First day on a bike...

[Caty1113]

... and I had the bike fall on me! I'm a bit scared to get back on!

I am 22 and my boyfriend just bought a bike, a Suzuki Intruder. He's been riding his whole life.. and then I decided I wanted a bike as well so I got a 2002 Suzuki GS500. I've never even been on a bike as a passenger until a couple days ago.

I went into an empty parking lot to learn how to start it and get a feel for it.. I let the clutch out too fast and it jerked forward and then I freaked out, closed my eyes and let go completely like an idiot (hey I was freaking out!) and the bike jerked forward more, stalled and then fell on me. My leg got ripped open and I burnt my hand on the engine (it has perfect lines on it...) but I did get back on to try again.. and by the end of the night I was going along in second gear..

Does it take a long time to get used to controls etc and learn the handling? There are no bike schools around me so my boyfriend is teaching me. I think I was completely dreadful at riding..

[Thumper]

Where are you located? Chances are someone here knows of a nearby MSF or Rider's Edge class. Or even a rider coach in the area. Learning from family and friends is usually not the best way to go about it (as evidenced from your now ripped open leg and burnt hand...) and can really extend your learning curve.

But yeah...learning the way you are can result in it taking quite a while to get the hang of it; not just the controls of the bike, but strategic riding and situational awareness. If there are truly no classes near you, you might be at it for a while.

[Caty1113]

I live about 150km from Calgary, AB Canada. By the end of the evening (about 1.5h in) I was able to drive ok but obviously I am not used to proper steering etc. It was just starting the bike that I got hurt.

Is the GS500 a good beginner bike?

ALso is it worth investing in some riding pants? I did get a really nice full face helmet, leather gloves and a riding jacket.. but not the pants or boots.

[havegunjoe]

I don’t know much about sport bikes but usually they are made for speed so what happened to you does not surprise me. That is why an MSF course is good to take as they usually use only 250cc bikes and they step you through everything slowly. I remember one of our first exercises was to simply “Walk” the bike forward, both feet on the ground, by slowly releasing the clutch. We did this over and over until everyone was comfortable with it.
How did you decide what bike to buy if you had never been on one until a few days ago if I may ask? I find too often someone else makes that decision for the beginner based on what they like. The reason I ask this is you are asking about your bike being an acceptable beginner bike after you have purchase it. Too late now if it isn’t.
Another good reason to take an MSF course as they usually have a few different styles of bikes to try. Maybe a small cruiser would have been easier to handle. It was for my wife I know. Find some outsider to help you with this if you can’t take the course. As for pants and boots any safety equipment you can afford is good to have.

[jstark47]

Unless you're very petite, a GS500 is a pretty acceptable bike for beginners.............. i.e. beginners who have had some training!! Please, please go take a Gearing Up course. Look here: http://www.ridertraining.org/alberta.shtml

(BTW, boyfriends make terrible instructors. Travel if you must, but take a course.)

[Caty1113]

Well my boyfriend's cruiser is pretty big.. I can't sit comfortably and reach the handlebars. TBH I didn't do a lot of research but I did see on a forum that a gs500 is an okay beginner bike so I went ahead with the purchase. The guy I got it from (18 yr old guy) learned on the bike so I knew it could be done.. and it's super comfy but I didn't realise how hard they are to start is all. When I got it my boyfriend test drove it and he said it was the easiest bike he has ever been on, much easier than his 1500cc suzuki intruder. Plus it's decently light as well.. around 400lb.

I think I will get the pants.. my leg though it didn't even bleed and is just scraped up, has some pretty brutal bruises on it.. and it's kinda stiff to walk on.

Is it err.. pretty common to lay down the bike the first few minutes of ever being on a bike? Or am I just terrible?

I will look into a driving course for sure.

[Caty1113]

As for being petite.. I am 5'2 and around 125lb.. but I can touch ground on it.

[totalmotorcycle]

Welcome Caitlyn to the forum and HI from another Albertan (me)!

The GS500E is indeed a good beginner bike, but if you do not take the MSF course you may find it is a little big to start off on, as you bought it, try to go really slow with it until you get your skills up. You will be picking up a few bad habits without an instructor to show you what's right and wrong... even I have bad habits I might pass on without knowing it! haha.

Next READ THIS: http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/school.htm I made it for situations like yours where you can't get to a MSF Course... although, 150km isn't that far in Alberta, there is a good one in Calgary called "Too Cool Motorcycle School" and they (used to?) offer a 3 day course (fri/sat/sun), why not take that?

At the beginning it is VERY COMMON to make "dumb" mistakes here and there, the important thing is to learn from them and KEEP GOING. A parking lot on a Sunday is a great place to learn.

I really do suggest you take the MSF course, it will give you a huge boost in skills and confience. I know far too many people who got discouraged that would have been perfectly fine if they took the MSF. I do hope this doesn't happen to you.

We will help you out there as best we can with all your questions and concerns and even pick you up too!

Mike

[ceemes]

Riding pants....yes get them preferably with armour in the knees and padding in the hips area. Personally I can't recommend chaps, while they may look cool and offer some protection for your legs, they wont cover your behind and from my experience, you always end up sliding on your butt at sometime during an off... I prefer leathers myself, but there are a lot of good affordable textile riding pants out there which will protect your skin when the unthinkable happens.

And please, take a training course on riding and leave the b/f to practise with ie, have him ride behind you as a blocker when you are out on the streets riding. This will also allow you to set the pace of the ride to match your own comfort level and not force you to attempt to ride at his pace or level. There is one thing I will never do with family or my missus to be and that is teach them either how to drive or ride, it gets too personal and end in tears.

[Grey Thumper]

There's also a lot of information that you can download out there, so at least you can familiar yourself with the facts and theory of motorcycling.

The MSF has lots of really informative pdfs http://msf-usa.org/index_new.cfm?spl=2& ... me=Library

So does the ICBC http://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/ge ... nse-riders

It still doesn't compare to getting hands-on, professional instruction in a controlled environment. But it's still better than winging it and getting by on sheer luck.