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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> I did it! /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1117350610 Message started by Suzuki_Sam on 05/29/05 at 00:10:10 |
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Title: I did it! Post by Suzuki_Sam on 05/29/05 at 00:10:10 I don't know if you remember, but I'm the new member, 41 yr. old mom of 3, formerly terrified of motorcycles. (Does that get me kicked off :-/) Well, I did my first ride off the parking lots and past my street. I know it sounds silly, but it was a huge step for me. There was even a moment at a stop sign where the bike started to wobble (still trying to get that down shift thing) and I was surprised how easy it was to control it. Not the big scary beast I thought. Haven't done a highway yet - going to wait until after the MSF. You all are right, its an incredible feeling to move with the bike, making those turns, etc.! And I realized today - I LOVE MY BIKE! |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by PerrydaSavage on 05/29/05 at 02:53:30 8)Congrats Sam! ... and it gets better & better from here on out! Ride Safe! |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by gazab44 on 05/29/05 at 03:04:40 Well done Sam....I've been riding 20+years and still get that feeling, the feeling you can't explain but want to share with everyone :) :) |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Michael on 05/29/05 at 03:12:29 Sam: Yeaaa!!!!! We captured another one. There's no turning back now. At the age of 13 I was given my first bike. A moped. From that first ride, I knew I was hooked. It was a canary yellow Cady. Not the coolest thing on wheels, and imagine my parents surprise when they came home, and I had spraypainted it midnight blue, to look a little cooler, or as cool as a lad with a moped could......LOL I always had the bug from that day on. I moved up to dirt bikes, three wheelers, 4 wheelers, and Stret bikes. I just recently got back into biking, after about 12 years. ..The feeling never leaves. ..I climbed on that savage the day I got her, and rode for hours. I felt like a kid again. This guy will always have a motorcycle from that day forward...Even if I reach 90, and need training wheels.....LOL.... I think of the time i missed, and am glad the bug bit again.. Good luck with the course, and remember **Baby Steps**.Rome wasn't built in a day. Start out on some back roads till you feel confident, and slowly progress into driving in traffic...You have already reached an important milestone. ....My hats off to you!!!!! cheers Michael |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by lancer on 05/29/05 at 06:25:02 My two favorite recreational type activities are flying a helicopter low and fast through the treetops (don't get to do that anymore...costs too much for a civilian) and riding a motorcycle...preferably on sweeping country roads or winding mountain roads. Both of those things are remarkably similar, and fun fun fun. I started riding at 16 and have loved it since the beginning. Welcome and keep having fun. |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by WD on 05/29/05 at 12:31:27 Congratulations Sam! That first step can be tough to take. I've had 75 bikes go through my hands over the last 18 years, each one was like learning to ride all over again. If I hop on one of the used bikes for sale at work to demo it for a customer, same feeling. Stick to country lanes or frontage roads as much as you can. The bike will quite happily handle the superslab (freeway), but why subject yourself to that if you don't absolutely have to. I agree with Lancer, the best feelings in the world are high speed low altitude flights or riding a motorcycle. I can't fly anymore (can't pass the flight physical), so I ride the motorcycle as often as I can. Don't let the bike intimidate you into not trying different riding locations. It can take just about anything you care to try, including weekend camping trips on logging roads (you'll need a better rear tire is all). My bike has been ridden in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Washington State. Backroads, superslab, country lanes, frontage roads, no roads (beach and pasture), dirt roads, and on Forest Service ORV paths (slowly). It has been adequate to excellent in most situations. A couple areas it wasn't so good, but still handled the conditions fine. Take your time. There is a Savage in Los Angeles with over 100K MILES on it. Keep the oil level topped up, keep the tires inflated, and go ride. If the bike fits your body properly, soon enough you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. Have fun! Keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up (to quote Polar Pilot, a good friend from another Savage board). -WD |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Greg_650 on 05/30/05 at 07:07:38 Suzuki_Sam wrote:
Good encouraging start, Sam, and no it's not silly at all. Not sure that I understand how a 41 year old mom that was once "terrified of motorcycles" came to own a Savage in the first place, but I guess that is all mentioned somewhere and I just can't remember. Anyway, welcome to Suzuki Savage Dot Com..... As they say in the movie Dune, "Fear is the mind killer" and what that means is that you can't think correctly when you are afraid or nervous. And being afraid while riding is not a good thing. It slows down your responses at a time when you need them to be at their best My advice...Stay off the highways until you can take the MSF course. When will that happen? Do you have access to a parking lot near home? PRACTICE, Practice, practice. Your first ride was encouraging, and that is good, but learning to ride is not a linear thing. You don't proceed to the "next step" by simply putting more miles on the saddle. You used the word "wobble" to describe your moment at the stop sign....you need to get rid of all "wobble" before you approach your next stop sign. Also, do you have a friend (or hubby) with a motorcycle? You need someone to mentor you. Someone that can critique your riding objectively and honestly. Go to the DMV and get a motorcyle manual, then find the section on the skills testing, and practice those riding skills in an empty parking lot. Even set up your own pillons or cones (coke cans, anything) and do the zig-zags, and the stopping tests. Trust me. I learned to ride the hard way, but that was years ago when traffic and people were so much different. I took my spills too, but in today's world you don't want to risk that in public. 5 years ago, I bought my newbie spouse her first bike (a GZ250). She was totally green too, with nothing more than a good attitude. I trained her for over 15 miles in a parking lot, before she ever went on the road...and even then it was out in the country with me following in either a car or a bike. I lectured and I critiqued, and she learned, and this went on for months and she was getting good, too.. However, I also worried that I wasn't training her properly, that I was teaching her my learned bad habits, or that there was more that she needed to know...I got us both in the earliest MSF course possible. Bottom line? Even though I had 30+ years experience, she got the same final score...we both got "2 points" in the final riding skills test (not for the same reasons). And ya wanna know what? My spouse is every bit as good as I am....with the exception that she didn't have to smash up a few bikes to learn as I did ::) Sorry this is long winded, but motorcycle safety is just something that I take seriously, and I want everyone to enjoy it just as I do. |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by WD on 05/30/05 at 07:30:08 As usual, Greg makes some really good points. Take the course before you pick up too many bad habits from those of us here who are self taught. My bike was inspected last week by an MSF instructor who dropped by the shop. After talking with him for an hour while we test fit someparts on his bike (a 1500 Vulcan Drifter 8) ), I've decided I should take the experienced rider course version. Maybe I can unlearn some of my less than ideal riding habits... like using the rear brake, ONLY. Really unsafe... Go to the high school lot on the weekend. Set up rocks, cans, etc and practice. I did that with my stepson, he picked it up pretty quickly. Also try riding diminishing radius spirals without letting your feet off the pegs. It was part of the state test when I got my endorsement. Rob (the kid) got to where he could drag the footpegs without dropping the bike...both directions. Like I passed on from my wife in another post, practice panic stopping. Practice short stopping. When Rob was practicing, I'd step out in front of the bike. He learned how tostop straight and stop hard. Part of the test is stopping in a marked box at 15-25 mph... every time he went over the line at the end of the box, he had to take me to lunch. ::) Have your hubby or kids throw a low flying frisbee in front of the bike while you are rolling. Gets you used to small critters, birds, and blowing trash coming off the side of the road. Hey, it happens, ask Sluggo... Have fun. If you start getting tired, stop for a break. The Savage can be a butt buster, the seat isn't the best in the world, and riding when you are tired or sore isn't very much fun. -WD |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Bluejeanz on 05/30/05 at 19:02:17 Suzuki_Sam wrote:
Hey Sam! Congrats on that first wonderful step. I too am a 41 year old Mom and I only have about 4 months experience more than you. I started riding last September (but I live in Maine so there are a lot of months in between that I didn't ride). Once you take the MSF, you'll be amazed at how quickly you will progress in your comfort level. If you want, you can read my blog that sort of touches on my own learning experience from the first ride till this weekend. http://www.cruisinmaine.blogspot.com/ Keep at it, girl. You're doing great! |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Diane on 05/30/05 at 19:24:02 I feel cheated!!!!! Sam and Blue got the bug 6 yrs younger than I did :-[. I read once that the avg. age for a woman to buy her 1st bike is 48. I only beat that by 2 weeks. But I sometimes feel that the more I ride, the younger I get. It all boils down to this Sam: take the msf class, stay in your comfort zone and ride your own ride. |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Bluejeanz on 05/30/05 at 19:44:53 Yeah! What she said... Specially the part about...well, okay... all of it. The MSF will help a lot and riding your own bike is so important...don't worry about keeping up with anybody's bike or skill level or speed. Do what you alone are comfortable with. And Diane, you're right...even at this age, I feel like I wasted some good riding years, but I'm feeling younger all the time! |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Deb on 05/30/05 at 20:16:54 Suzuki_Sam wrote:
Well, I know just want you are saying Sam, my story is just about the same as your my husband rode my bike to a industrial park Sunday and I rode for about 2 hours off and on and I love it I take my safety class the 10,11, & 12 and can't wait to do it, my son is also taking it with me he is 21 that will also be a blast. I guess you all got another one here. LOL 8) Not been on highway yet I still don't have that leaning down at all, but I am sure the class with help . So guess we just keep riding and learning. 8) |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Deb on 05/30/05 at 20:24:04 Diane wrote:
well, Diane it was the age for me I am 48 and I sure do like the the ideal of the more you ride the younger you feel :) |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Reelthing on 05/30/05 at 20:30:31 The MSF course is great -you learn and get try out some important things - how to brake in a curve, rear wheel skids, jump a 2x4,and such also find a reason to ride as often you can - short trips to the store 2 or 3 times a day - more seat time the better. |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Karen627 on 05/30/05 at 22:18:16 36 here, no kids. Do cats count? I have one that's really evil, if it helps... ??? The S40 was my first bike too. It's funny -- people usually talk about getting a small bike to learn on, then moving "up" to something bigger. So far, though, I can't see why I'd want a different bike. This one does everything I want -- and looks cool doing it, I might add. ;D Suzuki_Sam wrote:
Nope, that's not silly at all! It's great that you're gradually increasing your comfort level. There's no deadline here, so there's no need to rush yourself. Go at the pace you're most comfortable with, and it'll all be that much more rewarding. Just an FYI: if you're anything like me, you might have the occasional day when your head's just not into it, or you're more tired than you thought, or it just doesn't feel quite right. You might make some simple mistakes, or be surprised at how out-of-whack you feel when you're riding. If this happens (and it might not; this is only if you're like me), don't be discouraged by it. I've had a couple of days where I thought, "I have no idea what I'm doing; why am I on this thing?" and took the bike home. And then without fail, the next time I rode I felt like I'd been doing it all my life. So when you see experienced riders making it look easy while you're wobbling to stops, don't worry -- you'll be making it look easy soon enough. ;D |
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Title: Re: I did it! Post by Deb on 05/31/05 at 08:46:14 gosh, thanks all the more I read about the MSF class I can't wait ! ;D 10 more days and counting. |
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