Scared of my brand new motorbike

[wez130]

FWIW, i've come of a scooter twice before, once on a roundabout in the rain, and another time i went straight over a fence, both times i was wearing my protective clothes and helmet, both times it never hurt one little bit, the second time i came off at about 30mph too. It never knocked my confidence either, infact it more assured me that protective clothing really does work Just because it can do 50mph, doesn't mean you have to do 50mph, just take it easy at first till you grow in confidence, and you will grow in confidence if you give it a chance.

 

[Dr Who]

I have respect for you having respect for a bike. I rode a pushbike a few weeks back, something I used to do a lot as a youngster, and I nearly had a brown moment.

You forget just how wobbly and unstable the damn things are

 

[growse]

The CBF125 is a great bike (I say this, I've never ridden anything else, but I think it's great), exactly what I got. It'll do a merry 68mph (carrying me and a great big chain).

It'll take a bit of a beating, so you don't have to be gentle with it.

 

[jellybeard999]

Try going to a large empty area - industrial estate, car park, track or similar ?

 

[Flukester]

if you not ridden bikes before they all feel crazy fast, I remember jumping on my 50cc when I was 16 and being blown away with how fast it was...

as OP says just ride round block 50 times, even better... go out on a quiet dry day and find some A roads, nice straight ones... then progress to B roads.

key to feeling safe is don't sit in the gutter, position your bike so you are on the road where you would be sitting driving a car, that way you won't feel threatened by other road users

dont tailgate anyone
assume everyone is going to do unexpected
assume every bit of shiny road is slippery
assume every new looking road is loose gravel
assume no one has seen you
dont get bullied by other traffic, hold your ground (and your bike is plenty fast enough for that)

do above and you'll stay safe m8

give it a few months and you'll be craving something fasssstttt, a few years and you'll be wanting something that pulls good wheelies

 

[lordrobs]

I remember hating my driving lessons, hated the test even more yet within hours of hitting the road solo I was loving it and haven't looked back.

I can understand the extra worry with haing half the number of wheels and no metal cage around you but I'd be tempted to give it a try when its nice and quite and take things at your own pace.

 

[Kol]

I remember when I passed my CBT. Rode home still bricking it a little and just didn't particularly go back out. A few days of riding later and now I miss the hell out of not having a bike. One of the most liberating and fun things to do.

 

[Muel]

I hated being on the road at first, I kept making stupid mistakes and nearly crashing, but it's all part of learning! Most other road users give you a lot of space when they see the L plates.

If you're not happy doing 50, don't do 50! Just take it easy. I avoid 60 limit roads where I can because my bike struggles to do 60 on flat, uphill you're lucky to get 45.

Just chill out, it's the same for everyone at first. if you're really that worried about it, I suggest having a couple of lessons. I did and it makes things much easier. the CBT is only the basics, the lessons teach you to ride properly.

 

[PieEater]

If you go out on it over the weekend and you're nervous you'll probably find yourself locking your arms, you need to avoid this and keep your elbows bent and shoulders as relaxed as possible. When you corner on a bike the bars need to move slightly in the opposite direction, if you have your arms locked out of fear you'll stop this from happening and wont take bends very well at all which will only make you more nervous.

 

[growse]

Am I making this up, or does throwing your hips into corners help the bike turn as well? Actually, that makes sense - more relaxed = more lean = better corners.

 

[excaliborg]

worst "my wife is so cool she bought me a motorbike" thread ever...

 

[svbooga]

I was cacking myself on my CBT, nearly dropped the bike the first time i touched it, then the instructor proper screamed at me when i let the clutch out a bit without having my foot on the back brake. It only went forward an inch before i had it under control and his severe reaction was due to someone rammign his leg the week before and he was still a bit touchy about it .
After that i wondered what the hell i was doing, but after the CBT i went and got a little 125 and drove about a local industrial estate for a bit. I was nervous and even took a detour to work in the evening so i didnt have to go round a busy roundabout, all i coulc think was "what if i pull out a stall and i end up in traffic!!!". After a while you realise how stupid you are and get on with it.
For a start go and sit on the thing, see how it feels, then start it up kick it in gear and practice lettign the clutch out and pulling it back in to get a feel for the biting point. Clutch control was really hard for me when i started, but practice and you'll be okay, just up and down the street to get you used to it.

 

[Steve JL]

It does sound like you had a pretty bad instructor,when I passed my bike test (ahem 20 years ago) the instructor spent most of his time screaming and swearing at the other guy he was instructing.

It wasnt pleasant to listen to and I certainly would not have liked to have been on the receiving end of it.

Just because you can ride a bike/drive a car doesnt mean you are a good teacher which is clearly the case with your instructor

As everyone has said just take it easy and go at your pace.

Failing that buy a bike engined car I wont go back to a bike now

 

[The_Abyss]

It sounds like the instructor hasn't exactly read you correctly, and instead of putting caution in you has instead injected an enema full of fear.

I'd suggest getting out and just riding, and slowly getting your own competenance up on gears, brakes, grip etc. It took me a good week after the CBT to feel fully comfortable and start doing things on instinct rather than thinking. When you reach that point, you'll feel good, and start to push your own limits and then eventually the limits of the bike.

30 minutes after I passed my full licence, I was on a test drive on a 650 cc, and positively terrified myself. A couple of weeks later (having bought the bike), I was itching for more power.

You obviously want to ride, as you've done the CBT. Just take your time and get into it at your own pace. In 12 month's time, you'll be posting a question about what bike to replace your 'old' CBR600 with

 

[wolseley]

From the sound of it, it is not being on the road that scares you, (after all you already have a car, so know how to use the roads), but the feeling of not being in control because you are not used riding a bike.

Firstly, as you mentioned it, you will not shoot out into traffic if you accidentally let go of the clutch - you will just stall (you could always try it while not at a junction to see what happens).

I wouldn't worry too much about falling off - a 125 is just like a bicycle with an engine - it isn't heavy enough to crush you. Cyclists can get to 30ish and aren't likely to be wearing all of the safety equipment you will be.

My advice is to do what I did just after passing my CBT (also after many years driving a car), and just find some quiet roads and ride round and round until you get used to the bike. It does take some time, but it will come to you - in the same way as you no longer have to think about the controls when driving a car.

 

[LeftfieldTilt]

Starting to come down on the side of the people saying 'Man up a bit'. Think this Saturday morning at 'everyone's in bed 'oclock' I'll just drive it round my local estate 5 times...

I'll be sh1tting a brick .. but maybe it'll just - I dunno - start to wear off after a while ...

The bike is a brand new Honda CBF 125. I bet you bikers are all p1ssing yourself now about me being scared of such a thing :\

Congrats on passing!!!

I had a gap of a year from passing to getting my 1st bike and that I had to go and collect!
I had a few brown trouser moments on the 20 odd mile ride home. I just spent a bit of my own time after that just riding about on roads i knew at a speed I was comfortable with getting a feel for her and getting my confidence back up (like really leaning into corners, defensive driving etc).

Also have a look for local club ride-outs to get out on the road with fellow bikers, gets you more practice!

 

[neoboy]

Just keep at it and start slow, I had a year gap after passing my driving test and was very nervous driving my car (I know it's not a bike, but same principle applies). 3 months later I was bombing around in a Transit van being a typical van driver

 

[Dimitris]

were are you based in sw london?

I am oin to train my partner tis saturday. Im not a qualified instructor but ave a few years experience ridin all weaters and track days. I elped train my partner too so if you want, we can ead down and sow you around for an our or so.

btw, some keys on my keyboard are broken. te one after f and te one after tat.

 

[arknor]

take it to a nice quiet industrial estate or a big empty car park and take it slow.

you will get used to it in no time. if most people had your atitude to sex the world would be full of virgins

 

[d.chatten]

I remember when i got my first bike nearly 30 years ago (FS1E DX if anyone remembers them), at that time there was no such thing as CBT or anything, i travelled about 30 miles to buy the bike and i had to ride it home (i had never rode a bike before), i was terrified to say the least, but i managed to ride the bike home, i then practiced on my local estate for a day or two and before i knew it i was riding with a lot more confidence and going a lot further.

Just think about this, are you more scared of the bike or the wife, if the answer is the wife, then you better start riding before she clicks on, LOL.