First time "out" - AAR

[MrFrzZ]

Wanted to share this with everyone here, since I am a new rider and welcome any advice from those who have been running the mountains for a good bit.

Gorgeous day yesterday, so I took the my moped down to a small store beside my house. This was the first time I have been on a motorcycle, and although I didn't hit the main road to get there, I still had some problem solving to do.

The only thing I have been doing to date on the bike is backing the vehicles out of the garage and just letting the bike pull itself in gear, and stopping before I plow into the back of the garage. Back up, and repeat. Each time trying to get both feet up and slowly stop while maintaining balance. First time was pretty discouraging since I could get both feet up smoothly, but I was only going about 18' before I was at the back of the garage.

My driveway is steep and a gravel pit awaits me at the bottom, so I was at a pretty good 8.2 pucker factor yesterday morning when I pulled out of the garage. Smooth sailing down to the bottom and smoothly down the gravel portion (about 20 yards of unpaved road until I get to pavement) Stalled the bike pulling into the actually paved part, but made it to the store lot. HAd to deal with loose cinders here. Maintained an 8.2 pucker factor as I pulled across them and I already screwed up.

While I didnt drop the bike, and made it into the lot without issue, I did not square the bike up for the turn. I went into it at an angle. Had I not been going 3 mph, I'm sure the outcome had great potential to go south.

I pulled up into the parking lot, and eased into the throttle. I then let off, and slowed to a stop. repeated this process several times, and I'm getting more balanced with the vehicle once i've started to let the bike tell me what it needs to do.

After this I took a few laps around the store at about 8-10 mph. shifted into 2nd, and down into first to get used to the idea. my truck is a 6spd and I've driven manuals in my past, so the idea to have to shift gears is not a foreign concept - just a different application.

After this, I sped up to about 14-18 mph to get the idea and feel of countersteering going. Even going about 18, The bike feels like it is eager to get into the turn. It didnt feel heavy or sluggish, and I know I was only going that low speed, the bike gave me confidence in the turn, even making small adjustments. I did this for a couple of minutes and then found a planter to work on some Very low speed clutch/ rear brake only turns.

Worked on the low speed stuff quite a bit, and only had a few instances where I dropped a foot prior to freaking out, and one instance when I droped a foot and the throttle hand twisted. No bad outcome, but a lesson learned, nonetheless.

Repeated these things for a little while and then made the short 200 yard trek home. No issues into the driveway or up it into the garage. I'm extremely excited to get the plates and my permit and take it back to the parking lot next week. I wanted to get a few of these "sessions" in before getting on the road. MSF course slated for May.

I have to say I love this bike. It is a 2011 FZ6R with 1044 miles. I'll try to get some pictures up, but it is the burnt orange/ black themed bike.

Any advice/ ideas/ recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks Guys and gals,

 

[Superzoom]

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on selecting a great bike!

I was going to say you should really take a riding course, and was glad to read that you are going to do so. Your descriptions sounds quite hairy! I would certainly not want to deal with gravel while still learning. That is just way too difficult for someone still working on basic balance and clutch and brake control.

Continue to use extreme caution while on loose surfaces. You should only be braking with the rear brake while on gravel, for instance. And I sort of wish you would just wait until you take the course, as you will probably be quite surprised how much good stuff they teach you in just a few days.

Take care, and enjoy the bike!

 

[MrFrzZ]

Thanks for the advice. In all honesty, a lot of what I was trying to focus on WAS the use of the rear brake since all my previous experience was with bicycles and using the front brake on it. I am looking forward to the class, but am still nervous about it.

I explained to my wife that I dont want to be "comfortable" while riding because I dont want to lose that edge of being cautious and make a mistake and not be able to correct it, or realize too late that i made that mistake.

Just going to take time.

 

[BluePill]

If you look carefully at the photo, you will see a skid mark on the road behind the bike. I was running fast corners in the early spring, and came around to see the pile of leaves in the road. I applied both brakes as hard as I dared, then released the front brake just as the front tire got to the leaves. By using as much brake as I could when the traction was good, and releasing when it got bad, I managed to cut enough speed to just roll into the leaves and saved a crash. My point is that with time and experience, you will be able to make these good decisions by instinct.This was about 5 year ago, and I had 45 years of riding both dirt and street bikes by then.

I highly recommend to anyone who rides that they get as much dirt experience as possible, since off-road is much more forgiving and you learn about balance and proper brake usage much more quickly. Buying an old beater dirt bike is good, or at least try to borrow something to learn on. It's a great sport, but is also dangerous. Take your time and be careful.

 

[RoadTrip]

The FZ6R was my first real street bike and I was so scared I had the dealership deliver it to my house. I rode it up and down the streets by my house for a couple of weeks before finally taking it out of the neighborhood, but within a few months I was riding on longer trips at highway speeds. So, what you are experiencing is not that unusual. We all know that kid who could do no hand wheelies on their Schwinn bicycle, but for the rest of us a slow learning curve is the prudent course.

I am on my fourth bike now and have done about 50K miles in the past 5 years. I always tease my wife with that corny saying about 'no motorcycle parked in front of a psychiatrist office', but its basically true. I am addicted to the throttle, sound, and winding road ahead; I ride once a week for 2-5 hours and it still makes me giddy, no other hobby has ever lasted this long.

Concerning the danger aspect, its just something you have to live with in order to ride. For me the most important skill I have learned is Restraint. When I first started getting confident, I just wanted to wail on the throttle everywhere to get that rush. But, the harder thing is actually riding with restraint. As a street rider, you have to use your brain kinda like a little safety boss lording over your emotion, so you ride smooth and in control, I feel a reward in riding smart vs just riding fast.

Anyway, welcome to the addiction, Check out this video from Adey, he says it a lot better than I can:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyJ-bkfT2fU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyJ-bkfT2fU[/ame]

 

[MrFrzZ]

RT - The acceptance of danger is pretty much the reason my wife allowed the bike to come home with us. She and I have gone back and forth for the past 5 years over it. She dismissed it when we first got together and said it wouldnt happen (I was 24 then, and admittedly wanted to ride like a moron) Then we talked about a Can Am spyder and I had my doubts about it really filling that gap. After that was dismissed we owned a pontiac solstice for a few months before getting rid of it to buy our home. It was a fun ride, but I still had an itch somewhere in me.

Then the dealership had this bike for almost a year. She and I talked, fought, and then talked some more. It basically came down to me saying that no matter what I am doing, no matter what type of vehicle I am operating, I am going home when the Lord calls me there.

This put a lot in perspective for both of us actually. She started to accept it and I started to look more into the safety side of things.

Running mountain roads and winding twisties is what I have always wanted a bike for, and she knows this. But after just riding around a parking lot for an hour and getting used to the ideas of braking, throttle, etc. I Told her I really dont see myself being an overly aggressive rider because I just had a blast on that lot.

I also told her I would love to have a bike that I can take to a road track and run it in an environment that is as controlled as possible. This obviously is years down the road. Funny thing is, she wants a ninja 300 now, and since She will be takign the MSF course with me in May, She will start gaining knowledge from them and wont have any bad habits to break like I probably will.

I am looking forward to the MSF course and really developing as a responsible rider. Its funny because she always wanted me to get a cruiser. Now that we have the FZ, all she sees are cruiser riders with no protective gear other than boots and helmets, and only helmets if it is state law.

Your thoughts on riding with restraint are spot on. I know it is different, but I have felt myself do the same even when just driving my truck down the road. Do I downshift and mat the pedal, or just slow down and deal with it for another few seconds... I've been slowing things down a lot since I've entertained the mental scenarios on a motorcycle. Just being conscious of it makes me a better vehicle operator IMHO.

Now I know that certain situations may dictate a quick crakc on the throttle to avoid danger, and I hope my learning curve will begin to show me those times and employ that when necessary.

 

[Superzoom]

I also told her I would love to have a bike that I can take to a road track and run it in an environment that is as controlled as possible. This obviously is years down the road.

I would actually recommend doing a track day sooner rather than later. You could probably do this after less than a year of experience. I think a lot of tracks have courses for beginners. A lot of the technique they will teach you will translate directly to the twisty road riding you want to do.

 

[MrFrzZ]

Anyone ever experienced this when starting out?

So I took the bike back down to the parking lot I used a coupl of weeks ago this past Friday night. I took it down at around 7:30 to get used to what it will look like once it starts getting dark. Once again I'll say, I dont hit the main road to get to this location so no issues there.

I was pretty pleased with myself after the first time out so I was setting my bar high to exceed that for this time as far as slow speed maneuvering.

Needless to say I didnt meet that bar.

While working on tight u turns, I dropped my foot more, stalled the engine more, and just didnt feel like I trusted the bike to do what it needed and didnt relax and move my weight where i needed to put it. was a little more than frustrated. As the evening went on, things started to get better, but I was still disappointed in myself.

The only way I can describe or find something to equate it to is that it is kind of like shooting a gun. The first time or 2 that you shoot it, it surprises you when it fires. Then you start to anticipate the recoil and start missing your target. Only with practice do you start developing and learning how to control all aspects of the weapon and yourself.

MSF course in a month and I am hoping to get some confidence in myself before then.

 

[BzB]

slow speed maneuvers is pretty much all rear brake and first gear with little to no throttle. you're basically dragging the rear brake and letting the bike almost lug. if you feel it will stall just let up slightly on the rear brake to let the engine pick back up.

another thing is even in slow speed turns you have to look where you want to go. almost exaggerate your head turn and focus on where you want to put the bike. this may make it a bit easier.

putting your foot down isn't the end of the world, but your msf instructors will focus on avoiding it. keeping feet up is safer and helps your stability/momentum.

you're getting the hang of it and good to get in some practice. the msf will be a huge help. i think it should be mandatory for all riders. there's a lot of people with a permit or barely got their license but never took the msf and lack some of the skills/techniques that make riding more safe and enjoyable. practice!

 

[MrFrzZ]

I'm sticking as close as i can to only using the rear brake and clutch when working on it, but I think you might have hit the nail on the head when you mentioned looking through my turn. I KNOW I was looking at a downward angle JUST ahead of the bike and not where I wanted to put the bike.

I think part of the issue was there is a very slight incline in one of these turns where I wasn't letting the rear off quickly enough and would cause the stall. but the majority of the issue is absolutely me and not the terrain :/

Thanks for the Help

 

[BzB]

no problem. i've been riding almost a year so still relatively new myself. the more time you spend on the bike the better. one other thing i would recommend is installing no cut sliders. they can save your fairings if you have a tip over or low speed drop. also help for leverage if the bike is on its side. i laid my bike over once when i thought the kickstand was down...but it wasn't fortunately only damage was to my ego. also had a few close calls early on at low speeds when coming to a stop. anyways i like sliders for the protection, peace of mind and you can take them off if you don't like them or feel you've outgrown your "training wheels". mine are here to stay though.

 

[MrFrzZ]

Trust me, I've got a set of Shogun No cuts in my wish list at Revzilla and they will be one of the next purchases before I hit the main road. I was thinking of going in on the Puig sliders, but I think the Shoguns will be functional for now and I may replace them with the Puigs down the road.

 

[djunglew]

It takes time to gain confidence. One of the things I find helpful after taking the MSF was practicing the drills they provide in an empty parking lot. Buy the gear and wear it. Got a gash in my knee that cost much more that the pants had I been wearing them. I now ATGATT.

I recommend the OEM sliders or similar cut versions as the no-cuts are cantilevered. The fairings have a dot inside to indicate where the OEM sliders should be. Just need a hole saw. Good luck!

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[MrFrzZ]

3rd time out. 45 degrees. Stuff happened.

Just got back from my third parking lot trip on the fz. This time I started off with my pri ray focus being on looking through the turn and worrying more and more about looking to where I wanted to put the bike and less looking at the ground in front of the bike.

I dropped my foot a few times but for every time I dropped my foot I still had 4 good tight turns. I left the clutch alone this time and just used the rear brake. It was loads easier. Then began to focus on shifting my weight to the opposite side of the bike as the turn. Things got even better. In just about to the point where I can commit to full lock every time when I turn to the right. Can't seem to get to full lock going left just yet.

Also pushed to about 18 mph to feel the countersteering and adjustment side of things. Towards the end of my "session" I started leaning forward less and gripping with my legs way more. Honestly changed the entire feel of the turn. I felt like I had more control of the bike and had more influence on what I wanted it to do since I want putting pressure down on the bars.

On my last lap around the building going about 15 or 16 i think I felt the rear tire slip out a little bit. Its hard for me to ne sure but I don't think I put much input on the bar if any, and the bike dipped into a steeper lean suddenly and then back out gradually. I did travel over a strip of wet pavement with the normal parking lot "grit" in it so I figured that might have been in.

Then pulling back into the house, I hit a soft patch of gravel. Front tire slid forward about a foot then came out of it, but I never grabbed at the front brake. My foot actually went down toward the rear.

Feeling much better about tonight,despite hitting the treacherous parts. Still nervous to take it on the main road cause in sure its going to be a whole nother world. Say a little prayer for me guys. In praying you have a safe season.




On a side note, I apologize if this thread is getting old. I just want to share my journey with everyone every step of the way. Maybe a new rider like I am now will get on here and will learn from my mistakes or my experiences some.

 

[Rumpig]

Something you need to always watch for is loose sand around intersections, where traffic always travels will be a clean line but either side of that you get loose stuff which will catch you out. Also beware of cars that leak coolant and oil on the painted road markings at intersections, they're super slippery.

 

[Maadi]

First things first: you have already made the best decision you could have - you bought the bike with the best color!!!! No matter what they tell you, copper is faster than yellow, black, blue and all the others

Next: I commend you on your willingness to practice - sounds like you are already getting a pretty good feel on the bike. Great job!

Last: And I think you already talked about this - there are many dangers to motorcyclists out there - The more you can anticipate situations and respond to them before they happen - your chances of getting into an accident will diminish. Not disappear, but lessen. Be vigilant!

And, the very last:
ATGATT. Always.

I enjoyed reading your post about the progress you are experiencing. Thank you!

 

[MrFrzZ]

Gorgeous weather in West Virginia this weekend so I decided to try my hand on the main road. My boss followed me on the maiden voyage and I made about a 5 mile loop back to the house.

The first trip was intimidating enough but the bike is a much better rider than I am lol. Only went about 40 tops on the first trip and stalled it on a back road because I was in too high a gear. :/

Once I made it back to the house I was itching to go again. So later in the evening I headed out again. For those of you that have ridden in Preston county wv I took 92 down from the route 7 four way toward newburg. Not a super windy road, but its a sweeping, rolling road. Once the speed limit went up to 55 i got brave and pushed to that. Turned around at newburg and headed home. I will say the first trip down was very nerve racking, but on the way back I began to feel better. One turn in particular really made me trust the bike and was a blast to go around. All this being said, I think I only topped out at 61 or 62 on the straights.

I took the bike out again yesterday evening on the same route, and it was a bit different as far as my mentality was concerned. I pulled off to let a few cars go by so I wasn't feeling pushed, and then headed off. Old man pulled halfway into the road coming out of an intersection but luckily stopped until I passed. He gets a pass for being old. We should all be so lucky to be getting out and about when we get up there.

Once the speed limit opened up, I got up to the 55 limit and stuck around there, but on the way down I realized I began to think about the possibility of dropping the bike mid turn for any number of reasons; gravel, sand, trie failure, animal, etc. and Immediately thought "Ok, stop the garbage right now." Made it the rest of the way without incident and returned to focusing on the ride and how ridiculously freeing it is. I never had more than a bicycle growing up so this has been a few years in the making. My wife said I was so amped up whenever I got back last night and was telling her about a 10 mile ride.

I love this bike. It geeks eager to lay into a turn and feels super stable in them. Its got more than enough power for a novice rider like myself but is forgiving enough to allow me to learn it. Its almost feels like a "you take care of me and ill take care of you" relationship.

I do want to go back to the parking lot and go back to working on low speed maneuvering, as I feel that is where manipulation of the machine will be some of the most challenging. I dont want to get caught letting my mind wander while riding and start thinking about bills, the house, work, etc. I know the minute I do that will be the minute that I lose focus on the road and something will happen. My wife seems to be itching to get one though now and I really want to find something for her, if not get good enough to have her ride with me.

Back to the parking lot next weekend, God willing.


ETA GEAR
The helmet I am using is a Scorpion Exo R710 and I am using a Joe Rocket Speedmaster Leather Jacket
The Helmet had a small whistle the first trip out, but I think one of my vents were open while the other was closed. I opened them both last night and I cant recall hearing the whistle again.
Jacket flows pretty good air through it, especially if I sit upright.

 

[lark]

I would actually recommend doing a track day sooner rather than later. You could probably do this after less than a year of experience. I think a lot of tracks have courses for beginners. A lot of the technique they will teach you will translate directly to the twisty road riding you want to do.

My husband and brother in law both learned how to ride on the track as teenagers, it was required of them to take the courses that track days offer IF they were even going to be allowed to own a bike. Needless to say, they are much, much better riders than I am. I am signing up for my first track day and course this year. I took the MSF rider's course to get the M endorsement and while that was a great teaching class, it was very low speed. None of us ride top speed 30 mph. A track will let you ride in conditions simulating the street (speed, cornering, braking) without the traffic that could very likely kill you. I am very cautious when I am out on the road. I am less comfortable in turns than I know my bike could perform. I am 100% sold on the novice track day course and hope that others on the forum, especially inexperienced riders like me (I've put 1100 miles on my bike) will consider joining!

For the lady folks out there,
https://www.facebook.com/GirlRiders

They have women only track days and rides!