Confidence Problem and Throttle Control Issue (Long)

[SilverMist]

I've been a lurking on this board for a few months and have a question for my fellow newbies who have dropped their bikes.

I took both the Motorcycling 101 and the regular MSF course. I passed it and got my official motorcycle license from the DMV. A month later I purchased my first bike, a Honda 599 (putting my fireproof underwear on). I did a test ride on this bike in a nearby parking lot and loved it. My husband, who's been riding for 30+ years, also rode it out on the street and highway. He thought the bike would be great for me to start with because it's 2 different bikes. At lower RPMs, it rides like a normal bike, but once you get up past 7/8k RPMs, it becomes a whole different animal. Since I would be in first half of the RPM band for awhile he thought it would be fine.

And it has been until I was practicing in a parking lot back in October and I wrecked my 4 day old baby. I was doing less than 10 mph. Several things happened that led me to dump the bike. I was practicing making a left turn from a stop. 1) I turned too wide. 2) I was too close to the curb on the right side. 3) I got fixated (sp?) on the curb. 4) incorrect throttle pressure made the engine rev which startled me 5) right peg hit the curb, the bike stopped, and I didn't. I got tossed over the side. My helmet skidded across the sidewalk and I tumbled over my hand onto the grass. I wasn't wearing chaps, just jeans (jeans didn't rip) and skinned up my knee. I had bad bruises on both legs and several pulled muscles in my back and shoulders.

Even tho I got roughed up the bike got messed up too which made me even more upset. I was more upset about bike than I was about myself. I bent the right brake peg and brake lever, ripped the thermostat cover off, got scratches all along the sides.

Anyway, the bike has been repaired (execept for the scratches), I wish I could say the same for my confidence level. I've spent countless hours recreating and trying to understand what I did wrong and what to do to prevent it. I've ridden only 3 times since this happened. My riding confidence is shot. I don't want to give up, because I did enjoy it prior to this. Just wondering if anyone else has had difficulties getting back on the horse?

My second question is, I've noticed that I'm not controlling the throttle properly. I'm turning, not squeezing. My husband showed me what he does and that helped me to identify that I wasn't doing it right. He said it's with the fingers not the hand. Are there any exercises, like those for the clutch, that can help with better throttle control?

Sorry for this being long, but I've just sat indoors all day on a 70 degree day in January listening to motorcycles go up and down the road behind my house and beating myself up mentally for not riding. Thanks for listening/reading...

Kim

[VermilionX]

accidents happen, you just have to learn from it.

im also a newbie to bikes and i did drop my brand new bike already... and im not ashamed to admit it.

my bike didn't get damaged as bad yours though since i was pulling the bike before it fell, i just wasn't storng enough to pull it back up. it got some minor scratches.

you can't see it on the pics i have here since they are very small and i waxed them already.

i wasn't injured since i already moved my feet away before it dropped.

i was upset that i made a mistake and i also tried to analyze it. i went for another run and the same thing happened, my engine died on a speed bump but i was more aware that time. i controlled the bike and didn't let it lean too much to the point where i can't pull it up anymore.

i also put some frame sliders on my bike.

so far, i haven't used too much throttle, i have too much respect for my bike's power. and i always keep calm, perhaps too calm... me and friends almost got hit by a truck on my car before and all my friends were shocked scared and i just plainly said "are you guys ok?"

anyway, i suggest you try again. it's all part of the learning process.

as long as i can still stand up and ride, i'll keep trying to become better.

[Sev]

I've got this nasty habit of writting a lot where just a little will do. So I'l forgive you for writing a long post too. Actually truth be told I prefer the long ones because it saves having to ask a bunch of silly questions afterwards. This'll speed it up.

First of all, that's a great bike you've got there. I've got one in yellow that I love to death and wouldn't trade for the world. I assume from the pic that yours is black, that would have been my first choice.

I've been in an accident as well. Back in April I hit a patch of ice while braking ripped a bunch of skin off my knee, fractured my right elbow and dislocated my left shoulder. It was a stupid mistake (being out that late) but it's something you have to accept. Being out there on a bike means that there's a chance something bad could happen.

Soon as the cast was off and my bike was fixed I was back out there. I've put more miles on the bike this season then the season before. It's something that gets down deep into your blood.

What happened to you was nothing but a series of freak coincidences. Four things that went wrong all at once to send you for a dive. So now it's your job to get back out there and make sure it won't happen again.

Sit on the bike and rev it right to the redline, listen to the engine carefully the whole way through. Do this a couple of times, it'll get you used to the sound of the engine, and hopefully avoid startling you in the past. Then find a bigger parking lot to practise your turns in

With our bike you can control the throttle really well by just pulling the palm of your hand back towards you. The friction off your glove and the grips will be more then enough for you to hold the throttle in position. On longer rides you'll need a firmer grip, but you get the idea.

Remember there's people out there who have been in worse accidents and gotten back on their bikes, so you can do it to. Hope to see you back out there.

Ohh:
Touch Up Paint

[Shiv]

Well welcome to the forums first and foremost.


Secondly, it sounds like you already know what you did wrong. Target fixation. Look where you want to go. You looked at the curb and you ended up there, next time look through the turn and you'll end up on the other side of the turn and be like "whoo!"

Best way to get over your confidence problem, in my opinion, would be to just hop back on the beast, do that corner again, and this time don't fixate. You'll be on the other side going "whoo!" and then you've conquered that part and you can go from there.

[JCS]

I'm replying using my husband's screenname. He showed my your post because I've had similar experiences. I've been riding about 7 years and have had several "indiscretions", most just requiring a turn signal or clutch lever.

One thing about riding a motorcycle, it's not a question of whether you'll go down, it's only when and how badly. Everybody I know has put their bike down one time or another. And you will do damage to the bike and yourself. That's why it's important to buy and wear the gear.

The only time I've really had more than a parking lot oops, two years ago I low-sided going around a curve in eastern Kentucky (about 200 miles from home). I was going a shade bit too fast (about 55), panicked and grabbed too much front brake instead of leaning and did a Superman slide on my chest across 20 feet of pavement. My husband caught my action in his mirror and about had a heart attack. By the time he got turned around I had managed to hit the kill switch. The EMS people decided that I was okay. And I was. Except for a slightly jammed thumb and slightly more bummed up knee, I was fine. I did scrape up the front of my leather jacket quite abit and put a whole in the knee of my leather riding pants. Also got a hole in my boot and a silver dollar sized scrape on the chin piece of my helmet. If I hadn't been wearing the gear, things would have been alot worse.

I did some damage to the bike; broke another turn signal and bent the pipe. My saddlebag caught the bulk of the damage. The police officer who came out (but didn't cite me) directed us to a body shop just a couple of miles away who bent the pipe back to almost normal. Getting back on the bike was tough, but I had no choice.

We continued on to our destination which happened to be meeting up with some other sports-tourers for a ride the next day. When we arrived I asked for (demanded), Advil, ice and beer, not necessarily in that order. I did ride behind my husband for that ride, but I rode myself home the following day.

My advise, get back on, be careful, think about what you're doing but don't obsess. It might be hard but will be worth it. Ride your own pace, don't let others push you into going faster than you want to. I found it very helpful to ride the same route many, many times until I was comfortable with every stop, curve and turn, then I could work on particular skills or problem areas. But most important, WEAR THE GEAR ALL THE TIME!

I'm the first to admit that I lost some confidence after that. I'm much more tentative than before but I'm hopeful that time will cure some of that. I still managed to put about 7,000 miles on my bike last summer. I'll never be able to keep up with some people but the people I ride with will wait for me!

Good luck, you can do it!

Jean, "Ms JCS"

[blues2cruise]

I lost my confidence not because of anything I did, but because I had such a bad instructor.
Then the Yamaha dealer suggested I call a particular man who does one on one training.
I had a few lessons with the private instructor and it made a tremendous difference. It was worth the extra money because not only did I get licensed the first try...I now have close to 11,000 km on my bike in less than a year.
I can now ride with ease with a couple of different riding clubs.

[ejshotgun]

Practice, Practice, PRACTICE!!!!!!

Don't worry about the little mistakes you make while you’re learning. The great thing is your taking your time to learn. Don't get discouraged, everybody makes mistakes weather your a seasoned rider or not.
Keep at it you'll get it!

I think the most important thing to remember is "Respect your Ride". Don't ever let your guard down. You’re Butts out on line every time you’re on your Ride.
Pretty soon you'll be enjoying every minute your astride your Scoot.

I think this sums it up...

"You, The Machine and The Road".

[SilverMist]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am a firm believer in practice makes perfect. It was a shame that this happened so early in my riding career. It really shook me up. The MSF courses are great and I strongly encourage anyone looking to ride to do them, but they give you a false sense of security. Luckily, I've been around bikes long enough to realize how wrong that assumption is and that you need to practice a lot.

Mintbread, my husband was implying that your hand hardly moves when rolling on the throttle. I watched his a lot while riding with him and you can barely see it move. He said all the pressure was applied with his fingers against his palm.

Sev, thanks for the link. Unfortunately, they don't have the '06 paint out yet. I keep checking with Honda. How did you handle the scratches on the engine cover. I've got a few of those, too.

[JustJames]

Mintbread, gave a very solid point about your wrist position. I have seen alot of new riders including myself position right wrist too high becuz we think that we help too roll the throttle easier.

WRONG IDEA!!! At very low gear like 1st or 2nd gear, modern motorcycles, especially sport bike/big engine, do not need a full throttle too move and imagine while you're making a turn, both your hands tried to control/turn the handle bar instead of paying attention on throttle.

BTW sorry to hear about your incident, things happen and noone perfects. You've learnt for the best, you've known what right or wrong. you might paid abit too much for this lesson but that will earn back overtime.

I hope you understand what i'm trying to say, if not please ignore my comment . My english is pretty poor as someone already mentioned.

[Kal]

I dropped CeeGee last summer. I was 90 miles from home and already late for an appointment so I picked her up and kept riding.

My wrist hurt and I was in shock so I rode slow taking extra care about everything. Later trying to ride home I had to stop and have my partner come pick me up as my wrist wasnt allowing me to grip my throttle.

Turns out I'd broken a couple of small bones in my wrist and I was off my bike for nearly two months. Knowing that the fear gets worse the longer it isnt attended to I went pillion a couple of times with friends.

After the cast came off I took her for little rides round my area for a few days.

It all comes down to having the determination that you will ride and not letting yourself be scared off.

Take the bike out to a practise area. Do a few long straight runs and walk the bike round to go back as you feel better about it move on to turning the bike round under a small amount of power - walking pace - and then just build up the exercises until you dont even think about that corner drop anymore.