Scared of Speed

[Soliminal]

I passed the MSF course a couple days ago and nervously took my Trail 125 out for the first time today. I took the bike off the center stand and lost control of the weight and it tipped over as I slowly let it down. Not a good start!

I only had to ride a few minutes down the road to get the nearest empty-ish parking lot to continue practicing the MSF drills. I hit 35mph at one point on the way and it was terrifying, but fun - exhilarating? I know it's not much, but it's the fastest I've gone on a bike so far. I also experienced another surprise when I down shifted and the bike jolted suddenly! I know there's some finesse involved with the foot shifter so I'm going to do more research and practice so I can get it smoother. A few people driving the opposite way saw me and honked to say hi that was nice.

How long did it take you guys to get comfortable riding on the road at speed when you first started? Did you stick with parking lots for a while or did you just hit the road right away?

 

[m in sc]

its been over 30 years for me since i learned, but i have taught a few, most recently being my wife 2 yrs ago. I started on a CB750. ( i know) . I stayed in neighborhood for first few ride then went at it. that being said, everyone is different.

practice where and when you are comfortable at YOUR pace. Speed will come with time, you need to be able to do it to safely navigate through traffic. as far as downshifting, there's a few threads on it here. learn to feel the bike, it will be come second nature. was one of the last things my wife mastered on her cub.

On her second ride on the cub, (after i taught her on an sv650 the she did the msf on a harley 500) we went on a longer ride, she had it up over 50 and felt safe, was a 50 mile round trip. remember, most rider caused accidents happen at low speed.

practice taking off and getting up to the flow of traffic speed. this gets over looked a lot, especially taking a turn off a sideroad, into traffic. real easy to overshoot and cross the line into the other lane.

If you can ride at 25mph, you can ride at 50. id stay in low traffic neighborhoods.

I do remember the 1st time i pulled into traffic on that CB i almost crapped my pants out of nerves, but in a day or 2 i was fine.


good luck. and go easy on the downshifting.

 

[Kev250R]

I passed the MSF course a couple days ago and nervously took my Trail 125 out for the first time today. I took the bike off the center stand and lost control of the weight and it tipped over as I slowly let it down. Not a good start!

I only had to ride a few minutes down the road to get the nearest empty-ish parking lot to continue practicing the MSF drills. I hit 35mph at one point on the way and it was terrifying, but fun - exhilarating? I know it's not much, but it's the fastest I've gone on a bike so far. I also experienced another surprise when I down shifted and the bike jolted suddenly! I know there's some finesse involved with the foot shifter so I'm going to do more research and practice so I can get it smoother. A few people driving the opposite way saw me and honked to say hi that was nice.

How long did it take you guys to get comfortable riding on the road at speed when you first started? Did you stick with parking lots for a while or did you just hit the road right away?

I can relate, when I first started riding on the street I was nervous too. At the time I lived near a large High School so I would ride over there when it was empty to practice turning, shifting and things like that in their parking lots. I was on a Harley (at that time) so having a large, heavy powerful bike made doing just about everything harder, especially for a novice.

As far as riding at speed goes, I'm sure some won't like this advice but don't look at the Speedometer. Seriously, especially on these bikes I doubt you'll have to worry about breaking the speed limit. For a new rider looking-down at the Speedo can be distracting, plus on the Trail you have to look so far down to even see it and forget about it if the sun is hitting it the wrong way. Even now, 15 years of riding on the street I rarely pay attention to the speedo, even on my larger bikes. I shift by ear (these Trails don't have a Tach anyways) and just stay with (or just ahead) of the flow of traffic.

Shifting on these bikes is clunky. I have a couple of ATV's which also use a Centrifcal Clutch and they shift way smoother then my Trail does. Closing the Throttle and letting the engine rev-down a little seems to help. Some have had good luck with adjusting the clutch. I've logged less then 20 miles on my Trail so far so I don't have a lot to offer on that,

With enough time/practice on the bike you'll be amazed at how fast riding at speed will start to feel natural. Try to find excuses to ride as much as possible, even if it's just to the store to pick-up something. Then, after awhile instead of going to the store near you, go to another one across town just to get some more time in. Eventually you too will probably be riding a 1,000cc Adventure Bike to get a hamburger because they just taste better at the place that's an hour away LOL!

If you have trouble using the Center-Stand you may want to just stick to using the side-stand for a while. The only time I tend to use the center-stand on my bikes (well, the ones which have them) is when I'm performing maintence or they're going to be parked for a long while.

Other then that, just enjoy! Don't be mad or embarassaed when the bike falls-over. Heck if there is anyone watching stand-up and take a bow! Makes people giggle and more likely to come-over to help you stand it back up again!

 

[dmonkey]

They probably hammered this point in during your MSF course, but the MSF Basic Rider Course is a bare minimum. There's a lot of really good free and paid material out there for learning how to grow your skills with controlling the bike, and adjusting your mindset. Confidence is key. You gain that through practice (experience), comfort, and managing risk. Riding in a controlled environment is a good way to reduce risk, so is wearing full gear. Make sure the bike fits your ergonomics, if it doesn't there are changes you can make to it. If you're not yet comfortable with something it's best to ease into it rather than push yourself into a mistake, your limits are usually trying to help you from getting hurt. There are a lot of people who quit riding within a year or two of getting their license because they pushed their limits too far, made a mistake due to lack of experience or skill, got hurt or traumatized, and then lost their confidence to continue riding. When you make a mistake it's a learning opportunity, you can always do a bit of an "after action review" to reflect on it. What state of mind were you in, what lane position where you in and why that one, what hazards were present, was there an uncommon thing present in a common situation, did you react to something rather than anticipate it, is there something you can practice to form good and reflexive habits for the next time the situation occurs? There are always things that will be outside your control, but you can still make an effort to anticipate them and protect yourself against them. I'm a big fan of Dan Dan the Fireman's YouTube videos for these types of reviews. Ride within your comfort zone enough and you'll find that your comfort zone grows, especially as you get familiar enough with the bike to work the controls smoothly and where you find yourself relaxed while riding rather than tense.

 

[Msfitoy]

Winding out at 55-60 on the CT is thrilling and almost scary as sky diving lol...it's probably because everything feels like it's about to explode...

 

[Reptoid Overlords]

Yeah I can teeter between 59-60 in perfect flat conditions(I don't count downhill), but most of the time all you'll get is just over 50.
Don't feel so bad about dropping it..I parked mine at the grocery store not long ago, and when I was leaving, and as I was pushing it out of the tiny area I parked it in, I bumped the curb. Not only did I ligtly drop the bike, but I rolled right over it and dropped myself. A sight for sore eyes no doubt.

 

[Kev250R]

Winding out at 55-60 on the CT is thrilling and almost scary as sky diving lol...it's probably because everything feels like it's about to explode...

I feel the same way when I drive my Air-cooled VW on the highway. It'll do it, but you can tell it's right on the edge!

 

[Msfitoy]

I feel the same way when I drive my Air-cooled VW on the highway. It'll do it, but you can tell it's right on the edge!

I had a 69 bus camper rust bucket that had a beefed up motor and that baby could haul past 80 easily...

 

[Kev250R]

I had a 69 bus camper rust bucket that had a beefed up motor and that baby could haul past 80 easily...

I'm running a dual-port 1776 with Kadron carbs, so it makes some power. However mine is a car which gets used more off-road then on (it's got a Manx-type body on it) and so I run lower gears in my Transaxle. Until I started dating a girl who lives 40 miles away from me the car didn't see much highway use. Even now I try and avoid Interstates with it because it sits low and is hard to see. Crazy fun on curvy roads and in the dirt though!

 

[SneakyDingo]

How long did it take you guys to get comfortable riding on the road at speed when you first started? Did you stick with parking lots for a while or did you just hit the road right away?

A lot of riding is muscle memory. If you can, do a little every day, rather than a lot every few days. Like any physical skill, it will take time. Early morning parking lot spaces tend to be empty, but occasionally you'll have police or something turn up and tell you to move on.

How long did it take for riding at speed when I first got started? I'm not sure this is a fair question - everyone experiences these things differently. 35 mph is a somewhat regular speed I hit on my bicycle. I have an electric unicycle that has a maximum speed of 47 mph, and the failure mode of that is to hurl me face first into the pavement. My first motorcycle ride had several factors that even experienced riders I personally interact with will refuse to ride in - rain, night, and/or high wind. My comfort level is all three at the same time. Theirs is not. The average road in my hometown is better than the best road in this state. All of these things will make a difference.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Seek your own pace. You'll get there eventually, and if you take longer to get there, that's ok too. If you can, get a responsible rider to go with you, and have them ride in front of you at first until you have more confidence. They can help you identify hazards before they happen, and you won't be worried about them watching you make mistakes. With another rider leading, you can focus more on relaxing and riding smoothly, which will help you improve faster. The single biggest factor that helped me improve was having a responsible rider with me (2 different riders actually).

EDIT: I missed the second part of the question. Beyond things like turning without falling, how to use my blinkers and the process for emergency braking, I hit the road right away. Motorcycle training in Australia in the early 00's focused a lot on roadcraft, and even as a beginner you very quickly ride on the road. I remember noticing that I was naturally going below the speed limit on a lot of roads at first., probably because the engine revving was something that made me feel like I was going faster than I really was. That probably went away after the 3rd or so ride.

 

[Soliminal]

an electric unicycle that has a maximum speed of 47 mph

Holy smokes you're braver than me haha. I fell while riding my friend's OneWheel once and it was terrifying. I've fallen on skateboards, rollerblades, ice skates, ebikes, escooters - and the OneWheel was by far the most sketchy I ever experienced. Going to stay away from single wheel modes of travel for now!

 

[SneakyDingo]

Holy smokes you're braver than me haha. I fell while riding my friend's OneWheel once and it was terrifying. I've fallen on skateboards, rollerblades, ice skates, ebikes, escooters - and the OneWheel was by far the most sketchy I ever experienced. Going to stay away from single wheel modes of travel for now!

Yah, I'd rather have a folding bicycle now, but at the time it was a good compromise. I saved around $4200 in parking by owning that at a net expense to date of $1900. Just clicked over 2100 mi on it.

 

[STUBBORN]

If you have concerns about damaging your prized Honda by tipping over,
I recommend crash bars. BEEZDEELZ has several. I chose the exhaust crash bar and
Added a Diablo crash bar. Obtained from BEEZDEELZ
https://beezdeals.com/product/diablo-engine-guard-v2-honda-ct125-trail-125/
Bolt on - replaces original engine guard.

 

[Msfitoy]

If you have concerns about damaging your prized Honda by tipping over,
I recommend crash bars. BEEZDEELZ has several. I chose the exhaust crash bar and
Added a Diablo crash bar. Obtained from BEEZDEELZ
https://beezdeals.com/product/diablo-engine-guard-v2-honda-ct125-trail-125/
Bolt on - replaces original engine guard.

But then you scrapped up the crash bars lol...I rather never tipping over...although I do have crash bars too...

 

[STUBBORN]

But then you scrapped up the crash bars lol...I rather never tipping over...although I do have crash bars too...

Tipping a motorcycle is hard not to do if you go off road.
The engine crash bars have a replaceable bolt on hardened steel fitting that does not scratch easily.
I carry a can of Black Rustoleum spray paint in the van. I used it to paint the USB accessory hole after the
DREMEL tool leaped out and gouged the plate. When the engine guard gets scratched the I am prepared.

 

[Cpd419]

Wear your gear and expect the worse from everyone else on the road. Anticipate everyone pulling out in front of you and coming into your lane. You will be fine. The bike will handle way better than your ability.

 

[Kev250R]

One more tip: Get used to what the ABS feels like before you actually need it. My 990 Adventure was the first bike I'd ever ridden with ABS and the first time it engaged it was a little unnerving.

 

[SneakyDingo]

One more tip: Get used to what the ABS feels like before you actually need it. My 990 Adventure was the first bike I'd ever ridden with ABS and the first time it engaged it was a little unnerving.

Definitely true. There's a few useful options to experience it the first time without needing to experience it in a situation where you need it. The first time I engaged ABS, I was riding over some pinecones at 4 mph, knowing that the ABS was about to come on. Since then there's been a few times where I engaged it, one of them being a surprise as I came to a stop on a wet road. I highly recommend finding something you can ride over and engage the ABS safely. Like all experiences trying something new with an element of risk to it, I recommend bringing a friend, but if you don't have that option thankfully this is one you can also do very easily on an off road surface, so if you do drop the bike it's unlikely to be a painful experience.

 

[STUBBORN]

One test at the DMV motorcycle skills test is the "quick stop".
This was scary at first, but I am practicing in a closed lot.

Skill Evaluation 2: Quick Stop
Objective
Stop the motorcycle as quickly and safely as you can.
Directions
Ride toward the stopping area in 2nd gear at 15 mph. When your
front tire reaches the marked cone, stop in the shortest distance
possible and downshift to 1st gear.
Scoring
You will receive penalty points if you stop beyond minimum
standards, fail to use both brakes, or fail to downshift to 1st gear.

With the ABS front brake helping, using both brakes to stop from 15 mph
in second gear within 12 feet is a challenge.

Practicing, I find that I really need to keep myself and the bike upright
and then remember to downshift to first before sticking my left leg out.

 

[Msfitoy]

How many points for dropping the bike?