Newbie rider introduction & tales

[bezajel]

Hi!

I'm new to riding, and the forum... Got my license last week and my 'bike arrived Friday evening... I've got two days' practice under my belt... I think I'm about done with carparks, that got boring fast, but I'm still terrified of traffic! (I don't have any car experience to boost my confidence).

Anyway, pleased to meet you, look forward to posting other embarrassing adventures at some stage! :laugh:

Here's my notes from my first two days riding:

Saturday:

Well, I tried to around near the house, and kept stalling in the street so got annoyed. But then I made Neil ride us to a big carpark where I went round in circles and less regular shapes, got to know the clutch of my 'bike a bit better, tried to imagine cars and other obstacles in the empty carpark, and tried to get used to the idea of changing down gears rather than stopping in third.

Today:

I had another ride around in the carpark, and did a couple of practice hill starts. Then went for a little ride up the road. (First time on the road, squee!). I went to the end of the street that is a dead end, was doing a U-turn to get out and didn't quite fit in one turn, stopped the bike but then realised I was stuck right on the edge of the road where it sloped down into someone's garage, and I wasn't going to be able to wheel myself out. Doh! So I made use of my newly acquired hill start skills and slowly (inch by inch between stalls) got myself out of the hole. Then coming back I stalled in the middle of the road after trying to go real slow to let a car past - then stalled a few more times as I tried to start in 2nd by mistake. When I got back, Neil was about to ride out to rescue me 'cause I had taken too long!

I'm a noob - but it was fun though! So glad I got myself out of the hole :)

[imw-hornet]

Welcome to KB :)

Have fun and dont run before you can walk :banana:

Many happy hours riding your new bike :hug:

Cheers

[WasPhantom]

Yay! Welcome to the forum! Glad you didn't get stuck :D

[Griffin]

Hi and welcome to KB and the wonderful world of biking... once you get the bug you will never go back. Keep up the practice... we were all there once upon a time :cool:

[bezajel]

Have fun and dont run before you can walk :banana:



Thanks for the welcomes!

I plan to take it slow... must resist temptation to rush out there!

[Slyer]

Hey hey! Good luck with the praccy.
Was the bike that you did the basic handling skills test on much easier?

[Kiwi Graham]

Good on ya for joining the two wheel faternity. All will fall into place in good time. Enjoy!! you have the summer to look forward too and then there will be no stopping ya :msn-wink:

[fatzx10r]

hey welcome to kb. have fun with the new wheel's

[blacksheep]

:sunny:welcome,before you know it things will all just click into place and you will be away:scooter:
p.s go the yamahas:wari:

[NZsarge]

Welcome to KB, good choice of first bike, it will serve it's purpose well. Good luck and enjoy.

[Wingnut]

Hey there, Welcome.

Take your time with the learning thing. You will get there - each time you get out on the road is one more days experience. All the best:2thumbsup

[Rollestonchick]

Welcome to KB :hug: Wow you are doing well.:niceone: Every time you get on your :ride: , you will learn more and it will get easier:yes: Soon you will be whizzing around, especially as :cold: goes and we get more :sunny:. :rockon: girl

[chanceyy]

Slow & steady will serve you well .. welcome to the nut house :clap:

Btw even the most experienced riders will occasionally stall it so dunna worry it will come

[kiwifruit]

welcome to the site :sunny:

[BiK3RChiK]

Welcome to kb and riding, Bezajel. Sounds like you have some good support there... :sunny:

[normajeane]

Welcome from us down in the deep dark south and keep practising as it will improve your ability to notice what others are doing and your actions/reactions. All about defensive driving and being aware of what others are doing as well as the road conditons ahead. All in all it will make you a better cage driver in the end if you ever want to be one, :yes::calm:

[Monie]

[QUOTE=chanceyy;1692919] .. welcome to the nut house :clap:

/QUOTE]
I hope you are talking about people from your town ....... we are not nuts in kawaville ... well i am not sure about the neighbour

and welcome to KB .....

[EJK]

Woooohooo!!! Scorpio Riders Boom!

P.S. You've got a Scorpio, you rock! :niceone:

[dyls]

welcome from another newbie!!!

Best advice I got from people here was practise, practise, practise....the more you practise the more likely you are to come across situations that you haven't before...that you then learn to cope with (like getting stuck heading into someone's driveway for example) :)

Heard great things about your choice of bike so I'm sure it won't let you down! :woohoo:

Oh yeah...and don't hesitate to ask on here about ANYTHING you're unsure of...these crazy people are also incredibly helpful :Punk:

[sinfull]

Welcome ! Now get off here and out on that carpark some more ! Have yr man/mate throw the odd scarfe/flag (whatever, so long as it aint gonna toss ya off if ya hit it) in yr path and try some emergency stops ! (dont know how many times i've said this lol but here goes again) then try those emergency stops again in the wet !
Find some white lines and see what happens when ya brake on them (try with ya back brake first here though) Experience ya gain in that carpark may well save that pretty lil tush of yours, copping a nasty bruise you could avoid with a little knowledge !

[WasPhantom]

Welcome ! Now get off here and out on that carpark some more ! Have yr man/mate throw the odd scarfe/flag (whatever, so long as it aint gonna toss ya off if ya hit it) in yr path and try some emergency stops ! (dont know how many times i've said this lol but here goes again) then try those emergency stops again in the wet !
Find some white lines and see what happens when ya brake on them (try with ya back brake first here though) Experience ya gain in that carpark may well save that pretty lil tush of yours, copping a nasty bruise you could avoid with a little knowledge !

We have two way helmet comms (bluetooth), so while I look DAMN stupid standing at the side of this carpark, it's great because I can yell to stop at random times.

[sinfull]

We have two way helmet comms (bluetooth), so while I look DAMN stupid standing at the side of this carpark, it's great because I can yell to stop at random times.

Nice ! + 4 more characters

[portokiwi]

:niceone: Welcome and glad to see you are enjoying it allready.
Have fun and Stay safe.

[bezajel]

Hey hey! Good luck with the praccy.
Was the bike that you did the basic handling skills test on much easier?

I did my basic handling on a Suzuki 100cc something. I found the gear shift easier because it didn't have a heel thingy on it too, but then again the clutch was a LOT harder on my hand. It was less comfortable (gripping quite a square tank hurt my legs!!!), but I was on it for several hours (9-4).. overall, not really easier just slightly different.


Good on ya for joining the two wheel faternity. All will fall into place in good time. Enjoy!! you have the summer to look forward too and then there will be no stopping ya :msn-wink:

Looking forward to summer and having had enough practice to make the most of it!


welcome,before you know it things will all just click into place and you will be away
p.s go the yamahas

and \m/ the tootsie pop avatar, gets me every time.


Welcome from us down in the deep dark south and keep practising as it will improve your ability to notice what others are doing and your actions/reactions. All about defensive driving and being aware of what others are doing as well as the road conditons ahead. All in all it will make you a better cage driver in the end if you ever want to be one,

Yep I intend to keep practising to be as safe as possible on the road! (Really I'm a scaredy cat, which might not be too bad a thing!)


Woooohooo!!! Scorpio Riders Boom!

P.S. You've got a Scorpio, you rock! :niceone:

Yay Scorpio! I intended to get one anyway, but when the red one came out I knew it was for me :D


Welcome ! Now get off here and out on that carpark some more ! Have yr man/mate throw the odd scarfe/flag (whatever, so long as it aint gonna toss ya off if ya hit it) in yr path and try some emergency stops ! (dont know how many times i've said this lol but here goes again) then try those emergency stops again in the wet !
Find some white lines and see what happens when ya brake on them (try with ya back brake first here though) Experience ya gain in that carpark may well save that pretty lil tush of yours, copping a nasty bruise you could avoid with a little knowledge !

Good tips for trying the emergency braking! I did do my BHS in the pouring rain, but then again the idea of the emergency stop wasn't really emphasised that much...


welcome from another newbie!!!

Best advice I got from people here was practise, practise, practise....the more you practise the more likely you are to come across situations that you haven't before...that you then learn to cope with (like getting stuck heading into someone's driveway for example) :)

Heard great things about your choice of bike so I'm sure it won't let you down!

Oh yeah...and don't hesitate to ask on here about ANYTHING you're unsure of...these crazy people are also incredibly helpful

Thanks! Everyone seems super keen :D


We have two way helmet comms (bluetooth), so while I look DAMN stupid standing at the side of this carpark, it's great because I can yell to stop at random times.

When I'm confident enough to ride there myself, you can play around in the carpark, too!

[bezajel]

I got a little bit of riding in tonight to make sure I don't lose my meagre skills already... Only had one (bout of) stalls (slowing down in a corner too much in third, then trying to start up again in third...). Exactly the same place as yesterday, but going in the opposite direction...

Other than that all went well... drove back into the garage, parked, got off... went hmmmm Was might complain about it being slightly too far towards the middle of the garage... so started to wheel it around to move it aside... started to struggle to push the back wheel back over the slight step into the garage, wobbled a whole lot... then dropped her!! :(

Minor nicks on the handlebar, etc. Is it normal for petrol to leak out of the tank when the bike's on its side? Or was the cap perhaps not on quite securely enough?

Anyway, :doh: Had to happen some time!! Glad it was in the garage not on the street!

[NighthawkNZ]

Welcome to KB there is heaps of info here to browse through and digest

Take it easy, take your time, you will know when you are ready to go into the traffic.

Basic info, and though you are still learning... know your surroundings, try to think ahead, mind read... that stupid cage driver coming out of the blind corner that you can't see know what its going to do... know that there is going to be a seagull above you that is going to shit on your visor and you will have blurred vision... know that there is a manhole (errr person hole KB is PC) on that blind corner and can catch you by surprise in the wet... know that the 20 ton 18 wheeler truck hasn't seen you and is out to get you (basically every thing is out to get you)... after a while you will pick sense for it all... it takes time.

Be slow and methodical in your movements, till you get to know the bike and the bike gets to know you...

Kiwibiker is in the progress of revamping a mentor program so keep an eye on these threads and see if you can get a mentor in your area.

and most importantly... keep that grin on your face while riding :2thumbsup
have fun... stay safe

[blacksheep]

normal for a bit of petrol to come out,a quick tip for you when wheeling your steed around,always try and keep it leaning towards and or against your person.once most bikes are leaning away from you it is nearly impossible to keep them upright:niceone:

[CB ARGH]

wobbled a whole lot... then dropped her!! :(



YOWCH!

I learnt the hard way also, except I was lucky to learn with the old Honda XR200... Dropped that a few dozen times!

Best thing is it was in the garage, and not on the main road infront of hundreds of eyes.

GOOD LUCKIES!@!!

[Scorpygirl]

Welcome to KB!!! Hope you have a great time here. :niceone:

[Reido]

By now you've probably explored around KB quite a bit. And it truly is a mad house isnt it? lol

another piece of advice.. watch out for moving speed bumps. yes i swear they seem to jump out of the unusual places..

oh and good gloves keep your thumbs from freezing off :cold:

[Irontusk]

I had a similar 'wobbly' experience while trying to check the oil by myself, could they have made it any more difficult? It's not easy to hold the bike vertical while crouching down to ground level next to it! Give me a dipstick please Mr. Suzuki. I didn't drop it, but in future I think I'll have someone help me.

Good luck riding, learning is fun :) It's just so wet out there and I don't find the idea of getting my brand new bike covered in crap and maybe dropping it on a white line too appealing. Call me a wuss :bleh:

Oh another tip for moving it around the garage or whatever, get on it so you have a leg either side, feels easier from what I've done so far.

[Griffin]

wobbled a whole lot... then dropped her!!


Yeah that sucks... even worse if you have a larger bike cos getting the up off the ground is a bitch. The advice above about getting on your bike to move it - you may feel a little silly esp if in public but not as silly as you'd feel dropping it again... its good advice :)

At least not too much damage - hope it started ok again after - any excess smoke will be due to oil getting in places it shouldnt be but will clear up pretty quick.

[Irontusk]

any excess smoke will be due to oil getting in places it shouldnt

Yeah and for this reason, if you drop it, pick it up as soon as possible otherwise oil can get in the carbs and air filter. It's not worth trying if you might struggle and drop it again though..

[bezajel]

Best thing is it was in the garage, and not on the main road infront of hundreds of eyes.



I was quite glad of that! Then I shut the garage quite quick as soon as I had her upright again just in case a neighbour was watching!


By now you've probably explored around KB quite a bit. And it truly is a mad house isnt it? lol

another piece of advice.. watch out for moving speed bumps. yes i swear they seem to jump out of the unusual places..

oh and good gloves keep your thumbs from freezing off :cold:

My gloves are mediocre! (They're shit, says WasPhantom)... they're hand-me-downs from him. I think gloves might be the first post-bike gear purchase I get :D




Oh another tip for moving it around the garage or whatever, get on it so you have a leg either side, feels easier from what I've done so far.

I think I'll be doing that from now on....


Yeah and for this reason, if you drop it, pick it up as soon as possible otherwise oil can get in the carbs and air filter. It's not worth trying if you might struggle and drop it again though..

I picked it up quite quick 'cause I was worried about the petrol leaking... it was a bit of a struggle but not because of the size of the bike, mostly technique... haven't started it again since last night due to getting home late!