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| *Vultures Knob>>>Road Bike |
Bought first motorcycle and immediately crashed; how can I safely learn? |
A tragedy in 7 parts: 1. Signed up for the motorcycle safety course; first open one was three months away. 2. While waiting, passed written test and got a learner's permit. Much rejoicing. 3. Bought a shiny new motorcycle. Even more rejoicing. 4. Drove off the lot and was not able to handle it. Went straight into oncoming traffic at the first stop light and narrowly avoided a mega accident. 5. Slowly puttered my way to a large parking lot. Practiced for two hours. 6. Tried numerous times to get back on the road as I familiarized myself with the bike, but freaked out each time after the earlier experience. 7. Had a motorcycle riding friend pick me up and ride the bike home. It now sits in parking. No rejoicing to be had. So, here I am: very much wanting to learn and ride and make this work but seemingly traumatized from careening into fast-moving traffic the wrong way on a busy road. Can someone with knowledge and experience help me develop the necessary confidence and skills? Please wait for the safety course. You have already seen what the not waiting has done. Unfortunately you wrecked, fortunately you did not kill yourself or someone else. Having a freind or other help you might help, but they are likely to give you some bad info. The safety course is designed for new riders and will give you the step by step instructions you need. Plus they will teach you the proven road techniques to survive while riding. Then get reading material on the subject and read all you can. Along with ride and practice what you have learned. I WOULD PROBABLY PRATICE IN A CHURCH PARKING LOT OR A PARK PARKING LOT. I would have whoever picked you up and drove your bike home to teach you if he or she can't do that I learned the basics of riding a bike by learning how to ride a quad first. It has all the basic principles of how to shift without having to worry about your balance and you are not courting death by being in traffic. if that's not an option then find the biggest emptiest parking lot you can find and practice practice practice Have your motorcycle riding friend take you out, go over the basics again. Show you you to countersteer. Show you how to lean. Show you that there is, well, less to be afraid of if you know the proper riding techniques. Brake before curves, for example. I've been spooked before on the bike, too. My rear tire had a blow out and I was paranoid of it happening again for a month or two. (It happened again! Argg! Lol.) You can get over your fears. How big is your bike? Maybe you should have started on something a little smaller? And maybe you'll believe me now...most problems are the direct results of impatience! Buy a beater. A $500 motorcycle that you can crash and drop and kill in a parking lot. Learn to ride on that. Then you will be ready for a nice bike. No offense, but buying a brand new bike before your license is like giving a 16-year-old kid a brand new car... and not a Ford Focus, either. Also take the crashed bike to a mechanic; if it is hard to control, you may have damaged the forks. You want it fixed before you try to ride it again. And take the safety course. Go to your nearest Harley dealership and take the Harley Riders Course. It teaches you in a safe environment and you can also get a discount on your insurance because it is considered a safety course. P.S. Some places offer a motorcycle course so check with you State Police Department on the web and they usually can give you the best recommendation in your area ! Do NOT ever take off in or on a vehicle that you have no experience or instructor with! If you have a friend,(or who ever) who could teach you the safe fundamentals of a mc, practice with them, otherwise wait for your motorcycle safety course. You could call DMV or even a motorcycle dealership to see if there are any motorcycle instruction classes in your area. Be informed, practice (with supervision) don't be impatient and most of all Be SAFE! Keep the shiny side up! Good luck. |
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