SuzukiSavage.com - Never owned or ridden a bike

Gyrobob Serious Thumper Offline Posers ain't motorcyclists Posts: 2571 Newnan, GA Gender:	Re: Never owned or ridden a bike Reply #75 - 09/17/12 at 09:13:34 You can not not countersteer, so there is no point in thinking about it. Let's talk about something else more useful to a newbie. How about which lane to ride in?
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bill67

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #76 - 09/17/12 at 09:15:01

Gyrobob wrote on 09/17/12 at 08:56:15:

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 09/16/12 at 20:32:24:

you countersteer, we all do.

True. It's funny how people get their panties all in a wad by thinking about something they never knew they were doing all along.

Gyro I'm auctioning off my used panties,but I will give you first chance at them.

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justin_o_guy2

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #77 - 09/17/12 at 09:21:36

Gyrobob wrote on 09/17/12 at 09:13:34:

You can not not countersteer, so there is no point in thinking about it. Let's talk about something else more useful to a newbie.

How about which lane to ride in?

Yep,, I pulled out in front of a guy on a bike in Odessa. Boy, was he mad at me,, I followed him home so we could talk,.,because it was his choice of lane position that created the situation. He was next to the sidewalk, on a road lined with hedges, hiding from people at the stopsign! He told me he had been almost run down several times Right There,,& I explained to him, as a rider, how he was contributing to the problem,,
He was suddenly no longer mad at me,

So, place yourself where youre visible, & take control of the lane youre in. Riding right next to the curb invites a pass by someone who is still in your lane, which could be very bad if theres another lane of traffic moving with you & Its Got someone in it,

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The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.- Edmund Burke.

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Gyrobob

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #78 - 09/17/12 at 09:39:26

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 09/17/12 at 09:21:36:

Gyrobob wrote on 09/17/12 at 09:13:34:

You can not not countersteer, so there is no point in thinking about it. Let's talk about something else more useful to a newbie.

How about which lane to ride in?

Yep,, I pulled out in front of a guy on a bike in Odessa. Boy, was he mad at me,, I followed him home so we could talk,.,because it was his choice of lane position that created the situation. He was next to the sidewalk, on a road lined with hedges, hiding from people at the stopsign! He told me he had been almost run down several times Right There,,& I explained to him, as a rider, how he was contributing to the problem,,
He was suddenly no longer mad at me,

So, place yourself where youre visible, & take control of the lane youre in. Riding right next to the curb invites a pass by someone who is still in your lane, which could be very bad if theres another lane of traffic moving with you & Its Got someone in it,

Agree with all that. It is a dynamic situation, though.

One thing I used to teach is how each "lane" has five "sublanes" that are important for motoryclists. They are each about 2' to 3' wide. From left to right:
Sublane 1 -- far left, not used much, except for changing lanes. Coarse pavement. Dirt, dust, rocks, nails, dead animals, etc.
Sublane 2 -- the sublane used by the left tires on cages. worn smooth. minimal rocks, nails, dirt, etc.
Sublane 3 -- the very center. coarse pavement, rocks, nails, dirt, dust, OIL, dead animals, dangerous
Sublane 4 -- the sublane used by the right tires on cages. same as sublane 2 pretty much
Sublane 5 -- far right, pretty much like sublane 1.

No matter what "lane" we are in, we should be in sublanes 2 or 4.

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Bock YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 27	Re: Never owned or ridden a bike Reply #79 - 09/17/12 at 10:38:16 I'm a new rider this year and I use "Sublane" 2 or 4. I'm almost always in 2, unless there are 2 lanes of traffic and I'm in the left lane. I don't want cars stealing my lane/pushing me in the ditch. I also bought a "Blaze" orange full face helmet. I want to stick out so people can see me as much as possible.
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bill67 Serious Thumper Offline old tired Posts: 8517 genoa city wisconsin Gender:	Re: Never owned or ridden a bike Reply #80 - 09/17/12 at 13:25:16 What out for dead animals in sub lane 3
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ColoS40Girl

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #81 - 09/17/12 at 17:05:50

Dave wrote on 09/06/12 at 14:10:56:

I certainly would not jump on the Savage for my first riding lesson. I would suggest you start out on something like a moped or scooter that has an automatic clutch and a small engine and is light weight....in the grass or dirt. When you get comfortable with how the throttle and front brake must both be operated by your right hand, and how to use the foot brake.....then go to something small and lightweight that has a clutch. When you screw up on a little bike with a small engine in the yard....you got a fighting chance of not hurting you or the bike. Make a mistake on pavement with a 300 pound motorcycle that has a bunch of low end torque......it is gonna hurt!

I had the advantage of having a minibike as a kid, then a 125cc motorcycle.....then they got bigger. I get reminded from time to time when I try to teach someone how to ride.......everyone is going to fall down a few times before they get the coordination thing going.

I respectively disagree. Do NOT go with a scooter. I have been there done that. It is a totally different ride and having an automatic will only confuse you later when you need to learn to use a clutch. I had both a scooter and MC and was constantly confused if I was on the Vespa or the MC. Learn on a MC. PERIOD! Find a 250cc bike and just practice, practice, practice. Take the MSF course which is a must. Good Luck!

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Gyrobob

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #82 - 09/17/12 at 17:24:37

Bock wrote on 09/17/12 at 10:38:16:

I'm a new rider this year and I use "Sublane" 2 or 4. I'm almost always in 2, unless there are 2 lanes of traffic and I'm in the left lane. I don't want cars stealing my lane/pushing me in the ditch.

I also bought a "Blaze" orange full face helmet. I want to stick out so people can see me as much as possible.

Good thinking.

Speaking of blaze orange, I always wear that color when flying around in an open frame gyro,... I am nearly invisible to the stuck-wing aircraft otherwise.

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Paraquat Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2206	Re: Never owned or ridden a bike Reply #83 - 09/17/12 at 18:26:24 Looks like fun. I like the middle lane because I feel it gives me the most options: left, right, speed up, slow down. Sometimes it's the worst choice though because you can get boxed in. You should probably serpentine through all the lanes. --Steve
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Never owned or ridden a bike Reply #84 - 09/18/12 at 00:31:26 The middle? Thats kinda where the oil drips off the cars, innitt?
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Gyrobob

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #85 - 09/18/12 at 04:36:37

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 09/18/12 at 00:31:26:

The middle? Thats kinda where the oil drips off the cars, innitt?

I think he meant middle lane when you have three lanes. I don't think he meant middle sublane, where all the oil, dead animals, rocks, nails, etc.,. exists. At least I hope that is what he meant.

I was careful in reply #78 to emphasize I was talking about where to ride in "a lane" by dividing that lane up into 5 sub-lanes.

As to where to ride on a street, then, you have two decisions to make.
1. Which lane? If you are on, say, a six-lane street (three each way) you have to decide which of your three lanes to use.
2. Once you decide which lane to use, you then pick out which of the five sub-lanes to use in that lane. Sub-lane three (the one in the middle of the lane), is the most dangerous because of the oil, and other crap. I recommend staying in sub-lanes 2 or 4, because the cagers have cleared out all the nails, rocks, guts, etc., and have worn them smooth, and gotten rid of most of the oil.

If all this is too complicated for bill and his kind, forget about the sub-lanes. Just don't ride in the center of the lane,... ride in the cager tracks.

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Paraquat Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2206	Re: Never owned or ridden a bike Reply #86 - 09/18/12 at 06:11:00 That's why I said "middle lane" and not "sub lane #3". If I were referring to "sub lane #3" my following comment about being boxed in wouldn't make sense. That's all highway travel though. As for riding on the street I just ride on the side walks. --Steve
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Fry

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #87 - 09/19/12 at 06:57:32

I picked up an S40 as my first bike with absolutely no riding experience. If you can drive a manual transmission car then most of the same rules apply, just everything is in a different location.

The safety course would be good, but I ended up not taking mine as I had some people who were wiling to teach me to ride. I put a good 100 miles on the bike before I ever got off a side street and got over 25mph. I'm a big guy (6ft 310lbs) and the S40 has plenty of power without feeling dangerous to me.

At the end of the day any bike/moped/bicycle can get you killed if you act like an idiot. Know your comfort zone and be careful and you'll be fine.

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Trippah

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #88 - 09/19/12 at 07:13:05

Well .....a 650 single is a good first bike. However, if you are a]hardtailing or changiing the steering geometry all bets are off. I would suggest riding for a year; and start collecting the parts you need for the makeover. If you are still interested in modifying the beast - then have go at it. Riding a stock bike safely is a skill you have to develope. Modding the ride usually makes it more difficult to steer so I rather see some skill development first..survival makes riding more enjoyable. Wink

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MeLikeBike

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Re: Never owned or ridden a bike
Reply #89 - 09/19/12 at 18:49:05

Just to add to the fray,
I took the MSF course (free in PA, and you get your M license if you pass to boot!), where I learned on a GZ250.

After I passed, and all I wanted was to get a bike, so I bought my Savage off Craigslist, and have no regrets. I'm 5'11" and about 185, and I think it's a good size. I'll probably upgrade to a slightly bigger bike so I can get a little less vibration on the highway (at about 60mph it's a bit much, especially on PA roads) but I'm not in a big hurry (and staying off the freeway is probably a good thing).

The step from the GZ250 in the local community college parking lot to the 650 on my neighborhood streets wasn't very big a step. Most of the time I spent trying not to stall the engine so the more powerful motor probably helped a little.

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2003 Savage LS650, Dyna, 2/3 Spacer

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