Finally had my next lesson yesterday (he said, using some tortured grammar...)!
Another day on the SV650. Mixed urban / country riding in the morning, then some 70mph stuff on the dual carriageway going from Redditch to Birmingham, then a couple of hours on the test centre Mod 1 course.
Plus points:
Still haven't dropped it yet....
No longer hear ominous music as soon as I swing my leg over
Much more controlled stopping - both my instructor and Kwacky have told me I go into junctions too hot and too much like a car driver, so it's something I really tried to address. Having the mindset of intending to stop unless I can go, rather than intending to go unless I have to stop has made a hell of a difference.
Observations seem to have gone up a notch (another nod to Kwaky
). When I'm thinking about them, anyway...
Minus points:
Only had about an hour on the test centre, so I've actually only done each Mod 1 exercise on the 650 about 4 times. While I can do them ok at the *end* of the 4 times, I'm not entirely sure how I'll fare going into them cold on the day...
And that's my only concern, really, which I suppose I should be happy about! At the end of the day I'm learning all this to be a half-decent rider. I'd much rather be comfortable on the roads than in a car park at this point. My test is booked for Wednesday, so I'll just give it my best shot. If I balls something up, I'll just rinse and repeat until I get my bit of paper!
Whilst not wanting to tempt fate, I've been tentatively looking at
bikes the last couple of weeks. It's funny the things you learn about your body type when you start riding. I'd never had myself down as a midget or anything, but bloody hell do you lot all have 40" legs or something?! I started looking at some small engined stuff, being all "sensible first bike about it". Quick run-down:
Honda CB300R - I *love* the modern retro look of this. Seat is hugely uncomfortable, though. And it seems oddly high for a 780-790mm bike. And even *I* think a 300 single might get a bit boring a bit quickly....
Ninja 400 - I thought I'd love this. I love the design. Just didn't do anything for me when I sat on it. I sat on the Ninja 650 too, and it seemed no more unweildy, really.
Ducati Scrambler 400 - The less said about Ducati Coventry, the better. Suffice to say I won't be returning there. Bunch of sarcastic, useless..... *tails off, grumbling*. Pretty bike, though.
MT03 - the sensible choice. Cheap, not the end of the world if you drop it, light, who doesn't like the idea of high revving?
R3 - thought this was the answer to everything, but it felt a bit of a fraud when I sat on it. And all the downsides of a fully faired bike with none of the advantages.
So at the moment, I'm afraid the MT03 is in the lead. But - I'm aware that literally everyone (except one bloke, but I reckon everyone thinks he's a knob anyway...) is telling me I'll get bored with it. They've been right about everything else so far, so I suppose I should hear them out! I'm hoping to look at some Triumph Street Twins over the next few days. Like the idea of the ultra-low seat height for confidence, and I love the styling. Just slightly worried about getting it in and out of my stupid, sloped, narrow drive. Not sure how I'll turn it round. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I reckon if you spend £7K on a bike, you'll find a way to turn it round.....
Anyway. That's all long and probably boring, so I'll stop now. I'll let you know how the first Mod 1 goes...