I'm nervous to ride.

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Hey all,

Back in March I had a lowside. I went wide in a curve and got to road test my leathers. Besides a minor sprained thumb and some scratches on the plastics, I am fine.

A couple weeks ago I took and passed my MSF class. (I had signed up for this class back in January - it was always my intention to take it!) Tomorrow I am off to get the M put on the license and I am excited! But there's also this feeling of unease.

I guess I am nervous to ride. I am afraid of going wide in a corner or making some mistake and getting into another accident... or even worse. I know there are risks associated with motorcycle riding, I was well aware prior to buying the bike, and thats why I got all of my gear prior to doing any riding.

Are these normal feelings and does this go away? Definitely could use some support from my fellow Ninja owners out there!

Thanks!

[choneofakind]

Re-take the MSF if it would help.

Take things slowly and really work on looking through your turns. Being respectful of your motorcycle is a good thing. Being afraid of it is not. Get out there and practice and get better, just be careful about it

[alex.s]

i always have trouble getting back into the rhythm after a crash

[TeamGreen]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Being respectful of your motorcycle is a good thing. Being afraid of it is not.

I think this sums it up pretty well. Just do some thinking and decide if riding is worth the risk for you. Or go track only. Or get a dirtbike?

Side note- doesn't it drive you crazy when people act like they're afraid to drive their f'ing car! I hate traffic...

[xSean13]

Just take it easy for a little bit, that way you can get adequately acquainted with the bike. But most importantly, as they probably said in the MSF: don't ride above/beyond your skill set.

[loz944]

After a spill it can make you feel nervous but the best thing to do is just to get back on and ride take it easy short rides keep your speed down in the bends dont try to ride like a MOTOGP rider. After a few rides you will be fine and as some one has said drive within your skill


good luck

[Renner]

Even though I have not crashed I can relate. Every time I gear up to go for a ride, I have a slight uneasy feeling. I feel fine once I am on the bike so I don't know if it is nervousness or excitement. The only time I get nervous is corners as I am paranoid about what happened to you..low side...even with my practicing I can't get myself to lean enough causing me to take corners slow even in traffic which I know is dangerous.

[Stingray1000]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Re-take the MSF if it would help.

Take things slowly and really work on looking through your turns. Being respectful of your motorcycle is a good thing. Being afraid of it is not. Get out there and practice and get better, just be careful about it

He just took the course a couple of weeks ago.... AFTER the crash, anything he needed to learn I'm sure he already has.

Ok here's a story. Easter sunday I was riding to my girl's Aunt's house. I was on a stretch of highway that opened up on the right to some water. I was doing about 75 with no cars around me... the next thing I know a HUGE gust of wind hits me and the bike so hard it made the handlebars go left and right slightly.... I started to sweat but I kept control.. Assuming another one wouldn't possibly happen and it was probably me just not being in enough control.. so I tightened up..... Lowered down on the bike, kept the same speed and another one hit me just as hard.... And when I say hit me, the winds almost knocked the bike completely over TWICE, shook the handlebars as I was holding them. I got SOOOO scared. I started shaking.. I dropped the speed down to 50 mph and rode that way the rest of the ride.... 4 or 5 hours later when I went to ride it home I literally rode 45mph down the road because I was afraid to get hit by another gust. I felt like an idiot as cars and other bikes were passing me.... It rained for a bit after that so I didn't get a chance to ride for a while which was probably a good thing because every little gust that hit me on the way home scared the living **** out of me. Now I ride again and I kinda laugh at myself the way I was acting that night, but the morning wind was no joke. If I didn't have both hands on the grips I would've been pushed over easily or lost control somehow. You'll get over it bro. Just take it easy at first. give your MIND time to heal.

[choneofakind]

^^ and what did you learn from that accident? There is always a lesson to be learned from crashing.

note about wind: loosen your shoulders, arms, and your grip on the bars. That way, if the wind affects your upper body, your upper body won't give any unwanted input into the bars and make the bike do unexpected things.

Counter steer into the wind to keep in control.

[Stingray1000]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

^^ and what did you learn from that accident? There is always a lesson to be learned from crashing.

note about wind: loosen your shoulders, arms, and your grip on the bars. That way, if the wind affects your upper body, your upper body won't give any unwanted input into the bars and make the bike do unexpected things.

Counter steer into the wind to keep in control.

The thing is, it didn't affect me as the rider at all. It almost felt like it hit the wheel/fender and that's what it pushed. I'll try the counter steering part though. if it's coming from my left or right and it hits me that fast and is gone that fast kinda hard to counter anything. ya know? just have to grit and bare it. The lesson I learned from this is never take for granted that you're completely in control of your bike.... Even if you were already not taking it for granted... LOL

[choneofakind]

Like I said, loose hold on the bar and loose upper body. Trust me, the wind was being made worse by your inputs, not the wind's effect on the front wheel. Just make swift but smooth reactions to the wind. You'll be fine.

[TBC]

Originally Posted by xSean13

Just take it easy for a little bit, that way you can get adequately acquainted with the bike. But most importantly, as they probably said in the MSF: don't ride above/beyond your skill set.

100% this. When I first started riding I also felt apprehensive about it - not riding per se, but that *something* was going to happen for one reason or another. Just keep at it, pushing yourself a little bit by a little bit (don't rush!) until you feel at east. It will happen.

[JeffM]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheStorm

Are these normal feelings and does this go away? Definitely could use some support from my fellow Ninja owners out there!

Thanks!

on ATGATT when you low sided.

I believe it is normal, and a good thing, to be apprehensive after a fall. Keep on riding within you limits (were you playing Rossi when you fell?) and the feelings will go away with experience.

I tucked the front riding beyond my skill set in damp conditions. Wet roads freaked me out for quite a while. Prior to that, the wet didn't bother me. Ignorance I guess.

I did a track day in the rain and regained the trust in my tires and finally shook the wet
day hebie-jeebies.

How did the MSF go?

Jeff

[ally99]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheStorm

Hey all,

Back in March I had a lowside. I went wide in a curve and got to road test my leathers. Besides a minor sprained thumb and some scratches on the plastics, I am fine.

A couple weeks ago I took and passed my MSF class. (I had signed up for this class back in January - it was always my intention to take it!) Tomorrow I am off to get the M put on the license and I am excited! But there's also this feeling of unease.

Are these normal feelings and does this go away? Definitely could use some support from my fellow Ninja owners out there!

All normal feelings! Don't retake the MSF class. I don't think that would help. What WILL help is getting out there and practicing and realizing that your bike will lean MUCH farther than you think it will or are comfortable with it leaning. Never brake in a corner. If you get in a corner and you're too hot, the only thing you can do is lean it further. You'd be surprised what our little Ninja's can do!

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Thanks for the great support and advice!

I do not think I'll take the BRC over; however, I think once I move for my job I will probably look at the advanced rider course. After that weekend I felt one with that Suzuki GN 125, and I need to develop that with my Ninja.

The MSF was awesome though. I loved that I no longer thought about certain things; ex if I want to turn left I was just pushing the left bar. I love that I was covering the clutch even when I was not thinking about it.

I think what I learned most was about riding in my limits. I may not be very comfortable right now, and that's alright, so long as my riding locations (speed, traffic, etc) reflects that. I know most from the class that starting slow is fine (and the best way to go for me) and that I WILL build the skills as I ride and practice.

And no, I wasn't riding like Rossi I think it was a combination of lazy steering (remember to push left to lean left, not lean left to go left!) and then my SRs taking over once I felt I was going in too hot. It was a ~30 mph lowside (maybe less) and truly believe all I needed to do was push more on the left bar.

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Originally Posted by Stingray1000

He just took the course a couple of weeks ago.... AFTER the crash, anything he needed to learn I'm sure he already has.

Ok here's a story. Easter sunday I was riding to my girl's Aunt's house. I was on a stretch of highway that opened up on the right to some water. I was doing about 75 with no cars around me... the next thing I know a HUGE gust of wind hits me and the bike so hard it made the handlebars go left and right slightly.... I started to sweat but I kept control.. Assuming another one wouldn't possibly happen and it was probably me just not being in enough control.. so I tightened up..... Lowered down on the bike, kept the same speed and another one hit me just as hard.... And when I say hit me, the winds almost knocked the bike completely over TWICE, shook the handlebars as I was holding them. I got SOOOO scared. I started shaking.. I dropped the speed down to 50 mph and rode that way the rest of the ride.... 4 or 5 hours later when I went to ride it home I literally rode 45mph down the road because I was afraid to get hit by another gust. I felt like an idiot as cars and other bikes were passing me.... It rained for a bit after that so I didn't get a chance to ride for a while which was probably a good thing because every little gust that hit me on the way home scared the living **** out of me. Now I ride again and I kinda laugh at myself the way I was acting that night, but the morning wind was no joke. If I didn't have both hands on the grips I would've been pushed over easily or lost control somehow. You'll get over it bro. Just take it easy at first. give your MIND time to heal.

I really like that thought. And thanks for sharing your story! I'm glad you made it out alright. It was really windy when I went down, and while I'd love it say nature caused me to crash, the reality is the rider controls the bike.

[Sigma.40]

Originally Posted by Renner

Even though I have not crashed I can relate. Every time I gear up to go for a ride, I have a slight uneasy feeling. I feel fine once I am on the bike so I don't know if it is nervousness or excitement.

I do too, a little bit. I think a little bit of nervousness is good, though. Keeps me from doing the REALLY stupid things. I'm comfortable and pretty confident but, as you said, I get a bit of an uneasy feeling before a ride.

-Makes sense, though. There is a lot to be uneasy about. Being "scared", however, is a different story and could be counterproductive to the safety of riding. So someone has to differentiate between fear and nervousness.

[UjaasG35]

i was in a crash last summer, and I want to start riding again this summer, pretty nervous too

[Miles_Prower]

Posting two months later but i crashed about two weeks before you..lowsided and crashed into a guard rail (i have a little scar on my leg..damn jeans lol). The ride home I could not stop shaking and I felt like I was going to just fall off my bike in fear. The next two or three weeks (after i fixed the bike) I was paranoid about crashing again or hitting more debris and going down, so I took everything really slow again. For me, getting over it was just getting back up and mushing on. Now, I remember my crash (i remember everytime i look at the damage) and it's a reminder to be aware and have fun but be careful. Hope you are up and riding again!!

[ninja_thresh_hold]

i know how you feel, i got t boned in my car and ever since, ive been really nervous on streets, i havnt been in a bad bike wreck though, but roads are still iffy for me, i recomend getting a dirtbike, thats what im gonna do, dirtbikes are good things to practice reaction times on, because its cheaper to fix those plastics than our bikes

[lamchops]

Wow! There are some damn good words of advice and wisdom in here! i love it!

Sorry to hear about your crash I'm glad you're okay. But I will tell you that I personally did my BRC twice. Mainly because (I went in cold turkey w/ ZERO motorcycle riding experience where majority of my class had friends who taught them briefly before or used to ride dirt, etc) I failed my field test the first time by a landslide and the MSF here offers the makeup course free. But I felt so embarrassed and discouraged thinking that i ended up sucking at something I craved to do so long that I didn't want to show my face to anyone who might remember me for the longest time. (and I guess I got psyched out by my friends who were warning me not to drop the bike during practice - which I did, and didn't help my nerves - and how impossible it was to fail) But when I finally decided to get over my hurt pride, I went back --- and it was like I was a whole new person in the course. My instructor (same!) was really impressed and admired my determination and marked improvement & progress Taking w/ me few technical things I remembered learning the first time, I started the field practice portion w/ a lot more confidence. Yes, I still dropped the bike in class, but this time, instead of remembering the noob jokes my friends talked about, I chalked it up to being a beginner and that it was OKAY or even better that I experienced it first in a more controlled setting than out in the real world (ie on the streets up to speed among other vehicles). That way, I didn't give negative thoughts any momentum and cave under the pressure like I did the first time. Well---anyways, I digress. What I'm trying I get at is having positive feedback from well-respected veteran motorcyclists like instructors has helped me immensely to regain my self-confidence.

Originally Posted by Miles_Prower

Posting two months later but i crashed about two weeks before you..lowsided and crashed into a guard rail (i have a little scar on my leg..damn jeans lol). The ride home I could not stop shaking and I felt like I was going to just fall off my bike in fear. The next two or three weeks (after i fixed the bike) I was paranoid about crashing again or hitting more debris and going down, so I took everything really slow again. For me, getting over it was just getting back up and mushing on. Now, I remember my crash (i remember everytime i look at the damage) and it's a reminder to be aware and have fun but be careful. Hope you are up and riding again!!

Sorry to hear about your crash too it sounds like to me you were flooded w/ adrenaline on your ride home. I've had instances w/ wind or fishtailing that would cause me to twitch or correct an action (thankful for MSF training also) and for a split second feel white hot burning sensation through my nerves/body. My instructor, of whom I still visit sometimes, says unnerving as that is, it's completely natural and actually even a good sign! Fear and adrenaline is your body's natural instinct/response to danger and signals you to do what's best to survive (fight/flight).

I apologize for the wall of text :\
Best of luck to anyone who've shared in these experiences and I hope you all keep fighting the good fight to keep doing what you love.

[ai4px]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Being respectful of your motorcycle is a good thing. Being afraid of it is not.

As others have agreed, this sums it up best.

In the old days they used to say you gotta get back on the horse that bucked you lest you never ride again.

Sometimes I catch myself over thinking a curve and tense up. I have to talk myself out of the tension by saying that my bike knows what do. I just have to ride (guide) it, not drive (over control) it. I think you'll fall into a comfortable rhythm sooner than you think. Just try to put the fear out of your mind. Ohh and don't do anything stupid... lol

[Miles_Prower]

Originally Posted by lamchops

it sounds like to me you were flooded w/ adrenaline on your ride home.

most definitely!

as far as guiding the bike..i've been making a conscious effort to squeeze my thighs to support myself in turns, and remain light as a feather on the bars. it literally makes a world of difference how the bike handles..it does feel like it's on rails and insanely smooth and planted, as opposed to making little oscillations and squirming a bit.