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As a Birthday present to me one of my friends volunteered to let me "break the ice" by riding his 500 cc Buell. I was also accompanied by another friend who visited me from out of town for my birthday. He told me he got up early during the week to make sure it was registered and insured which was really nice of him.

I was very nervous about it as we had a friend dump his bike very early on. Then never ride again, the man who did this was much larger than I was so I figured me dumping it would be no big deal.

So I followed my friend to an abandoned parking lot and I sit down on the motorcycle. He goes over some of the basics with me and then instructs me how to start the motorcycle.

I start the motorcycle and the thing starts shaking like crazy. It was rumbling and bumping all over the place. I thought I was nervous BEFORE I got on the bike. Now here I am sitting on this thing that won't stop jerking and bumping me in all these strange directions, and for some strange reason I also felt sad for the girl that took my virginity

Anyway, my friend told me not to give it any gas and just to let out the clutch to see where it catches, then ride.

I rode about 50 feet then stopped, part of me almost wanted to get off because I was very nervous, but I knew if I didn't tackle my apprehensions now I wouldn't last through the Safety Course in front of all those people.

My friends Saunter over to me and state "Ok, now you moved us out from the shade in the parking lot 50 feet into the sun." and start laughing. So I said "Is there anything else I need to know?" he replies "Just go have fun".

As I'm pulling away I hear "Don't go over any potholes! I haven't finished paying off the bike!"

So as I'm tooling around I'm trying to take corners SLOWLY but I realize that after a while once I get up to 10 mph the bike really smooths out. Unfortunately the corners in this lot were very tight and I wasn't just doing figure eights in the center of the parking lot. I took most of the corners at low speed and if I was going to fast I pulled in the clutch to slow myself down.

I must say that this is really where driving a stick paid off and reading these forums paid off. I listened to the engine because my hand was rolling on the throttle and had I not known how a clutch work I could've imagined myself letting go of the clutch and just wiping right out. Not to mention a host of other mistakes I could've made.

I have to say I had a BLAST (Buell...Blast?) after that, I was just cruising around the parking lot and having a terrific time. Part of me wanted to bring my video camera but I was afraid I'd end up on You Tube lol.

My friends even said my facial expressions change drastically between my first 50 feet and me doing laps around the islands in the lot.

After that I went out and got a helmet to wear and some boots, they only had dirt bike boots so I hope it's not a lot harder to shift in those than it was in shoes.

Now I'm ready to rock and roll!

Glad you experience the thrill and scary of a first ride


I'd wait for MSF though so you don't pick up too many bad habits. I don't intend to knit-pick and ruin your birthday fun (I know I know, party pooper), but this is the incorrect way to go about slowing down for a corner:

I took most of the corners at low speed and if I was going to fast I pulled in the clutch to slow myself down.

You should use both brakes for that before entering and set your corner speed prior. Then LOOK, PRESS, LEAN, ROLL. That keeps your suspension in the right.

Ok ok, happy birthday and I'm sure you're hooked on riding now!

Shorts wrote:Glad you experience the thrill and scary of a first ride


I'd wait for MSF though so you don't pick up too many bad habits. I don't intend to knit-pick and ruin your birthday fun (I know I know, party pooper), but this is the incorrect way to go about slowing down for a corner:

I took most of the corners at low speed and if I was going to fast I pulled in the clutch to slow myself down.

You should use both brakes for that before entering and set your corner speed prior. Then LOOK, PRESS, LEAN, ROLL. That keeps your suspension in the right.

Ok ok, happy birthday and I'm sure you're hooked on riding now!

I appreciate the tips always. The more I know before I go into the course the better!

Thanks for the Birthday Wishes

Brackstone wrote:I start the motorcycle and the thing starts shaking like crazy. It was rumbling and bumping all over the place. I thought I was nervous BEFORE I got on the bike. Now here I am sitting on this thing that won't stop jerking and bumping me in all these strange directions, and for some strange reason I also felt sad for the girl that took my virginity

Wow... I don't care who you are, that was funny... And yeah, I know the feeling...

Anyway, congrats on the first ride!!! One thing you'll have to keep in mind is that the Blast is a 500cc Thumper, it's got 1 cylinder, so it's more prone to vibration without cancellation than most multiple cylinder bikes. I'm glad you had fun though! Sounds like you did.
Wrider

Brackstone wrote:After that I went out and got a helmet to wear and some boots, they only had dirt bike boots so I hope it's not a lot harder to shift in those than it was in shoes.

Now I'm ready to rock and roll!

Damn dude, motocross boots are stiff as a bastrd, heavy, etc. They are designed to protect your ankles and whatnot when you are planting a foot to keep your dirt machine on it's wheels, make standing on the pegs for long periods of time more comfortable, etc. You will be much, much happier with a pair of street-specific boots.

Congratulations! Enjoy your MSF course and, like Shorts said, don't do too much beforehand. No sense in picking up bad habits.

RideYourRide wrote:

Brackstone wrote:After that I went out and got a helmet to wear and some boots, they only had dirt bike boots so I hope it's not a lot harder to shift in those than it was in shoes.

Now I'm ready to rock and roll!

Damn dude, motocross boots are stiff as a bastrd, heavy, etc. They are designed to protect your ankles and whatnot when you are planting a foot to keep your dirt machine on it's wheels, make standing on the pegs for long periods of time more comfortable, etc. You will be much, much happier with a pair of street-specific boots.

Yeah you are correct Ride.

I kind of psyched myself out in a way I didn't buy any equipment cause I kept thinking I was going to fail the test. So I waited till it was too late and I don't think I'll have enough time between this week and to get some regular motorcycle boots we'll have to see.

Not a lot of motorcycle shops in my area :\

That's an excellent story... It takes us all back to that "nervous / excited " feeling associated with the first ride!