NEWBIE MISTAKES!!!! - Page 9

Also the kickstand on my VFR.    On my ninja 250 you can have the kick down and be in gear.     

I did this yesterday. I havn't ridden the bike since the alarm installation. Well when I took her out of her trailer, the alarm went off, but the battery was dead ! I had to take the battery out with the alarm going off for about five minutes. At the time I thought "Damn, now I gotta post another newbie mistake"! I carry a spare for the remote, now. Pax, G.

got my first bike today, spent all day riding and getting used to her...
ill list em...
Kickstand...
blinker left on for a while..
hit horn when backing up and regripping the bars.. flet retarded b/c with the bars turned the horn sounds like an OOOOOGGGA horn and ppl just stare haha
1st to netraul YAY for reving the shit outta it and going no where ha
have not dropped it yet, (frame sliders will go on tomorrow tho)
 

When I got my first bike (a Yamaha Seca II) I was going around a roundabout at like 10 or 15mph and leaned INTO the turn (didn't countersteer) and it slid rite out from under me.  I didnt get hurt at all but i was embarrassed as hell and was pissed that i blemished my $800 Vanson jacket and blackend the palms of my $225 Held gloves.

well my most memorable mistake was on my old honda xl185s dirtbike when i left the kickstand down "no killswitch" and i was just cruising around town and went to make a left turn and it felt like i hit something as the rearend popped up and by the time i stopped i was 180 from where i was goin but i kept the bike up the whole time.
 

Whats up guys! I've done the blinkers & the kickstand!
But the biggest mistake I think is riding outside ur limits. I have a friend that tried to do wheelies the first month of riding. He wrecked his bike, hit some parked cars, & scraped his elbows & knees!.. 

Went to a track day and when I got home and jumped on the old PC, made a post about how I had lapped the entire field, which I did.
(Problem was, it was only the beginner's group...)

I made the post half in pride and surprise, and half in jest...really just trying to have fun...if a bit of a jerk braggart.

Well, all the experts, (other site) came out of the woodwork to chew my ass out, say I was this, and that, and...on and on.

I agreed on the important things they "suggested"...needing to learn track technique as in proper lean position, being consistent,
and general listening more, and talking less.


What I didn't agree with was the ongoing name calling, flaming, and just general wussy buls*** that these people wouldn't say to my face.

Least not and stay vertically oriented.

In fact, some of these kids mostly, are still being  jerks, and in fact I have turned the tables  on the situation, yet they don't see it.

Anyway, thing got blown way out of proportion...like alot of crap on the internet does.

From now on, I do track days, I listen, improve, and maybe make one small post about it in general. If at all.

If the company I go though is good...I'll give some mild props.

If they are assholes...I just won't spend any money with them again.

That's it.

I am guilty of the blinker  (seems common) and I do not know if you count this but I have ran out of  gas like 3 times. It woud die then of course I would move the petcock to reserve.  The last time it happened I was In fifth riding  going like 80mph and the bike felt governed!?!?  I was in disbelief so I shifted to sixth and the s.o.b. died and I just coasted on a two way 55mph semi country road.  Good thing my buddy pulled over with me to wave traffic.  I am still a newbie though so I am learning tha damned fuel tank!

Riding with the passenger pegs down.   Not too big of a deal, but looks gay when I have the passenger seat cover on.


I've done the petcock a couple times on my ninja 250.

i love this thread. each post its like "ahhh, same shit....blinkers/kickstand/horn" but then.........*BAM* hahaha, someone always does something waaaaaay outta left field. we all do i guess.
 
def. a good thread to read through.

hahahah totally dropped a bike adjusting my *junk*....not so much fun....and an expensive lesson, if it scratches....ignore it.

thinking I had more skills than I did. I should have been using my head and common sense..... remember we talk about skill level but its common sense that gets you home at the end of the day.

Of course the old classics... left the blinker on, left the fuel switch on "off", killed the bike at an intersection, things like that. It's hard to embarass me, so it never caused me too much of an issue. I've been lucky in that I've never been stuck too long trying to figure out what issue my bike's having... kickstand, kill switch, or (in the case of my old Rebel) leaving the fuel switch turned off. Heck, I just looked at the bike for a minute after pulling in the clutch (still rolling at about 45mph), then it dawns on me, I flip the switch, crank it over to "on", let the clutch out and kept rolling.

Now that the lame stuff is over, here is something that is a little more worth reading! I take off on my first "long trip" on my buddies 2006 Ninja 650r. It's cold as crap, but I've layered up as much as I can. Anyway... the trip down was cold, but went smoothly. On the way back, I'm coming from Lawrence, Ks and getting ready to get on the turnpike. As I'm doing so, right as you get on the turnpike, there's a gas-station off-ramp right there... I look at the station and think... "How long has it been? Nah... I should be fine. I just filled up two days ago, and I don't remember riding all THAT much" (his bike has the gas light only). Well, no sooner had I said that... and I pass the last chance exit to make a stop here, that the gas light comes on. I figure, "This won't be too bad, I should be good for 40-45 miles" So, my brilliant self, decides that, for best fuel results, I should tuck in low to reduce drag, and hold it at about 90mph. Wouldn't ya know it, I ran out of gas with no warning as to how far away I was from the next fuel stop. Some nice people helped me finally, and I was nearly 50 miles from the next fuel station. Needless to say, that was a very time-wasting lesson learned.

I've seen one of my friends who rides a Honda VTX 1300 (nice bike, by the way), lay his down all super slow like when he got off balance and the weight just dragged him down. (It's something like 627 lbs. dry if I remember right) First couple of times I had to help him stand it back up.

Oh! Just remembered one more. My dad was infront of me in is truck, and my brother was following me in his car as we were leaving a parking lot and approaching the stop-sign to get back on the road. I had this great Idea that I would show my brother, who I'm sure was watching me, how cool I was and bumped the bike down to first and let go of the handlebars to "adjust my glove". By the way... don't let go of the handlebars at like, 10mph in gear. Anyways... so the bike begins to violently sway quickly from side to side as I grab the handlebars and pull in the clutch. the Engine doesn't die, and I catch the bike at about a 45degree lean, so nothing hurt but my ego... and my nuts. The sudden decel and hard wobble wracked me serious like.

Sportbikes don't have a 7th gear?  
I've done that a number of times...
 
Well I got two short ones.
1.
My friend and I practiced on a little yellow 250 Ninja at this school parking lot all the time, never any mishaps or accidents. Once I bought my '02 f4i and completed my Safety Course I thought I might practice with a real bike at the parking lot.  I rode it just fine, so my GREAT friend asked if he could try it out. So I said yes of course and before you know it I see him drop my bike doing a 10mph left turn! Never again will I let somone ride my bike.
2.
I just bought my bike off this hot red head and pulled out the bike infront of my house. All my neighbors were outside watering plants, kids playing football, etc. So I start the bike up and have all eyes on me.  I rev the bike up to show off to the kids, I slap my visor down and put it in 1st *clcik* then the bike shuts off. Of course the smart guy that I am I never figure out how to start the bike back up. So I call the previous owner (take in mind this is the hottest girl I've ever seen on a bike) and say "Hey the bikes not starting, is there anything wrong with it" then she replies "Try putting the kickstand up".
 
 
 

blinker on,
 
kickstand down (figured it out when i made a left turn),
 
no start one day so i pulled the seat charged the battery, still no start then i noticed the kill switch was activated lmao,
 
forgot to turn on fuel valve,
 
try to ride through turn with to muuuuuch lean and scraped my pegs and scare the h3ll out of me lol,
 
I'm sure there are other but that's all i can think of for now

I dropped my bike at a gas station with like 5 people watching. It was soooo embarassing.

Lets see... Where do I start..... How about turning out of my driveway and hit the front brake and lay it over??? ( That was the first day)  Then theres the awfull hit the horn when disingaging the damn blinkers,,, Thats really all I can think about at the moment. I'll probably have more to add to the list later!!!

well..the worst mistake was gunning it in a parking lot and wrecking...oh and not wearing my gloves because i was just warming it up so my friend could take it around the lot a few times..so i got a nice gash down to the bone, and now a nice scar on my hand...cant feel anything in my palm either...

I've made quite a few myself:
 
1) New Tires, Cold Tires, New Ashaplt painted lines. Doing the motorcycle test at the DMV with 65miles of seat time. Locked up the front and almost dumped it on Day 2.
2) Blinker repeatedly left on. (still occasionally do it)
3) Thinking I hear the kickstand go down and not checking and almost dumping the bike ( Now 4 times)
4) Forgetting to strap my helmet down ( Happened 3 times)
5) Locked up the rear brakes a couple times after hitting the front brakes hard and not realizing the very light backend would be a problem.
6) Hasn't been a problem yet but could be consider a newbie mistake: Went with an '07 600rr as my first bike.
 
Maybe more to come but hopefully not and none has resulted in the bike going over .

I never had a kickstand problem.  Did drop it wihle trying an stoppie on a sloped parking lot.  Pretty funny I felt.
 
About 1 month after riding while at a party (And maybe 3beers) I took a few girls for a ride around the neighborhood(Not getting over 15mph).  I did make them put my helmet on.  But it was my first time having someone ride on the back.  Then one girl who use to own a CBR600 F4i I took down some bigger roads.  I had no helmet on and I made sure she put mine on.  Dumb decision looking back but oh well.
 
Almost wipped out trying to stop fast and was hitting the rear brake with a new rear tire and my rear end started to slide.
 
But I'm still a newbie so I should have more to come.

I'm not sure its a newbie mistake or what but I dropped down together with my bike when I stopped at a traffic light. My jeans got stucked with the foot rest and I couldn't put my feet down....
Straight down!! ouch.... with so many people looking around. The consolation part was when I went down, my hand was still holding the clutch, engine still revving and I manage to bring her up from the same spot...

1) kickstand
2) blinker/horn
3) kicking it into neutral instead of 2nd at low speeds
4) stalling the engine.  My bike's the first thing I drove/rode with a clutch, so that didn't help.
5) (the embarrasing one) laying my bike down in the garage while parking it. (like 3mph).. it didn't occur to me at the time that the bike might not have much traction on cold, smooth concrete.  Luckily, only a few scratches.
6) (my personal favorite) while riding along at around 70 in 6th gear, I tried to hit that elusive 7th gear, but I didn't feel like letting off the throttle when I did so, so I basically dropped the clutch at 10k rpm.  That was interesting.

Ok this thred is great, I read every post.
kickstand
blinker
7th gear
1st wide open to neutral
I have yet to hear this, maby it was just me....Hot sunny day in VA beach,  I'm cool I ride, so measure up some balance put down the kickstand, strech out and take a nap on the bike with helmet  on lap. Well I woke up mid flight to the ground (i rolled off) but it was to late, I ate asphault face first and then the helmet bounced and hit me in the back of the head. To make matters worse the bike then fell over. luckily not on me. This was at the BP anyone who knows VA beach, knows how many bikes hang out there. Probably 40 guys with their bikes that day. I get red just thinking about the onlookers gasping for air for laughing so hard.
I moved back to GA.

quote:

ORIGINAL: docrust

Most recently I was at a gas station(quite crowded) started the bike, put it in gear and it died. WTF? back to neutral and tried again, and it died. This happened about 4 more times until my friend quit laughing for a second and said "Dude your kickstand is down".

I never knew that you couldn't put your bike into gear in nuetral.........

+1 on the helmet strap

 
I did the same thing at my friends house today. 
 
Embarassing

Even though it was necessary to avoid an accident, I should have...

NEVER GRABBED THE FRONT BRAKE, IN THE RAIN, ON NOT ONLY SLICK PAVEMENT, BUT ON FORT WORTH'S OLD "HISTORICAL"
BRICK ROAD. SLICK BRICKS AND A HARD GRAB ON THE FRONT BRAKE WILL HAVE YOU ON THE GROUND QUICKER THAN YOU CAN
FINISH THE PHRASE "OH SHH..."

Capitalized for emphasis and hopefully a good bit of caution for anyone not wet weather experienced.

In the wet, you always want to brake from rear to front...the opposite of dry riding.