I love it for what it is, but what it is isn't good enough
Discussion
Sorry, this is a bit long but anyone I could talk to wouldn't understand but maybe some of you will...
It was a nice sunny day today. Before winter if I'd looked out and it had been sunny, a smile would spread across my face and I'd be itching to get out on my bike. But today didn't feel the same, I thought about my bike and instead of happiness or eagerness, I felt a bit scared, nervous. I made myself go out anyway, it was a nice day, I was in on my own so I had nothing else to do.
It didn't start well. I didn't want to face the corner where I crashed, so took a half mile detour to avoid it. That did however give me the chance to warm the engine and tyres up before I got to some twisty roads. As I made my way down my favorite road, again, it didn't feel the same. I was taking corners slower, my eyes watching for wet patches or stones that might throw me off.
Anyway, skip forward a bit, I stopped for about 10 minutes to get an ice cream (bad idea, I was bloody freezing already and that didn't help
)and then started the ride back. I started thinking about my bike, knowing I've only got about 4 months left on two wheels. The first thing that came to mind was that, although other bikers are always nice, nod to me and some even chat to me if I stop near them, I always feel a bit embarrassed when around bigger bikes. All I can think is I'm sitting behind a big bike, and at 30mph his bike is making a nice burble, whereas mines screaming, sounding like a piece of shit, at 8-9k revs. Its trying to be something its not, it looks like a proper bike (if you can't see the "pea shooter" exhaust 
) but underneath its not.
Anyway, the bigger bike in front of me sped off into the distance, and I was left in a queue of traffic. I came back home along country roads, and started to realize why I can tell when the bikes nearing its limits until it’s on the limit. There’s so much feedback from the road that I can feel every single tiny bump and imperfection in the road surface. All this feedback just becomes noise, and I blank out the important things that would show me the bikes on edge. I can only tell that the bikes not happy when something goes, like the back wheel sliding on some stupid polished stones.
And it’s useless on the roads I like to ride on. They are all country lanes, which is what I try to stick to as I hate being on faster roads - being overtaken by a bus as twice your speed isn’t fun! Twisty roads are all fine and well, but since I crashed I have very little confidence when cornering, to the point that I'm leaning very little. But if I stick to straight roads, I'm stuck to 30mph.
My bike can't perform how it should as well - firstly it’s restricted to 30mph. I did a little test as well, while on a perfectly flat road, I hugged the bike and tucked everything in and fully opened the throttle. I got up to about 36mph (don't laugh, there’s a point to this...). That made me feel as if I was slowing the bike down, and it’s being held back a lot. The acceleration feels very...flat, restrained. The bike doesn't feel right. And if I get over 32mph, it "hits" the restrictor and kind of stutters, making a horrible sound and the bike feels rough.
I had to admit it was a town bike, a little commuter, but even as that it’s not much good in its current form. It needs to be derestricted, almost set free. But I'm not allowed to do this, my mums pissed of enough that I still ride it (keep asking when I'm going to sell it
) so it seems like a dead end.
I'm sure it’s great when it’s derestricted. I love the way it looks, the way people look at it and are interested in what it is, but that isn't good enough for me. It’s not what I want it to be, and now having crashed it I'm scared to push it.
I don't know what to do. I'm tempted to sell it now and keep the money to buy a car, and then I don't have to think about it anymore. But that could be a rash decision, which maybe I would regret come summer. So should I keep it, keep riding it and build my confidence back up or just cut my losses and sell it?
Carrera2, I don't care what you think of me, if you havn't got anything constructive to put then please don't put anything. I know it’s a scooter, but thats irrelevant to this thread.
It was a nice sunny day today. Before winter if I'd looked out and it had been sunny, a smile would spread across my face and I'd be itching to get out on my bike. But today didn't feel the same, I thought about my bike and instead of happiness or eagerness, I felt a bit scared, nervous. I made myself go out anyway, it was a nice day, I was in on my own so I had nothing else to do.
It didn't start well. I didn't want to face the corner where I crashed, so took a half mile detour to avoid it. That did however give me the chance to warm the engine and tyres up before I got to some twisty roads. As I made my way down my favorite road, again, it didn't feel the same. I was taking corners slower, my eyes watching for wet patches or stones that might throw me off.
Anyway, skip forward a bit, I stopped for about 10 minutes to get an ice cream (bad idea, I was bloody freezing already and that didn't help
)and then started the ride back. I started thinking about my bike, knowing I've only got about 4 months left on two wheels. The first thing that came to mind was that, although other bikers are always nice, nod to me and some even chat to me if I stop near them, I always feel a bit embarrassed when around bigger bikes. All I can think is I'm sitting behind a big bike, and at 30mph his bike is making a nice burble, whereas mines screaming, sounding like a piece of shit, at 8-9k revs. Its trying to be something its not, it looks like a proper bike (if you can't see the "pea shooter" exhaust ) but underneath its not. Anyway, the bigger bike in front of me sped off into the distance, and I was left in a queue of traffic. I came back home along country roads, and started to realize why I can tell when the bikes nearing its limits until it’s on the limit. There’s so much feedback from the road that I can feel every single tiny bump and imperfection in the road surface. All this feedback just becomes noise, and I blank out the important things that would show me the bikes on edge. I can only tell that the bikes not happy when something goes, like the back wheel sliding on some stupid polished stones.
And it’s useless on the roads I like to ride on. They are all country lanes, which is what I try to stick to as I hate being on faster roads - being overtaken by a bus as twice your speed isn’t fun! Twisty roads are all fine and well, but since I crashed I have very little confidence when cornering, to the point that I'm leaning very little. But if I stick to straight roads, I'm stuck to 30mph.
My bike can't perform how it should as well - firstly it’s restricted to 30mph. I did a little test as well, while on a perfectly flat road, I hugged the bike and tucked everything in and fully opened the throttle. I got up to about 36mph (don't laugh, there’s a point to this...). That made me feel as if I was slowing the bike down, and it’s being held back a lot. The acceleration feels very...flat, restrained. The bike doesn't feel right. And if I get over 32mph, it "hits" the restrictor and kind of stutters, making a horrible sound and the bike feels rough.
I had to admit it was a town bike, a little commuter, but even as that it’s not much good in its current form. It needs to be derestricted, almost set free. But I'm not allowed to do this, my mums pissed of enough that I still ride it (keep asking when I'm going to sell it
) so it seems like a dead end. I'm sure it’s great when it’s derestricted. I love the way it looks, the way people look at it and are interested in what it is, but that isn't good enough for me. It’s not what I want it to be, and now having crashed it I'm scared to push it.
I don't know what to do. I'm tempted to sell it now and keep the money to buy a car, and then I don't have to think about it anymore. But that could be a rash decision, which maybe I would regret come summer. So should I keep it, keep riding it and build my confidence back up or just cut my losses and sell it?
Carrera2, I don't care what you think of me, if you havn't got anything constructive to put then please don't put anything. I know it’s a scooter, but thats irrelevant to this thread.
momentofmadness said:
Christian, when are you (legally
I could legally derestrict it this summer in August when I'm 17. It will apparently do 55 on the flat when derestricted, but seeing as my whole family is very anti-bike I doubt I'll ever get it to do that. I was initially told that I could keep it after I was 17 and derestrict it, but since I came off my mum sees it as the death machine thats trying to kill me. She came home yesterday as I was putting it away and I got "oh, so you've been out on THAT then have you?".
And of course, if I want a decent car then I'll have to sell it. Seems such a waste, I'm sure it would be good fun if I kept it but I just don't know how to persuade people to let me keep it.
huckster6 said:
Alternatively, I wonder whether you might really want to be a racer.
I went out on Saturday for a 200 mile drive with a friend (I wasn't driving btw) and I saw LOADS of bikes, including a few 125's. I now keep looking at NSR125's on ebay 
Even my instructor on my CBT told me that as soon as I'm 17 I should go back there and get onto a bigger bike as she thought I was a pretty good rider 
(well, at CBT level anyway ) I am actually planning to get a bigger bike is a year or so's time when I go to Uni. Maybe even get rid of my car - a bike would be easier to run, and far cheaper, easier to park etc etc. And it seems such a waste of a years NCB.
Another problem is I'm going to be getting a car this summer, and I'm not allowed a kit car (too unsafe or some bollox like that
yeh, its fine for my mum to go and thrash CSR's and Ariel Atoms round a track but theres no way I'm allowed to drive one...) so I've been looking at cars like MX-5's and Smart Roadsters. But insurance alone is going to bankrupt me 
Thanks for the advice guys
huckster6 said:
I re-read your first post and then I just read your more recent contributions.
My advice:
Sod the big bike; are you doing 'A' Level English...you write very well..? If you are work hard. Carry on like this and you'll get fees.
Can your mum take me when she does her next track day, please?
[you're not making any of this up, are you?]
No, I'm not doing English A level. I did get 2 A*'s for English in my GCSE's last summer though. I was going to take English for A level, but the books they do 
They look unbelievably boring! I was really lucky actually, the pre release material for my GCSE was on transport, so my "revision" was just sitting on here reading threads on PH I can write well when I need to, I used to write a lot of poems and stuff when I was bored. I'm not making it up
, I'm currently alone at home because my mums on the Minihoon She's done a few track days recently as well. Since she got a new "male friend" last year he's taken her on the track days and Minihoon - shes a car nut like me 
. As for a birthday treat, thats already sorted - I havn't been told the exact details, but its a week long, in Europe somewhere (had to fill out a new passport form so that gave that one away) and I'll be going in either a Vanquish or a DB7 Zagato
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff