What mistakes am I going to make?

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Looking back at 28 years of riding and over 400 000 kms on 2 wheels my advice to my own kids is:

1. Slow down
2. Trust no other vehicle
3. Stay on a small bike for years, not months
4. Ride with older experienced rider whenever you can
5. When, not if, you want to go fast, go to the track (either dirt or asphalt)

I rode a 400 cc for many years. Years on a 600. Years on a 750. I had over 300 000 kms of experience on the road before I felt the comfort for anything 1000 cc or more.

Newbie mistakes like the kickstand, stalling at a light, forgeting your signal light is on.....who cares.

If you follow 1-5 you will ride for years and still forget your stand etc.

But you will be alive. And you will love the riding experience.

Now I will wait for all the macho 1000 cc riders who got it as their first bike and think their skill level is breeding and not experience.
 
I started on dirt bikes when I was 11, it was a little Suzuki RM80 that I rode day in & day out after school in Alberta for about 8 years, I loved that little bike & I still have it to this day, then my older brother got a 1985 Kawasaki 600R...the original first Ninja's...that's when I transitioned to street bikes, they are a huge difference in weight, ergonomics, having to do signalling & what not for your every day street riding, I took it slow on the 600 for my first street bike rides but after a while you get used to it as your confidence builds...so we had that bike for 5 years until my brother wrecked it in Europe & the bike was beyond repairable so he ended up getting a Yamaha RD350 to which 2 years later he ended getting killed on it!

I was back in Alberta at the time of the accident & I was riding a 1990 Kawasaki ZXR-750 getting more confident, doing crazy speeds on the highways like 280 kms + because I wanted to be like my older brother...when I received the news that he died I immediately put the 750 up for sale & got rid of it.

Fast forward now 21 years later after my brothers death...I decided to buy a bike again which is my Ducati...to this day I still have the memory of my brother in my head & I ride slow & easy without doing crazy stunts or speeding...so take it easy new riders, there is no need to try to impress the others by riding stupid or by keeping up if you are in a group ride that is spirited, take your time, go at your own pace & you will get to your destination alive!

As for the little things like forgetting the kick stand, stalling & blinkers that will pass in time just focus on the road ahead at your own leisure & don't worry about what everyone thinks...ride safe!
 
Make sure you walk away from your bike with your key in your pocket and not still in the ignition
 
Be careful with new tires. easy on the throttle for first few Kms until the shiny "film" is off the tire.

otherwise bad things will happen. so new tires, take it easy until worked in. especially if in wet conditions.

plus everything else mentioned in above posts.
 
coyo said:
So presented with an obstacle while riding down a straight gravel road, you'll downshift and hope the bike stops in time? Have fun with that.
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Stops in time for what? the rider going through gravel does not have to stop, it just has to keep the bike in control and not fall until a) the road turns into asphalt again, or b) they slow down enough to continue to ride under control

Applying the brakes on gravel or sand does no good to anyone unless you have to intermediately stop due to a stop sign, car or whatever. If none of those "whatevers" are present, then the best thing to do is ride it out while keeping the bike under control and NOT applying the brakes

You are talking about voluntarily riding in sand and gravel, meaning you made a decision to get off the asphalt road and go on it for an extended period of time when eventually you will have to stop and slow down' in that case then yes, apply the rear brake instead of the front.

I AM talking about the scenario that will most likely happen, which is while going in an unknown road, the asphalt turns into gravel with no warning, in this case applying the brakes front or rear is a mistake.


Most people that chose to go on gravel or sand most likely have tires appropriate for it and can brake like we did dirt biking, braking with sport bike tires in those road surfaces is a MISTAKE! .. unless you are forced to.

hope this clarifies as I got no patience to argue in a website.
 
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It's been said but I'm saying it again, go buy and read "Twist of the Wrist II" - there's also an accompanying video to illustrate what methods they're teaching you in the book and it's an invaluable learning resource for riding motorcycles.
 
ZX600 said:
Stops in time for what? the rider going through gravel does not have to stop, it just has to keep the bike in control and not fall until a) the road turns into asphalt again, or b) they slow down enough to continue to ride under control

Applying the brakes on gravel or sand does no good to anyone unless you have to intermediately stop due to a stop sign, car or whatever. If none of those "whatevers" are present, then the best thing to do is ride it out while keeping the bike under control and NOT applying the brakes

You are talking about voluntarily riding in sand and gravel, meaning you made a decision to get off the asphalt road and go on it for an extended period of time when eventually you will have to stop and slow down' in that case then yes, apply the rear brake instead of the front.

I AM talking about the scenario that will most likely happen, which is while going in an unknown road, the asphalt turns into gravel with no warning, in this case applying the brakes front or rear is a mistake.


Most people that chose to go on gravel or sand most likely have tires appropriate for it and can brake like we did dirt biking, braking with sport bike tires in those road surfaces is a MISTAKE! .. unless you are forced to.

hope this clarifies as I got no patience to argue in a website.
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I think you're both talking about different things.

He's assuming there's a moose or brick wall in the road and he HAS to stop on a sandy road, therefore he would use the brakes to actually STOP.

You're assuming there's a dead racoon or cinder block in the road and the road is sandy, and you're going to smoothly let off the throttle and just go around it.

Maybe I'm wrong.
 
Current reading twist of the wrist. It's a good read but a bit hard to visualize. Gotta get on my bike......gotta pick up my bike!!!
 
Not sure if you saw this yet too:

[video=youtube;Vr-Wqs37Ug4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr-Wqs37Ug4[/video]
 
I wish I could hunt down whoever permanently borrowed my copies of Twist of the Wrist I & II
 
rye said:
Maybe I'm wrong.
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No, you're not wrong. I saw that but had issue that in his post, right off the start, he was saying NEVER use any brakes on a road with sand or gravel. I believe that to be wrong and a bad idea to put in a noob's mind... then I just started having fun with it. Done now.
 
ZX600 said:
So you are saying that when on a straight road that turns into gravel, you are better off applying the rear brake than to let off the throttle and allow the bike to slow down on itself while smoothly downshifting?
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The question is why would you slow down? That's where the fun begins!
 
Oh, and - "Once the throttle is cracked open it is rolled on smoothly, evenly and constantly throughout the remainder of the turn."
 
And never go too tight on the handlebars, stay loose. You want to keep your elbows bent and parallel to the ground, so that you push the steering to whatever side you want to turn to and have a lot more power to do it with, then it becomes almost effortless.

That'd be my #1 advice, stay loose, let the bike do the work, it wants to be a bike, most crashes are from rider error, not bike error.
 
Sinz said:
I started on dirt bikes when I was 11, it was a little Suzuki RM80 that I rode day in & day out after school in Alberta for about 8 years, I loved that little bike & I still have it to this day, then my older brother got a 1985 Kawasaki 600R...the original first Ninja's...that's when I transitioned to street bikes, they are a huge difference in weight, ergonomics, having to do signalling & what not for your every day street riding, I took it slow on the 600 for my first street bike rides but after a while you get used to it as your confidence builds...so we had that bike for 5 years until my brother wrecked it in Europe & the bike was beyond repairable so he ended up getting a Yamaha RD350 to which 2 years later he ended getting killed on it!

I was back in Alberta at the time of the accident & I was riding a 1990 Kawasaki ZXR-750 getting more confident, doing crazy speeds on the highways like 280 kms + because I wanted to be like my older brother...when I received the news that he died I immediately put the 750 up for sale & got rid of it.

Fast forward now 21 years later after my brothers death...I decided to buy a bike again which is my Ducati...to this day I still have the memory of my brother in my head & I ride slow & easy without doing crazy stunts or speeding...so take it easy new riders, there is no need to try to impress the others by riding stupid or by keeping up if you are in a group ride that is spirited, take your time, go at your own pace & you will get to your destination alive!

As for the little things like forgetting the kick stand, stalling & blinkers that will pass in time just focus on the road ahead at your own leisure & don't worry about what everyone thinks...ride safe!
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That sucks sir. I lsot my bro too, although not to motorcycles. Since i made the jump to 600, i find myself thinking i was lucky i didn't kill my self on my RZ350. Those 2 smokes have soooo much toruqe. I had larger pistons in mine due to multiple rebuilds (two of which happned when i had er). Those things take the hell off. Easily compete with a 750 off the line. I think i was pretty lucky, thinking back a 350 two stroke is not really a newbie bike :S

Sorry for the loss ofyour bro. Even if its been 26 years :(
 
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