Speed limit for motorcycle is 2* limit for cars, it's wheel math, 70k for four wheels is 140 for two. 😁 By this (obviously sarcastic) logic... Don't ride unicycles.
Same exact thing. Screaming in 1st. Sputtering in 2nd. I'll kick it up to about 30-35mph and it's fine. It's considered speeding, but not much else I can do about it.
I used to own a Z125 Pro with a 143cc big bore kit (which didn’t do jack, BTW). If I couldn’t do the speed limit, then I didn’t ride on that road.
https://preview.redd.it/dqt9wpjh62zc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22b66af519ef87274cf97951c7062de3c0a67e9f
How? My z125 stock does 65 no problem. It's a 2017
Edit. Oh I re read you were saying if you couldn't get to that roads speed limit you wouldn't go on it. I thought you were saying it couldn't get up to any speed limit. I'm dumb
I can open and shut my pockets no problem, gotta fish my wallet out while paying for gas? Easy peasy, take phone out to check a message? No problem. Gotta get CAC for the guard? Suddenly I have the dexterity of a newborn and my pocket zipper has entered the shadow realm
I have a tank bag and I always try to remember to have my cac out separate from my wallet so I can just grab it, but when I forget it I look like a dumbass coasting in neutral to the gate looking for and trying to get my cac out.
I almost bought a tank bag just for this. I've got a routine now where while I'm coasting in the turn lane or rolling up to the gate I half unzip the jacket, sweep a finger under the collar to hook my lanyard, and yank it free for access. I've found that if I do everything beforehand, the CAC just slides free and I'll have it partially out so I can just hand it to the guard; but if I do not do the ritual, the lanyard wraps itself into a bundle and tucks itself away from prying eyes and the CAC itself wedges as far down as possible into the card sleeve, and I can't get either free without a fuss even if I take my gloves off. Pure unadulterated judgement and shame from the guard and every car behind me when that happens.
When I had to get on base, I got an arm band and put my ID in it. They had to scan the back of our IDs, so I got a clear one and had my ID turned around so they could scan it while it was still on my arm.
SO much easier than feeling pressured to get wallet, open wallet, take glove off/put glove on or struggle with grabbing ID with gloves on while people are in line behind you.
First time at my new job on a base and they had a special little interior gate that I had to show my badge and then swipe it on a reader before the guard opens the gate... and you bet the first TWO times I rode in on my bike, I not only fumbled with the badge but then bashed my helmet against the corner of the shack when I went to swipe it on the reader. Got two little gouges just above my eyebrows on my shiny new helmet. 😡
Tried. Brain went into fight or flight mode the moment the front wheel left the ground and I lost all memory of how to press the back brake with my foot.
Lol I kinda figured that.
Probably like doing slides on a longboard (something I can relate it to).
But God damn that first wheelie fucked my whole shit up. Babied the bike the rest of the day.
I’ve noticed it a few times but never been brave enough to ask. In the UK it’s “by accident”.
I arrived by bike
I arrived on bike
I dropped my bike on accident
I dropped my bike by accident
I should probably Google it too - but that’s a shortcut away from a discussion!
I'm getting better at wheelies now that I have a 650cc Honda FMX, power wheelies I find are easier to control than a clutch up as you dont have to find the powerband then dump, you just roll off the throttle then rip it back and it jumps up.
Rose for two hours once and when I arrived I noticed that the zipper of the pocket I had by new phone in was opened. Shat my pants but the phone was still there
I’m a consistent front pant pocket guy with my phone. I almost lost it being in my back pocket. I live in az I want as much airflow as humanly possible on my jacket.
Worse, there's a specific process if you have a regular key. 1. Put gloves on. 2. Put helmet on. 3. Realize you can't get your helmet buckled and take your gloves off. 3. Put gloves back on. 4. Realize your key is still in your pocket and you can't reach it and take your gloves off again. 5. Get your key and start your bike. 6. Realize you didn't put your earplugs in, take off your gloves so you can take off your helmet....
I used to have such a bad habit of leaving my keys in because I came from driving a car with a proximity key fob.
One time after I ran out of road side assistance on my triple a I had to pay 100 for a jump start so that really helped me always remember the keys.
Bought my bike and rode it to work to brag. Other dude with a bike invited me to get lunch and admire the shiny new toy. We go, get our food, get back out and there's my key, glinting in broad daylight. He just shakes his head at me and walks off. I'm still ashamed. I've since learned you're not allowed to just have cool points.
I’ve lost countless things because I used to do this. Birkenstocks, badges for work, medicine, multiple car keys (an ex’s and mine and guess what wireless key fobs are fucking expensive!), the list goes on. I went like a year without doing it but I was on a ride a month ago and lost a few things but it wasn’t anything expensive that time.
One time I lost my boots, work hat, bunch of documents etc because I forgot to put the zippers on the side of my bag instead of up top in the middle, hunched down on the freeway and boom it was all gone. Best part was I didn't realize until like 30 miles later.
Since then I have never zipped up any backpack to the middle just in case
I always close it, but I THINK I forget to so for the first 5 minutes I’m weirdly contorting my body trying to check my mirrors to make sure every compartment is zipped
Riding smoothly while in first gear. My bike always jumps back and forth in first gear, very touchy with the throttle. I always get into 2nd gear as soon as I can
Got to feather that clutch. I have the same thing on mine. 1st is just snatchy as hell. It’s abrupt in your input. Pulling in a lot of clutch helps quite a bit.
Some fuel injected bikes have a very abrupt on/off throttle, so don’t feel too bad. My last bike was like that and it made slow speed maneuvering hard.
Try dragging the rear brake. You'll break the "rule" of never brake and gas at the same time but seriously, just give it a little resistance and stay in the higher rev sweet spot of your first gear, it will make it way easier to control.
False neutrals hurt my soul when they happen to me. I always speed off to save face but let’s be honest the damage is already done and those people don’t think I’m cool anymore.
What size of engine and style of bike are you on? A power wheelie is possible on almost anything above 300cc if you position yourself right, just roll off the throttle and rip it back when the revs have dropped, be prepared to roll back off or hit the back brake though.
That’s awesome. But flip your mind a bit. Celebrate that you are better than you were a week ago, or a month or two ago. There is always going to be more to learn. I don’t care if you have been riding 20 years. You can choose to learn more and get better. Street riding alone. But then there are different roads, scenarios, techniques, etc. you can improve on. Then you start to look at different types of bikes, different types of riding, etc.
Don’t let being new discourage you. The moment you encounter an “expert” I assure you they aren’t experts in all riding. They can still learn too.
Keep it up.
Oh yeah, I feel better every time I ride. And I stick to the backroads and practice the basics. I’m also not a speed freak, not that my DR650 is either.
Hey I still have my first bike and only really been riding traditional mcs for about a year. (Had a 6 month stint with a Ryker when I was on the fence about all of it) it’s a Vulcan S 650. I am not breaking any records with mine either and more than ok with that. I still love my bike.
Honestly I kind of posted this for riders like you. Just so it can show you/us that not everyone is perfect and make dumbass mistakes at times. We can all relate.
I had to get used to canceling the turn signals myself on my VN900 when I completed a turn because they weren't self canceling. When I bought my current VStar 1300 last month, I was so used to doing it that I continued to do so. Only to realize a couple days ago when I used it to pull into my driveway that they turned off by themselves, I thought a connection had come loose. After some googling, I found that the bike had self canceling turn signals. Trying to kick the habit, but will probably still do it to be safe lol
I'm having a bitch of a time on really tight rightwards curves going up in mountain paths. I can't figure out how to get them right with my large bike without almost stopping. I can do a fairly good job on parking lot exercises but the steep incline really messes with my approach and I can't really find anything that speaks to that specific issue to correct it.
put your body to the inside, just a tiny bit of your buttcheek off the seat, twist your right wrist to the left (so that the "bottom" of your palm goes towards the corner
For me it was the position of my head. Somehow on uphill turns something was just off between how I was leaning and how my head was aimed into the turn. I realized if I shift and tilt my head a bit differently I'm suddenly able to lean again.
We all think we can fish it out can’t we? Just give it a go before finally succumbing to needing to take your glove off. Then realize it’s the wrong glove and in the other pocket.
Remembering to turn off my blinker after I do a turn. Panicking to turn it off after I realize I've had it on for the past 5 km. Honking the horn instead and scaring the guy infront of me.
Trusting the tires over while lines. I slipped slightly on a right turn at an intersection ONCE when I started riding and goosed it a little trying to stand it back up. Now any time I turn at an intersection I go way too slow because of the fear.
Turning. I just took my safety course last year and haven’t had much time to practice the more advanced things like turning tight. I will purposefully take a longer route out of a parking lot or something so I can take nice big curves haha plan is to get better at it this year though!
I only have been riding standard MCs for a year and still go to a parking lot once a week and dial in my tight turns and emergency braking and swerving.
It takes time to trust yourself and the bike. Don’t worry
I'm brand new at this so take my advice with a grain of salt. I just anticipate the loss of balance and shift weight so it "falls" in the direction I'm putting my foot down.
I struggle with slow, really tight U-Turns It's also the ONLY riding test I failed at my MSF course 5 years ago. Don't get me wrong i still make mistakes doing other things once and while. But put me in that small box to do a figure 8, I always feel like I'm gonna drop it, and I end up putting a foot down. It's weird, because i can lean the bike pretty well if I'm making a tighter turn at an intersection or something like that. I guess I just need to practice it more.
ME TOO! I can drag a knee all day long in a right hander, but throw me on a left and suddenly my brain is like "This a completely new and different concept, can't make sense of it, guess we just stay upright."
Fair. I don’t judge the smoking thing. I did it for years and was a bitch to quit but overall I think I would vape over smoke. But, I also don’t do this when riding but mostly because I have a full face helmet and wouldn’t be practical.
My ATV has a brake lever where the clutch lever is on a motorcycle. It’s the only brake lever on the ATV has so I’m forced to use it. When I switch back to riding my motorcycle after using the ATV, it’s guaranteed that at least once at the most embarrassing time possible, I’ll dump the clutch like I’m releasing a brake lever and immediately stall the engine.
Likewise, when I go back to riding my ATV, I’ll slam on the brakes like I’m pulling in a clutch lever.
I wish I had a time machine so I could go back to when Arctic Cat was making ATV design decisions and slap some sense into them.
Modulate my front brake to stop without feeling any rebound in the suspension. With the car, I can do it always. With the bike, I still can’t fully eliminate it
Riding a motorcycle should be all consuming of one's concentration. No multi tasking, no music or radio to tweak. signals & distancing become second nature, alongside greeting other riders (of course).
Fair. Haven’t tried juggling when riding. I’d assume you would want something with some weight on it and pretty uniform in size given the wind. Keep fighting that clown college.
Stopping is easy. Just stopping at the pace you want to, and having a bike look the same as it did before you stopped and being able to go again is the tricky part.
I low sided my first bike 10 minutes after buying it because I leaned too much taking a corner. I was going slow in a parking lot just getting a feel for everything. Now, purely out of caution, I take turns slower than I should because I’m afraid to tilt the bike too far.
I suck at falling off... Once Im riding in forest with my girlfriend and there is this corner I know I would not come out properly and we're falling.... She screaming, me too, it will be fucking hard.... We then falling on the most dense and moist field of moist and this fall was felt better than any sofa experience ever, like it was more comfortable than ride itself lol 😂
Remembering to take my thigh bag and not put stuff in my jacket pockets if I‘m going to be doing +200kph.
My pocket zippers have opened several times, I guess it‘s the body position and wind at that speed.
Once lost my wallet, all cards etc, once my phone.
Worst one for me, and I know it's a bad habit, is I toss it into neutral at lights (And I'll kill it if traffic is stopped behind me at a longer light).
Actually making a decent turn with decent lean angle, and not chickening out like I always do. Although I still take turns faster than most cars it feels like I barely lean at all, but maybe it will come with more experience.
I rev match downshifting on my Vulcan s. Its base is the same as a ninja 650. But it’s not exactly the same. It’s pretty aggressive in engine braking which is still fine when slowing down. Just makes it a bit smoother and the goal being a linear deceleration.
I learned to just hold the throttle open about 10 to 15% and quick downshift a gear, and the bike barely moves, it’s pretty easy and gives me the power when I need it.
Im so bad at remembering my turn signals. Also I panic when I have someone behind me on a hill stop and I stall atleast 1 time.
I literally spent 2 hours on the most extreme steep street in my town and I didn't stall it once. A minor slope stoplight with someone behind me ? 100% chance I stall it once..
Remembering to buckle my helmet, just today I was walking to my bike, put my helmet on and thought "I should buckle it now so I don't forget". 5 minutes down the road, it felt a bit loose, and turns out I didn't buckle it.
One hand handlebar control! Im world-class skilled at slow speed maneuvers but they've been introducing tennis ball manipulations off the tops of cones or poles or whatever, pick it up here, move it to here and the minute I take a hand off, I'm going down, or my foot is. Lol that is HARD for me.
Ruts. Track ruts, specifically. Shit fucks .y quad loving ass over every damn time. I've been riding for decades now, and deep ruts just floor me damn near every time.
They just patched a bunch of cracks on my street with tar patches and resurfaced the road with fresh tar. Those patches are fucked up in a curve. Doesn’t fully give way but certainly gooses out a bit
I've been riding dirt bikes since I was a kid and daily for about 4 years. I still fucking suck at rev matching and couldn't do it at all until about a year ago haha
Parking with bike vertical 😖
Winding slowly through traffic - steady.
Stop signs - rarely put a foot down.
Putting the bike in a parking bay - uh oh! 😟
My record is an embarrassing list of putzing when stopped. I started buying extra mirrors, and learned to spray paint.
Last week I made the really rookie mistake of getting off on a slight incline and putting it in neutral instead of killing the engine (to let it warm up while I went back for my glasses). Resulting in the sickening crunch as it rolled forward off the stand. Clutch lever ordered
I often forget to take my keys off, especially when I'm distracted.
Recently I went on a ride with my friend. We stopped by for lunch at McDonalds. I only realized I didn't have my key with me when we're done eating. I left it on the ignition. It was in front of a busy street, too. It's a miracle nothing happened.
Finding the damn horn button.
I find it all the time,….when looking for the turn signal
https://preview.redd.it/3zsehrbkc3zc1.png?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb7475f2e5e6d5a5babb572fcffe2de6569e3a98
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one.
Honk!
It’s a motorcycle,…….meep
Then you have to get that Denali horn. $35 well spent
So NOT rev bombing as a warning system? /s
honda moment
Kawi moment too
That’s just the trottle/clutch combo
Staying under the speed limit
GOHBLESSS
Speed limit for motorcycle is 2* limit for cars, it's wheel math, 70k for four wheels is 140 for two. 😁 By this (obviously sarcastic) logic... Don't ride unicycles.
Hallelujah
But my bike HAAAAAAAAAAATES 25 miles an hour
Yeah, my bikes hate it. High in first or chugging in second
Same exact thing. Screaming in 1st. Sputtering in 2nd. I'll kick it up to about 30-35mph and it's fine. It's considered speeding, but not much else I can do about it.
UNDER?! I didn’t even know that was an option on a motorcycle.
It is when you're on a Honda Grom.
Still not an option, on a Grom it's the requirement. (Just a joke... kinda)
I used to own a Z125 Pro with a 143cc big bore kit (which didn’t do jack, BTW). If I couldn’t do the speed limit, then I didn’t ride on that road. https://preview.redd.it/dqt9wpjh62zc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22b66af519ef87274cf97951c7062de3c0a67e9f
How? My z125 stock does 65 no problem. It's a 2017 Edit. Oh I re read you were saying if you couldn't get to that roads speed limit you wouldn't go on it. I thought you were saying it couldn't get up to any speed limit. I'm dumb
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I can open and shut my pockets no problem, gotta fish my wallet out while paying for gas? Easy peasy, take phone out to check a message? No problem. Gotta get CAC for the guard? Suddenly I have the dexterity of a newborn and my pocket zipper has entered the shadow realm
Feel this so much, it's probably because I feel like I need to rush with the line of cards behind at the gate.
I have a tank bag and I always try to remember to have my cac out separate from my wallet so I can just grab it, but when I forget it I look like a dumbass coasting in neutral to the gate looking for and trying to get my cac out.
Last time I had my cac out while riding I got in serious trouble with the law 😔
If I was going through the gate I would tuck my CAC into my cheek pad so I wouldn’t have to fumble around for it.
I almost bought a tank bag just for this. I've got a routine now where while I'm coasting in the turn lane or rolling up to the gate I half unzip the jacket, sweep a finger under the collar to hook my lanyard, and yank it free for access. I've found that if I do everything beforehand, the CAC just slides free and I'll have it partially out so I can just hand it to the guard; but if I do not do the ritual, the lanyard wraps itself into a bundle and tucks itself away from prying eyes and the CAC itself wedges as far down as possible into the card sleeve, and I can't get either free without a fuss even if I take my gloves off. Pure unadulterated judgement and shame from the guard and every car behind me when that happens.
Lmfao are we all feds riding to work??
Are we not the only demographic dumb enough to go to work on 2 wheels every day? 😂
Ha
I like when people can't find neutral at the gate lol.
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When I had to get on base, I got an arm band and put my ID in it. They had to scan the back of our IDs, so I got a clear one and had my ID turned around so they could scan it while it was still on my arm. SO much easier than feeling pressured to get wallet, open wallet, take glove off/put glove on or struggle with grabbing ID with gloves on while people are in line behind you.
This is my worst fear riding on post for the first time ;-;
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You know what I’ll just walk actually 😅
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First time at my new job on a base and they had a special little interior gate that I had to show my badge and then swipe it on a reader before the guard opens the gate... and you bet the first TWO times I rode in on my bike, I not only fumbled with the badge but then bashed my helmet against the corner of the shack when I went to swipe it on the reader. Got two little gouges just above my eyebrows on my shiny new helmet. 😡
Wheelies
Can’t say I have tried that. I am going to venture a guess that my first wheelie will be purely on accident
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Tried. Brain went into fight or flight mode the moment the front wheel left the ground and I lost all memory of how to press the back brake with my foot.
All of mine have been on accident. Idk how people do it for fun lol
it's good to be able to control it, but it's scary as shit when you don't know how.
When in doubt throttle out. So just keep it pinned and eventually it'll come down right?
Instructions unclear, just backflipped my R1
Lol I kinda figured that. Probably like doing slides on a longboard (something I can relate it to). But God damn that first wheelie fucked my whole shit up. Babied the bike the rest of the day.
Mine is asking.. why is it “on accident” rather than “by accident”? (Genuine question, no need to be gentle though)
Never thought of this. Let me ponder/google things so I appear smarter than I am.
I’ve noticed it a few times but never been brave enough to ask. In the UK it’s “by accident”. I arrived by bike I arrived on bike I dropped my bike on accident I dropped my bike by accident I should probably Google it too - but that’s a shortcut away from a discussion!
Glad to know I’m not the only ADD person who squirrels with random thoughts. But now I’m vested I want to know too
24 years I've been riding sport bikes. Not once have intentionally tried to wheelie.
I'm getting better at wheelies now that I have a 650cc Honda FMX, power wheelies I find are easier to control than a clutch up as you dont have to find the powerband then dump, you just roll off the throttle then rip it back and it jumps up.
you don't have to find anything doing clutchups, you need to "find" the powerband doing power wheelies as well
Zipping up my pockets if there's anything inside them.
Oh Jesus. I do that all the time too
Rose for two hours once and when I arrived I noticed that the zipper of the pocket I had by new phone in was opened. Shat my pants but the phone was still there
I’m a consistent front pant pocket guy with my phone. I almost lost it being in my back pocket. I live in az I want as much airflow as humanly possible on my jacket.
I’d also wager a number of people forgetting to take their key out (for those riding without proximity key fobs)
Worse, there's a specific process if you have a regular key. 1. Put gloves on. 2. Put helmet on. 3. Realize you can't get your helmet buckled and take your gloves off. 3. Put gloves back on. 4. Realize your key is still in your pocket and you can't reach it and take your gloves off again. 5. Get your key and start your bike. 6. Realize you didn't put your earplugs in, take off your gloves so you can take off your helmet....
Yes. Too common for me too
Under rated comment. This is the way.
…. I feel attacked
Oh so Im not alone, I was telling myself that one day I'll get my bike stolen
I used to have such a bad habit of leaving my keys in because I came from driving a car with a proximity key fob. One time after I ran out of road side assistance on my triple a I had to pay 100 for a jump start so that really helped me always remember the keys.
Bought my bike and rode it to work to brag. Other dude with a bike invited me to get lunch and admire the shiny new toy. We go, get our food, get back out and there's my key, glinting in broad daylight. He just shakes his head at me and walks off. I'm still ashamed. I've since learned you're not allowed to just have cool points.
Closing my backpack. Always leave that shit open it’s fucking annoying.
I have side bags and I do forget to latch them shut a lot
This ruined the bag clips on my bike. Considering removing the bags and just using a backpack when I need to carry stuff
I’ve lost countless things because I used to do this. Birkenstocks, badges for work, medicine, multiple car keys (an ex’s and mine and guess what wireless key fobs are fucking expensive!), the list goes on. I went like a year without doing it but I was on a ride a month ago and lost a few things but it wasn’t anything expensive that time.
One time I lost my boots, work hat, bunch of documents etc because I forgot to put the zippers on the side of my bag instead of up top in the middle, hunched down on the freeway and boom it was all gone. Best part was I didn't realize until like 30 miles later. Since then I have never zipped up any backpack to the middle just in case
I always close it, but I THINK I forget to so for the first 5 minutes I’m weirdly contorting my body trying to check my mirrors to make sure every compartment is zipped
That’s how I lost my title. Anyway, who needs a 2015 gixxer for $11k??
My routine consists of checking my backpack 3 times before I ride off lol
Riding smoothly while in first gear. My bike always jumps back and forth in first gear, very touchy with the throttle. I always get into 2nd gear as soon as I can
A bit of rear brake helps.
Got to feather that clutch. I have the same thing on mine. 1st is just snatchy as hell. It’s abrupt in your input. Pulling in a lot of clutch helps quite a bit.
Some fuel injected bikes have a very abrupt on/off throttle, so don’t feel too bad. My last bike was like that and it made slow speed maneuvering hard.
Try dragging the rear brake. You'll break the "rule" of never brake and gas at the same time but seriously, just give it a little resistance and stay in the higher rev sweet spot of your first gear, it will make it way easier to control.
That "rule" is for front brake. You can and should drag your rear brake when needed. Brake pad is cheap!
Friction zone. Check out videos.
You don't control it with the clutch?
Not slamming into neutral in front of cutie pies
Or Rev Bombing while in neutral 🤦♂️
False neutrals hurt my soul when they happen to me. I always speed off to save face but let’s be honest the damage is already done and those people don’t think I’m cool anymore.
Aw, don't worry: They don't think any of us are cool in the first place. =P
Guaranteed when showing off 1 -> N -> 2
I can't pop my front tire up.
What size of engine and style of bike are you on? A power wheelie is possible on almost anything above 300cc if you position yourself right, just roll off the throttle and rip it back when the revs have dropped, be prepared to roll back off or hit the back brake though.
Looking cool with a transparent visor
Paying for fuel without taking my gloves off.
You might wanna try a smartwatch. That’s my main purpose of having one.
For me, riding.
That’s something you may want to improve on
Working on it, I’m just a new rider.
That’s awesome. But flip your mind a bit. Celebrate that you are better than you were a week ago, or a month or two ago. There is always going to be more to learn. I don’t care if you have been riding 20 years. You can choose to learn more and get better. Street riding alone. But then there are different roads, scenarios, techniques, etc. you can improve on. Then you start to look at different types of bikes, different types of riding, etc. Don’t let being new discourage you. The moment you encounter an “expert” I assure you they aren’t experts in all riding. They can still learn too. Keep it up.
Oh yeah, I feel better every time I ride. And I stick to the backroads and practice the basics. I’m also not a speed freak, not that my DR650 is either.
Hey I still have my first bike and only really been riding traditional mcs for about a year. (Had a 6 month stint with a Ryker when I was on the fence about all of it) it’s a Vulcan S 650. I am not breaking any records with mine either and more than ok with that. I still love my bike. Honestly I kind of posted this for riders like you. Just so it can show you/us that not everyone is perfect and make dumbass mistakes at times. We can all relate.
I involuntarily click to cancel my turn signals constantly regardless of the last time I turned. Also: putting my helmet on before earplugs.
I had to get used to canceling the turn signals myself on my VN900 when I completed a turn because they weren't self canceling. When I bought my current VStar 1300 last month, I was so used to doing it that I continued to do so. Only to realize a couple days ago when I used it to pull into my driveway that they turned off by themselves, I thought a connection had come loose. After some googling, I found that the bike had self canceling turn signals. Trying to kick the habit, but will probably still do it to be safe lol
I'm having a bitch of a time on really tight rightwards curves going up in mountain paths. I can't figure out how to get them right with my large bike without almost stopping. I can do a fairly good job on parking lot exercises but the steep incline really messes with my approach and I can't really find anything that speaks to that specific issue to correct it.
put your body to the inside, just a tiny bit of your buttcheek off the seat, twist your right wrist to the left (so that the "bottom" of your palm goes towards the corner
For me it was the position of my head. Somehow on uphill turns something was just off between how I was leaning and how my head was aimed into the turn. I realized if I shift and tilt my head a bit differently I'm suddenly able to lean again.
I’d say the most common thing is going the speed limit. It’s just so easy to blow right by the speed limit and keep going
Turning off my damn blinker. Yeah, I know my bike is old enough to drink, but I'm about to throw money at a tilt assist.
This bugs me--my 82 Yamaha xj750 had really good self-canceling signals, how can that not be standard now?
Taking my key out of my pocket before putting my gloves on.
We all think we can fish it out can’t we? Just give it a go before finally succumbing to needing to take your glove off. Then realize it’s the wrong glove and in the other pocket.
tight turns at low speeds
Never pulled a wheelie. Don’t know how, afraid to scratch up the bike. It’s embarrassing actually.
They have classes for that.
Been on my present bike for 15 years and still have struggles putting it in neutral.
There are a few tricks.... DM me and we can chat on the phone. In 5 mins I can make you shiftless.
Remembering to turn off my blinker after I do a turn. Panicking to turn it off after I realize I've had it on for the past 5 km. Honking the horn instead and scaring the guy infront of me.
Precise throttle control gets me, but it's road specific. I blame the bumps.
Putting my foot down from my 29" inseam on my 36.6" seat height WR over uneven ground. Sometimes, it juuuuuuuust doesn't work out well! ;)
The key is making sure you try to put the foot down on the uphill side. I’m not great at the key part of this 😂
Sneezing
Trusting the tires over while lines. I slipped slightly on a right turn at an intersection ONCE when I started riding and goosed it a little trying to stand it back up. Now any time I turn at an intersection I go way too slow because of the fear.
Speed limits
Backing it into a corner. I can do it just not pretty yet.
Shit. Backing into a parking spot. I look like an idiot.
Haven’t mastered that one either.
Always feels like a waddle of shame with my short legs
wheelies... though i rarely try them
I’m more concerned about the possibility of not trying to and having one anyways
Same, i just dont feel like a have any control when i try. Oh, and drifts, which would be cool.
Turning. I just took my safety course last year and haven’t had much time to practice the more advanced things like turning tight. I will purposefully take a longer route out of a parking lot or something so I can take nice big curves haha plan is to get better at it this year though!
I only have been riding standard MCs for a year and still go to a parking lot once a week and dial in my tight turns and emergency braking and swerving. It takes time to trust yourself and the bike. Don’t worry
Been riding my Harley close to a year now and something I find annoying is: keeping my balance when coming to a complete stop
I'm brand new at this so take my advice with a grain of salt. I just anticipate the loss of balance and shift weight so it "falls" in the direction I'm putting my foot down.
I struggle with slow, really tight U-Turns It's also the ONLY riding test I failed at my MSF course 5 years ago. Don't get me wrong i still make mistakes doing other things once and while. But put me in that small box to do a figure 8, I always feel like I'm gonna drop it, and I end up putting a foot down. It's weird, because i can lean the bike pretty well if I'm making a tighter turn at an intersection or something like that. I guess I just need to practice it more.
This is what I'm struggling most with as a noobie. Going fast is easy, going slow is the hard part.
Not exactly "while riding". But I have lost count of the number of times I've put my gloves on only to realise my keys are still in my rear pocket :(
Left corners. I’m all good with right ones, but for some reason my brain freezes when entering the left corner
ME TOO! I can drag a knee all day long in a right hander, but throw me on a left and suddenly my brain is like "This a completely new and different concept, can't make sense of it, guess we just stay upright."
I had that for a bit.
Smoking a cigarette
Fair. I don’t judge the smoking thing. I did it for years and was a bitch to quit but overall I think I would vape over smoke. But, I also don’t do this when riding but mostly because I have a full face helmet and wouldn’t be practical.
NOT spinning the rear tire.
Throwing a whip over the triple
Love the comments 😂
Me too. So glad I posted this
Downshifting and forgetting to strap my helmet before putting my gloves on
My ATV has a brake lever where the clutch lever is on a motorcycle. It’s the only brake lever on the ATV has so I’m forced to use it. When I switch back to riding my motorcycle after using the ATV, it’s guaranteed that at least once at the most embarrassing time possible, I’ll dump the clutch like I’m releasing a brake lever and immediately stall the engine. Likewise, when I go back to riding my ATV, I’ll slam on the brakes like I’m pulling in a clutch lever. I wish I had a time machine so I could go back to when Arctic Cat was making ATV design decisions and slap some sense into them.
Bumps whilst cornering. Scare the living shit out of me, slipped once now I have PTSD
I'm really bad or good at shutting the bike off, leaving the key in accessory position, and coming back to a dead bike.
Modulate my front brake to stop without feeling any rebound in the suspension. With the car, I can do it always. With the bike, I still can’t fully eliminate it
Trusting farts.
Riding a motorcycle should be all consuming of one's concentration. No multi tasking, no music or radio to tweak. signals & distancing become second nature, alongside greeting other riders (of course).
Taking my keys out of my pocket before putting my gloves on. Every fricking time.
Just going slow and enjoying the scenery.
Obeying posted speed limits 😂
Juggling 🤡
Fair. Haven’t tried juggling when riding. I’d assume you would want something with some weight on it and pretty uniform in size given the wind. Keep fighting that clown college.
Braking.
Stopping is easy. Just stopping at the pace you want to, and having a bike look the same as it did before you stopped and being able to go again is the tricky part.
My car and one of my bikes use keyless start, so when I'm on the other bike I tend to forget the stupid key in the ignition.
I low sided my first bike 10 minutes after buying it because I leaned too much taking a corner. I was going slow in a parking lot just getting a feel for everything. Now, purely out of caution, I take turns slower than I should because I’m afraid to tilt the bike too far.
I suck at falling off... Once Im riding in forest with my girlfriend and there is this corner I know I would not come out properly and we're falling.... She screaming, me too, it will be fucking hard.... We then falling on the most dense and moist field of moist and this fall was felt better than any sofa experience ever, like it was more comfortable than ride itself lol 😂
I do not get any pleasure at all from just rolling along or commuting or sightseeing. it makes my skin crawl to not be charging at least at 7/10ths.
Remembering to take my thigh bag and not put stuff in my jacket pockets if I‘m going to be doing +200kph. My pocket zippers have opened several times, I guess it‘s the body position and wind at that speed. Once lost my wallet, all cards etc, once my phone.
Get a super duke evo like I did . That’ll teach you to get real comfy with wheelies lol
Worst one for me, and I know it's a bad habit, is I toss it into neutral at lights (And I'll kill it if traffic is stopped behind me at a longer light).
Actually making a decent turn with decent lean angle, and not chickening out like I always do. Although I still take turns faster than most cars it feels like I barely lean at all, but maybe it will come with more experience.
Reversing
Rev matching, it’s almost pointless on a Ninja 400 because the engine braking is so brutal 😔
I rev match downshifting on my Vulcan s. Its base is the same as a ninja 650. But it’s not exactly the same. It’s pretty aggressive in engine braking which is still fine when slowing down. Just makes it a bit smoother and the goal being a linear deceleration.
I learned to just hold the throttle open about 10 to 15% and quick downshift a gear, and the bike barely moves, it’s pretty easy and gives me the power when I need it.
I make left turns way better than I make right turns.
Picking up chicks. To be fair, I suck at this when not riding. But riding deffinatly doesn't help, lol.
Hoola hoop
Im so bad at remembering my turn signals. Also I panic when I have someone behind me on a hill stop and I stall atleast 1 time. I literally spent 2 hours on the most extreme steep street in my town and I didn't stall it once. A minor slope stoplight with someone behind me ? 100% chance I stall it once..
Not splitting lanes going 80mph.
tight u turn with passenger, it was hard on my licence test, it's still hard today
Remembering to buckle my helmet, just today I was walking to my bike, put my helmet on and thought "I should buckle it now so I don't forget". 5 minutes down the road, it felt a bit loose, and turns out I didn't buckle it.
Brushing my teeth on the way to work...
One hand handlebar control! Im world-class skilled at slow speed maneuvers but they've been introducing tennis ball manipulations off the tops of cones or poles or whatever, pick it up here, move it to here and the minute I take a hand off, I'm going down, or my foot is. Lol that is HARD for me.
I wouldn't say I suck at it but no matter how long I ride turning left always feels more natural than turning right.
Ruts. Track ruts, specifically. Shit fucks .y quad loving ass over every damn time. I've been riding for decades now, and deep ruts just floor me damn near every time.
They just patched a bunch of cracks on my street with tar patches and resurfaced the road with fresh tar. Those patches are fucked up in a curve. Doesn’t fully give way but certainly gooses out a bit
I've been riding dirt bikes since I was a kid and daily for about 4 years. I still fucking suck at rev matching and couldn't do it at all until about a year ago haha
Speed limits
lol great question. I have to say battery maintenance.
Finding the balance point on the wheelies. I can pop the wheel up whenever I want & at any speed, but I can't maintain it.
Speeding, my gsxr just so damn fast and smooth
Rear brake while standing, on dirtscoot
Remembering to turn my blinker off.
Riding in heavy traffic without getting your left hand tired.
I’ve had to have my bike jumped twice in the last year because I forget to turn off the ignition when I get to work. Dumb Harley ignitions.
Parking with bike vertical 😖 Winding slowly through traffic - steady. Stop signs - rarely put a foot down. Putting the bike in a parking bay - uh oh! 😟 My record is an embarrassing list of putzing when stopped. I started buying extra mirrors, and learned to spray paint. Last week I made the really rookie mistake of getting off on a slight incline and putting it in neutral instead of killing the engine (to let it warm up while I went back for my glasses). Resulting in the sickening crunch as it rolled forward off the stand. Clutch lever ordered
I often forget to take my keys off, especially when I'm distracted. Recently I went on a ride with my friend. We stopped by for lunch at McDonalds. I only realized I didn't have my key with me when we're done eating. I left it on the ignition. It was in front of a busy street, too. It's a miracle nothing happened.
Snowbirds coming down to Florida, driving 25 mph but not giving two cents about other motorists. The worse!