Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I got my first quad when I was seven, and I rode that regularly until my dad sold it when I turned sixteen. Other than two one-minute rides on mini bikes in my youth, my first real motorcycle ride (and first street bike ride) was on my brother-in-law's Ninja 600 when I was maybe seventeen. I rode it all around the countryside where he lived (boonies of western Ohio) and had a blast. I got another quad in 2001 (an '01 Yamaha Warrior) and rode that all around the deserts of Las Vegas and at Haspin Acres in Southeast Indiana. I sold the quad in '02 when I divorced and took $800.00 of the proceeds and bought a 1978 Honda CX500. It only had a little over 9,000 original miles, and my buddy had an '82 GL500i (same engine) which I had ridden a bit so I knew it was a good, solid scoot. I paid cash for the bike and rode it home with no helmet, no gear, no plate, and no learner's permit. I got it registered and insured, picked up a second-hand helmet, and proceeded to put over 3,000 miles on it without so much as a permit, including a two day trip to Detroit. After the engine blew I parted it out on eBay, came into some money, and bought an '84 NightHawk 700SC. I rode the NightHawk for 1-1/2 seasons without a permit and put over 9,000 miles on it in that time. I finally picked up a permit in the spring of '04 and traded the NightHawk in for my present bike on July 31st of '04. I just renewed my permit this spring and finally got licensed over the summer.

When I first bought the CX500 I looked into the MSF but found it booked-up six months in advance. Being an ISTP personality type, I don't care for instruction anyway and prefer to learn on my own, so the MSF course probably wouldn't have done anything for me (I have a habit of pissing off teachers).

I don't know , after 47 years of riding I think I may be at the apogee of my learning curve.............. But one never knows , does one?
Regards, Wizzard

Wizzard wrote:I don't know , after 47 years of riding I think I may be at the apogee of my learning curve.............. But one never knows , does one?
Regards, Wizzard

I hope I never reach my apogee,

I am one of the ones that seem to be able to jump on anything and make it go, bikes, cars, buses, dump trucks???. BUT this is not what all of the learning curve is about. It's developing that (instinct, reaction, whatever you want to call it") that keeps you alive and upright when riding. It's the when to do what thing. I am finding this hard to put into words but timing is so important, the decisions you make on the road are vital. Some guy's do this naturally and just know when that car is going to pull out or when they need to slow down, most of us have to work damn hard to aquire this. There is no substitute for experiance and the more you ride the better it gets but complacency can creep in, you have to stay on your game all the time. You have to work at being the best rider you can and that does not mean fastest. Many guy's come off the dirt as experianced motor cycle riders but have no road sense at all. You have to be cynical. There are things on the road that can kill you, most of them are other people. Sure biking is fun, but only when you get to the other side in one piece.

sapaul wrote:It's developing that (instinct, reaction, whatever you want to call it") that keeps you alive and upright when riding.

True, but so much easier in a bus! Yeah CDL drivers!

Sometimes you all take life way too seriously . Now for the best and later for the garbage . Lighten up and have some serious phun phriends . Oops , hope no one has too much trouble with my spelling............ like I really give a damn .
Regards, Wizzard

I don't even remember a learning curve. And when i returned to riding 30 some years later...it was more like a vertical line. I just wanted to go, so I did. No interest whatsoever in how long it took or how hard it was...just had fun like the Wiz said. Bought the bike about a week before I hit the road, whatever that means.