https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/32198-Beren Kiwi Biker - New Zealand motorcycle community en Thu, 14 May 2026 20:16:26 GMT vBulletin 20 https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/images/BP-Brown/misc/rss.jpg https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/32198-Beren https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2069-Daft-Lessons-from-a-Learner-(Part-1-Probably!) Tue, 03 May 2011 22:22:03 GMT Day 4 of riding and I already think I can pass on advice? Hell no. Feel pretty lucky not to have had an off so far though so thought perhaps others could learn from my near screw ups. Day 1 – New bike is awesome – I own something that revs to 15,000rpm! I’m not sure I can adequately describe the... Day 4 of riding and I already think I can pass on advice? Hell no. Feel pretty lucky not to have had an off so far though so thought perhaps others could learn from my near screw ups.

Day 1 – New bike is awesome – I own something that revs to 15,000rpm! I’m not sure I can adequately describe the beautiful cry of your first bike howling, or the first time you feel something really pulling at your hands, suffice to say I came back in with a huge grin on my face. Stalling pulling away up hill onto the main road? Not so smart. Thankfully it’s a light bike so leg power got me across the road to safety before what had been a distant car became a really serious issue. Went and found quiet road to practice finding the balance point between releasing the back brake when the clutch is at bite point. Still a long way from perfect but at least I can do it now! Also learnt that heavy winds make life interesting oh and did I mention that my bike is awesome?

Day 2 – Commuting into Auckland from KKK. Perhaps a tiny bit of a steep learning curve but the bike is now my only form of transport. Absolutely epic feeling riding past all the stationary traffic into work down the Northern Motorway - I had an experienced rider with me showing me the way through and widening the gap a little in the traffic – much thanks. On the way home I found out that my helmet was utterly useless at night and it was driving rain. So I lifted the visor and drove home anyway, felt like someone was continuously firing BB Pellets at my face. After sitting on the motorway being pelted… then on SH16 being pelted my decision making ability was degrading – and I didn’t notice till it was nearly too late. Hit an unmade piece of road at 70ish and had a very interesting few seconds gently shedding speed before the slight turn that I knew I couldn’t make on the surface. Then decided I ought to work out how to put high beam on while riding along, and found myself on the centre line of the road, thankfully with nothing coming the other way. Got home absolutely knackered, the most tired mentally I have been for a long time. Must learn my brains warning signs that I need to take a break.

Day 3 – New Lid, AMAZING. I can see clearly now the tint has gone… have realised that my speed is a little erratic compared to what I would have been driving in the car. Driving in the wet I am entering corners pretty slow and then accelerating away once I know I have traction. Going to take a lot of learning how fast I can safely take corners in all conditions. Lane splitting on my own was absolutely fine as I found someone else to follow that was going at a speed I was comfortable at. Need to learn to shift down appropriately so that I have power when I then need to accelerate. Have found myself in 3rd several times when I should have been in 1st or 2nd.

Day 4 – First open road overtaking. Epic feeling when you start to realise that you really can drop a cog and zip past someone. Followed 2 minutes later by a big breath, which completely steamed up my lid doing 100ish on SH16. Only luck meant that I was on a straight piece and didn’t find anything to hit while I fiddled to get the lid open. Must learn to breath lightly, or get a scarf that covers nose and mouth ( which might stop my neck getting quite so cold too!). The commute took a full 30 minutes less this morning than it would in the car though. Felt like it was starting to come together a tiny bit more – then stalled at lights in town. D’oh!

There are probably LOADS of other things I am doing wrong in fact I can think of a few – but I know I don’t write well enough to make this blog longer! Also If I hadn’t spent a couple of years commuting on a push bike in the UK I wouldn’t have dreamt of immediately starting to commute. I already have a great respect for the unpredictability of traffic! ( I also have a couple hundred thou miles driving 4 wheels but that I have learnt means precisely naff all!)

The biggest things I think I really need to concentrate on getting better at…

Road Awareness – I think I’m ok, which almost certainly means I could be better.
Holding a steady speed – I tend to yo-yo a lot between 65 and 100ish on the back roads, must be irritating as hell to others.
Bike control at 20-30km/h in 2nd gear – bike is Very throttle sensitive at that speed and I am a bit jerky.
Pulling away more confidently.
Stopping at Junctions in the right gear, under power then on the brakes, better in every department actually.

Correct cornering speeds I guess I will gradually work out, once I have learnt to listen better to what the bike is telling me. ]]> Beren https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2069-Daft-Lessons-from-a-Learner-(Part-1-Probably!) https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2063-My-first-ever-bike-purchase Sat, 30 Apr 2011 10:38:55 GMT So I set out this morning with a small lump of cash and a desire to come home with a bike. I already knew that I wanted a naked bike and had a list of 6 potential bikes and an experienced biker whose opinion I trust. My list contained 3 Hornets and 3 Bandits - 5 private sales and 1 trade sale.... So I set out this morning with a small lump of cash and a desire to come home with a bike. I already knew that I wanted a naked bike and had a list of 6 potential bikes and an experienced biker whose opinion I trust.

My list contained 3 Hornets and 3 Bandits - 5 private sales and 1 trade sale. All my target bikes were 1994 or newer and apart from one all had less then 40,000kms on the clock. Shouldn't be too hard to find a decent bike from 6 candidates or so I thought...

Bike 1 - At first looked pretty straight, had obviously been dropped on both sides but nothing that would have been the end of the world... but it had been sat for 2 years not doing a lot. The engine just didn't sound great... it wasn't revving at all happilly perhaps it would have come right with some use but it just felt wrong. So bike one was scratched.

Bike 2 - Nice looking bike, a bit rough on the paintwork but hey I wasn't sure on the colour anyways. But on test it wasn't happy revving past about 5,000rpm and when it came to braking it umm didn't.

Bike 3 - Off to the dealership... bike just looked plain nasty unfortunately. However nevt door talked me into taking a Hyosung out for a test drive... actually really not a bad bike - plenty of pull from the V twin but it was over the budget. Still was leaving the riding of other bikes to my mate and got off with a huge grin on my face and the knowledge that whatever I get is going to be awesome!

Bike 4 - Sooo sooo sad. Bike looked awesome, rode brilliantly looked spotless. But then found a big chunk had broken off the crank case and had been stuck back on with araldite!

Bike 5 - Bent.

Bike 6 - Prayers were whispered to unknown gods on route to bike 6. Having been shopping for ohhh 5 hours at this point with an increasingly grumpy 8 year old and my will to live slowly sinking we pulled up at the final house. Walked down the drive to see an absolutely immaculate bandit sitting under a carport. The only modifications to the bike were braided brake lines and a new seat that really suited the bike. The clutch is a bit thin and seems like perhaps the carbs are a tiny bit out of balance... but overall we finally found ourselves my first bike.

The brother in law then rode it home for me and I now have an awesome new bike to start properly learning on tomorrow.

I guess I just wanted to pass on my days experience as a tale of buyer beware and if you look hard enough the right bike is out there waiting for you! ]]> Beren https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2063-My-first-ever-bike-purchase