Best products from r/SuggestAMotorcycle

We found 21 comments on r/SuggestAMotorcycle discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 17 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/SuggestAMotorcycle:

u/Wolf_Hook · 2 pointsr/SuggestAMotorcycle

Congrats on taking your first steps to a lifetime of riding passion!

You're right to be nervous, because there's a lot that can go wrong in traffic. Nervous keeps you aware, which keeps you alive. With time and focused practice, your awareness and skills and confidence will all improve dramatically, and fun will start to overtake fear as your primary emotion while riding.

Below is my standard response for newer riders, to help build skills and confidence as you embark on an amazing adventure:

Advice to New Riders

Motorcycling can be a lifelong passion, but you have to be smart about it and remain ever vigilant.

The training mentioned below is mostly US-based, but there are similar courses around the world, and most of the books/videos will apply no matter which side of the road you happen to ride on.

My best advice for newer riders: understand that motorcycling is a skill, and focused training and proper practice can make you a better, smoother, safer rider.

Experienced riders understand the Fundamental Truth of riding: Motorcycles aren't automatically dangerous (despite what naysayers will repeat ad nauseam), but they are quite unforgiving of mistakes.

Every rider has to know their own skill level (regardless of the bike they're riding), but it's sometimes hard to know just where that skill level is. And even harder to learn how to raise that skill level without putting yourself and others at serious risk.

As a kid, you didn't just jump on a bicycle and head directly out into the busy street, did you? I imagine you were given a small starter bicycle, maybe with training wheels, and you rode around the driveway or backyard until you got better at balancing, steering, and stopping. Then the training wheels came off, and you graduated to bigger bicycles as your skills grew.

Motorcycling is much the same. Start small, build your skills and your confidence, then progress as your time, experience, and budget allows. Most of that has to be done on the bike, of course, but there are several good resources that you can use during the down time to help improve your understanding of motorcycle physics and best riding practices.

And when you are riding, your entire attention should be focused on the ride. No distractions, no stressing about work or family or relationships or life. And no riding impaired under any substance, legal, illegal, or otherwise. You have to focus 100% of your energy on the road. Remember, your #1 goal is to make it safely to your destination, no matter what the road throws at you.

Side note: When you're out on the road, legal Right of Way means nothing if it means that you get hit by some idiot who's not paying attention. Being legally right is for courtrooms afterwards, whereas simply recognizing and avoiding the dangerous situation before it happens is a much better way of staying safe.

It bears repeating that ATGATT should be your normal mode right from the beginning. This brings us to another Fundamental Truth about riding: Pavement hurts, but with the right gear, you can walk away relatively unscathed. Remember, it's much easier to repair/replace a broken motorcycle than a broken person...

But it's better not to crash, obviously, which is where skills training comes in.

Focused, professional training from a qualified instructor is always worth your time and effort. Having a skilled professional trainer watch you from outside and critique your style is invaluable in reaching that next skill level, and in building confidence.

Even after 4 decades and around 600,000 miles on two wheels, I still take regular training courses and track days, still read up on riding skills and accident avoidance, and still "practice" on every single ride. It's what keeps you safe out there.

On a side note, ABS is a great thing to have on a motorcycle. It just sits there unobtrusively, unless you need it during an emergency braking situation when it kicks in and can easily save your ass. Like ATGATT, it can be the difference that lets you walk or ride away from an incident.

The MSF offers their Basic Rider Course and Advanced Rider Course, which are well worth the small time and money commitments. Some riders might already be at that point, or beyond, so they'd be looking towards developing more advanced riding skills, as mentioned below.

Riders of any skill level can start with Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride, & Street Rider's Guide: Street Strategies for Motorcyclists by David Hough. Then move on to Twist of the Wrist I & II by Keith Code and Smooth Riding - the Pridmore Way by Reg Pridmore.

Many of the ideas and techniques explained above can be practiced locally. Just find a large empty parking lot if you're in the city, or a lonely side road if you're out in the country, and try to recreate what the books are telling you.

And if you're interested in doing much longer rides, you should read Don Arthur's excellent Fatigue and Motorcycle Touring, which I re-read before every extended multi-day ride.

Then continue with the Twist of the Wrist I & II videos (can also be found on YouTube).

And don't forget some helpful websites, such as The Pace, The Pace 2.0, The Fine Art of Braking, and TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation.

That will set you up for a skills-based track day such as Ride Smart, where the point isn't to "win" or to "put a knee down" but rather to expand your riding skill set by practicing all the above ideas in a safe and controlled environment, with immediate feedback from qualified instructors.

You can also look at instructor-based training, such as Lee Parks Total Control program. And there are a few other places that offer one-on-one training as well.

Skills-based track days and private training can be found all over the country, if only you search for such things.

And when you're done perusing all of the above information, then sit down and watch On Any Sunday, On Any Sunday 2, and On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter

.

That should keep you busy for a while.

And remember to enjoy the ride...

u/sew_butthurt · 2 pointsr/SuggestAMotorcycle

Howdy, and welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycling. Good luck on your quest.

First off, does that $2,500 include riding gear or is that just for the bike? Assuming the former, you could spend $500 on a helmet, jacket, and gloves with $2k left over for the bike purchase. For riding gear, I recommend checking out motorcyclegear.com, especially their closeouts. They also have deals called 'almost free' where you receive a gift card for nearly the full price of the garment. You can sign up for their sale emails, check it out.

The bike you posted looks good, but given the age it would be helpful to take a knowledgeable friend along before buying. There is a lot to inspect to prevent unforeseen costs. As /u/DantesDame mentioned, rubber bits get old, brittle, and dry rotted. Think leaky carb boots, fork seals, brake hoses, things like that. Also you should check the valve clearances and ignition timing; personally I find these things fun but I did grow up wrenching on things.

A CB350 would be good, really anything from Honda's CB lineup would be fine, though the 750s and up get pretty heavy for a beginner. If there are many dirt roads near you, maybe consider a dual-sport such as a Honda XR or CRF230L (-R is offroad only, -L is street legal), Yamaha TTR, Suzuki DR-Z. They tend to be light and easy to handle, they're single-cylinders and generally pretty easy to work on.

Back to maintenance--whichever bike you get, get yourself a copy of the service manual. This is a how-to book with detailed instructions for all types of maintenance, including how to take the bike apart down to the last nut and bolt and still put it back together again. If you have that and a friend who knows how to change their own oil, you're off to a good start.

Of course take the class, but if you can meet seasoned riders to talk to or ride with, even better. Just be sure to take your advice from safe, responsible folk. If you can't find people like that, check your local library for this book. If they don't have it, you might be able to get it on inter-library loan:

http://www.amazon.com/Proficient-Motorcycling-Ultimate-Guide-Riding/dp/1889540536

u/MedCityMoto · 1 pointr/SuggestAMotorcycle

Any old bike cover will generally do you just fine. Look for ones that have at least 1 strap connector underneath, to make sure the wind doesn't take it.

GoPro - chin-mounting is great, but handlebar mounting means it's easier to run power to it from the bike itself for infinite battery life. For bar mounting, I'd just grab their handlebar clamping accessory, for $23 it's better now than most aftermarket solutions. The Session 4 is super easy to use, but if you get the Session5, and do run external power to it, you have to remove that little external door for waterproofing and it's easy to lose, so keep track of it.

Otherwise for chin-mount to the helmet, I really like these guys, it's super effective. Attach the arms to the center piece, remove the 3M tape covers on all 3 parts, and press the middle on to the helmet first before pressing the arms down. Very secure mount in my humble opinion, and extra easy.

u/joshy37 · 1 pointr/SuggestAMotorcycle

I've also been really struggling to decide on a jacket. Could really use some help or even suggestions outside of the ones I'll post below, I'm spending way too much time trying to decide on a jacket to buy and could use some help from more experienced riders that might be able to come up with reasons for/against some of these.

I really like this one, but it's the most expensive one I'm looking at: https://www.britishmotorcyclegear.com/brands/bmg/montana-jacket.html

Probably my 2nd pick: https://www.sportbiketrackgear.com/knox-roscoe-leather-jacket/#product-reviews%E2%80%9D\

3rd, I'd like this one better if it weren't for that big Dainese logo on the back: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/dainese-stripes-d1-perforated-leather-jacket

Tied for 4th: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NUSUY0A/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_8R05CbFTE921J

Tied for 4th: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BIKPM44/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_.205CbZC2KX3X

One last one, that seems like it'd be a decent deal at $85... But I'm not sure of the quality on this one, so someone tell me if it'd be a bad idea: https://www.motorcyclegear.com/street/jackets_jerseys_and_vests/cruiser_leather_jackets_and_vests/black_brand/two_lane_jacket.html

Any other suggestions are definitely welcome. I'm in Oklahoma currently, so summers get reasonably hot. I'd love a leather jacket that's more of a slim cut that looks good on/off the bike. I'm about 6', 195lbs, reasonably built, if that helps.

Also just saw these two and like them quite a bit:
https://www.foxcreekleather.com/mens-grayson-motorcycle-jacket/

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/street-steel-blade-jacket

u/Pleased_to_meet_u · 1 pointr/SuggestAMotorcycle

An even cheaper C-Clamp, and likely better because there are fewer things to go wrong with this one. Oh - make sure you get a large one, at least 4". 6" is even better. A three inch clamp might not be large enough for compressing brake pistons.

https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-Malleable-C-Clamp-Opening-4027/dp/B000NY6QO2

The torque wrench looks fine.

The Craftsman set - it's definitely NOT the right one to get. For working on that bike you only want metric tools - those are SAE (inchs vs. millimeters). Make sure you get a metric set. I'm also surprised at the lack of wrenches in that one. What you really need out of a combination package like that are the sockets, socket extension, ratchet, and a set of wrenches. Allen wrenches (hex keys) are a plus but the ones in that set don't appear large enough for what you'll run into on your bike (but I didn't look much).

For working on your bike the only sockets you're ever going to need (really) are 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, and 17mm. Once you realize that, you can narrow down what kind of combination set you need. (Hint: you don't need 60 sockets, but it's an easy way for them to put "more items" into the combo back.)

I have very little experience with bike stands, as I make sure to buy bikes that come with a centerstand. I recommend making sure they fit your bike before buying them.


Edit to ask: what area of the country are you in? If you tell me which Craigslist area to look in, I'll glance at the tools in your local area and see if I can point any out.


u/bilged · 2 pointsr/SuggestAMotorcycle

I use these and theyre great. They are "low pressure" so are comfortable for long rides, sleeping, flights, etc and are very easy to insert properly. Less than $20 for 200 pairs and you can use them a few times each before discarding if you have something clean to keep them in.

I use them with a Sena at Max volume and I can hear everything just fine.

u/Quagga_1 · 2 pointsr/SuggestAMotorcycle

NP. You can't really go wrong with either option ;-)

​

But [SERIOUS]ly.

My only real concern is that you might be making your rookie mistakes on a relatively fast motorbike.

You mentioned that you've got some experience, which is good. You also inferred that you might want to push your MT-09 on a twisty mountain road in the Norwegian countryside, which makes me both terribly jealous and a bit worried.

If you are planning to ride well within your limits (and speed limits) you might well get by with your stringent Norse license and self-control. But if you plan on riding harder (and who doesn't) sooner or later you will get yourself into a sticky situation. ABS and traction control are wonderful aids, but both rely on rider input.

Be honest with yourself regarding your own experience. Disregard this post if you've ridden thousands of kilometers, made your mistakes and learnt your lessons. Otherwise I'd really recommend you do everything possible to boost your experience with (relative) low risk. Attend a track school or high-performance riding lessons or even an off-road academy. And check out Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist series (see Amazon and Youtube) for some riding theory.

Motorbikes are wonderful things, but they can bite hard. You too will make mistakes. Mitigate the consequence!

u/nickcorvus · 1 pointr/SuggestAMotorcycle

I have a couple of these and they work great. I've had bad luck in the past with 3M tape keeping chin mounts in place, especially given that half the time when I put my helmet down, some of the weight is right on the camera housing, so it tends to pull the 3M off.

u/The_Rum_Pirate · 2 pointsr/SuggestAMotorcycle

The problem with used helmets is that the foam can become compressed without obvious visible damage to the shell, and once the foam is compressed it won't protect you in a crash. At my motorcycle safety class they said that they replace any helmet that has been dropped and suggested we do the same. It's just not worth risking your life over.

You can get a good quality fullface motorcycle helmet for ~$100. For example, this Bell Qualifier helmet for $109 on Amazon is what I use: https://smile.amazon.com/Bell-Qualifier-Full-Face-Motorcycle-7049224/dp/B00HLUWN34/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=bell+motorcycle+helmet&qid=1557894214&s=gateway&sprefix=bell+mot&sr=8-3

OP, here's the budget gloves I use also, Joe Rocket Eclipse for $18: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01NABSLI6?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

u/arsh6013 · 1 pointr/SuggestAMotorcycle

How about this kit?? This seems have everything for sale and metric. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JN3FGA4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_X2a0BbM52DMBW

I am in Rogers, Arkansas