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Teach her to ride.


Anden

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Anyone up to the task of teaching the wife to ride?

Yes she will be taking the MSF. But due to our schedules one of us will need to burn vacation.

Ok, I can't do it because we are married. If your married too you understand. In my experience its best not to teach anyone you know because you assume that they know what ever it is your teaching them.

She really want to learn but I don't think she really understands the danger involved in it either. You should see her drive.

My wife can ride a bicycle I did teach her a little bit about the how the clutch and gears work. And to walk it under power with the clutch (friction zone). I just need someone else to finish up and give her an understanding of what she is really getting into.

Interested PM me.

Thanks

Lee

I'm sure I can count on you guys to flame and hijack.

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I taught my wife the basics then took all the riding courses with her (First one was at the Honda training center in Troy in the middle of August, 128 degrees on the blacktop for 2.5 days).

Bought her a old POS to start with and get comfortable on. Taught her not to be scared of it but to respect it and let her know if she dumped it that I wasn't worried about the bike but only her safety. When she felt she was ready to move on I let her pick out the bike she wanted.

(#GUY LESSON#: Most women don't care about how fast it goes, how tight it turns or none of that garbage. It's all about how "Pretty" it is.

NEVER buy a bike for her that fits you or what you like, If it's going to be her bike, let her pick it out, even if that means taking her to 12 different dealers and her sitting and test riding 11 different versions of the same bike. If she's going to do this,let it be her choice. It could be the ugliest bike ever built, but if she keeps talking about it or going back to it just give her all the information and details you can and LET HER DECIDE.) Personel experience speaking here.

Wifes first new bike was a 1988 Suzuki Savage 650cc single we bought new for her in the spring of 89. She only stands 5' tall so we had to get her something with a 26 inch seat height.

She kept that until 92-93 and put 13K miles on it, I paid 2K for it at F&S and sold it for 1500.00 when we picked up her new 92 Yamaha Virago 750 from Joyce & Jeff Hinds in Columbus,she was ready to move up to something larger CC wise and she rode the shit out of that bike.

It had 33K trouble free miles on it that were all her miles except maybe 100-150 were mine 'cause when I'd take it out and play with it or run somewhere and hers was parked in the back of the pack. That bike was solid & bulletproof.

When we sold it and moved her on to a new 05 Vstar 1100 Classic that is dressed as a Silverado only because she couldn't get a Silverado in the color she wanted. We've done a few other modifications on it to suit her needs but she loves this bike. Yes. I paid more for that, I know. Just because it was "Pretty", and I know when she tells me "I'm going for a ride" and I can't get away to go with her I know she has the skills, talent and training to take care of herself and the bike will take care of her too and not leave her stranded somewhere.

Now she gets a TON of compliments on it because you don't see another one like it, She has had other Star riders asking her questions like if it was special ordered or who built it, She just looks at them, smiles and tells

them "I built it".

I even bought her a Tshirt she wears all the time that says:

" YES,Its mine & NO,you can't ride it."

She's also been very active in a Womens Motorcycle club called "Women On Wheels"INC. www.womenonwheels.org for the past 20 years, she even chartered a chapter here in Dayton that is still quite active and meets monthly in Beavercreek and they ride quite a bit together along with doing social and community things as a club. To them it's not WHAT you ride, it's THAT you ride.(As it should be everywhere)

They don't do Bars or have anything to do with drugs or alchohol, it is forbidden in the National Charter and strictly enforced at every Chapter level

Lee, It looks like you live close to us, let me know and I'll send you meeting info if you both would like to come check out the group. Or we'll help where we can on getting her on her way to 2 wheeled freedom.

There are Chapters in most of the large cities here in Ohio so if anybody else needs info, PM me.

BTW Guys: These women do not use this as a dating club and NO they don't want to hook up with you,date you,have your babies or listen to your none of your old, outdated BS pickup lines, most of them can beat you down both verbally and physically. Then the "Sisterhood" thing kicks in and then you're really in trouble. So you can stop typing your smartassed commits about women riders now and thank me for saving you from a LOT of future embaressment on your behalf in front of your friends.

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I am a MSF Instructor and I always tell people to wait until the class. Problem is with someone else to teach her, she will pick up bad habits too. :D

The BRC (Basic Rider Course) will start from the beginning. It is geared towards individuals that have not even been on a bike. She will learn how to correctly mount a bike and feel the weight of the bike and how it steers, gears and moves. People that know how to ride are usually bored out of their minds for the first few hours of the riding portion of the class, since you even have to "powerwalk" the bike in the first few exercises.

So save the stress and wait for the class! :)

Mel

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What Mel said, unless you know the BRC, and can teach the way they do it, you could do more harm than good. I got my wife going on the power walking and even the first couple gears, then we took the class. I was already riding well, and was taking the class for the test waiver, and any extra skills I could pick up. She took the class as a way to learn it all!

I was bored out of my mind for quite a bit of the course, but it was still worth it, for the mindset, if nothing else.

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She's also been very active in a Womens Motorcycle club called "Women On Wheels"INC. www.womenonwheels.org for the past 20 years, she even chartered a chapter here in Dayton that is still quite active and meets monthly in Beavercreek and they ride quite a bit together along with doing social and community things as a club. To them it's not WHAT you ride, it's THAT you ride.(As it should be everywhere)

She's chartered the Dayton chapter? I'd like to meet her; I'm the Women On Wheels® Director for the newly reestablished Columbus chapter. :)

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Not to thread Jack but....

SilverFox,

We are Charter Members of that Chapter too. There wasn't enough Full members in

C-bus at the time to Charter, So since we were Chapter officers, National allowed us to help out so they could get started. Her email is wowwlr1@yahoo.com and right now is serving as Asst. Chapt. Dir. for now. We need to get the chapters togather this year and RIDE!!!!

Scott

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at least you realize that you're better off letting someone else teach her.

I'd push her to wait for the MSF course.

After 'teaching' my wife to ride, she dropped my bike in my garage (this was a couple years before we were married). Somehow the only damage was a broken clutch lever. To this day, I don't know how she managed to drop the bike so perfectly...

As her wedding present to me, she surprised me by signing up for the MSF course. Llike I said, this was over two YEARS later.

Initially, she did NOT do well. I got a call during their first break of the day saying she wanted to come home because she wasn't catching on. But rather than being the bad guy who was doing a piss-poor job of teachign her, I was suddenly the good guy reassuring her that she could do it, and if she didn't want to, she could come home any time she felt like it.

She came home that day with paperwork for her endorsement. Let the MSF instructor be the bad guy... no one on this site should be saddled with that task.

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Dude its easy to teach. I got my girl a 09 250 ninja last year and she drove it in a parking lot. Now she signed up for the MSF couse in may. To learn some more ways to become a better rider.Get some thing small 250cc to teach her.

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I'm thoroughly corn-fused by this thread.

Right me too.

@ Benyan: You still In Iraq I'll ship here there. You can teach here I'm sure they will love seeing a woman on a bike. On a side note her father has been there since 1983 works in "communications" as we are told.

Other than that she already has the Honda its hers when she learns. Until then I have to take her around on the back of it. Was just hoping to get a jump on her riding before she takes MSF. Like I said in the OP we have scheduling conflicts with work and kids and one of us will have to burn up vacation for her to go.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've taken the MSF class and am also teaching my GF to ride. It is not hard but you have to use the basic skills first. I look at it like martial arts, build a stong base and the rest of the skills will come easier.

I spent last summer working on her low speed control, shifting, proper breaking, take offs up hill and leaning the bike. This Winter she got her learners and a new to her XT225. We were working on her shifting. Back and forth starting off and going to second, then back to first, turn around and do it again.

Edited by buildit
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  • 1 month later...
Pics of daughter :D:p

The GS500 is a good selection. :cheers:

:lol:

but in all seriousness you guys are right down the road from so if any help is needed I can try. I might be able to talk to my buddy to part with his GS500

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I am a MSF Instructor and I always tell people to wait until the class. Problem is with someone else to teach her, she will pick up bad habits too. :D

The BRC (Basic Rider Course) will start from the beginning. It is geared towards individuals that have not even been on a bike. She will learn how to correctly mount a bike and feel the weight of the bike and how it steers, gears and moves. People that know how to ride are usually bored out of their minds for the first few hours of the riding portion of the class, since you even have to "powerwalk" the bike in the first few exercises.

So save the stress and wait for the class! :)

Mel

so true!! i was self taught and just from doing it myself i picked up some really bad habits. But thank god for the class cause i was able to learn the right way.

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