1st time going 50 bmph, now nervous!!! Help? Advice?

[taile84]

------UPDATE: 12:39 PM---------
"Dear Ms. Le:
Welcome. You are enrolled in the Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program Rider Education and Training Course for the dates and times specified above."

Best post in this thread!

It's great that we've all got the MB community to not only provide the fun encouragement (yes go buy a Buddy! yes, go ride it! yes, go take a picture of it next to a train with overalls on!), but also the tougher, necessary kind (go take the MSF! keep it in the parking lot for a while!).

HAHA, so true.

[taile84]

BEWARE: if you have never ridden a MC before, the MSF course may give you an irrational urge to go out and buy one! I fight it all the time and am constantly on Craig's list. The only known treatment is to ride your Buddy fast and often!

HaHAHA.. I have NEVER ridden a MC before and have already given in to the urge. I have no self control what-so-ever.

I suck! LOL

[taile84]

When the needle on my Kermit hits 60mph, I can hear Scotty shouting "Cap'n, she canna take any more!"

That just cracked me up..

This made me smile out loud too... not laugh. but smile
When I read that, I was imagining it in my head and it looked and sounded so funny.

[taile84]

One other thing Taile--stop watching crash videos on Youtube! They're not safety focused and hardly ever helpful--usually just displaying a gratuituous bit of violence. No good can come of it.

Glad to hear you're signed up for the MSF! Enjoy it and learn! It will help your confidense a great deal and that sounds like just what you need!

I have already stopped watching all those horrible videos. I find that watching them just makes me sad. I have been proactively trying my best to convince my 3 friends, and sister (who are all in the process of taking the MSF) to get with ATGATT but they just won't take it as seriously as me. Kinda bummed, but atleast the Fiance, who is also taking the MSF class in October is going to gear up like me.

Gosh, I guess my excitement is infectious because I went from 0 friends with bikes, to 4 friends who are getting bikes and taking the MSF course in 3 weeks time.

[taile84]

Btw, that shaking/swerving feeling you talked about? I really think it comes from being a light-weight person on a light-weight scooter. I get the same sensation, and it took me about a month to get used to it. Now I characterize it as feeling nimble and easy to maneuver. I don't think the heavier guys in this forum experience it like we do....any little gust of wind comes up and you FEEL it move the scoot. With time and lots of slow rides, you'll get used to it and adjusting to it will start to come naturally. Smile and breathe! (hugs)

That MUST be what it is. I am not that tense when I ride so I know I am not causing it, and only feel that shaky sensation when wind creeps up on me. I guess I just need to gain some weight..........and I will start with this big slice of cheesecake right herr!

[pugbuddy]

and I will start with this big slice of cheesecake right herr!

It will probably go straight to your taile....

[MiguelATF]

Congrats on surviving. Scooters are so insanely fun that sometimes we forget....Survival is the name of the game.

And the Truth is - different Scooters have different feelings at different speeds. Some feel very Solid - others feel very Twitchy - and still others make a person feel very Nervous. Examples - my former Yamaha Vino did 40 mph...but it was so lightweight that going 40....was kind of scary. Another scooter I had (and still Miss!), a Kymco People, also a 50cc scooter, was built way more solidly than the Vino - and went Faster too! - so that, going 50 mph on the People....felt totally solid and cool. (Part of this was because the People Scooters have larger size wheels which actually makes for a feeling of more stability and supposedly makes them handle better.) I've driven a number of Buddy's - both 50cc and some 125cc's - and though Buddy's have amazing handling and nimbleness and many other cool aspects to them....when you go really Fast on a Buddy 125cc....I personally find it rather Scary. Mainly because the Buddy is such a lightweight Scooter - that when I start going fast, at times, it feels like I get blown around by either the wind - or by 'wash' from passing vehicles, especially trucks. And....that's Scary. And there's nothing one can really do about it....

Except....in my case, I went out and bought an older Scooter....a 1986 Honda Elite 150....which is both extremely cool and......extremely Stable at speed. My Elite cruises along between 50 and 60 mph and feels solid as a rock - in a way that, almost literally, no other Scooter I've ever ridden does. So - feelings of insecurity come for many reasons - some of them have to do with who we are - but some of them have to do with the handling characteristics - and, yes, the weight - of the Scooter you happen to be riding.

One other thing. If you're going to be riding at any speed - make certain you wear Protective Gear - helmets, jackets, gloves, footwear - which, in addition to having functional aspects (they actual PROTECT you) - also havel, I think, psychological aspects. For example - I feel much more secure when I'm riding at speed....wearing my protective (German) helmet, my protective (Italian) jacket and my protective (American basketball hightop) leather shoes.

Probably the best advice of all though is - be alert. Be present. Focus on the moment....and enjoy it!

Miguel

[jfrost2]

Also remember smaller tires are better are low speed for stability, high speed is do able, but slightly less stable because of their size. This is why many bikes with larger tires handle higher speeds better, but dont in low speeds. No matter what, you can always go high speeds/low speeds, one or the other is just going to be slightly less stable due to tire size.