First Bike, First Ride

When I told my husband I was going to get my motorcycle license, I don't think he believed me. After all, I had been a willing passenger on the back of his bikes for such a long time and was so adamant about not ever riding my own bike that it would have been hard for anyone to believe me. Once the deed was done, however, I knew my husband would be the one to help me choose what bike I would actually own and ride.  

The decision turned out to be quite an easy one to make, really, helped by the two essential requirements I decided I had to have: good traction on dirt and low enough for me to plant both feet flat on the ground.  I knew I would not feel confident without either, given that we live on a dirt road and that I would be learning to ride on several connecting dirt roads.  

The dirt part was easily solved.  The category of bike, then, had to be a dual-sport.  The low enough part was also an easy poser.  Since I knew I didn't want a cruiser, we just had to find a dual-sport with a low seat height.  That also meant it wouldn't be too powerful, either, since the larger displacement dual-sport bikes are also taller and that suited me, just fine.  I didn't intend to be rocketing my bike to the moon and I won't be up for wheelies and tricks for a loooooong time.  

The decision was made.  The bike would be a Yamaha XT225. Picking the bike proved to be the easy part. FINDING the bike took a bit longer.  We actually started looking pretty much as soon as I completed rider training, Labour Day Weekend but it took almost 6 weeks before we found an XT in good condition at a good price.   

Kijiji was our main I-wonder-if-anyone-has-one-for-sale-this-week place to look and I had been searching our city and nearby cities for dual-sport motorcycles without much success.  A few ads appeared but the bike was invariably priced close to the cost of a brand-new bike.   After looking for weeks, we decided that's what we would do - buy a new bike.  I wasn't sold on this idea, not wanting to be a raw beginner on a pristine bike, but fall was progressing and I didn't want to miss a chance to practice what I had learned before winter set in.  

It was with some trepidation that I followed my husband into his favorite cycle shop to look at what they had.  And there was lots to be had: cruisers, sport bikes, sport-tourers, dirt bikes, dual-sport, ATV's, you name it.  They were all there. But no XT, at least none in stock.  I did sit on a Suzuki DR200 which held promise but was told the 200cc engine wouldn't likely be powerful enough for the type of riding I eventually wanted to do.  Well, OK, then.  What next? The owner of the shop was a friend of my husband's and he agreed he would get to work on locating an XT. So, at least now, we had help from someone with contacts and I was feeling less like I might need a snowmobile instead of a motorcycle.   

Back, home, a few days later, sitting at the computer doing something totally unrelated to finding a motorcycle, I dialed up Kijiji, once again.  This time I searched on all motorcycles instead of limiting my search to dual sports and I tried a city a little further than I had been looking. Eureka!  There was a 1998 Yamaha XT with less than 4000 km (~3000 miles) not more than an hour away and the price was perfect.  

I sent an email off presto and with a few back and forth discussions, was able to arrange to look at the bike Thanksgiving Day, October 13th.  I was twitchy all weekend but trying to be patient and contain my enthusiasm and anticipation.  When the day came, the ramps were loaded into the pickup, ratchet tie-down straps safely stowed and we were off - WAY too early in the morning for my taste but I wasn't about to complain.  

The bike was perfect and it turned out to have been the owner's first bike, too.  She loved this bike and it was a tough decision for her to make to sell it but with young children and no time to ride, the bike had actually grown cobwebs sitting out the last several riding seasons in the garage. It was an easy sell for us.  Up the ramps it went, into the back of the pickup.  

I did it!  I got my license, I learned to ride, I found a bike and now I wondered if I would remember what I had been taught.  Mentally, on the ride home, I went over the most critical things:  clutch control, eye lead and FINEC (see my second blog, Gearing Up and Learning To Ride! Part One). I was anxious to see how I would do.  

Home, in the driveway, bike on its stand, my husband encouraged me to take the bike for a spin. He's good at that - encouraging me to do things I'm hesitating to do.  The evidence of my first ride and how it went is now a video on You Tube.  Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eKhJyYMwD4

Enjoy!