My first solo ride

[bull]

Got my Bike Monday last week and the following Friday good ole Uncle B escorted me down to the nice big carpark here in Upper Hutt and proceeded to explain some basics of riding. I had not ridden a bike since back in August doing my BHS with Roadsafe so was pretty frickin nervous. We did a fair few laps of the carpark and then moved on to some emergency braking @50km/h. First few times were getting used to the bike and the last few i had managed to cut the distance in half (still long but alot better than first ones).

Well tonight i decided i was going to venture out again but this time i was alone. Went north to Gillespies Road and then south to Camp road, stopping in at the GM's carpark for some more emergency braking practice and a few laps, and also took some time to focus on the low speed(walking pace) control. From here i then headed down to Camp Road then took a few back roads back to Wallaceville and back out onto Fegusson drive. Cruisng up to the whakatiki roundabout i got to witness first hand what all bikers had said, Grey Haired lady just enters the roundabout from my left(give way dammit) without even seeing me, luckily i had eased right off just in case, i was allready into the roundabout when she decided to enter too. So thanks all for the advice about the cages not seeing us(too true). Cruised up to Upper Hutt and then proceeded back home to Timberlea.

Good Things i found,
- I liked leaning into the chicane at the joining of Ararino and Miro Streets, nice left to right then right to left.
- The Hyosung has nice quick pickup under decent throttle
- Felt even more at ease on the road than last time
- Was very traffic aware and kept good safe following distances
- Bike is quite stable in the wind with my heavy frame on it and doing around 90km/h

Bugger things i found,
- old lady not seeing me at the roundabout
- stalled twice whilst at intersections, one was hill other was flat
- ran wide when going from stop sign into a right hand street, thought id collect the curb but just looked where i wanted to go and made it around.
- The Learners 70km/h restriction is hard to stick to.

So for my first solo ride i was stoked, was ou for about an hr and when i got home i was buzzing, bring on the fine weather tomorrow night!!!

[Toaster]

ahhhhh brings back memories! keep it up...... you gotta watch out for them old ladies. One cost me dearly once.... it hurt too (and I was in a car).

hows that bike going?

[bull]

The bike feels brilliant, plenty of power for noob like me, though after hitting 92km/h i can see why bikes like to go faster and faster. Stable as and purrs along for me. My 6ft and 125kg keeps it stuck like glue to the road even in tonights wind here in Upper Hutt. Bloody glad i picked the physically biggish hyo instead of a smaller sized 250cc.

[Toaster]

Yep good idea, otherwise you just get cramped up. Good stuff..... you must give it a go over the rimutakas.

[bell]

Memories indeed as toaster said. You raise some very valid points there - bikes being 'invisible', anticipating problems, maintaining good following distances (92% of drivers could do with some of this being drilled into them, for example, a mandatory rear-ending from a heavy vehicle should be part of the driving test...), sorry, divulged one of my hobbies then.

Have you seen the site that ACC (I think) are behind - www.rideforever.co.nz ? It's got heaps of good tips and info. I learnt heaps when I was atarting out on 2 wheels by reading this and then going out and trying to remember the tips when I was next on the road.

The 70km/h limit is a touchy topic. I think there are quite a few riders that simply don't bother with it. The thing is that you'd have to be doing something fairly 'wrong' or 'noticeable' in order to have the police pull you over in the first instance. So, if you haven't got the Lplate on then you'll be buggered for that offence as well as whatever they've pulled you up for. Ride without Lplate - do 100 and most likely be left alone by the rest of the road users/police OR put the L plate on and have every 2nd dickhead behind the wheel of a car annoy you because of it....I chose the latter when I was on the L. I put it on, started out cautious - bike was flat out doing 100 anyway so 90 was a happy cruising speed, decided to go with the traffic flow and be extra conscious of holding up vehicles behind. That all worked well for me in the end as I picked up confidence and the skills grew (read: cornering speeds and lean angles increased...)

The Hyosung looks bloody good in black too eh. Thought about the 650 when I traded up recently. I would've gone for the black too.

Keep up the practise - your learning should never stop now you've been bitten by the biking bug. Pay due attention to the little voice in your head that says "oooh, that was a bit scary just then - FUCKING SLOW DOWN!!" Seriously, this little voice will save your ass many a time and give you a much better chance of seeing your kids into adulthood!

Take care out there.
bell

[skelstar]

Good stuff bro!...Uncle B deserves a medal (or beer) for all the help he does for the noobs around here (and his mates).

[Lissa]

Awesome... keep up the good work Bull, an interesting read .. would be interested in reading your next venture out . Ive been 'told' that its 'safer' to actually go the speed limit of 100 than at the 70 that learners have to.... not that I will be going on a motorway soon.

UB is a busy busy man... he certainly does deserve a medal, beer or muffins.

Edit/ do you find (walking speed) control hard? I found it really easy... infact I think I could ride at that speed quite easily forever... not sure the traffic would appreciate it though

[Maha]

The bike feels brilliant, plenty of power for noob like me, though after hitting 92km/h i can see why bikes like to go faster and faster. Stable as and purrs along for me. My 6ft and 125kg keeps it stuck like glue to the road even in tonights wind here in Upper Hutt. Bloody glad i picked the physically biggish hyo instead of a smaller sized 250cc.

I remember my first night ride, had been out with a horrible bunch from up Norf..... and it was also my first time 2up, first big ride on the Triumph and it started to rain also, on the way home.....
All part of the great thing we all do...... MOTORCYCLING......

[Uncle B]

Good on you for going out alone bull.
That car park is great for practising stuff and getting to know the bike and yourself.

Glad you experienced the "Opps, I didn't see you" without mishap. Now you know that they don't.

On ya mate

[gijoe1313]

All well and good! Sounds like you are putting theory and practice into practice! Yep, it's a lotta fun riding and learning about the fine art of motorcycling - take your time and keep reflecting on your journey to becoming a better biker!

[Roj]

So for my first solo ride i was stoked, was ou for about an hr and when i got home i was buzzing, bring on the fine weather tomorrow night!!!

Sounds like you are off to a good start, keep up the practise

[Kendog]

Nice one Bull! It's surprising how useful that slow speed practice stuff is, we try to get down to our local carpark/practice strip every few months to practice slow maneuvering, emergency braking, u-turns etc, must be due time I think! Keep up the practice.
Mrs KD.

[lukelin250]

enjoy learning to ride. its kinda like drug addiction your always chasing that great first buzz. honestly though its fun learning so much new stuff at once, cause as you get more and more experianced it gets more and more dangerous to learn new stuff cause you run out of things left to learn that are all that safe. come on a ride sometime mate that helps boost the skills a bit too.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Its fun aint it...

For your wide corner... as you said... look around the corner or look where you want to take the bike... It will naturally follow you as you lean the bike around and into the corner :-)