Fresh Newbie!

[GregBos]

Hey all, the names Greg. Stumbled upon the forum while trying to find out where to recycle the tire I just replaced. Nice to see a forum still alive and well, especially here in the bay area!

Little about me. Grew up in Massachusetts, moved out to Sonoma County 7 years ago, and now located in Santa Rosa. Grew up on the back of a '89 Suzuki Cavalcade with my dad from 6 years old, with my mom/sister on a '88 Honda Goldwing, so 2 wheel life was ingrained at a young age. Many family vacations and camping trips on the bikes, a highlight being a month long camping trip through Canada. Years of BMX/MTB through my teenage years and early 20s, always wanted a bike of my own but knew I was too young and stupid to keep myself alive with the stupidity I'de get into under my own power

Fast forward to a month ago, and a coworker/friend mentioned selling his '98 Honda VTR1000F SuperHawk, and even offered to include whatever gear he had that fit as well (which conveniently fit oddly well). Not the greatest starter bike to learn on, but being able to get a bike with gear all in one pushed me to finally take the leap now that I'm a little more mature and have more self control than my younger self. I rushed out and got my permit, picked up the bike/gear, and have been practicing/riding daily since. Was a rough first couple days, but now feeling reasonably comfortable after clocking ~1500 miles since I first swung my leg over the VTR. MSF course to be scheduled ASAP to get my M1 and learn the important bits to help keep the rubber side down. Normally you do that first, but I'm a little unorthodox at times LOL. Thankfully live less than 2 minutes from where they host the MSF course in Santa Rosa, which has been a blessing for practice.

Ok, enough blabber! Hands down one of the best decisions I've made in years. The freedom and bliss of riding is something I severely underestimated. Excited for many years of riding ahead, and looking forward to meeting up with some fellow barfers in the near future!

 

[two wheel tramp]

welcome!

 

[greenmonster]

Welcome from Pleasanton

 

[budman]

Greg

Nice intro.

Cool back story on the Fam 2 wheel world.
Good to have ya here and I hope you enjoy the community and your new two wheel world.


with a

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Welcome to the BARFS, good on you for planning to take the MSF course, and if suggest taking a different class once a year, which I had up untill recently been doing, it's a great way to continue to level up while nipping any bad habits in the bud early.

Also, once you're feeling comfortable putting down some miles, join us on a rally, those are always fun.

 

[motoproponent]

Welcome to the forum. I do love riding on your side of the Richmond Bridge. Maybe we'll cross paths. Keep an eye out for nearby group rides in that subforum.



See you on the road

 

[GregBos]

Welcome to the BARFS, good on you for planning to take the MSF course, and if suggest taking a different class once a year, which I had up untill recently been doing, it's a great way to continue to level up while nipping any bad habits in the bud early.

Also, once you're feeling comfortable putting down some miles, join us on a rally, those are always fun.

Im feeling pretty comfortable all things considered, but would love some more experienced riders to follow and give pointers, especially on body position. Going by YouTube degree, feel, and filming some practice in the parking lots to watch back and analyze. Has been working well I feel, but hard to say without a more experienced rider watching my riding directly.

I want to say I'm ready for a rally, but want a few smaller groups rides to get feedback on bp n such before committing to a rally, and at least get my first MSF course done and full m1 endorsement before then to make sure I'm on the right track

 

[GregBos]

Welcome to the forum. I do love riding on your side of the Richmond Bridge. Maybe we'll cross paths. Keep an eye out for nearby group rides in that subforum.



See you on the road

There are some great roads out here! Lots of twisties with awesome views. Avoiding hwy since I'm on my permit still has sent me down some awesome routes.

I'm riding all over the county and surrounding areas, avid RC crawler enthusiast and I take some longer rides to hit some nice crawling spots. If you see a tall mofo (6'9") that looks like he's riding a pocket bike with RC trucks on the back, that's probably me!

 

[motoproponent]

I want to say I'm ready for a rally, but want a few smaller groups rides to get feedback on bp n such before committing to a rally, and at least get my first MSF course done and full m1 endorsement before then to make sure I'm on the right track

You're ready for a rally if you want to be. Get there solo. hang out under the shade tree and shoot shit. Ride home solo. Rally's can be full of group riding, but it can also just be about being in the same place at the same time with a bunch of Bay Area Motorcyclists. A lot of us started riding before BARF was on the radar. We didn't get a bunch of feedback on body position and the like. We still love riding.

Just ride your bike. Everything else comes with time in the saddle.

 

[GregBos]

You're ready for a rally if you want to be. Get there solo. hang out under the shade tree and shoot shit. Ride home solo. Rally's can be full of group riding, but it can also just be about being in the same place at the same time with a bunch of Bay Area Motorcyclists. A lot of us started riding before BARF was on the radar. We didn't get a bunch of feedback on body position and the like. We still love riding.

Just ride your bike. Everything else comes with time in the saddle.

Valid point! I'll be on the lookout for some rallys and meetups, no sense in hiding from the fun.

I'm not worried about needing feedback per se, but just would like it for piece of mind, but also I won't stress over it either. My intuition for vehicle dynamics is reasonably good, and been trusting my gut. When I do something right, it just feels right and make a point to practice it, and if I do something wrong, it just feels wrong, and gets logged on the "don't do that again" list. I'll just keep riding and enjoy the fun, and things will come in time like you said

 

[needles]

Welcome to the BARFs!

 

[Cupid's Arrow]

90's bikes just look so good to me since that is what I grew up admiring. Have fun! Great pic

 

[motoproponent]

90's bikes just look so good to me since that is what I grew up admiring. Have fun! Great pic

Yup, I remember how groundbreaking the split radiator thing was on the RC51 then to see it on a 3/4 faired bike

 

[greenmonster]

There are a lot of tips for new riders on this forum if you do a search -
Ride like you're invisible to cars
Stay away from car's blind spots
Don't cheap out on gear (helmet, jacket, gloves, boots, and I'd recommend an airbag vest)
Be super careful of left hand turners at intersections
Never ride while impaired by drugs or alcohol
Avoid riding in the rain or heavy winds, at least for now
Learn something about how your bike works, and how to maintain it.
- there's so much more.

Above all, relax and have fun. That's the point after all. There's a bunch of us who have never had any formal training or tips from "pros". We just got on our bikes and rode and picked it up along the way. As long as you aren't making stupid mistakes or riding beyond your ability you'll be fine.

 

[GregBos]

There are a lot of tips for new riders on this forum if you do a search -
Ride like you're invisible to cars
Stay away from car's blind spots
Don't cheap out on gear (helmet, jacket, gloves, boots, and I'd recommend an airbag vest)
Be super careful of left hand turners at intersections
Never ride while impaired by drugs or alcohol
Avoid riding in the rain or heavy winds, at least for now
Learn something about how your bike works, and how to maintain it.
- there's so much more.

Above all, relax and have fun. That's the point after all. There's a bunch of us who have never had any formal training or tips from "pros". We just got on our bikes and rode and picked it up along the way. As long as you aren't making stupid mistakes or riding beyond your ability you'll be fine.

I've been browsing the forums since I found it basically, tons of great info! Taking in all of it, thankfully a lot of the things suggested are things I learned from my parents since they also ride. Pretty mechanically minded too so maintenance on the bike is actually fun compared to cars.

Embracing the newbie mindset to stay smart. Still enjoying every minute of it, just trying to keep myself in check and remind myself that I am still a newbie, because while I feel like I may know a decent bit already, I really don't, and want to keep that overconfidence in check. Better safe than dead

 

[GregBos]

90's bikes just look so good to me since that is what I grew up admiring. Have fun! Great pic

Yup, I remember how groundbreaking the split radiator thing was on the RC51 then to see it on a 3/4 faired bike

These bikes were more popular a little before I started paying attention to bikes, but once I saw it, I was immediately a fan. Was always a fan of the 90s styling on cars, and I guess that applies to bikes for me too. The carbed vtwin sound is absolutely glorious, and the twin rad setup is, well, rad!

 

[Doobz]

Hell yeah brother

 

[Momo-san]

Welcome! Sounds like you are doing everything right. Have fun and see you on a rally one of these days.

 

[Joe_13]

Congrats on your great looking bike and new found skills.

 

[dravnx]

I'm also in Santa Rosa and would be happy to ride with you. There's a group that meets every Wednesday at Maya Palenque in Novato around 5:30 for dinner and general conversation.