My Take on the First Bike question...

[Ducky]

Been reading back over this thread that started almost a year ago. Havent been back to this sight since but I thought I'd drop by and let you all know that I'm still alive and well. In looking back, I realize that it was pretty insane picking up an exotic itailain bike as my FIRST bike ever.

As an update, I've learned alot in the last year about riding. Riding WELL is something that is difficult to do when you start on a sportbike the way that I did. However, ..its not in anyway impossible. I've had a series of experiences since my last post here that have tested my abilities on the bike. Included, but not limited to: a potentially fatal traffic altercation (not my fault) which I escaped unscaved, a panic situation that could easily have killed me had I not recognized the groans from the front suspension bottoming out and reliquished my vice grip on the front brakes and steered out of harms way.

I whole-heartedly concede that it was in theory a poor choice to purchase this bike as a starter....

That being said, I'm having the best time of my life on this bike. Season 2 is about to begin and I'm ready to learn even more this year. I've calmed down quite a bit with my speeding and have been focusing on the technical aspects of braking/steering and vision control. Christ, I think I'll be riding until im 90 years old. After this season, I think I'll be looking for a cruiser to add to my stable or something in sport touring as I'd love to do some long distance trips (outside the 100 - 200 mile runs to nowhere up in the mountains).

I thank everyone that put some thought into responding to this post. I realize it is simply because you want to be instructional and promote responsibility over vanity. For that, I appreciate forums such as this.

[Wrider]

Good to hear from you ducky!
Glad you're doing well too, we were kinda worried about ya!
And definitely thanks for coming back and updating us on how you're doing. We really are just trying to help people be responsible in choosing their first bike and learning how to ride safely.
Now... If we can get most beginners to realize it's not all about vanity and big HP eh?

[MZ33]

Yea, Ducky!!

Nice post, and it isn't everybody who comes back to 'fess up (so to speak) You have a unique position, Ducky, in that you can relate to the desires/needs to own one of the hot bikes, but survived, and are thoughtful and articulate enough to discuss the downsides of your choice.

Keep us up to date, okay?

[Ducky]

Its been another few years -lol. Back to tell you all that... all is well. Lost a few riding acquiantances along the way, unfortunately. I just wanted to let you new[newer] guys know that you have your whole life to ride. Take its slow. Appreciate it, respect it, and most of all, get the fundamentals down. Bad habits WILL kill you.

I'm older and wiser now and yes I'm still riding my Ducati 748, 32k + miles later. I caution all my friends NOT to buy 600+ cc bikes. I've seen and been through too much to even pretend that it is representative of sound decision making. Take ..your...time.

Good luck and enjoy!

Ducky

[JackoftheGreen]

Hey Ducky, glad to see you alive and well. I'm a noob myself to this forum, and to riding, and I wasn't around when this thread started but I just caught up on it.

I'm another person who didn't get started 'the right way' -- I began two years ago on a dirt bike, a Kawasaki KDX250 two-stroke, and I didn't take an MSF BRC at all. My wife taught me to ride -- she raced dirt bikes competitively in her teens and she wanted to get back into it. The KDX had a ton of power on tap also, what with how light it was and the two-stroke configuration, and although I eventually figured it out I'll freely admit I dumped it a couple times. I'll also admit that the reason I dumped it was directly related to it having more power than a beginner should have been playing with. Fortunately my instincts were good, and plastic doesn't take damage quite like sheet metal does, so me and the bike both came out of those drops (well, one was more like a launch) none the worse for wear.

I learned street riding on a Shadow 750, which is my wife's bike now, and rode all last season on a 1984 Magna V65 that was also more bike than I'd recommend for a beginner. The Magna's gone now, replaced with my Vulcan 800, and I've rolled more than 1,000 miles now on asphalt without a drop. I'll be taking the ARC sometime this season, and feel totally ready to do so.

Again, our stories shouldn't be taken as typical experiences. Everyone new to riding ought to take a beginners course, and while I personally wont go on record as recommending a 250cc 'starter bike' to new riders, I will certainly warn new riders away from overpowered sport bikes. Get a well-mannered sub-liter cruiser and let it teach you. That's my two cents.

[Wrider]

Impressive you've gotten a Duc to last 32K miles! lol
No seriously, stick around, we don't bite (and those of us who do have our shots).

Sorry to hear about your friends, it's a rough time to lose a friend, much less while doing something you both enjoy.

[sapaul]

Its been another few years -lol. Back to tell you all that... all is well. Lost a few riding acquiantances along the way, unfortunately. I just wanted to let you new[newer] guys know that you have your whole life to ride. Take its slow. Appreciate it, respect it, and most of all, get the fundamentals down. Bad habits WILL kill you.

I'm older and wiser now and yes I'm still riding my Ducati 748, 32k + miles later. I caution all my friends NOT to buy 600+ cc bikes. I've seen and been through too much to even pretend that it is representative of sound decision making. Take ..your...time.

Good luck and enjoy!

Ducky

Respect man, you have been through a learning curve and we appreciate you coming here and baring all.

[Ducky]

Its actually interesting for me to read over this thread. I remember what I felt when I wrote those words, all those years ago. For that reason I can empathize with newer riders fueled by the idea that they can easily outgrow horsepower.

I liken it to working out (which i do). Ask someone to do 100 pushups who has never done it before, and they'll get down on the ground and hump it, doing something that they think looks like a complete pushup and try to count to 100. On the other hand, ask that same person to do 10 pushups and he'll likely take the time to see if he can actually complete the task and crank out some quality pushups. Its a reachable goal. Bikes work the same way. Start out with something to brag about (600 cc) and you'll learn to "look" like a rider. Instead, start with something a bit more realistic and you'll get far more out of it.

Oh, and my duc is very much still kicking! Who says they arent reliable?! It'll hit 40k this season for sure!