I am Motorcycle Ready

I have now passed my motorcycle safety course and can legally start riding motorcycles.  The course was 2 1/2 days and included classroom and riding 125cc motorcycles.  We had 12 people in our class, and none had ridden street bikes before.

 I was amazed at how much value my bicycling and mountain bicycling skills came in handy.  I already have decent spidey senses to keep cars from running over me on a bicycle.  Pretty much the same skills are needed on a motorcycle (except you tend to be on the left hand side of the lane instead of on the right).  I also was able to handle tight turns, running over objects, stopping quickly, etc. with a bit more ease because I’ve done them a lot – just at lower speeds.

My motorcycle is a Kawasaki 800 Vulcan.  It’s definitely bigger than the one’s we rode in class, but I’ve already taken it out and it was no big deal handling the larger bike.  Definitely more get up and go, but also a lot more responsive clutch and braking. 

As soon as I trust the weather, I am going to begin commuting to work on the motorcycle.  I figure I will get twice the gas mileage and be more environmentally friendly.

 I love the two wheel life…