I used to think motorcycles were stupid. I thought you had to have a death wish to ride them, they’re just inherently dangerous. Since my younger self had a tendency to push the limits of whatever poor vehicle I owned, I figured it was best if I avoided bikes entirely, even if they looked pretty fun. Soon after I had got my license a couple of students at my high school were kind enough to provide examples of what happens when you don’t respect the risk associated with riding a motorbike. They didn’t die but they were lucky they didn’t. However, a funny thing happened when I started riding a motorcycle, I mellowed out a bit and actually became a safer driver. Scaring the hell out of yourself will do that to a guy.
Image via panoramaresort.com
I can still remember the moment I decided that I must have a motorcycle. I was on top of a mountain in the middle of winter. I had recently moved to BC and my new roommate worked for a snowmobile adventure company that took tourists up into the beautiful alpine basin you see above. On one of his days off, my roommate borrowed one of the work snowmobiles and dragged me up the mountain via tow rope and skis. Once on top of the mountain I was blown away at the scenery and vast open area that could be accessed with the snowmobile. Naturally, I figured that I needed a snowmobile pronto, I had to have access to the back country.
The problem was that I had little money and a replacement for my PedoVan would soon be necessary. How could I combine the need for daily transportation with something that could get me way out in the back country? Having done some ill-advised off-roading in the van I knew that I needed something smaller, that could supply the necessary traction for any kind of road conditions. Clearly, a dual sport dirt bike was the most rational solution and from that moment on I started saving up to buy one in the spring.
image via jevonline.com
The next minor obstacle was that I had never rode a motorbike before and did not have the license to do so. Fortunately, BC had (and still has) a rather relaxed approach to motorcycle training. Not only did I not need to take a course but I could teach myself. No training wheels for me! Well, I wasn’t supposed to be able to teach myself but was required to have someone who’s held a motorcycle license for 2 years supervise me, but there was no oversight. All I had to do was take a written test to get my learner’s permit, then I could ride with a bunch of restrictions, then take an easy parking lot test to get even less restrictions. Finally I had to do a full road test that got me my full license, which I passed without issues in the minimum allowable waiting period. The learning process was not without its hiccups however, I learned a few things the hard way.
image via bikepics.com. Only the first and last pics are of my actual bike
As spring approached, I was focused on the local online classified ads. I wanted a bike that could do everything; tight single track trails, highways, city driving and something that could handle at least a few bags of groceries and a case of beer. I figured a 400cc dual sport would be a fitting compromise; small enough for the trails but (just) big enough for the highway. I really didn’t care what brand either, Kawasaki’s seemed to have the best reputation but that was also reflected in their price. As it turned out, 400cc bikes were no where to be found so I settled on a Suzuki DR650 for $3400. It even came with a couple of soft saddle bags and a hard case which would facilitate grocery getting.
Yeah, it was a little big for a starter bike. Not just engine wise, I literally had to stretch to my tippy toes to stay upright at a stop, and I’m 6 feet tall. So I decided to teach myself slowly, starting off going back and forth in a parking lot until I got all the controls figured out and felt comfortable. I then graduated to a nearby gravel road while mastering the art of shifting and practicing some evasive maneuvers. On and on it went until I felt comfortable on the highways and back roads , but never moving “up” until I felt comfortable.
Things were going well, I was gaining confidence and starting to explore the many back country roads. Unfortunately, I had to explore on my own as my friends were far more interested in spending time at the beach or the bar. Riding alone in the empty wilderness was obviously not a great idea as it left me very vulnerable in the unlikely event of me having an accident out in the middle of nowhere. This point was hammered home the first time I inadvertently “rolled on” the throttle while on a narrow overgrown old road.
I had read about the dangers of losing one’s balance and rolling on the throttle but was still surprised the first time I did it. The bike just took on it’s own! No it didn’t, I had my hand too far over the throttle as I climbed a hill and pulled it way too far back as I lost my balance, which only made it worse. Lesson #1 learned, from them on I made sure my hand was in the right position on the throttle and I haven’t accidentally rolled on the throttle since.
Riding a motorcycle through a scenic area is a truly unparalleled driving experience. As Robert Pirsig noted in Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, riding a motorcycle is an active experience where one is a part of the scenery instead of a passive observer in a car. You really can see everything at once. In BC there really is too much to see as one can easily be distracted and not see danger right in front of them.
One of my first highway trips was a lap around the Golden triangle, which departs just 15 kms from my home. I was riding along admiring the scenery near Field, BC when a deer suddenly appeared 10 feet in front of me. Time transitioned into slow motion as I hit the brakes hard, lifting me up out of the seat, ready to launch myself over the stupid creature. Just as suddenly it darted across the road, I let off the brakes and landed back down on my seat. Holy crap, that could have been really bad. The adrenaline was pumping so hard I had to pull over for a few minutes to settle down. Lesson #2 learned; pay attention to the road!
image via thumpertalk.com
While this bike could do almost anything, it soon became apparent that it couldn’t do anything particularly well. The lack of a windshield and upright seating style made it uncomfortable on the highway, especially in strong winds. It’s size and 400 lb heft made it difficult to maneuver on small trails, I dropped it numerous times and it wasn’t easy to pick up. As a daily driver, it had just enough room for groceries or beer, you couldn’t pick them both up on the same trip. It’s 200 km range was tested numerous times on long back country roads, I had to switch to the reserve tank a few times but never actually ran out of gas. I would buy another beater to drive over the winter but this bike served me well over 3 summers.
By my third summer I had gotten pretty good at riding it and was probably pushing the envelope a little bit. I was riding down a previously unexplored road by myself, that was riddled with ditches cut into them to allow water across. I would slow down for them, ride through, then speed up again. One went completely unnoticed as I flew in at a considerable speed. I stayed on the bike into the ditch but did the flying superman once I hit the other side. I went straight and the bike went right. Once the dust settled, I was surprised to find that my only injuries were some road rash and minor bruising. The bike on the other hand had bent pegs and handlebars, gauges broken off and it wouldn’t start. I was about 20 kms from the main road and it dawned on me that there were three potential outcomes; fix the bike and go home, walk the long way home or spend the night with the bears and the cougars.
Long story short, I got the bike running after about 45 mins of messing around. It wasn’t running well but I made it home. That was my last solo adventure in the wilderness. Lesson #3 learned; don’t go into the back country alone!
The bike was really beginning to show its age after the abuse I had heaped on it. It was time to fix it up and sell it. I soon discovered that not only were parts very expensive, they were also hard to find. The bike was only 14 years old but it was the last of the old models, with new Suzuki DRs coming out in 1996. Parts were obsolete and took a lot of digging to find. Lesson #4 learned, motorcycles parts are more expensive and more difficult to find compared to car parts.
In the end, I sold the bike for a little less than I paid for it, without taking into consideration the expense of fixing it up. While I once again learned things the hard way, it was certainly worth it as it has made me not only a better rider but a better car driver as well. Riding a bike gives you a different perspective on the road and makes you far more aware of other road users. But that’s not why I ride them. I ride them because they are a driving experience like no other.
Of course, I enjoyed this COAL more than I usually do, for obvious reasons.
Your first paragraph was a very good start to your adventure. At times when I’ve had enough beer in me, and have an audience unfortunate enough to be in that position, I tend to start ranting on about two of my most fervently held political beliefs:
1. Nobody should be allowed to have a driver’s license for a car until they’ve spent two years on a motorcycle or motorcycle-class scooter.
2. Motorcycle licensing should be graduated in (what I remember as) the British manner: Beginners are limited to a certain size and power (250cc and 44hp) and must ride with a large “L” on the bike, front and back.
To someone who’s never ridden a motorcycle, you’re probably ready to start yelling. Trust me, two years on a motorcycle will make you a much better, much, much more observant driver – because you have to be to stay alive. It’ll change your attitude in terms of traffic around you. It’ll teach you to notice things like when the color of the pavement changes, that mouse crossing the road 50 meters in front of you, any wildlife on the side of the road, and subtle changes in the weather.
After 39 years of year round riding in all weather on all sizes, vintages and types of bikes (the current stable is an ’88 Harley FXR, ’98 Honda 996 Super Hawk, ’13 Yamaha Zuma 125 which is the daily commuter, and an ’83 Yamaha Venture Royale currently undergoing restoration – plus an ’03 Honda Metropolitan which the wife uses) I tend to consider any automobile driver with no motorcycle experience an inherent danger on the road. And you are, protestations to the contrary. You have no idea what its like to go somewhere without a massive steel box around you.
You made the normal first mistake of any beginning motorcyclist: Getting a bike too big for you. As you’ve discovered, a 250cc dual sport would have been a better choice. My first bike, back in 1976 was a brand new leftover 1975 Kawasaki G3-SS (100cc 2-stroke street bike). Yeah, within three months I’d had outgrown it, but those three months were spent on a motorcycle that I didn’t have to tiptoe around on, couldn’t get myself into too much trouble due to overpowering myself, and made up a bit for my total riding instruction having been a five minute session with the Kawasaki dealer in the parking lot as he showed me how to use the clutch and get off his property and down the road. Followed by a 15 mile ride home (unescorted). At least I started to calm down after the first 5 miles.
And that bike was sold to my then-current girlfriend and replaced by a 1972 Honda CB350. In retrospect I probably should have waited an extra three to six months before upsizing, because I dumped that Honda way more than the Kawasaki.
Given my experiences, you can imagine my reaction at the Honda/Yamaha/Can-Am shop where I work when some newbie comes in wanting a CB1000RR or Yamaha R1 for his first bike “because those 600’s are girl’s bikes”. Yeah, I owned one 600 supersport in my life, twenty years ago. I sold it because it had more power than I could reasonably use. And my current Super Hawk is my first sportbike since then.
+++++++1
on this:
“1. Nobody should be allowed to have a driver’s license for a car until they’ve spent two years on a motorcycle or motorcycle-class scooter.
2. Motorcycle licensing should be graduated in (what I remember as) the British manner: Beginners are limited to a certain size and power (250cc and 44hp) and must ride with a large “L” on the bike, front and back.”
Even with 2 years of 50cc moped experience the step up to a 250cc/15bhp motorcycle was huge. The moped was speed limited to 40 km/h. The motorcycle was not. I had to take a number of lessons on a motorcycle but nothing taught me better than actually riding and making my own decisions.
As you described it so eloquently, this experience raised my awareness of lurking dangers of all kinds more than any car driving experience can do. This carries over to any vehicle I am using, even walking shoes.
Amen brother!
Given society’s general disdain for anything dangerous, I’m still surprised how easy it is to get motorcycle licenses in some jurisdictions. If I had got my bike license when I was 16 instead of 23 I’m not sure I would be here to write this story. Most of my training came form the 100 page government guide on how to ride a bike, it was helpful but not nearly sufficient.
The bike was way too big. I tried “training” my brother (who’s 6’4″) and another tall friend on it and they both dropped it within 5 minutes. My brother skidded out on a cattleguard and was real lucky not to hurt himself. Never again would I try to train someone who was completely new to bikes.
My next bike would be a “girls bike”. I always found it amusing when non-motorcyclists would point that out.
Spot on Syke ~
I’m lucky to be alive at this point , not only because a gypsy cab ran me over in 2008 .
My own foolishness when learning to ride in 1971 almost killed me multiple times .
It’s a wondrous thing , riding a Moto is .
If I have too explain it , better I should give you a ride .
-Nate
I have one of the new DR’s … mine’s a 2006 but they’ve been basically unchanged since 1996. Even fewer changes than the Jeep Cherokee XJ over its lifetime. A true CC and one of the best-loved motorcycles of the current era. I’ll never sell it.
I don’t think that those are “training wheels” per se. I believe that it is used for more advanced curve training. See attached.
When ABS came out on bikes, I was at an event where a manufacturer brought a demonstrator with those outrigger wheels. They would switch the ABS off, get up to 20 or so MPH on wet ground, then grab a handful of front brake. The resulting front wheel lockup would put the outriggers to use pretty quickly. Then they would turn the ABS on and repeat, without all the drama.
They then offered me a ride on a brand new bike with ABS and no outriggers. “Grab a handful of front brake and try the ABS” they said. I tried, but my self preservation instincts were too strong. I just couldn’t override that instinct to not lock the front wheel.
Ahh, I figured they couldn’t really be training wheels.
Nelson, what a great bike to ride in this neck of the woods. This COAL (cycle of a lifetime) sends me on a trip on memory lane. My neck of the woods was the Black Forest in Germany.
Someone will probably tell me I am wrong, but as a previous poster pointed out licensing hasn’t gotten all more restrictive in the last 50 years….in many jurisdictions.
I don’t have a lot of experience on motorcycles/motor scooters, so I can’t say for sure if I would require anyone that is starting to ride to start with something that small. In fact, THE scariest ride on 2 wheels I ever had was on a Vespa puttering around behind an apartment complex.
After buying my 1st motorcycle, a Yamaha 650 Seca, and pretty much teaching myself how to operate it, I came to agree with something I read in a cycle magazine:” ….a good “starter” bike is a dual sport of no more than 500ccs.”
I’ve been considering another bike for years, and thought I had narrowed my choice to a Kawasaki KLR 650. Then broadened that to include the Honda and Suzuki 650 dual sports….until my online research told me the Suzuki might be the better choice.
A lot depends on what’s being ridden around you. Back in 1976 when I started, a 650cc motorcycle was still a serious respectable bike, 1000cc’s was about top of the line and as fast as you could go. All of something like 75hp.
The ’95 Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja (600cc sport bike) I had for a couple of years (the one above where I mentioned that it was a bit much for me) had 98hp, could do 0-60 in something like 5 seconds, and had absolutely no torque, just horsepower. Which is why your left foot was constantly shifting. It put me off four cylinder sport bikes pretty much forever.
Nowadays, you can’t find anything under 250cc, and the perfect beginner’s bike is the Honda Rebel, a 250cc cruiser that will do interstate speeds without too much stress, is an excellent commuter . . . . . . and is so uncool anymore that to suggest to a beginner that that’s where they should start will immediately lose your audience’s interest.
The big problem with American motorcyclists is that they want the street cred from the moment go. No clapped out Japanese cruiser for them, they either want the flash sportbike or a new (or at least very recent) Harley.
To me, the graduated licensing system is why British bikers make their American counterparts look pathetic. They have to go through a lot of bother to get the license, put up with the indignity of that “L” plate on their bike for a year (I think, any British corroboration?), and in the process they actually learn to ride the motorcycle in all conditions. The first time I rode in England, I’d been riding for twenty years, and the average British biker was making me look like a beginner.
Street cred is earned, not bought at the local motorcycle shop.
That is a big Bike for a beginner but not nearly as bad as what some people do. Sportster? No way! Give me that Electra Classic Low or I need a Gixxer!
A month ago I embarked on what I thought was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream. When I was a teenager I would frequent a bookstore in NYC called Gordon’s. It stocked all the British car magazines and motorcycle magazines. The attraction was the car magazines but while there I would peruse the motorcycle magazines and the sight of the riders clad in black leather on their Cafe racer was a powerful image. That led me to rent a motorbike for an hour. It was a 125cc Suzuki. After getting some basic instructions I rode the bike without any incident but couldn’t get used to shifting gears with my foot. Fast forward 45 years and decided to sign up for riding lessons. A two day affair with a guarantee of a license at the end of the second day. The first day morning was dedicated to classroom training. The afternoon was actual seat time on the bikes, 250cc Honda Rebels and Suzukis. The instructors had us roll the bikes, minimum throttle from one end of the parking lot turn around and repeat this exercise over and over again. My biggest fear of maintaining balance turned out to be a non issue. During the last run I gave the bike too much throttle, panicked and grabbed the front wheel brake hard. Next thing I felt was my helmet hit the pavement. Then the realization that I was on the ground and hurting.
I was embarrassed, disappointed, and hurt, my motorcycle dream had gone down in flames in a matter of seconds. All I had to show was road rash on the left side of my body and a fractured collarbone.
Maybe everyone else was right 66 is not a good age to start riding motorcycles.
That takes me to another point: 66 is not an age to re-start the motorcycle hobby. It is a fact that those who get back on a bike after the kids have left the nest are the fastest growing group of riders getting in accidents.
I have sworn off bikes. It is a tough thing to do, but my 20’s won’t come back.
Guys like Syke are different, they never stopped riding and remained sharp in their skills.
the DR650 is around 350 lbs., not 600. It’s a do-it-all bike except for singletrack trail riding.
Wolfgang, I started riding again at 53 years old, but I did off-road only for 4 years before i ventured onto the street again. I’m a much better rider than when i was in my 20’s. I bought an 1100 Kawasaki because that’s the sort of bike i used to ride. I found it too heavy and now have a 400 Suzuki dual sport, but I find that my KTM is much more fun than street riding.
I just checked, the dry weight is listed at 374 lbs. So with fluids it’s probably a bit over 400 lbs. My bad, I’ll fix it.
Wolfgang,
In my area, A LOT of folks are on 2 wheels…..young and old. But what amazes me is that whether it’s the smallest/barely street-legal scooter or the largest displacement Harley, almost no one wears a helmet or protective clothing (just shorts and flip-flops).
65 may be as wrong an age to start/restart motorcycle riding as it is to be driving a car….the car is more “forgiving” of stupid mistakes.
Lots of old folks still out there riding , I will until I cannot :
http://www.motorcycle.com/events/36th-annual-hansen-dam-rally-report
-Nate
i don’t think 66 is old age for getting on a bike.
I find this general mentality startling. Same with bicycles. When people think about bicycles or motorcycles they think about racing and racers. When you think about people walking, do you think about people who do speed walking competitively? No. Same for bikes. People ride bikes in Asia and Africa for work and life and they are not particularly fans of motorcycling. They do it because it’s cheap, easy and practical.
Our 66 year young friend here, should give it another try after he heals. Accidents happen everywhere. Once he gets back, he ll be more attentive and will improve as time passes by. He can always ride a smaller bike. A 250 or the new 300cc now are very good bikes. Like the Kawasaki Versys 300 or BMW 300. They have right up position of riding and have very mellow two in-line cylinders engines.
I bet the people who told him t’s not a good idea to start riding at 66, are people who never rode bikes. Because moto riders are always welcoming and are happy to have more people join and are encouraging because they understand both the passion/pleasure and the risks.
Anyway, I wish him best of luck and he should definitely give it another go!
Keep on riding my friend!
Wondering how you got this picture seeing as my father took it lmao and was on his Facebook