I introduced myself here a week or so ago... I’m a 44 year old male and have always been insanely curious about riding motorcycles. I never had a dirtbike as a kid, though I got to ride them (and couple scooters) on occasion and loved the feeling. So, each summer for the past decade or so I’ve considered taking the local MSF course to learn how to ride and get a sense of whether I’d be comfortable moving forward with this. This year I decided to do it. My oldest son is going to college and my youngest is starting high school. Time is marching on. Mid-life crisis behavior is in order!
I took the class in mid-July. It was difficult, and after the very long first day I was questioning the whole idea. The class was difficult! But the second day went better and I passed, losing points only for not quite being able to do a figure 8 without going outside the lines. I ended up buying a bike a little over a week after the class – a used Honda Nighthawk 250, the same bike I rode in class. We live on a dirt/gravel road in a small town that has only one main highway going through it. It’s a 45-50mph road with lots of twists and turns. hat bothered me at first because I wanted to go slower, say 30mph, to get comfortable. In fact, I was literally shaking the first time I took the bike out and got the speed up to 45 mph because I felt like any little movement would send the bike (and me) to the ground. I thought about this a read a bit and realized that I could relax – the bike isn’t nearly as ready to topple over at those speeds as I feared. So, a few days of riding on that road made me feel much better. I did very little slow practice, though I did stop in a parking lot for a few minutes (after riding about 8 miles going 50 mph…) I’d had the bike for about a week and decided to drive to work for the first time yesterday. The road for the first half of the trip is very similar, the same road that I take in town. Two lane, twisty, tree-lined highway with 45-50mph limits. Then some slower roads, and not too much traffic – one light! – and then I’m at work. So I made it to work. I even stopped off and got the bike inspected on my way in. I wore my gear (boots/pants/jacket/gloves/helmet) and changed and worked all day. Then came the ride home… I was in a bit of a hurry because we were having “family night” (with the oldest off to college, this is one of our last full family nights and we were going to see a movie.) I don't think that affected my driving, though, and everything was going fine, as I’m sure it usually is before an accident. Then, on a 35-40mph road that I have driven the car on daily for 17 years now, I completely underestimated a curve. I probably should have entered the curve at 15-20mph, but must have entered it at 35mph or so. There came a point that I remember distinctly when I realized that I had messed up. Perhaps if I had more experience I could have leaned more and made the turn. But I decided to just brake while going straight off the road. The second I hit the dirt/grass on the side of the rode, I went down hard on the pavement. (I was hoping to stop in the grass but the bike had other ideas.) Pretty much instantly I knew that I was okay. Nothing hurt much, and I got up and moved the bike off the road. The car behind me stopped and helped. Of course, I was embarassed beyond belief and shaking with panic, but assured the guy behind me I was okay. I called my wife (who is not a big fan of this motorcycle thing, by the way) and told her what happened. I couldn’t ride the bike because the gear shifter had bent too much. She came with my eldest son and we were able to roll the bike into our pickup truck and take it home. We even made it to the movie, though a later screening than we’d planned. Obviously, I’m feeling a complete lack of confidence. I’d like to get right back out, but there was some damage to the bike (the gear shifter mentioned, also one of the front blinkers broke, and possibly other problems I haven’t noticed.) I need to get it to a shop since I’m not mechanically-inclined at all. My main takeaway from this, other than BE CAREFUL ON CORNERS, is that I’d have been hurt much more if I didn’t have all that gear on. I have a nice big raspberry rash on my arm and can only imagine how bad that would be without the jacket’s protection. I have a sore left wrist, a bruised rib, and a slightly sore left ankle. But it could have been so much worse. I know the saying – there are riders who have dropped their bikes and those who will drop their bikes. But I didn’t want this to happen within two weeks of buying my first motorcycle, on the very first day I decided to drive to work. I thought I had cornering fairly well under control… I have no specific question (though – can a gear shifter be fixed by bending it back??) but mostly just wanted to share my experience. My decision not to lean further but to go straight off the road and stop there did not turn out well. And I know the real problem was going too fast into the curve to begin with. So, please share your thoughts as I try to regain the confidence to get back out there once I’ve healed up (and gotten the bike healed.) Sorry for the length! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. 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