LADIES

[ThunderJohn]

I was interested in how you started riding? What was the motivation? Dad, Mom, boyfriend, husband, or just wanted to give it a shot.

How did you go about it someone teach you or just take a class?

What kind of bike did you start up on what bike?

My wife wants to start riding and I love it because it is one more thing we can do together. We go two up all the time, and she loves that. I am just a little overprotective and want to make sure I am doing it right. When I get back in April we are going to take the MSF course together. I have taken it before but I told her I would do it again with her. I have been looking for like a 600 Gixxer (she wants a CBR

) We will practice in a lot and the hood for a long time before we hit the streets. Am I on the right path I am pretty new to riding too but that is the path I took.

Thanks for any input you can give me.

 

[Wag]

My wife doesn't post here NEARLY often enough but I'll give you the rundown on how it went for her.

For years, she rode behind me and had a blast doing it. At some point along the way, she decided she wanted to try it out. At the time, I had an '89 1100 Katana which was a truly awesome ride. Not a good learning bike, which we discovered after several attempts in a parking lot!

Years later, she brought it up again. This was after we bought the Busa and we were not about to have her try it on this monster!!!

I suggested she take the MSF course and if she liked it, we'd start looking for a bike for her.

You guessed it. She loved riding!!! We got her a beat up old 250 VTR painted with a Pink stripe on it. The only gay bike I've ever met and it was named Bruce.

For several weeks, we rode around the neighborhood, practiced in a vacant parking lot a few times; I was a nervous wreck, to say the very least!!! After a while, she became comfortable enough to ride well and for Christmas, I got her a new, GS500F. She rode for a few more months and had a solo accident as she was rounding a tight little S-curve.

We got the bike fixed and she rode for the rest of that year. Then she tried out the GSXR1000, an '06, and loved it. She's still riding that bike to this day.

Make sure you get her some gear, man. You do NOT want to watch her suffer with severe road rash injuries knowing it could have been prevented.

Let me tell ya, though, there's nothing better than riding with your wife in hot pursuit!!!

--Wag--

 

[Dan]

My wife doesn't post either but does ride and this is how I understand she get there.

We were out riding two-up and got involved in some stop light to stop light racing with a couple bubba's in a Ford Lightning.  She had some much fun she asked if I would teach her to ride.  I suggested a MSF class instead and she asked if I would set it up for her as a Mother's Day gift.  Going into the class she had her eye on a R6 as a graduation present and coming out of the class she wanted a V-Star 650.

I made a HUGE mistake here and talked her back into a sportbike instead of letting her get what she wanted.  She started looking at sport bikes and decided she wanted a Bandit 1200s so we bought one and she rode it for about 2 months but was never comfortable and quite riding.  After asking MANY times what was wrong she finally told me that she got the bike to make ME happy, not her happy and she didn't like it for a number of reasons.  The following weekend I traded the bandit in on a V-Star 650.

 

[BusaWhipped]

Wifey doesn't postor ride, so I can't help you out here. But I think that its great that yours want to start.

 

[pbghost]

my wife has always liked bikes. she is going to do the msf course. about 5 years ago when I had my cbr 600 and the busa, I was trying to teach her to ride... big mistake. the cbr is excellent in my books... my teaching skills are not. she wants a gixxer 600 once she finishes the course. good luck , + 1k on the gear.

 

[ibified]

This is how things got started for my wife.

First, she rode behind me, then she mentioned that she'd possibly like to try riding her own bike, because she's a bit of a control freak, and we both thought that she'd do better if she was in control. At the time, I had a VTX 1800R, so teaching her on that monster was not an option since she's 5' even and weighs about 115 lbs.

So, we signed her up for the MSF course. She went, and they asked her to go home after about 4 hours since she was holding everyone up in the class. Okay, fine. She left. She was dissapointed, but not discouraged to the point where she didn't still want to learn.

next step: A friend of mine has a little honda 50cc mini bike. I put her on that, showed her where everything was, and turned her loose. granted, even at her size, she looked funny on that thing because it was so small. However, it was a good bike to start with because it wasn't intimidating for her at all, and she could practice whenever she wanted and wasn't pressured to have a timetable to learn everything. She dumped it a few times, swore a lot, but eventually got the hang of it.

Next step after that: I put her on an old 100cc dirt bike. This one actually had a clutch, unlike the minibike, so it was one more thing for her to incorporate. A little more power, a little heavier, etc.

Now, we're to a point where she feels comfortable enough that we're looking for a bike for her. We had determined that she'd like a rebel 250, but a friend of ours had a party at his house where someone came over with a ninja 250. I asked the guy who owned it if Leigh (my wife) could sit on it. He didn't mind, so I got her on it. She really liked it, and was able to hold it up okay, but wished it was a little lower. I did some research and found out that they arent that hard to lower a couple inches, so that's where we are right now. Looking for a ninja 250 thats a little older that shes not gonna get upset if she dumps.

 

[LadyHawk]

I started when I was about 12 or 13. We lived out in the country in Colorado. My brother had 2 enduros. He let me ride the one with a broken clutch.

This was back in the early 80's, we didn't think about gear. Just shoes, shorts and a shirt. My mom hated looking out our back window, watching us do jumps and tearing up the wheat fields. She swore we'd kill ourselves.  

I rode those for a few years, we moved to Kansas, and after I was on my own, around 18 or 19 I bought a Suzuki GS450 (something like that. GX450?) I had to ride it off the lot. Killed it 3 times.

Rode that for about 2 years. No endorsement, no MSF. Just got on and rode it. Sold it.

Finally about 6 years ago, hubby wanted a bike. He'd grown up with a Harley 1%-er but wanted a sport bike. He bought an '01 Katana 750 to get used to riding again. We rode that 2 up a lot. Then in 03 he wanted to upgrade to a Busa. So I got the Katana. I rode it around the neighborhood for about 2 weeks. Getting the feel of it. Started getting braver and taking it on main roads, just to my comfort zone, never going beyond that. I finally took the MSF, passed and rode the Katana for about 2 years. Then I wanted to upgrade and got a Busa. That was April 06.  

Have her take the MSF first. So she's comfortable with a bike. They start from the very beginning... I learned a lot, even after knowing how to ride.

 

[MsMeow]

I started riding ATV and dirt bikes at an early age.

I really didn't start riding street bikes until about 13 years ago. My husband and I both took the motorcycle safety course. I rode behind him ONCE and decided I wanted to be in charge of my own destiny.

My first street bike was brand spanking new GS500E. I had owned it only a couple of weeks and someone knocked it over while I was at work. I replaced it with a Bandit 600 and have gradually gone to a bigger bike over the years until I got the Busa.

One of the absolute best pieces of advice I can give now that I have had a chance to experience it is; buy a dual sport. Have her learn on it. They are extremely light, flickable in the corners and if you drop it, so what.

 

[mike04busa]

My girlfriend at the time cindy (now future wife)started riding dirtbikes with me after we met.Her brother rode dirt all his life as everyone else around her.Her suspension was out for lowering and a re-valve on the offroad bike and we were fighting about how she could not ride.cindy tells me an a friday night that she needs my truck to go pick up her new bike,while i was at work on sat. she went out and purched a 06 ninja 500 (it almost hurt saying that)But before this she had gone to the MSF course and got her endorsment.All this was a year before i got my mc endorsment.Cindy rode her kdx 200 offroad for about a year and then we got her a ktm 200 mxc.It was very good having her ride the offroad bike first,due to you only have to worry about the terrian and not traffic.+ you get the feel for the bike moving around alot and use of all the controls.Now she races the womens class in NETRA events in new england.When we purchaced two salvage bikes,my busa and the bike she rides(06 triumph 675)Lowered of course,we did the work on them and had a good time doing it together.Most of the riding we do is together.Someday I have to get some pics posted.+1 on the dualsport idea mentioned before.

 

[VaBusa]

I was one of the unlucky ones as a kid...no dirt bikes, not even a moped...just the old 10-speed. That was a huge deal to me mentally while trying to learn how to ride a motorcycle years later. I really regretted that I had NO experience with working a clutch or shifting gears on a bike, braking...

After I had my first son at the age of 30, the hubby started talking about us riding motorcycles. He incorrectly assumed I'd be happy riding on the back of a Harley with him, but I had other plans...I was all for him buying a motorcycle, but I wanted one too, so we went out and purchased 2 brand new Harleys. I just washed mine for a while, wanted to ride, but I was scared to death. I signed up for an MSF course, but it was a LONG way off and while I was waiting, I ended up being pregnant with son #2

Somewhere in there I did attempt to ride the new Harley and I crashed...no big injuries except for my pride and a ding on the new Harley tank

The MSF course was exactly what I needed to learn the controls and get my feet wet. I also hopped on a friends dirt bike and played around the neighborhood whenever I could.

When I'd built up some confidence, I was finally willing to take the Harley for a spin here and there, learning while getting seat time.

It didn't take me long to see I wasn't happy with the Harley, so I bought my Busa when I turned 33 and have never looked back...

 

[ThunderJohn]

Thanks to everyone I think I am going down the right path. I may try to get her on a buddies dirt bike before we get into the class so she can build confidence. She had some crazy idea that I would take her out to learn on the Busa. I old her I don't want her getting used to mine and then getting her own so we can just practice on her bike. Whew I think I dodged a bullet on that one.

VaBusa I could just send her up the road and you could teach her. No prior experience and Busa as your second bike.

 

[Professor]

Thanks to everyone I think I am going down the right path. I may try to get her on a buddies dirt bike before we get into the class so she can build confidence.

Be careful about the dirt bike. She can build bad habits just as easily as she can build confidence. One grab at the front brake can put her on the ground and loose any confidence she gains.

Want to get ahead of the MSF class?

Read the MSF BRC riders handbook, it is available online at their website.

Do something to build the strength in her hands. There are several exercise devices. The more hand strength a person has the more clutch control they will have. Athletic stores have a couple of devices to help you out. Work out watching TV until it literally hurts. Better here than halfway through class.

Get some leather, over the ankle footwear with good rubber soles. Boots with non leather soles are fine, but avoid the bulky boots with very thick sole and tall toe boxes. Leather hiking high top hiking shoes work well except for the strings. If you can find some that have a flap or cover even better. Regardless of the footwear chosen"¦.wear it before the class. I have had dozens of students show up with big harley brand boots that were so stiff they could not move them or feel anything

Believe me it is easier to start out with this

than this even though this one would offer more protection in the long run.

Ride a bicycle and build your balance skills. Focus on looking at the horizon in the direction you want to go. Don't look down at the pavement. Look through the turns using the exit as a target. Work on slow speed skills balancing the bicycle.


Get a pair of gloves that fit your hands. Break them in working in the garden, mowing the lawn or watching TV while doing your hand exercises.

Helmet and eyewear should fit well and the rider be comfortable in them.

Acclimate yourself to the environment. If you are taking the class in the heat, don't prepare by sitting on the couch in the AC. Get out and working the yard for 7 hours in the heat of the day for a couple of weekends. Go walk your neighborhood etc. Same way with the cold, dress in non bulky clothing, use insolated underwear. Acclimate yourself to the same conditions you expect to be in during class.

 

[VaBusa]

Thanks to everyone I think I am going down the right path. I may try to get her on a buddies dirt bike before we get into the class so she can build confidence. She had some crazy idea that I would take her out to learn on the Busa. I old her I don't want her getting used to mine and then getting her own so we can just practice on her bike. Whew I think I dodged a bullet on that one.

VaBusa I could just send her up the road and you could teach her. No prior experience and Busa as your second bike.

Send her on over

We can start her on the kids' 50 cc dirt bikes, then move up to the old 80, followed by the 230

Get her in the MSF course above all else...and after learning on the Harley, I can safety say that the Busa is so much easier to ride. It handles so much better than my Harley did, obviously. I had about 2200 miles on the Harley before I bought my Busa, so I wasn't riding the Harley very long before I made the leap

Best of luck to her in whatever she opts to do

 

[Busa Jules]

I just always wanted to do it... I grew up in a Harley family but had no desire to ride a Harley... always sport bikes... and I don't trust anyone enough to ride behind them (Heck I have major back seat driver issues)

So my husband found me a 80CC 4 stroke dirt bike that I promptly drove straight into a chain link fence and threw it down and said I would never ride again. My husband just walked away from me and by the end of the day I was riding circles in the back yard.

We then got a 600 Ninja that I rode for about 4 months then the husband found the 05 LE he was looking for and asked me if I wanted to keep the Ninja or his 05 blue and silver Busa... so I took the hand me down.

Now two years (almost 3) later I'm racing my own Drag Busa and LOVIN EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I have never taken the MSF (they don't offer here except for on big police cruisers) but I am fully insured, endorsed, and legal. I wear my gear at all times (okay sometimes I skimp on the shoes over the ankle).

Do it, you'll love it.. and don't do anything you are not comfortable doing.... but remember to push yourself or you'll never improve.

 

[MsMeow]

IMO, I wouldn't start her on a Gixxer 600 especially if she has no experience whatsoever.  This may have the opposite effect of what you would like.  If the Gixxer launches and scares her, she may never want to ride her own again. And I wouldn't buy new, it will get dropped.

I am a firm believer in starting small and stepping up to a larger bike as you progress.  There are success stories of men and women starting out on Busas, CBR, etc., but there are also MORE horrific stories.

Take my advice or leave it, doesn't matter, but let her learn at her pace.  I was lucky enough that my husband didn't push me; I pushed me.

 

[ThunderJohn]

Thanks for all the great input. I will start her on the right path. Like I said I am very overprotective and want to make sure she is set and ready before I let her loose on the streets.

As much as I would like to kill her sometime I don't want some soccer mom getting all the joy of it.

 

[Wag]

Do yourself a favor and let someone else teach her. You'll both be glad you did and when she's up and running, you'll actually still be together!

--Wag--

 

[drfbusa]

about 5 years ago  when I had my cbr 600 and the busa, I was trying to teach her to ride... big mistake. the cbr is excellent in my books... my teaching skills are not.

+1. Most doers cannot teach all of the appropriate details and without bias or emotion. Not every great player makes a good coach.

 

[ThunderJohn]

Maybe that that is what I will do. I am not a very good teacher of those close to me the frustration would probably set in really fast.

Our best home improvement projects involve her shopping while I am doing it.

I guess I will just take the class with her and let my buddies teach her or just let her practice on her own. That is how I did it. Parking lot time and just following other riders and watching their lines.

 

[bigmac0331]

My wife got tired of riding two up....so one day she asked me what I thought about her learning to ride. I said go for it. We bought her a cbr600....she started to learn how to let the clutch out slowly...and I never let her out of my sight or the driveway. After about 2 weeks the cbr stopped running(needed the carb rebuilt)...so she asked me if she could practice on my Harley...I told her no way!!! Way to big of a bike to learn on. So we were talking about what kind of bike she wanted and she said she wanted a sportbike....i was ok with that...then she said she wanted a Busa....I was like NO WAY!!! Way to big of a bike for her...she said as long as she is making the payments she will buy what ever she wants....so I decided that she was right.....SHe got into a motorcycle safety course and learned to ride.....we would go out and just go around were we live..and we worked our way up from nieghborhood to around the city to eventually on the highway...she rides her very own Busa and she does an awesome job!!!!