OMG! 95km/h is FAST!

[happykamper]

Newbie alert!! Got home from work, and waiting for me in the garage was my new toy! Yep, the Spade has arrived! Took it out for a quick spin and found out that speed is waaay deceptive on a bike! What fun!

Man I need to practice hard before I consider riding to work... Accelerating is OK, but slowing down smoothly is a bit of an art!

[zeRax]

it ends up being the other way, ie 100 seems like 70
or some such drift

[shafty]

Congratulations Mate, well done and thanks for sharing your voyage of discovery - lookin forward to pics

[The Lone Rider]

Just wait til you start pulling 150K and above lol

[kickingzebra]

good stuff!!
Slowing down smoothly, you just got to think through the steps, blip the throttle, feather the clutch kick her down and easy on the brakes...

Or if you are keen, lock your forearms, get your eyes up and grab a load of front brake for frame cracking, nut crunching stoppies!!

[McJim]

Spadas are farily quick wee bikes. I remember the first time I did open road speeds. Thought it was a wee bit windy. Now I get bored at 100 :innocent:

[mojojojo]

Call me green, but i have to agree!

Hope as we get used to it that will change!

[<Rhino>]

Took it out for a quick spin and found out that speed is waaay deceptive on a bike!

Yup sure is for a start, First time I got on my bike I headed for a long straight at the back of Trentham camp, usualy nice quiet bit of road, good place to stretch the legs!! :scooter: I was gaining speed, started to feel like i wasn't going to be able to hold any longer on and get blown off the back of the bike like they do in the cartoons. I thought to myself, shit I must be doing one twenty.....looked down at the speedo........80kph :gob:

Been about six weeks now and you do get used to it pretty quick.

[mojojojo]

Have to say I am happy (at the moment) that the learners limit is 70km... comfortable speed I feel. Although in a few weeks I might not agree...

[piston broke]

great to see you honored your tm deal.
i bet you're glad you did now.
just my thoughts,but,when i get a new bike i find the fastest way to learn the brakes is to,
1.slowly at first put front brake on as hard as you dare till it feels like the back wheel is about to lift off the ground,do this until you fell comfortable at what ever speed,not silly speed tho.
2.once again,slowly at first, using the back brake only learn where it locks up.
3.i think i rely on about 70% front brake,changing down gears then back brakes.
that is how i emergency break(gotta be ready to do it at all times).
spend the hours and you will be one with your machine.
haumoana rocks,i'll get back home to the bay soon for a wave or two.
any of you better riders please explain braking in an understandable way.anyone can go fast,but you gotta be able to stop more.

[Drum]

Have to say I am happy (at the moment) that the learners limit is 70km... ....

Ha Ha, I give you less than a week 'till you pop that cherry!

[Griffin]

Call me green, but i have to agree!

Hope as we get used to it that will change!

It does :) Especially when you buy a bigger bike - suddenly you get up to 100 without even trying - the engine is hardly revving, the bike feels more solid and you look at your speedo and realise your actually breaking the speed limit.

I went through a huge perception adjustment going from my 250cc Cruiser to the C50T - and now I enjoy riding even more!!!

[buellbabe]

Newbie alert!! Got home from work, and waiting for me in the garage was my new toy! Yep, the Spade has arrived! Took it out for a quick spin and found out that speed is waaay deceptive on a bike! What fun!

Man I need to practice hard before I consider riding to work... Accelerating is OK, but slowing down smoothly is a bit of an art!

Puts a smile on my face to read something like that. Good on ya! may you have a lifetime of happy riding experiences!

There is a hill in Milford...and these days I don't ride that stretch of road much since I live on the other side of town... but yesterday I rode up it and thought back to the very first time I rode it on my trail bike. I can still remember marvelling at the power of the bike as I overtook a car going up this hill. It was a sweet feeling that will remain with me always.:love:

[90s]

Have to say I am happy (at the moment) that the learners limit is 70km... comfortable speed I feel. Although in a few weeks I might not agree...

Not so comfortable on the open rd or motorway with 120k wannabe cages up yer chuff though ...

[mojojojo]

Not so comfortable on the open rd or motorway with 120k wannabe cages up yer chuff though ...

heh, I bet you are right! I am still playing in town and on country roads! Not looking forward to my first experience of being overtaken by a truck... whoosh... :sweatdrop

[adamh]

first time i rode on open roads was the first time i had rode on the rode on a bike and i had to ride from auckland to taupo so i adjusted to the bike fairly quick and braking wasn't really aproblem after but saw arnms and wrists were for a couple of days lol and on an rg150 the speedo reads high so when i saw it saying 140 kmph i was shitting myself but was actually doing 115kmph following my parents in the car lol.

[speights_bud]

Have you somebody to give u a few tips and other things locally?

Send me a pm if u want

[mojojojo]

Well, I did the open road, and yep, a car whooshing past you about a metre away from your right hand is a little off putting! everyone else was good, but one car, i think he was trying to kill me!!

My stepdad came with me, patiently going at 80 with me.

Must be hard for you guys that help us new folk find our feet! It is appreciated though!

[Number One]

Ha Ha, I give you less than a week 'till you pop that cherry!
Indeed! :lol:

To HappyKamper and others just starting out...I don't mean to sound patronizing but it is cute to read your comments..takes me back a ways too :love:

[Irontusk]

Ok, first time out on my bike tonight.. I was stupid and think I touched 80 in a 50 (run-in period.. gotta vary the speed, you know?) bloody good fun! Gonna keep it toned down though..

[PrincessBandit]

Gosh, brings back memories! Remember the first time Katman took me for a buddy ride (him on his katana, me on the ginny) and when he opened up for me to follow suit i remember being only able to last for about 15 seconds at 100 kph cos it felt soooooooooo fast! Just take your time and before long you will be just like number one et al - looking back on this time with fond 'cute' memories. Good on you, just don't feel pushed to stretch those limits too quickly. In these early days you don't want an off to hamper the confidence you are building. :2thumbsup

[Irontusk]

Yeah I know what you mean Princess, I felt fine going at a speed that really was too fast for my first ride, but I'm not confident with the stopping.. Wierd feeling, 50km/h felt really quite slow but at the same time my stopping isn't up to scratch.

[fatzx10r]

if it feel's to fast, just close your eye's and it wont be so bad:eek5:

[sinfull]

Hey there HK, Good stuff to read man ! It'll all fall into place soon enough for ya ! Best thing ya could do is find a carpark somewhere and learn to stop quick, before ya learn to go quick !
Practise different combinations of front and back, then try them on wet white lines ! Totally different style needed on them whites !
On another note ! Not 100% sure where the hell that place name is where your at but get the feeling it aint far from the manawatu, so if your interested in meeting a few off here this thread Here (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&day=2008-8-30&c=0) will lead ya to a good night out where you will meet a mix of learners and experienced guys and gals !

[Bend-it]

Great stuff! You are among the minority of bikers who have a sense of self-preservation... Good!!

Just keep going at your own pace and don't let "I did 160 lane-splitting" type stories push you to go faster than you're comfortable...

Practicing braking and handling in an empty carpark is definitely good advice. It was the best thing I ever did! And will be doing again, with a year off riding and a new bike! woo hoo!!

[portokiwi]

:2thumbsup way to go mate enjoy.....Enjoy.....ENJOY:2thumbsup

[Irontusk]

if it feel's to fast, just close your eye's and it wont be so bad:eek5:


Wow, thanks for the advice, I'll keep that in mind :rolleyes:

Not really sure if I worded my post right.. it's not the speed that bothers me, it's being aware that slowing down is the hard part.

[toyboy]

Went for my first ride last Sunday for about 30 minutes (Auckland weather is just great for bikes in winter every day it rains!), only seemed fast when i poped the front visor open a little and got the wind noise coming in, this fogging up thing is a real paint in the ass, do those antifog systems work well?

[varminter]

The anti fog cloth thing works ok on glasses but not so hot on the visor. I open mine a crack until I get going and then again when I stop at traffic lights. When will it ever stop raining I hate riding in the wet, I keep thinking the bike will slide on corners (I know it won't if I don't play with the brakes)

[gunrunner]

[QUOTE=The Lone Rider;1678214]Just wait til you start pulling 150K and above

Then you realise the set of lights ahead and stop safely:done:

[happykamper]

In the words of McDonalds, "I'm lovin' it!". Taken the Spade in to work 3 times this week, and the cages scare the living crap out of me. Especially the ones who don't see me.

On the tech side, I'm getting loads more comfortable at 100km/h (aint no way I'm sticking to 70k with the 'tards on the roads around here - I'll risk the law on the grounds of common sense). I find I'm using the gears to slow down, possibly more than I should, and getting more confident leaning into the corners.

Had a good play in the car park just going round two manhole covers. I find slow manoeuvres harder than higher speed stuff. Just about getting the hang of feathering the clutch.

Really pleased with my Spade! This bike is just going to keep on giving and I can sense that I'll have heaps of fun - and then I'll get my full licence and probably go back to being a nervous wreck again!!