Was really impressed when I found this site, looks like just the kind of place I can enjoy meeting people and learning on. The ladies forum looks like somewhere I could be a lot, plus anywhere I can get technical help. Hee hee.
My name is Sarah, I'm 24 and married, and live in the city of Bristol, UK. I've been biking a year and 10 months and I'm at a decision making stage in my biking career.
I first thought about bikes when I helped my Dad get his old, ceased-up Honda C50 chassi into a trailer to take it to the dump. Very sad. He'd had it years, then it needed some work they couldn't afford or do himself, and it just sat there for years. I was 14. That thing was heavy!
When I was 16, I had a conversation with my Dad's Dad on the phone (my birthday) where he convinced me not to get a scooter because they were 'unstable'. (What can I say, I was an impressionable 'good girl'!) Ironically, and I can't say completely sadly, my Grandma and Grandad died not long later and not very far apart. It was only when I turned 18 that I learned my Grandad had put a large chunk of money aside for each of their grandchildren when they were born. I asked to put mine away until I was 21, when I finished uni. (Not sure how I came to such a wise decision).
Result: First job, need of transport, matured bond = insensible purchase of a bike for commuting!
I must admit. I naively went into a bike dealership near my work and told them I wanted a 125 (no 50s after my Grandad after all!) and to be on the road with the £1200 odd I had. Doh. I'm fairly sure I got diddled. Nevertheless, they did me a £750 125cc secondhand bike, jacket, helmet, gloves, waterproofs, tax and new MOT. Also, I don't know how it is in the states and the rest of the world, but in Britain, you have to complete a day course of compulsory-basic-training before you can ride. They threw that in too, and transported the bike to the test centre. 16+ can ride a 50, 18+ a 125; but neither can take a passenger or ride the motorway. This lasts for 2 years, when you have to re-take. At 21+, I could have taken a full test and ridden anything, anywhere, with anyone; but I didn't see myself passing it!
I did pass the CBT eventually. First time I didn't have motorcycle provisionment on my license, 2nd time they decided my bike was no good for a beginner (more of that later) and I rode a little 50cc Kymco (squeeeeel!!!!!!!) I have ADHD, verbal dyspraxia and dyslexic tendencies, so I found I could be perfect one minute, and rubbish the next. Hence my lack of confidence. After doing two perfect u-turns, the instructor told me to do one more and I'd pass. So I panicked and parked it in a tree. Doh. I just did it too fast, realised, and grabbed both handles to brake like you would on a pushbike. And went faster. Neither the bike nor I was damaged, I was barely doing 15mph, but they made me come back the next week to repeat it on my bike.
Now, my bike. My luv-er-ly little bike. You're all going to laugh, but please remember I didn't have a clue when I bought it. Also, no one thought I could ride it, let alone keep it nearly two years and never come off it!
I have a Malagutti madison 125cc, 2000 plate. I'm told they make good quad bikes and a decent 250. Being Italian, apparently they last well, but when they go wrong - they go really wrong. http://www.segundamano.es/vi/9835607.htm?ca=8_s The links will show you pics, I don't have any on the computer, but it's basically tall, and wide. Electric start and fully automatic. (Some would define automatics as mopeds I realise). NOT a beginner's bike and I'd probably suggest a bloke! I dropped it twice (in heels) when taking it off its stand, and being a skinny 5ft 7 I couldn't lift it up again. Almost knocked a row of Harleys and brand new Aprillas over at the dealer's. It also really hates the cold, I think my idle speed is set wrong, but anything below 2 degrees C and it stalls every time I stop or slow. And this winter here, that's been every day! I've learned how to handle it, but 0-60 (mph) in 10 seconds in out of the question, more like 60 seconds on the dual carriageway! Even in summer. I have also never seen another Malagutti, and very few have ever heard of them. Is that a British thing, or is there a reason there's not more about? I think they stopped making them in '06.
It doesn't help that I can't do anything to it. I could probably top up the oil if I tried. But the chain and the sides are all covered, and I wouldn't know where to start. Makes me a favourite customer in the local bike garages. I can do a few things on cars, and can learn more - but I don't drive one and my bike seems more risky. I did change the battery by myself though!
But I love my bike. I can fit 4 bags of shopping under the seat, as well as my locks and waterproofs. It also purrs as opposed to squealing like the 2-stroke 50s. It also looks more like a motorbike than a mophed. But not enough. I work at a secondary school, and you would not believe the jip I get about my "ped". It was only when I let a 15 year-old I teach sit on it off the stand that I started getting any kind of respect. I'm tiny beside him, and he couldn't believe I could wheel it out of the garage everyday. Looking around this site, I've noticed people talk about getting teased for having a 250 - I've no hope!
I have some pet hates as a biker.
1) I hate it when 16 year-olds (I hope they're that old) rev past and duck and dive in traffic on their 50s. I know it's ok for bikers to whiteline, but do they have to risk killing themselves and giving someone else a guilty conscience? I love it when I pull up at the lights on some of our dual-lane roads near here. They sit there, revving and giving you cheeky looks - asking for a race. My bike cannot do much, but it can leave even a de-restricted 50cc behind. My small guilty pleasure. (Saying that, remember my Dad from the beginning? He just hit 50 and treated himself to a bike after 20 years without. He got a Suzuki Marauder 125. And that leaves me behind. Beautiful).
2) Why is it, that when it is windy, car drivers insist on sitting right behind you and try to push you to speed? (It's 30mph here in residential areas). March is very windy here, and we all know what a powerful gust of wind is to a biker. What's worse, my road is a right turn down a steep hill. I can't speed cause I need to stop and pull over oncoming traffic. I try looking at drivers in the mirror and flash my brakelights, but people can be so impatient. Stupid thing is, for all my efforts, I'm the one that would be worse off if they hit me.
Ok. Rage over. I'm not an easily angered person.
On an ongoing note, my husband and I bought a flat in August (a miracle with house prices in the West-country), got married in October, and then survived the siege of Christmas. My poor bike is due MOT, tax and my CBT in May, and we might not be able to afford to do it all. I really want to take my full test, and get a 250 at least, but I don't see affording it. Anyone got any hope for me? Been through the money stuff?! Also, is there anyone out there who has had a Malagutti? I'd love to get some opinions on it. Especially if I have to sell it.
Anyway, hope I haven't bored you all with my not-quite-biking-adventures. Thankyou!
Sarah (and Craig, And Ben and Jerry - wanna-be biker doggies that are too big to sit up front).
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