Well, it's another Saturday, and it's time to get in some serious practice. I've had my eye on the school parking lot further down the road. It should be perfect for practice. Last weekend I used a small unused part of the plaza parking lot to practice, but it was only about 70 feet long by 25 feet wide. I was feeling pretty cramped in there, plus, there were parked cars and traffic just a few feet away. So, I was looking for something a little more private and safer to work in.

The school parking lot is about 5 miles past stoplight number two, and about 7 miles from my neighborhood. It's really nice and wide with enough room to comfortably do 25 mph around each corner of the lot. I am afraid to venture that far because, 1.) There are three major intersections between base camp and there, 2.) the speed limit is higher on the other side of stoplight #2, and 3.) the roadway turns into a 2 lane highway approaching the 1st intersection. However, I figure if I get an escort I wont have to worry about tailgaters at the lights or down the fast stretch of the road.

So, I arranged an escort down to the schoolyard and headed on out. The ride to the school was surprisingly uneventful. Nothing scary, or nearly scary happened, and the motorist at the intersections actually saw me (I guess the brighter helmet and jacket are working - smile). The only thing that I didn't expect was the speed - or lack of it. Oh, did I mention everything seems to be moving so much faster when you're on a bike. I think it's because you are so much closer to the action your perception changes. So, I feel quite content moving at a moderate 37 mph at quiet 3000 rpm in 5th gear. Anyway, back to the lack of speed. You see, this being a new motorcycle I'm still riding during the break in period. For the first 500 miles I have to keep the engine speed under 400 rpm, and then for the next 500 miles limit the engine speed to 6000 rpm. Currently, the bike only has 55 miles on it. Now here's the rub. The speed limit for the road to the schoolyard is 55 mph. So the average motorist is going to be doing 60 mph. What I found out as I was being escorted down to the schoolyard is that at my max of 4000 rpm in my highest gear the bike only does 50 mph. So, basically during my break-in period I am going to be going a full 10 mph slower than the average motorist. I guess that also means that I'll be getting a lot of experience with tailgaters, using my mirrors, and being passed. Nice!

It was a very humid 97 degrees. It wasn't half bad while you were moving but once stopped it was killer. After arriving at the school parking lot I wasted no time setting up the test course. I'm using a new method this time. The water bottles were nice, but they are kind of bulky. So today I'm using fluorescent rubber washers. They are about an inch and a quarter in diameter. They are not as easy to see, but they are a lot easier to carry and set-up. Also, if you happen to get your tire caught on them at an angle (while going around a corner) they are small enough and sticky enough to not cause too much trouble. Actually, because they were harder to see from a distance I was able to perform the straight line quick stop, and the straight line swerve maneuvers more true to life. I wasn't able to see the washers until I was almost on top of them, which, worked out well.

The parking lot wasn't all perfect. It was sandy in the corners (exactly where I don't want it to be), It was also sandy in the beginning section of the quick stop course. This made it really hard for me to execute the quick stop without skidding the back tire when coming down from above 25 mph. The rest of the course was pretty awesome. I learned that you can lean the bike a lot during a swerve, and, it's very, very true what they say. The bike goes where you look. While doing the slalom, if I focused on the markers as I was passing them it was a lot harder to complete the course. However, if I focused mainly on the exit, I found it much easier to flick the bike side-to-side and I could even go a little faster.

Of course, my throttle control improved with every start, and every corner. I was becoming pretty confident with my start-off skills (from a dead stop).

I stayed out there for about 2 hours. It was blazing hot! The bike ran at an average temp of 212 degrees (high temp is 239 degrees). At the end of my run, while I was sitting under some shade from a small palm tree, a lone rider came by. He was a Harley man on his brother-in-law's GSX-R (no helmet, t-shirt and jeans). Just my observations. We chatted for a while he rode off, I packed up my course, and called for my escort.

Guess what?! I stalled twice on the way home at two of the stoplights. I was getting much better at recovering though! For a while after I returned home, I couldn't figure out why I stalled out so many times on the way back. Especially since I was doing so well all day. Then it dawned on me. I was still making the starts too complicated (at least right now). Right now I needed to focus on reliability. I keep on trying to fully release the clutch and roll on the throttle at the same time, Why? Because I don't like the high pitch sound the engine makes. I know. I'm weird. So I think from now on I'll rev it up to about 2200 rpm and then slowly let out the clutch. As soon as the clutch starts grabbing I'll then just give it as much gas as it needs to get up to 25 mph then shift into 2nd.

Until next time.

It's been almost a week now since I've completed the MSF Basic Rider Course. I went to the DMV and got the motorcycle endorsement on my license the very next day after passing the skills course (which, wasn't easy since the computers were down state-wide for about 6 hours).

Yes, I passed. Was there any doubt?

If you have never ridden a motorcycle before, don't worry. It is an excellent course, with a very strong focus on throttle control and safety. Within the first hour of the very first day of practice, everyone was riding without much fuss.

I'm sorry if I don't sound as enthused as as I did before in my other posts. I still love riding, being on two wheels, yada, yada, yada. It's just that the single shared sentiment from all the experienced riders I've come across, is that the most dangerous part of motorcycling is the other motorists on the road.

I need to perfect my quick take-off skills, so I can get out of the way if a cage tries to rear end me while I'm stopped at a light. Until I can do that reliably I'm staying away from traffic.

I currently have 44 miles on the odometer. I have made a personal commitment to continue practicing in the parking lot until I get it up to 250 miles before I start touring on the neighborhood roads (no lights). At 600 miles I'm going to have to ride it out to the dealer to do the first maintenance. I went back to the store and exchanged all my black gear for a more brightly colored helmet and jacket. Yeah, I know I'll still be invisible, but the bright colors can't hurt.

I've been riding a couple laps around the block every day focusing on different things each time. Yesterday, it was the quick take-off from a dead stop. Today, it was smooth downshifting (without the bike lurching, or the rear wheel hopping). On the weekend I'll set up a course again in the parking lot and practice all the moves.

You know while driving around now, the first thing I notice when I see other riders is what they are wearing. Most notably, are they wearing a helmet.

While I was practicing today another rider came over to me on a sport bike as well. What struck me, however, was that he was wearing a tank top, thin shorts, and flip-flops. He was wearing a helmet though.

He had a learner's permit, didn't know anything about the MSF course, and didn't seem to have any intentions of getting his license anytime soon.

Time to get some real practice in.

I drove around looking for some good places to practice. Sure, my neighborhood has a road, but it also has a lot of kids. I need somewhere without any type of traffic or distractions so I can focus on my training. I'm looking for an empty parking lot. A school parking lot seems ideal. It's summer time and it's the weekend. My first choice - which was closer - was no good 'cause for some reason there was an event there. My second choice - which had an awesome parking lot - was too far, and too many stoplights away (I might stall. Not a good situation). Luckily, another area presented itself. A secluded section of a small plaza, where the business is closed on the weekends. So there, I've found my spot. Now I just have to make it over there. A tall order, seeing as I had so much trouble starting off from a dead stop. I really needed this practice session though, so I would have to accelerate my start and stop skills.

I donned my gear again, rolled out onto the roadway, and instead of just trying to get a lap in, I focused on starting off smoothly from a dead stop without stalling. It definitely wasn't easy at first, but after a few tries I began to realize it was less about increasing the throttle and it was more about engaging less clutch. The caution it seems more with big sport bikes is that there is very little low speed throttle area and a lot more medium and high speed throttle area. So if you are intent on moving very slow (especially from a dead stop) you have a very minute wrist movement to work with.

Well, soon I was able to stop and start reliably, without fear of a definite stall. I did a few more laps to solidify my newly gained skills, and then arranged for an escort to do tailgating duty on the way to the plaza parking lot. I made it there without incident. Yes, I had to cross a four way intersection, and yes, the cars and trucks there did want to turn left in front of me, however, this is not an unusual situation for me and I always assume that people turning at an intersection will not see me or jump out at the very last minute. I always dutifully slow down and cover the brake even when driving my two-and-a-half ton truck.

Yay! I made it to the parking lot.

The coolest thing about that "Riding Tips" booklet that came with the bike manual, is that in the last pages it had directions for setting up and riding a course in a parking lot. And, so to that effect, I had brought along ten bottles of water that I could use as markers/obstacles for laying out the practice course.

While riding the courses I certainly got a lot more skillful at starting off from a dead stop. This was great, since I'm going to have to get back onto the open road once I'm done practicing here.

Throughout riding the courses I noticed a couple things. My years of bicycle racing are helping out. The bike although heavy while motionless is very quick to flick from side to side while cornering at low speed. The bike is much stabler and harder to lean the faster you go, you really have to lean on the handlebars once you start going faster. Using the engine to brake is very effective at slowing the bike, I rarely even have to touch the brakes, but I press them anyway just to get the habit of the motion ingrained into my routine.

I practiced the courses over and over until I had a meager level of proficiency and comfort with all of them. I'm used to rigorous practice so, I pretty much know how to do it and what to look for. After three hours I was able to operate the throttle a little more smoothly, and comfortably, but nowhere near as perfect as I would like. However, this was my first practice session and it was a very productive one.

Some mistakes made were: I had a tendency to sometimes downshift in the beginning of a corner (the entrance - between the straightaway and the apex) this I could feel had a tendency to upset the rear suspension a little. This tendency to downshift primarily happened when coming down from 25mph. This over compensation was due a little to my wanting to experiment and see what it feels like to continue a hard deceleration inside the corner. My course was also set up so there was a real world ultimatum at the turns. The parking lot ends and has a 5 foot drop at the apex of the turn. This really gave me an incentive to complete the turn properly.

At the end of my practice session, I packed up my bottles of water, and rode home. On the way back I was amazed how much faster everything looked from the bike as now without my escort I tried to keep a decent pace with the traffic.

Anyway, another day. And now I am even starting to enjoy it a little.

After that episode on the driveway I knew I needed to learn a little more before attempting to ride the monster again. For sure the last thing I wanted to happen was to finally get my dream machine, and then to stupidly run it into the ground because of inexperience. So, that night I went and read the manual cover to cover. The manual also came with a very handy "Riding Tips" booklet that is filled with lots of great information. I read this entire booklet also. I also went back to the Internet again. Of course on the Internet there were many warnings of beginners purchasing sport bikes as there first bike.

You see,... here is my situation. I have my MSF course coming up in one week. The MSF course spans three days. The first day is classroom training (4 hours), the second, and third days have practical exercises on a motorcycle (~12 hours ). After successful completion of the course you can receive a motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license. Now I would like to get as much out of the course as possible. I've driven/used manual transmissions before and they usually take time to get comfortable with. So I would like to get some recent experience managing the throttle, clutch, 1st gear combination so that I don't spend my expensive class time focusing on stalling every time I move off, or come to a stop. I also want to get as much as possible from the classroom experience, so I studied the motorcyclist information at the state web site and went and got my learner's permit.

Alright, learner's permit? Check. Read manual and safety tips? Check. Checked the bike before riding? Check. Okay. Now let's try this again shall we.

I donned all my gear, rolled it onto the roadway, started her up, and THIS time I kept my right palm fairly flat. Gripping the throttle purposely with only the thumb and index finger, keeping my palm fairly flat and the other three fingers on the brake, I started it up and rolled on the throttle. Easy now. Not too much.

Of course the first few times I tried to move out of 1st gear I stalled miserably. When I finally did get it moving I over revved, and then got scared, causing the bike to heave and buck like a wild horse. But, I finally got it going. Trying to keep it in 1st gear at this low level of experience was torture. Heave, buck. Heave, buck. Heave,.. You get the picture. Horrible. I finally opened up the throttle a little more and slipped it into 2nd. This felt a lot better.

My neighborhood has a pretty good shape for tender practice. It's a half mile long oval w/ culdesacs off the tangents of one of the bends. In the culdesacs you can practice figure eights.

I went around for 1 lap and then stopped at my driveway to see if I could start off without stalling again. I couldn't. I stalled about three times before being able to move forward again. I also stalled when coming to a stop on the second and third lap. At least I got it moving though.

I'm done for the day.

In deciding to get a motorcycle, during my research, I had already firmly decided that I would at the very least get the motorcycle endorsement on my license. And, I would definitely take the MSF Basic Rider course to see what riding a motorcycle was all about. So, I signed up for the course even before I firmly decided on getting a motorcycle.

However, as it turned out I ended up purchasing the bike a week before my scheduled MSF course date. I have to say everyone at the dealer was very friendly, AND, they were very intent on getting the message across that I should ride safely. This was my first bike so I got a helmet, jacket and gloves at the same time. The dealer put my new bike up on a trailer and delivered it to my house that day. Sweet!

After the bike was delivered, I sat and looked at in my garage almost in disbelief that it was really here in front of me, in my home, and it belonged to me. What have I done. This is a 600cc sport bike, red-lines at 15,000 rpm and more than capable of going over 150 mph. I was very afraid. Yeah, I was. Very, very afraid. However, I've never let that stop me before. I try and use that to my advantage. Using it to make me acutely aware of my actions, and to keep me awake and focused on the task at hand.

I gazed at the bike's hard sleek lines for another minute or so and then said "...well, I'm going to have to at least start it up and see if I can get it to move...".

So, I put a pair of jeans on, boots, long sleeve shirt, my new helmet and gloves. I then turned the bike around and rolled it onto the driveway (downward slope) facing the roadway.

Now, I should confess that I am not a complete novice. I have driven for many years, both automatic and manual transmission, and I also borrowed a friends bike about 7 years ago and took it out for a quick ride into the city without any prior experience or training (I think it was a 250cc, standard). Anyway, basically I am pretty coordinated, I understand most of the physics of being on two wheels, I have used manual transmissions before, and am a fairly quick learner. However, I am in no way a skilled motorcyclist (and plus,this is a brand new muscle bike!).

From my research, I knew what to do to get the bike started so here goes. Straddle bike, kick up kick stand, turn key to on position, find neutral, pull in the clutch, pull in the front brake, and... press the ignition switch. 

All I can say is... WOW!!!

The rumbling that erupts from the engine and the muffler brings a tear to my eye. So, so beautiful. Now the butterflies have moved from out of my stomach and into all of my limbs. I am so scared, and elated that I am literally in pain.

Now, the next step. Yes, I have to try and get it moving under it's own power. (Oh, boy!)

I was still perched on the driveway, which, has a downward slope toward the roadway of about 5 degrees. I decided that I would rather start off on the flat road than on the sloped driveway. I released the front brake lever a little to allow the bike to roll downward and as it starts to do so, I pull back in on the front brake to control the descent. What happens next makes me almost s#%t my pants.

Somehow, while clamping back down on the front brake I inadvertently rolled on the throttle at the same time. It was nowhere near full throttle but the noise from the muffler was deafening, I was scared witless, and the more I clamped down on the brake, the more the throttle seemed to open up. I didn't know what the hell was going on!!! And, so I held on to the clutch for dear life!

Thoughts of the bike ripping out of my hands and flying right across the road into the rear of my neighbors Lexus ran through my mind. What was going on? It totally seemed like the throttle was climbing. And, dammit if this thing isn't LOUD!

Finally, after what seemed like half-a-minute I remembered,... "let go of the throttle brother". I lifted my right palm up off the throttle and thankfully the hellish revving stopped.

The whole incident only lasted about 5 seconds. But, with me not being used to the exhaust note, and the power, it was a truly frightening experience. The engine didn't even get over 3,000 rpm but I was thoroughly scared.

Once the engine settled into an idle again, I promptly turned the key to OFF, rolled the bike back up the driveway into the garage, put the kick stand down, got off the bike stood back, looked at it and said.

RESPECT.