Tag: ninja

The Importance of Suspension Setup

June 7, 2018 / Brandon Jackson / 0 Comments

One of the first things I do when I get a new or new to me motorcycle cycle is evaluate and adjust the suspension. I will also tell anyone who will listen to do the same. So how is it that I’ve had my Ninja 1000 for two years and somehow completely forgot to do this? I can’t say.

I can say that less than an hour in the garage with a friend, a socket wrench, and a spanner saved my relationship with my Ninja “thou”. I had been preparing for some time to sit down with the Ninja and say “We need to talk”, but now we’re getting along swimmingly. So what led to this near breakup and how exactly was it saved? Read on, friends…

Risky Business – Being Seen

August 1, 2017 / Brandon Jackson / 0 Comments

In my previous installment of Risky Business, I looked at being vigilant and acutely aware of the hazards when riding on the street. This time let’s take a look from the other perspective, making yourself visible to other vehicles on the streets with you.

How often have you heard someone involved in an crash say “I never saw the other driver, rider, etc”. More often that you would think, this is actually a true statement. The driver may have actually been looking right at motorcycle and their brain never registered the bike as an object to avoid or be concerned with.

Drivers can get used to just looking for cars and other hazards on the road. Let’s face it, motorcycles just aren’t as plentiful on the roads as cars and trucks. It’s hard for some motorcyclists to understand this but as riders, we often take note of other bikes. Being on a bike seems to make us “tuned in” to see other bikes where drivers of cars simply aren’t.

So what can one do as a rider to mitigate this phenomenon? Let’s learn how to be seen. The following are some ways to improve your visibility on the road.

LED There Be Light – LED Turn Signal Bulbs

July 11, 2016 / Brandon Jackson / 3 Comments

LED lighting has been a very popular add-on / upgrade for motorcycles for years now. They have often been used in “strings” to add accent lighting which may or may not be “your thing” (it is not mine). They also have been implemented as replacements and/or upgrades for turn signals, brake lights, running lights and in some cases even headlights.

I recently installed LED lights on my Ninja 1000 in my turn signal and running lights replacing the factory incandescent bulbs. I did this in the hopes of increasing visibility of my turn signals and my bike overall. So how did they do?

Upcoming Summer Reviews

June 19, 2016 / Brandon Jackson / 0 Comments

Photo by AGV Sport

As we get into summertime I have a full queue of reviews coming that will be published to webBikeWorld over the next several weeks including the Podium Leather Racing suit from AGV Sport, the Outback 2 Jacket and Enterprise pants from REV’IT!, some new boots from TCX, the Joe Rocket Ballistic 7.0 pants, and more updates and blog entries of the Kawasaki Ninja 1000.

As the reviews get published you’ll hear about them here at MotorcycleWords.com and on our social media accounts. Have you got something you feel should be reviewed? Let me know about it and I’ll see if I can my hands on whatever it is.

Ninja 1000 First Impressions Review at wBW

May 11, 2016 / Brandon Jackson / 1 Comment

My first impressions review of my new Ninja 1000 over at webBikeWorld.com (Excerpt below)

The Ninja 1000 is one of three bikes based on Kawasaki’s 1043cc engine. The other two are the Z1000 “naked” or roadster and the new-for-2015 Kawasaki Versys 1000, big brother to the 2015 Kawasaki Versys 650 LT (Blog), one of the current webBikeWorld Project Bikes.

The Ninja 1000 is classified in the “sport” category by Kawasaki, which doesn’t really tell the whole story…or maybe it does.

I’m preparing to invoke a very over-used term in the world of motorcycle reviews: “all-’rounder”. There, I said it. Now that it’s out of the way I’ll elaborate.

http://goo.gl/7aAv2H