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Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater Sun, 12 Dec 2010This is the weekend of the International Motorcycle Show, and I had several reasons I wanted to go this year. First in my mind was the fact that Honda just introduced this CBR250R, and I really wanted to check it out in person. Next, I thought (and just confirmed) that I've had my current helmet for a long time -- I try to replace my helmet every 3-4 years, and I'm now past 4 years on this one. Finally, I wanted to sign up for my racing license, and pick my new racing number. So, I headed down to the stadium district (it still massively annoys me that we have multiple stadiums, but that's a different story), and parked my little CL175 in the parking structure, glad for the cover. It wasn't raining yet, but every indication was that it would be pouring very soon. As I was parking, Mark Etheridge (a racing buddy) pulled to a stop in front of me and said, "I thought that was you." Yep, big guy in a big yellow suit on a little CL175. There's really only one of those in Seattle. We walked into the show together, and perused the display bikes. He really liked the Honda MB5 on display, and I couldn't stop looking at a Soviet-themed Harley with a structure that I can only think of as the "nut remover" -- a cage-like structure that would be the first thing your crotch hit in a frontal crash. Ouch. Neat bike, though, assuming you could get around that.
We wandered together a bit, looking at various displays and bikes. He ran into an old friend I didn't know, so I excused myself to go look at the CBR250R. Honda had two on display: a black one, and a red/grey one with ABS. There's no external difference to the ABS bike, other than the sensor rings inside the brake discs. I think that more interesting than the bikes themselves was watching people react to the bikes. There was the pair of very short young women comparing seat height -- "The Ninja's seat is lower," said one of them as she sat on the CBR. She apparently owned a Ninja 250. The sales rep leapt upon them, survey clipboard in hand, and started asking marketing questions. "You're pretty much exactly our target customers," he said. There were a lot of positive reactions. I watched a couple of vendors from a different booth sit on it, remarking how incredibly light it is (quite true). A passer-by remarked, "Four thousand dollars?" It was clear he was impressed at the low price. People were not saying, "Pff, who wants a 250?" It was encouraging. Mark posited later that it's because the economy's so down, and that Honda never would have bothered bringing in the 250 if we were still all rolling in home-equity-based riches. He's probably right, but I hope that having brought it in, Honda will keep it for a few years.
One of the things that impressed me about the bike itself is that the seating position is very well set up. I fit on it with no problem, and it was clear that bigger and smaller people would also fit, assuming the seat-to-peg distance wasn't an issue. It wasn't very leaned forward (matching the Ninja 250 in that regard), with a neutral seating position. When I got down into a racing tuck, I found that the tank was perfectly angled for this position, and the screen was the right distance away -- obviously Honda hopes that people will race their newest little import. Eventually I wandered on, and found myself at the Seattle Cycle Center booth. I figured this would be where I'd find a helmet, as they're the only major vendor selling a number of different lines at the show. Earlier this week, knowing I'd be going to look at helmets, I looked around for reviews, and came upon the very useful archive of helmet reviews at WebBikeWorld. I went through all the recent reviews, and wrote down a little list of the helmets I wanted to check out. The problem with this approach is that about half the helmets I wanted to check out (notably the Nexx XR1R Carbon and the Akuma Phantom II) weren't anywhere to be found, anywhere in the show. I didn't even bother writing down some of the other "off" brand helmets, knowing I'd never see them in person. If no one carries a helmet, how am I supposed to know if it fits me? If I don't know it fits, I'm not going to bother. It's a kind of chicken-and-egg catch-22, and it's terribly frustrating when you want to try out these cool but underdistributed helmets. So, I tried on the ones that were actually present, including a raft of Shoeis, a raft of Arais, and a few HJCs. The HJC FS-15 Carbon was particularly interesting, but when I put it on, it wasn't noticeably lighter than other helmets, and didn't fit. That was actually the story of the experience, as it always is -- I'm lucky if I find one helmet that fits well. I'm not sure if I'm super picky or what, but it's very difficult to find a helmet that meets me all the way around, and doesn't press anywhere, and is actually comfortable for more than a minute or two. Everything I tried on was either too round, or too short front-to-back. Everything, of course, but one: the most expensive helmet I tried on.
I tried to avoid it. I tried on the other helmets. I did everything I could, but I ended up with the next generation of my current helmet, and one of the most expensive helmets Shoei makes: the X-Twelve. Part of the reason, I have to admit, was talking to Tim O'Mahony, who is the WMRRA chief tech, and one of the trained medical personnel who respond to crashes on the track. He responded to two deaths in the last year -- one in which the rider died on his bike, then crashed, and another in which a novice made a mistake and ended up piling into a dirt wall with his bike on top of him. In both cases, he related how he had to just take the risk and yank the helmet off the rider, risking possible aggravating neck or spine injuries. The X-Twelve (and a few other high-end racing helmets) now include quick-release cheek pads, which means that an EMT can pull the pads out and ease the helmet off a downed rider's head gently, without aggravating any spinal injuries that already exist. Between the fact that the X-12 fits well, and this new wrinkle, it seemed like it was probably worth the expense. I can no longer claim that I primarily get around by motorcycle, but as long as I can afford it, I'd still prefer to get the best safety equipment I possibly can. Particularly as this helmet will be used for racing, I'll take any extra safety I can get. So, I plunked down my plastic money, and I should have a shiny white helmet here in a week or two. My final task at the show was to sign up for my race license. This year is extra cool to me because I get to choose a new number. After a few years of being a graduated novice without having actually gone through the full graduation process (ie, doing my volunteer hours), I was stuck with my novice plates and number, 823. It's not a bad number, but I knew it wouldn't be permanent, so I couldn't mark it on anything (putting your race number on equipment is pretty standard practice around the pits). I had prepared a list in my head of the numbers I wanted, for various nerdly reasons: 555 because it's the number of a useful, simple and popular integrated circuit. 556 for the same reason, plus 5.56mm is a popular rifle caliber. 223 for the same caliber expressed in inches instead of millimeters. Then, when I was sitting down to write down my number preferences, I checked the website again (yay smartphones!), and realized that 250 was available. I certainly enjoyed racing the Ninja 250 more than the CL175 last year, so I have a feeling that may become my preferred bike -- I scratched out the list I'd written down, and added 250 as my first choice. I'm sure I'll get one of 250, 555, 556 or 223, and any one of them will make me perfectly happy. So, that was most of my IMS experience this year. I certainly saw other things, the show was full of stuff, most of which didn't interest me. And of course, sometimes you just see things that boggle your conception of why people spend money like they do.
Posted at 14:40 permanent link category: /motorcycle Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net. |
