I dropped my bike the first day I took it out.

I read only the top 2 posts, and my first reaction is that unless you've ridden some smaller bike for at least a few months, you may have dived in before you could swim !!!

That's not a bike for anyone without a basic riding course first in addition to previous experience.

Unless you spend money for good riding lessons, you'll be spending it on parts until you learn.

 

I'm sorry to hear you dropped your bike man. Not fun. But seriously, go buy a little 250 or buell blast and learn on it. With your experience, you can't possibly know what bikes "handle" better than others. Smaller is more agile and easier to learn on. The VFR is hardly a small bike these days, and it's more likely to get you into trouble than even a 600 IMO.

Seriously grab a little ugly used bike. 1990's Ninja 250 or a Buell Blast. Beat it up, drop it, learn to countersteer, learn what too much lean is, forget to put down the kickstand, break blinkers and scratch the paint. Then hop on the VFR after a 3-4K miles on your starter bike. Finally, sell that beater for $200-$300 less than you got it in spring 2013. You'll be a better rider, less likely to wreck your expensive VFR, and only a couple hundred in the hole. Or keep crashing the VFR and spend a couple grand on new fairings and headlights and radiators and gear. Your choice.

Edit: Just read squirrelman's post. Looks like I'm not alone here.

/Tough Love

 

So lets see here now:

1. A belated welcome to the site
2. Take a course. Getting going from a stop on an incline is a little tricky if no one has shown you what to do. But very easily done with very little practice. They show you this in the courses. It is a breeze once you know how.
3. The VFR is a very top heavy bike. I have dropped mine several times mostly because once it starts to go, I just guide it down to the ground to minimize the damage. I have previous damage to my lubar spine that I don't care to make worse.
4. I don't neccessarily agree that this bike is the wrong choice to learn on. It is what I learned on. I don't pretent to suggest I am a great rider but I get along fine...most the time...often...some times.......OK SHIT. I HAVE MY EPISODES. You will never totally get away from having to strt on an incline, so learn the task and move on to enjoy your ride.

 

I don't find the VFR to be particularly heavy. It is a very well balanced bike, so the weight really isn't all that noticeable until you screw up.

 

While there is nothing wrong with liking your VFR (even a lot) :love:, you can't let that stop you from riding other bikes - it won't get jealous - really. :ballchain:

My skills as rider improve significantly each time I ride, and riding different bikes only helps that along by broadening your experience - and experience will help you stay alive and undamaged in the future. :crutch:

Actually one of the cool things about learning to ride with the MSF BRC course is you get to use somebody else's bike, and they pick light, easy to fix bikes for the course (on purpose).

Again, good luck with the new bike - fix it right, learn how to ride in a course, and keep your experimentation with riding skills confined to "safe" venues.

 

How in the fuck did you pass the endorsement test if you don't kno what the brake lever is called? I believe all people should be on two wheels, but I also believe that natural selection thins the herd. These guys are right. You have no other experience so you have no idea at all how your vfr handles. You don't know what cold tires feel like. You don't know what a sticky throttle feels like. You don't know what gravel feels like. You have never been hit in the finger by a grasshopper at 80 mph. Fwiw the new cbr 250 is a beautiful bike. Swallow your ego and check it out. You will live longer.

 

Seems to me, to start while stopped on an incline, you release the brake lever and rely on the brake pedal to hold your bike from rolling while you disengage the clutch to set the bike in motion. Relax. Someone is experiencing a bit of start up problems and we should be helping him/her out, not blasting them. Tell me. Have you ever pissed all over the toilet seat before your mother gave you shit for not lifting it before you went? I also see that you live in Noerthern Colorado. Have you graduated from Grade three or are you still working on that?

Kerist!

 

Hi, how are you? I'm fine. Bikes are immaculate too. No scratches, no dents, paint is good, parts aren't bent. I hope we can be friends. I am pretty okay at riding. I learned how to start on inclines in grade 3. Typing-- not so good. I have my episodes when I strt to type too fast. Thank you for your sage advice. I will correct my profile immediately.

 

Randy,

Are you looking for Canonization already? LOL I'm thinking the dude from Colorado may not be a dude at all and standing up to pee would be messy with the seat up or down. Also some dudes from Colorado are like dudes from Alaska and have outhouses rather than all that fancy plumbing. His mom could have run off with a vacuum cleaner salesman too.

My advice? Check out clutch terms. They will save you in a clutch.

So was it ever established whether the "incline" this candidate for the ER was on, when he dumped, one of those upsies or dowsies?

Ya know sometimes a good ass chewing is really tough love in disguise. Nobody wants to see this dummy get hurt or killed.

 

My tpynig is pfercet evrey tmie. Slef tughat.

 

When I first switched from a cruiser to the VFR I found it a little top heavy so I never filled the tank if all I was doing is puttering around town. Made it a little easeir to handle when its a little drier at least in my head it did. Just convinced a good friend last year who has been riding for awhile to do the beginners course. She was fine doing !20 kph on the highway but scary watching her go 10 kph in town. Check out kneedraggers.com for OEM parts (at least for the part numbers) if you can't find them on the sites u have been using.

 

DUDE, park your bike-go out and get yo self a SMALL cc dirt bike and learn how to ride before even thinkin about riden the VFR--WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY to much bike for someone with NOOOOOOOOOO experience---It just may save your life JMO

 

I've ridden on and off for 30 years, including 4 years competive MX. I'm not even one week into riding my VFR and I have already almost dropped it twice (both times in tight U-turns where I hit the steering lock sooner than I was used to on other bikes). I agree with the others, it is a heavy bike. I find it even needs extra skill just to push and maneuver it around the garage and driveway. Coming from my 919, which I previously thought was a pig, the VFR is a lot more to handle at slow speeds. Also, while it's no litre sports bike, it still has a lot of power for a new rider to get into trouble with. I certainly would not want to have had the VFR as a first bike. I don't know that I would be here, lol.

Op - please go easy and listen to the advice posted by others, at least with regards to riding courses. Stay safe.

 

VFRhonda, after reading your post, I think you should really seriously think about going this route
Just say in

 

I have ordered and received all the parts that were needed from kneedraggers.com I have yet to install them due to lack of tools in my arsenal which brings me to my next question. Can anyone recommend a good tool set for general maintenance on the 6th gen? It looks like a need a very large allen wrench just to take off the right mainstep...

 

You're ignoring the rider training advice and you will probably ignore this advice too: get someone who knows what they're doing to work on your bike, for safety's sake....you don't sound ready to work on a machine when the results of a mistake can bite you hard at 70 mph.

 

I've taken the msf course already. And I'm heading to the dainese store in costa mesa ca. tomorrow with plans of getting full leathers and boots(already have gloves and helm). In my mind I think my actions are pretty well thought out. Also can anyone recommend aftermarket frame sliders that don't need to be drilled through the side fairings?

 

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and are thinking smart now. If you are serious about wanting to learn it's not that difficult and there are many people who will help you in a heartbeat so don't hesitate to ask. First thing to do is get a hard-copy of the Honda Service manual it is invaluable and will contain all the proper torque values and bike specifications along with illustrations and instructions for all the various procedures and part assembly/disassembly. As far as tools go, Husky makes a good all around tool set for around $60 (link below) and can be purchased at any Home Depot. I've had my set for about 8 years and have been very satisfied. You'll also want to grab a decent quality 1/4" and/or 3/8" inch torque wrench. As far as frame sliders go I'm not sure there is a set that can be installed without making some minor modification to fairings and/or coolant overflow bottle. Not a simple task for a newb IMO.

Husky Tool Kit | The Home Depot - Model 008-170-HKY

Rollin

 

I really wasn't kidding about getting a beater bike to learn on. If you're heading to a dainese store for full leathers though, maybe you can afford a couple sets of new fairings and other bits like rear sets, clip ons, radiators, etc. Just please be safe out there!

While I realize I'm not everyone, I, like many others got in over my head at about 6K miles of experience and I'm lucky I walked away (after regaining consciousness) Scars on my knee and arms, new bike, and a pelvis so sore I almost went back for xrays. Gear helps, but I was in a jacket, gauntlet gloves, helmet and boots (but wearing jeans) and will wear scars for the rest of my life because of it. I learned on an SV650 (650cc v-twin, 73.4Hp), probably a little bigger than a first bike should be. Did the MSF too (great course), but nothing can replace getting the experience in on a bike that you can toss around.

Since then, I've had 3 friends all start on a 250-500cc bike, all of which _made money_ on their bike by buying used mid summer and selling the following spring. All three got bored of their first bike but none regret starting on something they didn't care about.

Regarding sliders, the only ones that work well enough to save your fairings (especially the front fairing) will need to go through your fairings, so your call there. I do hear that the side cases make great sliders though No cutting needed!

 

I'm interested in the rider courses, but, I've been riding for 42 years and would like to know what else they could teach me? I'm willing for an old dog to learn new tricks. Just don't want to spend money on rehashing the same old do's and dont's. I started off on dirt bikes which seem to me employs a lot more physics than hard surfaces. What pointers did you old heads gain from the MSF courses that I may not be privey to?? Thanks!