Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125563
THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST By Na ncy Johnson It was about this time a year ago that I said to my husband "You'd better sit down. I don' t know ho":' to tell you this." He sat down thinking bad thoughts while I tried to find the r1ght wor ds. «trmm, I want a motorcycle," I said in a small weak voice. Well, those of you who know how it is know how it is. Every year or iwo before this there had been the inevitable "discusslon" following his statement: I need a new bike. True, they were nice and shiny and great and fast and all that. But with three children and responsibilities and "think of the future" and "what am I supposed to do when you go riding" you can bet there were a few weeks of hard feelings when the subject arose. Yes, I had tried to be cooperative many times . We would begin with "all you have to do is ride it. This is the brake and this Is the clutch and this Is the seat and these are the handlebars. Takeoff." That got me real far. Right hack In the house . Mad. This time I beat 111m to it. When he recovered from the Initial shock (picked himself up off the floor) there came these words "What do you want a motorcycle for ?" "To ride, of course." "You want to ride a motorcycle?" "Yes." "Don't be silly, you can't ride a motorcycle." "I can learn." It seemed to be deteriorating Into a "discussion" again so I said that I had heard about so mebody who wanted to sell a Hodaka because he was moving up to a bigger bike. "A what?" " A Hodaka." "Never heard of It." "Well, everybody says it's a good bike." "WhO's everybody?" And so on Into the night. Next day we went to look at It. After a r ide around the block he said okay and I became the owner of my first motorcycle. He had to ride It home because I was obviously afraid of it. Mechanically speaking I could steer an automatic shift automobile and use an electric sewing machine. He"has ridden everything from HD 74's to his present pride and joy, a Honda Trail 90, so he couldn't understand why I wanted one if I couldn't ride It. Would you believe that three months later I was followi ng 111m around the bike trails In the Sierras with a daughter, age 8, saying, "Let's lead, Mommy, he's going too slow". How does one learn to ride a motorcycle? If I couldn't even ride the Honda 90 with its a utomatic everytl1lng how could I ride this red shiny thing standing there? Thank goodnes s for thoughtful husbands. This time he knew what to do to help me learn the easy way. First of all, not In the street, which means change the bike from Its street clothes to dirt gear. Then go and find a suitable place. Thanks to the Antelope Valley and the Mojave Desert there are still many such places. The dry lake beds are perfect for a learner since they are usually devoid of rocks, sand, and other people. Well, they are big enough so it seems that way. The minor problems of how'to get there with two bikes and three kids and food and water and gas and s lee ping bags somehow resolved themselves over many weekends. Lesson number one. Put on helmet and gloves. Straddle bike. Lift kick stand, turn key, open choke, kick. Very simple, even a kid can do it. Okay, turn off the key and do it again. Where's the key? Oops, don't lean over like that. Pick up the bike. Now, lltt the kick stand, turn on the key, kick. No, keep your left foot on the ground. Kick. Grea t , she's running. Now, turn It off and do It again . And again, and again, Lesson number two. watch me . Clutch with left hand, change gear withleftfoot, give It gas with right hand, go. See how easy It is . (We have one child learning to r ead and another learning to multiply. When we try to help them we get Impatient and forget how It was learning to r ide the s tallingest bike in the world .) The words "squeeze clutch, putitinlow, give It some gas , let out the clutch" were translated Into "lurch, stall/',Start it again and • lurch, stall." Did you ever want to pick up a 150 lb. bike and throw It out of s1ght? Then maybe one time out of ten it would roar off with me hanging on for dear llte and 111m running along bel1lnd saying "let off the gas" or "pull in the clutch" or " use the brake" or "do some thingl" I don't know when the good starts began to outnumber the had ones but now It's hard to remember just what was so hard about it. There is no end to the list of memories of my first year with a motorcycle . I remember the tired aching hands and arms and back fr om just plain holding on. I know now that I was trying to hold the bike up, hold myself on, steer it and most of all worry (often close to panic ) all at the same time. I remember the first spill when the motorcycle decided to go up the hill and I was going down the 11111. Of course It had to happen when husband was a mile or two away so no use lying there watting for help . The bike wasn't hurt because it landed on top of me. So slowly and carefully one crawls out from under and hopefully each part of the body responds without too much pain. Since no one came to give sympathy the only thing to do was get back aboard and go and find it. All I got was a laugh . I remember watchingairtalsatLlttlerock and discovering that one doesn't have to go faster and farther every time. The joy of threading one's way slowly and carefully around rocks and cactus or taking some hills by zigs and sags instead of flat out gave a whole new dimen sion to my riding. I remember discovering the old bike tratls that were latd out by experts and can get the beginner hung up in a bottomless sand wash or on the top of a mountain with no place to go but straight down. Now that the first year Is nearly gone there Is a new Hodaka 100 in the garage. I know It will bring as much pleasure as the old one but I think all motorcycle riders have fond memories of that first bike. This then Is just a thank you note ~ dedicated to all the first motorcycles '" that eac h of us has known whethe r it was ~ large, small, fast, slow, old, new, ours, e, or somebody else's. Thanks for the memo ries you gave us and thanks for the 18 big wide world of motorcycle riding you 2l opened for us . moutesa MEN WHO KNOW MOTOR- CYCLES :,; YEAGER: reCOlll1leJIds Moatesa because. .. "It's jusl lhe bike for our kind of country - rugged!" Yeager Cycle Hut 3101 Northwesl Avenue Bellingham, Washington 98225 VIVA MONTESA MOTORS . INC. Sole U.S, Distributor 3657 Beverly Boulevard los Angeles . C&litomia 90004 l:aatiDR: Adults at Play! 700cc MODEL '-7, THE 1968 STAllARD Of THE AMElICA" ROAD. '-POWER, OPPOSED ;a S ooTH"ESS ELECTRIC STARTER. AVAILABLE NOW AT AGENOES DISPLAYING ~ .~UlZ' YAT[HLE55 . 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