My first ride

So I go pick up my 04 Interceptor today, (12,000 miles, ABS, stock) my first bike and my first ride (I did take the Basic Riders Course). I’m down in Southern California, traffic is not to bad (meaning it was moving around 45-50M MPH) and I’m traveling behind a toy hauler in the #1 lane when a dog (golden retriever I believe) comes out from underneath the toy trailer (fell off the truck maybe) with broken hind legs trying to move out of my way with its front legs. I hit the brakes (love that ABS) pray the car behind me doesn’t hit me (it was close) and swerve to the left to spilt the cars. I hit the throttle to power away from the dog and the bike dies as I forgot to down shift in those panicked three or four seconds. I start the bike up and off I got into some of the worst wind I’ve been in. It was miserable but I made the 130-mile trip home having a blast when the wind died down, really enjoying the ride. Well I pull into the local gas station to get some gas, go to “hop” off as a gust of wind pushed me and bike over on the side I was fine, but the bike however didn’t fair so well. Scratches and a broken mirror to my red viffer. Dealer says $75.00 for the mirror and a week to wait around Lesson learned however, don’t get cocky dismounting the bike, especially in the wind. I am currently looking for the big Honda decals to cover up the scratches on the side cowl, anyone have any websites? What a first ride...

 

Good god! I wish you an uneventful 2nd ride!:yo:
I was taught early the most dangerous places are gas stations...you are anxious to stop when you arrive and anxious to leave when you are done.

Glad you didn't get hurt, that's most important.. would qualify for my thread of "animals that have tried to kill you" under 2 legged dog!!!! ound: Welcome dude, not making fun on your account...

look for thread on "big wings kit"

 

Well you definately broke in the bike. Glad to hear you are ok. Definatley check the site for the "Big Wing Graphic Kit".

 

I really like those graphics, has anyone of modest ability ever put them on ?
What is the degree of dificulty and how much time would you estimate it would take to apply them?/

 

Man you sure had an eventfull first ride. Sheesh. Glad you are OK. Pity about the bike. That sucks. A common mistake with the gears by the way. Best solution to that problem is to find yourself a nice quite road and practice downshifting as you brake. After a few runs it will become second nature. Old saying Practice Practice Practice. There may come a time when you need to accelerate quickly to get out of trouble so you really want to be in the right gear at all times so you need to get to the point were changing gears is automatic.

I hope the second ride was less eventfull.

 

Holy shit man what a way to break into riding, got it all out of the way in one ride. whew! good to see you made it in one piece. BTW welcome and congrats

 

bad luck, your not alone i droped mine first week againts a cement wall in mad panick to get the last parking space, didnt put the stand down right and ended up pinned aganst the wall luckily my body saved the bike. it always seems to get ya when your in a rush

emon07 great graphic kit! wonder what it would look like on silver ??

 

There are a few "lessons learned" here. "Don't get cocky" applies not just to dismounting, but to everything pertaining to a new bike. Statistically, this is one of the times that accidents tend happen, when a rider is on an unfamiliar bike.

Jumping right out into Southern California traffic with a brand new, ~460lb bike... fresh out of the MSF course... honestly you could have fared worse than a broken mirror. Regarding the dog thing... were you leaving enough following distance?

I wish you luck starting out on a VFR. For a new rider, it's quite heavy and frankly quite overpowered. Usually these are peoples' 2nd, 3rd, or (in my case) 4th bikes. Please treat your new machine with extreme respect for the next few thousand miles.

 

Of course I left as much distance as I could without having every car jump in front of me. You leave a gap for a vehicle to move in front of you and they will. As far as this being my first bike, I listened to all the advice and while I don’t disagree with anyone, I can certainly say I am really enjoying the VFR as my first bike. I know most people disagree with this, but I do have many years riding in the dirt that I believe is helping out. I treat this bike as I would any new bike (big or small) by taking things one-step at a time. I put the new mirror on and ordered some decals (e-bay is much cheaper) and have put a few more hundred miles on the bike. Insurance was interesting as how the different companies charge vastly different amount (state farm was by far the best) and I’m not to happy with the MPG (gas mileage) at the moment, but I’m looking into it. Planning to visit Yosemite when the weather warms up, I'll be sure to post how that trip goes.

 

My first Bike too . sorry chaps , but I just couldn't let this One stand in somebody elses Garage ....!

i always said i'd not buy a 200kg Bike , so I broke my own rules .
What strikes me about this bike , is that I can pull off from a stop street and lift my feet off the ground from 3km/h , which is verey re-assuring indeed .
I nearly clipped a car on the FIRST TURN out of Honda - i hadn't ridden in YEARS , and the weight put me off in the beginning , but once I got used to the bike , it was all systems go . What a bike man , lovely on the flat bits , and under 6000 rpm she's as docile as a domesticated tree Panda .

The important thing I think to remeber when getting on a bike , is : it can cost you your life if you are reckless , defensive riding is the order of the day (my grand dad always used to say its meat around metal , and not metal around the meat ) , and taking it easy for the first bits is definitely why I am enjoying the bike so much . I KNOW what it can do , but even Mr Sulu Never uses Warp-speed for the whole show .