[OutlawFox48]

I love motorcycles really I do when I can ride on one anytime I will and I cant wait to have my parents let me get my class M license and get a bike of my own to actually drive but guys ive read so much on the internet to learn from info on the computer before taking it one the street and Im not going to lie it all scares me. Like I said I love bikes but you all show me pictures of road rash and wrecks and tell me about the bike flipping. I appreciate your just trying to make sure im super careful not to end up like that but you make it sound like it going to happen to matter what and riding should be done at 15 mph so I want to ask if this is just me overreacting and just a bit to scared and if riding is easy once you get the hang of it and fun all around I know this all sounds weird but I hope it makes sense thanks guys!

[megaspaz]

you’re overreacting. i don’t recall anyone here ever saying you’re definately going to crash, nor anyone saying the only safe speed to ride is 15mph. Now, that said, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be a little frightened riding on the street. Riding the street along with other vehicles, pedestrians, critters, etc. should scare you enough so that you’re alert. Those pics you see on the web about road rash, accidents, etc. are possibilities of what you could look like if you ride like a douche and don’t wear protective gear. It all amounts to how much risk you’re willing to take.

—
If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…

[briderdt]

…a guy who rides regularly asked me how it went. I said, “I was a bit nervous.”

His answer? “Good. That means you’ll be more aware of what’s going on around you.”

There’s a difference between nervous vigilance and being scared.

[Munch]

A different way of saying the same thing….. “Do not fear the ride…..respect the ride”.

You lose respect for what you are doing on two wheels and your a statistic. Always respect that your on 2 wheels and you very likely not gonna become one. Ride your own ride and to your own comfort.
I think everyone here was nervous or skiddish. I was. More the anticipation of the unknown then anything. Your starting something new and something that has a reputation of being deadly….though that deadly part exists, it gets pulled to the fore front of your mind due to the “squids” that are out there making it on the 6 o’clock news.
ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time) is not just limited to armored clothing, leather clothing and helmet. Get your head in the ride, keep it there.
Once you get on the bike for the first month your gonna be anxious, excited and a whole run of emotions. Make sure you pay attention to that and use it to lock in the importance of what your doing. Eventually that calms a touch through out numerous rides. Doesn’t mean you lost the exhilaration…. just means you know what your about to do and its not a huge thing. For me it actually ( I know this is gonna sound weird) but helps my well being a tad. If I have a headache and or slightly upset stomach from too much fast food… I can get on my bike and oddly all those symptoms go away. More due to as soon as my butt touches the seat….my brain goes into Riding mode, which means nothing else matters but the ride. The scenery, the safety , the solitude.

Oh and I have found alot of the people in my area who grab onto the “Its not if you crash but when you crash”…. are usually non riders that come across this somewhere.

Yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is a prediction, but today…… is a Bi**h

[eon]

Use your fear to educate yourself and make yourself a safe rider and you could have a lifetime of happy riding ahead of you. I have a brother who almost died on a bike so I thought long and hard before going down this road. I forced myself to read the crash reports and the awful injuries and deaths that occur. After doing all that I still wanted to ride but as safely as I possibly could. I took the MSF class before I ever considered buying a bike. I read the Proficient Motorcycling books. I plan on taking the Intermediate MSF class very soon. I want to take the dirt bike training as well as that looks like a lot of fun. In short, I don’t see my education ever stopping, no matter how many years I ride.
ATGATT is a given. It can be a pain at times but nothing compared to sliding down the road or bouncing your head off of concrete.

One piece of advice you will always hear is “ride your own ride”. This is not always easy to do as we are all susceptible to peer pressure. If you have the balls to do your own thing and to hell with whatever happens to be cool or ignore suggestions from well meaning “friends” then you should have no problems. If you want to cruise down Main St on your race replica bike in your best t-shirt then read those rash reports carefully!

[Clay Dowling]

Coming across as a bit breathless there.

It’s dangerous, but lots of things are. Driving a car is dangerous too, especially for a new driver. If you assume that all the other drivers are not paying attention you’ll live a lot longer. My car has been hit twice while standing still, by people who didn’t have their head in the game. I now drive and ride the same way: assume that the people around me are oblivious. It’s saved me from ugliness a bunch of times, both on two wheels and four.

Take the training, then spend a lot of time practicing on -your- bike, especially your low speed stuff and evasive maneuvers. This is the hard stuff that will trip you up, get you injured. Your bike will handle differently than the bike you learned on in the training class. My 750 is a whole lot more resistant to turning and swerves than the 125 I learned on, so I had to relearn how to do all that. Not that my bike isn’t nimble, but I need to commit my body a lot more to any maneuvers.

That, by the way, is one of the very good reasons to buy a smaller bike. I definitely need to think out what I’m doing faster and further ahead on my 750 than I did on a smaller bike. It hasn’t undone me yet, but the potential is there.

[Author]

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