Help for a girl just getting into it (oracle)

[Gibbo89]

He, another question. When I do start to seriosusly look at bikes what sort of mileage should I be looking to stay under? It doesn't need to last forever, just about 2 years so I can get my full and maybe upgrade at that point.

There is an fxr150 on trademe here that looks good and I like the fact that it has a service history available but am afraid the k's could be quite high

k's are not really relevant, it is to do with how well the bike has been maintained and serviced. an fxr would be a good bike to learn on. you will find bikes with high k's are still running really well, if the proper servicing has taken place. and, of course, just get a pre purchase check if your getting a bike privately.

[oracle]

Hey everyone, I've bought the fxr and it got delivered today, now I just have to get my licence. Basic handling skills test and training booked for the 19th through riderskills so will likely be slowly out on the road by the end of the month.

[slofox]

Hey everyone, I've bought the fxr and it got delivered today, now I just have to get my licence. Basic handling skills test and training booked for the 19th through riderskills so will likely be slowly out on the road by the end of the month.

Well done - have fun!!

[Henk]

If you want to see what FXRs with decent tyres are capable of turn up at the bucket meet next weekend at Mt Wellington for a look.

[Gone Burger]

Well done miss. I'm sure you'll have a blast on your new bike. Now go get the licence

[Gibbo89]

Hey everyone, I've bought the fxr and it got delivered today, now I just have to get my licence. Basic handling skills test and training booked for the 19th through riderskills so will likely be slowly out on the road by the end of the month.

congrats.

[tate35]

Best to learn away from the road if you can. A small dirt bike in a paddock is my suggestion.
Welcome to the site

Yes like Kiwifruit says, "learn on a small dirtbike in a paddock". That's how I first learnt, on a little xr100 down at our local river, away from trafffic and mayhem, learning on a small dirt or trail bike will give you lots of confidence. Good luck

[oracle]

If anyone is interested, I just got my learner's today (not just laziness needed to make sure I had ID for when my mate from Otago was up). Didn't get a chance to ride today cause I'm a bit crook but am aiming for Friday. Cleaned the chain on the fxr today though and they guy who owned it before me kept the rest of it in pretty good condition but my god the chain was shocking caked in crap and took an hour and about half a litre of kero to clean it all off. Never again will I let it get that bad if for no other reason than the time!

[Neshi]

congratulations on the license, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I first stepped on the bike!
good to hear you really care for the bike

[Gone Burger]

Congrats girl. No stopping you now! License - check. Bike - check. Ready to roll!

[Scorp]

If anyone is interested, I just got my learner's today (not just laziness needed to make sure I had ID for when my mate from Otago was up). Didn't get a chance to ride today cause I'm a bit crook but am aiming for Friday. Cleaned the chain on the fxr today though and they guy who owned it before me kept the rest of it in pretty good condition but my god the chain was shocking caked in crap and took an hour and about half a litre of kero to clean it all off. Never again will I let it get that bad if for no other reason than the time!

Congrats and enjoy riding on and learning from your new machine!

From the sounds of that chain you might want to take it for a spin down to the local Suzi dealer and ask them to have a look at it though. Just a thought.

[oracle]

From the sounds of that chain you might want to take it for a spin down to the local Suzi dealer and ask them to have a look at it though. Just a thought.

Yeah I'm planning on doing that as soon as I have enough confidence to ride to it cause it's got a bit of rust on the outside as well

[Roadsafe Nelson]

I'd be a much worse rider without a systematic application of learning and practice. Get any training you can, read everything you can. Knowledge is power.

I've still got a lot to work on (and probably will do until the day I die), but at least whenever I go out and ride I feel completely in control of the bike. It's not about over-confidence, it's about having a grasp of the mental and physical aspects of riding so that the bike simply does what you want it to do, rather than you fighting against it.

Bingo.. good point! Education is the secret to safe riding..Learn in a friendly, low pressure environment where you learn the skills necessary to keep yourself and others safe on the road, Gain confidence and have FUN while riding!

[oracle]

So after the lurgy and then being too busy to take out the bike, I tried yesterday to find (with no surprise really) that the battery was flat. After giving it a charge overnight I tried again today. Started off great, pulled out of the driveway and within 10 seconds was going over twice what I had ever done (in the BHS). I'm thinking "this is great", but then things started to change. I wasn't getting as much power for the same amount of throttle and then no power whatsoever. Got to the end of the road and the roundabout and the bike just died. Tried starting it again and wouldn't turn over. With a queue forming behind me I started to panic and whilst trying to push the bike off the road I accidentally let it down. No real damage, just a crack and a bit scuffed up of the plastic of the wing mirror. After a the person behind me very nicely helped me get it back up and onto the footpath I had to look for the mirror which had popped out. I got help from another nice person who found it and let me use her driveway to figure out what was wrong. Thinking of the problem with the throttle before it died, reminded me of threads I've read where people run out of fuel. But I knew the tank was about half full, so that couldn't be it. That's when I remembered about the fuel tap... which I forgot to turn on I turned the tap and tried to get out of there as quick as possible before her biker partner realised my stupid mistake
After that very noob mistake, the rest of the ride was awesome! A few idiots pulling out where the gap wasn't big enough, I was keeping an eye on them so was expecting it and the only time I stalled was whilst trying to do a hilstart on a big hill at another roundabout (definitely need more practise at those, well at everything really).
Anyway, despite the (what I consider) little hiccup, I definitely enjoy riding and am looking forward to a longer ride tomorrow!

[Gone Burger]

That a girl! Believe me, MOST of us here have done very similar - both with the fuel tap and laying it down - oh and stalling Yes, I admit to all of the above in my first year of riding.

So well done for thinking it through, not getting too shaken up about laying her down, and then getting it going again and continuing on your ride. Its easy to let experiences like these put us off on the day. Pleased to hear you are heading out again tomorrow for another ride. Have a GREAT ride, and a safe one.

Its good fun learning isn't it? I love your attitude to it all