Diary of a new Biker

[SuperMike]

Ok. So. As some will be aware, I passed my Mod 2 the other day and picked up a shiny new CBR 650 later that afternoon. I have decided to write a little blog in the hope that it might help others getting into motorbiking in a similar position. I'm not trying to put this forward as an exemplar post of what to do for everyone, but it is this one persons foray into the world of proper big bikes.

As a bit of background, I am 37 and have driven cars since the age of 17. I started off with a knackered old polo, graduated to a golf GTI (how very Essex), and then to a race tuned Subaru Impreza P1 (350bhp on the dyno, 0 - 60 in about 3.7s.) I mention that to make the point I guess that I am no stranger to speed and danger. I used to attend 'cruises' in my cars, and used to get into some pretty scary situations - three figure speeds on the streets of London. My first point I guess is I am very glad I didn't jump on a bike in my early 20's. I would have been dead. I am glad therefore that I came to biking later in life. I now drive a Renault Laguna estate that hits 60 in about 12 seconds on a downhill with a tail wind.

Anyway, about three years ago, I brought a Honda PCX scooter as a commuter. I still remember picking the bike up and thinking, jesus this thing is quick. It was way slower than some of the cars I have driven, but the whole being out in the air and with the ground whooshing by beneath you, it just felt like I was on a 1000cc super bike. So, I spent the last few years driving around quite happily on that. I knew that one day I would be on a big bike, but just not when. Kind of figured it might be a 40th birthday type thing. Anyway, as fate would have it, got knocked off a few months back by a driver busting a U-turn on me - the usual didn't see ya mate, then the not so usual fleeing the scene of the accident. That is all being taken care of by the powers that be anyway...

So, with a cheque in my pocket for the written off scooter, I figured that now is the time, and booked on my DAS full license course.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks back, and I turn up for day one. I had no experience with a geared bike other than my CBT on a 125 CBF, but I seemed to warm to it pretty quickly. I spent the first three days leading up to my Mod 1 test on a CB650F, and my god I was smiling like a loon through most of it. It all went pretty much without incident other than a drop during one of the rides. It was about 3 hours in to a boring round the houses sort of ride and I got to a junction. Stalled it upon pulling out on a slight camber, and the bike started to fall to the side. There was no stopping it, and over she went. Lesson two learned - you will drop your bike. I accept this. It happened to me, and luckily it happened on a bike school machine with a full frame slider cage, so no damage done. The big lesson learned for me was definitely that holding up a big bike is infinitely harder than a scooter. Anyway, nothing but a slightly dented ego, and on I went.

Mod 1 came, and I was in a glorified car park thinking I have done all this in my sleep, just the one perfect u-turn and I'm laughing. The u-turn in all honesty was easy. The area is 7.5 metres wide I believe, and I just rolled it round with the clutch out and first gear engaged. Didn't even need to do any back brake and feathering the clutch nonsense. I picked up one minor for not going quick enough on the swerve manoeuvre, but as you get to do that again, I just gunned it and swerved and low and behold a Mod 1 pass certificate was in my hand a few minutes later.

I had tried to book the mod 2 for the same day, but I am kind of glad I couldn't (they had booked out). I was knackered and after three days of doing 20 mph around the local houses with a guy in your ear saying turn left, turn right, slow down, watch out for the horse I was glad to just forget about it for a bit.

Roll on the Tuesday after and it was Mod 2 time. We did a morning of riding around the houses and the instructor telling myself and my co-testee what we were doing wrong and then we had our tests in the early afternoon. My companion went first and passed with a few minors, and so it was over to me. The whole thing went like a flash. I did a bit of filtering, bit of stopping and pulling out from behind cars. Nothing over 30 mph which was strange as was expecting to get taken on some fast roads. Got back to the test centre and the guy took an age to come out and get me. Thought I had done ok, and yes, I had passed with 6 minors - three for not being decisive enough and stopping at too many junctions. The bloke was friendly enough, and I felt relaxed. No complaints. To those who have posted about failing Mod 2 and the instructors having quotas - nonsense. I think they want you to pass as much as you do. They are just employees earning a wage at the end of the day. What do they have to gain through failing people? Nothing.

Anyway, straight on the train to the Honda dealer and one of the best days of my life. They wheeled out my shiny new CBR 650 and I was smitten at first sight. Took some photos and then they gave me the keys. No earpiece telling me what to do, no under instruction jacket. Here are the keys, off you go. I thought, I wonder what the motorway is like on a motorbike. Just as I got on the motorway, it started to piss it down. Typical.

I guess here I should mention the practicalities. I posted on here a little while back about insurance. The general gist was fully comp or you're an idiot. To explain my thinking I thought I would put down my thought process. I'm not saying I'm right for everyone, but for me, I am 100% happy.

I went for third party fire and theft.

My excess is £2000, costing me £545 for the policy. The best fully comp policy I found was £1520 with a £1000 excess. So, put the two together and you have pretty much the same figure. Yes, the two are about the same cost wise, but the difference is that for TPFT I save nearly £1000. My thinking is this. I take full responsibility for driving like a dick. If I write off my bike by putting myself into a lorry at 70mph or whatever then I am a dick. That will most probably be an end to my motorcycling anyway. Going for the cheapest fully comp, I am £1520 + £1000 in debt for it already. The bike will then be valued (yes I could take out gap insurance), and then I get what back? Purchase price £6399 minus 2.5k minus depreciation. It makes it less than an attractive proposition. Having dealt with the insurance industry for the past few months I have come to realise that they will shaft you whichever way they can to limit their payout, and I am not paying into the system anymore than I have to. Now, everyone on here has categorically stated that fully comp is the only way to go, but I am not of that opinion. I guess in some ways I am used to the risk. I am a keen triathlete and own a £10,000 race bike and a £6,000 training bike (pedal bike). Neither of these are insured for anything. I crash and that is that. Gone. Carbon fibre breaks easily...

So, maybe I will win, maybe I will lose, but my point is that should I trash the bike then I will have to have done something monumentally stupid.

This leads me onto my next point.

I don't subscribe to the work your way up from 125 to 250 to 500 to 650 to 600rr to litre super bike philosophy. The past week I have been riding around like a grandma. Getting used to the clutch, getting used to how the bike handles. I am 100% comfortable on my 650. I don't think oh shit, I don't think I can't handle this. I am over the moon with my decision. You can ride a fireblade at 30 mph all day long if you want. The power is there, but it is only your right hand that puts you in trouble. I will probably have some oh shit moments I'm sure, but I am also confident that I am a sensible man, and I recognise that I am sitting ontop of 90 bhp of potential death if I push it too far. I also recognise that the possibility is there that I am wrong. That I will crash. That I will end up in hospital. I guess I am backing myself to be sensible. Nobody has a crystal ball. Maybe I am the exception. Maybe not.

So, here I am. Probably the epitome of the cocky arrogant new biker I know it all type that are no doubt ridiculed on here. I shall try to update this on a semi regular basis with how I am getting along. The stakes are high I guess. New biker, brand new bike, backing myself that I won't be a liability.

On a positive note, I am flipping loving life on powerful two wheels. The scooter was fun, but the big bike is immense. I shall be booking myself on some track days and probably the wheelie school come the spring. For now, I shall be driving round and learning. If it all goes wrong, badly wrong, I will probably be hanging up my helmet (what is left of it) anyway. For now, rock on!

[NJD]

[Rogerborg]

'k, see you in the Spill Counter thread.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[wr6133]

TLDR version

Passed some tests

Now knows everything

OP is boring cunt

[Ste]

[recman]

[hellkat]

Needs moar pix
Or shorter more succinct posts.

I will never know all those things you so lovingly crafted into that post.
Cos I just can't be bothered to read through all that.

Wall-o-Text, man ... just say no!
I am too old and my life is too short for that lot.

FYI: I took myself on a similar journey at that age, having learnt to ride at 23, then not doing anything more about it until I was 37.

Now, 17 years further down the road, and love riding, life, and the lifestyle it brings with it.
____________________
Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[grr666]

Mate your insurance is shocking. Similar to you, I passed quite late. I bought Kawasakis version of your bike,
zero no claims and new rider (on paper anyway) I paid £111 full comp for my first year and the same this
year but there were lots more bells and whistles with the cover this time around, including a years european recovery,
both times with a £100 excess. Where in Essex are you? Has it really got that bad there since I left?
____________________
Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[Val]

TLDR;

[hellkat]

Can I just ask ...
(Proving that I read past the first line this time, but only to about halfway along line 2)
(Not really! I actually read soundbites of most paragraphs)


Is this thread what you consider your "blog"? ... or have you written the same bunch of stuff somewhere else?

Cos if so, then why not cut all that dufus introspection stuff out of *this* one, and put a link to the blog with the full text. With pix, of course, of your new licence, the new bike (brave!) and the essential pic of you grinning beatifically in a selfie with both.

I've got a blog-about-biking, too: I think I wrote in it about five times before I enjoyed riding more than writing (and I like writing A LOT).

I resurrected it briefly for about 2 weeks prior to buying and riding a bike back from Milan a few months ago.

I was gonna blog about the journey there and back, but ... I enjoyed myself too much on the bike. I rode further than I intended every day, and was too knackered at the end of the day to write the blog, ended up just posting a few pix on here to prove I really did do it.

So good luck with the blog, if this thread isn't it.
Post us a link.
We might go there.
But only if you promise to write shorter paragraphs.


____________________
Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Matt B]

[hellkat]

As for your promises to update us on how you are enjoying being a real biker, then I would advocate continuing to simply involve yourself with a post or two in threads you find relevant on the various forums here, which will make you as much a valuable member of BCF as you choose to be (Traditional BCF spam-killers and troll-hunters notwithstanding of course; hopefully it appears that you've managed to by-pass those so far, though ).

As Val pointed out, we're all just here trying to have fun and ride our bikes when we can without being deaded.

Reading huge long introspective wombles is *not* anybody's idea of fun, unless you are a professor of English composition, of course.

In which case, send us a link to your blog, and we'll frisk it for speeling (sic) mistakes
____________________
Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[hellkat]

[Slacker24seve...]

OP you're post was too bloody long so I skimmed it but do you think everyone who gets on a bike explodes and dies in a fiery ball of death, destruction and dead kittens?

You will probably crash. It will probably be a lowside. You will probably be fine. Anything else* is almost certainly poor obs.




*Almost. This will no doubt reassure you but I was hit by a French octagenarian looking the wrong way at a roundabout. No amount of obs can save you for that. I was thankfully not potatoed.
____________________
Triumph Daytona 675 track bike + girlfriend's Honda Hornet 600
Selling a hack/winter bike for less than a grand? PM me.
Banger rallies are ace

[zico]

OP, you're a similar age to me and doing a similar thing. The difference between us is that if I had your outlook regarding getting on a bike then I wouldn't be doing it.

I did start on a 125, just for the road time and experience and I feel like my riding has improved tenfold because of it. The day I pass my mod 2 the 125 will be sold. I won't be buying a brand new bike that I'm scared to drop, I'll be putting maybe £1500 into a beater 600 that I can get to grips with before moving up.

Your insurance is crazy. Totally and completely batsh1t crazy. A £2000 excess?

I would suggest that you take a deep breath, relax, enjoy the bike and ride safely with all thoughts of your potential death being left firmly behind.

[Lord Percy]

I don't see any negativity in that 'blog'. Just an admission that he might crash one day.

Also that he used to hit triple-figure speeds in his car around London, like a really cool awesome person.

[Alawson68]

[grr666]

Very good point. And he's got a claim in progress by the sound of things or a recent settled one. I suppose either way
it will equal a premium hike.
____________________
Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[Rogerborg]

[SuperMike]

Ok, sorry guys, point taken about the post length. I had had a few beers and had an hour spare. I don't have a blog anywhere - well not about motorbikes at least. My intention really was to spell out how I got started. Can't blame you for skim reading it.

Nearly two weeks in and a few learning points:

1) Motorway driving is hectic if you are not used to it on a motorbike. Quite big blind spots on my CBR and needing lots of obs everytime you move lanes. I also haven't got used to leaning the bike at speed which lead to a few nervous moments on the tighter sections of the M25.

2) When carrying a pillion you need to get her to stop fecking wiggling around on the back. Nearly took me onto the pavement with one almighty rear end adjustment. Thought she had fallen off she made such a jump.

3) Fast starts from traffic lights requires greater clutch control than I have at present. Getting trashed by all the 125's, but I think I beat one over the first 50 yards just about today!

4) The engine is run in and I opened her up to 12000 rpm in second gear for the first time. Oh. My. God. As a car driver, I am used to changing up at 6000rpm. The noise from the engine will take some getting used to - I wanted to go up at 8000 but hung on!

As for my insurance. I have no idea what went on with it. I have had a car license for 20 years, have 20 years no claims bonus with it, have only ever had 2 3 point speeding fines (both acquired on the same night in Cardiff a long time ago). I currently have a claim going through, but this wasn't taken into consideration for the quote and won't be until May which is the end of my insurance year, so I have two years no claims bonus on my 125. I have no idea how a previous poster got fully comp for £111 unless they live in the middle of nowhere, but even then!?

In other news, it looks as though the local scum have realised there is a new bike on the street. Came out this morning to find my oxford bike cover half hanging off, so someone has obviously taken a look to see what is lurking underneath. I am hoping that 16mm Almax chain will be enough of a deterrent. Any other thoughts on how to secure your parked bike?

So far, so very very good. Loving life on a big bike!

[SuperMike]

Oh, and all the talk about death was a bit tongue in cheek. I have just had endless friends and relatives berate me about how motorbikes are dangerous and everyone ends up in a wheelchair or worse. I don't buy into it or I would never have brought a big bike in the first place. I keep trying to tell them that my 125 could hit 70 with a bit of a tailwind, it's just that now I get there a lot faster. Who knows. None of us have a crystal ball hey.

[SuperMike]

Ok, so another week gone by and some more learning. I'll keep it compact.

1) I see now why there are certain bikes for doing road trips, and certain bikes for not. I think I have a certain bike for not. Went to Brighton (outskirts) and back (100 miles round trip) and my back was feeling the pain along with the neck. Unless I tuck right down, the wind at anything over 70 mph will really get to you. I can't stay tucked down for hours on end, so my neck took a beating.

2) My bike will hit 70mph in first gear. That was a rush. Not sure if I will do it again anytime soon, but, well, yes...

3) It is quite cool getting nods off other 'big bikers'

4) Scooter riders are generally a liability. I thought as a scooter rider that I was ok, and generally I think I was, but jesus, when you are out infront on a big bike and you slow down to have 5 scooters come zooming up your inside you just shake your head. They are insane some of them, and a few have nearly hit me with last minute lane changes.

5) I'm still way too nervous on the motorway. I just feel like everyone is going to take me out. Ok, Friday rush hour on the M25 probably isn't the best training ground, but that is how it was. You really notice every cat eye, bump, gradient change and big lorry coming along side you!

6) High speed cornering is an art I have not mastered. At shall we say a high speed on the M25 with a reasonably sharp bend, I probably ended up closer to the central reservation than I should have done.

On the plus side, still going strong and loving life on powerful two wheels!

[NJD]

[Val]

[SuperMike]

I don't really get counter steering. A few people have mentioned it now. What is it? I tend to just lean the bike yes and as the angle gets greater I worry that I'm going over! Same concern with tight low speed corners such as turning left into a tight junction, or heading round a mini roundabout.