Customarily Minded: December 2004

Don't Forget Your Roots

Hey fellow riders! It's December now and winter weather should be upon us all, or in my case the sub-Autumn 50º temps of Southern Nevada are saying that I might be raking leaves instead of bikes sometime this month...but since we're in the swing of all things not Spring, I figured on touching upon a subject that I feel is an important one to carry with us throughout the remainder of the year as well as the rest of our riding career. I must be suffering from heat stroke, every chime I write comes up as a rhyme, either that or I'm a poet and don't even know it! Okay, rest assured I won't give up my day job and try my hand as a hip-hop artist. Instead, let me wipe my brow and fasten my DOT approved dunce cap on and take a look at a topic some folks easily forget, namely what it was like to be a beginning biker.

Throughout our travels, we endlessly come across folks that will admire our rides. As we're topping off our tanks (or filling our own biological tanks at a restaurant), some of these casual admirers will saunter forth and ask about our bikes. Some will even venture with tales of desiring their own bikes, and ask our advice as to where to begin or if such and such make/model is a good place to start. Since we are the "experienced" biker that these folks are consulting, what we say can have a big impact on their decision. We might even be the first ones they ask, so our answers can carry even more weight for them. In fact we might even be the only ones they'll consult, so the impression we make must be a good one no matter what the case. Hence, when they ask how our bikes are we'll have no problem giving them our point of view based on our experience, but when they want to know if they can start off on one we can't be quick to agree that our bike is the best choice for them, after all we've been riding them for a while and if our bike isn't our first bike, we just might have to do a double take.

Remember, we have some experience with that current ride under our collective butts. After a few years of riding that big touring rig or super sport, many things become second nature so we have to think back to what it was like straddling a bike for the first time, and compare that experience to some of those hairy incidents we've had on our current bikes. Add to that, think back to some of the mistakes we made earlier on and apply those mistakes to the current ride we have. For instance, the first time I took a negative camber curve too hot, I went off the shoulder and into some gravel. I managed to recover by keeping a level head and not grabbing a handful of brake lever, but could I have fared so well if I had been on a big 700+ pound Kawasaki Nomad? If I was having some clutch problems at first, such as abruptly letting off the lever that was causing many a stall or rear wheel bark, would that have been a good thing to do for the first time on the wheelie-king VTR-1000 SuperHawk?

Also take into consideration of any pre-licensed riding we may have done. If I knocked back a few solid years of MX riding before my first street bike, then I was able to start on something a little less beginner friendly. They may not be able to do the same. If my prior riding allowed me to begin my street career on a CBR-600, that doesn't make it an ideal beginner bike. Or let's just say I went against the grain myself, and went with something on the semi-potent side with zero prior riding experience, like a SV-650 or a 750 Nighthawk. Just because I was able to adapt to it without any incidents doesn't mean everyone else can, and that alone isn't sufficient proof that the bike is an ideal beginner's ride. Or let's say I survived the first five years on a big 700 pound touring bike without incident, again that doesn't make it a great beginner bike. In other words, just because we got lucky, defied the odds, and hit the jackpot in Vegas doesn't mean everyone else can do it first time out.

Nay, it's up to us to inform them what most sales associates won't. And that would be to get something that fits comfortably, get something that has user friendly qualities like low center of gravity, light weight, not overly sensitive brakes, and a fair power band. And put emphasis on the word "fair" when talking power bands. Not enough is not enough for some, but too much is simply too much for most.

And if at all possible, direct them to the Beginner Bikes web site for further info. Everyone was a beginner once. Don't forget your roots, and keep the rubber on the road.

When Beginner Bikes associate editor Richard Rose isn't raking leaves (and motorcycles) or digging up roots, he answers email at rich@beginnerbikes.com

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