I'd take your instructor's advice one step further. Forget the invisible business, pretend that the other drivers CAN see you and are ACTIVELY TRYING TO KILL YOU. In traffic you really do have to be mindful of not only what that car is doing, but what it could be doing in the next second. If the driver is really trying to run you over, then where's the best place you can be to make them miss. Whatever you do, don't day dream, stay vigilant and you should be fine. The shifting thing will come with time. After a week or two you won't even think about it. Your left hand and foot will be shifting without even waiting for you. You'll get the hang of it in no time.
-Kyle On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 10:17 AM, Max <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for all of the information. I did buy a repair manual from > Amazon, and it's already been really helpful because I wasn't even > sure how to remove the seat so that I could remove the side panels. > The battery needed to be charged, so I needed to do that right away, > and though the manual is for several different bikes, all with similar > attributes, it did the trick. > > I'm not the most mechanically inclined person, but I'm definitely will > to learn; I think that's one of the most important things that I > realized with the scooter and now even more so with the motorcycle - I > need to be responsible for what's happening with my bike because it > affects my safety on the road, and the safety of others. I do best > with a checklist, which is why I asked for thing I should look for; I > haven't really thought to check things like the brake cables, which > may sound idiotic, but I guess I wasn't sure what I was looking for, > so the suggestion of checking brake fluid, again that may seem > obvious, but that's just not something I check very frequently with my > car. It's important, of course, but I'm definitely realizing that the > stakes are much higher when I'm riding the motorcycle. > > Thanks again! > > On May 4, 9:09 am, Joey Kelley <[email protected]> wrote: > > Mark, > > Welcome aboard! > > Before Paul beats me to it - we love pictures of bikes - feel > > free to send some along. > > In general when buying a new bike you want to go over everything > > that is a consumable / replaceable and consider replacing it. Look at > > your fuses - verify they all work, verify that you have spares > > available should they be required. > > If you haven't done the oil - do so. > > Air filter inspection is a good idea, it may not be necessary to > > replace it, unless it is in poor condition. > > Look for any sort of weather cracks on your tires - check the > > tread as well - bikes that Sit are often worse than those that are > > run. > > Be sure to check your brakes - not only that they work but that > > there is sufficient fluid etc. > > You've done yourself a service by getting into the MSF course > > before riding - do yourself a favor and never be completely > > comfortable on the bike - if you're too relaxed, you aren't looking > > for enough danger. > > Again welcome! > > -Joey > > > > > > > > On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 8:57 AM, Max <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Good morning, > > > > > My name is Max, and I'll confess to being new to my 1995 Nighthawk > > > 250, as well as motorcycles in general. For the past 2 years I've > > > lived a mile away from work and I drove a Honda Metropolitan 50cc > > > scooter - it was great, if not a little small, but with only a mile to > > > go and getting over 100 mpg, I was content. That said, I just bought > > > a house about a month ago, and now I'm nearly 14 miles away from > > > work. I drove the scooter back and forth for a week or so, but I > > > could quickly tell that I was just sort of going to run the scooter > > > into the ground; the commute was many back roads, making the trip > > > about 17 miles long and the roads were just awful. > > > > > Having always wanted to learn to ride, I sold the scooter, did some > > > research to help me decide what kind of beginner bike I should > > > purchase. I found a 1995 Nighthawk 250 on Criagslist; this guy had > > > bought it from one of the schools that does the Motorcycle Safety > > > Courses. I had it checked out; it had definitely been dropped, has a > > > few dents in the tank, but the shop said it was just fine, so $1300.00 > > > later, it's mine. I took the course over the weekend, and then came > > > home to practice for a bit. Yesterday afternoon I went on my first > > > real ride, and it was so, so nervous making. I rode again this > > > morning, 13 miles to work, and while it is nerve wracking, I have to > > > admit that it feels good to be on two wheels again. > > > > > After looking at this site for a while, I've found out where I can buy > > > my owner's manual, and so I've just done as much, and I also ordered > > > some riding gear, too. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions, and if > > > there's anything that you think I should know, any advice you have for > > > a brand new rider, definitely bring it on. > > > > > Having no service records for the bike, would it be your suggestion to > > > just do everything like it's a new bike - change the oil, etc? Since > > > I don't know what's been done, other than changing the oil, is there > > > anything you can recommend that I should check - maybe the air filter, > > > and fluids? > > > > > Very glad this list exists - there's an entire forum for the > > > Metropolitan scooter, and I used it pretty often. Look forward to > > > communicating with all of you. > > > > > -Max > > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > . > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > > > For more options, visit this group athttp:// > groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > > > > -- > > -Joey Kelley > > JoeyKelley.com - My Life Online > > JoeyFixesComputers.com - Its What I Do! > > JoeyKelleyPhoto.com - Photographing Today, For Tomorrow > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en.
