I second taking the safety course. I also agree that getting the feel of your brakes is important, just don't get too aggressive with it, especially the front, as it can toss you off pretty quickly if you brake on an imperfect surface or in a turn. Start thinking defensive driving, your not in a cage anymore, you have very little protection compared to cagers. So every one of them is a potential killing machine. I'm constantly scanning left, right and rear view. Keep as much cushion as possible, don't tailgate and don't let anyone tailgate you when you can avoid it. Only other thing I can suggest is making sure your machine is 100%, here are a few things to make sure you check.
1) Tires for dry rot, date and pressure. 2) Brakes for function, do you have to pump to get enough pressure? Are you pulling the lever all the way to the grip? 3) Is your bike stalling out at stop signs or lights? This can cause embarrassing, dangerous and stressful situations.. 4) Know your fuel on, off and reserve functions, I set my trip meter every time I fill, it makes it a snap to calculate my fuel usage as well as tracking how far I have before sweating switching to reserve. I've ridden my 84 for over 2 years now and have used reserve twice using this methodology. That's all I can think of for now. Other than post some pics & Ride Safe... Mike -----Original Message----- From: Javier Garcia <jajgar...@gmail.com> To: nighthawk_lovers <nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com> Sent: Tue, Aug 13, 2013 10:42 pm Subject: Re: [Nighthawk Lovers] Wahoo! My first bike, a 1985 650sc. Erin, 1) Welcome! 2) Congrats on the new bike! is a great one. 3) Pictures or you won't be able to keep posting (kidding) 4) Do you have your motorcycle endorsement? if you can, I would suggest taking a motorcycle safety course. They are usually pretty good and everyone I know had loved the experience. 5) Forget about the neutral on first try. It will never happen. Besides, is better to keep it on gear for now. That way you are prepared to go at any time. It will hurt after a while, but that is how you develop muscles in your hand and some character. 6) Take your time on the parking lot. Get out once you really feel confident. Don't go anywhere with too much traffic, fast traffic, or many big intersections. Just walk your way through learning how to ride your bike without taking any shortcuts. It will pay off. Javier. On Tue, Aug 13, 2013 at 10:12 PM, Erin Newkirk <ewnewk...@gmail.com> wrote: Hi All! Got my temps, insurance, tags today. I practiced starting and stopping, figure eights, turns, starting on hill (and because of stalling it multiple times while learning to use the clutch, got a crash course in popping the clutch). I have two big things to keep working on, using both front and back break and getting it to neutral on the first try. I plan to spend another day or two in the parking lot, then get on side roads and figure out how to remember to use my turn signals, mirrors and interact with traffic. Give me your top three things to get down right away to save my hide. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to nighthawk_lovers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to nighthawk_lovers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to nighthawk_lovers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
