my style.)
• VITPILEN 401, new 2024 for $5k or new 2023 for $4k (plus dealer fees). (Cafe racer / forward riding position, while I think I want standard; And aesthetically... not great. Also maybe taller than I'd like.)
• SVITPILEN 401, new 2024 for $5k (plus dealer fees). (Scrambler style, when I think I just want normal after all.)
• 2022 BMW G310R, 2000 miles used for $4k (plus dealer fees). (Maybe logical as a first bike, but it's not actually that much cheaper in the end compared to buying a new model of what I actually want. And it kinda just looks like ... a boring ass motorcycle.)

It's just like, a used bike seems to only be 1-2$k less compared to just buying a new one, of the style (standard, right engine size, felt good to sit on, not too high like the scrambler, not too low like the bobber, not too wide like the comet. Small enough to practice on and be nimble, with probably enough power to let me zip around in traffic once I'm comfortable for that.) Is supposedly less thumpy than your average thumper. And getting like, known equipment status (new) and warranty.

I'm not really an upgrade-the-car kinda guy. I'll have my little hyundai til it dies. I might want more, specialized bikes in the future, but I could also see myself just keeping this thing around forever.

So, I think I've kind of talked myself into just getting the Speed 400. But. I'll sit on the contenders, see how they feel. Still have to wait ~a week for my skills test waiver form thingy that I can take to DMV but in the meantime, I need gear. And I need glasses that won't shatter and send a bunch of shards into my eye. (But I need a new prescription... {And I need to shave my yak first}) Oh and I need insurance ...

It is 5:03pm on July 26, 2025. Praise the sun.

I finished MSF today! That was again, very fun. I found out I'm really terrible at slow speed maneuvers - like the cone weave... at high speed (with a linear cone layout), is actually very easy by just setting eyes on the target and countersteering as the cone is in peripheral vision... brain just kinda handles it.

But low speed offset cones... jeez. If I could keep the back wheel input constant, at least I could focus on pushing/leaning appropriately to go through the cones, if very slowly... but with my wrist not having the careful 'feathering' that my ankle can do in the car as second nature, the bike is jerking and lurching as I try to keep it steady and play in the friction zone. But, the test in California, especially with my particular instructors is very lenient. (They gave a ton of great individual feedback all throughout and I think did a great job, really appreciate them, but, they literally said themselves "you can be a terrible rider and still pass this test so - don't worry, you're all gonna do fine".)

A couple moments I did manage to find that magic spot where a little bit of... I'm not even really sure what combination of inputs just stabilizes the bike, and I'm sitting there at the back of the line waiting for my turn to go on the exercise and for a second I don't even have to put my foot down, and the bike is barely / not moving... But only for a second :)

So I watched a bunch of motorcyclist youtubers yesterday, and read a bunch of articles, and overloaded my brain 'academically' . As one does. Watched a few 'new bike first ride home' videos and felt like... shit... I don't know about that. But after today, especially after our last (post-test) exercise was like a 4 way intersection where you had to stop and use your blinkers and merge and all of us were just driving around at the same time... I feel like I could just go get my new bike, which is pretty smol, but that's what I want, and just like... cruise around backstreets making my way home for a little while. I can handle that.

I would absolutely not go on the freeways, or even many of the feeder streets around here - people are fkn crazy dude.

It's 6:25 on 6/25, 2025. Praise the sun.

I did first day of MSF range course today - literally the first time that I have ever ridden any motorized two wheel vehicle, and that was super fun. There were a few points where I felt like, you know, I'm moving and my brain is kind of stalling on what we're supposed to do next and falling behind the bike and the controls but didn't really fuck anything up. Only had a couple like awkward, jerky moments of surging forward - I definitely need to build wrist strength and dexterity to get smooth on the controls because I'm currently terrible at it. Stalled the bike lots but didn't drop it so consider that a success.

It's very much reinforced my desire to buy one... although I am recognizing just how awkward I am even with one of those training bikes in a mostly empty parking lot. Although it's not like you have all the time on the world to be awkward - like there's a dude in front of you and there's a dude behind you waiting for you to get your shit figured out so that he can go next, so some ... extremely light traffic pressure situations.

But like the gap between ... I can kind of ride through those cones on the other side if I am the only person around (for test time) and I can focus on it completely versus how am I going to get a bike home if I go buy one. I'm going to need to fucking like, I don't know, either do it in the middle of the night and like go 15 miles an hour at the entire time or rent a trailer and bring it home.

What do we want to buy?

• 2023 ROYAL ENFIELD METEOR 350 SUPERNOVA RED
  Looks fabulous, is $4k, right size...
• Also looking at potentially a Huskvarna # Svartpilen 401

Gear we need

Well I have some helmets from my dad I can probably use for now. I got some gloves, although they feel tight. If absolutely necessary, I could wear the boots from my brother to start with, but would like to move on to something less bulky soon.

So what we absolutely need...

• Jacket
• Riding pants
• Shatterproof glasses