I don't know if you remember, but I'm the new member, 41 yr. old mom of 3, formerly terrified of motorcycles.  (Does that get me kicked off )  Well, I did my first ride off the parking lots and past my street.  I know it sounds silly, but it was a huge step for me.  There was even a moment at a stop sign where the bike started to wobble (still trying to get that down shift thing) and I was surprised how easy it was to control it.  Not the big scary beast I thought.  Haven't done a highway yet - going to wait until after the MSF.  You all are right, its an incredible feeling to move with the bike, making those turns, etc.!  And I realized today - I LOVE MY BIKE!

Well done Sam....I've been riding 20+years and still get that feeling, the feeling you can't explain but want to share with everyone  

My two favorite recreational type activities are flying a helicopter low and fast through the treetops (don't get to do that anymore...costs too much for a civilian) and riding a motorcycle...preferably on sweeping country roads or winding mountain roads.  Both of those things are remarkably similar, and fun fun fun.  I started riding at 16 and have loved it since the beginning.
Welcome and keep having fun.

Suzuki_Sam wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:


Good encouraging start, Sam, and no it's not silly at all.  Not sure that I understand how a 41 year old mom that was once "terrified of motorcycles" came to own a Savage in the first place, but I guess that is all mentioned somewhere and I just can't remember.  Anyway, welcome to Suzuki Savage Dot Com.....

As they say in the movie Dune, "Fear is the mind killer" and what that means is that you can't think correctly when you are afraid or nervous.  And being afraid while riding is not a good thing.  It slows down your responses at a time when you need them to be at their best

My advice...Stay off the highways until you can take the MSF course.  When will that happen?  

Do you have access to a parking lot near home?  PRACTICE, Practice, practice.  Your first ride was encouraging, and that is good, but learning to ride is not a linear thing.  You don't proceed to the "next step" by simply putting more miles on the saddle.  You used the word "wobble" to describe your moment at the stop sign....you need to get rid of all "wobble" before you approach your next stop sign.

Also, do you have a friend (or hubby) with a motorcycle?  You need someone to mentor you.  Someone that can critique your riding objectively and honestly.  Go to the DMV and get a motorcyle manual, then find the section on the skills testing, and practice those riding skills in an empty parking lot.  Even set up your own pillons or cones (coke cans, anything) and do the zig-zags, and the stopping tests.

Trust me.  I learned to ride the hard way, but that was years ago when traffic and people were so much different.  I took my spills too, but in today's world you don't want to risk that in public.  

5 years ago, I bought my newbie spouse her first bike (a GZ250).  She was totally green too, with nothing more than a good attitude.  I trained her for over 15 miles in a parking lot, before she ever went on the road...and even then it was out in the country with me following in either a car or a bike.  

I lectured and I critiqued, and she learned, and this went on for months and she was getting good, too..  However, I also worried that I wasn't training her properly, that I was teaching her my learned bad habits, or that there was more that she needed to know...I got us both in the earliest MSF course possible.

Bottom line?  Even though I had 30+ years experience, she got the same final score...we both got "2 points" in the final riding skills test (not for the same reasons).  

And ya wanna know what?  My spouse is every bit as good as I am....with the exception that she didn't have to smash up a few bikes to learn as I did  

Sorry this is long winded, but motorcycle safety is just something that I take seriously, and I want everyone to enjoy it just as I do.

Suzuki_Sam wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:


Hey Sam!  Congrats on that first wonderful step.  I too am a 41 year old Mom and I only have about 4 months experience more than you.  I started riding last September (but I live in Maine so there are a lot of months in between that I didn't ride).

Once you take the MSF, you'll be amazed at how quickly you will progress in your comfort level.

If you want, you can read my blog that sort of touches on my own learning experience from the first ride till this weekend.

http://www.cruisinmaine.blogspot.com/

Keep at it, girl.  You're doing great!

Yeah!  What she said...

Specially the part about...well, okay... all of it.

The MSF will help a lot and riding your own bike is so important...don't worry about keeping up with anybody's bike or skill level or speed.  Do what you alone are comfortable with.

And Diane, you're right...even at this age, I feel like I wasted some good riding years, but I'm feeling younger all the time!

Diane wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:

well, Diane it was the age for me I am 48 and I sure do like the the ideal of the more you ride the younger you feel  

36 here, no kids.  Do cats count?  I have one that's really evil, if it helps...  ???  

The S40 was my first bike too.  It's funny -- people usually talk about getting a small bike to learn on, then moving "up" to something bigger.  So far, though, I can't see why I'd want a different bike.  This one does everything I want -- and looks cool doing it, I might add.  

Suzuki_Sam wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:


Nope, that's not silly at all!  It's great that you're gradually increasing your comfort level.  There's no deadline here, so there's no need to rush yourself.  Go at the pace you're most comfortable with, and it'll all be that much more rewarding.

Just an FYI:  if you're anything like me, you might have the occasional day when your head's just not into it, or you're more tired than you thought, or it just doesn't feel quite right.  You might make some simple mistakes, or be surprised at how out-of-whack you feel when you're riding.  If this happens (and it might not; this is only if you're like me), don't be discouraged by it.  I've had a couple of days where I thought, "I have no idea what I'm doing; why am I on this thing?" and took the bike home.  And then without fail, the next time I rode I felt like I'd been doing it all my life.  

So when you see experienced riders making it look easy while you're wobbling to stops, don't worry -- you'll be making it look easy soon enough.