Thinking about an upgrade

When I first got my motorcycle, I did not know that I was going to get bored of it so quickly; It has been 4 months and I am already thinking about upgrading to a faster motorcycle.

I am open for options, but I know for sure that I want a super-sport, the ones that hit 60 mph in 3 seconds and are already prepared for the track. The reason I want to get a more powerful motorcycle is that I am moving to Gainesville, and I will need one of those to go back and forth.

A super sport motorcycle costs about $15,000; it is an expensive toy, but they are worth it. I am still debating about either buying one new, or buying one used.

The pros of getting a new one is that there is an active warranty on the motorcycle, meaning is any part breaks or stops working, the replacement of the part or parts is free.

However, there are more cons for getting an used motorcycle than pros, they are more expensive, since they are brand new, it should be checked up more frequently, and they cost more to service and parts.

In the other hand, a used motorcycle might be cheaper, but the person who is buying has to take a risk because they do not know what the previous owner did to it. If a used motorcycle breaks, the money for the repair comes from the owner’s pocket and the warranty is probably

Burn Marks

Motorcycle burn marks are the worst. In the beginning, they do not a lot, but after 20 minutes, they become red, painful, and sensitive.

A first degree burn is one that only affects the surface of the skin, but a second degree burn is the ones that create a bubble of liquid inside the skin that if it gets popped, it can get infected and worsen the conditions of the burn mark.

Motorcycle burns are common because the riders legs are usually positioned relatively close to the motorcycle exhaust, which becomes extremely hot when the engine of the bike is warmed up.

So far, I have gotten burned 3 times, the first one was a couple days after I got my motorcycle, it was not to bad, but it still hurt. The second burn mark was in december, which was he worst burn mark I've ever gotten; and the third burn mark was yesterday, which was not so bad.

The first and the third one hurt a lot when it happened but on the next day it was just there, there was no bubble, so it was a "minor" burn mark. To treat first degree burns, I put a special cream, and aloe vera to hydrate the burn mark, helping the healing process.

My second burn mark was tragic, it was the size of a small hand, bubbles were created and popped, the wound became infected and the healing process took over a month. After this burn mark, i became so aware of the situation that my leg never went close to the exhaust, until yesterday.

First Service

A galon of motorcycle costs about 10 dollars,  the sealers cost 5 dollars in total, the labor is about 100 dollars. Giving a total of 235 dollars for an oil change, and a tire pressure check.

When I heard all the prices, the first thing I thought was: Why would I spend almost 250 dollars for something that I can do myself on a weekend. So instead of leaving my bike at the shop for 2 hours, decided to go home and look up videos of how to change the oil, clean and lube the chain, check the clutch and brakes, and spot any possible problems.

After doing that, I took the risk and did everything by myself on the weekend. It was difficult to find all the screws and parts, but I wanted to learn and so I took my time and I did it.

It was very messy, I did not know how much oil the motorcycle could carry, so it got on my hands and on the ground. What takes a professional two hours to do the job, took me 3, and I did not have to pay 200 just for service.

After changing the oil successfully, I went for a ride at night, and I freaked out in the beginning because there was smoke coming out of my engine, so I pulled over to google about it, and it is completely normal for the engine to burn a little oil in the beginning since the filter, and the oil were new.

In the future, not only I plan on changing the oil myself, but everything that requires service.

Getting used to it

Getting used to it

Welcome to my blog, on this week three, I am going to be talking about getting used to riding my motorcycle.
 
Perfection is only achieved with practice. In the beginning, it was extremely hard to get used to my motorcycle. For those who do not know how to drive a stick shift car, it completely moves according to the driver. There is the clutch, the throttle and the brake petals. The clutch controls if the engine is released to go forward, the throttle gives the car or motorcycle speed, and the brakes stop the car.
What differs from an automatic car is that the driver choses when to shift gears.
On a motorcycle, it works the same way, it sounds confusing to read about, but once you get the idea, it is easy to operate it, but what was hard to get used to was the time to shift up, and shift down, especially on the streets with cars around, and nothing protecting me from a crash.
Additionally, the feeling of secureness and freedom is critical to stay protected. I like to think that I am never too good at riding, because when people get over confident, they usually get into accidents.
In order to ride a motorcycle, you have to very responsible, and aware of the surroundings at all times. One of the big parts of the course is safety on the roads, we were trained to swerve if something gets in the way, also to go over objects and curbs.
You never know when someone crazy is going to come out of the corner, or cut you off, possibly killing you. It was hard to get used to that.