When I start the motorcycle, I hold the front brake. Today I experienced why. Ever since I fell off the Ducati Scrambler taking it out of the garage, Bill has put both motorcycles down at the street. He usually shifts it back into neutral before turning off the engine. But we all have moments of distraction, and for whatever reason, the R Nine T was left in first.
Now when I turn the key in the ignition, the clock lights up, so I saw the green “N” light up for neutral. However, later I realized that once the bike was started, the “N” was not lit up. The reason I hold onto the front brake is for just this mis-shift as I found out. Without realizing the motorcycle was in gear, I let off the front brake as I situated myself and the bike leapt forward before stalling. If I hadn’t had my fingers on the front brake when I started the bike, the motorcycle would’ve leapt out from under me. Luckily, because I hadn’t engaged the clutch, the motorcycle stalled, cutting off the engine.
It took me a while to collect all my thoughts as to what had happened. I’m not trying to throw Bill under the bus because I should be ensuring the motorcycle is in neutral as I start it. My mishap was a minor one, but the feel of the 500 plus pound motorcycle lurching forward away from me was quite a wake up, and I will add checking for neutral to my start up just as pulling in the front brake is part of the routine.
The ride itself was wonderful. We were blessed with a day of sunshine and mid-50s, and I was almost too warm wearing my leather jacket. But there was enough wind to keep me comfortable. We added a new skill to work on, something MotoGP racers do at a phenomenal level. The skill is to downshift and apply the brakes going into a curve then accelerate out of it. Now I’m doing this downshift from second to first and slow speeds, but it is a skill that teaches me a greater feel for the brake. In fact the first part of the drill was practiced in the garage where I sat on the R Nine T pushing it forward with my legs and slowly applying the front brake. So I was pushing against the brake until I had pulled it in enough to stop the bike.
Due to road construction, we were rerouted for our ride, so I was able to see different Christmas decorations including my new favorite—the Deercraft Carrier. That one just edged out the Grinch in his Christmas PJs. I also spotted a few maples showing off their autumn colors—one a gorgeous golden brown and the other still a bright yellow. But mostly I see the bare tree branches against the pale blue sky. The crows were busy flitting everywhere as were the squirrels, but the latter at least were flitting in the grass.
Again, due to the road work, we rerouted our return to the garage. As I pulled in the driveway, I lost acceleration and looked down to see I had shifted into neutral. Luckily, I found out my legs were strong enough to hold the motorcycle in place even in my parents’ steep driveway as I corrected the shift into first and rode into the garage. One of the fun aspects of riding motorcycles is that the bikes always have new challenges and new lessons to teach, and I can’t wait for next week’s learning.
Flutterby Biker 