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My first time

2K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  deb93fxlr 
#1 ·
in the drivers seat. I was signed up for the MSF course, I had already gone to one class, the first day is all classroom, no riding. I was real nervous and didn't know what to expect for the next class, which was all riding(I didn't know how fast or how slow they go). To help ease some of my nervousness my husband pulled his panhead out of the basement and parks it near the road. He tells me to get my helmet, he's going to let me take it down the road to get the feel of it. My reaction is the Panhead, why not the heritage, at least I can flat foot the Heritage. His reply - the Panhead is more replaceable than the heritage, only 2,500 made in 1986 and his is almost all original. He had alot of faith is me, huh?

Up near the road, I sit on the bike, he kicks it over and starts showing me clutch, rear brake, front brake, etc. He asks if I'm ready - sure, why not! The bike is already heading in the right direction, all I have to do is pull out onto the road. The plan was that I would take it about 500 yards down the road and pull into the parking lot of the fire company. OK I can do that.

THE TAKE OFF
I pull out nice and slow and shoot straight across the road, so now I'm in the wrong lane going the wrong way! I get it together and come back to me side of the road, where my husband in running after me yelling "PULL IN THE CLUTCH" (he wanted me to pull in the clutch and bring the bike to a stop) I though he wanted me to pull the clutch in and shift into second, so that's exactly what I did. I took off toward the fire company with my husband running as fast as he could behind me! Pulled into the parking lot with a big grin on my face, I did it! Only problem was when I came to a stop and went to put my feet down, my right foot came down right into a little drainage ditch, the bike was on such a lean I thought I was going to drop it. I couldn't drop it, this was his baby. All I kept thinking was just hang on. My arms started shaking, but I wasn't letting go of that bike, the whole time I'm trying to look over my shoulder and see where he was at. I did it I hung onto that bike until he got to me, and thats the story of my first ride in the drivers seat!

Anybody else out there with a first?
 
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Discussion starter · #3 ·
Ginger, your one step ahead of the game if you've ever navigated a 2 wheeled vehicle on your own. That was my first time it was back in 99 and we laugh about it now, but at the time it wasn't so funny! All I can say is if you enjoy riding on the back you will absolutely love being up front and in control, at least I do!
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Good luck j-b, can't wait to hear all about it! Those courses are just the best, if I had to learn on that old panhead I don't know if I could have done it.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
I agree with deb, find a parking lot and practice. I also started out on a small 250 Honda Rebel. If the bike feels too heavy, maybe you need to just push it around the parking lot to get used to the weight of it.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
The more she rides the more natural it will become. The best thing is to get out there and ride. Drops will happen, my view when I would drop the bike, was - what happened? What did I do wrong?, ok let me do it again, I know I can do it right. There was never a fear in my mind, that I couldn't do it.

I've alway had manual shift cars and had a 4 wheeler when I was younger, so the clutch and shifting wasn't too much of a problem, but the 2 wheels insead of 4, tripped me up alittle bit.

Have patience, be understanding and take it slow, one step at a time. I think what really helped me is that my OM really wanted to see me on my own and did everything he could to help me out, including not yelling at me when I would drop the bike. Just helped me pick it back up, asked if I was ok and what happened, some advice on how to prevent it next time and off we would go.

>>Iam nervous that after 200 miles of riding some days she seems ok others she looks like a beginner and has lost the skill. <<

I know what your talking about with that statement, I also had "off" days, I don't know why, but sometimes I would just be so stiff on the bike, those were the days we didn't go far.

I believe the more she rides, the better she will get.
 
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