New Rider and Excited

My husband bought our SilverWing a number of years ago. He loved it, but ended up buying a couple of other motorcycles and wanting to sell our SilverWing. I had taken the Motorcycle class and got my license, but was honestly terrified of riding my bike...but in recent months I have decided that I really really WANT to get better and that I have to conquer my fears and get riding. So, that's what I have been doing...and I LOVE my Silverwing...it is AWESOME...

I am 57 years old and my husband is currently riding a Yamaha FJR 1300A and we love to ride together. We are avid tennis players and we are adding motorcycles to our list of hobbies to do as we grow older together.

We live in South Texas so decent riding weather most of the year and we live on a 10 acres farm out in the country...so good access to country roads for practice and just decompressing on the weekends.

I am excited to read about different SilverWing owners and their stories!

   

Welcome, and congrats on overcoming your fears. My girlfriend and I ride together all the time, and I am very fortunate that she was willing to get her license and join me in my hobby. She is my #1 riding partner and I would probably not enjoy the hobby nowhere near as much if I had a wife / gf that was not into bikes or riding. Women like you and my gf are very few and far between.

Good for you! I started riding at 64 years of age and haven't looked back. Love it. You will enjoy this Forum also.

   

vjamison glad you conquered your fear of motorcycles. I wasn't so much afraid of riding, more waiting for our daughters to get to adulthood. I started 3 years ago and have had the time of my life. My husband rides a BMW 1200GS 2014 he just got it last month. I have been to 26 states and ridden over 41,000 miles. Most of those with Bob. I do ride to work. Was down in San Antonio this past Sept. Rode the Twisted Sisters. I too took the safety class. Prefer the CVT over manual shifting and clutch.

Have fun be safe. You will learn a lot of good info on this forum.

CathyN

 

          I had to look up Taft. You are indeed in a great area near Corpus Christi. I just wish they would move Mustang Island closer to north Texas.  

Vjamison, you have found like minded people here. I started riding at age 57. Motorbikes were the last thought in my head just prior to that. But I woke up one day wanting to ride. Have now got 4 years of riding experience and never regretted one second of it.
You are doing all the right things. Best way to get over your fear is to confront it. Practice, practice, practice: it makes good, better, perfect.

 from another south coast, on t'other side of the pond! I'm not going to mention the weather - we've got plenty - all bad!!!

Welcome to the site and I hope that you continue to learn and enjoy.

I bought a 99 Honda Shadow in 2007 after being away from 2 wheels for about 27 years. I blame my "return to riding" on my neighbor who I watched come home from work and go out for a relaxation ride in the evenings. It brought back memories of how much I enjoyed doing that. I mentioned it to my wife and she suggested that I check Craigslist and see if I could find a used bike to see if I still liked riding. I found the Shadow and I loved it.

Once I got my Shadow, my wife sat on it and commented, "I think that I could ride this". We signed her up for the motorcycle safety course at the local Harley dealer. There was a six week backlog for the class. She asked me to find her something cheap to learn on in the meantime. She had never ridden any type of motorized 2 wheeler. I found her an 84 Honda Elite 125 scooter on Craigslist.

The first couple of weeks she rode the Elite around in the yard. She was getting used to balancing, using the throttle, hand brake, foot brake. (The Elite had a rear foot brake pedal.) After a couple of weeks, I followed her in the car as she rode around on neighborhood streets with 25 mph speed limits. She got used to driving on pavement, starting and stopping, using turn signals etc. She said that making a right turn from rest when your left foot was down was the hardest thing for her to do. She practiced that a lot. A few weeks later we got some Cardo radio's for our helmets so that we could communicate. We moved up to busier secondary roads with speed limits of up to 50 mph. That was about the top speed for that scooter anyway.

Six weeks passed and she went back up to the Harley shop for the safety course. They had 500cc Buell's for the lesson bikes. There were two days of riding involved. She came home after the first day on the Buell. She spent a large part of the day holding in the clutch and doing starts and stops and shifts. She said that her clutch hand got fatigued and she asked, "Why would anybody want a bike with gears and a clutch when they could just ride a scooter?". I didn't have a good answer for that. She passed her test and got her MC endorsement. She said that she has no interest in riding a standard shift motorcycle again. We have been riding since and she moved up to a 250cc Reflex and then a 400cc Majesty.

The first time riding on a road with rolling hills she commented, "I didn't realize how cool it gets in those low spots". Things like that I knew about, but took for granted. She experienced a lot of new things and then I had to think back to the first time I discovered those same things.

On one ride, we found ourselves on a gravel road. I told her, Take your time, don't make any sudden change in direction, be very easy on the brakes and throttle". She got through it. There are so many things that she will learn over the years. I am glad that I can coach her on some of them.

Her second year of riding, we were out riding on a farm road, and she said "This is the first time since I started riding that balancing, braking, throttle, turn signals are all second nature. I don't have to think about it, it is just a reflex and I just do it. I am really starting to enjoy riding." It takes a while but we all get there.

Riding is a great activity and I hope that you enjoy your Swing for many years.

 

Magoo Triker

WOW!  Thanks everyone for your warm welcome!  It does feel good to have some support for the learning curve, the choice of scooter because it makes sense, and just the feedback.

My husband and I went on a long ride on Sunday...my longest...my biggest fear has been turning...I didn't want to "lean" into a turn and as I have discovered when you stay upright too long you will end up in the other lane...ARGHHH!!!!  I really got a lot of opportunities to learn and practice on Sunday...we drove back roads, highways (75mph to hang with the traffic), LOTS of turns, a gravel road, and following behind a horse trailer...I also figured out that my gloves were one size too small as my right thumb wanted to poke completely through my gloves by the end of the ride.  My helmet gave me a crazy bad headache...the motorcycle shop suggested trying to "compress" the foam in that spot a little bit...to give my head some relief before making a decision to buy ANOTHER expensive helmet.  We also have Cardo Scala Q3 intercoms!!! that has changed EVERYTHING for riding...it is so wonderful to be able to comment and chat while riding.

One reason I joined this forum was to ask someone if they had ideas for how much it would cost to repaint my Swing!  It had been laid over when we bought it and my husband offered to paint it pink for me...but I didn't want him to do that until I committed to riding it and knew that I would actually ride it...now I am affirmed in that respect and want to get a paint job.  Where is the best place to ask that question of everyone?  and thanks again for welcome!  I'm more excited than ever!

Welcome to the site and to riding. I'm glad you are enjoying yourself.

A suggestion/tip - there a a half a dozen different head shapes (oval, round, etc.). If your headache was that bad, then you probably have the wrong shape. Maybe you are wearing an oval shape on a square head. Go to the biggest motorcycle store you can find and try on helmets to find one that fits right. This is not a place to shop the Internet for a deal. You might buy six helmets that all have the same measurement and only have one that fits correctly.

While you are there, get some gloves. Like shoes, nothing beats trying them on.

You should be glad you live in SE Texas if you don't like curves. Stay away from western NC!

Hi Vjamison- I am new to this forum too. I started riding when I was 60, 4years ago, and absolutely love it. I learned on a 125 Vespa, then rode a limited X9. There's something indescribable, magic about being on the road, even in this country (must be awesome in the States with your roads and scenery). My day doesn't feel quite complete if I've not been out. I still work and often travel 200+miles round trip to deliver a training day somewhere. I have gradually become more confident on turns and lane splitting etc. It's a matter of time and practice, isn't it... , and it's great to read your story.

My Silverwing is the best bike so far, even though I enjoyed the Majesty. Love the extra you get from 600cc and it sits on the road that bit better, I think.
Important to get comfortable gear. I have come to appreciate that the details count. Happy riding!