get a motorbike

I figured since I am a rookie I should probably get some training before I go just buying any old motorcycle and taking it out for a spin. I don’t want to become lunch meat on the pavement because I didn’t know how to ride smart.

I could either

a) ask my buddy to teach me (advantage: Free; Disadvantages: not as good of training, might screw up his bike

b) Take this course (advantages: complete training, and qualifies for licensing endorsement, bike provided; Disadvantage: Cost $285

Here a link to the course:
http://www.motorcycletraining.com/site/index.php/Basic-Rider-Course.html

So my plan is this…I’ll be 30 in less than two years and since I want to enjoy life have adventures (ie don’t want to give up too much time and cash to the bike thing so I miss out on other stuff) I’m giving myself an extended period to save. Also, it’ll help when people ask what I want for the big 3 0 there’ll be all manner of bike accessories to suggest. Combining this with the fact that another one of my ambitions is to bike round USA then I can start planning this trip for real. It took my friends two years to plan their travels and save and they didn’t go by bike so i think its a fab plan.

Under this shy femenine exterior LOL is a hells angel waiting to burst out.

i’ve always loved motorbikes, the adrenaline, the speed.. i’ve actually ridden one before, my brothers 250cc. BUT! tragically my cousin passed away on it, my brothers same 250cc, so now im stuck in the middle. If i get one i’ll upset not only my parents but my relos too. I still have the urge to ride… perhaps put on hold until time will tell.

I have a four wheel drive at the moment and my partner has a dirt bike. We are forever getting out in the bush, bashing around, camping and generally getting rough and dirty. Which I love ;) I really want to learn how to ride a motorbike and get a small one of my own. I think I could be quite good, and it would definately help my fitness goal.

Saving money for this is the first step, no use in learning how to ride if you don’t have a motorbike. This might have to be pushed down the list because I’ve got to get the travel savings started (and decent) before I think about saving for anything else.

Why is saving so hard and neccesary?

When I was living in Sydney I decided saving up for a car was ridiculous and entertained the idea of getting a bike instead. Then my brother-in-law (already a rider) told my sister and I about a free introduction to bikes held at HART (Honda Australia Roadcraft Training) at St Ives, NSW. At the end of the couple of hours we (and a third girl) were riding around a bitumen track in first gear and decided to try for our learner’s licences.

We chose to do the learner’s course (2 x half day sessions) at HART, St Ives. I liked how they were really anal about safety and told stories like the one about the instructor’s best friend who died because he forgot to put up the sidestand. My sister didn’t like that approach, and did not achieve competency (read: failed). She also had to fill out an incident report for dropping the bike. Only two of the five starters got their Ls. Two others would have qualified for three hours of free one-on-one tuition if they’d stayed watching from the sidelines for the rest the course after they’d been told they weren’t to ride anymore.

My sister later got her Ls after doing the course on the Central Coast (NSW). People were allowed to (and did) make mistakes at the Central Coast course that would have had them watching from the sidelines at St Ives, e.g. accidently pulling on the throttle and shooting off out of control with the instructor running behind yelling “Pull in the clutch!”

For the one day Ps course, which I also did at St Ives, they set up the practice circuit to be more difficult than the actual test, so all six of us passed easily.

Three years later I’m still riding my learner approved Honda CB250. I commute 350-600 km each week, and feel much safer riding a bike than driving a car. There are no pillars to create blind spots. The view is much better out of a helmet than over a bonnet. You have all that extra space around you on a bike, so bad drivers who enter your lane without warning don’t hit the side of your car – they just hit your empty space. So far, everyone who’s tried to cut in too close in front of me (or on top of me) have actually given some warning in the way their car drifted before their move, so I’ve been prepared for them. No-one’s come close to actually hitting me yet – Yay for brakes.

Get a bike and use it safely.

It still interests me in riding around on a motorcycle.
regardless of the dangers involved, i see it as a great way to get around.

when i told a friend about my plan, he laughed and said, “i just cant picture u on a motorbike.” we’ll see about that…

hmmmmmmm to achieve this i have to get a job first, bugger no other way of doing it. Unless i win lotto or something, which is like a billion to one. I so want a cbrr600r