Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The other day, when I was at Mountain Motorsports picking up my light bar and I saw this motorcycle on display in the showroom. It is in great shape, I like it's cafe racer good looks. I'm pretty sure it is just on display for all to enjoy and not for sale!
Monday, August 27, 2012
I was thinking, for anyone such as myself who was wanting to own
and ride their own motorcycle that I should talk about the Motorcycle Safety
Foundation (MSF) classes. Specially, for new riders that would be the Basic
Rider Course (BRC).
While Bill and I
were out perusing a lot of different motorcycle shops in our area and beyond, I
met many fine sales people whose goal was not just to help me realize my dream
of motorcycle ownership but to make sure I did it safely and skillfully!
They all recommended the MSF classes.
Over the next
couple of months, all the while still checking out motorcycle shops, I logged
onto the MSF website http://www.msf-usa.org many
times. Finally, I pulled the trigger and scheduled a class for early
April. The BRC is a 2 1/2 day class, either a full weekend or Tues-Thurs.
I chose the weekday class, it saved me $25 and I thought it might be more
low-key and might be people more my own age.
So, first day of
class rolls around. There were nine of us in my class; I believe the max
is twelve. We were a cross section, one woman motorcycle rider -me, two
women scooter riders, a husband of one of the scooter riders who was an experienced
rider but felt he could learn from this class, a young military vet, a man who
had raced cars and now wanted to ride with his friends, an older retired vet
who had flown helicopters, a young guy planning to buy a sport bike, and
another retired man who just wanted to ride - like me! They were all a
bunch of very nice people.
The two instructors were absolutely
great. We had instruction in the classroom and outside on the course.
We were assigned loaner motorcycles, CBR250's I think. They would also
loan you a helmet, I brought my own.
So what makes this
such a great class and why do I think everyone should take it?
You will learn
mental and physical skills and tactics to be a safer motorcyclist. There
is a wealth of information and discussion in the classroom that was invaluable. You will practice riding and learn maneuvering on the outside course.
I learned many things that hopefully will keep me safer on the road.
The first time you
drop your motorcycle as many new riders do, it will be theirs and not yours.
I did this and I learned why I did it and hopefully I won't do it again.
Upon passing the
written test and the riding test, you will receive a certificate.
Here in Georgia this certificate allows you to waive any road or written test
at the DMV to get your motorcycle endorsement on your driver's license.
Just walk up to the counter and show the certificate, pretty slick.
Show your certificate and many shops will also give you a discount on
your first accessory purchase from them.
In hindsight, am I glad I took this class - absolutely! I don't think my early days of
riding would have gone as well without this class. It was a lot of fun.
It was also a personal challenge (I love a challenge). My
son's friend's wife had just completed the class with a 100 on the written test
and a 95 on the riding test and I wanted to at least match that and I did!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
I am a lucky one. I have a
great husband who was happy to have me riding two up with him on his bike. However, I sensed that he was kind of stressed with me back there,
concerned about my welfare. I think he imagined me falling off or falling
asleep so I decided it was time to really concern him and get my own
motorcycle. Don't worry, he is fine with this.
I did a lot of internet research and we visited many local
dealerships and shops. So, after quite a few weeks of thinking and
planning, I took the next step. I enrolled in a msf, motorcycle safety
foundation, beginner rider's class. I'll go into more depth, as well as
other topics, about the class in a future entry. I got my motorcycle
endorsement on my license.
We shopped for my first motorcycle. One choice recommended
to me, was the Vulcan 500, no
longer in production but the prices we found for a used one seemed a little
high. I ended up with my first bike, a Suzuki S40. I chose to start with
a smaller bike and I am glad I did. The S40 only weighs about 380 lbs. so easy
for me to maneuver but it felt too light at high speeds. The
aftermarket mods available for it are pretty much nonexistent.
Which brings me up to the present, 4 months later, and my second
motorcycle which I am really crazy about. It's a Honda Shadow Aero VT750C. It is a 2011 model, brand new,
so the price was right especially after trading up just 4 months later. It's
bigger, 560 lbs., fits me great and has a beautiful solid candy dark red color paint job. I
have some mods already in mind and look forward to making my Aero very much
mine!
Ride safely!
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