Putting my wife in the saddle

[maj]

Hi, I just joined the forum. I picked up a new ct125 for my wife and want to get her on it safely. Unfortunately, all of the MSF courses, pretty much anywhere in the state, are booked up for the remainder of the year. She is a strong bicyclist and has been riding a Honda Metro for several years but the new ct125 is a bit more intimidating for her. I want to take this in baby steps. As I’ve been riding it a bit, it seems to start off and run quite well in second gear up to maybe 25 or 30 mph without lugging or over-reving. Everyone seems to say that you can’t hurt these bikes but the bike is still in its break-in period. Limiting her to second gear for now seems like a good way for her to comfortably transition from the Metro to the Trail without having to get into shifting (especially downshifting) quite yet. I would really like for her to get used to handling the bike as she learns to ride it in parking lots and empty roads before possibly overwhelming her. So, would this be a good plan?

 

[ShieldArc]

Taking her to a big open field with grass for a first time would be great!

 

[AZ7000']

Don’t limit the gear, break in period went away with carbs imo. Sounds like with the cycling and motor experience she should do just fine. Last wisdom I have for you is have her learn with a smart, chill friend. In addition to avoiding bunny slopes and boat docks my wife and kid learn much much more from a coach then from me.
However all wives may differ, mine has ridden off road to Cabo twice and had to get the AZ 1W plate before we could have our kid!!

 

[m in sc]

3 heat cycles and its broken in (rings seated). anything with flat tappet cams and OR babbit style bearings need longer break in. this is a full roller motor so have at it. I agree, let her explore the gears. My wife took her msf and bought a super cub, rides it a lot. I taught her on a 650 gladius. and.. shes 4'11". so if she can do it, your wife will be just fine whenever she's comfortable enough to do it. .02

 

[SneakyDingo]

IMO let her just take her time & go at her own pace. If you need some structure to the practice, the MSF course practical test can be achieved with some traffic cones and/or tennis balls cut in half, it's nothing particularly special but it is a pretty solid foundation in doing the low speed non-road stuff well. Keep an eye out for a parking lot on a moderate incline, U-turns and figure 8's on an incline can be pretty challenging.

There's no shame in parking lot work until you're ready to go on the road. I still regularly hit up my local parking lot once a month or so and any time I take a hiatus. Almost every Youtuber who advocates developing skills suggests this as a good practice. It's how I learned in Australia too, and the majority of their motorcycle training is done on the open road in traffic. Empty parking lots are awesome.

 

[Fun4me]

Concur with everything previous responders have said. All great advice. The one thing I would add is a thorough discussion about target fixation and to look where you want to go. It's a natural tendency to focus your attention on a threat such as the guardrail, edge of the road, tree ... You have to train yourself to ignore that tendency and to keep your focus on the path or point you want to go to. In my opinion this is one, if not the most important thing a new rider needs to learn.

 

[MisterB]

They give Basic Rider Training courses at our local community colleges, they are all booked up but if you show up Friday night for the intro section (~2 hrs) and someone cancels you can have their spot.
Don't know if they've got anything similar in your area, but it's worth checking. I'm in the same boat with my wife so we just do school parking lot work and little rides on backroads. (when we're not inundated with grandchildren).
I've been talking up target fixation as a "super power" to my wife to get her to use it to her benefit, that approach seems to be working.
Welcome to the club, hope you two have a blast!

 

[Shoot870p]

I know I’m misreading the post but are y’all starting off in second gear and remaining in second for training purposes? I would think that a second gear start all the time may not be good.

 

[maj]

I know I’m misreading the post but are y’all starting off in second gear and remaining in second for training purposes? I would think that a second gear start all the time may not be good.

Thanks. Your not misreading the post at all. That really is the crux of my question. I’m a bit wary of the bike jumping out ahead of her in 1st gear starts - 2nd gear starts just seem more controllable and tempers abrupt throttle inputs nicely. The motor also seems to run pretty smooth from 0 up to 25 mph and even a bit higher in 2nd without lugging or sounding like it’s wrapping up too high. For now, I‘d rather not get into gear shifting, rev matching, engine braking etc but just get her used to bike handling. I’m thinking that things like using the brakes, keeping her feet on the pegs, getting comfortable with smooth starts and stops, and maybe some hills can all be done keeping the bike in 2nd gear all of the time. In 2nd gear the bike shouldn’t be any harder to ride than a Ruckus - right? Just wondering how a centrifugal clutch would handle that - but then.….I don’t want to abuse the little bike either.

I appreciate all of the good advice so far. Yes, we‘re emphasizing fighting target fixation and looking (and head turning) where you want to go rather than where you don’t. In the parking lot, she‘s working on slow speed maneuvers like the skills test.

 

[eastema]

I agree with shoot, second gear starts will wear the clutch more than 1st gear starts. It's not like a torque converter in a automatic car, this clutch is fiber to metal friction to get going. I'm sure once in a while is fine, but prob not all of the time.

 

[maj]

Thanks. I edited an earlier response that has to get moderator approval before it appears, but 2nd gear starting is the essential question for me. It seems pretty smooth doesn’t seem at all hard on the engine but I am concerned about the centrifugal clutch. I’ve run dry clutch Ducatis that way and never burned up a clutch but I want to make sure that I’m being kind to the lil Trail.

 

[AZ7000']

Thanks. I edited an earlier response that has to get moderator approval before it appears, but 2nd gear starting is the essential question for me. It seems pretty smooth doesn’t seem at all hard on the engine but I am concerned about the centrifugal clutch. I’ve run dry clutch Ducatis that way and never burned up a clutch but I want to make sure that I’m being kind to the lil Trail.

They put a first gear there for a reason is my guess…. Learn it right the first time then you don’t need to break a bad habit.

 

[eastema]

Check this vid: the infamous honda clutch. It shows the inner workings very well.

 

[maj]

They put a first gear there for a reason is my guess…. Learn it right the first time then you don’t need to break a bad habit.

I edited some grammar in my earlier post and it doesn’t look like it’s up yet. I’ll quote my rationale for the 2nd gear starts:

”I’m a bit wary of the bike jumping out ahead of her in 1st gear starts - 2nd gear starts just seem more controllable and tempers abrupt throttle inputs nicely. The motor also seems to run pretty smooth from 0 up to 25 mph and even a bit higher in 2nd without lugging or sounding like it’s wrapping up too high. For now, I‘d rather not get into gear shifting, rev matching, engine braking etc but just get her used to bike handling. I’m thinking that things like using the brakes, keeping her feet on the pegs, getting comfortable with smooth starts and stops, and maybe some hills can all be done keeping the bike in 2nd gear all of the time.”

First gear seems a bit jumpy for her and 2nd is much smoother for now. She weighs less than 110# and once she’s comfortable with the bike handling (probably in just a few days) we’ll get her into all the gears - especially first when she wants to do wheelies and burn-outs.

 

[maj]

Check this vid: the infamous honda clutch. It shows the inner workings very well.

Thanks, but I don’t see a link??

 

[SneakyDingo]

Probably this video.

A lot of learning to ride is about muscle memory. Smooth starts and stops can be done in 1st, and while you can technically wheelie and burnout on this machine, it's not easy to do accidentally. This is a bike that generally shouldn't get away from you.

When I learned to ride the starting MSF course lesson was to walk the bike around and get a feel for how much it could turn. I seem to recall we did circles, and walked it forwards like... 30 ft. Then it was friction zone with the clutch lever on the left hand and applying even and appropriate throttle, walking next to the bike with the bike under its own power. Finally we got on top of the bike, and it was about applying the two hand muscle memories and the rear brake in 1st to slowly start and then stop, before you started doing things at speeds where it could cause problems or injury. A lot of those first lessons were done at speeds less than 10 mph.

While I disagree with the idea of using 2nd to teach her, I will say that it is fundamentally more important than just about everything else to keep her confidence up. If using 2nd will help her gain that confidence and keep learning, improving and eventually moving on to the correct technique, then that is the way you should go.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

EDIT: One other thing. Due to a small "emergency" with me not looking very carefully where I was putting my side stand down, I dropped the bike on grass earlier today. No damage, probably just bumped the mirror in reality. It stayed running, etc. but most importantly, this was the first time I picked the bike up from lying down sideways. It was VERY easy to do it, even with a fully loaded rear rack. @ShieldArc mentioned grassy field learning... not a bad idea if you're looking to avoid cosmetic damage.

 

[eastema]

Oh, I'm not good at tech, just do a search for: the infamous honda clutch.