Total Motorcycle Community Forums

ok so I am looking for my very first bike. I know what I want and I'm so close to getting it. But I have a little problem. For some reason my husband thinks I am going to buy my bike and get freaked out the first time I ride. He thinks that something bad will happen and I wont ride any more. He thinks I should get a little 50cc scooter and try that first. I understand that he is a little nervous about me riding.
Any advice.....

Enroll in the local Motorcycle Safety Foundation course so you can get started in a controlled environment with professional instruction. Buy a full set of quality protective gear.

Does your husband ride?

Freaking out on a scooter can still deal plenty of damage. They're not toys, just because it has a much smaller engine than your average motorcycle.

As mgdavis said above, take the MSF! That way you can get a much better feel for if you even really want to ride. A lot of places will allow you the option of riding on a scooter, but go with what YOU want - you'll be the one riding, after all, not your husband. He can't ride for you.

It's natural for him to be worried about you. My beloved rides, as well, but he worries every time I'm out on the road... even if I'm in my truck!

Even if you decide to not go the scooter route, start out small! In the MSF, you'll learn on a little 250 - more than enough to get you started.

I haven't been riding long myself, but the above about the MSF is solid - I wouldn't ever condone getting started in riding without taking the MSF. I might be called a bit of a hypocrite, taking my first bike into consideration, but I also am a big supporter of starting out small. My next purchase will likely be a smaller bike than the one I have now - those just seem like they'd be a whole lot of fun, too! It's a lot easier to learn on a less powerful bike - your mistakes (you WILL make them. Riding is not natural to our bodies, so while you may end up being talented, you'll still make the occasional mistake) will be a lot easier to swallow on a smaller bike. A sensitive throttle and too much horsepower will be far too much for anyone starting out. Save yourself the time, trouble, and the hospital bills by starting on a low hp motorcycle. It'll be your first, not likely your last.

What else... yeah, gear. Don't skimp out on gear. Pay $500 now for decent gear... or $5000+ for new skin... Not a tough choice, in my opinion. The day I consider going out without all my gear on is the day I will stop riding.

Good luck, and welcome to the forum.

MSF first, bike second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CtAqS1Kx7A

CaptCrashIdaho wrote:MSF first, bike second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CtAqS1Kx7A

I'd say, Gear first, then MSF and then Bike.

Well I have taken the motorcycle class and I have most of my gear. My husband said that it is going be alot different then the class with cars around.
So my next question what is it like the first time on the road?

sarahh_00 wrote:Well I have taken the motorcycle class and I have most of my gear. My husband said that it is going be alot different then the class with cars around.
So my next question what is it like the first time on the road?

Terrifying, thrilling, frightening, exhilarating, scary, awesome, heart stopping, incredible.......sort of like the first time one has sex, only you keep your clothes on and it isn't as messy.

What kind of bike are you looikng at? That might have something to do with his worry. Or he just might be a worrier. Some of us are. I am. Drives my g/f nuts.

But it's better that he cares than he doesn't.

If he doesn't ride, maybe have HIM take the MSF, so he can learn what it's all about.

How long ago did you take the class?

P

My first time on the road was in my neighborhood. Around the block, stopping at stop signs, negotiating turns. I think I did that for almost a week. Even getting up my sloped driveway, around the car, into my garage and turning my bike around to exit was a learning experience.

Eventually I planned my first route, all paved and rural. At nine miles, it is mostly straight lines with a 35mph limit and a couple of gentle curves. After a couple of right turns I end up on the I-35 service road with a 55mph speed limit. One very minor stop light. None of this in rush hour traffic. I did that for a couple of weeks.

Later I tackled in town traffic in a local college town ten miles down the road. Thick traffic, lots of stoplights, scads of young drivers, a couple of railroad tracks, and streets that look different on two wheels than they do on four. It's a bit of an adrenaline rush.

The weird thing is I never worried about any of this stuff on my scooter. My scooter stalled all the time at lights. I never flatfooted my scooter, but on a bike all of a sudden that mattered? I even low-sided the scoot on a huge oily patch at 30mph last fall, but it wasn't assumed that it was a big deal, cuz it was a scooter. Frankly, it was only when I bought a geared bike that all of the scary stories and dire "what if's" came out of the woodwork and everything became so much more important. But it was the same, except now with a bigger bike I can keep up with traffic. I even countersteered on the scoot, though I didn't know what it was called. Woo-hoo I scraped the floorboard! Freaked me out.

Folks don't tend to write about the hundreds of rides that aren't worth scribing in a blog, forum or newspaper article. They are uneventful days. To the world they are boring, but they are truly lovely, and that's how most rides are. And that's why I ride.