Made It!

 

I finished my MSF course this afternoon after two very hot days in the sun.
While it's amazing how far I came in two days, it's also amazing how little I
know even after doing everything they asked.  I still haven't been out of 2nd
gear.  I haven't ridden anywhere other than their training lot.... no traffic.
I guess that's up to me.

I recall from flight training that God often grants a special dispensation to
the young (not me) and inexperienced (me).  I'm hoping the offer still stands.

Speaking of aviation, one of my instructors said that riding a motorcycle is
second to flying an airplane in the hand/eye coordination required.  That being
said, I didn't have to learn how to fly in two days.

But anyway, it's done now.  Those of you who pointed me towards the MSF course
before I did anything else, I thank you.  I would have surely killed myself
trying to get my bike from point A to point B without any training.

I am gratified that I did not disgrace myself.  A bike got dropped and a rider
jumped off one.  I'm happy to say I wasn't involved in either event.

Tomorrow I'm off to the DMV to take their written test and get my motorcycle
endorsement.  Then it's off to the license plate bureau to register my new (to
me) 1982 Silverwing.  After that, I'll get it inspected.  That ride to get it
inspected may well be my first ride in traffic.  That may NOT happen tomorrow.
But I'll get started.

At this point I haven't ridden it at all.... it's just been sitting in my garage
for the last week waiting for me to get off the stick.  Knowing what I know now,
I'm glad I didn't give in to temptation.  I'd been heartbroken if I'd dropped
it.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

 

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:30:39 -0400, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
<mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote:


garage

now,

Congrats on completing the first step. That said the learning curve
has just begun and it can sometimes take time. You might want to
practice a bit with that Silverwing in an empty parking lot before you
head out into traffic. Like planes bikes are very unforgiving if you
make a mistake.

There are a couple of good riding technique teaching aids I might
recommend for you.

Ride Like a Pro
http://www.ridelikeapro.com/

Jerry Palladino will show you the three easy techniques to use to
control your bike through slow speed maneuvers. Buy the DVD. It is
well worth the money.

I'd also suggest you pick up David Hough's book Proficient
Motorcycling.
(Amazon.com product link shortened)

Excellent book if you are interested in improving your riding
techniques. Well written and an easy read.

If all of this has already been suggested to you, forget this post.

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.
  

--
See Ya On The Road


2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
2004 HD Road King

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.

 

Calgary wrote:

(Amazon.com product link shortened)


I've already got the Hough book along with his second in the series: "More
Proficient Motorcycling".  I'll look into the other one you mentioned.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

 


"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote in message

Congrats - and the above shows that you've also recognized
what you did NOT learn in the BRC, and that's at least as
important as what you did.  So congrats again for that.

Unfortunately, it IS up to you to go out now and subject
yourself to the real world (and vice-versa), which is full of
other vehicles (nearly all of which will be much, much larger
than you and your bike are), various road hazards, foul
weather, and the expectation on the part of those around you
that you ARE going to get out of second gear and ride
faster than 20 MPH.  You will - if you have the slightest bit
of sense and any awareness of your surroundings at all -
be...well, "scared" isn't what we're looking for here, but let's
just say you're likely to note that you are at a greatly heightened
state of, um, apprehension for a while.  That's OK, and to be
expected; use it to your advantage, and don't let it paralyze
you or keep you from enjoying the ride.


Yup, and another thing about this that's a lot like learning to
aviate - it's ALL "solo time" from here on out, at least outside
of those times when you go back and take some sort of
refresher training.  Even that, let's face it, is really "solo" - there
will never be an instructor sitting there next to you ready to
take the controls should you screw up.  It IS all in your own hands.
It's going to feel a lot like those first solo flights, with the exception
that on those there weren't a lot of other planes buzzing around
just a few feet away from you.


No, but then you didn't learn to ride a motorcycle in two days,
either.  You've learned enough to "go solo," even though yes, you
DO have (or will have soon) a license now that says you're an Official
By-God Motorcyclist.  If you were like most student pilots, I'll bet you
soloed in about the same number of hours as you currently have
on a bike - am I right?


Even if you had been, no disgrace to it.  Chances are still very,
very good that you'll drop your bike, perhaps more than once, over the
course of the next year.  Not that you should consider it inevitable, or
a sign that you'll "just never make it as a motorcyclist" if you do - but
if the bike gets dropped, you will be VERY far from the first new
rider to have done that.  Learn from it, congratulate yourself on surviving
the experience, and move on.


And if I could make one more suggestion - one of the best things you
could do, IMHO, is to continue working on the low-speed manuevers
you've been covering in the BRC.  Not to the exclusion of all else, to
be sure, but you can learn a lot about just how a bike handles and what
you can do with it - and at relatively low risk to both you and your
machine - at parking-lot speeds.

So again, congratulations and welcome.  Hope you enjoy it.

Bob M.

 

Bob Myers wrote:

Now that you mention it.... yes.  I soloed at 12.5 hours.   And I've "laid" two
down over the years... one with severe injuries; the other with only my wallet
injured.



It has occurred to me that I will want to do exactly that since my Silverwing is
considerably heavier than the Kawasaki Eliminator I've ridden for the last two
days.  I need to learn its quirks.



Thank you.  As I explained my purchase BEFORE the class:  now I'm obligated.
I've spent the money.  I might as well enjoy it.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com