Close Dropped Call...First ride of my life.

[ajcadoo]

First ride today. I was driving down a relatively steep hill in my neighborhood approaching a stop sign. I was keeping speeds low, (15MPH) to make sure I was completely in control. As I approached the stop, I grabbed the front brake a little too much, bringing my momentum to the right side of the bike.

I felt it starting to tip over. It was all in slow mo. I just purchased this bike, it has never been dropped. I did NOT plan to drop it within 3 minutes of starting to ride. I stood up and used every last ounce of strength to keep it from dropping.

Luckily I managed to hold it. I felt so relieved afterward. Made me realize how easy it is to drop a bike when you stop. haha

I won't be surprised if I do drop it, and when I do, it will be a sad sad day.

[csmith12]

No biggy Josh, it happens to the best of us. Gratz on your first ride.

[Mako]

Yup...been there before.

Had my first "OH NO YOU DON'T, GET BACK UP HERE!" moment last week as well.

Protip: Always hydrate and make sure you've eaten before riding. Not doing so may lead to passing out while parking your bike.

[EthioKnight]

'grats on your bike bro. We've all been there...trick is to be persistent and never letting the fun factor die.

[CC Cowboy]

Did you take the MSF course? You're supposed to learn by dropping their bikes so you don't have to drop yours.

[ajcadoo]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Did you take the MSF course? You're supposed to learn by dropping their bikes so you don't have to drop yours.

haha, yes I did, but I didn't drop the bike during the course. Then again, I wasn't riding on hilly terrain like where I am riding now.

[ajcadoo]

Originally Posted by Mako

Yup...been there before.

Had my first "OH NO YOU DON'T, GET BACK UP HERE!" moment last week as well.

Protip: Always hydrate and make sure you've eaten before riding. Not doing so may lead to passing out while parking your bike.

That is the exact moment I had. haha No way was I letting my baby hit that cold hard ground

[Motofool]

Congratulations on the new bike and the great save.

#1 skill to polish: stopping in time without disturbing the balance of the bike.

Use only two fingers for the front brake lever, keep both wheels aligned and the bike up and hold your body from sliding forward with the tank rather than with the handle bar.

Best

[squaregamer476]

should get some frame sliders. that was the first thing i bought when i first got my bike. Soon after, my gf drops it. Only the sliders has minor damage from bike being laid down. Nothing damaged on my plastics. great investment.

[koenigcitizen]

When you stop, make sure you do two things:

1. Keep your bars straight if you are using the front brake.
2. Keep your head up, look on the horizon. Dont look on the ground in front of your wheel, nothing to see there. You should scan the surface before you approach the stop.

Number 2 is very important.

Ride safe!

[ajcadoo]

Originally Posted by squaregamer476

should get some frame sliders. that was the first thing i bought when i first got my bike. Soon after, my gf drops it. Only the sliders has minor damage from bike being laid down. Nothing damaged on my plastics. great investment.

Could you provide me with a link to them? I am interested in getting some for sure.

[squaregamer476]

Originally Posted by ajcadoo

Could you provide me with a link to them? I am interested in getting some for sure.

Well, you could check Ebay. Shogun frame sliders i believe are popular but takes a lil work to get them on. there are others also.

[Xoulrath]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Use only two fingers for the front brake lever, keep both wheels aligned and the bike up and hold your body from sliding forward with the tank rather than with the handle bar.

I personally would not recomment two finger braking on the Ninjette. I initially did so, and I had an incident riding an unknown road a bit too fast where I came into an extremely tight downhill, decreasing radius left-hander. I started to brake, but the force simply wasn't enough. This incident happened several months into riding, so I wasn't a completely green newb. I practiced braking on a regular basis.

I did not slow fast enough, and the turn was, to this day, one of the most challenging corners I have come across. Rather than try to make the turn with too much speed, I saw a small runoff to the right and I simply finished my braking. After that experience, I always used three fingers to brake the 250.

I use two fingers on my 600, but that damn thing will lift its tail into the air with one finger on the brakes. Very strong bite. On my ex-wife's TU250, I use all four hands to brake, and incorporate the rear brake as well.

I point all of this out because I would hate for the OP to have evaded one drop, to have a worse outcome with braking later on, like I almost did. Practice braking. Make sure you can stop from the speeds you ride at. Take it easy on new roads the first few times riding them. Hell, you are a new rider, take it easy and keep practicing what you learned in your BRC. And don't forget to look into the great books that can help you, as well as the sound advice from most members on this site.

[Robinhood]

Originally Posted by ajcadoo

Could you provide me with a link to them? I am interested in getting some for sure.

I got mine off of amazon for a really good price. I'll try to find the exact listing. I got the Shogun full crash kit, but they also had just the sliders.

[koenigcitizen]

I use all four fingers to break on the ninjette. Thats how I was taught in MSF and it stuck with me. Sometimes when I cruise and have the break covered, I use two fingers. I think, its about what you are used to.

Here is an interesting article about frame sliders, that convinced me against getting them. Might be worth a read to some of you.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/I_want_..._frame_sliders

[massacremasses]

I dropped mine doing something kinda like that.

[Milanista]

@ajcadoo Thanks for sharing your experience I am sure that this will help me un the future.


I was thinking about buying sliders but giving the price of them in comparison to buying new fringes I think that they are not worth it especially given that they might become a safety hazard!!

Thank you all for the info.

[koenigcitizen]

Originally Posted by Milanista

@ajcadoo Thanks for sharing your experience I am sure that this will help me un the future.


I was thinking about buying sliders but giving the price of them in comparison to buying new fringes I think that they are not worth it especially given that they might become a safety hazard!!

Yep, I thought about frame sliders, and instead I decided to get a $100 deductible on my insurance. If I mess up my fairings, it will be $100 at most to get it replaced.

The difference for me was only $30 more a year, so it was a no brainer. Check with your insurance, you might be surprised how small the difference is between a $500 and a $100 deductible.

[FrugalNinja250]

WRT the number of fingers/braking, I started out as the MSF taught me, but within a few weeks had switched to two fingers out of habit as that's how I used to ride my BMX bike. That saved me the second month of riding when, as I was going south on a three-lane one-way street in the far left lane a girl decided to make an unsignaled left turn from the far right lane right in front of me. I missed her rear rear quarter panel by a few inches, and would likely have plowed into the side of her Mustang if I'd been riding as the MSF taught because of the time delay to get all four fingers wrapped around the brake lever from the recommended full hand grip on the throttle. The entire incident took perhaps 1.5 seconds, and the extra fraction of a second I had from riding two fingers on made all the difference.

[NikkitaNinja]

I had a similar incident where I had almost tipped mine over while at a stop sign. It was probably my second day riding and was about ready to turn. I was on the side of the street and its a little bit slanted down and had gotten off balance. My bike tipped and the side was about 2 feet away from the ground before I was able to push me and the bike back up with my right leg. Having a job where I'm on my feet all day and walking around non-stop really paid off there!

[Klondike1020]

Good save . Now u know what close call feels like!

Good luck you will get the hang of it.

Did anyone see it happen?
Every time I have a oops moment I look around to see how many people caught it lol

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Xoulrath

I personally would not recomment two finger braking on the Ninjette..................

I point all of this out because I would hate for the OP to have evaded one drop, to have a worse outcome with braking later on.........

The technique is less important than the result.
Getting familiar with the reactions of your bike to the six controls through practice will have the final word on what technique works for you.

I have found this article that may be of interest to the OP:

"The six controls at our fingers and feet have 37 combinations of on/off, use/rest................Some combinations—like applying full gas and full brakes—would be pointless, destructive or dangerous. Learning to not stab the front brake lever at low speed and to simultaneously pull in the clutch so it doesn’t stall the bike would be useful to learn." - Keith Code

Read more: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/fe...#ixzz1nQeBWtaz

.

[fatestkid]

Originally Posted by koenigcitizen

I use all four fingers to break on the ninjette. Thats how I was taught in MSF and it stuck with me. Sometimes when I cruise and have the break covered, I use two fingers. I think, its about what you are used to.

Here is an interesting article about frame sliders, that convinced me against getting them. Might be worth a read to some of you.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/I_want_..._frame_sliders

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