1000 miles as a beginner

[tricol]

So, I've almost clicked over 1000 miles on my Trident. Back in September when I completed my CBT I didn't quite think I'd have done that on my own big bike. I wanted to note down how I have got on with my own riding since starting out and find out what others felt as they started to build up experience. What did you learn, what do you wish you'd done different, happy with the bike you started out on?

Anyway, here is my quick review.

1 - Having been driving cars for almost 20 years and previously owned scooters, my general road craft is pretty good I think. Very much used to checking blind spots and watching out for everyone else.
2 - I struggled with my gears early on. This was a mixture of a new tight gearbox, and me not having rode too many miles. Things have definitely improved. I'm now working on my rev matching. 50% success rate. Tips welcome!
3 - The right gear. I spent ages finding a helmet that was a good fit. In the end, AGV were the best. I've been struggling with my gloves. I bought lighter summer gloves and winter gloves. I find my right thumb gets squeezed, and the right hand glove hasn't broken in as much as the left. Odd.
4 - I haven't rode with others yet. All solo miles. I'm very nervous about riding with others, but I'm sure it will come in time. I also need to find new routes. Getting a bit bored of the same roads. Longer days out required.
5 - 80bhp is more than enough. I've used full throttle in 2nd/3rd a couple of times now since the first service was complete, and the novelty is still there. It's so addictive to be able to go to the stop. Surely 150bhp+ is too much?
6 - Counter steering. Something I think should be taught in riding schools? So important when cornering speeds rise and you want to make safe steady progress.
7 - Why didn't I do it all sooner!? Well, I almost passed my test when I was 18, but ended up getting sucked into buying a car. I even had a £99 deposit down on an SV650S. How things could have been very different today.
8 - It has been great for clearing my head. I suffer from anxiety and depression and getting out for a couple of hours does help me switch off when I can just concentrate on riding and enjoying it.

Looking forward to the next thousand and well beyond that.

[weeksy]

4 - I haven't rode with others yet. All solo miles. I'm very nervous about riding with others, but I'm sure it will come in time. I also need to find new routes. Getting a bit bored of the same roads. Longer days out required.

What are you nervous about exactly mate ?

[DefTrap]

#4: gloves. Real pain in the jacksie I find. My right hand thumb is chunky and long (when compared to lefty anyway), a real drag to find gloves that fit properly

[tricol]

What are you nervous about exactly mate ?

Same reasons as riding groups on my mountain bike. Being slow and holding up group progress. And getting lost. I've been living here almost 7 years and I still need to consult Google Maps before every ride!

[weeksy]

What are you nervous about exactly mate ?

Same reasons as riding groups on my mountain bike. Being slow and holding up group progress. And getting lost. I've been living here almost 7 years and I still need to consult Google Maps before every ride!

That's where you need to find people who are compatible. I'm never lost... i'm not always where i want to be I'm not even close to it... but who cares

With regards to speed, again, finding someone with the right attitude is key, someone who's just happy to be out with a mate, rather than wanting to race all the time... Finding that person may not be the easiest, but TBH, many on here are of that personality nowdays.

have you thought about rider training/trackdaying to help in that sense ?

[KungFooBob]

Trackday next then, that'll be an eye opener for you.

[tricol]

Yes, I wanted to do the Bike Safe course, but all fully booked this year.

Track day isn't for me just yet, not because I don't want too, but don't trust others! I guess too many horror stories and videos on YouTube.....

[weeksy]

Track day isn't for me just yet, not because I don't want too, but don't trust others! I guess too many horror stories and videos on YouTube.....

Really ? That's an interesting take on it. As you may have established from postings, a fair few of us have done many... i'm up over 100 trackdays, so it's always interesting to get a take on other peoples inputs.

Have you read Twist of the Wrist books ? I've got a full set here gathering dust as my missus hasn't bothered reading them, more than happy to send them up to you.

[Supermofo]

Get yourself a TomTom or Garmin with built in twisty ride functions. Don't have to worry about finding places then I waited about 23 years before getting one and wish I'd have done it sooner, magic things for finding new roads and never having to worry about getting lost.

Riding in groups can be tricky if you feel the need to prove yourself or keep up etc. I found once I was comfortable with my riding I was fine as if people were faster I didn't care, you'll catch up later. The danger zone is riding quicker than you are comfy with. Crack that and you'll be fine. I should imagine being older helps, when you are 21 that common sense is harder to come by. I also find that I have certain people I'm happy riding with and it works. I often ride with my brother and his mate and feel completely comfy with them, I know they aren't going to do anything (too) silly. Same with Weeksy, before I met him and just from how he comes across here I thought he'd be good to ride with and he was. Not hanging about, but not riding silly. Likewise I've been on group rides where in the first few minutes I've decided the group aren't for me for one reason or another.

As for most of the other stuff riding since I was 18 meant there wasn't a lot of analysis going on about my riding in the early years

And yes, bikes are amazing for clearing your head. If I ride to work I arrive much much fresher than in the car. It's a great stress reliever and chance to be by yourself with no distractions. Having said that riding really angry can be very bad!

[tricol]

I was looking at the Beeline Moto nav units. They look nice and compact and easy to use. I can plot a route that way too.

Thanks for the offer weeksy, I'm not much of a reader. They would probably gather more dust here.

I do know one guy who recently passed his test and I know him through riding MTBs with him once or twice. Maybe good to arrange something with him.

[KungFooBob]

Once you've done a trackday it'll be the road that feels far more dangerous. You'll find out what I mean when you eventually do one

[DefTrap]

I used to go on a few rideouts back in the day (VD and other marque specific forums).

Typically I enjoyed the meetup bits but less-so the riding in a pack bit. You really have to have your wits about you: where are we going?; who's holding who up; is so-and-so being a knobber; have I got enough petrol; I need a piss/ fag etc. Too much of a pain in the arse for me - I pulled a few people out of hedges after they stacked it and realised I didn't want to do that very much, nor end up being one of those tempted to stack it due to group-induced red mist.

[Cousin Jack]

Well done on the 1K bit.

Group riding is something I was VERY nervous about to start with, and I still don't enjoy big groups. As for the 'holding others up', I've been there, done that but I found that most other bikers were laid back about that, and happy to wait for me to catch up. Find one or two others prepared to enjoy a slow ride and you will learn stuff and improve, as well as having a mate at the coffee stop.

Getting lost is part of the fun. Get a sat-nav, any one will do. Just stick it on and go explore. It will always know where you are even when you are lost, and when want to go home it will lead you there. I very rarely use a sat nav to go anywhere in the UK, I just follow my nose. Returning home after a very convoluted day exploring roads that look interesting is much easier (and quicker) using the sat nav.

[Hot_Air]

Congrats @tricol on your first thousand miles!

I felt the same about group riding and, many miles and years later, I still prefer to ride solo. I find it more relaxing and better for clearing my head.

While I’ve done my share of track days, and the odd race school, they didn’t help my road riding as much as advanced training.

I highly recommend investing a day (or more) with the likes of @The Spin Doctor or Rapid Training. Both were brilliant and transformational for my road riding - increasing my skills, confidence and enjoyment. Spin covers the South and Rapid has (brilliant!) instructors nationally. Worth every penny

[Rockburner]

So, I've almost clicked over 1000 miles on my Trident. Back in September when I completed my CBT I didn't quite think I'd have done that on my own big bike. I wanted to note down how I have got on with my own riding since starting out and find out what others felt as they started to build up experience. What did you learn, what do you wish you'd done different, happy with the bike you started out on?

Anyway, here is my quick review.

1 - Having been driving cars for almost 20 years and previously owned scooters, my general road craft is pretty good I think. Very much used to checking blind spots and watching out for everyone else.

Good, keep it up.

2 - I struggled with my gears early on. This was a mixture of a new tight gearbox, and me not having rode too many miles. Things have definitely improved. I'm now working on my rev matching. 50% success rate. Tips welcome!

Practise

3 - The right gear. I spent ages finding a helmet that was a good fit. In the end, AGV were the best. I've been struggling with my gloves. I bought lighter summer gloves and winter gloves. I find my right thumb gets squeezed, and the right hand glove hasn't broken in as much as the left. Odd.

You use the right thumb a lot less. (on most bikes, Modern Harleys and BMW's older than about 5 years old are the exceptions)

4 - I haven't rode with others yet. All solo miles. I'm very nervous about riding with others, but I'm sure it will come in time. I also need to find new routes. Getting a bit bored of the same roads. Longer days out required.

Don't let anyone else pressure you into riding in any manner that you're not happy with, always, ALWAYS ride your own ride.

5 - 80bhp is more than enough. I've used full throttle in 2nd/3rd a couple of times now since the first service was complete, and the novelty is still there. It's so addictive to be able to go to the stop. Surely 150bhp+ is too much?

oh - don't start that one....

6 - Counter steering. Something I think should be taught in riding schools? So important when cornering speeds rise and you want to make safe steady progress.

Try pulling with your finger tips on the other side instead of pushing with your palms.

7 - Why didn't I do it all sooner!? Well, I almost passed my test when I was 18, but ended up getting sucked into buying a car. I even had a £99 deposit down on an SV650S. How things could have been very different today.

8 - It has been great for clearing my head. I suffer from anxiety and depression and getting out for a couple of hours does help me switch off when I can just concentrate on riding and enjoying it.

Yup - I find the same.

Looking forward to the next thousand and well beyond that.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

My first 1000 miles were a long time ago (1983), not sure what I can remember that's worth while apart from wear decent protective clothing.

Personally I find trackdays safer than road riding, but there are twats everywhere.
The one thing I would suggest doing is some dirt bike riding, you'll learn loads about bike control very quickly.

[Horse]

6 - Counter steering. Something I think should be taught in riding schools? So important when cornering speeds rise and you want to make safe steady progress.

Did you do DAS including the Module 1 off-road test? If so, you really ought to have been taught it for that.

[tricol]

Yea, did all that. Wasn't mentioned once!

I did look at KTM dirt bike experience days, they have a few locations around the UK and look like loads of fun.

[Horse]

Yea, did all that. Wasn't mentioned once!

That is shockingly poor training!

It's bad enough that DVSA don't want it in CBT, but to not train it for Mod 1 which includes cornering and swerving ... astounding.

Let alone for benefits when riding on-road.

[tricol]

There was one guy who I took some MOD1 lessons with, he really struggled with the swerve avoidance. The instructor was telling him to really lean the bike and turn it, but if he explained counter steering to him, it would have been so much easier.