New rider from SoCal!

lizardywizard · May 4th, 2016, 09:40 PM

Hey folks!

So I've had my 300 since last year, but I've been bad about actually getting out and riding her... first bike, I'm clumsy as hell, and I'm only 5'3" so I barely toe the ground. I'd been feeling so guilty letting her sit in the garage until I read this article, found out I wasn't alone in some of my problems, and felt inspired to get back on and try again. I got over the hump, and I'm finally starting to feel like a real rider... and me and my bike haven't looked back since.

Well, except for the fact that I just dropped her in the parking lot the other day. D:

Anyway, pleased to meet you all, and I'd love to get to know some other new riders if there are any in the area (or any experienced dogs who want to teach me a few tricks!)

snot · May 4th, 2016, 09:56 PM

lizardywizard! Glad you found us...

stickles · May 5th, 2016, 08:05 AM

welcome im a new rider as well

CaliGrrl · May 5th, 2016, 10:22 AM

Welcome! I'm also in SoCal and a new rider. Great place here, glad you found it.

allanoue · May 5th, 2016, 11:36 AM

lizardy

csmith12 · May 5th, 2016, 11:50 AM

Welcome V!

Plenty of riders for you to connect with here that will share common goals that you have. Don't be shy, we only bite on Tuesdays.

VaFish · May 5th, 2016, 12:21 PM

Welcome,

And don't sweat the parking lot drops, they happen. One of the reasons I liked an old Ninja 250 with no fairing on it for my daughter to start riding. She claims she is 5'2" but I doubt it. We did put a lowering kit on her bike.

lizardywizard · May 5th, 2016, 03:12 PM

Thanks all!

Yeah, I'm getting the suspension lowered while she's at the dealership. Hopefully being able to flatfoot her will mean I drop her less. :P

jonuhhthinn · May 5th, 2016, 08:48 PM

Welcome V! I'm here in soCal also 20min from LA

04Ninja25 · May 5th, 2016, 10:45 PM

welcome

lizardywizard · May 6th, 2016, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

Welcome! I'm also in SoCal and a new rider. Great place here, glad you found it.

Thank you!

I see from one of your other threads you're also a word nerd. *highfives* But yeah, I'm an hour south of LA. Looks like you're a bit north, but maybe our paths will cross! Not sure what all kind of events/meets go on around here -- I'm still very much dipping a toe in. And still breaking in the bike so I can't go far. (Need to take a freeway to get anywhere around here...)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonuhhthinn

Welcome V! I'm here in soCal also 20min from LA

Oh awesome! North or south? I'm near Irvine.

CaliGrrl · May 6th, 2016, 09:22 PM

Yeah, I'm on the northwest part. And actually, a nerd all the way 'round here, not just with words.

Lots of threads here with lots of good advice for us new riders. As far as getting used to the roads here, google-maps is your friend. Map out the non-freeway route to get where you want to go. Take some canyons- slowly. When you want to start on freeways, pick a time when there's nobody around- like an early morning. Get on, go for a couple of exits, get off, turn around and go back. My hubby tells me the big thing with freeways is the chaos of it, plus everything happens at speed (and it seems to be true).

For me, it's getting to the point that I don't need any particular training experience, I just need time on the bike. Even in-town slowish speed stuff is valuable. I think in six months or so I should take the advanced class, once I'm done working in the regular skills. Husband wants to take a supermoto class, but I'm totally not ready yet.

lizardywizard · May 6th, 2016, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

Yeah, I'm on the northwest part. And actually, a nerd all the way 'round here, not just with words.

Ooh, what kinda nerd? I'm a little bit of everything. Big reader, love my vidyagames (especially RPGs and old 16-bit stuff... and Mario Kart, ahaha. Been the kid to beat on my block at Mario Kart since I was 9), a little bit of TV and anime. Again mostly 80s/90s stuff, X Files, Sliders... and okay, I'm gonna confess, Bubblegum Crisis is the reason my bike's named Hurricane.

Link to original page on YouTube.

...I love this show to death. I may or may not have written 70,000 words of fanfiction for it. Great show if you love your bikes, too. Priss loves 'em as well. This cover from one of the soundtracks damn near kills me.

In conclusion: yayyyy nerds on bikes.

And yeah, I was looking at those supermoto courses toEleven linked in the other thread. Definitely too much for me yet, but one day.

Probably the canyon roads are going to be the first big step once I'm read for the higher speeds, yeah. Right now I'm mostly taking her for little errands (shoving groceries into my backpack, haha) and around the local streets. Probably will graduate to the toll roads before the big commuter freeways - if you pick the right time of day they're nice and quiet. There's actually this section of the 241 that's right by me that literally nobody drives because there's really no need to, it doesn't go anywhere you can't get just as easily on surface streets. So that'll probably be my practice playground for a bit when I'm ready.

allanoue · May 7th, 2016, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizardywizard

[YOUTUBE ]HBBb42hHyb0[/YOUTUBE]

/[YOUTUBE ]HBBb42hHyb0[/YOUTUBE]
just the tag like this

lizardywizard · May 7th, 2016, 04:01 PM

Oh, is that how it works? I was having trouble, wondering what was wrong with the URL...

Thanks, I can fix it now.

CaliGrrl · May 8th, 2016, 05:31 PM

Nerd in that I read a lot, and have a memory for silly trivia. A person will say something, and that sparks a factoid in my head. I always liked school. I write cursive on purpose.

And yeah, words. I love words. I love clever uses of words.

Video games are a thing I never got into very much.

Snake · May 9th, 2016, 03:01 PM

Hello and welcome!

erbarry88 · May 12th, 2016, 07:28 PM

Welcome. I'm in Fontana trying to get my 250 back up.

lizardywizard · May 12th, 2016, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erbarry88

Welcome. I'm in Fontana trying to get my 250 back up.

Oh, nice! You're really not far from me.

Good luck with the 250! What happened?

erbarry88 · May 12th, 2016, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizardywizard

Oh, nice! You're really not far from me.

Good luck with the 250! What happened?

We should ride some time. A blown out tire hit my front end on the 605.

lizardywizard · May 12th, 2016, 07:56 PM

That'd be sweet!

And ouch... obviously it did a number on the bike, but were you okay?

erbarry88 · May 12th, 2016, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizardywizard

That'd be sweet!

And ouch... obviously it did a number on the bike, but were you okay?

Yea I was but honestly don't know how. Laid it down doing over 60, during traffic and the car behind me stopped a few feet away.

May 4th, 2016, 09:40 PM	#1
lizardywizard green stig Name: V Location: California Join Date: May 2016 Motorcycle(s): '15 Ninja 300 ABS (Hurricane) Posts: 140 Blog Entries: 2 MOTM - May '16	New rider from SoCal! Hey folks! So I've had my 300 since last year, but I've been bad about actually getting out and riding her... first bike, I'm clumsy as hell, and I'm only 5'3" so I barely toe the ground. I'd been feeling so guilty letting her sit in the garage until I read this article, found out I wasn't alone in some of my problems, and felt inspired to get back on and try again. I got over the hump, and I'm finally starting to feel like a real rider... and me and my bike haven't looked back since. Well, except for the fact that I just dropped her in the parking lot the other day. D: Anyway, pleased to meet you all, and I'd love to get to know some other new riders if there are any in the area (or any experienced dogs who want to teach me a few tricks!)

May 4th, 2016, 09:56 PM	#2
snot sammich maker Name: snot Location: West Ohio - in the kitchen Join Date: Feb 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2013 white 300, 09 KLX 250 SF, 09 thunder blue 250(traded) Posts: A lot. MOTM - Apr '15	lizardywizard! Glad you found us... __________________________________________________ https://www.brocksperformance.com/VZ...0035+C450.aspx

May 5th, 2016, 11:36 AM	#5
allanoue ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Al Location: York, Pa Join Date: Dec 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2013 Ninja 300..............2008 Ninja 500-sold...2009 Ninja 250-Crashed Posts: Too much. MOTM - Sep '14	lizardy __________________________________________________ Keep calm and ride on -Motofool Never quit on a rainy day -ally99

May 5th, 2016, 11:50 AM	#6
csmith12 The Corner Whisperer Name: Chris (aka Reactor) Location: Northern KY Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much. MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13	Welcome V! Plenty of riders for you to connect with here that will share common goals that you have. Don't be shy, we only bite on Tuesdays. __________________________________________________ Goal: Shake A Million Hands \| Look through the corners \| Track Day Prep \| Closest track? \| The Mid-Ohio School

May 12th, 2016, 07:28 PM	#18
erbarry88 ninjette.org member Name: Eddie Location: SoCal IE Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2011 Ninja 250R, 2007 GSX-R 600 Posts: 123	Welcome. I'm in Fontana trying to get my 250 back up. __________________________________________________ 2011 Ninja 250R 2007 GSX-R 600 (Sold)

May 5th, 2016, 08:05 AM	#3
stickles ninjette.org newbie Name: chris Location: puyallup wa Join Date: May 2016 Motorcycle(s): 2015 ninja 300 , 2005 honda ruckus Posts: 4	welcome im a new rider as well

May 5th, 2016, 10:22 AM	#4
CaliGrrl ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Kerry Location: Ventura, CA Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja650 Posts: A lot. MOTM - Apr '18, Apr '17, Apr '16	Welcome! I'm also in SoCal and a new rider. Great place here, glad you found it.

May 5th, 2016, 12:21 PM	#7
VaFish ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Tom Location: Northern Virginia Join Date: Jul 2015 Motorcycle(s): 2001 Ninja 250, 2019 Harley Ultra Classic, 2001 Suzuki SV650 Posts: A lot. MOTM - Jan '16	Welcome, And don't sweat the parking lot drops, they happen. One of the reasons I liked an old Ninja 250 with no fairing on it for my daughter to start riding. She claims she is 5'2" but I doubt it. We did put a lowering kit on her bike.

May 5th, 2016, 03:12 PM	#8
lizardywizard green stig Name: V Location: California Join Date: May 2016 Motorcycle(s): '15 Ninja 300 ABS (Hurricane) Posts: 140 Blog Entries: 2 MOTM - May '16	Thanks all! Yeah, I'm getting the suspension lowered while she's at the dealership. Hopefully being able to flatfoot her will mean I drop her less. :P

May 5th, 2016, 08:48 PM	#9
jonuhhthinn ninjette.org member Name: Jon Location: Southern California Join Date: Dec 2014 Motorcycle(s): 77' yamaha xs650 / 01' R6 / 08' ninja 250 Posts: 31	Welcome V! I'm here in soCal also 20min from LA

May 5th, 2016, 10:45 PM	#10
04Ninja25 ninjette.org member Name: Gumbow Location: St. Paul MN Join Date: Sep 2015 Motorcycle(s): 2004 Ninja 250 Posts: 60	welcome

May 6th, 2016, 09:22 PM	#12
CaliGrrl ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Kerry Location: Ventura, CA Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja650 Posts: A lot. MOTM - Apr '18, Apr '17, Apr '16	Yeah, I'm on the northwest part. And actually, a nerd all the way 'round here, not just with words. Lots of threads here with lots of good advice for us new riders. As far as getting used to the roads here, google-maps is your friend. Map out the non-freeway route to get where you want to go. Take some canyons- slowly. When you want to start on freeways, pick a time when there's nobody around- like an early morning. Get on, go for a couple of exits, get off, turn around and go back. My hubby tells me the big thing with freeways is the chaos of it, plus everything happens at speed (and it seems to be true). For me, it's getting to the point that I don't need any particular training experience, I just need time on the bike. Even in-town slowish speed stuff is valuable. I think in six months or so I should take the advanced class, once I'm done working in the regular skills. Husband wants to take a supermoto class, but I'm totally not ready yet.

May 7th, 2016, 04:01 PM	#15
lizardywizard green stig Name: V Location: California Join Date: May 2016 Motorcycle(s): '15 Ninja 300 ABS (Hurricane) Posts: 140 Blog Entries: 2 MOTM - May '16	Oh, is that how it works? I was having trouble, wondering what was wrong with the URL... Thanks, I can fix it now.

May 8th, 2016, 05:31 PM	#16
CaliGrrl ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Kerry Location: Ventura, CA Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja650 Posts: A lot. MOTM - Apr '18, Apr '17, Apr '16	Nerd in that I read a lot, and have a memory for silly trivia. A person will say something, and that sparks a factoid in my head. I always liked school. I write cursive on purpose. And yeah, words. I love words. I love clever uses of words. Video games are a thing I never got into very much.

May 9th, 2016, 03:01 PM	#17
Snake ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Rick Location: Alexandria, Louisiana Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much. MOTY - 2017, MOTM - Jan '19, Oct '16, May '14	Hello and welcome!

May 12th, 2016, 07:56 PM	#21
lizardywizard green stig Name: V Location: California Join Date: May 2016 Motorcycle(s): '15 Ninja 300 ABS (Hurricane) Posts: 140 Blog Entries: 2 MOTM - May '16	That'd be sweet! And ouch... obviously it did a number on the bike, but were you okay?

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