I’m nearing 400 miles on my motorcycle. 400 miles from cruising around neighborhoods. My first service is at 600 miles plus my second bike may come at 600.
Now originally, we had thought the BMW R NineT Urban GS would be my second bike with Bill riding it until I was ready. But the R NineT has a dry clutch whereas my G 310 GS has a wet clutch. The difference between wet and dry for a rider is that the wet clutch allows you a friction zone. This friction zone allows for a slow release of the clutch with a gradual twist of the throttle. With a dry clutch, there is no friction zone, so when you release the clutch, you have to power on the throttle. The difference in the ride is that Bill takes off whereas I slowly launch.
So the more Bill has ridden his bike, the more he believes it is too much for me. Part of the problem is we don’t have a field to practice in. A field would allow me to have a soft drop of the bike should the takeoff cause me to fly off the bike. The more I ride, though, the more curious I am to ride the other motorcycle.
I’m not sure if this means I’m bored on my bike. I think it’s more that I am lacking challenges. Even as I write this, I am aware that I do not want to get overconfident about my riding. Today I was marveling that I have been riding 7 months and still no drop. And I love riding my bike. In terms of my training, though, I don’t know what else my bike can teach me, at least riding on my neighborhood roads. If we ever get to ride off-road, I am sure I will learn a lot. Right now, I ride slowly in the gravel pool lot, feeling the slip of the tires. But I know there is so much more.
I suppose next week I need to take out the camel cones and set up my own off-set slalom. Bill has left me alone to practice, so I guess I should realize that it is up to me to create my own training challenges. I noticed on today’s ride, Bill works his fast stop to end at a fire hydrant whereas I use a parked car as my landmark to start my stops. So I can mix up my stopping drills next week too.
The positives from today’s ride far outweigh my feelings of being in a rut. It was a beautiful, sunny 55 degrees day, and the wind from yesterday had died down considerably. I had great stops and no stalls even with Bill setting me up at the beginning with an up-camber start. I saw a late Atlantis Fritallary butterfly and a hardy cabbage white butterfly enjoying the sunny day. I spotted one of the falcons zooming from one tree to the next. I also got to see the marsh hawk circling over the under-construction house. I even got hit by a falling leaf and laughed. I practiced my U-turns, sudden stops, stops and starts, and lane changes. I was very smooth on my takeoffs from stops, no stalls, and a few odd shifts into neutral. When I mentioned my shifts into neutral to Bill, he suggested it might be something I’m doing with the clutch. I didn’t have any more odd shifts after our little chat, so I’LL have to wait and see.
Flutterby Biker 