So I wobbled out today.(bike control)

...on my first ride in 5 months

it's shocking how much i seem to have forgotten - i'm not used to the clutch control of the bike, so changes were sloppy, and (partly due to this) i seem unable to do slow speed control - having to put my foot down several times attempting u-turn type maneouvres (and we're not talking in the width of a road since i never used to do them anyway).

plus, i had a bit of a brown-trouser moment after about 5 minutes when i pulled out at the beginning of a dual carriageway to overtake a car, and (i think) due to a sloppy gear change whilst accelerating caused the back end to kick out!! not much, but enough to seriously knock the confidence due to the break.

however, i did 50+ miles, and i'm really happy i did - by the end of it i was 10x better, hopefully it's just a case of i need reminding. i'm going to go somewhere at some point in the near future and practice the slow speed control i reckon, to make sure.

i've decided that i can't do this again this year! if i want to stop riding my bike during winter i'll have to get another cheap bike to use instead, it's way more dangerous having a 5 month break than riding through winter it seems

Hey mate, thank god, your ride ended with you getting home safely.

Why buy another bike? There are plenty of fine days throughout "winter". Just don't go out after they've gritted the roads, and always try and clean your bike after if possible.

Your tale is repeated a thousandfold this weekend, I'm sure, as people put their bikes back on the road with 6 months roadtax for the summer. Go for a ride with a couple of mates and think they can handle the bike as well as they did last September. Hopefully they have a few scary moments and re-assess before anything serious happens.

Take care now.

there's a couple of reasons i'd go the "other bike" route:

- build up a second set of no claims - never know when that will be useful!
- people do seem to come off more in winter

i know it costs more to do this than to repair the sv if i drop it, but it has the advantages as above...

still got a while to decide anyhow if i don't get a second bike i will still have the sv around and try and take it out, i could have done that this year except i stuck it in my parents' garage for 5 months! it was fully taxed and insured during that time too, haha...what a waste!

good luck to all out there like me

If u crash on one bike policy i thought you had to disclose the fact on any other bike policy? I may be wrong but if i am not you know what happens if you do not disclose something......they will find a way to get out of paying out on a claim

i belive you have to tell all your insurances, ive got to tell my car insurance about my bike accident.

I enjoyed reading your topic starter. Its nice to read honest text instead of the bluff one sometimes finds on oher forums. Don't be hard on yourself mate. Allow some time to get re-aquainted with your bike if you've been off it for so long. I suggest you ride alone for the moment on roads you know well so yo won't get pushed into riding beyond your limits and try to go back to enjoying yourself. If you're not enjoying your riding when out on a ride find an excuse to stop say for a coffee. When you stop for a while pressure is released and you start afresh. It works for me. Just my 2c.

thanks, i don't do that many rides with other people anyway (i actually use my bike for commuting most of the time) so should be ok.

kwak/tc3 - i dont mean not telling the insurance company about accidents - i mean keeping the no claims. if i have an accident on my policy and i'v got 2 years no claims - worth say 40% - i'll lose that, and although the policy will go up due to the claim, it'll go up more due to the loss of no claims! in which case i will switch to using the other set of no claims that i had been building up - i.e. put the cheaper bike on the policy with less no claims. that in itself is completely legal, btw

oh i know what you mean now

I started up again after a break of over 20 years ! The co-ordination of all the controls came back straight away even though I couldn't actually remember exactly what to do, but I couldn't lean at all so I kept drifting across into oncoming traffic, even at 20 mph, I kept thinking the bike would fall over ! This lasted about a week.

Originally Posted by kwak zzr

i belive you have to tell all your insurances, ive got to tell my car insurance about my bike accident.

you sure do!.

I had a car and bike crash .
had to tell each about the other.




and from the first post..:
try not using your clutch to change up.. and at the risk of patronising. look where u going on a u turn and just feather the throttle and only use BACK brake..

I know- get me coat