Bike Shopping take 2

Oh gosh I'm feeling salty already.  Remember that word "salty" to mean embarrassed?  Haha I'm old.  Okay moving on to bikes.  Besides hittin' up friends, the only, and I would say best, way to find affordable used motorcycles is through Craigslist.  In general, I think that Craigslist can be a breeding ground for creepers, scammers, and cheaters.  It's sorta scary to email folks who post ads about selling their bike and to meet them in an unfamiliar place.  Well I suppose I posted an ad needing a roommate on Craigslist and I'm no pervert.  But what I'm trying to say is that you gotta be cautious!  A guy in San Francisco was selling his 250 Ninja.  Damn in SF??  That seemed far.  But from what I understand, sometimes you have to travel "far" when hunting for bikes.  Just part of the game.  I might miss out on something good if I just stuck to the southbay.  This is what the bike looked like:

It was okay looking.  The more I look at 250 Ninjas, the more I realize how "meh" they are.  I want a shiny bike!  I want a bike that says "Damn. I am sexy."  But I know that should be lower on my list of priorities.  Right now I just need something to learn on.  The sexy bike will come later...I guess...

I responded to the ad and spoke to the seller over the phone and he seemed really cool!  He told me he wanted to meet in a public place because of his safety and mine.  He encouraged a friend to come with me for a second opinion because buying a bike can be a big deal.  Best of all, he was okay with moving to an empty parking after so that I could test ride it.  I was really liking this guy!  Or was I being scammed?  I can be such a gullible fool.

Brought my BF with me to San Francisco to check out the bike.  We all met at a Borders parking lot.  I noticed that he brought a car with 4 dudes in it...for protection??  I liked that it was silver, but not digging the orange.  Scratches here and there, but no major dents.  Physically it was in better shape than the last bike, but my BF said he wasn't sure if it was maintained well. The exhaust pipe was damn rusty!   Also when he rode it, it puttered a lot. Sounded like, "putt, putt, putt, putt" instead of "putt-putt-putt-putt."  Know what I mean?  It's like the poor thing was struggling!  Eh, decided that I wanted to test ride it anyway.  We went to a deserted parking lot, I put on my gear, sat on the Ninja, let out the clutch, aaaaand I stall the bike of course.  I forgot that these lower powered bike need some throttle when you start!  The last time I rode a 250 was in the MSF course back in December.  I try again and off I go smoothly!  The first thing I noticed is how weak this bike feels!  Going from a 600cc bike to this is like "BOOOO!!!  GIMME MORE POWER!!!"  However, I did love how light and maneuverable it felt.  It really is a great beginner bike.  I rode around a couple of times and tested out the brakes.  I took the bike back and had my BF test it out.  When he came back, we all noticed that the back tire looked flat.  The seller rolled the wheel and found a nail in it!  Someone ran over it!  I'm actually pretty sure it was me since I noticed the flat-ish tire before my BF got on the bike.  Whoops.  You could actually hear the "hissssss" from air escaping.  Man I felt salty!  The guy said he was going to fix it and we agreed to meet in an hour.  During that hour, we got Thai food at Chaba, which has one of the best Pad Kee Mao's I've ever had, and I've had a TON.  I took this opportunity to really think about the bike.  Here are some thoughts that were going through my head:

Do I want a 250 at all?  They seem underpowered and so far I can handle a 600cc motorcycle.
Are bike tires really that weak?  I didn't hear a pop and a tiny nail busted it!
The look of Kawasaki Ninjas are not impressive to me.  Should I go with something else?
I have no strong feelings about the bike.  Is this normal?  Or am I supposed to gasp when I see "the one"?  Or am I waiting for a feeling for a bike that doesn't exist with beginner bikes?
This guy seems to be trustworthy.  I'd rather buy a bike from him than some cheater.

Gaaahhh!  I was really conflicted.  What really helped me make a decision was when my boyfriend said:
There will be more bikes.  It's better to wait than to rush into buying one.  He was right.  I had no strong happy feelings about it, so I texted the dude, apologized for the busted tire and passed on the bike.  Sure I felt like a total a--hole for the accident, but that's the risk you take when selling...right?  I'm just glad that I didn't buy it, then notice the flat.

At the end of the day, I did make the right decision.  So my important learned lessons for the day:
1.  Take someone with you when shopping to help you process.  I didn't want my excitement to cloud my judgment.
2.  Yes there will be more bikes, especially during this time of year.  No need to hurry.

My bike is out there somewhere!  I hope when I meet her, I'll feel tingles.

Written on 4/5/11

Moto boots!

Something else I've been researching is moto boots.  Never thought that these would be an important piece of gear.  As usual, went to my go-to site Motorcycle Superstore.  After looking at all of the selections (which is surprisingly large) I came across these:

Icon Bombshell boots

What the hell are these??  The purpose of boots is to protect your feet/ankles and have traction.  The bottom of these barely have grooves in them and can you imagine how much it would hurt in a fall with all those buckles???  And what's up with the high heeled wedges?  I love high heels, but this is ridiculous for riding.  What I'm most disappointed in is that it received 4.4/5 rating from reviewers on Motorcycle Superstore.  My favorite review site is now tainted!!!  I actually did think they lost some credibility...but what can they do?  They can't control what reviewers say.  Okay I'm done hating now.  Weeks after seeing this online, I saw it in person at my local Cycle Gear.  My reaction was, "Oh my god there it is!!!  Just like online!"  Then I chuckled to myself and had to take a picture.  Okay I'm really done hating now.

After the usual hours of research, I picked these:

Black Rose Boots by Gaerne

It had high reviews and seemed like it had what I was looking for:  no chunkiness, good in many weather conditions (cool, hot, dry, wet), and comfy-ish to walk around in after getting off the bike.  I spent more than I wanted to on them, but it's hard to find boots that fit all requirements of mine and still look good.  Other boots I've seen look so clunky and huge!  I have size 8.5 feet, I don't want them to look bigger than they already are. Tidbit:  Motorcycle Superstore has a "lowest price guarantee" deal.  I saw these cheaper on another site and they did a price match!  Very happy about it since I trust these guys more than other sites.   I'm expecting these to arrive in 4 days.  Hope they work out!

Becoming Obsessed!

Not with riding.  That'll come later.  I'm becoming obsessed with researching!  My newest hobby is sitting at a coffeeshop, my record is 6 hours in one day (!), and browse the internet for motorcycle-related stuff.  This has led to my horrible coffee addiction too.  I spent hours looking for the "perfect" helmet.  I didn't mind spending lots of time researching that since it's the most important piece of gear I'll own.  Next on my list of things to buy:  jacket.  Also spent hours looking for the "perfect" jacket...and so on...So why so many damn hours looking for stuff?  Well many reasons actually.  I heart lists so here we go!

1.  I'm indecisive.  You never want to ask where I want to go eat.  I've gotten anxiety attacks from Yelping restaurants.  When I get a consensus from the internet, I'll deeply consider it, whatever that "it" is.  If you've ever researched gear on the web, you know that everyone has their own (and usually strong) opinion on this stuff which can contradict another opinionated person's point of view on an item.  I know that it's supposed to be the more options the better, but it can stress me out.  Tidbit:  I've had actual nightmares where I'm in the candy store and I can't figure out what the hell I want and I panic.  Yes I called it a nightmare.  Haha I sound like a fun person...

2.  Gear can be expensive.  Is it worth the extra money for the expensive stuff???  I don't know!  That's why I read countless articles about price versus quality.  As a person who is money saver and not much of a money earner, I gotta watch all my pennies!

This is one of the first jackets that caught my eye.  A sexy white leather jacket from Shift Racing.  Only costs $350.00...

3.  Not many personal reviews on female gear.  This leads me to search the hell out of Google for the particular item I am eyeing.  I newly found a love for YouTube reviews by Sportbiketrackgear and motosuperstore.  Thanks for your help!  What's your go-to place for reviews?

I'm actually diggin' this new hobby of mine.  I get to spend time with my friends when they have grown up things to do in the coffeeshop like work or study for the GMATs.  It gets me out of the house so I don't do things I regret like take accidental naps or watch endless hours of reruns on tv.  It's also nice to be able to speak somewhat intelligently about motorcycles and gear.  Next thing to research:  My first bike!!!  Exciting.

Curse You Red Light!!!

A really common theme I read in articles about newbies riding is that you can learn something new with every ride.  I can't agree more.  Here is what I learned today:  red lights suck.  Need more info?  Well, this is how my ride went...

Last night, I set my alarm to 6:55am for my Saturday morning ride.  Dreamt about riding, didn't feel scary nor exciting.  Woke up and looked at my clock.  6:30am.  Say whaaattt??  After a night of drinking and playing at the internet cafe until midnight, I still woke up before my alarm went off.  I guess I'm really anxious, in a good and nervous way, to ride today.  Don't worry friends.  I didn't drink enough to feel anything in the morning.  This is about the 4th time I'm doing an early morning ride and I'm noticing a pattern.  This is what it looks like:

1.  Wake up and feel nervous.  "You better freakin' get out of bed!" (my self-talk)
2.  Put on comfy riding clothes.  Go to the kitchen and drink a glass of water.  I never drink water in the morning.  Maybe I think it gives me special riding powers.
3.  Debate whether or not I should eat breakfast.  Food in the morning helps me focus, so I quickly eat cereal.  Or am I just delaying the whole process so I can possibly back out??
4.  "Hurry up!!!  The longer you wait, the later it gets, and the more traffic there will be!!"  I say this a few times in my head.
5.  Put on my gear slowly.  Why slowly?  Again, I think I'm just delaying that uncomfortable feeling of riding that is inevitable in my current learning stage.
6.  "Oh shit my all my gear is on.  Now I can't back out."
7.  Mouthing the acronym FINE-C, I start the bike.
8.  Off I go on another learning adventure!

Okay sorry got distracted.  Back to the red light.  I'm practicing around downtown Mountain View and luckily there are barely any cars around.  That is one less thing to worry about.  Heading towards Evelyn Street so I can zoom down a straight road going 35mph, woot!  I approached a red light to get to Evelyn.  Waiting.  One minute later, light still red.  "Hmm.  It normally doesn't take this long."  Two minutes later, still red.  "What the heck??"  I walk the bike back and forth, then creep up past the white line.  "Dude it's been 5 minutes!!"  I remembered how my MSF instructor told us that sometimes stop lights can't sense motorcycles because the amount of metal to magnetize is a lot less than a car.  "Ahh screw this!"  I make a right turn instead, go around the block, and return back to the same stop light.  "Maybe it'll be better this time!!"  I'm laughing at myself as I blog about that thought I had.  I don't know why I thought it'd be different the second time.  So yeah I wait another 5 minutes (literally that long) with no change of that damn red light and take an alternate route.  Any of you have ideas of what to do if a red light doesn't sense you?  The thought of going an alternate route each time sounds ridiculous.

Another thing I learned today is about the importance of being in first gear when at a 4-way intersection.  It was nearing 8am at this point in the day and more cars were in downtown.  I limit my practice to under an hour to avoid physical and emotional fatigue, so I head back to park the bike.  I approach a 4-way stop, downshift to 1st gear, and 3 other cars fill up the intersection.  My usual reaction, "Holy crap other cars!!!" makes me immediately tense.  My turn to go comes, so I let out the clutch slooowly like I've been practicing, and my bike stalls.  NOOOOO!!!!  It's okay, try again.  Re-start the bike, let out the clutch even more slowly, bike stalls again for the second time.  At this point, the other cars are waiting for me to go, drivers are motioning their hands to me to say, "Hey go!  It's your turn!"  I'm really panicking this time.  Start the bike for a third time and it finally moves forward, but in a crazy and jerking way!  OH SHIT WHAT'S HAPPENING?? I pull over to the side to recollect myself.  I downshift and realize that I was trying to go from 0 to 15mph on 2nd gear.  Although I heard you can do that, you need really good clutch control, which I don't have.  So from now on, I will make sure make sure (yes I put that in there twice on purpose) that I am in 1st gear when I have to stop completely.  I also debriefed with my BF about that jerking feeling and weird sound I heard with the bike and became at ease with the explanation.

A new thing I'd like to do with my blog is document more often about my practices and talk about what I learned so I don't forget.  Here's to another learned lesson!  Cheers!

Written on 3/13/10

Bike Shopping!

I've been itching to get my own bike!  Yes I like Roxy (my BF's bike) but there is nothing like riding your own, or so I'd imagine.  Main reasons I want my own...here comes another list!:

1.  If I drop it, it's my own bike, so whatever!
2.  I want something that is more beginner friendly.  The 600cc bike I practice on right now makes me a tad nervous.  If I make a mistake, I'd be F***ED!
3.  I just want one dammit!

I don't have a clue as to how to buy a motorcycle.  What kinds of things do I look for?  What are good questions to ask?  What's a reasonable price for a used 250cc bike?  How can I tell that the seller is nothing but a douchebag and trying to take my money?  You know, stuff like that.  So of course I researched it!  One of my favorite websites is http://www.stevemunden.com/firstbike.html.  This guy is damn cool.  He's a math and science tutor AND he's an instructor for motorcycling, skiing, and shooting.  DOPE.  That is why you have to listen to whatever he says.

A friend told me that his friend was selling his bike.  I had to check it out!  This may be a surprise but I haven't fantasized about the type of motorcycle I wanted to buy.  He was selling a 2001 250 Ninja in red.  For some reason, I knew I didn't want a red bike.  Maybe because my BF has one.  I don't want to be one of those couples.  Just kidding, sort of.  Red isn't for me.  I made the appointment with the seller and had a hard time concentrating on work the next day because I was too excited.

Started raining that day (curse you weather gods!) so I knew that I'd be too nervous to test ride it.  I needed an experienced rider to go with me to stop me from making any stupid decisions so my BF came too.  Without further ado, here's the bike:

It had many scratches and cracks in the fairings.  Wasn't very "pretty" but the owner said it was mechanically solid, and I do think that is more important  He was a really cool guy and didn't pressure me into anything and was honest about it's "problems" and  history.  Thrilled to finally get close to a 250 Ninja, I sat on it.  Wow, it was light!!  Moved side to side and had no fear that it was going to topple over.  The riding position was also comfortable.  I was more upright as opposed to super sport racing position where you practically lay on top of the tank.  Tons of people and resources recommend the 250 Ninja as a beginner bike and after sitting on it, I was pretty sure that I wanted one.  The owner asked if I wanted to test ride it.  I looked outside at the shiny, wet pavement and unfamiliar road and said, "Uhh.  No thanks."  The three of us chatted for a good 30 minutes.  After looking at the bike for 5 minutes, I knew I was going to pass on it.  I heard that when you look at a bike, you just know when it's "the one."  If you don't feel it, pass on it.  Kind of a like a wedding dress.  Or a man...

Even though I didn't walk away with a purchase, I did learn a lot.  I learned about good questions to ask, importance of test driving a bike, things to look for physically, and going with my gut.  It was a fun experience!   Excited to look at more!  My next step is to go to a dealer.  Not to buy (they usually jack up the prices) but to sit on lots of motorcycles.  I'm getting really annoyed with all this rain...I WANT MY BIKE NOW!!!  Patience Liezl...patience.

Written 3/16/11

Battle In My Head

Some great advice I learned from TwoWheelFemales (no they are not paying me to keep mentioning them!) is to practice super early on weekends so I have to deal with as little traffic as possible.  As mentioned in the last post, I got freaked out one morning a couple of weeks ago and didn't have the courage to even leave the parking lot.  After experiencing the super high from my first street ride, I wanted to keep going with these early mornings.  Yesterday I got up at 7:30am (had to snooze a few times, it's Saturday morning for godsakes!) drove to my BF's to get the bike, sat on Roxy, and went straight to the street with barely any hesitation!  It's crazy how much my confidence can waver day to day.  Sure I stalled at a stop light (car behind me again!) and going from 0 to 25mph took half a minute but I freakin did it!  Wasn't as thrilling as my last street ride, but happy that I'm learning each time I sit on a bike.  Had to stop riding after 10 minutes because it was raining and I didn't want to risk slipping.  Paint is super slick!

Now today is a totally different story.  I don't know why or how, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I could hear the excuses in my head.  I don't even think I slept well last night because of jitters.  I woke up at 7am as usual and on the way to my BF's, it was so damn foggy.  I seriously couldn't see 100 feet in front of me.  I was slightly relieved.  "Hooray a legitimate excuse!"  As I got closer to my destination, the fog was starting to clear up, but it was enough fog to make me nervous.  Finally got to the lot, parked my car and sat in it for a good 5 minutes.  Here was the battle in my head:

I would've made a full on comic, but that takes too long!

Overly Cautious Liezl:  It's foggy, drivers may not be able to see me.
Adventure Liezl:  It's fine!  I can see things 2 blocks away!

OCL:  But what if I'm driving slow in the fog and a car doesn't see me and speeds up?

AL:  Look the fog is clearing more!

OCL:  But, the ground is slick from the rain all week.

AL:  You rode in the same conditions yesterday and it was fine!

OCL:  If I'm feeling this nervous, that might be a sign that I shouldn't ride today.

AL:  But you're ALWAYS nervous.  It's nothing new!  And you did great yesterday.

OCL:  Yeah but it feels different this time.  Like my gut is screaming at me.

AL:  Okay fine, you win today with your stupid ass excuses.  This conversation went on too long and it made you feel worse.  If you would've just shut up, we'd be on the road right now learning.

OCL:  *Feelings of guilt and disappointment*

Guess I'm still learning how to distinguish between my usual jitters and gut feelings that tell me NOT to ride because it's unsafe.  How can you tell?  The end result was that I was angry at myself for "quitting" and went back home majorly bummed.  After a few hours of bike research, hanging out at forums, and blogging at the local coffeeshop, I felt better.  Tomorrow is a new day and maybe I'll be ready to ride then.  Today was just not my day to ride and that is okay.

Written 2/20/11

I F***ING DID IT!!!

I don't say curse words usually, but this is so how I felt today.  Here's some backstory...

It's been 2 months since I took the MSF class and let's just say that I drove around on the bike a few days ago going 10mph, and I felt really awkward and nervous on it.  I barely practice.  I've practiced maybe 6 times since the course.  Why so few you ask?  Wellllll, here are my excuses:

1.  It's raining

2.  I have more important things to do

3.  The bike is in the shop (this one is legit!)

4.  My BF, the owner of the bike, isn't available

5.  It's too late in the day

6.  I was on vacation

Yes, they are just excuses.  Here are the real reasons I avoid practicing:

1.  I feel uncomfortable on the bike, and I REALLY don't like that feeling

2.  I'm scared

3.  I'm lazy

4.  It's been so long since my last practice, I'm losing motivation

I felt like I made major progress with getting my licence and learning the skills from the class, but I took major steps backwards from not practicing after.  Almost every time I practiced, it was like starting over.  Lots of deep breathing and self-talk to try to build my confidence again.  Anyone else have a similar experience?

As you can tell from the title of this post, I became re-inspired.  I had a secret weapon!  I've been wanting to watch One Week (trailer), a motorcycle movie with neat-o scenes, but was saving it to excite me before I went on a riding road trip.  However, this was an emergency!  I was losing motivation for something I had worked so damn hard for!  I watched the movie, and just as I had hoped for, the movie reminded me of that feeling I craved from riding a bike:  liberation.  "Man that looks refreshing!" kind of feel.  So did that movie make me want to practice all week?  Hell no.  I was still anxious.  However, that movie did get me to at least have thoughts of riding in the back of my head.  After a few weeks of ignoring my blog, I decided to write again.  I suppose a combination of it all got me itching to ride again.

Joshua Jackson is such a cutie!  Not like that Pacey guy from Dawson's Creek.

While my BF was away for the week in Hawaii, I borrowed his bike to practice on.  I was so damn determined to wake up at 7am on a Saturday morning and ride in his neighborhood.  Did I actually wake up?  You bet your ass I did!  I sat on the bike, started Roxy up, and then holy shit I got nervous!  It was probably 2 weeks ago that I last sat on her.  I didn't have the confidence to ride in the neighborhood at all.  Instead I rode in his parking lot a couple of times.  I wouldn't call it a fail, but a "dammit..."

That "dammit" made me determined to return to the my usual spot to work on my skillz!  3 days later, I go back to Shoreline Amphitheater and start riding in circles.  "Hey this feels pretty good today."  I bust out the cones and practice swerving.  "Hmmm...I wanna do more!  I'm going to try to go to the street!"  I mapped out my route in my head and went towards the road.  First up, stop sign.  Okay made it and didn't stall when I turned left.  Next, a stop light.  "Holy crap!!!"  I was able to switch to the right gear and slowly come to a steady stop, even letting my left foot down first.  Green light GO!  "Yikes!!!"  Across the way, there was a car waiting for me to go before it took its turn.  "Ahhh stop distracting me!!!"  I slowly let out the clutch, rolled on the throttle, switched to 2nd gear, and the engine started revving without any acceleration.  "Oh shit!"  Realizing I was still squeezing the clutch from switching gears, I released it and crossed the intersection.  I felt an amazing rush.  I drove faster, moving up to 25mph.  Felt like 65.  Slowed as I came to an upcoming stop sign.  Turned around and went back.  On the straightaway, went up to 30.  Fuck that was exhilarating!!!  Crossed the stop light again with no problems.  Made it to the parking lot.  Shrieking with joy, "OH MY GOD THAT WAS AWESOME!!!" as I celebrated with James.  He kissed my helmet and I was ready to go again!

The second time around wasn't as smooth.  A car was driving behind me and I couldn't help but stare at it in my mirror.  "Hey stop that!  Look forward dammit!"  I cross the light, that car was still behind me.  Stupid nerves.  I try to stay above 25mph.  Come to the stop sign.  Car still behind me.  Let out the clutch.  Bike dies.  FUCK!  Let it out too fast.  Restart the bike and move forward.  Randomly ride in some parking lot while I recollect myself.  "You can do it."  I head back to Shoreline with no problems.  Still feeling that original rush, I decided to call it a day.  I wanted to end on a high note.  BF and I decided to celebrate my success my favorite way:  food!

Korean food!

God it was a good day.  Hope I can keep this up.  Feeling really motivated now!  Too bad it supposed to rain all week...