2000 miles in two months

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• November 11, 2010 at 8:49 pm #4268
  mikatollah

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  I hadn’t ridden a motorcycle in in over thirty five years when I purchased my new Kawasaki KLX250sf from a dealer in San Angelo, Tx in August. I had to ride it home… some 95 miles away but made it in good fashion. Then the next day I was riding around my neighborhood when I dropped it braking in a turn and broke a bone in my ankle.

  I limped around for a month and I’m almost back to normal. The hardest part was watching my new bike sit in my garage while I recovered. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it gave me plenty of time to read up on what I did wrong and order all of the riding gear I would need when my foot healed.

  So now I own a $4,000 bike and $3000 in riding gear… including some boots that cost more than my education. I attended an MSF safety course and got my license and I’ve been riding non-stop since October, stopping only to rest and put in a little time on the old day job.

  I bought a small bike because I had visions of loading it up on my motor home and taking it with me. The only problem with that plan is I’ve lost interest in RVing since finding my new toy, so I ended up doing the right thing for the wrong reason. The 250 is a great bike, but I’ve already got my eye on a new Versys. I know enough now to realize that my education is just beginning and I’ve set a goal of 20,000 miles until I trade up.

  November 11, 2010 at 11:51 pm #28768
  eon

  Participant

  Congrats on getting training and buying lots of good gear, even if it did require a little painful wake up call. After watching a girl snap her ankle like a twig at soccer I bought good motorcycle boots the next day. As you found out, it doesn’t take much for things to break down there.

  I think 20,000 miles is a good target before moving up. I have 24k myself now and though I am far from being an expert I know my learning curve has tapered off. It’s been a while since I scared myself which is a good sign. I would also strongly recommend continued training if it’s available to you. I know the advanced class I took this June moved my ability forward by a huge amount and I can’t wait to take the next class.

  And lastly, grab a copy of Proficient Motorcycling. That is a fantastic way to learn of (and therefore avoid) all the dangers lurking out there. Certainly kept me safe on more than one occasion.

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