How it begins...MSF course, buying my Ninja, and first, albeit brief ride.

Hey friends!

I decided to create a blog on my riding adventures.  As they say, great things start from small beginnings.  I recently bought my first motorcycle, a green Kawasaki Ninja 250R.  I hope to take this little bike (or maybe it's rather big, due to MY small stature!) on all sorts of trips.  I guess to start out, this blog will be more about how I learn to ride, and some lessons I hope to learn as a beginner rider.  Once I get some experience and start venturing out further from my home base, I will probably begin to write some interesting posts based on my travels around the country!  This first post will be extremely long perhaps, as there is much to catch up on. So here we go!

The adventure begins with deciding to sign up for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course.  I didn't know what to expect at first.  I was extremely nervous, and felt that everyone had already known how to ride and was merely taking the course to get their license easily.  The first two evenings were classroom sessions in which my class grouped up and answered a multitude of knowledge type questions.  We watched some comically exaggerated videos, and had discussions about them.  Pretty straightforward, no?

The weekend was filled with ten hours of riding "on the range."  This part had me so nervous I was shaking in my not-so-appropriate boots (The first day I got called out for not wearing over the ankle boots! yikes! They take it seriously!!).  I'm not sure if I was shaking solely because I was nervous, or due to the fact that it was horrendously bone chillingly cold. Anyways, we learned on little 250CC cruiser/standard bikes.  I chose a Suzuki of some sort, and was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I could place both feet flat on the ground.  This was a great feeling, since I'm only a pint sized 5'3" tall guy.  They had us do many exercises, beginning with paddle walking.  I seemed to be the worst, since I was much slower than everyone else, and consistently could not get my bike into neutral.  I also forgot left from right because I was extremely nervous, so that didn't help when we were supposed to go in certain directions!  They must have thought I was really stupid!

We then learned how to ride slowly in a straight line and use our clutch, throttle, and brakes.  I was pretty good at this part, as I had learned how to drive a standard transmission car.  It was an awesome feeling to be puttering along with my feet on the pegs.  It was like riding a bicycle without having to pedal (this probably seems obvious!).  For the rest of the weekend we tried other exercises such as swerves, quick stops, and U-turns.  Two major things I experienced at the course - slow speed maneuvers were much more difficult than those at a quicker pace, and on a motorcycle, you feel like you are traveling much faster than you are.  At one point I felt like I was going about 40mph only to look down and see that I barely broke 20mph!  We eventually took our skills evaluation and all of us but one lady passed and received our licenses.  We all felt awful because she was a good rider, but during her quick stop I guess she was nervous and accidentally laid down her motorcycle, resulting in disqualification.

The very next day after work, I went shopping for my new motorcycle!  I went to the local dealership hoping to have my very own Kawasaki in a day or two.  I was quickly frustrated by the lack of service, and the inflated price I was given.  $5400 for a bike with an MSRP of $4200, and they didn't know when they would even get the bike in!!  Note this everyone, motorcycle pricing is NOT like car pricing!  I walked out feeling mentally assaulted and glum.  I got home, and figured I'd see what another dealer quoted.  I called up a second dealer, and they quoted a price several hundred cheaper...still more than I wanted to pay, but I guess that was just the way things were.  I drove on over, and ended up signing paperwork the same day.  Fast forward a week or so, and through the usual paperwork and waiting process, and my bike arrived at the dealer!  My very own Ninja 250R, in Kawasaki green!!  Sitting on the motorcycle, I found it to be noticeably heavier than the MSF Suzuki, as well as taller.  I could only get the balls of my feet down on the ground.  The pegs, shifter, and rear brake however were below and slightly to the rear, which was much more natural to me, as opposed to having my feet out in front.  Also, the seat was narrower, which saves me from having to dismount and walk like a cowboy for an hour.  Fast forward a few more days, and my bike finally was delivered to my apartment!

After work, I came home this past Thursday and arrived to a beautiful sight! My 250 was parked outside!  I ran to my apartment, got my key, and hopped on the bike.  Placing the key in the ignition, pulling in the clutch, and hitting the starter, my Ninja sprang to life and started its low rpm humming.  I gave it just a tad bit of throttle and as the needle climbed in the tach, the bike began to sound alive and quite sporty and menacing.  Sadly, my helmet still hadn't arrived (and I just found out it won't be in until this coming Monday), so I couldn't take my steed out for a ride.

Yesterday, I came home in the warm and sunny evening to again view my bike sitting there. I thought it looked somewhat neglected so I turned it on and let it warm up.  At this point, I lost all self control and decided to ride it, without any gear whatsoever.  I was missing my helmet, and left my jacket, gloves, and boots in the apartment.  In a t-shirt, jeans, and canvas type shoes, I made like a squid and jumped on my Ninja.  Vowing to only to ride it in the immediate parking lot, I decided to ride my bike around in loops to get a feel for it.  The first thing I noticed was how difficult it was to back pedal up the most minute of a grade, especially with only the balls of my feet.  I was huffing and puffing, and after 2 minutes only managed to back it up about 3 feet.  Finally, I had to dismount and push the bike backwards!!

Once oriented in the right direction, I was off. Immediately, and to my great relief, I was surprised at how well the Ninja handled!  On the MSF Suzuki, I had significant trouble making slow tight turns.  This thing decimated turns like it was nothing. It may not have a big engine, but it definitely seems to very much be a sport bike.  Up until I received it, I had started to fret about how I was going to make turns without dropping it, or blocking traffic.  Five minutes on the Ninja completely erased any hesitancy I previously built up.  I don't think I've ever had a more stupid giant grin on my face!  I almost feel ready to take it on the streets (maybe after I ride around the neighborhood a bit)!

What I also noticed was how loud the motorcycle is.  Idling at 2k rpm, the little thing was already louder than my car.  I took it up to 3.5k and it was even more loud.  What's the redline on this thing, you may ask? 13,000 rpm..HOLY!!  It must be crazy noisy!  We will find out later I suppose, after the 500mile break in period.  First I must get my helmet, as I don't want to get humpty dumpty'd and crack my head open!!
So before you guys fall asleep while reading this near novel, I'll end this post here.  Stay tuned for my next day of riding, hopefully Tuesday after I get my helmet (I would say Monday but I think it's going to thunderstorm sadly).

Have a great weekend, my friends!

- Pandabear