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How to deal with Rider "Phobia"?

Of course of course. Now I just do wheelies down the street and if one pops out I kickflip over it. So far so good, no more broken legs
 
In the end you just have to remember that the guy who died from eating tainted canteloupe probably told someone the week before that riding a motorcycle was dangerous and stupid...
 
"Why should I fear death? I was dead for billions of years before I was born and not
inconvenienced in the least." - Mark Twain
 
2wheeldragon said:
But there is this fear that has been at the back of my mind the whole time. Throughout the whole process of me getting a bike, my family was against it. I have two doctors in the family who swore to disown me and told me all sorts of stories about riders essentially becoming crippled etc. .....

All of this has scared me to an extent. I do not want to quit. I do not want to let this get to me. Am i being overly paranoid? Im new at this and maybe some of you went through this when you were starting out. Heck maybe some of you go through this everyday.

How did you deal with it?
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Are you just riding for fun, or do you use your bike for regular transportation? Do you usually ride alone, or in a group? This information would help me formulate some other ideas.

I would avoid riders who make derogatory remarks like your co-workers. You can't avoid knowledgeable opinions about the hazards of riding, so just deal with that part. The number of riders crashing can be really unnerving to all of us. We have lost some very experienced riders this year, and it's tough to swallow. You need to assimilate all these things into your knowledge base. You can then use that information to avoid injury to yourself, or you can decide the knowledge says that riding is too dangerous and stop. What does you no good is to just rehash all these negatives over in your mind without doing something productive with them. You will just make your life more difficult and dangerous.
 
Riding is an unforgiving sport and it demands a healthy respect if you want to continue to enjoy it for very long.
Get a plated dirt bike you can drop it all day and get your sea legs.
My family hates my bikes ,fast cars, dogs ,and anything even remotley dangerous but thats because they care about me, its my job not to prove them right.
 
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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Worst excuse ever. :laughing

I haven't read the rest of the thread. Once I saw this post I had to comment. I can also tell, based on this line of reasoning, that the decision making process to ride wasn't very well thought out.

Yes, you CAN start out on a supersport. It's not a good idea.

Good luck. Keep reading, keep practicing and RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE.
 
2wheeldragon said:
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.
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ooooof.

SV650 more twitchy than a gsxr600?

600 with more down low torque than the 650 twin?

Torque kicking in above 4,000?


Now I see why you went down within the first two weeks. Ouch.

If the SV felt more twitchy than the gsxr, at least one bike was set up poorly; or the gsxr had criminally under inflated tires.

The 600 does NOT have a lot of torque down low and if you think the power kicks in in the 4,000 - 6,000 range you're going to shit yourself when the tach reaches 10,000.
 
When you get on the bike, do all those negative thoughts still impede your mind or do you forget about all of them. If you forget about all of them, your head is in the right place. If not, you need to re-consider if you're personality is made out for motorcycles. I would even admit that 2 years before I considered riding, I'd put a leg over and say "this is not for me right now".

Now I just love it to death =) All things considered, your mind is your most valuable weapon on the road.
 
Squidly McSmearstain said:
Worst excuse ever. :laughing

I haven't read the rest of the thread. Once I saw this post I had to comment. I can also tell, based on this line of reasoning, that the decision making process to ride wasn't very well thought out.

Yes, you CAN start out on a supersport. It's not a good idea.

Good luck. Keep reading, keep practicing and RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE.
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+1, chiming in to help save a life. there's at least one motorcycle that would fit you somewhere between a ninja 250 and a 600 supersport. DRZ400SM? Kawi Versys? XR650? KLX250?

my assumptions about you:
- you wanted a 600 supersport but tried to give a 250 a fair shake. when you sat on it it felt small, so you justified the 600 purchase.
- your coworker who said he lost a bet because you survived the weekend, did he try to talk you out of a 600 / or into a milder beginner bike?


As somebody else mentioned, the ERC is for people with 3k miles / 1 yr riding. My advice? Sell your 600, buy one of the bikes mentioned above (or another similar bike) and go out and ride. Hook up with more experienced riders who will tow you around.
You shouldn't be scared about riding because of what non-riders are saying, but you SHOULD be scared by what experienced riders in this thread are saying, and maybe seek out some coaching and guidance.
 
At 700 or so miles you should have a phobia, it is the reptilian part of your brain telling you to stop. At this point your have not developed the muscle memory, situational awareness, accrued enough experience and skills needed to confidently ride a motorcycle. Everyone goes through this.


My suggestion is to take suplimentary training, find a mentor and ride as much as you can.
 
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Not everybody should ride a bike. That's one you have to work out for yourself. Starting with a GSXR is going to slow your learning curve, it might take years to learn to ride that bike.
 
when i ride:

i find tranquility inside my helmet as the outside world swirls in a turbulent maelstrom.

the road, the bike, the body, the soul. machine and man together as one unit. together in telepathy and in desire.

the horizon tilted. the engine screaming. the body shifting. the dance of the road.

this high, it cannot be matched. this feeling can only be had by us.

we do this because we love it and what we love is all that matters.
 
2wheeldragon said:
Throughout the whole process of me getting a bike, my family was against it. I have two doctors in the family who swore to disown me and told me all sorts of stories about riders essentially becoming crippled etc.

My coworker who has been riding for 40+ years jokingly said "Oh you survived the weekend! I lost my bet" the week after i got the bike.

Another coworker(he left riding because it finally got to him) said "Ive been riding for 4 years and only have been down once, you have been riding only 2 weeks and you have gone down once. Thats not a very good record. Whats gonna happen in the next two weeks?"
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2wheeldragon said:
it freaks my mom and dad out a lot. They are both 70+ and i take care of them and they stay with me. My dad came to me when i was working on the bike (cleaning chain) and he was on the verge of tears and asked me to tell him what he can do that i sell the bike.
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It's odd that so many people around you are so down on this. I can't think of one person who was that way when I started riding. Your family and co-workers know you a lot better than we do -- is there something you're not telling us? Not that we need to know, but it's something to think about.
 
rodr said:
It's odd that so many people around you are so down on this. I can't think of one person who was that way when I started riding. Your family and co-workers know you a lot better than we do -- is there something you're not telling us? Not that we need to know, but it's something to think about.
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In fairness to the OP everybody in my family was against me getting a motorcycle. So, I'm empathetic to his plight. A lot of people have very strong opinions about motorcycles, yet most of the have never ridden.

I think the OP really needs to determine whether he wants to ride or whether he wants a bike.

If he wants to ride, he'll do whatever he can to learn and eventually become a rider.

If he just wants a bike, he'll enjoy his supersport until he totals it or it injures / kills him. Hopefully he'll be wearing his Icon vest over his t-shirt when the crash happens.
 
The first fear you fell victim to is the fear of ridicule... Know why you are, where you are, to figure out how to get the hell out of there. :laughing

I don't know what to tell you about the fear. We all have it. I had it most around the 2-3 year mark... about 60K miles... just when I thought I was getting the hang of it all. That's when it really starts to get scary.

Having a bike that is easy to handle (not "handles easily") is a major factor in reducing the fear. This is why most knowledgable riders suggest smaller displacement bikes with upright ergonomics. You get to learn much more, much faster and most importantly, much safer. But you went and got a GIX6 and wonder why fear is such a bitch. :laughing

I dealt with fear by starting on a small bike (cm400t)... then a bit bigger (m900)... then a bit bigger (RC51, 1000DS, R1200GS)... and after many years of riding I built myself myself a sweet DR650SM. Perfect. Now a lot of people would not be caught dead on a DR, but quite frankly, I don't give a fook! :thumbup

Good luck rider... shop smart... shop S-mart!
 
Zuigeling OP, Quickly, Save yourself

Save yourself a fate of a horrible mangled body! sell me that GSXR-600.

$2000 cash. Or trade for a Honda Rebel 250, which is more suited to you.

She has a broken humerous and when she heals she needs some vroom.
 
You're undertaking a dangerous sport.
You're starting on a bike that is a scalpel amongst knives.
You've already had an accident.
People you know personally have died doing the same thing.

There's two schools of thought:

Listen to the voices in your head. Sometimes the evolutionary whisper is a survival thing.

Don't listen to the voices of others. We chart our own path in life and the only person we have to answer to is ourselves on our death beds. Well, unless you believe in a super-being, then you might have to barter about your soul. And then there are family memebers - those who depend on you will be negatively affected. Of course there are friends - they might be sad (like you are for Chau). And then there are the other roadway users who will just simply be pissed that their Sunday afternoon ride got diverted and were inconvenienced.

You seem like you're actually willing to consider seeing it from the other side, but there's something there that really doesn't want to. You really want it to be ok that you chose a bike that is an axe-murdering cruise missile because of your inseam. (Yup - stupidest reason ever, but at least you're honest and got it because you liked it - respect for admitting that). You want to believe that the passing of someone you knew, the concern of all the others around you, the numbers that just don't add up... that its all ok to ignore them.

Just remember - the good thing about riding a motorcycle: you WILL bear the consequences of your choices. And in a world where everyone shirks responsibility and avoids taking blame when things go badly... if the bike goes down, you'll be the one lucky enough to bear the consequences (whether it was your fault or not). :)
 
The most unfortunate things in this thread are the two Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches that have gone to waste :|
 
Its when you go down, not if you go down.

Your bike is too big for a first bike. Most would agree.

Get out and start riding with others that are new, that have experienced riders with them. Learn with others.... Mellow Group Ride comes to mind. LOL

Everyone was negative towards me riding when I was 19.

Now 14 years later, 1 accident when I was 19, I am still riding. Parents still don't agree. I love it, I ride defensively (assuming all cars have no idea I am there) I ride daily and it is my therapy. Have a bad day then ride for a hour, all is well.
 
At the rate you are going if you survive the first year on a bike that A. Is not noob friendly and B. You don't seem to have the sense to ride, you should consider yourself very lucky.

The bike is too much for someone with no experience to learn on. You should have at least had the books your ordered and ALL your gear BEFORE you got the bike. You should not be on 9 or any of the other roads till you get more experience as you are not only a danger to yourself but to everyone else on the road.

Your fear is justified. Down two times in such a short time due to yourself? Yeah I would be scared. Simply put, too much bike for your skill level and level of common sense.

But then again, you could survive and become a good rider.....it's all down to luck.

Oh and listen to that voice in your head. It is usually the voice of common sense telling you that you made a mistake. It's best to listen to it before you kill yourself or someone else. Get a different bike, learn on safer streets and parking lots. After you have some time under your belt then go hit the fun roads but hit them slowly and get to know them before you lowside again and don't get back up. Just like some bikes are not considered starter bikes, some roads are not considered starter roads. Calavaris is a big example of a really bad road to try to learn on. It's not only one of the most technical roads in the area it's one of the most dangerous due to the numerous blind corners and other stupid people that drive their big SUV's on that road. I stopped riding it myself when I came around a corner only to find the grill of a fucking Hummer coming right at me and I had like 3 feet to squeak by. If I had not been hugging the right side of the turn I would have been road grime. I know a lot of riders that will no longer ride that road due to the dangers it contains (rocks, water, vehicles, bikers etc.). Mines is a cake walk in comparison.
 
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