[paulurmston]

WHY….

Why did I not do this sooner?

Why was I so scared about manually changing gear?

I thought I’d just drive around the parking lot… and ended up driving down the small, deserted lanes around my local area. The rush hour traffic had died down, so I thought I’d be fine.

Changing gear is SIMPLE!!! I can’t believe it… It feels so natural… I am still grinning and shaking here from the short 20 minute ride. I simply have become hooked for life I think.

No fast turns, no killing the engine… and no showing off. IT was just a pleasant drive around… but GOD the feeling….. I will never forget it.

Ok, so questions…

Is it normal the the 250 ninja revs so high? I was driving in 5th at around 50 mph… and already it sounded quite high… on the clock it wasn’t… but it sounded like it was high.

People who are thinking of buying a ninja 250… or contemplating riding their first bike. I can only repeat the nike publicity…. “JUST DO IT” You know what I realized? I had thought so much and worried so much… that I was almost a nervous wreck when I turned the motor on… relax. Let the bike talk to you, feel it’s reactions… Respect the power you have in your hands. Don’t be scared of the bike, only in what YOU do on the bike. It is simply a sensation that is sooo natural.

I think…

I think I fell in love with a machine.

Jajajaja… Ok enough. But am I the only person who felt like this on their first ride?

[owlie]

Glad to hear that it went so well! Your enthusiasm is catching.

[USViking79]

No paulurmston, you are not the only one who felt that way about your first ride on the Ninja. It really is an amazing feeling.

Have you started your safety course yet? Please let us know how that goes.

I’ve had my bike a week, and I can’t figure out why I waited so long either.

[paulurmston]

My first day on the course starts in 30 minutes.

Will tell you all how the Chilean version of the course goes..

And call me Paul… no need for the whole name.

[Clenzer72]

How do your fingers feel? I still remember the feeling in my fingers after each day of MSF….lol unless you ride bicycles alot then your fingers aren’t used to using those muscles so intensly for so long.
Good luck, the second day gets more fun!!! Figure 8’s 2×4’s, panic stops and swerves!

[Ben]

Yep it is perfectly natural for the Ninja 250 to rev high, in fact if I remember correctly it doesn’t have a lot of ‘pick up’ until you hit around 10k RPM, but after that it starts to zoom! As long as you aren’t past the red line you should be fine.

That being said, I had a mechanic tell me I should get my motorcycle at or at least close to redline everytime I ride to help burn off some of the gunk in the fuel. Not only does it make riding more fun, but it helps with the engine!

Ben

[paulurmston]

The classes were awesome.

Really enjoyed it!

The swerve was nothing new, have had to do THAT a few times before… but the emergency stop was terrible… I was so ashamed of myself. Normally it’s no problem.. but I think with having everyone stare at you… it was a little like stage fright. JAjaja.. Almost flew of the bike. The worst was we had to take a curve, something I have done thousands and thousands of times. And wouldn’t you know it… there was a spillage on the road. Almost slid off the bike, but JUST managed to control it. My heart was almost jumping out of my rib cage.

Anyway. Everyone MSF is a blast. Go get some!

[Clenzer72]

Congrats!

[owlie]

Glad to hear that the class went well. Bummer on the road spill taking the curve. That is not a cool thing to do to people just learning to countersteer. We had a gravelly area in the lot where I did my course, and even though we weren’t actually practicing any techniques in the spot, we still had a couple people have issues while they were queuing up for the exercises.

[wbsprudels]

I actually flew over the top of the bike on the first attempt at the emergency stop. Two of my classmates quit shortly after witnessing my acrobatics. It earned me a slightly bloody shin from hitting the brake fluid resivoir on the way over the handlebars and a end-of-class certificate bestowing Most Acrobatic Rider title to me.

Glad you enjoyed the class.

[Author]

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