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An observer posted:Here is my Ridiculous MSF Getup
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Sep 25, 2012 17:57
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An observer posted:Here is my Ridiculous MSF Getup You are better protected than I was. I had some not-so-very thick jeans, gloves, hiking boots, and a full face helmet, but only a long-sleeve t-shirt. The instructors never said a word. And no injuries after I dumped my bike going 10 to 15 mph after being a dumb rear end. Don't worry about.
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Sep 25, 2012 19:31
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Thanks for the replies peeps!  Pompous Rhombus posted:I'm sure they've seen worse than a Canadian tuxedo. A canadian tux is only when both the pieces are the same color.
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Sep 25, 2012 23:00
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So today I went to take day one of the class. It was my first time ever riding a motorcycle and I was really nervous. I don't know if all bikes are like this but my bikes clutch was hard as hell to pull. I kept stalling but the instructors were nice and I got to ride around a bit in 1st gear but I was wobbling. They asked if I wanted to go to second gear and I said I was nervous.  . Hopefully next week when I go back ill do better since I'm more familiar with a bike now.
Khashie fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Oct 20, 2012 |
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Oct 20, 2012 18:20
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Khashie posted:So today I went to take day one of the class. It was my first time ever riding a motorcycle and I was really nervous. I don't know if all bikes are like this but my bikes clutch was hard as hell to pull. I kept stalling but the instructors were nice and I got to ride around a bit in 1st gear but I was wobbling. They asked if I wanted to go to second gear and I said I was nervous. See if next time you can request a different bike...it might be that bike that has a really stiff clutch action, making it hard to modulate, or it might be that you need to work on your grip strength a bit. Wouldn't hurt to grab one of those hand resistance trainer things. Also, do some mental review of what you're doing on the bike, mentally going through the steps is a really useful technique to help you build comfort with new things.
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Oct 20, 2012 19:05
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I've always found that the second time you go to something you are about 500 times better. It held true for the second day of the MSF, second round on a track, and second day of a track session.
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Oct 20, 2012 22:04
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Z3n posted:See if next time you can request a different bike...it might be that bike that has a really stiff clutch action, making it hard to modulate, or it might be that you need to work on your grip strength a bit. Wouldn't hurt to grab one of those hand resistance trainer things. I going to say Z3n is right on the money on the first issue. The bikes at most MSF courses are just plain... bad, I suppose, is a nice way of putting it. The fact is that a lot of students have to use that same bike and the course operators can't afford to replace the bikes when they really should. My MSF bike had a lot of issues - it wouldn't shift and it took off twice while it registered in neutral (I am guessing it slipped into gear) and with my hand off the throttle - and I ended up getting another one to test on halfway through my final exam. If you're of at least less-than-average strength you should still be able to easily pull in the clutch on your bike. But, if you regularly have trouble opening bottles of milk or water then, yeah, maybe strength training is the better route to go.
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Oct 21, 2012 01:06
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So I took and passed the MSF course in AZ over the weekend. I did put my foot down once during the Figure 8 portion but that was my only mistake during the test. I don't own a bike yet, I took the course to see how I would like it before making any purchases. I did well enough to pass the course in the middle of the pack, I had absolutely zero experience on a bike and the guys ahead of me were coming back after an absence. One guy had been riding for years and wanted the insurance break. I left the class feeling like riding a motorcycle is a complete blast, even at low speeds. However, I don't feel that I am comfortable enough to ride a bike I've purchased on the streets where people don't look out for me. I learned a ton of useful skills, but even at the end when we were tested I never felt like I was completely in control of the bike. I have been thinking a lot and am not entirely sure I'm going to buy a bike...but I had a ton of fun. I'm not sure if I just need a bike to practice on or if riding a motorcycle isn't for me. Normal thought process for a beginning motorcyclist or am I more in the second column where I probably shouldn't pursue it?
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Oct 22, 2012 03:48
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Need No Instruction posted:So I took and passed the MSF course in AZ over the weekend. I did put my foot down once during the Figure 8 portion but that was my only mistake during the test. Hope you don't mind me asking, but did you take your class in Tucson? If so, there is a chance that I was in class with you.
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Oct 22, 2012 04:16
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Need No Instruction posted:So I took and passed the MSF course in AZ over the weekend. I did put my foot down once during the Figure 8 portion but that was my only mistake during the test. Common newbie feelings. At least you enjoyed it, when I did my test I was just nervous as hell the whole time and hated it. I didn't even like the first few months because I just did not feel comfortable out on the open roads with the public, but I stuck with it because I knew it would pass and I'd end up enjoying the hell out of it, which I do today. You just need a little time to get your confidence up.
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Oct 22, 2012 04:38
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I had the same feelings as you after the MSF. The motorcycle was a lot of fun, but I was still uncomfortable about going out against real traffic because I felt I wasn't completely in control yet. Everything I did seemed sloppy to me--changing gears, acceleration, braking, and turning. I never rode a motorcycle before the MSF so who knows how bad I was actually doing. After I got my bike, I putted around in the neighborhood for a few hours and drilled these basics. This helped me get more comfortable with how a motorcycle generally handles as well as how my particular bike handles. I found that at the beginning, I was concentrating very hard on how to actually work the bike, and not as much on where the bike was actually headed. As I started developing the muscle memory to control the bike, I could then start diverting more of my attention to where I was actually going. After this, I hopped onto a small road that sees a little bit of traffic to practice real world riding. I felt like I initially regressed a bit in how well I controlled the bike due to the pressure from actual traffic, but soon got acclimated. I think after two weeks of riding my bike, I got much more comfortable about how well I could control it and about handling traffic. Since you at least had fun riding in the MSF, I suggest you take things slowly like I did. As long as you're level-headed I think you'll do fine. You'll have even more fun once you build your confidence up.
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Oct 22, 2012 05:40
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It's pretty normal to have some trepidation about being on a bike. I've had my bike for a few weeks and 500 miles and I still get that stomach twist every time I throw a leg over. Truthfully I hope it never goes away. It's a good reminder to be safe. You have nothing to prove to anyone so trust your gut. However, if you don't challenge yourself every so often then you don't grow. That's one of the main reasons I got a bike: because I had been afraid of them most of my life. It feels good to get some control over that fear. Anyone have experience with the MSF intermediate course? I am thinking of taking that course but one of the qualifications is six months on a bike and I don't want to wait another five months to take the class.
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Oct 22, 2012 06:01
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Debugario posted:Hope you don't mind me asking, but did you take your class in Tucson? If so, there is a chance that I was in class with you. No I don't mind, but no I did not take it in Tuscon. I took the course in Chandler. I hope you had fun and passed the course you took though!  yergacheffe posted:I had the same feelings as you after the MSF. The motorcycle was a lot of fun, but I was still uncomfortable about going out against real traffic because I felt I wasn't completely in control yet. Everything I did seemed sloppy to me--changing gears, acceleration, braking, and turning. I never rode a motorcycle before the MSF so who knows how bad I was actually doing. After I got my bike, I putted around in the neighborhood for a few hours and drilled these basics. This helped me get more comfortable with how a motorcycle generally handles as well as how my particular bike handles. I found that at the beginning, I was concentrating very hard on how to actually work the bike, and not as much on where the bike was actually headed. As I started developing the muscle memory to control the bike, I could then start diverting more of my attention to where I was actually going. You do sound a lot like I do, I want a bike to mess around with but I am concerned with the additional costs of bike + gear (can't ride around unsafely). I got a car not that long ago, that I probably shouldn't have, which I still have several years to pay off. I do want to put some money into getting a bike because I enjoyed it a lot,but I do feel like the money could be better spent on my car loan or student loans. But if I do decide to wait until they are paid off, I'm likely to be in my 40's before I get my first bike...in which case I'll have forgotten everything I've learned
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Oct 22, 2012 06:42
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Need No Instruction posted:No I don't mind, but no I did not take it in Tuscon. I took the course in Chandler. I hope you had fun and passed the course you took though! I did in fact. Only messed up on he figure 8 like you, which kinda sucked because that was the only time I put my foot down doing it. Now I'm just looking forward to saving up a bit of cash and picking up a bike.
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Oct 22, 2012 06:49
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I messed up the figure 8 as well in my class, it's an easy one to do. I've been riding for years now and I'm still cautious when turning that tight. At speed I'm comfortable, but I sometimes get that nervous stomach when tipping it over to do a quick U turn. You just have to practice with your bike and learn how to control it and be smooth when slowly turning tight. I'd assume bikes with torque make this easier, I've mainly ridden high revving bikes.
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Oct 22, 2012 07:28
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nsaP posted:I messed up the figure 8 as well in my class, it's an easy one to do. I've been riding for years now and I'm still cautious when turning that tight. At speed I'm comfortable, but I sometimes get that nervous stomach when tipping it over to do a quick U turn. You just have to practice with your bike and learn how to control it and be smooth when slowly turning tight. Second gear, slip the clutch, keep the revs up, drag the rear brake a bit. If you feel like you're going to tip over or you're getting "happy feet", reaffirm your view on your exit and let a little more power go to the rear wheel.
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Oct 24, 2012 01:10
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yergacheffe posted:I had the same feelings as you after the MSF. The motorcycle was a lot of fun, but I was still uncomfortable about going out against real traffic because I felt I wasn't completely in control yet. Everything I did seemed sloppy to me--changing gears, acceleration, braking, and turning. I never rode a motorcycle before the MSF so who knows how bad I was actually doing. After I got my bike, I putted around in the neighborhood for a few hours and drilled these basics. This helped me get more comfortable with how a motorcycle generally handles as well as how my particular bike handles. I found that at the beginning, I was concentrating very hard on how to actually work the bike, and not as much on where the bike was actually headed. As I started developing the muscle memory to control the bike, I could then start diverting more of my attention to where I was actually going. I was the same way when I first got on the road too. Not so much because I didn't feel fully comfortable in class, but it had been almost two months since the class since I'd touched a bike when I first got one on the road. My first (and still only road experience) was the free Harley rental I got with my BRC from the dealer. What I did was immediately take the bike across the street into an office park and rode around their pretty much empty streets for about 10 minutes until I felt good cycling up and down through the gears, stopping and taking turns a different speeds. Really those 10 minutes were all I needed to feel comfortable on the road. I didn't really get a slight nervous feeling again until I got into a little bit of heavier traffic going 50mph. That was mostly just because my perceived speed going that fast felt like I was doing 80mph. But after a minute of that it all went away. Coming to a stop on an incline still made me a little nervous by the end of the day though. I never messed it up, but I had to focus a lot.
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Oct 26, 2012 19:25
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Had a three hour book and movie class last Thursday, nice group of people. I'm now four hours away from the first riding portion and I can't get a wink of sleep. Mostly excited. I got there early before class and played that simulator game. GTA games are less lethal than the bullshit that game throws at me, I ended up never going out of first gear for fear of a little child running across the street to jump into a semi truck just to open the door on my rear end. gently caress. At least I got familiar with where the starter/etc is now.
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Oct 27, 2012 12:15
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Lothire posted:Had a three hour book and movie class last Thursday, nice group of people. I'm now four hours away from the first riding portion and I can't get a wink of sleep. Mostly excited. Where are you taking the class in WA? The simulators have got me curious.
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Oct 27, 2012 16:28
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I'd love to practice on one of the simulators, too. Don't be put off by how unrealistic a lot of the emergency situations are, though. It isn't nearly that bad out there. Sure, there's always the chance of a kid running out into the street and I've had a couple of people pop doors open right as I'm approaching or cars back out on me; but, I'd say in a week of riding daily, it happens maybe five or six times; not the thousands of times an outing the MSF preps you for.
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Oct 27, 2012 18:26
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I'd squid the gently caress out of it if I get to play on a simulator. How does it look like? Is it something like http://www.tecknotrove.com/Motorbike_Training_Simulator.html?
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Oct 27, 2012 18:48
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Angryboot posted:I'd squid the gently caress out of it if I get to play on a simulator. How does it look like? Is it something like http://www.tecknotrove.com/Motorbike_Training_Simulator.html? One of the environments you can simulate: "Hill Drive"  
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Oct 27, 2012 20:17
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Man I'd love to play with one of those too. Looks like fun.
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Oct 27, 2012 21:01
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It's over at Everett Powersports and is sometimes not on, but ask anyone working there and they seem happy to power it up for ya' to do whatever with. You can choose a practice mode where you're allowed to ride around doing whatever for maybe 10 minutes or so. The course options are the ones that have all the crazy stuff flying at you. This handy video shows it in all its awful glory. It was never used in the course but the coach girl had me talk about my experience with it, as I had spent an hour playing around killing time yesterday. I basically said that the world is out to kill us by opening every possible car/truck door just as we are coming near the vehicle. Cars would stop on the road and as I check behind me to pass by, they'd open their door to knock my rear end over. All that aside, the actual class was great. Trying to recall it all but as I said earlier, I had about one hours sleep before this. Exhaustion is hitting hard right now. There were ten of us who ranged from all over the place - two were young brothers, another an old harley guy who's been riding for some 37+ years, and a handful of others. Two nice looking girls who were friendly, liked talking about their butts, but were apparently already spoken for. Bit of a bummer there, but I figure the ladies are suppose to come after I get the bike. I believe me and an asian dude were the only ones with zero bike experience. Written class was going through the book section by section followed by a video doing the same section. Our coach/teacher/whatever lady was all about mingling our groups together, so she let us grab cards at random and that paired us up. We'd then talk about whatever section we were assigned and shout it out to the other groups. Honestly, didn't care for this so much. I don't mind the mingling but it was real forced. Anyways, we eventually knocked out the book/video and took a 25 question multi-choice evaluation before being done for today. I assume this is the last written thing we'll be doing but maybe not, I don't know. To be honest, I worry even though most of the questions were reasonably straight forward and made sense. Suppose I have a little bit of test fear or something. We'll find out tomorrow. The best part is also perhaps the worst part. I get to the boeing parking lot that is to be our range and it's cold as all hell. I've got a sweatshirt-type jacket with a thicker one underneath, my cortech gloves and recently purchased helmet, jeans and boots. Immediately begins to rain and within' a few hours, I'm already soaked. Most people came better prepared with real rain gear.. That only lasted about another hour before they too were soaked. We were all wet and cold for most of the time there. Save for those girls butts. Those were pretty pristine, I must admit. Yet we managed to keep happy faces. My hope was to get a Rebel, but I ended up with what proved to be a fantastic machine: a Suzuki Boulevard. This thing felt so good to be on, even though it would never start up without the choke. Honestly, I cannot embellish my enthusiasm enough. We started slow - walking, power walking, riding a short ways, stopping with both breaks, the whole deal. Words fail to express how truly magnificent the experience was for me. For the times we rode, we forgot how miserable the weather was and had real fun.. Then bitched when we had to wait 10 minutes for each set up for the next practice. We lost the asian dude early. The weather got to him quickly, but he also seemed incredibly uncomfortable with his bike in general. That sort of brought me down, but he will be attending a class that is even more basic than this one. My fingers are crossed for the guy, he was fun to group with. Everyone else did well, no major incidents. I got a lot of praise for my braking, appropriate speed adjustments and proper wrist posture in turns and such. Even in the rain, I managed a textbook emergency stop with solid reaction time. On the other hand, my problems are that I would continuously look at the cones/right in front of me rather than down the road (this was mostly during turns, which caused me to gently caress up my turns). My instincts get the better of me and I was reminded to look ahead quite often. Personally, I could not at all get a feel for the weaving in and out of the straight line of cones practice. I managed to do it without ever hitting a cone, but it was like watching a panicked rat having a seizure as he makes his way through a maze (never sat down a foot though!). Really hoping we'll get to revisit that one. For tomorrow morning we'll be doing counter-steering and swerving, probably a handful of other stuff. Still not sure how counter-steering works, but I'm feeling good. I've got a bowl of noodles to warm my soul and just moments away from crashing for some much desired sleep. All my stuff is dried out and ready for tomorrow, though I've no idea how to improve my gear in such a short time to be better prepared. I wonder if I could fit an entire garbage bag over my body and cut holes for my limbs..
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Oct 28, 2012 01:47
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Lothire posted:Still not sure how counter-steering works, but I'm feeling good.
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Oct 28, 2012 02:06
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Lothire posted:This handy video shows it in all its awful glory. The part around 2:35 where he's not maintaining consistent lane position, crosses a solid white line, leaves his lane entirely, enters the acceleration lane for no reason and then actively steers right into the side of a truck, then calls that a "very typical situation". 
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Oct 28, 2012 02:12
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Add a wheelie, that's a typical day in the life of a supermoto! 
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Oct 28, 2012 02:58
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Man that video of the simulator killed my nerd boner so fast it's not even funny Like Kenny Rogers said, you'll get a better idea of how counter steering works when you go faster. Push the bar forward instead of down and watch it start leaning immediately and make you giggle like an idiot.
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Oct 28, 2012 04:00
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Appreciate the explanation/support. Got 10 hours sleep last night, but still feeling groggy. That tends to happen to me when I screw myself out of sleep the night before, but I still got another 2 hours before the class starts up. Some tylenol and a good breakfast should dull out the ache in my brain. Trying not to psyche myself out about what we'll be doing today. 4.5 hours of riding and that'll be it. I'm still concerned about not getting that weaving exercise down solid, but I know I'm just over thinking things and once I'm on the course, I'll be having too much fun to really care. Fingers and toes are crossed in hopes of rain not being as substantial as yesterday mornings (of course it all cleared up by classroom time).
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Oct 28, 2012 14:21
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Just stay loose and remember what you've learned yesterday and you're good to go. You still have practice time before the test starts anyway. Worst case scenario you get to retake the last day for free next week. No biggy. Good luck today!
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Oct 28, 2012 16:30
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Success! I completely and utterly bombed the figure 8-like test, however. Feels bad. Thinking back on it, I keep wanting to lean and I don't think that's the time for it. Truthfully, I have a very hard time not moving my body in relation to the bike, like when we need to double counter-steer to do a swerve. Suppose to keep my body upright but I tend to bend my torso around, no idea why I have that instinct. On the positive side, I was praised for scraping my peg on the cornering test. Good speed, good posture, was my best cornering work. Again, no idea why. I figure I just have a good feel for it. My legs feel like paper, but I'm so happy to have done this. Motorcycles were such a mystery to me. It feels crazy to have gone from so little knowledge to full on motorcycle endorsement in just two days. Road riding is going to be different for sure and there's still a bunch of things I'm not even thinking about like lane positioning and such. But at least I'm aware of those things and have plenty of reading materials for when the time comes that I can devote brain power to it. Feeling really good right now. Gonna need to last me, my bike fund is still gonna need a few months to get up there! *Forgot to mention, the old harley guy? He did great the whole time. But we were having a discussion on one of the breaks talking about tailgaters/aggresive drivers. His response? "For those guys, I carry a concealed weapon permit. I just lift my jacket up a bit like this and those guys back off." That was a serious  moment.
Lothire fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Oct 28, 2012 |
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Oct 28, 2012 21:38
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I took the MSF this weekend in Northern Virginia and passed it. I'd never driven a motorcycle before, and only ridden on the back of one a few times. It was a fun and highly educational weekend. The little 250cc bikes used definitely aren't suited for my sprawling 6'2" self, something I will take into consideration if I look at getting my own in the near future.
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Oct 29, 2012 03:04
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Lothire posted:*Forgot to mention, the old harley guy? He did great the whole time. But we were having a discussion on one of the breaks talking about tailgaters/aggresive drivers. His response? "For those guys, I carry a concealed weapon permit. I just lift my jacket up a bit like this and those guys back off." That was a serious They back off when they see his permit? Whenever someone talks about carrying a handgun they pretty much always go on my poo poo list. It's not something to talk about unless you are an rear end in a top hat and/or have a tiny dick. I don't care if you carry a handgun, just don't be all  and keep that poo poo to yourself.I almost signed up for a BRC, but decided I should probably wait until I can actually use a motorcycle. I have surgery coming up in Dec, and again a few months after that, so no motorcycle for me It'd just sit in a parking garage for 8 months. Any Seattle goons know about the subsidized courses? I already have a motorcycle endorsement from my previous state, but can I still take a subsidized class when I already have an endorsement?
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Oct 29, 2012 06:59
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Sagebrush posted:The part around 2:35 where he's not maintaining consistent lane position, crosses a solid white line, leaves his lane entirely, enters the acceleration lane for no reason and then actively steers right into the side of a truck, then calls that a "very typical situation". I, too, got a kick out of that. A newbie who drives that poorly deserves what they get. I particularly enjoyed how he had full seconds of reaction time wasted just staring at the side of the truck as he just continued to steer into it. I was like "swerve idiot!"  AbsoluteLlama posted:They back off when they see his permit? Whenever someone talks about carrying a handgun they pretty much always go on my poo poo list. It's not something to talk about unless you are an rear end in a top hat and/or have a tiny dick. I don't care if you carry a handgun, just don't be all In response to the weapon part: I'm a gun guy who carries my EDC with me everyday everywhere I go (except school) and I'm so this ^^^ Just shut the gently caress up about how you're locked and loaded. No one cares - actually, plenty of people do care: the anti-gun people. When you carry your weapon and can't shut up about it the anti-gun people say "See? If we let them carry guns they'll just use them to intimidate people!" Lothire posted:Success! I completely and utterly bombed the figure 8-like test, however. Feels bad. Thinking back on it, I keep wanting to lean and I don't think that's the time for it. Truthfully, I have a very hard time not moving my body in relation to the bike, like when we need to double counter-steer to do a swerve. Suppose to keep my body upright but I tend to bend my torso around, no idea why I have that instinct. On the positive side, I was praised for scraping my peg on the cornering test. Good speed, good posture, was my best cornering work. Again, no idea why. I figure I just have a good feel for it.  As someone who was in your shoes just this past August, let me just say: Welcome. It gets easier. You now represent not only yourself, but the entire motorcycle community. Don't embarrass us. And remember to loving wave when you pass another biker, even if they don't wave back. Just because they're being a dick doesn't give you an excuse to reciprocate. Be safe. But most importantly: Have fun. Wulframn fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Oct 29, 2012 |
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Oct 29, 2012 16:48
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Wulframn posted:And remember to loving wave when you pass another biker, even if they don't wave back. Just because they're being a dick doesn't give you an excuse to reciprocate. If it's safe. I don't wave if the traffic situation is complex, and I don't feel snubbed when a guy on a bike in traffic fails to wave back, because I know that he also is dealing with at most a second or two of buffer zone and needs all the reaction time he has.
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Oct 29, 2012 19:36
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Sagebrush posted:If it's safe. I don't wave if the traffic situation is complex, and I don't feel snubbed when a guy on a bike in traffic fails to wave back, because I know that he also is dealing with at most a second or two of buffer zone and needs all the reaction time he has. Sorry, I thought that was implied. Lothire: Listen to Sagebrush on this one. Other bikers will understand if you don't wave because you're in a complex situation or you're in a corner or just need to keep your hand on the clutch. (like at a stop light) I was referring more to those newbies who have a death-grip on their handlebars and won't let go long enough to wave. Waving encourages you to relax and enjoy yourself. Which reminds me... Do not cling to your loving bike. It seems like virtually every newbie does it. I did it at first. You will learn to motorcycle better the sooner you can relax. It is not a wild dragon that is going to buck you off of it and then start trampling you. Do not cling. Do not cling.
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Oct 29, 2012 19:52
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I do have a giant part of my brain that is screaming when I'm on the bike. Ya, I know that if I lean and go I won't fall over.. But my gut instinct still shouts "I have a bad feeling about this!" every time. When I grab a bike, I plan to do a lot of local joy riding to help flush out those negative feelings before I get on a "real" road. I'm certain once I can trust my bike like I do my bowl movements then I'll be relaxed enough to think about traffic (including waving!) more than the basics of motorcycle control. I loved the course despite my nerves in the end, but there's no substitute for time spent on a bike to shake off those questioning voices ringing in my gut.
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Oct 30, 2012 06:32
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Yeah, I felt the same way at the end of my course. Like "Aaaaaagh that was awesome but man I am so NOT ready to take this on the roads, I need to spend about a month riding in circles in the parking lot." That feeling lasts about two days after getting your own bike  When I got my bike running, having only the MSF course and some farting around (badly) on friends' dirt bikes as a kid under my belt, I started by going slowly around the block, up and down the street, then two blocks, three, down to the corner store and back, until I'd gone maybe fifty miles on empty streets without really leaving my neighborhood. That took about a week to get through without pushing myself beyond my limits -- but every ride I found myself wanting to go longer and longer. After I felt like I was smooth enough with the controls and steering to ride in light traffic, I gradually built upwards from there. I didn't get on a highway until I'd ridden over eight hundred miles on surface streets. But you'll be surprised at how quickly your confidence builds -- don't let it get ahead of you. I felt pretty confident after, I dunno, 150 miles but obviously I still didn't (still don't) know poo poo about how to ride well. Hell, I just learned last night that my little 350 has enough power to pop a wheelie. Always new and surprising things to discover. Welcome! Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Oct 30, 2012 |
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Oct 30, 2012 06:45
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Sagebrush posted:If it's safe. I don't wave if the traffic situation is complex, and I don't feel snubbed when a guy on a bike in traffic fails to wave back, because I know that he also is dealing with at most a second or two of buffer zone and needs all the reaction time he has. People tend to nod rather than wave over here for some reason. I almost learnt the valuable lesson of not doing this when turning the hard way. Poor guy coming the other way probably thought I was actively trying to take him out!
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Oct 30, 2012 13:23
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| # ? May 28, 2024 04:28 |
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Fellows, I want to thank you. I just finished day 3 of a four-day MSF, I am doing generally quite well, and most of that is thanks to lurking here for the last year or so. Without all of your guidance and advice, I'd be learning from Motorcycle Club-types and Weekend Warriors or, more likely, I'd have listened to them for five minutes and decided that motorcycles were toys for man-children. Which would be an absolute shame, because while this Sagebrush posted:Yeah, I felt the same way at the end of my course. Like "Aaaaaagh that was awesome but man I am so NOT ready to take this on the roads, I need to spend about a month riding in circles in the parking lot." Question time: how the hell do I keep this helmet strap from cutting into my throat? loving hurts, man.
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Oct 31, 2012 22:30
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