First I have to say that was one of the most well written and well thought posts I’ve read on this or any other board.
I also came to owning a motorcycle via a unique path; after getting the urge to move up to something larger than my scooter we suffered a personal tragedy. At that point wanting to ride a motorcycle went from being an urge, to an obsession. My wife, the one who plans(rationally) while I react(sometimes irrationally), wanted me to wait, we just spent money on a scooter, you just learned to ride the scooter, why don’t you wait a year or two? My reaction was, there’s no reason to wait a few years, much as it might seem crazy-I’m a healthy man in the prime of my life-who knows if any of us have a few years? Carpe Diem. After weeks of constant pressure she finally relented, maybe feeling truly defeated for the first time in our marriage, as I had bullied her into this; every other major decision we had made in our 14 years of marriage had been made together. One of her fears, beyond the obvious ones, was that a motorcycle would separate us; I’d go off riding leaving her behind, at a point in our lives when we really needed to be together. However, I wasn’t listening to any rationale, I wanted what I wanted, and I wanted it bad. My purchase of a motorcycle was emotional rather than rational, probably not the best path to travel. As the day to pick up my bike grew closer the feeling of elation began to inch towards feelings of dread. A quick ride on my friend’s sport bike ended in embarrassment, though no damage; was I making the biggest mistake of my life?
Above and beyond this, my choice of bike was emotional. For a number of reasons(detailed in my first thread last year) I chose not to go with a traditional beginner bike. The first time I laid eyes on my Ducati GT1000, right after I had paid for it, it looked 10 feet tall. Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life? Got her home and started her up, sounded like a 747. Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life?
OK, this is where the good stuff begins. First of all Owlie, whether you continue with this or not-and I think and hope that you will-two low speed drops should in no way have you thinking that you’re acting squidly in any way shape or form. Simply beginner mistakes, squids put their lives and the lives of others in jeopardy by riding beyond their ability. Sounds like you put your shifter in jeopardy by responsibly learning to ride your new bike. There is no other way to learn but to do something you’ve never done before, something that is slightly more difficult than the skills you’ve already learned, that is the learning process not irresponsibility. As for me, I took the bike out pretty much every day weather permitted. Thankfully I had a good friend, the aforementioned sport bike owner, who made it his business to help me learn the little things and most importantly start to gain confidence. At first I couldn’t even ride out of our (unpaved)parking lot onto what passes for a busy road in Vermont. He’d ride the Duc I’d ride the scooter. We’d head to a paved parking lot where we’d switch mounts, after a bit of PLP we’d find a back road. Though I didn’t drop it, I came perilously close, more luck than anything else. I needed to think about every little thing I did, couldn’t make a turn from a stop, don’t even ask about starting on a hill; this was not fun. Did I make the biggest mistake of my life? But like I said at the beginning of this paragraph, this is where the good stuff begins. A little practice, a little confidence, a little more practice, a little more confidence. All I can say is it just starts to come together. Things I had to think about became things I did without having to think. I am certainly no motorcycle prodigy, given your mindset which is evident in your posts, there is no reason not to believe that with a little practice things which seem beyond you now will become second nature. Some toddlers hop up on two legs barely even thinking about it while others get up and fall down, get up and fall down until they eventually do it without thinking. Do the toddlers that need to work a little harder, concentrate a little more, become damn fine walkers? To quote one of the more famous citizens of your fine state, “You betcha.”
You question whether you have the right temperament for riding. Thoughtful, introspective, somewhat cautious? Though I might approach decisions head first, once it gets to the physical nature of a new task I am exactly the same way, as I bet most of the good safe recreational riders out there are. None of us-Megaspaz excluded-are looking to become the next Valentino Rossi. Introspection, a conservative approach, combined with lots of practice will get you there. Also, and this is important, have fun. Even if it’s a struggle, isn’t it fun? Doesn’t it beat just about anything else you could be doing? Think about that last day of MSF, trust me once you get a little bit more confidence that will seem boring in retrospect. You had that much fun in a parking lot? Just think of how much fun you WILL have in the twisties.
Riding a motorcycle has changed my life for the better. Something to look forward to every day the weather gods shine our way. A new skill to learn and keep learning long after I thought I was pretty much done learning anything. Even my wife has taken a liking to the Duc. Remember how one of her fears was that riding would drag us apart as I was off doing my own thing? Seems like her favorite spot this summer has been the pillion as we take off together every chance we get. Stick with it Owlie, the rewards are truly spectacular.
Randy