Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Sapaul, I was able to get out on the road for a little while, and your tips were GREAT! Thank you so much for the advice and the link it helped a lot!
I was able to get through the turns a lot easier than the last couple of tries, it really made a difference.

AW, man, tears in my eyes. I am so glad I could make a difference. PM me if you experiance other problems that I may be able to help with.

My best advice: have a plan.

In 1994 I had my first, and only, accident. T'was a wily patch of gravel in a tight right turn. The instant I felt the bike start to slip out from under me, I jumped off. I had played this, and other accident scenarios, in my head when I started riding.

This happened before I knew about MSF training. I've had several near misses since then, but I can thank that training for teaching me how to make them just near misses.

I still feel a twinge when I see gravel in the road.

I found this site after googling " how to gain confidence after a crash".
I crashed my vulcan about 6 weeks ago ( coming out of our alley, I hit gravel, spun, lost control, paniced, tried to avoid a half ton and jumped a cedar tree and landed on a front lawn....stellar apperently) and having trouble getting back on. My husband even went and got me a smaller 83 Honda Magna 500 thats easier to control, and I still am having trouble. I tried to get on and get out of the alley and I froze. Couldnt do it. So he took me to a parking lot and I slowly got the feel again for it, but I am still feeling like I just cant do this, and crashing scenarios go through my head. I guess the thing to do is just keep trying....after reading through these posts, I realise my feelings are normal. Even though everyone just keep saying " get back on and go". I only started riding last year. ( I am 44 and up until then I have not driven a moterbike at all. I have always been the passenger, which I do love) So I am in no way an experienced rider.

Can you find an off road or drive of stone to practice on?

I get a lot of comments about my driveway but I practiced
on it and so its a caution but not a problem since its familiar.

Hi Hot Granny, If I may offer some advice that may help. With both men and women that I have assisted that have had accidents, there is a common and normal trait. The same one you mention.

Please try to turn that same visualisation from the negative to the positive. Pick a location a short ride away, your favourite coffee shop for example, and then visualise yourself outside the shop on your bike. Visualise yourself riding on that route, visualise riding the bike as you have been taught. Then go for that ride and keep the visualisation going.

We have a little saying here when we teach.

"Look there, Go there"

Think more about where you want to be than how you will get there. Most of what you have learned will come automatically. Good luck.

sapaul wrote:Hi Hot Granny, If I may offer some advice that may help. With both men and women that I have assisted that have had accidents, there is a common and normal trait. The same one you mention.

Please try to turn that same visualisation from the negative to the positive. Pick a location a short ride away, your favourite coffee shop for example, and then visualise yourself outside the shop on your bike. Visualise yourself riding on that route, visualise riding the bike as you have been taught. Then go for that ride and keep the visualisation going.

We have a little saying here when we teach.

"Look there, Go there"

Think more about where you want to be than how you will get there. Most of what you have learned will come automatically. Good luck.

Thank You! Yes that is exactly what I am doing, just visualising myself doing it successfully. I struggle with clutch /throttle ratio, so I have just been on the bike in the driveway playing around with that. The visualise myself succesfully stopping and starting. It makes me feel better to hear other stories. I appreciate your advice and I really do want to ride again and become a confident rider.

Any time, feel free to pm me if you want to chat, no strings attached. It took my wife 4 years to get to where she is and she now out rides most guys on her 600 RR.

If you are struggling with the clutch control. Get the bike on level ground

Do not touch the throttle, keep it on idle. Practice letting the clutch out just on idle, and then pull the clutch in and repeat until you are "walking the bike".

Thanks Sapaul, I will give that a try too! Next week though.... off to have a fun weekend visiting the grankids. Taking so many b'day presents that we have to leave the bike at home!

Hot Granny...six weeks is not a very long time to be back to %100. Cut yourself some slack...be patient, keep practicing and one day you will feel good about riding again.