First Ride In Yard

I did a short test drive of the bike in the parking lot of the dealership before I bought it.  It felt so much nicer than the little Street bike, since I'm a tall guy.  It felt right and manageable in size.  But, I also needed far more practice.  I didn't have memorized with muscle reflex where are all the controls.  For better or worse, I was used to the Street 500.

Fortunately, I have an extremely large yard.  I started just driving around my yard in the grass.  Going in a giant circle.  I went slow.  I went around and around.  I practiced shifting up to second just for the practice.  My goal was to get used to the controls.  I kept going around.  Even after I felt I had mastered going around my path, I kept going.  I'd see how well I could curve back around, or how well I could match my tire tracks from the last time around.  I tried out the turn signals.  This was great and was all about getting basic familiarity.

I also have a drive way that is about 800 feet long.  Originally I thought that would come in handy.  But it is gravel and everyone says that gravel is slippery.  They are right.  Thus, I take it out of the garage and get over to the grass as soon as I can.  The grass does feel more stable to drive on than the gravel.

In the MSF class, one of the instructors suggested just sitting on the bike with your eyes closed and memorizing where all the controls are.  I tried doing that too.

Starting off, my goal was to work up to enough comfort to drive to the school parking lot and begin practicing more there.

Buying a Bike

Many people say to get a bike to grow into.  That you learn quickly and want a bigger bike.  That may be true.  But, it is winter time coming up, I already lead a very busy life, and the MSF training course was all so new to me.  Thus, I feel far safer and more comfortable starting at the low end of bikes.  Moreover, my wife is considering getting into it as well.  Thus, if I pick the bike right and I do grow out it, it might be something I can give to her, if I do outgrow it.

The two brands I debated with were Honda or Harley.  I heard good things about Honda as good starter bikes.  But if I'm buying something, I may as well buy something I like.  I picked Harley for the style, comfort, customization possibilities, community possibilities, and all the dealerships.  There are more Harley-Davidson dealerships near me than there are Sam's Clubs and Coscos.  They may even be edging in on number of Walmarts.  I know there are alot of fast sporty bikes, but I honestly don't care about a top speed racer.  If the MPH only goes up to 70 or so, that'd even be ideal.

I'm new to Harley-Davidson and the bikes are confusing.  There are so many different ones.  After endless research, I think I have the most bare basics down.

The entry level is the Street bike.  Now, from experience, I know that bike doesn't fit me.  If I was short, I would have gotten that.  My advice is just beware used 500 models.  They may have been used in the riding academy classes.  They'd be low miles, but heavily abused by numerous inexperienced people, like myself :)

After the Street family, the next model up is the Sportster line.  There are multiple types of Sportsters.  A friend suggested going with one of the 1200s for better resale value.  Thus, I went to a dealership and sat on the various Sportster models.

Some of them have forwarded mounted foot pegs/controls.  Right away I could tell this is what I needed.  I sat on one of the 1200 models with the regular mounted foot pegs/controls and my legs were all bunched up.  I knew that didn't work for me.  I then tried a Forty Eight.  It has forwarded mounted foot pegs, so My legs weren't bent up.  But it just didn't feel or look right.  The center is too small for me.  Plus that model also has a very small gas tank.  Then like Godilocks, I found one I liked just right, the 1200 custom.  What was neat is the different models of Sportsters actually started to make sense.  Some have forward foot pegs, some have a wider or narrower front tire.  Each one will fit and appeal to a different person.

The sales people suggested I try out some of the next model family up.  It fit ok, but I didn't feel comfortable on it.  Like the Dyna Street Bob, a really nice bike and maybe I'll get that one day.  But I could feel it is a big bike and alot to take on for a new rider.  I know my limits and comfort level.  At worst, maybe I will outgrow the bike and sale it off at a lose.  But you know what, I'll be well and alive to do that and have learned a ton when I get to that point, so I accept that.

The new models weren't that much more than than the used ones.  But, that's before all the fees and the used ones often come with accessories already on them.  Plus, the new label comes off as soon as I buy it.  Or, mainly, it comes down to.  I'm new.  I'm going to drop this bike.  I'll feel ok if I dropped a used bike.  It is used.  It has probably been dropped before.  I'll feel bad if I drop a brand new bike that I paid a big premium on.  Side note, that's also why an engine guard was my must have accessory.

I found a used 2014 Sportster Custom 1200.  It wasn't even fully 2 years old.  It was still under factory warranty and only 5,500 miles.  It had a windshield, saddle bags, and some other features.  I negotiated in an engine guard.  That's an important point, consider what you want in accessories.  The bike I picked had some sort of custom exhaust and customized foot pegs.  That's nice, but not something I'd pair extra for, because I wasn't looking for those features.  The number one thing I wanted was an engine guard.  A windshield and saddlebags were nice to have things that I knew I'd like get later on if I didn't get it at first.

Plus, my wife loved the color of the bike.  There were alot of used sportsters to pick from in the area, but my wife liked this one the best.  And if I do really grow out of it and give her this bike, then that's important.

Thus, it was a real win every which way.  A style-ish color, low miles, newer model year, accessories I wanted, and in good shape.  Oh and they even delivered it to my house later the same day.  Like I said, I was very happy with the purchase.

Few other tips to others who may read this in the future:

On timing, I'm buying a bike in October, in the fall.  This is a great time.  The dealership has brand new 2016 and 2017 models and lots of used bikes.  Winter is coming up and sales are only going to get lower.  So this is probably a better time of year to get a better deal.  Everyone will be buying bikes come spring time.

On cost limits, The other thing is on cost.  It ranges widely.  Each of us can afford a different amount.  The dealerships do offer financing if you need it.  However, I want to emphasis something.  Take whatever you're spending limit is and knock off ten or twenty percent to spend on riding gear.  Yes, this probably means thousands of dollars.  Save that money from the down payment or see about including some gear in financing.  But especially as a new rider, don't think the purchase ends with the bike and bike accessories.  There are large on-going purchases around the corner for good quality riding gear that is going to keep you safe.

On finding a price, I'm sure someone else would have gotten a better deal and someone else probably got a worse deal.  I'm not an expert at sales price negotiations, but here's my tip.  Try to get some money off the list price, at least enough to cover the fees that get added back in.  Then try to get something added in.  To you, a hundred dollars less in price is the same as a gift card, accessory, or gear for a hundred dollars.  But to the dealership, the difference is huge.  Remember the tactic isn't to necessarily ask for a super lower price, but to ask about including some of the items you want, like an engine guard.

Now Licensed

The Indiana BMV is closed on Mondays, so I had to wait until Tuesday.  I got there about 10 minutes after it opened.  I was number 33.  It was fairly packed, but moved quickly.  I used the time to browse bikes as I waited.  Doing that, the time cruised right by.

The process was fairly pain free.  I showed them the certificate I received for passing the class and my current driver's license.  They took a new picture and filled out some paperwork.  They gave me a temporary print out license and said the official one will come in the mail.  Before I got up, I scanned the paper to make sure the motorcycle endorsement was listed.  I'd been advised to check that before leaving.  I asked where it was listed and they showed me.  It was marked.  I was set.

With that I'm now licensed to drive on the roads!  With my nearly 12 hours of bike ride time :)  However, technically to be legal on the roads, all you have to do is take a written test and get the permit.  So while it sounds funny, I'm actually a step up from the base requirements, so there :)

Harley-Davidson Riding Academy - Day 4 - Part 3

After the driving skills test, we broke for an hour lunch, then resumed the classroom portion.  Today, we picked up supplemental information and "fun/games" that prove a point.

Supplemental Info

Sometimes a motorcycle won't trigger the car sensors for a red light.  In Indiana, you only have to wait 2 minutes and if it hasn't changed, then you can legally run it.  I researched this after the class and confirmed.  Here's an article, and here's the official Indiana House Bill 1080.

I don't plan on carrying adult passengers for awhile, but the kid info was interesting.  A child can be a passenger, but must be tall enough to reach the foot pegs.  And must have on helmet and full protective gear.  Also, if the kid isn't directly yours, even if you are grandparent, then you must have written permission of the legal guardian.

Indiana doesn't require a helmet.  (I'll be wearing one anyways.)  But some neighboring states do.  Some places sell fake "DOT" stickers that can be placed on lightweight plastic hats.  This way a motorcyclist and try to trick a police officer if pulled over and claim it is DOT approved.  That's ridiculous.

Don't drink and drive is obvious, or really should be.  What is also interesting is the caution in the handbook about having a drunken passenger.  Even if your a sober driver, a drunk behind you could seriously mess up your ride.  Good thing to keep in mind.

Fun & Games

They had a pair of "beer goggles."  These distort your vision so that you can't walk in a straight line.  We went through trying to walk a straight line with and without them.

There was the center of vision test.  Where someone looked straight ahead.  Another person slowed moved a large number card far out far into their center of vision.  The person looking ahead said when they could make out the number.  This is point out that you can only see directly where you are looking.

There was also the ruler drop.  A person drops a ruler and you see how quick you can grab it.  This is to point out reaction time.

The fun & games were nice points to drive home.

Written Test

The test is multiple choice.  Twenty questions and you can miss up to 5 questions to pass.  My advice carefully read each question and the answer.  Sometimes the question is tricky. You'll read it and be like A sounds good, B sounds good, wait a minute, what?  Other times, they might slip in a term from the handbook in a slightly wrong setting.  Most questions are straight forward, but some are trying to be tricky.  (However, high school level tricky, not college/genius tricky, don't over think it.)

A few of the questions were about how a motorcycle reacted.  The prior actual driving portion helped with that.  I was like I remember when I did that on the bike.  I know what it does when you do that.

There wasn't a time limit.  I went through the test, answered the questions I was sure on, and marked any I wasn't certain on.  Then I took a second pass through and answered the questions I wasn't sure on.  I looked up and no one had turned it in, so I went back to the start and re-read it all over again, slower this time just to make sure, not like I have anything better to do :)

Turning in the test and waiting for the results is nerve racking.  You think you did okay, but you know there's a few tricky questions.  Was C or D on question X the best answer?  As we finished, we could exit the room and talk to the others in another room.

There was something that made me feel good the whole time both the skills and written tests.  I took the course before buying a bike.  If I didn't pass or didn't enjoy it, then no big deal.  A few of the other guys did that in the opposite order - bought a bike and then took the class.

Results

After what felt like the longest time in forever, we go the results.  We all passed!

After that, the instructor went through the test question by question asking if any of us had questions on each one.

They gave us all official paperwork for the license branch.  That's all we need to get our motorcycle endorsement on our license.  And they gave us a completion certificate showing we did a MSF class.  They said insurance companies give discounts for that.  (Which is true, later I found out mine did.)

On top of that, they gave each of us a personalized certificate for something we had personally done.  For me, it was "Weaving Wonder."  I did bad on the cone weave in practice, but on the skills test, I did it perfect.

Then we got a free T-shirt, which my wife claimed when I got home :)  And we did a group picture.

I asked the instructor for any practice tips.  They suggested empty parking lots.

Next up, the license branch.  However, I have to wait a whole day, because the license branch in Indiana is closed on Monday.  Whoever thought that up?

Harley-Davidson Riding Academy - Day 4 - Part 2

Skills Test

The MSF Rider Course lists the skill tests as "To assess basic skills using a cone weave, normal stop, turning from a stop, U-turn, quick stop, obstacle swerve, and cornering maneuver."  Here's how each part went.

There are 5 sequences where you have to demonstrate what we did, like the U-turn in 20 feet, cone weave, swerving, quick stop, and a short circuit course.  Each of us went through one at a time.  I was last in line.  This was good and bad.  I got to see someone else do it, so could understand what we're trying to do and where the common mess ups are at.  Bad, because it gave me more time to fret over it, think over it, and so on.  Being in the middle of the line would be ideal.

Quick Stop

You have to go fast and then stop as quickly as possible.  They are making sure you properly used both the front and rear brake.  I think I did fine on it.

Obstacle Swerve

You have to go fast and then swerve to the right of cones a few feet before and then come to a stop.  Here is where you have to use counter steering.  You are going fast, so you push in the direction you want to swerve.  The push actually turns the handle bars in the opposite direction.  I know, don't question the physics.  Think bugs bunny.  I think I did fine on that one too.

Cone Weave

There are little cones lined up in a straight row, about 12 feet apart or so.  You have to take the bike back and forth throw the cones without touching any of them.  The key isn't to look at the cones.  You want to look at the space next to each cone, and then once you are about there, start looking to the next space after the next cone.  Here is a good example of pacing of the class.  In practice, I had just started getting this.  I was coming close and with more practice could have nailed it.  Apparently, I was right, because on the test, I nailed it perfectly, better than any of my practice attempts.  They awarded me "Weaving Wonder" due to this feat.

U-turn

You start off and do a sharp right turn.  That was easy after the first day.  Just look where you want to go.  The challenge was the second part.  You have to drive into a twenty foot wide rectangle and make a U-turn.  My memory is hazy due to the ending, but I think I was doing well at first.  I think I had it in the line or very close to it.  But just as I was completing the turn, I looked down to where I was supposed to stop at.  I suppose I was so used to doing the S-turn and needed to think just U-turn.  But, when you look down, in a U-turn, your bike goes down.  My bike didn't fall, but started to.  I put my foot down and gave it throttle.  I did both really quick without thinking.  My heart was pounding.  The instructor called me lucky.  Lucky, because if you drop the bike in the test, you automatically fail.  I will admit that threw me off a bit for the rest of the test.

My advice on the U-turn is keep your head up.  If your worried that you can't make the turn in the space, then go out of bounds.  It is better to take the point hit on going out of bounds, then to drop the bike and fail immediately.

Side note, the bike won't fall once it is moving.  But in a U-turn, your going very slow, barely moving to make that tight turn.  And when you slow down and lose momentum and start to come to near a stop, it is at that point that the bike can fall. Never completely come to a stop in the turn.  The greatest risk is at the end of it, when you've already spent all your forward momentum.

Cornering Maneuver

I should have nailed this one.  I did well on it in practice.  You start off taking a curve and are supposed to reach a high speed.  (I forget the exact target.)  Then slow down (but don't stop) and take another corner around and come to a stop.  Honestly, it isn't that hard of a test.  But...

I was last in line and trying to forget about the U-turn incident.  I kept hearing "remember go fast" as each person went ahead of me.  And I over thought it.  I kept thinking go fast.  So when it was my turn to go, I went fast, far too fast, faster than I did in the whole course.  I nailed the first part.  But I was in way too fast for that second curve.

I knew that as soon as I midway through.  I went wide, off the track and did a giant curve off to the side.  Cursing under my helmet the whole time.  And then looped back into the track and finished it up.  My instructor wasn't happy with me to say the least.

I told my Uncle who drives bikes daily to work on the interstate.  He said he was proud of me for the quick thinking.  I messed it up by going too fast, but when presented with something that would have made me crash - taking a sharp curve too fast, I evaded the obstacle safely.  Also, even in that U-turn, when I was coming to a stop, I acted quick.  I need to learn more skill and practice more.  But I'm glad I've got the quick thinking reflex.  My skills are going to lag until I practice more and build it up.

Results

Honestly, it was a bit of a blur after my high speed curve escapade.  My head wasn't in it.  I remember I passed, but not by much.  But hey keep in mind, a day ago, I had never driven a motorcycle or a dirt bike, and my bicycle is the simplest model they make.  I went from that, to passing.  Even if I hadn't have passed, being able to do all that or even come close in only 12  hours of practice is impressive.

Road ready?  I don't think anyone who completes this test, perfect even, is prepared for the road.  This is just the basics of motorcycle operation.  I feel like I'm prepared to practice more.  I'll start in empty parking lots and work up to some low speed roads and just see how I progress and my comfort level.  Also, keep in mind, all you need to do to be street legal is take a written test for the permit and then you're allowed to drive in daylight with no passengers.  I look at like a license to learn more.

What if I had failed?  My advice is go into this expecting to fail and expecting to have to re-take it and expecting to have practice far more.  Because even if you pass, you need a lot more practice.  This is just the most basic start.  If I had failed, I would have just taken a written test and got a permit and then re-taken the class again later.

The most important thing of this class to me was to know if I enjoyed motorcycling or not.  Is it for you is important question before spending thousands of dollars on a bike.  And it taught me the basics of operations, so I could go and practice more.  And it gave me a license, so now I'm legal to venture out and practice where I'm comfortable.

Harley-Davidson Riding Academy - Day 4 - Part 1

On day 4, we built on what we had learned doing more advanced maneuvers.  For instance, we had to do a S-turn in a limited space rectangle.  The rectangle starts at 24 feet across and goes down to 20 feet across.  You drive the bike into and make a u-turn and then make a u-turn the other direction.  Roughly, you make an S.  I and most had trouble with that.  Though once or twice I got it perfect.  I wondered about the utility of this lesson.  But I looked it up online, this is preparing you to do a u-turn on a street.  Most streets are about 24 feet wide.  The S-part is just for extra practice or the really indecisive about which direction they want to go :)

We did other things, like swerving.  This is something you don't think about on a bicycle, but its weird.  At a low speed, turn the handle bars in the direction you want to go.  At a higher speed, turn the handle bars the opposite of the direction you want to go.  Or as they said in the class, push to the direction you want to go.  Roughly explained, as turn handlebars for a turn and push in direction for a curve.

Another neat thing is look in the direction you want to go.  Turn your head in that direction and you'll go there.  There were turns I didn't think I could make, but if I did that, I did them.  It doesn't make sense, but it just works, like magic.  Speaking of magic, it is magic that the bike doesn't fall over when your turning.  I was talking to a classmate.  I told him I thought of it like Bugs Bunny.  Bugs didn't know gravity existed, so he could walk off a cliff.  I just thought to myself I am Bugs Bunny and didn't question the physics.

And we actually got to ride in a giant loop for a few exercises.  That was the most fun, actually trying out riding the motorcycle.  I understand why they go over the braking day 1, you've got to know how to stop.  But it was sure nice to actually try out the actual driving part.

Physically, this wasn't as a hard as day 1.  My legs still hurt from the smaller bike.  But less pushing, power walking, and on/off bike meant less physical exertion.

Overall, I would have liked a slower pace.  Both today and yesterday, it felt I just started to get something and we'd move on to the next sequence.  Like I had that S perfect and then messed up the next try and then sequence over.  As someone who studies all sorts of things, it felt like mastery level was around half or slightly better.  However, the MSF course is a lot to cram into 2 days, so I don't know how much flexibility the instructors fully have.  But I wouldn't have minded practicing each sequence until I felt around A or at least B level confident.

Still I learned a lot and the instructors were supportive.  I went from never driving a motorcycle or dirt bike to being able to drive a motorcycle in 2 days.  That's amazing if you think about it.

We had two instructors.  One was the owner of a dealership.  I really liked that the owner did this.  It showed really caring.  The other was a retired fellow who had been riding his whole life.  He had lots of tips and stories from his long motorcycling life.  I was glad we had him.  I had choices in where to take the MSF class.  One I didn't think about too much in advance was who would be teaching it.  You might consider that if you have a choice.  If schedule and everything else works, maybe call them up and ask about who will be teaching the class and their background.

Harley-Davidson Riding Academy - Day 3

Today was the first day driving.  We were in an empty school parking lot that had been divided into an area with cones.  That's where the driving was on both days.

The bike:

We were on Harley-Davidson Street 500.  The bikes were outfitted with extra protective frames so that when they fall it wouldn't damage them.  They looked nice at first.  Even though you know, they've been heavily abused the whole season with beginner drivers like me.  I got the one with a tall seat.  This bike was a solid bike, but it didn't fit me at all.  The instructor and even classmates were all telling me that the bike wasn't a fit.  At first, I didn't know if it was me or the bike.  After two days, it is the bike.  My legs were all bunched up.  The bike wants to fall over with me standing because I stand so tall over the top.  If your average height or short, this is a good starter bike.  But if your tall, don't get this as a starter bike.

One thing I learned quick was to ignore the Neutral light.  This gave me a lot of trouble at first.  I went to shift into Neutral and the light wouldn't be on.  And at one point, I was driving the bike around with the Neutral light on.  I told one of the instructors.  He told me, good lesson for you.  I think it was.  I always treat the light as a suggestion and ease off the throttle just in case and start the engine with my hand on the throttle.

The sequence:

It had a very good start.  At first, we pushed the bikes in Neutral.  Didn't start them, just pushed them across the parking lot, turned them, and pushed them back.  After that, we started them up and did what they called "power walk."  Power walk is where you sat on the bike, walk it with your feet, but ease out the clutch so that the engine is moving it along.  This was a very good introduction to the controls and moving.  After that, we worked up to a short ride back and forth with lifting our feet up.  Then we updated our ride books with signed date of "first motorcycle drive."

It may sound simple or easy.  But it was physically hard.  I'm in very good shape.  I can weed a large field, cut down a tree with an axe, and anything else.  But I really felt this was a work out.  It was a few things.  You start by pushing the bike.  It is a lower end bike, but still heavy.  You also get on and off the bike many times in a row.  Plus, I think me being tall and having to bend my legs so much made it worse.  The other taller guys in my class said their legs hurt from it too.  But I didn't hear anything from the average height older guys.  So either they are in better shape or being tall has alot to do with it.

Oh and another thing is your leg position.  Even on a bigger bike, there's something about having your legs in that riding position.  (I still feel that a bit after I got out today.)

In retrospect, good leg exercises for a few weeks before this would have been wonderful.  Or if you could borrow a friend's bike and don't drive, just sit on it and push it.  If you can do that for a few hours, then you'll have a giant leg up (or rather non-hurting leg) in the class.

After that, we start into other sequences, like stopping and later swerving.  The MSF website lists out each point if you want to know details.  The key thing overall is day 1 you learn the basics.  You don't ride on the bike much.  You'll be pushing, braking, mounting, and dismounting.

After the first day, I was left feeling like motorcycling was a lot of mental and physical work.

As the class ended, I felt like I was getting things, but really felt like I needed more practice.  Here is where not having a bike puts you at a disadvantage.  There's not a good way to "study up" or practice.  What I did was to watch YouTube videos of people riding motorcycle and explaining how they drove.  I practiced moving my hands and feet with the different motions, like shifting gears.  I even did that a bit on the drive between home and the class.  I also tried to close my eyes and remember back through it.

Next day 4 and the skills test!