Motorcycle 101: school me

[travish325]

Motorcycle 101 don't do this

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=4350136&postcount=751

[varg]

Please realize riding a motorcycle is a different mindset than a car. A brush or fender-bender in a car can be fatal on a motorcycle.

Please take all the training courses you can, learn emergency braking/steering, and always assume the other vehicles doesn't see you.

Ride like you are invisible, assume the car up ahead will pull out so you are ready in case it actually does.

+1
Paying attention to cars that are in the position to turn in front of me has saved my ass a few times. People will pull out in front of you even when it looks like they see you. Also stay in front of or behind cars that are next to you, people in general don't shoulder-check and will merge over on you when they glance in their mirrors and see nothing. Riding a motorcycle changes the way you look at the road and will change how you drive a car too. It changed me to the point where riding in a car with other people makes me nervous sometimes, because it's apparent that they aren't paying attention to what's more than a little bit ahead of them or how the cars around them are moving.

[Dozyproductions]

+1
It changed me to the point where riding in a car with other people makes me nervous sometimes, because it's apparent that they aren't paying attention to what's more than a little bit ahead of them or how the cars around them are moving.

Agreed on all points. Definitely start sweating with anxiety when in the passenger seat of another's car.

[Varinn]

I didn't know true fear until I rode passenger when my girlfriend drove through traffic!

Bike 101 for me, don't buy a sportbike unless you want to track it. On the track or in the canyons AT SPEED they are a blast. Anything less than that and it's a akin to driving a fast car slow vs driving a slow car fast. Acceleration is fun, but they corner so well that you need to wick it up a good deal before you need to move around on it. I owned a 600, and later upgraded to a 750 GSXR. The bike (aside from it's mechanical flaws) was great, but often I found that at anything less than 2 times the speed limit it's boring to ride. For a new rider, the bike was so overcapable for anything I wanted to do with it that it doesn't do well for learning. You never truly know where it's limits (or more likely, your own) are until you're well past them. The downside is on something like that when you pass those limits and the bike can no longer compensate for your fuckup you will find yourself in a much greater danger than if you had something a bit slower or less capable.

I traded off the GSXR for a "comfortable bike" and got the SuperDuke instead. It still has plenty of power but I rarely catch myself cruising along at the speeds of a full faired sportbike because the wind REALLY gives you an appreciation for how fast you're moving. It still handles great, sounds great, can powerwheelie on corner exits when I want to, but I don't fear for losing my bike to a speeding ticket, or losing my life/limb to a high speed crash like I did when I got the GSXR to a speed that made it entertaining in the corners.

[Vedubin01]

Valid points.

My first bike was a brand new 2nd Gen SV650.
I never dropped it, never went down. So those that claim you will... I don't buy it. It just takes attention and awareness. Both imperative to motorcycle ownership.

Good luck!

I agree, I am now on my 4th bike and have never dropped any of them once. I just picked up a 2nd gen SV650S as more of a daily bike over my S1000rr. The SV is a good bike to start off with. Upgrade the suspension with other Suzuki parts and you would have a really nice bike for under 3k.

[gtdragon980]

SV650 with GSXR swapped forks and a upgraded rear shock makes a world of a difference on SV's. Great first bike and extremely fun to ride in the twisties. I had no problem keeping up with bigger bikes or faster ones. But, I only weigh around 135lbs.

[Ryan Stewart]

Nope, if I get totally serious I will take one of those easyriders classes that teaches you and you get your license at the completion of it

Do that before you even get serious. Get some time on their little 250s, get your license, etc. Then you can pull the trigger whenever and be on the road immediately. Its like securing funding before house shopping.

And gear, budget another 2K for gear. Get good, comfortable and well-fit gear for all seasons. A comfortable rider is a safe rider.

[Vedubin01]

SV650 with GSXR swapped forks and a upgraded rear shock makes a world of a difference on SV's. Great first bike and extremely fun to ride in the twisties. I had no problem keeping up with bigger bikes or faster ones. But, I only weigh around 135lbs.

exactly... a very cheap upgrade with a huge improvement