First real ride
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
First real ride
So here is my story:
Lets start with my riding background. First time a I rode I was 16. My cousin let me TRY to ride his yamaha 750 cruiser with no first hand instruction what so ever. His advice "Lever on the left = clutch, lever on right = brake, twist right handle = gas, 1 down and 4 up = gears". I ran it into my aunt's van trying to back it our the driveway. Spent all summer paying for the damage to both the bike and the van. Sucky Summer.
Skip to college and I'm 22. My neighbor Roger (marine, ex-motorcycle instructer) decides to teach me how to ride. What was the bike.... GSXR 1000. Needless to say I was definitely nervous learning on this bike. Believe it or not, everything went fine. I learned in the parking lot and then he let me take it out on the street. I rode it for about 6 blocks (15 min). Best advice he gave "If you don't know what to do, squeeze both hands". Got it. That bike was amazing. I kept it in a high gear the whole time just to make sure I wouldn't goose it and loose control. Even in 5th it pulled from 30 - 70 extremely fast!
Skip to last weekend and I'm 26. My brother gets a 02 yamaha yzf 600. He let's me take it out and enjoy it for the.......day! My first real ride. I rode for roughly two hours. Wow! Talk about a stress reliever, nothing like it. Sunny day, around 85 degrees, all back country roads. It was like a scene from a movie, with the shadows of trees covering parts of the road and the sun breaking through, hearing the sound of the engine and the wind hitting me, it was great!
I'm hooked. 
Now for the bad news. My wife of 2 months (just got married) HATES motorcycles.
Do I get my own motorcycle and enjoy sunday evenings riding with my brother....? You guys will be the first to know!
Lets start with my riding background. First time a I rode I was 16. My cousin let me TRY to ride his yamaha 750 cruiser with no first hand instruction what so ever. His advice "Lever on the left = clutch, lever on right = brake, twist right handle = gas, 1 down and 4 up = gears". I ran it into my aunt's van trying to back it our the driveway. Spent all summer paying for the damage to both the bike and the van. Sucky Summer.
Skip to college and I'm 22. My neighbor Roger (marine, ex-motorcycle instructer) decides to teach me how to ride. What was the bike.... GSXR 1000. Needless to say I was definitely nervous learning on this bike. Believe it or not, everything went fine. I learned in the parking lot and then he let me take it out on the street. I rode it for about 6 blocks (15 min). Best advice he gave "If you don't know what to do, squeeze both hands". Got it. That bike was amazing. I kept it in a high gear the whole time just to make sure I wouldn't goose it and loose control. Even in 5th it pulled from 30 - 70 extremely fast!
Skip to last weekend and I'm 26. My brother gets a 02 yamaha yzf 600. He let's me take it out and enjoy it for the.......day! My first real ride. I rode for roughly two hours. Wow! Talk about a stress reliever, nothing like it. Sunny day, around 85 degrees, all back country roads. It was like a scene from a movie, with the shadows of trees covering parts of the road and the sun breaking through, hearing the sound of the engine and the wind hitting me, it was great!
I'm hooked. Now for the bad news. My wife of 2 months (just got married) HATES motorcycles.
Do I get my own motorcycle and enjoy sunday evenings riding with my brother....? You guys will be the first to know!
Registered User
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,861
Likes: 0
From: PA
tough one man.....i say get a bike.....if nothing bad happens for a while (tickets, wrecks, less time with her) she will start hating them less and who knows...maybe enjoy a ride on the back once in a while.
tell her you're mainly getting it for gas mileage!
tell her you're mainly getting it for gas mileage!
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 20,306
Likes: 0
From: On the back wheel. . .
If you do get one and take her on it, make sure you go *very* slowly and carefully.
Once she is comfortable with that *gradually* increase your overall progress.
She will have a lot more confidence that way.
FWIW - I think you should get one, but then I'm biased as I think everyone should have one
Once she is comfortable with that *gradually* increase your overall progress.
She will have a lot more confidence that way.
FWIW - I think you should get one, but then I'm biased as I think everyone should have one
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
If I were a betting man, I would say she would NEVER get on the back of one. She is scared to death of them. It's kind of funny actually, opposites do attract:
Me -> Loves - S2000, snowboarding, wakeboarding, motorcycles, anything concerning speed/adrenalin, work in advertising.
Her -> Loves - working out, "so you think you can dance", safety, 4th grade school teacher.
Me -> Loves - S2000, snowboarding, wakeboarding, motorcycles, anything concerning speed/adrenalin, work in advertising.
Her -> Loves - working out, "so you think you can dance", safety, 4th grade school teacher.
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 13,471
Likes: 35
From: Upstate NY
Sign up for the MSF course to show her that you are serious about safety and learning to ride. Sign her up too! You can experience it together and she'll be more comfortable about letting you ride. She'll also be more comfortable about riding with you. Who knows, maybe she'll want her own bike.
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,490
Likes: 0
From: denver
motorcycle riding has changed, the riding gear now is effective and the bikes are much faster. i would say get the bike but go way out on the safety gear and wear it every day you ride. take the msf course, its a good starting point. depending on the type of bike do some track days.
-another thing:
don
-another thing:
don
