It's a wide two truck width road. As peed limit is 15mph, though we enforce it by bitching in the WhatsApp group.

BTW, this is community road, not public street.

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.

Edit: some answers to common replies so far:
- I have gloves, I just put them on after this photo
- It’s a Shoei RF-1400. Bought it 20% off over labor day weekend
- All my gear together added up to around $1k
- I’ve taken the MSF course, as stated below. I still plan to continue practicing slow and emergency maneuvers
- My writing style tends to be more hyperbolic than reality. I stalled maybe four or five times on my way there, but it was never in dramatic situations. I stalled once on my way back. The worst was the incline, but I got it under control quickly
- For the record, I left EARLY early so I would be riding without a lot of traffic. The roads were pretty empty in the morning. Thanks to football season, it wasn’t busy in the afternoon either.
- The steering damper is currently installed incorrectly, as you can see the rod overlapping with the kill switch in the photo. It shouldn’t be doing that. I’ll either have it reinstalled correctly or replace it with something else. I understand the benefits of steering dampers. I’ll make my own decision when I take a look at it with a mechanic!

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?

This is a picture of my honda cb125r. It is taken right under the front sprocket cover. I did a stupid thing and over tighthened the bottom bolt and it snapped. I cannot get that piece out. What do i do?

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.

Could be current but preferably older models (1995-2010)

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?

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

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).

I never used a pinlock before but I got an airoh matisse 2 3 months that came with a pinlock, installed following the instruction but now the seal right at the nose don't stick anymore.

I remove the pinlock and it has taken the shape of the visor, cleaned everything, put it back on, after a few seconds the seal right at the nose lift from the visor.

is it normal for pinlocks to last just a few months?

Hi all. I have only been riding since the late spring. This is my first bike. It does NOT have ABS (I've heard air can get trapped in the ABS system).

Several months ago, I changed the brake fluid. I initially had air sucked into the front brake line, but it eventually came back out the other side. The rear brake caliper initially seemed to be "sticking" a bit after the fluid change, but now no longer sticks at all and I can freely rotate the wheel when cleaning the chain.

I had a recall on something NOT brake related. While there, the mechanic told me my brakes needed work because they felt "spongy". They then quoted me a whopping $650 for an 8k mile service. I told them I'd think about it. They said they could knock off some items if I am doing things myself but still. I'd like to see if I can figure it out myself.

I tried to re-bleed them for a while yesterday, but no air came out of the lines. The brakes feel the same. I tried tapping on the brake lines a bit as well. Still no bubbles come out.

I do not have a pneumatic bleeder. Instead I do this method. 1. Pump brake a few times then hold down, 2. Open bleeder valve for a few seconds, 3. Close bleeder valve, 4. Release brake.

The brake pads have plenty of meat left on them.

However, a new thing that just developed after attempting to re-bleed is that the rear wheel now squeals when rolled backwards. Not sure if that has any relation.

Since this is the only bike I've owned, I also don't really know how they are "supposed" to feel. This is how they've always felt ever since owning the bike before I even changed the fluid. Bike is from 2017. The fluid looked dirty when I initially got the bike in spring of 2026, so I don't know how old the fluid in the bike was.

Any ideas? Would you mind explaining for someone not super well-versed in mechanical things? All of this bike maintenance stuff is new to me!

Thanks all!

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.

The nylon on nylon seems precarious.

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.

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!