Diary of a Madman (My first days of riding in writing)

BKtje

This is my account of my first day of riding. I actually wrote it for myself, to remind myself how naive and terrible I was the first day of biking but also of the triumphs and beauty that I experienced during those first few hours on the bike. It's very long and it's probably fairly crap but who knows, maybe it will remind some of you of your first days, or not. It started as a factual account but morphed into something else. All these events actually happened but some slight poetic licence is used.

Anyway, if you decide to read it. Good luck and hopefully you'll enjoy it, or at least tolerate it!

Remember that in Switzerland no courses are mandatory before getting on your bike (if you have a drivers licence) and this really was the first time I was on motorised two wheeled vehicle.

Day 1:

So I had the bike delivered to my girlfriends underground parking complex as it was snowing and wet and I didn't really feel like jumping on board and straight into traffic. Seems like the bad weather may have helped me as it would have been suicide to jump on and head straight out as I found out. Hurray for bad weather.


My beauty after she was delivered. Untouched by my unskilled hands

Anyway, bike delivered to parking complex at about 4pm meaning it was full of cars. It's the states finance building with the top 3 floors dedicated to apartments. I decided to wait till after hours to have my first go. I read the manual from start to finish, taking note of the break in period and what to do, also when first service is due etc. This only killed about 30 minutes and I didn't want to head down till 7pm so there really would be no one left (state employees like working late in Switzerland it seems!). Rang a friend who's got a bike for years to see if he could help me on my first go but unfortunately he was busy. Learning by trial and error it was then. Girlfriends father showed up (also has a bike, the red Suzuki behind mine in the picture) and we shot the breeze about biking and the dangers and what not (obviously doesn't want to lose a potential son in law ). Time now 18:30 and time was draaaaaaging by. I fely like a kid waiting for that time at christmas when we get to open the presents. Decided it was time to get changed into my gear which was a little like foreplay (solo foreplay :eek:) which killed another 10 minutes. 20 minutes to go then, fired up facebook and got hit with a lot more "be carefuls", "your crazy" and "motorbikes kill" messages. Joy. Was sweating a bit at this stage in all my gear so decided to head down 5 minutes early and hope it was empty. It was.

So I sat on the bike for the first time and turned the ignition and all those o so pretty lights and displays come on, kind of like a christmas tree if I'm to continue the christmas anaology (I'll stop now). Tried to wheel it backwards but it wouldn't budge. Hmm. Ah the stand was down. I lift it up and try again. Still no movement. Had to think for a second before I realised that it must be in gear. Pulled the clutch and pushed back and we started moving backwards and then o so slowly started tipping over. I pulled the front brake and struggled to right the bike. My friend had always made that look so easy. A couple sweat and panic inducing minutes later (I really didn't want to drop the bike before I'd even fired her up!) and we were straight again but still facing the wall (though a little further away). Tried again (after sticking her in neutral which gave me a very nice green light ) to wheel her backwards (straight this time, no turning of them handlebars) and it was somewhat easier. Turned the wheel a bit and tried going forwards and that was a lot more difficult but eventually got her facing more or less the way I wanted. Lesson learned: Check she's in neutral and wheeling backwards is waaaay easier than forwards.

Now we're facing the right way, I put the stand back down and pat myself on the back for a job well done. I honestly don't know how long that took me, a good 5 minutes anyway. Next step was to start her up. Neutral, check. Ignition switch turned to "on", check. We are go for launch! Hit the starter and the engine roared (as much as a 300cc can, maybe a gentle purr would be more accurate) to life. I pulled the clutch and put her in gear and bam, she stalled. Confused, I ran through the possible errors checklist (limited by my complete lack of experience) in my head none of which seemed to be occuring. I decided to try again. Back into neutral, hit the ignition and once more we were roaring(purring). Pulled the clutch, tried to put her in gear and of course once more she stalled. I'm assuming most of you know my problem. Yes that's right, the stand was down. O how I felt like a gob****e, after laughing at myself for a while I put her back into neutral and started her up for the third time. Pull clutch, into first and she's still breathing. Bktje 1, universe, well 2 I guess but I'm on the scoreboard at least! Lesson learned: Kick up the bloody kickstand stand.

So there I was, happy as a pig in **** and just watching the rev meter. I remembered that I should let her warm up a bit first so I sat there thinking (after putting her back in neutral), "this is the life, im a motorcyclist or more accurrately a 'biker'" (ha!). Revs are at 2k idle and fairly stable (My friends R6 I remember started at 2k before slowly falling to 1500) so after couple of minutes I was ready to go (I was so proud that I remembered to let her warm up by the way :P ). So step three, moving forward under engine power. Clutch in, back into first and I release the clutch a bit to fast. She jumps forward and stalls :mad:. This happens again (believe it or not :eek:). Third time lucky? yup! Clutch in, 1st gear, slowly release and we're moving....just as a car flies down the in ramp in front of me. I hit the brake (can't remember if it was the front, back or both) and I'm once more stopped and, you guessed it, stalled. I had however moved at least half a meter forward, du progrès! Lesson learned: Never let your concentration be so complete on what your doing that you forget what others are doing. Pretty obvious really and something I should know as someone with a drivers licence (car in this case I mean) but there you go.

I sat there with my heart pounding and a dry throat realising that that could have been nasty. I calm myself down and decide to jump right back on that horse (so to speak, I was still of course physically on the bike). I wheel her backwards so we're facing a more friendly direction (i.e not at the in ramp :rolleyes:) and try again and once more stall. Sigh. I go through the whole sequence again and this time we are once more moving, minus incoming car but now with added wobbles . I open the throttle (a little too much) and the bike jumps forward (no longer wobbling, apart from rider himself). I immediately close the throttle a bit and i'm stable AND moving forward at an intoxicating 10kph. HURRAH. Lesson learnt: More power can be good to stabilise the bike(at least at 5kph).

I'm now moving forward at this dizzying speed of 10kph when the next problem rears it's ugly head, it's time to turn or drive into that wall. I turn the handle bars and she turns, aha genius you say? Yeah pretty much :pac:. Having mastered moving and cornering (:rolleyes:) my next problem is that I'm still in first. Now changing gears while moving for the first time is not as easy as it initially appeared. For one thing, I have these huge rubber biking boots on, for another my foot isn't where it should be. I look down, get my foot in the proper place, release the throttle, pull the clutch and change up. Success! I release the clutch and I'm immediately moving more slowly than before. Apparently without opening the throttle again bikes lose speed very quickly (auxiliary braking I think it's called?). Of course cars do this to but to a much lesser extent, good to know. I open up the throttle again and i'm now moving at 20kph. I actually feel like a god. Lesson learnt: Get your feet properly on those pegs and the auxiliary braking thing.

Next issue, it's a dead end and approaching fast. I change back down to first and attempt a wide turn. It doesn't go so well. I'm going too slow and my weight distribution is all wrong for the turn at that speed. I end up facing the wall. I wheel her backwards to face back the way I came and away I go without any issues. I drive around for a bit (there's a route I can take which is basically a rectangle) and even get in some light leanage (which felt like the leaning tower of Pisa to me but was probably invisible to the naked eye)before deciding to try that turn again. Pretty much the same thing happens but this time when I go for the front break I open the throttle up while pulling the clutch a moment later meaning I shoot forward. Collision imminent! I jump on the back break and I stop after gently hitting the kerb which acts as a sort of skirting board for the wall (it's visible in the photo above). I rock backwards and start to once more tip over but after struggling for a moment I had myself righted and looking at that wall. Hello my old friend. I wheel her back and then go around for another try. This time I use a little more power and I managed to do the turn with only once placing my foot on the ground. Another run later and I can do it without any feeting and it felt good. Another run and I can do it in second gear. Lesson learnt: Use adequate power for cornering to maximise grip.

At this point I'm feeling fairly confident that I know what I'm doing at low speeds (absolute bollox of course) and decide to get crazy and head down a level. I head down the slope, carefully controlling my speed with the brakes and I'm down. Easy peasy. Down another 3 levels and I'm now approaching the gates of hell so decide to head back up (nothing to do with the fact that there were no more levels to go down). Heading up towards the first slope back up and I'm in third doing 25kph and of course the engine starts to have a bad time. Back down to second gear and I'm laughing (literally) as I head back up to the starting level (past the barrier which separates the public parking area from the private one and I'm back to the start. 55 minutes have now past since my initial lighting of the christmas tree (ok ok) and 6km or so is now reading on the odometer and I realise I have to be in work in 35 minutes. Lesson learnt: Remember to shift down before going up steep hills

Time to park up, shut down and head to work I think, so I head back to my (self proclaimed) parking space. On the way I start thinking that this parking garage is perfect as it has everything: straights, light turns, 180 degree turns, hills, oil slicks (which I avoided), obstacles (barriers and cars, also avoided) and of course pedestrians. Oops. Realising I was not alone came as a bit of a shock to me but after quickly calming myself down I tried to not look like an idiot coming to a stop in my new space. I succeeded, I think. I locked up the bike and jumped in the elevator up to my girlfriends apartment. I start stripping off my protective gear and realise that I am literally drenched in sweat. Between the heat of the suit, heat of the bike, being underground and of course the copious amount of adrenaline racing through my veins I had managed to turn a light blue t-shirt a much darker shade of blue. ****, 30 minutes till I have to be in work and no change of clothes. Only one thing for it, time to take the bike one step further and drive home. Lesson learnt: Umm, biking can give you a work out?

Slip my jacket back on, rezip it to my trousers and head back down to my new love. I have absolutely no problems in getting to the exit where I have to stop to press the door button. New problem, I need to use my right hand to press the button meaning I have to take my hand off the front break. This shouldn't really be a problem but for some reason I have already gotten into the bad habit of putting my right foot on the ground and keeping my left one on the pegs (since I find it harder to find the correct foot position for my left foot than the right). Obviously releasing the front break while being on a hill will mean I roll backwards so I switch feet (meaning I can use the rear break) and I push the button (who knew that pushing a button could be so damned complicated). Anyway, while the doors slowly roll open I have time to put my left foot back on the peg. So I roar(purr) up the hill in first and my mind starts screaming, indicator, indicator. I fumble around for a second while still managing to avoid a pedestrian and come to a stop at the edge of the road with my indicator flashing. Deep breath and I'm ready to pull onto the road but I hesitate and then see a car coming in the distance, far in the distance. I wait for the car to pass. Having no more excuses not to join the road I pull away and to the right, even slightly crossing the middle of the road before getting back on the right side of the road (word play there since in Switzerland they drive on the right, o nevermind). Anyway it's 8.10pm and the roads are fairly quiet. I break my speed record and hit 30kph before arriving at a roundabout. A quick look to the left and I let a car pass before entering and quickly exiting the roundabout at the first exit. I'm now doing 35kph, and 5000 revs. Remembering the manual said not to exceed 4000 revs when it can be helped I shift up to 4th and revs come back down to where I want them during the breaking in period. Record now set at 40kph. I look in my mirrors and see nothing. Oops, forgot to align them, I look over my shoulder and I see a car fairly close behind me. Apparently 40kph is too slow, I accelerate to 50kph. I do 50 for all of 3 seconds before down shifting and breaking for the next small roundabout (more like a red bump in the road). I take the roundabout wide, very wide. An oil tanker would turn more briskly than I'm doing but no matter as it's time to signal that I'm exiting said roundabout and I accelerate up the hill no longer followed by that speed maniac in the fiat punto (or whatever small car it was). Another roundabout (yes the swiss love them, apparently they built their first relatively late but have since gone roundabout crazy), the third in 200m. I once more take it like an oil tanker (but a smaller one this time) and I'm now heading down hill to the next large roundabout 50m away. No cars so I power through it before pre-selecting the correct lane and come to a halt behind some cars waiting for a traffic light. Seconds later the lights turn green and we all power away in a haze of smoke and squealing rubber. All except me as I've once more stalled (stalling is a common occurrence for me, even in cars as my girlfriend often (falsely) points out). I quickly do the by now well known checklist to restart the engine after a stall and I quickly pull away (without the haze of smoke and squealing tires). The rest of the short 5 minute trip is uneventful and I'm soon home, changed and back on the bike, heading for work. I park and race up the stairs, past the line of waiting customers and into the kitchen to get out of my gear. 30 seconds later I'm back to the old monotonous day (well night) job of slinging beers and mixing cocktails. It takes a few minutes to sink in that i've just safely navigated some public roads. Wow. Lesson learnt: I know how to quickly recover from a stall

A few hours later and I've finished my short shift in work. The temperature by now is quite cold (it was snowing that afternoon if you remember from way back at the start of this tale). I show off "my precious" to a colleague who "aahs" and "ooohs", green with envy. She then says that she's going to wait for me to pull away. Alarm bells start ringing. I quickly explain that I need to let her warm up and that it could take 5 minutes and suggest she leave. She leaves, crisis averted. I'm really not ready for an audience and I'm soon to be proven right. I start her up and notice that there is really a lot of smoke billowing from the exhaust. I figure it's due to the cold, it is below zero afterall (infact it's more likely to have been oil which got into the spark plugs due to the breaking in period...? But to be honest I'm just guessing). I wheel her back, align my mirrors (badly), look over my shoulder and pull onto the road. Or at least that's what would have happened if I hadn't stalled, again. I quickly run my post stall checklist and hit the starter. Nothing happens. Well that's not really true, the electric starter tries to kick the engine to life but she's decided to be stubborn (probably as sick as I am of stalling). I remember reading somewhere not to "ride" the starter for more than two seconds so I try a few more times but nothing. Ok, now what. Well I give her a stern talking to, that's what (I really did ) before trying again. She splutters to life and I give her a light pat on the engine casing in appreciation. She still loves me. I check my (badly) aligned mirrors, turn my head to check the numerous blind spots and then pull away without further incident. A few moments later I come to my turn off and I fly past. Obviously I don't want to go home yet. Lesson learnt: I think I like biking. My bike also needs a good telling off when she's bold and an atta girl when she does good.

So there I am on deserted streets heading out of town, asking myself if this is really a good idea. Driving at night with a total of 11km's experience (6 of which were, as you know, in a parking complex), temperature below zero and diminished visibility. Since I'm still powering on I must believe that it is. To be fair I didn't go far, about 5km's down the road to the city limits where a roundabout (taken with the turning radius of, well, a moderately well driven motorbike) soon has me heading for home. I can't explain how it felt. It was truly magical driving at night down that long and lonesome road (:pac:). The road was mine and mine alone, not a singe car. All I could hear was the growl (louder purring) of the engine and the wind whistling (I really should have closed the air vents in my helmet). The world seemed inconsequential and I felt like I had an idea of what my friend (a different one from above) tried to explain to me about night time riding, being alone with the world. Just then I noticed some snow flakes and decided that I'd better hurry home. Also my hands were ****ing freezing. Lessons learnt: I know I love biking and that I can't wait to drive at night during the summer. O and empty roads makes biking simple even for a beginner

I'm home a few minutes later, find a spot under the protective cover of the "bicycle" area (when I say protective I mean that if snow or rain were to fall vertically, the bike may, I shall emphasize, may be protected, but when does that ever happen!?) and park her in between the bicycles and other (less awesome) bikes. I decide to slightly displace some bicycles to give her a little extra protection. She deserves it. I then lock her up and walk away slowly, often glancing back admiring her as I walk away (Hope my girlfriend doesn't get jealous. Well not too jealous. A little is ok). During the night I awake to the sound of a motorbike driving away. I wonder, half asleep, if someone is after pinching her. This jolts me awake but I realise that it couldn't be her as this bike is actually roaring, not purring like my baby. I fall back asleep to dream bikers dreams. So ends Day 1 and the first 20 odd kilometres.

gbob

Very nice write up, and yes it brings back memories.

Keep it 'tween the ditches.

thehomeofDob

Good read! I remember my first outing on a bike. I had my dad driving in a car in front of me and my brother driving in a car behind me for "protection". We drove around from about 11:30pm to well after midnight. Don't think I left third gear that night as I was absolutely bricking it!

lostboy75

nice write up, enjoyed reading someone elses thought process on the first time.
not too far ahead of you myself, and sounds quite like what i did. except i delayed riding it for a while, thinking, no, not yet.
then just said this is silly, geared up, and went for a spin.

the drifter

Good write up. Kinda makes me glad we have IBT though. my first biking experience was in a nice car park with loads of room under instruction.

Good luck with her and keep safe!

BKtje

I've signed up for the swiss version of the IBT. Will be doing it in two weeks. Looking forward to it to be honest

Wonda-Boy

BKtje wrote: »

I've signed up for the swiss version of the IBT. Will be doing it in two weeks. Looking forward to it to be honest

Many thanx for the write up, you are a brave man with a brand new bike to just hope on and ride so fair play. Take it handy and you will be fine, very best of luck.

:cool:

KamiKazi

Good write up, best of luck with your little ninja.

nerrad1983

Best of luck with your new bike mate

I got a ninja 250r as my starter bike and they really are a great bike to learn on id imagine with that extra bit of power in the 300cc they will be a smashing bike

take it easy until you feel comfortable the last thing you want is to have to end up buying new fairings etc

Blondie919

Very good write up and really nice bike. Best of luck and enjoy.

Green_Martian

Great write up, brings back some memories of my first outing as i say it does with some of the other guys.

Be safe and keep her shiny side up:cool:

Hornswoggle

Brilliant read, biking is a great day-to-day experience, particularly the first few days when you are getting used to your new bike and improving with each outing. Best of luck with your new Ninja they are lovely-looking machine!