S01E01 Show Notes: Welcome New Rider!
Hi, friends! Sara, with The Moto Curious here - we're launching our second episode, featuring an interview with Spike from Atlanta. He's considering two 2xx cc bikes (from CSC and SSR) for his first bike, and reached out for advice about his first motorcycle decision ... I asked if we could have the conversation on the podcast and he agreed. This episode covers some thoughts on:
- Choosing your first motorcycle
- A few types of training offerings, beyond just the Basic Rider Course
- A chat about some of the most common questions new riders receive: "Is it safe? Is it scary to ride?"
Resources mentioned in the episode and show notes are below.
A HUGE thank you to Spike for taking my call so late in the evening ATL time ... and I can't WAIT to see those new bike pics! I'm also SUPER homesick for Atlanta now, so may just have to plan a bike season visit next year.
Last, I'm working on an episode about bouncing back from bad days on the bike ... whether that means an accident, a less than stellar day on the street, or a track day that didn't go according to plan. If you've got a story you'd like to share about bouncing back from a bad day, I'd love to hear from you.
Episode audio:
Resources / Links from this episode:
- Manufacturer information: CSC SG250
- Manufacturer information: SSR Motorsports Buckaneer Cafe
- Twist of the Wrist vol I & II / California Superbike School
Full Transcript:
Spike [00:00:03] Thefirst time I can remember being like oh I'm I want a motorcycle - I could ridea motorcycle. I could be that person ...
Spike [00:00:11] Itwas the scene in Benjamin Button and there's a scene of Brad Pitt riding like aretro motorcycle. And it was like - the nerdiest thing ever, but I was like -that's cool - I think that would be fun.
Sara [00:00:32] Welcometo the Moto Curious. We're here to increase access and inclusion in motorsports especially motorcycling. One question and answer at a time.
Sara [00:00:43] I'myour host Sara Lobkovich, and I'm here today with my friend Spike. We met inAtlanta in 2016 when we were out there on a job site together and Spike hasjust shared with me that he's getting into motorcycling so I wanted to take alittle bit of time to chat with him about his decision about his first bike,about his training so far and then we treaded into some topics I didn't thinkwe'd wind up talking about - like the time my husband got hit by a car and whyI took a nice long break from riding a couple of years in. But first let'scatch up with Spike's riding life so far.
Sara [00:01:21] Whendid you decide to do the MSF class?
Spike [00:01:24] So - my motorcycle life is not super existent just yet but basically the long of it is that Caitlin and I bought a house in April.
Spike [00:01:41] Movedin May and we really like the house tiny house. But now my commute.... I usedto be able to take the Bird scooters up the Beltline and I would get to work in12 minutes and I could take them back down the Beltline and get home in twelveminutes and so it was super easy and super cheap to live in Atlanta without acar.
[00:02:01] But now it's not very public transportaccessible from where I am and I'm taking like ten dollar Lyfts every day toand from work. So I was I I really don't want a car. And so I was like I'mgoing to try this motorcycle thing and that was kind of always like a littlebit of my plan. And then I signed up for the MSF course and I said all right ifthis goes well then I'll do it and if it doesn't. Then at least have likefigured out that this isn't going to work for me. And it was fun. It was a lotof fun. It went really well. I was the only person in the class to get aperfect score on both the written and the practical test. So I a bigoverachiever. So I felt good about that and I felt like okay like I could dothis. So mostly I've been doing my research and I'm down to just a coupleoptions on actual bikes and I've pretty much got all my gear so hopefully inthe next few weeks depending on what bike I get I'll be kind of off to theraces.
Sara [00:03:02] I'mso excited for you. I was like getting I had to drive today because of workstuff and just getting in the car and I was thinking about being a motorcyclistin Atlanta with great envy because of the year round riding. I mean I write Iride year round here in Seattle but it's a very different experience to be ayear round rider in Atlanta versus Seattle.
Spike [00:03:28] Wellwhen I was looking at gear I was really making sure I had stuff that could makesort of dual purpose both summer and winter because it's not like it gets supercold here so the cold weather gear I'm less worried about - it's the warmweather year that's like I got to make sure I have lots of vans and lots ofstuff that'll keep me cold while I'm sitting in 90 degrees and the five mile anhour traffic.
Sara [00:03:52] Wellwhat bikes are you thinking about? You said you've got it narrowed down.
Spike [00:03:57] Yeah.
Spike [00:03:57] SoI basically budget was like a big factor for me because we just bought a houseso I wasn't trying to add a big monthly payment on top of another big monthlypayment and because I'm just gonna be riding around the city I just kind ofwanted like a cafe style something with kind of a good retro feel to it. Sonothing super sporty or anything like that because I'll probably want to putsome cargo on it. Luggage stuff like that. So I talked to a co-worker who toldme about CSC California Scooter Company apparently they import these Chinesebikes and they have a model called the FG250 and they basically ship it to yourdoor for about $2500 dollars which sounded perfect to me, and the big knockagainst it is that it doesn't quite go highway speeds which again is kind ofperfect for me because if I ever do take it on my highway I'm gonna be on thedowntown connector and that's about a 30/40 mile an hour highway. So that's prettyappealing to me but the only problem is that they are not going to be stockedagain until mid August.
Spike [00:05:13] SoI like I don't know if I I don't know if I can wait. I don't know if I can ridein the back of a Lyft for another month.
Spike [00:05:20] Andthat I was looking into another bike that's about a thousand dollars moreexpensive called the SSR Buccaneer which is also a Chinese bike but has a bunchof good reviews, is really nice high quality and and will go highway speed sothat is a benefit. So mostly I've been doing a lot of review reading andYouTube watching and stuff like that and basically trying to figure out youknow is there anything sort of alarmingly wrong with either of these bikes andI figure if it holds up for a year or two years I've kind of got my money'sworth out of it. And by that time hopefully I feel confident enough as a riderthat I will maybe upgrade or invest in something a bit bigger. But both ofthose models I'm kind of like alright if I drop it like I'm not going I'm notgonna hate my self.
Spike [00:06:15] Youknow. So that's that's yeah that's kind of where I'm at.
Sara [00:06:20] That'sawesome. I am always glad when I don't have to talk friends out of SuperSportliter bikes as their first bikes. So I'm a little relieved. Chris and I go backand forth like he's a big bike guy and I'm a small bike girl and I ride bigbikes now. But we've got like we've had at times a garage full of FZ1s - theYamaha liter bike. But it's not a ton of power. It's not. So he thinks of thatas a great starter bike. And I agree with him that it's a great starter bike.And I also think for me anything you can do to make it as easy as possible toride when you're starting out is like and smaller lighter even for a dude - smaller,lighter - it's easier when you're starting out.
Sara [00:07:22] Myquestion about those is is there a service network in your area.
Spike [00:07:28] Yeah.So that SSR does like this dealership. It's a bit north but there were serviceparts with the CSC. They actually don't have any like factories yourself butthey sort of they'll ship you parts. They have a Owner's Manual they'll walkyou through maybe even have commitments if you take it to a bike shop that'llwork on it. They'll work with the bike shop. So everything I've heard aboutthem is sort of like yeah you're gonna learn to do some stuff yourself but it'sall pretty easy and they're super responsive. So that is like one of thedownsides of the CSC model.
Spike [00:08:03] Butyou know there is that allure of like knowing what I'm doing on maintenance. Sothat's you definitely both a pro and con.
Sara [00:08:17] That'sone of the things - because I've ridden for almost 18 years and I can change myown oil. But aside from changing my own oil which I have not done on my newbike - Chris has handled my new bike. I'm so spoiled having a competentmechanic dude husband. But being able to do the basics labor or motorcyclelabor is expensive and they earn it like it's worth it for sure. But when Istarted paying for oil changes on my Honda I was like Oh my God I need to learnhow to do this myself. With certain bikes service proximity makes thedifference. With those I think it's just the decision of a couple horsepower.My thought is it's nice to have a little extra.
Spike [00:09:12] That'skind of the direction I'm leaning.
Spike [00:09:15] Yeahbecause then you know that I won't sort of age out of the bike as quickly as Imight.
Sara [00:09:23] Acouple extra horsepower doesn't sound like a lot but when you're talking abouta bike in that horsepower range that couple extra horsepower is gonna be nicewhen you need it. Because part of our safety is our margin you know with thedifference between those two I might lean toward a little more power becausethen you've got just that little bit of margin for in case you need to get outof something's way.
Spike [00:09:51] Iimagine just like having more experience on a bunch of different bikes givesyou sort of confidence like Oh I kind of know what I'm doing across whateversituation.
Sara [00:10:03] Itdoes. But when you're starting out I would rather have folks start with a bikethat makes writing simple easy that eliminates friction in the system ofgetting the bike out to ride. Like it's stuff that people don't think about. Myhusband's a big advocate of FZ1s as starter bikes for example or there's the"go tos" of SV650s and that middle weight naked class, and those areawesome bikes but for some of us getting them in and out of the garage can beone little bit of friction that adds to the complexity of falling in love withmotorcycling. So I'm a big fan of anything you can do to make it super easy tofall in love with motorcycling because once you fall in love with motorcycling youfigure out how to get the bike out of the garage. You figure out how to dealwith parking in an inconvenient place or in a place that's difficult. Youfigure it out because you love the sport. But I think it's too easy for folksto get overwhelmed by a first bike -by the logistics of the first bike. Andthen not have the stick to it to overcome that barrier. You can just get awaywith more when you're learning and some people learn bad habits that way. ButI'd just so much rather have someone fall in love with riding on a platformthat builds their confidence and then move up and then you can address thehabits with more confidence and more motivation and more love for the sport.
Sara [00:11:48] I'mso excited for you.
Spike [00:11:50] YeahI'm really excited. I think Caitlin's way less excited.
Spike [00:11:57] Partof it too is just going to be is having the freedom to go where I want when Iwant a bit better which I think will make it do. And I've already just startedthinking about how much fun it will be to go out and ride and even just gopractice figure-8s in the parking lot and all of that unsexy stuff that yousort of do to get started. Yeah. I've started scoping out my parking lots.
Sara [00:12:23] Youmight be able to find - some of the motorcycle safety orgs teach on communitycollege campuses. So the range ispainted in a parking lot at the college. Like if you can find a range that'sout in public that's a super sweet spot. And then the other thing I'd say - Idid my basic training and then I started riding and I started scaring the s***out of myself every time I rode. And so it was hard for me to get confidentenough to feel safe as a new rider. And I stopped riding for a few years. I hada few close calls and then I was like - this is too scary. And now - it's justthat there's more training and I didn't know that. Like I thought you take yourbasic, you get your license you start riding and it gets easy right? And itwasn't that way for me.
Sara [00:13:23] Oneof the things that changed for me was watching the Keith Code Twist of theWrist videos. You should pop some popcorn and then watch them. Keith Code iswho started the California Superbike school -- it's a school of motorcycletraining built for the modern sportbike world.
Sara [00:13:45] Thebasic rider curriculum is like basic operating instructions, but the survivalskills that you need to develop come from other kinds of training. There's alot more out there in addition to the basic riders rider course.
Sara [00:14:01] It'sthe place to start, one hundred percent but there's more to do on top of thatto become a competent rider.
Sara [00:14:08] There'sa couple things in the Keith Code code that I find really helpful. Survivalreactions is the biggie. I don't know if you're training talked about survivalresponses or survival reactions?
Spike [00:14:22] Mostlymostly just as far as emergency braking goes. That's about as far as survival.
Spike [00:14:27] Sowhat was it that - after your hiatus - gave you the confidence to get out andride it and feel good about it?
Sara [00:14:37] Iwas dating a dude who was an ex racer, and surrounded by motor sports. He was aracing fan and me being a biker - I think I I sat on the back of his bike once- like I did one or two "trying to be a backpack rides" and then Iwas like - screw it. And I went and bought a bike again, but it was the firsttime anyone told me - No you can do track days - like track days aren'tnecessarily about racing.
Sara [00:15:07] AndI had ridden for years and never heard that like it only I thought track dayswhere for going fast. So I just didn't know I'd done the basic rider I'd donethat advanced rider but it still was not what I needed to feel reallycomfortable. So the second time around I started doing track days. I also didand this was the other tip I was going to give you is if you want to work onyour slow speed comfort because that's where most newbies have their tip bizit's slow speed maneuvering. I did a dirt bike school when I started ridingagain. And I mean it was like why didn't anyone ever tell me about this beforebecause you spend the entire day on clutch control and the slow speed maneuversand tight turns and rolling over logs and how to really do clutch control. Andso now that's like all my friends who are starting out who are like I'm nervousat slow speed. It's like go take a dirt bike class. It's really fun. Also itsounds fun. Yeah it's just really fun but it but the confidence that I got in aday on a dirt bike made me. Five percent happier. Street writer and then themargin that I built. Riding track these very slowly painful like excruciatinglyslowly you know it was another 25 percent to where now. Like I mean it's takenme a few years to get competent. I was not a natural you know but. But now I'mhaving a lot of fun and and I feel really I. You can't ever say you feel safebut I really do feel like comfortable and relaxed and I don't ever hesitate toget on the bike because of nerves having anxiety.
Sara [00:17:03] Sowe talked about why you want and need to start riding but didn't talk about theinspiration - what was the inspiration for starting to learn.
Spike [00:17:12] YeahI think like weirdly the first time I can remember like being like oh I'm Iwant a motorcycle leg I could write a verse I agree it could be that person wasit it was the scene in Benjamin Button and there's a scene of Brad Pitt ridinglike a retro motorcycle Isaac I want to look like that big nerdy is they everbut I was like That's cool I got. I think that would be fun. I would love tohave a bike like that.
Sara [00:17:40] It'snot nerdy at all and we all do it. For me it was the Triumph Bonneville inofficer and a gentleman that made me first notice motorcycles. Like that's thefirst motorcycle I remember. And then I think the first time I thought I wantto do that was Tom Cruise on the couch in Top Gun. But I didn't want to beKelly McGillis. I wanted to be Tom Cruise. I came in writing the same way youdid.
Sara [00:18:05] Ihad a s***** commute and I wanted to make my commute better. And there aren'tmany of us who come in to motorcycles for practical reasons. But I did and youknow and then when I bought that Ducati Monster 796 - that was my "posteron the wall" bike. But when you're starting out it's not about the posteron the wall bike it's about anything you can do to eliminate friction fromfalling in love with motorcycling is going to make you ride more and going tomake you a better safer rider.
Spike [00:18:40] Dopeople still -- when you tell them you ride -- is safety like the number onefirst thing that most people bring up?
Sara [00:18:47] Yeah...when motorcycling comes up with me they're like "What?!?!" And thenthe second is "Really?!?! Like --you -- like you drive a bike like youride... Do you have your own?!?!".
Sara [00:19:08] Andthen once we get over that then it's, "Aren't you afraid? Isn't itscary?".
Sara [00:19:14] AndI'm just really honest like - it used tobe and now it's not.
Sara [00:19:21] Imean this is a trippy story to tell to someone who's buying their first bike.But I watched my husband get hit by a car right in front of me. He was on myHonda (may she Rest in Peace). And I was right behind him and a car pulled outof a wine bar. A Hyundai pulled out of a wine bar -- Yeah they do that -- a carpulled out of a driveway and ran right into him. And of course -- I'm his wifeand I love him -- but my training kicked in. It was like watching. Car.Husband. Husband flying through the air. Apply the brakes gently. Don't panic.Watch it. But it was just such a trippy experience.
Spike [00:20:16] Lookwhere you want to go.
Sara [00:20:17] Yesexactly. To like to have -- I remember -- I saw him fly through the air next tome in my peripheral vision while my training was keeping me safe. And his gearkept him -- I mean he had a nutty concussion - that was a good couple weeks -but his gear worked, his training worked, my training, our experience, worked.And so, it happens.
Sara [00:20:49] Imean the training, the gear, the miles they keep us safe over time.
Sara [00:20:55] I'malso really jealous that you're in Atlanta because that's an incredible place -an incredible community to be a motorcyclist in -.
Spike [00:21:03] That'sactually one of the things that I've noticed is that like most people who havebeen in it and I tell I'm a first time rider - I'm getting into it, are like super excited - whereas there's otherthings - like like tattoos come to mind. Like if you're getting your firsttattoo - like tattoo artist are like "Whatever dude," not aswelcoming. And so there is that there is something very nice about havingpeople be like "I'm really excited for you." I felt very welcomed tothe community versus like -- I think a lot of people have the impression oflike motorcycling is this exclusive club and you have to be a certain type ofperson to ride and stuff like that. But everyone's been super helpful and kindand friendly.
Sara [00:21:49] Thatmakes me so happy because that's really how it should be. And we all startsomewhere. Well I'm super excited for you.
Spike [00:21:58] Thanks.Thanks for all the advice. I will definitely keep you in the loop.
Sara [00:22:03] Yeah.I'm curious to hear which way you go. Take care of you and keep me posted onyour decision.
Spike [00:22:09] Iwill for sure I send you pictures.
Sara [00:22:12] That'sit for today's episode of The Moto Curious podcast. Subscribe wherever youlisten to podcasts, we're on all the major players including Apple podcast,Stitcher, Google Play... There's a whole long list of them - they're all on our website atthemotocurious.com I'm working on a future episode about bouncing back from atough day on the bike - whether it's an accident, a track day gone awry, orjust a lacking confidence day on a street bike, I'd love to hear from you aboutwhat happened and also how you bounce back and how you got back in the saddle.So visit themotocurious.com, and shoot me a message, and you might be featured inan upcoming blog post or podcast episode. Thanks so much for listening and forbeing a warm welcome to newer riders and for folks that have questions, to helpthem become avid riders in our sport. Have a great day. Talk to you soon.
