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How to deal with Rider "Phobia"?

originalsturge said:
i hope you got sliders on your bike. youve been riding how long and are taking the experienced riders course?

ive dealt with the family thing and everybody else that tells me that riding a motorcycle isnt safe by asking them what the definition of safe is, then what do they do in their life that is safe?

i also have seen enough "humanity" that if by riding a moto it speeds up my ending with it, then so be it. just dont say i died doing something i love cause i hate crashing.

gl
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Not long,only have 760ish miles, But apart from the Experienced Riders course, what else is there for someone in my shoes? That sounds like the logical step up after MSF.

Im actually thinking of going to one of DocWongs clinics.
 
We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear. - MLK

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. - Mark Twain

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. - Marie Curie

Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear. - Shakespeare
 
The track is MANY miles down the road for you. It's great that two weeks in you are already thinking about continuing your education with the advanced course and track days but I think you need to slow down a little.

Yeah, a GSXR would not be my first choice for a newbie bike. And being tall is no excuse because those things are cramped. But, you have the bike and you love it and it makes you feel good. I would venture to say that the thing you should be MOST respectful of on that bike is not the power; it's probably the brakes. There is no ABS, there is no built in understeer. If you jam on the brakes that front end is going to tuck and you're on your face in milliseconds. Take that FWIW.

The weird feeling doesn't go away; that voice telling you that this is probably a bad idea is always there. The thing is, after a while you react to it differently. You say 'screw you, I can do this!' And then you do.

It's not the same as survival instinct. It's just motorcycle instinct.

Take your time, don't do 90 mph everywhere you go.
Watch your 6,9,12 and 3.
Be nice to people in cars if you can; you are now an ambassador for motorcyclists everywhere.
Remember that being nice to a cager doesn't mean they won't try to kill you.
Wave at little kids.
Wave at hot chicks but only after checking for parked cars in front of you.
Listen to the old guys, just because they don't ride fast doesn't mean they can't. It means they survived to ride slow today.
Avoid medications while riding.
Carry water.
Do your scheduled maintenance.
Take care of your chain.
Tell your mom you love her.
Bake me some cookies.
Never gonna give you up.
Never gonna let you down.
Never gonna run around and desert you.

I think that covers it.
 
Having fear is normal and healthy. I can't understand the new riders with no skills yet no fear. Above 30 mph, all the gear does you no good if your body smashed into something hard and immobile. You get pulverized by the blunt force.

First deal with the fundamentals. Can you make your bike do EXACTLY what you want it to do? Are you in total control? Do parking lot drills. Practice until you can say, yes. Skills give you confidence.

Then there's still the psychological fear of the uncontrollable crazy stuff - drunk/inattentive/aggressive/idiotic drivers, suicidal deer, diesel/coolant spills, etc. I live for the long weekend rides since I started 3.5 years ago, but in my first year or so I often got an uneasy feeling before heading out, thinking about all the what ifs. Once I got going that feeling always went away. I'm not sure if being desensitized thru repetition is the right way to describe it, but that pre-ride uneasiness went away eventually.
 
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2wheeldragon said:
GSXR 600 since i am a pretty tall dude and i didnt feel comfy on the 250. Its still no excuse but yeah.
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So did you sit on anything else besides a 600 and 250?

I rode 1500 miles via scooter before I touched a motorcycle. It took me nearly an entire year of riding at a max speed of 35mph before I finally had enough money saved for a bike. You should definitely try something with a slightly less aggressive engine.
 
wingnutthehutt said:
The track is MANY miles down the road for you. It's great that two weeks in you are already thinking about continuing your education with the advanced course and track days but I think you need to slow down a little.

Yeah, a GSXR would not be my first choice for a newbie bike. And being tall is no excuse because those things are cramped. But, you have the bike and you love it and it makes you feel good. I would venture to say that the thing you should be MOST respectful of on that bike is not the power; it's probably the brakes. There is no ABS, there is no built in understeer. If you jam on the brakes that front end is going to tuck and you're on your face in milliseconds. Take that FWIW.

The weird feeling doesn't go away; that voice telling you that this is probably a bad idea is always there. The thing is, after a while you react to it differently. You say 'screw you, I can do this!' And then you do.

It's not the same as survival instinct. It's just motorcycle instinct.

Take your time, don't do 90 mph everywhere you go.
Watch your 6,9,12 and 3.
Be nice to people in cars if you can; you are now an ambassador for motorcyclists everywhere.
Remember that being nice to a cager doesn't mean they won't try to kill you.
Wave at little kids.
Wave at hot chicks but only after checking for parked cars in front of you.
Listen to the old guys, just because they don't ride fast doesn't mean they can't. It means they survived to ride slow today.
Avoid medications while riding.
Carry water.
Do your scheduled maintenance.
Take care of your chain.
Tell your mom you love her.
Bake me some cookies.
Never gonna give you up.
Never gonna let you down.
Never gonna run around and desert you.

I think that covers it.
Click to expand...

:rofl:rofl
 
You're on the wrong bike, you should have gotten a Turbo Busa.:twofinger
 
EvilCrayon said:
So did you sit on anything else besides a 600 and 250?

I rode 1500 miles via scooter before I touched a motorcycle. It took me nearly an entire year of riding at a max speed of 35mph before I finally had enough money saved for a bike. You should definitely try something with a slightly less aggressive engine.
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I tried a SV650, then the honda shadow, Versys etc. Im 6`4 with a 36 inch inseam. I know height is no excuse. I am guilty of getting the bike i wanted to ride when i saw a good deal.

I will say this though i found the SV650 more twitchy than the 600. Yeah the 600 has a lot of torque and really kicks in above 4-6k. But i generally switch gears way before that on the streets. In comparison i found it more controllable than the SV650 in the lower end. Still no excuse and i hear what your saying.
 
It is dangerous dude, and its dangerous everywhere. I broke my leg 8 houses down from where I live, look, watch it snap <---

Fact is riding a motorcycle is risky, and not riding one is boring, choose the life you want to live
 
2wheeldragon said:
Yeah the 600 has a lot of torque and really kicks in above 4-6k. But i generally switch gears way before that on the streets. In comparison i found it more controllable than the SV650 in the lower end. Still no excuse and i hear what your saying.
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Dude, if you think the 600 has a lot of torque down low and you shift gears before 6k you'll be fine. Then again, better let me borrow your bike for a minute. It's never gonna get broken in that way.
 
First of all, I don't take advice about motorcycles from non-riders. They don't know and there is nothing I can learn from them. Even experienced riders may not be the best teachers, and I find anyone who goads or insults a beginner a poor teacher.

I feel very bad for you wanting to ride but coming from a non-riding environment. My world is all about two wheels, mostly bicycles but a lot of motorcycles as well.

I think you need to have a very different attitude about motorcycles than most of the members of BARF. You need to put safety first, before convenience, before fun.

I wouldn't commute on your motorcycle. I would take as much training as you can afford. I would only ride in low traffic situations, even if that means going far away from the Bay Area to ride (and transporting your motorcycle by truck).

Frankly, it may sound wussy and I have never given this advice to anyone else. But no other rider has ever told me that their parents have cried at the sight of their bike.

Ultimately, to control your fear, you need riding experience to do that, and it is hard to ride in a safe environment in a cosmopolitan environment.
 
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Jiggles said:
It is dangerous dude, and its dangerous everywhere. I broke my leg 8 houses down from where I live, look, watch it snap <---
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Wait.... are you that guy?

Mr. 15 Go Pro's into the side of a car?


:applause:applause:applause

It is an honor, Sir.
 
As others mentioned, lots of training and lots of seat time is what you need.

There's a alameda sheriff's course that teaches slow speed maneuveurs.

there's Lee Park's total control as well.

I came to accept the fact that if I kick the bucket, then i kicked the bucket knowing i did everything in my life that i wanted to do and that i'm doing something i love, without regrets. Coming to this realization has made the past 12-15 years of riding total bliss.

There will be days i wake up and want to ride, but something doesnt add up, or you get this weird omen or it just doesnt feel right - those days i trust those feelings and pass on riding. You will want to follow that gut feeling because even a hint of doubt means you're distracted and that momentary lapse in judgement can and will kill you.

My entire extended family are doctors. my brother is a doctor. He's given me horror stories and statistics. I've lost friends to riding (that shit blows). my parents were against it, my friends would ask "isnt riding dangerous?"

Surprisingly tho, the harassment was short lived once i told them:

"Yeah, i know. it's dangerous. i dunno why i do it, but i love it, and am willing to accept the consequences."

if you can accept those consequences, then you can freely ride.
 
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I don't know if riding motorcycles is rational but the thing with the parents probably applies to many things in life. At some point people need to be free to live their lives. For example parents who try to shelter their kids all the time, keep them close to home all the time, they will end up fucked in the head anyway from not being able to go out and live.

So anyway... motorcycles are definitely a risk, although a lot is in your hands. You're following all the steps. Risk is part of life, etc. Maybe not everyone is content with entertainment on the level of backyard barbeques.
 
2wheeldragon said:
I took the MSF course. Im going to enroll in the Experienced Riders Course in 2 weeks.
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The ERC requires 6 months riding experience or 3,000 miles. What school are you taking it from?

You'll be riding your own bike, which means you'll be executing the u-turn box on a sport bike. This can be challenging even for riders with the requisite riding time under their belt, and many of the maneuvers require the confidence to lean the bike to the point where you will drop it unless you have the skill and trust in your bike to stand it back up with the throttle after the counter lean. Mark off 18 feet, see if you can ride a circle or make a u-turn in that space. The small cruisers and dual sports they use in the MSF training are FAR easier to handle than any 600. If you had any difficulty at all in the MSF class, it will magnify x 3 in the ERC on a sport bike, and that may be a negative learning experience for you until you get more seat time on your bike.

Get more ride time under your belt, get to know your bike and get comfortable with how it handles. Ride safe.
 
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RossF4i said:
Wait.... are you that guy?

Mr. 15 Go Pro's into the side of a car?


:applause:applause:applause

It is an honor, Sir.
Click to expand...

Why yes I am

And you give me too much credit, it was only 2 gopros and 13 off brand cameras
 
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