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 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?