Greetings fellow riders! Grab a chair and get comfy as this might be a long one.
Took my bike out for the first time ever yesterday and I couldn’t get enough of it. The only way to describe it was WOW!
A little background…I’m 34 and have not ridden a motorcycle, let alone sat on one in over 15 years. Rode a YZ80 dirt bike when I was in junior high/high school. Other than that, no motorcycle experience.
I’ve always been a car guy (singled Poopra and SC’d GTS in the garage) but I’ve always had the itch to get a motorcycle. Last summer I decided it was finally time to do it. After a few months of nagging the wife she reluctantly agreed as long as I got a life insurance policy. (more on the wife later)
I spent a few months looking at bikes and bike prices. Having been on a job assignment up in Minneapolis since June, I figured I’d probably find a better deal in the winter up here rather than buying a bike in Texas where I live. Turns out I was right and found a great deal on a 06’ GSXR 750. Bike was spotless and came with M4 exhaust, stainless steel brake lines and a power commander. The bike was purchased in January and has been sitting until yesterday.
The next few months were spent buying gear and other accessories for the bike. I also picked up Sport Riding Techniques which is a great read. As far as gear goes, I got helmet, leather jacket, Kevlar jeans, riding boots, gloves and T-Pro armor shorts, back, chest and knees/shin protectors.
I traveled home at the beginning of March for a few weeks off and in that time scheduled the MSF course so I could get my license before flying back to MN. Not really wanting to take the class alone, the wife agreed to take it with me. On the first day when introducing ourselves, my wife said she was simply taking the class to support me and had no interest in riding whatsoever. There were 3 girls on the class and one was sent home on Day 1 and the other on Day 2. My wife was the only girl that passed. Not bad for never having ridden a motorcycle in her life. After finishing the class, she decided she wants a bike now. Haha.
I found the MSF Course very enjoyable. The fact that you spent most of the class riding was a huge plus in my book. I scored PERFECT on both the riding portion and the written portion. Not too shabby considering I had not been on any type of motorcycle in 15 years. I was the only one to get perfect scores on any of the riding/written tests.
The following day, the wife and I headed over to the DMV. We both took the computer test and got our licenses. Finally! I was now legal to ride a motorcycle!
I woke up yesterday and couldn’t resist the urge to finally take the bike out and ride it. It was going to be 50 degrees so I said what the hell, I’m going for it. I geared up and hit the road!
Having zero experience on a SS bike, I was a little nervous. I headed out and drove through some neighborhoods just getting a feel of the bike. Did several turns, stops etc. I then headed over to some large warehouse complexes and did some more maneuvering and higher speed stops. About 45 minutes later, I was on my way into the real world.
I ended up putting about 80 miles on her yesterday. I mostly stuck to city streets so I could get use to the cars around me. I did make it onto the interstate twice, going from one onramp to the next exit. Also went around a few cloverleaves as well which were pretty fun.
So what did I think? Well, as I mentioned above, it was very enjoyable! I can’t wait until the next ride. The bike felt really awkward at first but I got a lot more comfortable the more I rode it. The bike is very tame under about 8k rpms. Beyond that, it starts to impose its will on you. I got it up to 85mph on the interstate and while fast, it did not feel as fast as either of my cars. I’m sure that once I get more comfortable on the bike and push the bike higher into the powerband, I’ll be singing a different tune. Being my first day out, there was no way in hell I was going to push the bike too hard.
Some other miscellaneous thoughts…
Power: in the lower rpms, the bike is pretty docile. I never found myself giving it too much throttle on accident. The bike seems geared really high. Just cruising in sixth gear I felt like the engine was working pretty hard. I’m sure this is simply how bikes operate and I’m just use to the range of rpm’s in which cars operate. A 16k redline is crazy!!
Brakes: very sensitive and had I not read my books or taken the MSF Course, I’m sure I would have crashed grabbing too much break. The stainless lines make the breaks very sensitive.
Turning: while turning was not really a problem, I can definitely tell I need to keep working on my technique. Hearing stories of sliding on gravel or water has me kind of nervous taking sharp turns too fast. As a result, I took the turns at a much slower speed then most of you experienced riders do. I guess it’s better to come in slow than too fast!
Handling: the bikes are a handful when maneuvering at low speeds. As with turning, this will also be something that I’ll become more comfortable with as my seat time increases. The bike is quite comfortable and after several hours of riding, I was not ready to stop or even take a break.
General: I’ve got
a lot to learn! While comfortable, I can easily see myself getting flustered should someone pull out in front of me or something like that. I found myelf continually scanning ahead and thinking what I would do if Car X didn’t see me and pulled out in front of me. I looked both ways while going through intersections wondering what I’d do if a car ran a red light. Lots of things can happen out there and hopefully with more seat time, I’ll be more comfortable should something happen and I will react properly.
In summary, I get the feeling I am really going to like riding. While I love cars, I think I just needed a change of pace and it appears I’ve found that change. Make no mistake, I know there is still A LOT for me to learn but I can tell you right now, I love riding and I cannot wait to throw on the gear and get back out there.
First Ride : What a BLAST!!
That's awesome! I hope I have the same feeling as you when I ride mine for the first time!! CONGRATULATIONS!! 
FZ6, 06. Red.
) had already bought a 600cc SS bike and her husband directed her to the class so she can ride with him. This is DEFINITELY not the type of person you want starting on a sportbike!
