Becoming a real motorcycle rider.

[Anonymous]

I do intend on riding in the snow at some point. I figure if the brittish can do it, so can I. *shrugs*

Been there,done that!NOT pleasant!A tip though,Don't ride in the tyre tracks,ride on the undisturbed snow,you'll get more grip(such as it is) and use engine braking as much as you can.Avoid ice like the plague :twisted: ,goes without saying.Freezing fog is totally heinous!
There's an old saying in Scotland,"If ye don't like the weather wait five minutes and it'll change!"I've seen rain,snow and warm sunshine all within 30 minutes here!
Nero,don't worry whether or not you're a real biker,you already WERE one! 8) 8)

[Dark Jedi]

I need to get out to Scotland and see the ancestor's land. Is the Beckwith area highlands?

I ride in the rain out here a lot. (At least I did before I feild stripped the GS for a restore. no rides this year) A real biker has been caught in a hailstorm, and continued on anyway. 8O

Thank Dog for thick leather jackets and gloves.

[Nerobro]

Plesant was never the question... I want to be a GOOD rider. :-)

[Anonymous]

I need to get out to Scotland and see the ancestor's land. Is the Beckwith area highlands?

Sorry,mate,that sounds more Yorkshire than Scotland,and Yorkshire's in England!

[Anonymous]

Don't know if riding in the rain makes one a real biker. If so i would have been a real biker when i took my first lesson..

I wasn't prepared, wearing jeans, borrowed helmet with a broken visor, wooly gloves and leaking boots..... Trust me waterproof and warm are what you want!

First lesson made me realise 2 things, i really wanted to continue my lessons and get my licence and i really had to get myself warm and waterproof gear.

I eventually ended up doing the stupid handling test during a downpour.
Rain left a constant 1cm film of water on the asphalt. I really wasn't enjoying myself having to do emergy stops, u-turns, slaloms, tight circles, evasions and all other cr@p i had to do.
Last test was even worse, windforce 9! About two minutes after the test had started wind blew a mini-container off the curb right in front of me. Road was to slippery for the rear-break so i actually lifted the cb's rear-wheel im my attempt to stop. Did succeed, did pass, felt good!

[skreemer]

Nerobro and I took the lessons and tests at the same time. I'd almost say we were lucky that we too had to take the final day of instruction and our test in the rain. It was wasn't windy thankfully but there was a steady rain that wetted everything down nicely. Though there were winds the night before and there were sticks from the trees lining the parking lot strewn about. About the same I wore a borrowed helmet only a 3/4 and no visor!! My glasses were constantly full of water or spots on a few of the courses I had to pull over and wipe them off. Also the parking lot we had our test in was on quite a bit of an angle so we got to learn starting stopping and parking on a hill as an added bonus.

All this added together and still passing the tests with flying colors made for a very confident rider the first time I took my own bike out on the road. A healthy enough fear but confidence that I had already proven that I could at least ride during adverse weather and not be hampered too much...