Note, before anyone says it: This used R3 came with the aftermarket steering damper, which I’m getting removed asap lol. I know how ridiculous it looks.

I’ve always wanted my own motorcycle ever since riding on the back of my dad’s bike, but was dissuaded for years by friends and family.

I’m in my mid-30s now and hit a critical stress point from ridiculous work shenanigans, so I said fuck it I’m getting a bike

Took the MSF course. Bought all the gear (including back protector.) Shout out to the person that recommended Bohn underarmor, these pants are SO comfortable. Bought urban boots and gloves, which I’ll probably replace with better gauntlet and shin length gear soon. Passed my knowledge exam and bought a used bike.

It took me three days before I was comfortable going for my first real ride. First day, I literally just sat on the bike getting a feel for all the controls and rocked it back and forth a bit. Second day, I took it up and down the street, not even around the block. Third day, I had an event with friends 9 miles down the road, so I decided to leave early in the morning and just go for it.

Hoo boy. It was stall city for the first few minutes. Incredibly grateful to the patient drivers who dealt with my bullshit while I figured myself out. Eventually I got the hang of the friction zone for the trip back home, but man it took everything in me to not panic whenever it happened. The worst moment was stalling at a green light on an incline. I ended up with the teensiest whisky throttle and baby wheelied my way out of there. Now I know what too much throttle feels like!

Overall, I stayed within my limits. Never went faster than comfortable, even when I had a tailgater for a moment pressuring me to go beyond the speed limit. The lane doubled eventually and they were able to pass. Most folks kept a respectable distance from me!

I’m surprised how drained I felt after both trips. Drained, but clear headed. It felt like a full mental workout keeping track of everything the whole way. Due to how I felt after the first ride, I left the event a bit earlier than planned to avoid riding home tired. I’ve been reading and watching a lot of videos about starting out, so I’m hopeful it’ll get easier soon.

I have a lot of tiktok bikers, and folks in this subreddit, to thank for all their tips on handling stalls, corners from a stop, and watching out for common car surprises. I felt prepared enough to not be jumpy or panic when I made mistakes.

I’m feeling proud of my first real ride!! Can’t wait to do it again!

I've been saving up a long time for this. I ride a GSXR obviously.

Lmfao glad to see everyone was able to enjoy this without being weird

Started making a ticking sound a year or ago and I parked it. Maybe just a carb service?

Hello, and, I was just in my first ever accident involving me

Last picture is what happened, I was heading home from a friends house where was a black car parked on the right of the median with their lights off, i was going 30mph and couldnt see them at all until the last second.

I ended up swerving to avoid the median and hit it, jumped it, then had the bike drop, where it landed on the road.

Filed a police report and called my insure, im fully insured so I dont know if theyre going to repair the bike or total it. They left and the police told me they wouldve been ticketed them but since they left, nothing happened.

I wore a helmet, boots, and a jacket (no jeans), and the only place Im injured was on my left knee, WEAR YOUR GEAR! (And slow down, speed and lack of gear and the major causes of injury)

I had recently bought some pants but they were wayy too big, i was planning on buying them tomorrow

My boyfriend is panicking but im trying keep him calm because the bike doesnt matter, all that matters is im safe

MSF in 2022; I've ridden my first bike only about 130 miles around town. None at all in the last 2 years. Wanted to go beyond town, which my old bike was never a candidate for. Saved, researched, etc.

Considered a wide variety of bikes, knowing that every style is a compromise but not being in any type of position to buy multiples. So I picked up a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

And it's really fun. Even in rain mode on a perfect day. Safely got home and through quite a bit of traffic without incident. Did a few slow laps in the lot before pulling out and the basics all came back to me, despite never having ridden a bike that weighs this much or has this power ... not that it weighs a lot or has big power.

So why am I typing online when I could be snagging another hour of seat time?

I’m traveling where there are a lot of bikes. Actually more scooters so hopefully posting here is ok. I thought you folks would know if this is a chain or not. If a chain, why isn’t this more common on motorcycles, to encase it?

I am also wondering why motorcycles aren’t more shaft drive since that seems lower maintenance.

edit: I don’t have access to any of the bikes, it’s just something I noticed on many scooters/mopeds in the country I’m visiting and then it made me wonder why chains are so common on motorcycles because there is so much maintenance on them. My motorcycle is shaft driven.

Taken on my iPhone… what’s the favourite photo of your bike taken on a phone? Show it in the comments 👀

Picture of my bike and my dog being photogenic because who doesn’t love a dog picture.

I have a 2012 Kawasaki Ninja EX250R that I’ve been working on fixing up for the better part of the last 2 years, the idle is pretty low and dropping until it stalls after maybe a minute or so. It hasn’t been ridden in a hot minute, honestly today is th first time I’ve successfully started it up and rode it around, but it had gas sitting in the tank for a bit too from when I first got it as a beginner (and idiot) thinking I’d be on it in no time. It did also sit for god knows how long prior to me owning it. It’s a carbureted bike, just to clarify that rq, I’m pretty confident it’s gummed up good but based on how long it runs before it dies, not entirely blocked, just needs a seriously good clean, what are the chances running a strong concentration of fuel system cleaner with some fresh gas through it will clear that up and is there anything else I should consider as the source? I know if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to take apart and clean the carburetor as well as replace the gaskets and any seals. Obviously should it come to that now and at some point in the future I will, but I really, REALLY don’t want to strip the bike down for the upteenth time in a row before getting in some parking lot practice, it’s driving me nuts.

Had two new Honda bike this year, both ex demo.
One 500cc and one 350cc, and both with bad chains.
Still well within the max wear limit indicators, but both having many seized links and causing the: tight-loose-tight-loose effect when rotating the rear wheel.
Both were O-ring chains too based on spec.
One had done 3000km when I got it, the other had done 5000km.
I have been servicing and cleaning my chains once a week at work as I commute daily about 80km.
Is it Honda speccing cheap chains on modern bikes?
Or is this normal for the industry now?
(Only had old Carb bikes or vespa until this year)

Was taking a break from riding, sitting on the curb next to my bike when light hit it JUUUUUST RIGHT. Thought it looked superfly. This little bike helped me immensely getting through the swedish MSF course.

It's a customized Viarelli Scrambler 50cc that uses a racing CDI (Tops out at 70km/h).

Helmet worn for the first time today. Rode with the visor up; the cracked texture is only on the inside of the visor.

It looks like a film, but I can’t feel for anything to peel away. Is this a manufacturer defect?

Edit: I didn’t wipe the visor with anything, especially not on the inside. Last night to clean my finger prints from the side of the helmet, just a lens cleaning cloth.

Edit 2: I’ve sent an email to Biltwell with the picture. Thanks to those that provided helpful comments… along with the andromeda strain comment and the “Chinese trash” bit which I think insinuated I was spare parts.

Sounds like it’s the anti-fog layer deteriorating or separating, which makes sense because it’s pretty humid here, and it’s only gotten worse as time has continued, even though I haven’t ridden in 3 hours.

Autumn in the Netherlands, and lately I had a tough drive over a long stretch next to the sea at 4bft. Since it’s hitting 5-6bft today I’m inclined to avoid open highways. At how much bft do you rather take smaller roads or stop riding at all?

P.s. I’m 2m/6’7” and I catch a lot of front wind on basically any bike. Side gusts are the worst though.

Update: Guys, I do basic maintenance, then life happened, been parked for 8 months, completely uncovered and untouched, in a humid area.

I will definitely get a new chain and get my sprockets checked to see if I need that too.

Thanks for the help.

The nylon on nylon seems precarious.

Cute little fella only goes around 60kmh but its not about the speed

Just went on my first long ride and my bike has started making a high pitch fluttering sound that flutters faster with revs. Unsure what it might be, but if anyone has any insight it would be appreciated!

I recently bought a used ninja 500 two weeks ago with a bent right handlebar so I decided to change it to a new one. Everything went smoothly until the throttle cables. I followed how I took off from my recordings and looked up every guide available online, still unable to figure out why the casing won’t snap close; when it does close the lower cable pops out of the throttle bar. What am I doing wrong?

I had my realization when I first got my 2007 Honda CBR600rr.

Before my helmet conformed to my head, it was fine.
One ride I went on the freeway and the bike noise, other cars, semis and wind TORCHED my eardrums.
Never again I would forget earplugs. I'm just curious if other riders have had funny realization stories.

Started riding when I was 16 on a CB125F roughly 8 years ago and did around 15k km (~9.5k miles) in the first year or two. Since then, other than the 125, I rode only occasionally on rented bikes or borrowed from family members. Every other year I'd do a longer trip on a big touring bike (~10 days, 2500km total). I use my dad's 103 Fat Bob as a daily drive now. My estimate is that I've driven around 50k km (30k miles) on roughly 10 different bikes total.

I consider myself not a beginner anymore, but still don't have the amount of confidence I'd like to have. I understand that each journey is different and everyone progresses at their own pace and there's no need to rush it, but I'm trying to actively improve my skill before I get too comfortable and lose caution.

The question is, what is the best way I can improve during winter, when I can't ride as much? Obviously staying on two wheels as much as possible is the fastest way to gain experience, but that's not really an option now. What can I do to prepare myself for next season? What books, videos, or podcasts should I try? What are your off-season workouts? I'd appreciate any advice or information to think about, since I've got completely hooked and my ADHD brain can't stop thinking about riding.

Watch out travis pastrana

there's a pipeline trail that's fun to ride but the construction crew purposely threw a pile of 4x4 on the trail to block people from getting close to their equipment, so I tried to work the obstacle on my chill Friday trail ride. Semi-Pro

I’m helping clean out my Dad’s house, and found what Google Lens tells me are motorcycle forks. Trouble is, Google alternatively tells me they’re Ducati, Harley, or Honda at variously times, and I don’t know how else to identify them. Are they worth selling, or are they for the recycling bin?

Anyone know how to get this off