Hello everyone. First post in this forum.
Im a new motorcyclist. Bought a 2007 gs500f a month ago. Pretty happy with the purchase. I commute from west hollywood to west la for work, but have yet to find time to go anywhere else. Unfortunately my drive is a straight shot down santa monica, from fairfax to sepulveda. Its been great practice for stop and go traffic, smooth shifting, and creeping at 5mph between stopped vehicles to the red light. The down side is i have no idea how to take a turn. I took the msf course, but the real world is a lot different from doing 15 mph in the parking lot. Only friend out here who rides works on movie sets, so he is around, then gone for 3 months working everyday.
Ive seen a few other gs500s on the west side. Any of them here?
You won't really see me down in LA, but I'm in the high desert (Palmdale).
Check out www.SoCal-SportBikes.com and look for a member named "Hawkster". He hosts a program ( www.skillzdays.com ) that is an excellent addition to the MSF and is mostly free of charge (He accepts donations to keep his endeavors running). He explains alot of what you seem to be asking... where is the next basic step going to take me. Also, for the most part, SCS is a pretty responsible group as far as trying to foster good riding habits... encouraging use of your gear and not riding above your abilities. The core group of riders that organize weekend rides will never leave some one so far behind that they feel lost.
You'll find me and a few other members of this site at SCS too (Pantablo for one). I've got the same user name and so does Pantablo. There is also a few group rides a year that are purely based on "noobs' or beginner riders and getting them comfortable in the canyons..... I hope to see you out there, and if there is a chance that I get to run the canyons I'll be sure to send you a message to see if you'd like to go.
and welcome! :flipoff:
I live In Hawthorne, Congrats on the new bike. When taking a turn just make sure if your coming from a stop not to go past 15, If you do be readt to counter steer(push where you wanna go) that is how I crashed I was making a left hand turn and was going over 15 and was trying to steer the bike and whent into a curb.
I remember the only time I ever dropped my bike (while riding it--parked drops are another story) was in a parking lot, trying to make a turn. I tried to steer instead of counter-steer, and ended up riding off a curb and falling off. :icon_mrgreen: I was glad no one was around...
Remember to push left to go left, push right to go right. If you're making a turn in traffic, enter the turn towards the left side of the lane you're going to, since that'll give you more space to maneuver than if you entered it and hugged the curb.
Welcome to the forum, tragicImage had some really good suggestions. Just take it easy and practice some of the MSF stuff in an empty parking lot. In time you'll get more comfortable, remember if you can ride in LA then your doing great. My only other suggestion is keep an eye on the rear view mirror, MSF talks about it but I found in the real world knowing what is coming up from behind is a major survival tactic. Have fun and ride safe :thumb:
Congrats w/ the bike, I can second the skillzdays suggestion made by TragicImage. Took it a few months ago and I can definitely say I'm more confident and aware on my bike. I don't commute with my bike (too scared), but I get 100 miles or so in per week going up to GMR from fullerton. Just how many socal GS member do we have on this board? Ride safe.
I will be taking the skillz days class soon. Seems like it could really help me.
I also sign up for the scs forum. I was looking for something more specific to the area, but all i came up with was the socal sv riders site.
Ive spent the past 10 years doing a lot of miles on road bicycles, so im in tune with concepts of counter steering. Its just a different ball game making the jump from a 20 pound to a 400 pound vehicle.
Thanks for the advise, and i look forward to the barrage of questions ill be asking after ive taken the bike in for its first 600 mile check up and decided to do all the work myself.
with road bike experience, you'll fit in just perfect with alot of SCS people.... ESPECIALLY Pantablo.... he's a freak.... I think he said he rides Cat 3? I can't remember.
Yes.... SCS.... smart group.