Hello Hello (K5)

[yup]

What's up guys. New to the gixxer but not new to riding, been an "enthusiast" since I was 16, 23 now. Finally found a decent deal on an 05 600 (the body style that wooed me) for $3900, talked it down to $3350. The bike before was an 07 ninja 650r was a great learner (from riding to being on the road in general - specifically drinking) which I crashed due to poor judgment while intoxicated. I took the msf in 2005 n after a lot of research, reading, watching vids, etc. etc. i'm finally able to join the riding community once again. I know there's a specific crowd here but I think I'll eventually become a worthy contributor to the mountain of useful threads here. til then, here are some crappy pics from the ad lol (i'll need to make some changes before i consider the bike truly mine, but don't fret, i'm not about the flashing lights and extended swingarms -not that i'm hating on the drag crowd but u know what i mean)

[JetBlast]

welcome! even though you have 94 posts

[yup]

Originally Posted by JetBlast

welcome! even though you have 94 posts

well i didn't think it justified to introduce myself without a bike to my name. Plus i've somewhat developed a habit of reading up/familiarizing myself with the crowd before making serious contributions to any online community. gixxer is no exception...

furthermore, for those of you experienced riders who've clicked my thread to welcome me or +1 postcount, what're your thoughts on those riding jeans vs. grabbing some knox knee protectors and simply wearing those under regular jeans? (i can't help but feel exposed even with jacket, helmet, gauntlets and i'm on my way to grabbing a pair of riding boots but still unsure about the jeans)

1 thing i won't consider is race ready bottoms simply bc they're impractical for the day-to-day (although this will be a sure thing once i start tracking)

also, any suggestions for mods? i know it's early and i won't venture into it heavily until i'm far more experienced with my "new" k5, but info is always good to have, and coming from modding cars, i've yet to rid myself of the mod-bug.

thoughts on things that may well be in my future?
"performance":
asv levers
power commander
better brakes
better seat
full vs slip-on *i'm in it for best bang for the buck, though i'm under the impression that full will be far more worth it $ wise, but the sound is important to me as well. i can't stand that typical fart can or enormously loud and irritating cans some people jump to put on their bikes

cosmetics:
bar-end mirrors
powdercoating pegs vs. aftermarket pegs
powdercoating rims vs. aftermarket rims
dual projector headlights (as some have posted in the 04-05 threads)
best front & rear TURN signals for VISIBILITY (and please ignore stock in this list because they're simply too hideous D also, thoughts on those integrated mirror plugs that operate as turn signals???
best bang for the buck fender elim.
in YOUR opinion, best rear hugger

annnnnnnnnd finally, thoughts on increasing visibility on the body? (for reference, i've a cf icon airframe & teknic 2012 supervent pro) it's too bad the supervent doesn't come in white but yea, u get the gist

and for reading through this long ass post? i sent you some imaginary cookies by overnight express. jk much appreciated guys

[GSXR7ED]

Welcome! I'm partial to silver and black so your bike is cool with me--it'll probably change but things would be dull if they didn't. I haven't thought of doing anything to my bike so I'll be reading to see what interests me.

[JetBlast]

Originally Posted by yup

well i didn't think it justified to introduce myself without a bike to my name. Plus i've somewhat developed a habit of reading up/familiarizing myself with the crowd before making serious contributions to any online community. gixxer is no exception...

furthermore, for those of you experienced riders who've clicked my thread to welcome me or +1 postcount, what're your thoughts on those riding jeans vs. grabbing some knox knee protectors and simply wearing those under regular jeans? (i can't help but feel exposed even with jacket, helmet, gauntlets and i'm on my way to grabbing a pair of riding boots but still unsure about the jeans)

1 thing i won't consider is race ready bottoms simply bc they're impractical for the day-to-day (although this will be a sure thing once i start tracking)

also, any suggestions for mods? i know it's early and i won't venture into it heavily until i'm far more experienced with my "new" k5, but info is always good to have, and coming from modding cars, i've yet to rid myself of the mod-bug.

thoughts on things that may well be in my future?
"performance":
asv levers
power commander
better brakes
better seat
full vs slip-on *i'm in it for best bang for the buck, though i'm under the impression that full will be far more worth it $ wise, but the sound is important to me as well. i can't stand that typical fart can or enormously loud and irritating cans some people jump to put on their bikes

cosmetics:
bar-end mirrors
powdercoating pegs vs. aftermarket pegs
powdercoating rims vs. aftermarket rims
dual projector headlights (as some have posted in the 04-05 threads)
best front & rear TURN signals for VISIBILITY (and please ignore stock in this list because they're simply too hideous D also, thoughts on those integrated mirror plugs that operate as turn signals???
best bang for the buck fender elim.
in YOUR opinion, best rear hugger

annnnnnnnnd finally, thoughts on increasing visibility on the body? (for reference, i've a cf icon airframe & teknic 2012 supervent pro) it's too bad the supervent doesn't come in white but yea, u get the gist

and for reading through this long ass post? i sent you some imaginary cookies by overnight express. jk much appreciated guys

i have nothing really against riding jeans. they will help you out in an accident at lower speeds but at higher speeds, its fair game. i have a pair of SHIFT racing kevlar jeans that i wear regularly in the street. i tend to wear it with my SHIFT racing vendetta leather jacket. another idea for commuting is picking up some textile stuff. i have a pair of textile riding pants with built in hip protection and knee protection. the zipper runs up the side of my leg for ease of wearing over your pants.

as for mods, the popular mod to do is the shorty levers (like the ASV's you mentioned). i am a person who doesnt believe in modding a bike to death though. why mod a bike to death when it can be stolen much more easy than a car? you can be out a lot of money and the insurance company will only cover so much of it (if at all).

for visibility, i wear an ICON high visibility vest. it is required for me to wear on my military base so i just wear it off base when i wear my textile gear.

[just browsing]

Welcome, although I seem to be newer here than you are! Don't bother with a full exhaust system... for the money, most guys are just going to tell you to sell your bike and buy a 1000cc bike. Not to mention, your power still wouldn't be anywhere near a liter bike, so modifications like that are hard to justify. You could throw on Ti 1k headers, but they essentially just give your bike a deeper growl and shed about 20lbs. off your curb weight. Cosmetically, it's all personal preference and how you want your bike to look. If you like bar end mirrors, go for it.

As far as the gear goes, everyone on here is going to say to stay away from ICON. Personally, some of their stuff doesn't look too bad for decent street riding gear... It's just hard to justify spending that kind of money on sub-par gear when you could get a reputable brand name jacket for the same price. No personal experience with Teknic, although some of their stuff looks to be quality. Check out Taichi and Alpinestars. Both make great, protective jackets at competitive prices. Good luck!

[JetBlast]

Originally Posted by just browsing

Welcome, although I seem to be newer here than you are! Don't bother with a full exhaust system... for the money, most guys are just going to tell you to sell your bike and buy a 1000cc bike. Not to mention, your power still wouldn't be anywhere near a liter bike, so modifications like that are hard to justify. You could throw on Ti 1k headers, but they essentially just give your bike a deeper growl and shed about 20lbs. off your curb weight. Cosmetically, it's all personal preference and how you want your bike to look. If you like bar end mirrors, go for it.

As far as the gear goes, everyone on here is going to say to stay away from ICON. Personally, some of their stuff doesn't look too bad for decent street riding gear... It's just hard to justify spending that kind of money on sub-par gear when you could get a reputable brand name jacket for the same price. No personal experience with Teknic, although some of their stuff looks to be quality. Check out Taichi and Alpinestars. Both make great, protective jackets for competitive prices. Good luck!

ICON has made improvements on their gear over the years. unfortunately ICON gear is related to "poser gear" and a lot of the bad rap is from that. I am not an ICON fan except for their high visibility gear. I am considering buying one of their high vis jackets so i dont have to wear my vest anymore.

+1 on the A-stars gear though.

also let me mention a site to save some cash on gear:
http://www.motorcyclecloseouts.com

[Seven50Rider]

I like A* as well, its actually the only thing Ive own as for gear.. Well except for Sidi boots.

I'm somewhat sad to see that my bike would sell for so little if I was going to sell it.. But that isn't going to happen.

[just browsing]

Originally Posted by JetBlast

ICON has made improvements on their gear over the years. unfortunately ICON gear is related to "poser gear" and a lot of the bad rap is from that. I am not an ICON fan except for their high visibility gear. I am considering buying one of their high vis jackets so i dont have to wear my vest anymore.

+1 on the A-stars gear though.

also let me mention a site to save some cash on gear:
http://www.motorcyclecloseouts.com

Agreed. I think they make decent mid-range gear. I just wouldn't spend that kind of money on ICON when there are plenty of other reputable brand jackets that sell for the same price if not less than some of this "poser" stuff.

A* definitely makes nice gear though. Have and will continue to use their gear.

[JetBlast]

Originally Posted by just browsing

Agreed. I think they make decent mid-range gear. I just wouldn't spend that kind of money on ICON when there are plenty of other reputable brand jackets that sell for the same price if not less than some of this "poser" stuff.

A* definitely makes nice gear though. Have and will continue to use their gear.

yeah their leather jackets are nice but i can get better stuff for the price of their jackets and what not. a-stars has proven quality and you can get some of their gear for the price of what ICON charges. the U.S. military has a contract with ICON so i have their gear in all our stores on our bases. when i surf the net looking at gear, a lot of it is blocked because its related to automotive/sporting and what not (except ICON!).

[mythic44]

Welcome.

As far as the mods go, you just gotta do you. Whatever you want is the right mod. It's your bike, now make it your own.

For gear, I know several guys that rock the riding jeans. One brand is Dragin another is shift. Both seem pretty nice and the guys seem to really like them. I have never worn them personally though so I can't say definitivly. I wear A* jacket, SIDI boots, Icon cloves and KBC VR2R lid. For the track I have AGVSport full one piece leathers.

I don't honestly think there is a lot of difference in the mid priced gear. Most of it is very functional and there is a style for just about everyone.

Congrats on the bike.

[yup]

wow a bit more feedback than i expected lol. Much appreciated guys/gals.

The pants issue is still mainly a concern of mine as i'm looking for a good mix between protection and practicality. of course more input n feedback will be great, but as of right now i'm leaning more towards getting the riding jeans simply bc i can't see the knox protectors as being comfortable enough to wear on the daily.

If ICON continues with the style of gear they're producing now, i can't see myself wearing any icon gear for quite some time lol i agree for the most part on gear, and honestly even getting the ICON helmet was kinda iffy at first since i personally dislike their marketing strategy, design, target audience... BUT, that aside, i simply looked for the best deal $$ wise i could find on a helmet (air flow is a main concern as my old hjc was complete shit when it came to ventilation) fyi i actually DIDn't get the ICON Lifeform carbon fiber helmets, what i did was purchase the cheapest Airframe i could find ($170 shipped) and wrap it with 3M's di-noc. for those of you who don't know about this, take a look: this is a shoei wrapped in it.

my old alpinestars gear (jacket/gloves) did alright for their purposes, but honestly i've looked through the catalogs of alpinestars, rs taichi, dainese, cortech, teknic, sidi, spidi, etc etc. for all sorts of gear from gloves to boots, so i'm very familiar with the levels of protection/style each offer. and in my research, TEKNIC seems to be producing better and better stuff and an up n coming force to be reckoned with. however, as any company would, have increased their prices that would go into research & development for newer protective technology.

As for the thoughts on the jump up to a liter bike, i honestly don't see myself reaching that potential level of riding too quickly as i'm in a very aggressive graduate program right now and simply don't have the time. That's not to say that one day i wouldn't LOVE to try my luck with a liter but that's far in the future. I plan on keeping this little bugger for a good while and thus the performance mods are mostly about squeezing what i can outa this first 'project' bike of mine. I was actually shopping for a 750 there weren't very many deals and i was getting restless lol

for those who are interested, my future paint scheme will be the negative image of a typical "black / silver" so the top parts of the bike will be white, and the "silverish-white" parts on the current scheme will be black. I will keep the stickers in their stock positions only WHITE instead of black and ofc will keep the red R red all in all, i feel pretty welcome here, and soon enough i'll be looking for a riding group on the weekends to tear through santa monica & the like

[JetBlast]

i bought my AGV K-3 helmet for $150. Rossi and many other Italian racers use the AGV racing helmets. has great airflow over the helmet and through it. i can actually feel the air going into my helmet through the vents.

[yup]

Originally Posted by JetBlast

i bought my AGV K-3 helmet for $150. Rossi and many other Italian racers use the AGV racing helmets. has great airflow over the helmet and through it. i can actually feel the air going into my helmet through the vents.

i actually have one as well. got it for my gf for $136 (she's getting a ninja 250r to start on)

[obc]

sounds like you're thinking too much about what to spend your money on.
fuck all that, enjoy the bike as is.
and those 'racing' jeans are shit
better than regular jeans,yes.. but what about the impact?

[yup]

Originally Posted by obc

sounds like you're thinking too much about what to spend your money on.
fuck all that, enjoy the bike as is.
and those 'racing' jeans are shit
better than regular jeans,yes.. but what about the impact?

true that man. i did mention that i would mod slowly, but for sure i will ride the bike as is for quite some time before i would even be able to notice the difference from doing anything to it but i will heed those words fsure. Not to mention i just read through zrampage or jzrampage's (or whatever taht guy's name is) thread about his crash... horrid story and incredibly unlucky :/ seems those riding jeans didn't really hold up much considering his torn shit in his knee/leg.

i guess it's either knox knee protectors or leather bottoms for the daily??? :/ there's gotta be another way!!! lol

[GSXR7ED]

Originally Posted by yup

wow a bit more feedback than i expected lol. Much appreciated guys/gals.

The pants issue is still mainly a concern of mine as i'm looking for a good mix between protection and practicality. of course more input n feedback will be great, but as of right now i'm leaning more towards getting the riding jeans simply bc i can't see the knox protectors as being comfortable enough to wear on the daily.

If ICON continues with the style of gear they're producing now, i can't see myself wearing any icon gear for quite some time lol i agree for the most part on gear, and honestly even getting the ICON helmet was kinda iffy at first since i personally dislike their marketing strategy, design, target audience... BUT, that aside, i simply looked for the best deal $$ wise i could find on a helmet (air flow is a main concern as my old hjc was complete shit when it came to ventilation) fyi i actually DIDn't get the ICON Lifeform carbon fiber helmets, what i did was purchase the cheapest Airframe i could find ($170 shipped) and wrap it with 3M's di-noc. for those of you who don't know about this, take a look: this is a shoei wrapped in it.

my old alpinestars gear (jacket/gloves) did alright for their purposes, but honestly i've looked through the catalogs of alpinestars, rs taichi, dainese, cortech, teknic, sidi, spidi, etc etc. for all sorts of gear from gloves to boots, so i'm very familiar with the levels of protection/style each offer. and in my research, TEKNIC seems to be producing better and better stuff and an up n coming force to be reckoned with. however, as any company would, have increased their prices that would go into research & development for newer protective technology.

As for the thoughts on the jump up to a liter bike, i honestly don't see myself reaching that potential level of riding too quickly as i'm in a very aggressive graduate program right now and simply don't have the time. That's not to say that one day i wouldn't LOVE to try my luck with a liter but that's far in the future. I plan on keeping this little bugger for a good while and thus the performance mods are mostly about squeezing what i can outa this first 'project' bike of mine. I was actually shopping for a 750 there weren't very many deals and i was getting restless lol

for those who are interested, my future paint scheme will be the negative image of a typical "black / silver" so the top parts of the bike will be white, and the "silverish-white" parts on the current scheme will be black. I will keep the stickers in their stock positions only WHITE instead of black and ofc will keep the red R red all in all, i feel pretty welcome here, and soon enough i'll be looking for a riding group on the weekends to tear through santa monica & the like

Glad to hear you're staying with the Silver & Black scheme...I like the RAIDERS so that's why I reference it that way. I have family in El Sereno, Rosemead, Whittier, & Rancho Cucamonga. I know about the strip in Santa Monica/Malibu. I'd love to stop by at Tommy's on Rampart and head over to the beach...lots of good times there!

Keep us updated on your project. Looking forward to viewing the results.

[wesleh]

welcome