So I went for my first ever ride on my new bike. My wife said I was acting like a little boy on Christmas morning.
Anyway, I'm all decked out, it's a little chilly outside ...55 degrees ... not bad ... well, I learned something today ... 55 degrees standing in the garage is okay ... 55 degrees on a motorcycle is just a tad over unbearable. My fingers froze like nuthin! I thought my riding gloves would be fine ... nope ... need warmer gloves.
Also, it's a lot scarier out by myself in the open. Riding at 15mph in a parking lot under controlled conditions was simple. Riding at 20-30 (fast for me) was just scary ... fun ... but scary.
I stalled at one stop sign trying to make a right hand turn. There was a car behind me, and I guess I just kept getting nervous and stalled like four times in a row. When I was teaching my then girlfriend, now wife, how to drive a stick, I told her under conditions like this, it's best to ignore the people behind you and just take it easy and calmly ... so I did the same and simply got off the bike and pushed it off to the side of the corner and let the car go by. Got back on and took off on the first try ... a very valuable lesson learned/relearned I think.
Anyway, a short ride, about only 20 minutes, but very rewarding. Tomorrow if the weather warms up, I'm going to go for another ride and probably hit the parking lot of a nearby park.
Walmart sells a leather fashion glove with Thinsulate insulation for $14/pair. Those will serve you well while speeds are low. Buy a pair a size large, and pick up a $0.99 pair of knit liners while you are in the store. That combination will be adequate for temps down to the low 30s, but not good in rain.
Dennis Kirk has Icon Barrier gloves on sale for $19.99/pair. Not very well insulated but 50s okay alone. Order them big, then use the Walmart knit liners to be good down to low 40s, and gobs of crash protection. Okay in a light rain, but in heavy rain, water blows up in my coat sleeve because the gloves have a tiny guantlet, then runs down in the glove. Cold and wet is not fun.
Dennis Kirk also has Monarch Pass Moose for $34.95/pair, which I just received. The coldest I've used them is low 30s, and they are very warm with the Walmart knit liners. I expect adequate warmth down to the low 20s. Not as much crash protection as the Barriers, about the same as the Walmart leather, but warmest yet. They are the most comfortable, with or without the liners. They have a removable guantlets of sufficient size to end any drafts up my sleeves. I haven't used them in rain, but they are supposed to be waterproof. They are much easier to get on than the Barriers.
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you.
Sounds like an interesting first ride Don't worry though, you've got the right bike and the right state of mind, you'll be smooth in no time.
I remember when DH got to ride his bike the first time. A few of us went down to pick it up so he had spectators. But he just rode around in circles in the parking lot for two hours getting reacquainted with MSF lessons. He grinned the whole time.
Just took a 1 1/2 hour cruise about the northern part of Tarrant County. 41*F. The Monarch Pass Moose Gloves with the Walmart knit liners were comfortable the entire trip. Fingers weren't exactly toasty, but not cold, either.
I remember riding my bike home from the dealer, which was my first time on a bike since my MSF course a few weeks earlier. I remember thinking two things...."Wow, I'm FLYING and I'm shifting at 5000 RPM....I don't redline till 11,000!!!" and "The cars are RIGHT there....and they really are trying to kill me".....
In retrospect, I really wasn't "flying" and most of the cars probably weren't trying to kill me.
Just take it as slow as you want, and watch out for morons. And if you dump it, just pick it up, adjust your jacket like you meant to do that, and get back on!
2005 Suzuki SV650
Get a yellow one....they're faster
Hi! I just got a ninja 250, too. I am a brand new rider. Got my bike last weekend, (superbowl weekend) and I'm taking the course 2/16-2/18.
My husband thought I should take it out, and get comfortable with getting started out of first, so I did try riding it last weekend. Personally, I think he just wanted to ride it. I know how to drive a manual-shift car, so I didn't stall getting out of first, and off I went down the street! About 7 houses down, I stopped, and turned it around by walking it.
Back I went to my driveway, and as I came to a stop, it SLOWLY fell over to the right. WAH! Boy, did I feel stupid. I learned how to stop, though! Since then, I've taken it around the block about 4 times. I got up to 3rd gear, and downshifted, stopped at a stop sign and started in a turn. Ack. I worry about not ever getting better at this, but I've
got to improve with practice, right? I am soo looking forward to the MSF course this next weekend. I think I will feel much more confident after I take the course. I love it, though. What a thrill. I feel like I am flying. My kids and neighbors think I'm nuts. This is something I've always wanted to do, and just kept putting off. I finally decided it was time to jump.
Enjoy your Ninja, I love mine!! (Mine is black)
Allison
Don't worry though, you've got the right bike and the right state of mind, you'll be smooth in no time.
there are only 2 kinds of bikes: It's a Ninja... look that one's a Harley... oh there's a Ninja... Harley...Ninja...
