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Not so typical young male on a 600? Your thoughts

Binsea

Binsea

Self made rider
Joined
May 3, 2012
Location
MBay, CA
Moto(s)
2006 zx6rr and 1994 ninja
Name
Brandon
Hey BARFers, I've had this question for a while but i never knew any riders before i got a motorcycle. It's very common to hear about the typical young male on a sportbike performing unnecessarily dangerous maneuvers on busy public roads, but not too much is heard about the responsible, mature young rider. Is there even such a thing? What is the preferred mindset? It's best explained given my background, but there is a condensed version at the end.

I had never had any interest in motorcycles or cars up until a year ago when i hung out with this guy that was the same age as me (20) who had a sportbike. I, being a curious person, questioned about the bike and the feeling as i never had the chance of riding any sort of motorized vehicle besides a car and a rented ATV at pismo. He mostly talked about the triple digit speeds he frequently rides the bike at and how he wheelies a ton after not even riding bikes for too long. It sounded interesting. He described the feeling as "having a rocket between your legs that can stop, turn, and speed up whenever you wanted".
After he mentioned the agility of the sportbike, I began having an almost uncontrollable desire to purchase one myself.
As i began the slow process of deciding on the bike i wanted, I looked more towards safety and the consequences of riding a motorcycle, much less a sportbike given it's twitchy-ness and capabilities. After buying all the gear i wanted: helmet, jacket, knee/shin guards, gloves, etc and the optional MSF course where i rode a bike for the very first time. After accepting the consequences and feeling very confident in my reflexes and situational awareness, I decided i was ready for the motorcycle.

Now i watched countless videos and read many pages regarding motorcycle control beforehand, and wound up purchasing my current 600cc sportbike.
I let the bike sit in front of my house for 2 months starting it occasionally until i had enough money to buy new tires, brake pads, and full coverage for the bike before i took it off my street. I first started off riding very slow on uncongested roads until i felt a little more comfortable riding in town slowly rarely getting above 7k rpm, let alone the 14k redline. I never rode without full gear either. Fast forward 2 months later, i now have 1750 miles on the bike and have full confidence riding in town and have even ridden up to San Jose for the weekend to ride the busier city streets. I believe i have much to learn and will always have more to learn.

As for my mindset on the motorcycle, I looked at the motorcycle as something that was capable of matching my mind when it came to agility on the streets to avoid accidents (not reducing the damage). Now ever since i literally transformed from a rebellious, immature child, i have never once been called immature in any sense since i turned 21, besides my inability to grow a full beard yet :rofl
I am, however, told many times that i am incredibly mature for my age. I take this as a verification in my decision to buy and operate a 600cc spr0tbile without an urge to speed everywhere and make unwise choices on the road. Every single i have made was not done without safety first in my mind: "should i pass this car to be ahead of traffic, or slow down to allow a larger bubble of space?"
Given the somewhat stereotypical mindset of young sportbike riders, am i thinking the best way possible in order to have a long, injury-free riding career?

Condensed version:
I am a brand new rider and I believe i have a higher maturity level than the typical young sportbike rider. I accept the consequences and always think safety first when going for a ride. Is my view on riding motorcycles the best in order to ensure a long-lived riding career? I don't see myself ever retiring from a motorcycle.
 
With that attitude it shouldn't be long until your first accident and injury
 
Binsea said:
I am a brand new rider and I believe i have a higher maturity level than the typical young sportbike rider.
Click to expand...

Aren't you a special snowflake.

The "typical young sportbike rider" is out there having fun and not taking himself way too seriously with a falsely-entitled sense of superiority, that's for sure.
 
3964748+_ea748badb6abbe0ee79bb025fdb50e16.gif
 
He's just asking if his maturity is going to prevent an accident. The answer is no. I am the most mature guy I know and hey look to the left, that is my leg breaking. Neat huh. One day soon, you'll be just like me :thumbup
 
Your 20 year old bike is not the stereotype, but good for you on taking a more cautious approach to riding. Browse the other subforums for book recommendations and read them all, then read them again
 
Great read RossF4i. I appreciate the help, but my question was regarding the mindset instead of the engine size. I would assume the risks a married man with children and the risks a younger male with a "no regrets, YOLO" attitude on a 250cc bike would be on very different levels.
 
Jiggles said:
He's just asking if his maturity is going to prevent an accident. The answer is no. I am the most mature guy I know and hey look to the left, that is my leg breaking. Neat huh. One day soon, you'll be just like me :thumbup
Click to expand...
Or at least prolong the inevitable.
Hopefully my injury won't be quite as bad as yours :twofinger

Tharkun: Thank you for the advice, I'm always reading the crash analysis and training forums whenever i have free time.
 
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Binsea said:
Great read RossF4i. I appreciate the help, but my question was regarding the mindset instead of the engine size. I would assume the risks a married man with children and the risks a younger male with a "no regrets, YOLO" attitude on a 250cc bike would be on very different levels.
Click to expand...

The mindset is potentially your issue. Rather than saying that you are mature enough to handle the bike, and your not like all the others yada yada, I would say you should understand that you are a very inexperienced rider with a relatively powerful bike. You need to understand that really aren't much different than anyone else your age on a 600.

I do commend your commitment to safe riding, and stick to that, but understand that it goes far beyond your mindset.

From the link. This pertains to you at the moment

3. "But I Will be Safe, Responsible, and Level-Headed While Learning".
Sorry, but this line of reasoning doesn't cut it. To be safe you also need SKILL (throttle control, speed, leaning, etc). Skill comes ONLY with experience. To gain experience you must ride in real traffic, with real cars, and real dangers. Before that experience is developed, you are best suited with a bike that won't severely punish you for minor mistakes. A cutting edge race bike is not one of these bikes.
Imagine someone saying, "I want to learn to juggle, but I'm going to start by learning with chainsaws. But don't worry. I intend to go slow, be careful, stay level-headed, and respect the power of the chainsaws while I'm learning". Like the high-wire example, the proper route here isn't hard to see. Be "careful" all you want, go as "slow" as you want, be as "cautious" as you want, be as "respectful" as you want...your still juggling chainsaws! The "level-headed" thing to do in this situation is NOT to start with chainsaws. Without a foundation in place of HOW to juggle there is only a small level of safety you can aspire towards. Plain and simple, it's just better to learn juggling with tennis balls than it with chainsaws. The same holds true for learning to ride a motorcycle. Start with a solid foundation in the basics, and then move up. Many people say that "maturity" will help you be safe with motorcycles. They are correct. However, maturity has NOTHING to do with learning to ride a motorcycle. Maturity is what you SHOULD use when deciding what kind of bike to buy so that you may learn to ride a motorcycle safely.
 
Welcome to BARF Binsea,

IMHO you're on the right track. Read the books, watch the videos, read 1Rider, the training section....Do the practice exercises.. Stay paranoid on the bike etc...

twitchy sportbike + hamfisted rider = pain : so be smooth.

So it's not attitude that's important, it's knowledge, skills, and abilities, with good judgement and paranoia.

Truth is all motorcycles are unforgiving, but supersport bikes are mean about it :x
 
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i know i fall under the category of stupid since i got a supermoto.... is this the right thread?
 
Your perceived sense of responsibility is also a false sense of security. It's leading to complacency, an enlarged ego, self-admiration, and down-right vain.

Here's another approach.

Go through the GBNF forum and read about the many who've come and gone before our eyes (they're forum members). Many many many weren't only mature riders, riding for 20+ years. They were someone's mom/dad/sister/brother/fiance(e)/husband/wife etc. Some were on their first bike, others have owned fleets. Some were on cruisers, others on sports bikes. Some on 250's, others on liters.

Please don't fall into the trap that you're more mature than the next rider because of your choices. Because it only takes one person to wipe you out and that's the end of that. And it won't even be your fault; but you'll be paying the consequences.

Your mindset is leading you down a path that will only hurt you.
 
Binsea said:
Condensed version:
I am a brand new rider and I believe i have a higher maturity level than the typical young sportbike rider. I accept the consequences and always think safety first when going for a ride. Is my view on riding motorcycles the best in order to ensure a long-lived riding career? I don't see myself ever retiring from a motorcycle.
Click to expand...
One of the issues that you're overlooking is that the 600cc sportbike, even the older ones, are not as forgiving as other motorcycles.

A riding error, whether with the throttle, steering, or brakes on a hard edged bike designed for racing, is more likely to lead to an unpleasant outcome.

Let me give you a few examples compared to something less hard-edged, like my XR650L:
  • You decide to pass someone on a two-lane road, get part part way into it and realize that you need to hurry up the pass to get safely on by before that oncoming car gets to you, so you give it full throttle until you're past. The 600 quickly goes up to 120 mph leaving you with a much more serious braking issue at that oncoming corner. The XR is lucky to hit 80, so less of an issue even with the lesser brakes.
  • You find yourself a bit hot into a corner because you haven't quite learned to judge corner entry speed. You straighten up a bit and grab a bunch of brakes to slow down and try to save it. The 600, with its twin front discs and your extra adrenaline added in puts a bit too much braking power to the ground and you lose the front, going down. The XR, with its weaker brakes but long travel suspension leans way on its nose, but the tire holds that lesser amount of braking and you save it.
  • You watch the SuperSport races on TV and see the huge lean angles those guys get on their 600s and start practicing a bit more serious lean angle yourself. When you get to the cornering limit there is very little difference between when it's holding traction and when it lets go and you're sliding down the road with the bike on its side. On the XR, with decent tires you can still get some pretty good lean angles, but it starts giving you a lot of "feedback" that you're approaching the limit way before you go over it, so you back off before it's too late.
These are just a few examples of why it is not as wise to start out on a bike designed for racing. Learn to ride on a more forgiving bike, then get the bike of your dreams.

I realize it's already too late for the original poster but - just maybe - some other new rider will consider more carefully what bike is best to learn on.
 
"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear"


This one's not ready
 
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