Thoughts after practice ride #1

[meldot]

Hi there!

Took my first practice ride today (in 35 degree weather, eek!), and here are some thoughts:

-It's sort of easier to ride in real life, rather than the parking lot at the motorcycle safety course because you have real things to look at rather than safety cones.
-Part of my fear about riding was because I was waaaayy overthinking everything-I would have days where I would think, "but how do I make a left hand turn from a stop? Did I learn that? I can't figure out how that would work". I found that alot of things were intuitive, like riding a bike. duh.
-The skills (so far) that have been most useful are: don't break when turning, keep a constant speed during turns, look straight ahead*, turn your head in the direction you want to go.

Tomorrow, I will definitely be working on:
-Feeling comfortable at speeds over 28mph, and turning at faster speeds (i turned way too slow today)
-I also need to get better at using my brakes-I found that I would let off the throttle way too soon before stop lights and sort of coast to a stop. I know that using my brakes is important to give motorists behind me a heads up.

*One of the things my instructors in the course kept reminding me was to keep my head up and looking straight ahead. I was always fixated on the course markings. In real life, of course you keep your head up-just like driving. It was difficult to do in the course but totally intuitive on the road.

[Lil Buddy]

I know that using my brakes is important to give motorists behind me a heads up.

Start now so its a habbit..... tap your brakes a bit before using them to come to a stop. Really helps to get the drivers attention.

And your right, riding in real life situations can be easier at times then in an empty parking lot. In real life, your brain tends to focus on the important things, the little things become second nature.

[pimaCanyon]

good post for me to read since I am new to scootering. Plan to take the MSF course or one designed for scooters only. My demo rides that I took when trying to decide on which scooter to buy were on streets, but streets with hardly any cars and very low speed limit. I found myself riding the scoot pretty much like a ride a bike, forgetting about such things as rear view mirrors on both sides, turn signals, etc. I am nervous about riding in heavy traffic!

[Kaos]

I know that using my brakes is important to give motorists behind me a heads up.

Start now so its a habbit..... tap your brakes a bit before using them to come to a stop. Really helps to get the drivers attention.

And your right, riding in real life situations can be easier at times then in an empty parking lot. In real life, your brain tends to focus on the important things, the little things become second nature.

+1, and also even if you're coasting to a stop, tap the brakes a bit. Drivers need to notice you're stopping

[Perkussion]

...and when you've already come to a stop at a red light,
if a car is coming up behind you flash your brakes so he knows you're there.

I think we tend to let go of the brake levers when stopped on flat roads.
Drivers are so distracted these days that I find it necessary
to always remind them that I'm stopped there in front of them.

[Tazio]

Just take it easy to begin with. You'll gradually get the feel of things such as when to leave off the throttle and apply the brakes.

I added a brake light modulator to both of my scooters to automatically flash the lights four times when I brake. If I'm stopped I keep an eye on approaching traffic behind me and hit the brake lever again to help inform anyone coming up on my tail that I'm there. You can do this manually also but I like the automatic feature of the modulator.

Initially you have so many things to think about that it's good just to practice one or two until they become more routine. You never stop learning how to do things better and safer. Always ride your own ride rather than trying to keep up with somebody else.

[PeterC]

It's been six years since I took the MSF course, and it was absolutely the best move I ever made in my 52-year 2-wheel career. That said, in all the time I've been riding, I've never had to make a rolling 180° turn within the width of an average parking space.

[meldot]

It's been six years since I took the MSF course, and it was absolutely the best move I ever made in my 52-year 2-wheel career. That said, in all the time I've been riding, I've never had to make a rolling 180° turn within the width of an average parking space.

ha! that is the thing I could not do during the test-I ended up just having to accept that I couldn't get the hang of it and it was not a life saving technique.

[bigbropgo]

...and when you've already come to a stop at a red light,
if a car is coming up behind you flash your brakes so he knows you're there.

I think we tend to let go of the brake levers when stopped on flat roads.
Drivers are so distracted these days that I find it necessary
to always remind them that I'm stopped there in front of them.

that is great advise. there are two schools of thought. i have chosen to ride a scooter and what ever happens...happens. or, i have chosen to ride a scooter and i want to educate myself and practice my skills in order to have the safest and longest scooter experience i possibly can. statistics....you can be one or fight to never be one.

[Stormswift]

I do agree that is really is much easier to ride in a real-life situation then trying to figure out where to go and which lines lead where at the testing site. I feel much more confident on a Buddy then on the Rebel we used at the safety class even though Rebels are small bikes. I had doubts about being able to ride a motorcycle even if I passed the test. With Buddy it is not even a question that enters my mind. Another thing that is very helpful to me is being able to practice inside my development at my own pace. I practice until I am comfortable with what I am doing. If I took MFS course now on my scooter I would not have had any problem whatsoever passing. The MVA test is a bit more challenging and unless the weather improves dramatically I will not be able to do anything until March. Oh well....

[ericalm]

IMHO, the single biggest mistake new riders make (and I was SO guilty of this when I started) is being impatient and rushing out onto the road and in traffic before they're ready. The single biggest reason new riders crash: they enter a situation that they're not prepared to handle (sand or gravel on the road, taking a turn to fast, someone coming into their lane) and do the wrong thing.

If you're anything like me, you spent weeks (or, in my case, years) before buying your scooter imagining all the places you'd ride it, taking it shopping, showing it off at work and school and so on. Resist those urges until you're really ready.

Take your time and ease into it. Once you get comfortable with the basics, at least make sure you've mastered hard stops (sudden braking) and swerves before riding in traffic. Then start out on smaller, residential streets and work your way up to the big ones.

[meldot]

People keep asking me when I'm going to ride the scooter to work, and I tell them after I've 1) practiced riding in my neighborhood and gotten comfortable with turns at various speeds, riding in traffic, etc and 2) after I've made several test rides to and from work on the weekend so I know what to expect.

I think people assume that since I took the MSF course and got my license that I'm good to go.

[KCScooterDude]

When I learned to ride, I took every opportunity I could to ride around the neighborhood on side streets. Practicing starting, stopping, turns, etc. Once you feel confident doing that, you'll be itiching to go out in traffic at higher speeds. That will scare you a bit at first, and that's normal. Go back to riding the neighborhood, then next time you hit traffic at higher speeds you will be a bit more confident.

A lot of us when we were learning to ride came to a kind of crossroads. Mine was when I was riding behind a couple of friends on motorcycles. We were riding out to a town about 10 miles away on a rural two-lane road. One section had a posted speed limit of 65. The scooter I had at the time would do 50-55. Trying to keep up when them and riding at a speed I was not comfortable with caused me to have a panic attack. I finished the ride, got home and seriously wondered if I'd ever ride again.

I did. And I'm glad I did. Riding is a major part of my life. In fact, it's a lifestyle. I did it by going back to riding the neighborhood after feeling uncomfortable.

Finally, remember that the best route to work, the mall, etc., is the scenic one. You don't have to go from A to B on highway. In fact, that's what scootering is all about. Discovering the back roads and neighborhoods. It might take a little longer to get there, but that's the point!

Good luck, and congratulations!

[fobbish]

Great to hear you a had a good first ride experience. I'm still waiting to take my MSF course. I learned to look where you want to go from a car driving technique book, but I found that it helps a lot to use that for a scooter.

[Coffeejunkie]

Great to hear you a had a good first ride experience. I'm still waiting to take my MSF course. I learned to look where you want to go from a car driving technique book, but I found that it helps a lot to use that for a scooter.

As my MSF instructor said "Turn your head and your bike will follow."

[ericalm]

Great to hear you a had a good first ride experience. I'm still waiting to take my MSF course. I learned to look where you want to go from a car driving technique book, but I found that it helps a lot to use that for a scooter.

As my MSF instructor said "Turn your head and your bike will follow."

The two most important things about this are:
1. Look through your turns. So difficult and counterintuitive for some people. Also the thing that, after 4 years of riding, I still occasionally have to remind myself to do.

2. Don't look where you don't want to go. A lot of new riders (including me when I started) look down or at the ground in front of the scooter. I don't know why; maybe some instinct. I have seen a lot of people lose balance, tip scoots and bikes over while doing this, especially at low speeds. When coming out of driveways, going into parking lots and so on it's still important to keep your head up.

[TVB]

2. Don't look where you don't want to go. A lot of new riders (including me when I started) look down or at the ground in front of the scooter. I don't know why; maybe some instinct.

The instinct not to hit potholes, I'd say. Some of them are not obvious from a distance, so it's tempting to keep your eyes down looking for those.

[meldot]

I've found that in the MSF course, the reason I looked down was because I was concerned with all of the marking and cones. In real life, I've found that I look out ahead naturally, like with driving....

[rabbitgod]

Yeah, looking at where you want to go is such a key technique. Over the summer this guy pulled out from a right turn right into my lane. The base part of your brain says look at the car, but by forcing myself to look at where a safer part of the road was allowed me to get out of it without hitting anything. It was such a natural safety move too, I just screamed in my head, "Look at the escape destination!" And there I was.


When I first got my scooter I just rode around the neighborhood. First, up and down the street, then around the block doing right turns, then left turns, then around several blocks doing combo turns. It's important when you get any new bike. Even if you ride for years, because every bike is different and it's important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the bike.

[cmac]

Okay this might be a long post.
Wait until you are comfortable to get out on the road.
Some little tips that I'm thinking about at the moment are as follows:
(1)As stated before by another MB poster, when coming to a stop or braking at all for that matter, flash your break lights before applying them fully.
(2)Even at stop lights, flash your breaks if someone is coming up behind you.
DO NOT expect someone to see you or know what you're doing.
Always think like they can't see you...this is a huge thing.
(Story time: I was sitting at a four way stop. There was a person across from me wanting to go straight and I had my left blinker on wanting to go left. I had been waiting there awhile but he had just pulled up so I went ahead and started to make my turn. As I was about half way out he started to go straight and almost nailed me. People DO NOT pay attention to blinkers. Act like they have no idea what you're doing. And vice versa)
(3) Practice braking in corners A LOT! Roads are never perfectly straight and things can happen while in a turn.
(4) Practice emergency braking/swerving every single day. When I'm on my way home from work I practice swerving around manhole covers, sticks, pinecones, and pretty much anything else.
(5) Don't do this until you are very comfortable but I sometimes practice locking up my rear brake in different conditions just to know exactly what kind of pressure I can apply before it locks up.
(6) LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING. Keep your eyes up at all times.
If you look down, you will go down. Always think that.
(7) I'll stop here before I have to create a novel.
TAKE YOUR TIME. You don't have to learn how to ride on the streets tomorrow or next week or next month for that matter. You will enjoy riding 10x more when you feel like you are safe to do so.
Oh yeah and always wear your gear