My first ever bike!!!!

[Scooby Mike]

Hi folks,

Just thought I'd make my first post an exciting one and tell you about my recent bike purchase. After years of begging to be allowed a bike my wife finally relented (only cause she's now got a scooter) and said yes. Woo Hoo.

So, first thing this morning we paid a visit to Wellington Motorcycles and I secured myself a 2005 Hornet 250 with 1400kms on the clock!!!! We also spent an absolute fortune in there on gear and accessories but it's only money eh!

The guys in the shop couldn't have been more helpful and they really did give us loads of helpful advice which wasn't always "buy the most expensive gear" which is quite refreshing. We're both new to bikes so having people that are happy to answer some very stupid questions is always good.

I just need to wait patiently till Thursday for the bike to be delivered to the house and I'll be a happy man. So, if anyone sees a newbie biker with L plates on a shiny red Hornet please give me a wave and I'll do my best to wave back without dropping the bike!!!!

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p97/kiwicarles/Hornet1.jpg

Cheers
Mike

[hitch]

nice bike, nice colour. This is the best time out you could ever have, nothing beats a bike................ :scooter:

[mazz1972]

Great looking bike.....welcome to the "clan" and take care out there!!

[kiwifruit]

welcome to the site
enjoy the bike :)

[Trudes]

Ahhhh, that's pretty!!
Hi Mike, welcome to KB and to the nest of fellow Hornet folk here, (my hubby's just been kicked out, so there's room for new peoples!) I'm sure they'll all pop in to say hello! Ride safely and we'll hopefully see you around the roads, take it easy!:sunny: :scooter:

[TerminalAddict]

nice choice of bike :niceone:

[chanceyy]

nice bike .. now you can join the welly crew for some rides ;)

[Scooby Mike]

I only have 1 regret about the bike.....I said Thursday would be fine for delivery but I should have said tomorrow!!!!!

Never mind, I'll just need to spend the next 2 days sitting around the house in my new gear!

[Maha]

I'll just need to spend the next 2 days sitting around the house in my new gear!

Remember to take your helmet off if the phone rings, the person calling will think thye have rung MacDonalds....:yes:
Welcome to KB...have fun on the Hornet.....:scooter:

[crashe]

Welcome to KB.......

Check out BuckBuckNo1's thread on learning and training to ride thread.
It has lots of wonderful advise in his thread.

:yes: :yes: :yes: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter:

[NZsarge]

Good goin' dude, enjoy.

[dogsnbikes]

:scooter: Well done and welcome to the great outdoors........its a day you will never forget :yes:

takecare and expect the unexpected enyjoy your ride :rockon:

[yod]

nice, another central biker to tag along...will keep an eye out for ya mate

[klingon]

Yay! Welcome! Tell your wife she's welcome too (even if she only has a scooter, poor thing). I hope you got all the good safety gear for her, too. Falling from a scoot is every bit as ouchie as falling from a bike.

[Hawkeye]

Yay! Welcome! Tell your wife she's welcome too (even if she only has a scooter, poor thing). I hope you got all the good safety gear for her, too. Falling from a scoot is every bit as ouchie as falling from a bike.

Or better still. Tell her to get rid of that scooter thingy and get a real machine :shutup:

Nice bike there mate. Maybe see you out on the newbie rides sometime

And a word of warning. Don't feed the animals in here. They can bite

[elle-f]

Welcome. Today is the day!! have fun...dont worry about the weather - when i first got my bike it was persisting down and wouldnt stop for a week and i was totally frustrated because all i wanted to do was to get out on it.....mind you - just seeing the bike there was cool enough!

make good choices about the weather when you go out. its pretty freaky initially riding in traffic if you havent done it for ages.

[dnos]

Haha, its Thursday, and i bet your walking around the house in your gear again.
Good stuff on the new toy mate, enjoy it. But take it slow to begin with.
And welcome to KB :)

[Scooby Mike]

Well folks I couldn't wait so I called up Wellington Motorcycles yesterday and they were good enough to deliver the bike to me last night, woo hoo. The chap arrived at 16:30 on the dot with the bike strapped carefully in the back of the ute. Now that's what I call service.

He then hung around for a while and showed me round the bike and pointed out everything that I needed to know which for a beginner like me was ideal. A couple of interesting discoveries though....no reserve fuel tank (need to keep an eye on the not very reliable fuel guage and the kms) and the need to cancel the indicators!!!! It's something that I hadn't given much thought to but I just know I'm going to end up riding around indicating all the time for no reason after forgetting to cancel them!

Once he had gone I did the decent thing and took it for a little ride up the road to get a feel for it. WOW, I didn't do more than 30km/h and already I love it. My plan is to take it very easy indeed and to take things very slowly. Yesterday I spent maybe an hour or so just sitting on the bike and learning where things were without having to look down and then going up and down our street which is very quiet and has very little traffic. I want to be confident in low speed riding and handling before venturing out into the traffic so yesterday was just clutch control, using both brakes and trying to co-ordinate everything. I then did the decent thing and took some pictures of the Hornet!!!!

The scariest thing about the whole evening was my wife sitting on the bike and saying..."mmmmm, this feels nice, can I ride it as well?"...oh dear, this could be the end of a wonderful marriage! Mind you, if she can wait 9 months and I can get my full licence I can see an upgrade plan forming.....

Hopefully the weather will clear up a little bit tonight and I can go out and do more of the same and maybe head out for a little ride on some of the quieter roads around the house. I'd love to ride to work tomorrow as I have a half day but I'm not brave enough yet!

So, now that the bike has arrived am I still as excited? Oh yes.....I think I'm going to like being a Kiwi Biker.

[vifferman]

Good stuff, Mike! Welcome to Kiwi Biker! :wavey:

[Scooby Mike]

58486 58487

A couple of pictures folks

[Coyote]

...and the need to cancel the indicators!!!! It's something that I hadn't given much thought to but I just know I'm going to end up riding around indicating all the time for no reason after forgetting to cancel them!

Haha, most bikes have that (I only know of BMW's having self cancelling ones, I'm sure the Goldwing would). And you probably will make that mistake being a newbie. I still make that mistake once or twice and I'm on my full now :p

Awesome looking bike. And the motors in them are excellent. Also what's great about the little Hornets is that some big Hornet goodies can fit on them :D

[Scooby Mike]

Also what's great about the little Hornets is that some big Hornet goodies can fit on them :D

Oh dear, this could get costly! I've already seen a rear hugger which I really fancy. Mind you, it's been an expensive week with the bike, the scooter and 2 full sets of gear so I reckon I'll need to hold off doing anything to the bike for a while. Being a Scotsman means I can't spend money without some serious thought!!!

[Coyote]

Being a Scotsman means I can't spend money without some serious thought!!!
Ugh, I hate that side of me. Commonsense is holding me back. I would have a ZX10R in black without rego, wof, number plate and insurance now if I wasn't so blimmin cautious.

And unfortunatly the times I've felt like 'screw it, got to get me one' my parents are there to say no

[Trudes]

Oh dear, this could get costly!

Believe me, it does! Have a looky at this thread if you haven't already seen it:
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=32223
Not sure if he's updated it lately for the bars, bar ends and grips, and he's subsequently sold the grey/red hornet and gone to the dark side, but I still have mine.

[peasea]

Or better still. Tell her to get rid of that scooter thingy and get a real machine :shutup:

Nice bike there mate. Maybe see you out on the newbie rides sometime

And a word of warning. Don't feed the animals in here. They can bite


Good advice, especially after dark. Welcome to the world of motorcycles; there is no equal.

[Pommie Boy]

Nice work Mike, good to see you're on here already posting like crazy. Watch out for that Hawkeye guy - mind you he's from just south of your border so you might have something in common - a common hatred of us Southerners probably! You might have seen it already but there's a newbie ride this weekend if you can fit it around the game - http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=1243&day=2007-4-22&

Coll pictures of the bike tho mate - you'pre going to love it even more than you do already after a few weeks!:rockon:

[Hawkeye]

Believe me, it does! Have a looky at this thread if you haven't already seen it:
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=32223
Not sure if he's updated it lately for the bars, bar ends and grips, and he's subsequently sold the grey/red hornet and gone to the dark side, but I still have mine.

But looking at your profile Mrs KD, the dark side is already tempting you :innocent:

[Hawkeye]

Nice bike there mcarle. What part of Wellingtoon are you from?

[johnnyflash]

Well folks I couldn't wait so I called up Wellington Motorcycles yesterday and they were good enough to deliver the bike to me last night, woo hoo. CLIP..
and the need to cancel the indicators!!!! It's something that I hadn't given much thought to but I just know I'm going to end up riding around indicating all the time for no reason after forgetting to cancel them!
CLIP...
.

Hehehe, you have found one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment on modern bikes.. the non-cancelling indicators. man what a nightmare, you best learn real quick to get the habit of cancelling em as soon as the corner has been navigated or EVERY cage owner will take great pleasure in aiming for you... .. had a close call when I first came across em, and I learned "real fast" :shit:

[Kendog]

The scariest thing about the whole evening was my wife sitting on the bike and saying..."mmmmm, this feels nice, can I ride it as well?"...oh dear, this could be the end of a wonderful marriage! Mind you, if she can wait 9 months and I can get my full licence I can see an upgrade plan forming.....

A two bike family is the only way to go :yes:

Was good to meet you last night. Flick us a PM if you ever want to catch up to talk hornet stuff.

[86GSXR]

Very nice bike! Wishing you many happy years of riding ahead. There's nothing better! ENJOY:yes:

[Scooby Mike]

Nice bike there mcarle. What part of Wellingtoon are you from?

I'm up in Churton Park. So have the pleasure of cycling up the gorge on a regular basis!!!

[Scooby Mike]

A two bike family is the only way to go :yes:

Was good to meet you last night. Flick us a PM if you ever want to catch up to talk hornet stuff.

Thanks for that and I'm sure I'll be in touch soon. There are bound to be loads of questions that I haven't even thought of yet that I'll annoy you with in the near future.

I suppose you could say that we're already a 1.5 bike family seeing as my wife got a scooter a couple of days after I got the bike!!!! She's loving the scooter though so hopefully over time she'll want to progress up to a bike something like a 250 Hornet, say in about 12 months time! That could be quite handy indeed.

[johnnyflash]

CLIP...
She's loving the scooter though so hopefully over time she'll want to progress up to a bike something like a 250 Hornet, say in about 12 months time! That could be quite handy indeed.

I say Watson, I see a scheme afoot.... lol (and a bloody good one even if I say so miself :rockon:

[Pommie Boy]

If you give her your bike in a year Mike I can flog you mine if you want to upgrade when I head homewards - provided I don't bin it by then. Mrs KD will confirm that I had problems keeping it upright on the weekend!

[Scooby Mike]

If you give her your bike in a year Mike I can flog you mine if you want to upgrade when I head homewards - provided I don't bin it by then. Mrs KD will confirm that I had problems keeping it upright on the weekend!

Sounds like a plan to me. Obviously we'd be talking mates rates though!!!!

1 important point, who mentioned GIVING her the bike????? If she can afford it then she can buy it from me! :innocent:

So, you not staying in sunny Wellington long term then?

[speeding_ant]

Nice bike! Welcome to the site. Although I have to reccomend that you install an airhorn and beep at scooters. Post back to us when you get results. :rockon:

[Scamp]

1 important point, who mentioned GIVING her the bike????? If she can afford it then she can buy it from me!

:psst: Have you all heard he's a Scotsman?

Welcome to KB, enjoy riding!

And a wee message for your wife - first one up in the morning gets the hornet (let Mike ride the scooter) :dodge:

[Pommie Boy]

Ooh Scamp, that's harsh :gob: You just want another KB woman to go riding with up the hill :innocent:

[Scooby Mike]

Well the master plan has officially started and we're currently in phase 1.

Sharon decided she would like a little shot on the Hornet so we headed up to an empty car park on Wednesday morning where she played around on the bike for a while. After riding round for about 20 minutes at less than 30km/h she cam back with the biggest smile on her face and announced that "scooters are rubbish, I want a Hornet!"

Project risks highlighted at this stage:

Sharon drops my bike while practicing
She won't want to wait until I get my full licence therefore scuppering my plan
I fail to get my full licence

Evil genius at work!!!

Mike

[bistard]

Hey Mike,well done on the 'Evil Plan",so evil you could pin a tail on it & call it a weasel
Hows the accessory buying??

[Scooby Mike]

Hey Mike,well done on the 'Evil Plan",so evil you could pin a tail on it & call it a weasel
Hows the accessory buying??

The best bit is that I can actually see this plan maybe working!!! The downside is there are so many nice bikes out there so trying to work out which to go for in 12 months or so could be a problem!

Accessory wise it's been a quiet week. I got myself a paddock stand last weekend from TSS so have been using that most nights. I've bled the brakes and adjusted the clutch and front brake levers for a better and more comfortable fit but other than that I've been too busy riding the thing!

Very keen on a rear hugger though so I'll keep an eye out for one in the next few weeks.

How's the race bike coming along?

[bistard]

The Race Bike,will be back together this weekend,will be ready for first race meeting of the year a Taupo next month
Well,it sounds like you picked up a few things from the maintenance evening,bleeding brakes etc,well done,if you have any questions,just get a hold of me

[Scooby Mike]

The Race Bike,will be back together this weekend,will be ready for first race meeting of the year a Taupo next month
Well,it sounds like you picked up a few things from the maintenance evening,bleeding brakes etc,well done,if you have any questions,just get a hold of me

Superb, good luck with the racing. I assume you've checked that rear wheel alignment since the maintenance night???!!!!

I actually had a look at adjusting the chain but I chickened out of it when I started reading up on it from various different sources and got conflicting advice. The problem is that I can't remember what you said at the evening at yours.

I've got the hang of hanging over the bike to weight up the suspension before checking the tightness of the chain. That's cool. However where should I be checking how much play I have in the chain? Should this be at the slackest point in the chain? And how much slag should I have again? Sorry for being a pain but I just want to make sure I get it right!

When I was checking out out previously I thought it was all good but then I realised I was checking it too far to the rear. When I checked it towards the front sprocket the chain seemed pretty slack.

Mike

[CM2005]

Welcome. good on ya getting a bike!don't forget all cars are trying to kill you! the evil plan looks good!

[bistard]

Mike,the freeplay in the chain should be approx 10 to 15 mil,at the slackest part of the chain,where I showed you,remember to spin the wheel & check,the freeplay a couple of times,checking for tight spots

[Scooby Mike]

Superb that's for that. I just wasn't sure so wanted to check before doing anything. I reckon it's slightly slack then so I'll check it out tand adjust it tonight.

Thanks again
Mike

[Scooby Mike]

Hi folks,

Just a quick post to let you know that I've changed my username, mcarle was far too boring so it's now Scooby Mike....woo hoo!!!!!

Cheers
Mike