New Rider Tips

[Louis]

Originally Posted by LayinLo

I'll start a new thread if I get a nod from Louis and UB. If not, I'll pm ya.

Hmm, we do not encourage this kind of riding practice on public roads where it can put other people at risk. Create your thread, we might just put our grain of salt.

[Trapper]

Should be fun, I can't wait

[DragonKat]

Respect your bike, the others around you, and your riding limits !! That advice along w/ all the other great points in this thread will serve all new riders well, heck all riders period!

[87gsxrnut]

I got a tip for you:

Don't eat Yellow Snow.

- Nut

[DragonKat]

Hey the snow cone guy sells yellow snow? isnt that the same thing?

[hrglas]

3. Keep the oil fresh. Most riders change their oil every 2-3k miles. Some even change it every 1k miles. Always use top of the line synthetic oil and change your filter every time you change the oil. Again, refer to your manual as to what weight oil you should use or consult your mechanic.

Is synthetic oil still the preferred way to go if my bike is brand new (not even 50 miles on it, hell 10 for that matter)

[skullman91]

ya turning your helmet to the side works great,, i actually put rain-x on my visor before i went to bike week in laconia, nh ,, it always rains at least one day up there, sure enough it poured... but works great

[cranny]

I dont recall anyone mentioning this althought someone had mentioned white lines and railroad tracks , but my closest experience of goin down was a manhole cover . Tucked into a turn and didnt have time halfway to swerve and WOBBLE WOBBLE , WHOAAAA, lol was close one.

[Slick]

only had my bike for over a year but i went down 3 months ago pretty hard... was on my first group ride second to last in the pack and was riding out of my limits (too fast) when i hit a blind curve and found that the guy in front of me who'd only had a bike for 3 weeks stopped in mid turn so i took the turn wide and met an oncoming truck so i had to straight up dodge a lane of traffic and hit side of the road when the bike did a nose dive and sent me over the handlebars. Expensive/painful lessons learned:

1. RIDE WITHIN YOUR MOTHER*$#* LIMITS - - if working on gettin faster or workin on leans, either do it on a track or on a road you KNOW.

2. Be careful who you ride with

p.s. thank god for gear

[Godfather]

Good stuff

[kinkyllama]

What are some things you guys would recommend in boots? I have some steel-toed 14eye doc martens, would those be ideal or could i get something much better?

[UpOnOne86]

I was wondering what some of the more experienced riders thought about this. I have been riding motocross for a long time on some pretty powerful bikes, of course long time is relative, Im talking about around 5 years now. Anyway I always wanted a sportbike and am looking into purchasing one. Ive ridden a dualsport on the street that my friend owns numerous times, and ive ridden a classic style standard bike a few times on the street and neither really is what I want. Hence why I want a sportbike. The question is, how do you guys feel about having a GSXR 600 being someones first bike, given that they have a lot of experience riding on dirt and doing some really difficult off road riding / motocross racing? I think it would be an easy switch but what do you guys think?

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by UpOnOne86

I was wondering what some of the more experienced riders thought about this. I have been riding motocross for a long time on some pretty powerful bikes, of course long time is relative, Im talking about around 5 years now. Anyway I always wanted a sportbike and am looking into purchasing one. Ive ridden a dualsport on the street that my friend owns numerous times, and ive ridden a classic style standard bike a few times on the street and neither really is what I want. Hence why I want a sportbike. The question is, how do you guys feel about having a GSXR 600 being someones first bike, given that they have a lot of experience riding on dirt and doing some really difficult off road riding / motocross racing? I think it would be an easy switch but what do you guys think?

I have to agree with Night Wolf, the SV 650, or DL 650 would be better bikes for you. I do have a lot of experience on dirt bikes, and your problem isn't going to be learning how to ride, you are probably already a very good rider.You need to get your mind wrapped around the differences between riding on a track, and riding on the street. This might be hard for you to understand, but trust me, it's true. Things that happen on a track are a lot more predictable, than things that happen on the street. And when you are on the track, you are always on edge, and ready for something to happen. On the street, you are just driving along minding your own business when BAM, right in front of you, a chair falls out of the back of the truck you are following. You need time to learn how to keep thet edge at all times. The other difference, is, on the track, you can do what ever you want, when ever you want. By that I mean you are prety much always playing. On the street there realy isn't anyplace safe to play, but there are places that are less dangerous. You need time to recognize when, and where those places are. You'r a racer, you like to race, that GSXR is a really fast bike. Do yourself a favor, and don't put that power in your hand till you learn the ropes a bit.
There is something about motorcycles that does something to you when you get on them, they change you, they make you want, almost need to ride them to there potential. Besides, if your buddies are on faster bikes, you'l learn better riding skils just to stay with them. If you go with the DL 650 V Strom, you will feel right at home. Handlebar, seat, footpeg, is laid out just like a dirt bike, only with a comfortable seat. Good luck, have fun, and keep the ruber side down.

[UpOnOne86]

Thanks man thats a really great way of explaining it. And I actually really like the sv650 and dl650 so i have no realy problems with helping myself live longer/

[Clint]

We've discussed countersteering in other threads. Check out the search function rather than derailing this thread.

[87gsxrnut]

Wear a helmet.

- Nut

[tlwisner]

Originally Posted by 87gsxrnut

Wear a helmet.

- Nut

[lil_lissa]

awesome tips. i will try to study these and memorize them off by heart!

[Kris]

I'm going to print this and tape it to the inside of my visor.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Kris

I'm going to print this and tape it to the inside of my visor.