Hey ya group,
Riding weather is upon us here is N.Kentucky. I am a new rider and I feel like a novice has a few things to offer so here is my bit-o-wisdom for you nubes out there like me.
Tip #1: Do not buy a bike until you read "Motorcycles for Idiots"
This is a good complete novice approach to our new quest and gives many suggestions on selecting your new bike. Think, smaller = safer for a new rider. That being said, my first bike purchase, for a steal, is a 2003 RoadStar Midnight; yea, huge. This made sense to me at the time because I didn't want to grow out of my bike too quickly. Now my learning curve is going to be extended a bit in order to be crash free. I must be cautious and more then a bit patient at sewing my oats if I want to outgrow anything!
I am a confident auto driver and have always driven as if I was a biker, unbeknownst to me at the time. I am 46 and my Father taught me how to drive; assume that no other driver should be trusted to see me, and when in doubt, yield the right of way. But not all the confidence in the world would have kept me from my next tip.
Tip #2 Do not even think about riding without attending a novice riding class conducted by a MSF affiliate.
You will find that maybe half the class is made up of smart people just like you, only they have had some experience on bikes in the past. I had zero and the least in the class, one fella had about 2 years, 18 years ago. All the rest have been on and off bikes and owned them now. But one thing became evident as the learning began; No one should not, have been there.
I just completed the course this weekend and I am proud to say that I was one of the best students there, scoring perfect on the driving course and 98% on the written. Not bad I thought, but the real testing took place on the road today. My first putt was today and what a charge !
I headed out of the drive this afternoon and guess what…I looked like a novice for sure even though I was on my 1670cc and not the 125cc Suzuki ridden in class. I can tell you I would have never pulled that 1670cc out without that novice class under my belt though. It gave me the heads up confidence on the riding skills required to navigate a bike like that around and, it didn’t matter that I was on a 125cc or a 1670cc when it came to the skills I needed that the class taught me.
I stayed in the subdivision for an hour or so then made some “yahoo” calls. Then I did that some more; practicing what I had learned in the class. And that is my third and final tip.
Tip #3 Stay in the shallow end until our skill increases.
Yep I am and it is working out well. I even ventured across a four way intersection, but then back to an open parking lot for some more practice. I was able to ride with a few cars and even followed a school buss all in the relative safety of my suburban motorcycle course.
Today has been a good start on a fun activity and I couldn’t be happier that I finally decided to buy a bike. The instructors at Balance Dynamics here in N.Kentucky gave a fun and informative class and I probably should owe my life to them.
P.S. Do I really have to mention the sense that wearing a helmet makes

Kool Scootin to ya’s,
Xstar

Glad to hear you are approaching this methodically and carefully Xstar.

It takes some riding to get to a point where you are intuitive on these bikes. But you always need to be in a defensive mode. A good friend once told me there were two kinds of riders, those who had been down, and those who were going to be.

We have to ride with tremendous respect for the machine and the elements around us. I have made a few mistakes in my life that were rather costly in this regard, and they all happened subsequent to getting over confident and complacent about the bike and my skills.

Good to have you with us, take your time, and enjoy your bike.

GRAM

Thanks Gram for the reply.
You proby will not recall that I was once concidering lowering my Star using the flip. I posted here and got alot of good information on the matter. In the end I decided against that move, until maybe next season, so that I can learn about my bikes characteristics first. I think that is another good tip but I hope that it would be more like common sence for the readers. On praticing tight u's and 8's I have scraped the pegs alittle already!
More good weather is on the way here Thur-Sun. I'll let you all know how it's going and I'm sure I'll have a question or two I'll post else where here.

Ride solid,

Xstar

Xstar

I'm new....so this is way late.

When I started riding there were no courses of any kind. A lot of mistakes were made and some of us got into accidents we didn't walk away from. And we were the lucky ones.

Finally getting around to taking a riding course several years ago was one of the best investments I've ever made. It was humbling to realize how much I didn't know about riding.

Your advise is right on target!

I can recommend some other books that I have found to be well written & very informative.

STREET STRATEGIES - A Survival Guide For Motorcyclists

Proficient Motorcycling - The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well

MORE Proficient Motorcycling - Mastering The Ride

All of these books were written by David Hough and published by BOWTIE Press

I hope you enjoy riding as much as I have! They say....it's the next best thing to flying without leaving the ground.

Ride Safe.

Gary

Xstar, way more sensible than the way I learned. I started riding so I could white line the freeways of LA (Ventura, Santa Monica, Hollywood...) so I didn't have to sit in the traffic to get to work, no formal training or instruction. I was very young but I learned defensive riding real quick, it was literally that or die. My kids will not learn this way!!!