learning how to ride...

[Alisha_Ardella]

This will be the thread of my journey on learning how to ride....as im sure there will be many more oops to follow
First off even before I got my permit (got it on the 3rd) I scrached my tank with my clutch wallet (from now on wills pockets will hold anything I need.) Although I have been assured it can be buffed out still really sucks. I did not even have it a month or even rode it yet and I scratched it.
5/6/13
Well I have had my permit for 3 days its about time I get on and ride right. Well was taken to a huge empty parking lot (im not sure about anyone else but I hate learning to drive a car or ride a bike in one) got on realised once again im to short so its either tip toes or one flat foot one tippy toe. Went to go and bam! Yep over on the right side. Off goes part of the turn signal. FML. Got back on and horray I was moving, even got it to second. Going in a circle. Left turns seem rather simple. Stopped fine. Took off again fine more lefting went to stop and bam.....over on the left.... (guess I felt like my turn signals needed to match). Got up took off did some lefts and rights.....yep imagine that right is just as simple as left stopped fine that time too.

Yeah that was enough for the day...mostly because people were deciding to park in my practice area. (Guess thats what you get for being in a parking lot)

Recap of first day: two broken turn signals and two scratched mirrors not to shabby I guess

[alex.s]

msf.

[dave42]

Yeah make sure you take the MSF class in the near future. It hurts much less dropping their bike while you're learning.

[Alisha_Ardella]

Originally Posted by dave42

Yeah make sure you take the MSF class in the near future. It hurts much less dropping their bike while you're learning.

I was told by a lot of ppl to do that.i just need to look into it, I work a swing shift so anything with scheduled dates and times needs to be flexible.

[csmith12]

Oh dear.....

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Alisha_Ardella

I was told by a lot of ppl to do that.i just need to look into it, I work a swing shift so anything with scheduled dates and times needs to be flexible.

well, just remember. gas is what holds the bike up. no gas, bike falls over.

[dave42]

I really commend making time for it even though it's inconvenient. I always chuckle when I see a dinged up new bike being listed on craigslist with like 400 miles on the odo because the owner never took proper training and decided either they can figure it out on their own; you don't wanna be one of those.

Having to fix up damages from dropping your bike can get expensive really quickly too. I know it sounds pretty harsh since you just got yours and you're excited about it but the best course of action really is tarp it up and don't mess with it until you're done with the class.

[JohnnyBravo]

riding the ratted MSF bike sure gave me a good foundation, and the folks that drop them dont have to pay to fix them. Glad you have a bike and your learning though... but bike courses are required in states because they help. like your stories and the journey, but hate to see the smashed up pics do the MSF if you can, learn your way if you cant... ryan bought his bike and only dropped it twice with no msf class, and he rides fine.

[Alex]

/moved to riding skills area

[subxero]

you will get better and more comfortable keep practicing, but do it right and practice good habits, hopefully you have someone to help aid you in that department.

You don't need both feet to touch the ground to be comfortable and under control at a stop. Despite being able to touch both of my feet on the ground with my ninja250 i rarely do. But it is conditioning from riding my dirtbike which sits much much higher to where i can only touch one foot and thats being half on the seat at that. Generally left foot down, right on rear brake, and if i need to shift when stopped the right goes down and the left shifts then back to left foot down right on rear brake.
IMO it is actually generally a bad idea for a beginner to do take offs with both feet on the ground, you should always do your take offs as i described earlier until you get much more comfortable on the bike. Left foot on ground, right foot on rear brake and peg. This ensures that you are fully on the bike and ready to move and committed to the bike. I have seen many people try and start two feet on the ground and when the bike takes off quicker than they expected because of poor throttle and clutch manipulation (<--- typical for beginners) they are left just hanging on for dear life to the throttle which is never a good scenario.

If you have trouble touching the ground with your feet one other key thing to remember is to not stop where there is a low spot where your foot will be on the ground, no reason to make the reach any further than need be, in fact, try doing the opposite when possible, position the tires in a low spot making the bike seem lower when you reach for the ground.

Good luck don't get discouraged learning takes time

[tar wheels]

Hello from one n00b to another! I just finished the MSF and it made a WORLD of difference. And if i could pass the test on the POS nighthawk I was provided, then you can get the hang of it on your 250. You just need the instruction. It's a 3-4 day commitment, but you'll be glad you made the time. I have a crazy schedule too, but I wanted it enough that I made it work. Good luck!

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Alisha_Ardella

...........5/6/13
Well I have had my permit for 3 days its about time I get on and ride right..............

Evidently wrong, Alisha.

It is sad that we welcomed you two days ago and that we are reading this post today.

You cannot learn how to ride by yourself without damaging your learning motorcycle and maybe hurting yourself in the process.

Do not dismay !!!

You need to find experienced help, either a friend, a relative or a professional instructor.

You may also need lowering your bike.

You will need to read and to learn the basic principles of controlling a motorcycle, out of traffic first and within traffic later.

That is the process we all have followed,......... there are no shortcuts !!!

[Alisha_Ardella]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Evidently wrong, Alisha.

It is sad that we welcomed you two days ago and that we are reading this post today.

You cannot learn how to ride by yourself without damaging your learning motorcycle and maybe hurting yourself in the process.

Do not dismay !!!

You need to find experienced help, either a friend, a relative or a professional instructor.

You may also need lowering your bike.

You will need to read and to learn the basic principles of controlling a motorcycle, out of traffic first and within traffic later.

That is the process we all have followed,......... there are no shortcuts !!!

I have my boyfriend trying to teach me. Thank god he has patience. I read into lowering it but there were a ton of bad feedback on doing that. Perhaps ill just try to buy some riding boots with a thicker heal.

[Alisha_Ardella]

Originally Posted by subxero

you will get better and more comfortable keep practicing, but do it right and practice good habits, hopefully you have someone to help aid you in that department.

You don't need both feet to touch the ground to be comfortable and under control at a stop. Despite being able to touch both of my feet on the ground with my ninja250 i rarely do. But it is conditioning from riding my dirtbike which sits much much higher to where i can only touch one foot and thats being half on the seat at that. Generally left foot down, right on rear brake, and if i need to shift when stopped the right goes down and the left shifts then back to left foot down right on rear brake.
IMO it is actually generally a bad idea for a beginner to do take offs with both feet on the ground, you should always do your take offs as i described earlier until you get much more comfortable on the bike. Left foot on ground, right foot on rear brake and peg. This ensures that you are fully on the bike and ready to move and committed to the bike. I have seen many people try and start two feet on the ground and when the bike takes off quicker than they expected because of poor throttle and clutch manipulation (<--- typical for beginners) they are left just hanging on for dear life to the throttle which is never a good scenario.

If you have trouble touching the ground with your feet one other key thing to remember is to not stop where there is a low spot where your foot will be on the ground, no reason to make the reach any further than need be, in fact, try doing the opposite when possible, position the tires in a low spot making the bike seem lower when you reach for the ground.

Good luck don't get discouraged learning takes time

Thank you

[JohnnyBravo]

Glad you have a good guy with patience to help you on your journey! Thanks to sharing it with us as well. Most folks around here talk bad about lowering your bike want you on the track with them, there are lots of folks around here with lowered bikes that disagree with them. Sadly I don't have links to them, but search in your search bar and you will find glowing results from slightly lowered bikes, and plenty of folks that had no ill effects from the mod, right along side the folks that try and shame folks and talk about the harm they are doing to their bikes. End of the day it's your bike, your decision and nothing you can't have undone if you see fit to do so!

[JohnnyBravo]

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showt...light=lowering

[NevadaWolf]

Welcome to the world of short riders! I'm not short short but do find myself on my toes when I come to a stop or at least on the ball of one foot. As mentioned already, pay attention to where you come to a stop and decide where you are going to put your foot.

On another note, I've got two turn signals from my conversion to flush mounts if you want to go back to stock. PM me if interested.

[ally99]

Definitely take the class. Worth taking one weekend off to teach you safety and correct riding skills.
Like Alex said, a bike is stable with throttle. We've all had to learn that the hard way once or twice.
Good luck!

[toddblue68]

Originally Posted by Alisha_Ardella

I have my boyfriend trying to teach me. Thank god he has patience. I read into lowering it but there were a ton of bad feedback on doing that. Perhaps ill just try to buy some riding boots with a thicker heal.

I let both my kids learn in the MSF course on those low, slow, cheap bikes with someone besides me. They both did very well. Then I got a used ninja. No drops so far for them.

I'm fairly vertically challenged for the male species and can only get one foot down solid on my Street Triple, you should see me on my buddy's Ducati Multistrada. It takes time to get comfortable with the idea of not having both feet on the ground, I rather have one solid foot down than two tip toes any day, but then that's after 30 yrs of riding two wheels. Practicing in the parking lot is a good idea, I still do it to keep slow speed maneuvering skills up to snuff. Practice coming to a stop with just your left foot down, right on the brake...it might require one butt cheek off the seat.

Good luck and stay safe.

[allanoue]

MSF is free in PA we are lucky that way. I thought it was worth leaving work a couple of hours early for a couple of days.
http://www.pamsp.com/

Edit: Don't worry about dropping your bike. It was likely going to happen with or without the MSF. You got that part of learning out of the way quick. I waited two days to drop mine.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Alisha_Ardella

I have my boyfriend trying to teach me. Thank god he has patience. I read into lowering it but there were a ton of bad feedback on doing that. Perhaps ill just try to buy some riding boots with a thicker heal.

Does he have experience plus patience?

Lowering may be bad for the racing riders, but nothing catastrophic will happen to a new rider just learning the ropes; you can always return it back to stock condition since no permanent change is needed.

Regarding dropping the bike at stops:
Try working on your balance at close to zero speeds, even using a bicycle if you have one.
You need to reach a point of skill at which you put one of your feet down after the bike has come to a complete stop and you have decided over what side it will roll.

For the technique to work, that roll over has to be initiated after the bike has stopped.
Otherwise, your foot will be supporting more force than needed, as the bike will be surprising you regarding the side of rolling while it is still moving-stopping.

Please read this thread:
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=121203

My best, Alisha.

[IdRatherDrum]

Dear god please take the MSF

[Miles_Prower]

I'm a little bit late on this. I hope you haven't given up riding! You are pretty local to me, did you get your bike from Koups or Motorvation? Or from a private party?

Like others have said, take the MSF course. There is one that is hosted at HACC and the riding part is at the farm show complex overflow parking lot. There is probably one closer to you in Carlisle (btw, Helena's choco cafe RULES. that's me and my buddy's starting point for most rides).

As far as height goes, I too am short, and rode my 250 by only having the balls of each foot down. I only "dropped" it once when I was parking and didn't fully put down the kickstand, which flipped back up lol! it happens.
I have now have a slightly taller bike and one foot it comfortably, you get used to it. Just remember, yeah, get on the gas or the bike will tip.

I hope you are still riding! Let me know when you are more comfortable with your bike, maybe you and your bf can come along for a ride with me and some other locals.

[Alchemist]

Originally Posted by alex.s

well, just remember. gas is what holds the bike up. no gas, bike falls over.

Taco Bell to the rescue!

Seriously, I wouldn't just take the bike on the road without taking the MSF course. That place is dangerous enough having taken the course... Stack the deck whenever possible (and the MSF course is a pocket ace).

[c-dog]

Sorry about your bike. Doesn't sound like it is too badly off.

Even though I had ridden dirt bikes a little when I was younger I still took the MSF course. It was 2 days I think, maybe 3? For a few hours class room and then on to the course.

When I got to the course itself I had a blast. It wasn't my bike so I wasn't scared about damaging it in anyway. I just payed attention to the techniques they were teaching and tried my best to do them myself. I had a few times where I was wrong and needed to be told to do something different/better/faster/etc. After being on the course for a little while I was having so much fun that it was over too quickly. Not enough actual bike time for me. I had to get my own bike right away shortly after.

[crazymadbastard]

OP has not been on since 5/10. Hope she is ok.

[ally99]

People come and go on Ninjette all the time. Let's hope so!
Only a few of us crazies stick around for a while.

[wvninjamom]

Hope she's OK too. Interesting that she said her boyfriend was going to teach her. When I took MSF, one of the first things they did was ask us all why we were there. I said I had a new bike and wanted to learn how to ride it, so it was either have my husband teach me or take the MSF. The instructor looked at me and said, "You made a good choice; what qualifications, other than riding a motorcycle, does your husband have to teach riding?" Something to think about: Learn from a QUALIFIED instructor.

[250rr]

Originally Posted by Alisha_Ardella

Went to go and bam! Yep over on the right side. Off goes part of the turn signal. FML. Got back on and horray I was moving

Yes to all that are telling you to take MSF course. They are correct. On the other hand, never give up on that great attitude for life. Never, never, never, ever give up!

[Alisha_Ardella]

Originally Posted by Miles_Prower

I'm a little bit late on this. I hope you haven't given up riding! You are pretty local to me, did you get your bike from Koups or Motorvation? Or from a private party?

Like others have said, take the MSF course. There is one that is hosted at HACC and the riding part is at the farm show complex overflow parking lot. There is probably one closer to you in Carlisle (btw, Helena's choco cafe RULES. that's me and my buddy's starting point for most rides).

As far as height goes, I too am short, and rode my 250 by only having the balls of each foot down. I only "dropped" it once when I was parking and didn't fully put down the kickstand, which flipped back up lol! it happens.
I have now have a slightly taller bike and one foot it comfortably, you get used to it. Just remember, yeah, get on the gas or the bike will tip.

I hope you are still riding! Let me know when you are more comfortable with your bike, maybe you and your bf can come along for a ride with me and some other locals.

yes I am fine I just haven't been on in forever. I plan on taking the course here hopefully soon I have to go get my permit again because I let it run out. grrr and omg yes they have the best crepes! Hopefully here soon I can hit you guys up to ride =)

[Kscreations08]

Plug and Play Replacement blinkers here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Small profile, nice and bright

[verboten1]

I taught my wife some basics, but I MADE her take the MSF course. As she gets more experienced, she is becoming a better rider than me. Maybe it's the fresh MSF training, maybe she is just a natural. But I find her keeping up with me in places she shouldn't be, like gravel and ruts (she's on the ninja, I was on my KLR)

Also, about lowering the bike, I can't touch the ground on my bike, KLR 650 lifted with shock and taller tires.

The windshield on the ninja doesn't even come up to my bars, it's a strange feeling, but I 1 foot it everywhere and I'm 5'11"

[Alisha_Ardella]

Originally Posted by Kscreations08

Plug and Play Replacement blinkers here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Small profile, nice and bright

the link does not work

[Kscreations08]

Originally Posted by Alisha_Ardella

the link does not work

That was my bad lol This one functions

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you are interested, I can get a picture or 2 in the morning when I get out of work

[Alisha_Ardella]

Originally Posted by Kscreations08

That was my bad lol This one functions

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you are interested, I can get a picture or 2 in the morning when I get out of work

sounds cool are you on a midnight shift also? lol

[Kscreations08]

10:30PM to 7AM. I run the Live Chat customer service function on lordandtaylor.com. My favorite ways to kill time are answering dumb questions and apologizing for things I had nothing to do with

[capt_bugaloo]

have my boyfriend trying to teach me.

That's a good way to learn his bad riding habits.

As so many people have suggested, please take a proper riding class from MSF or another qualified trainer.

I took a training course in April 1992, and have had 22 years of accident-free riding.

[Alisha_Ardella]

Originally Posted by capt_bugaloo

That's a good way to learn his bad riding habits.

As so many people have suggested, please take a proper riding class from MSF or another qualified trainer.

I took a training course in April 1992, and have had 22 years of accident-free riding.

I can't take it till August

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by Alisha_Ardella

I can't take it till August

there are a bunch of open seats down here in york from mid may on

I am taking the advanced rider course on Saterday and i have to go to Lancaster

[Alisha_Ardella]

Originally Posted by allanoue

there are a bunch of open seats down here in york from mid may on

I am taking the advanced rider course on Saterday and i have to go to Lancaster

I work a swing shift so only like 5 of the classes fit my schedule and I honestly have no idea where York is