|
Experiences
of an Inexperienced Biker
For anyone considering buying their first real motorbike,
not just a learner 50 cc, this question and answer interview with
a novice biker should help answer some questions you may have regarding
bike choice and what its like to start riding.
Mark
is a 27 year old IT technician living in Cumbria, England. He passed
his
motorbike test second time round in the summer of 2004.
Why did you want to get into biking?
I have just always fancied getting my bike test. I finally
got around to passing my test in Feb 05, which I did on a borrowed
bike, I enjoyed it so much that I had to get a bike. My bike is
not my main form of transport so is mainly used for fun, although
have done a number of large journeys when
the mood took me.
What is your previous experience?
My bike experience was very limited before learning, just the odd
weekend as a teenager playing around on scramblers on a field. And
driving experience 10 years in a car, used to enjoy giving it a
bit of right foot, but find cars quite boring now!
What
other bikes were you considering?
I really want a sports bike, but decided for my first bike I would
get something not too mental, must be getting soft in my old age…
I looked at and test rode a few bikes in the 600 class. Hornet, Yamaha FZ6, Suzuki Bandit and SV650. I decided on the Hornet because I liked
the looks and it felt like I would get the most fun out of it, and
as I was buying the bike as a toy and not a commuter, fun was what
I was looking for.
What
do you use the bike for and in what weather conditions?
I drive to work and back in my car, so the bike is mainly for after
work fun and weekends. Living in the Lake District there is no shortage
of bike roads within a couple of miles of my house. I have also
used it on a number of occasions to go away for the weekend to Manchester
and Liverpool, this is
great fun on the Cumbrian part of the A6 but normal nip on to the
motorway at Lancaster and that gets quite boring.
When I got the bike I didn't want to become a sun only rider, so
in the beginning I forced myself out in not too good conditions.
Now I will take it out in sun or rain… I have got caught in
a couple of massive hail storms in my short riding career, one of
which was on a test ride of a CBR600R
which I had signed to say I would pay for the first £1000
worth of damage, that was fairly nerve racking.
Any near misses or scary moments?
The nearest I have come to having an off was when I hit a cat. I
had just come off a roundabout and was doing about 80 down the straight
when a cat jumped out from a hedge. I missed it with the front wheel
and it went under the back one, the bike got a very big wobble on
but I managed to stay on.
I defiantly got out of it better that the cat.
I also kicked (not on purpose, it ran into my foot) a pheasant whilst
doing a nice speed, not too scary, but hurt my foot a bit even with
my decent boots on, so would defiantly not advise wearing trainers.
Apart from the cat I can't really think of any other moments where
I though 'I'm coming off here'.
What
bike would you get next realistically, year, size, model?
Not too sure yet, defiantly planning on keeping this one for at
least one more year. I would really like a sports bike (Yamaha R6, or Suzuki GSXR600) but I like the hornet because
I can go on longer journeys without turning in to a hunch back.
Hopefully if I have the cash I can keep the Hornet and get a sports
bike as well.
What bike would you get next if money didn't
matter?
Probably a Ducati 999, but I think I would really scare myself
on it.
Where
do you see yourself as far as biking goes in 10 years?
Hopefully just toting up loads of miles and progressing to bigger
and better bikes. I have done 4000 miles in the 9 months I have
owned it and definitely want to do more next year. I am thinking
of taking a couple of weeks off work next summer and going for a
spin around Europe. I've got a few mates scattered around so I think
it would be good to just drive and see where I ended up. I have
not really considered a track day yet but I think it will be on
the cards once I get a sports bike.
|
