First Impressions

[WRT]

Hi, im an 18 y.o that has had his car licence for a while and just started to get into bikes, and finally my mothers concern has faded a little.

Well i just completed my first day of a pre-learner course which is mandatory for getting your learners (kinda like a MSF), and wow, i must admit, although alot of what i was expecting from bikes was true, there were alot of big things i didnt know, first of all a 125cc daleim (sp?) can actually hold and power respecfully my weight (6 foot 2 and slightly muscular means im about 100kg heavy)... also even though its just a small 125 bike, it was suprisingly heavy, i cant imagine what n00bs getting 600's as their first bikes would go through!

Well, that was my first impression really, i have another course tomorrow and if i pass it then i can get my learners , im planning on getting a cheapish small 250 naked bike *so i dont break fairings from dropping it* somthing like a GSF250 bandit.

cheers, chris.

[jeffcoslacker]

Good luck...and don't put yourself in the mindset that you ARE going to crash or drop your bike. True a lot will, but I never even let myself accept that as a possibility, and after 25 years of riding, never wrecked or dropped anything (jinx ), and I have friends that have been riding for 40 years and never been down...it can be done, it's not a certainty.

Be safe!

[Mannyb18b]

Hey Jeffco, do u perform any stunts? minor ones even such as occasional wheelie? stoppie? just trying to get an idea of how many people learned to do those things an can do them, an didnt drop their bike while learning to do it.

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by Mannyb18b

Hey Jeffco, do u perform any stunts? minor ones even such as occasional wheelie? stoppie? just trying to get an idea of how many people learned to do those things an can do them, an didnt drop their bike while learning to do it.

I'm probably a lot more conservative than a lot of riders...has to do with two things, I think...an intense dislike of physical pain, and I started relatively late in life, after the "I'm indestructable" age...

I'll bust the occaisional wheelie, braketorque, no stoppies (screw that) I like to accelerate hard outta lights, etc, but in traffic and in the country I'm not real aggressive...just seen too many sportbike friends wadded up, don't wanna be one of them...

[jeffcoslacker]

My philosophy of riding, like driving the semi, is that if you ever get too comfortable, and have no trace of the terror mixed with exhileration that you had when you first started, and go looking for better thrills, your asking for it...

I know some people can't get enough...like to push harder and faster, that's fine. They do so understanding the trade-off, and thet it will catch up to them at some point...

[Vtec95Civic]

Well on the 600 issue.. the 600s are probably not much heavier than the bike you learned on. I'm guessing you learned on either a cruiser or a standard.. the sport bikes are light because lighter = faster, which is their primary focus.

I just got a GS500F myself.. I love it.

[CreepingDeath94]

Yea, those cruisers have the same weight of a 600 sport bike in frame alone. As far as stunting with the hopes of not dropping it, pretty much not gonna happen. I mean if youre ultra slow and careful about it, then maybe. I dont know anyone that didnt drop it at least once or have to stumble off into the grass and spill their bike while learning to stunt. Id say you could probably do it without getting too hurt, but the bike will mroe than likely hit the ground a couple times unless youre extremely balanced and lucky I think.

[aussieidiot]

hey WRT,

welcome to the board. first off remember this is a an american based product so their rules and regylations are different to oz. some members tend to forget that we HAVE to start on less than 250cc (or limited power to weight).


as for dropping the bike, i always think (and ride) based that i have a good chance of going down. but i've only ever let the bike fall as a learner when i did dumb learner things like parking wrong on a hill, losing balance on wet surfaces. (except that time i overdid a stoppie, should have listened to Jeff)

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by aussieidiot

hey WRT,

(except that time i overdid a stoppie, should have listened to Jeff)

I did one on a ten-speed bike by accident when I was thirteen...way before the term "stoppie" even existed...perfectly balanced looking straight down at the ground, wondering which way it was gonna go....longest 2 seconds of my life ..never again...

[WRT]

WOO!! XD i passed, got my certificate of competency and now i can book in for my knowledge test / licence.