Broken

Well the inevitable finally happened.

So far I've had two tip-overs. One on a group ride where I tried to pull over on the side of the road and tipped over the drop-off between asphalt and gravel. That resulted in a broken turn signal I super glued back together and a small scratch on the fairing. Nothing too serious. The second was in my driveway when I didn't get my bike up on my new rear stand correctly, causing it to fall over and narrowly miss my car! THAT resulted in a broken brake lever and a dented clutch cover, and a few more scratches.

There was a big group ride this weekend - all three days, with over 200 miles each day. Due to the driveway tip-over, I was frantically wrenching Thursday night until midnight getting the replacement brake lever (cheapy internet part didn't quite fit correctly until I took a rat tail file to it) and clutch cover ($175 Paulimoto fits like a glove - I guess you get what you pay for?). Friday we rode the Santa Monica Mountains and it was awesome. Saturday we rode Highway 33 and it was awesome. There had been rain during the really early morning Saturday (like 2-3am), but it was just overcast and damp when we headed out around 8am. I was cautious with the unknown road conditions, but felt on all day long. The sweepers of Highway 33 were just fantastic. I was confident and things were going smoothly. We had lunch at the Deer Lodge (the tri-tip sandwich was great) and headed to the coast for a bit, then turned our bikes homeward.

I split off with two others and we were going back over Balcom Canyon near Moorpark when the leader pointed out some sand in the bottom of a right hand corner. I tried to avoid it, but the sun was low and I couldn't really see where it was. I signaled to the rider behind me by pointing to the inside with my right foot, and then my rear tire skidded a bit. I planted my right foot and the bike got back in line, but then I ran wide on the left hand turn right afterwards. Off into the dirt shoulder, where I slowed to about 5mph before the bike fell over on the right side. My right mirror and turn signal popped off, and the right fairing has some pretty extensive scratches, but the bike was still rideable and I was uninjured. I righted it, we gave it a once over and I cautiously rode home.

So the bike is fixable and I'm uninjured, which is the important thing. Although I noticed I had a hard time on the tight right hand corners on the way home. I think I was just psyching myself out and it should be fine once I get the Duc put back together.

As they say, "shit happens." Who knew a Ducati superbike couldn't double as a dirt bike?

Angeles

Another early Saturday morning as I meet up with a gixxer and a 'busa to ride up in the Angeles National Forest. We avoid the ever-popular Angeles Crest Highway and opt for Big Tujunga past the mountains and into the high desert. Some very diverse scenery flies past as both the Duc and I are very happy that the temperature has finally dropped from the triple digits we've been seeing since Labor Day. The fast sweepers in Tujunga give way to sage and cactus dotted straights in the desert, followed by some really fun twists. We stop at the "postoffice" in the middle of nowhere and continue on for brunch up in Wrightwood. It's a small town that I've never visited and the country store/cafe we stop at is nice and homey.

With full stomachs we bid adieu to one riding partner who heads back to Fort Irwin, and head back the way we came. My gas light comes on at the bottom of Tujunga (excellent timing) so the group says goodbye for today. I gas up and slab it home, thankfully making it back before the hottest part of the day.

Time: 7 hours
Miles: 200 (a new one-day record!)

Reading Recommendations

I recently got some online advice to pick up the following two books:

Total Control by Lee Parks
Twist of the Wrist II by Keith Code

Both books are incredibly helpful. The Parks book is much more general, with excellent tips for the street rider. Code's book is very technical and provides specific, focused advice primarily intended for the track racer, but the concepts are still applicable every time you get on the bike.

I can wholeheartedly pass on the recommendation that anyone serious about their riding pick up both books. I have a feeling that I'll be going back to them many times over the coming years.

First time for everything...

6:00am - It's still dark as I drag myself out of bed, get out all my gear, and force myself to eat breakfast.
6:45 - Take off in a hurry because I'm supposed to be in Thousand Oaks at 7:15 and my bike's out of gas.
7:15 - After a quick freeway run, show up at the gas station to meet up with some other riders I originally met online.
7:30 - Route plan established, full tanks of gas, and we head out for a day of cruising the canyons!
12:00pm - Arrive home, peel off leathers, take shower.

Low point: Accidentally tipping the bike over when trying to pull off onto a dirt shoulder. Lesson learned: Don't drop the front tire off a 3 inch dropoff when the bike is still almost parallel to the road.

High point: 5 hours of riding with some really really awesome people!

Time: 5 hours
Miles: 140 miles

Early riser

Sunday I woke up at 7am. I never get up at 7am, especially on weekends. That's what this bike does to me.

I met up with a guy I met in an online motorcyclist forum, and we headed out through the Santa Monica Mountains. Cruised PCH to Los Flores, then over Stunt to Mulholland and down to the Rock Store. After a run down Latigo, we stopped for gas in Malibu and called it a day. It was 10:00am, getting warm, and he hadn't slept well the night before.

As I'm headed home along PCH, my bike decides the day isn't over and turns onto Los Flores again. I'm feeling good and turns are coming really smoothly today, so we decide that it's time.

Tuna Canyon, here I come.

I was so busy having an awesome time I completely forgot to take any pictures. That road is amazingly fun. Tight, twisty, and one-way with a fantastic view of the ocean.

Time: 4 hours
Miles: 90

Where have you been?

Almost a full month and no posts? Well, there's always a good excuse reason.

Last weekend in July was a dance weekend. As such, no riding for me. After that, my bike was due for it's 18k service. I ended up checking out several places around LA, and since I couldn't get a hold of Motoservizio (the most recommended place by the Ducati forums), I called up West Coast GP Cycles and asked them to do it.

Quote:
$200 parts
$500 labor
$700 total

Actual:
$650 parts
$500 labor
$72 fees, taxes
$1222 total

Ended up needing a new chain and sprockets. They put on an AFAM quickchange carrier, so next time I can just replace the sprocket and it should be less expensive (no need for Ducati official parts - any superbike sprocket will do). Since they ended up going over by about $400 in parts the service guy (Andy) didn't end up charging for labor to install the chain and sprockets. The disadvantage was it took almost a week and a half for all the parts to come in, so I was without my baby for about two weeks!

Also, my closing rockers were pretty far out of spec, so the service guy hand lapped the shims down to 0.000 clearance (awesome!). Why is zero a good thing? Well, if the closers have some gap, they will not close the valve completely, which relies on ignition in the piston to essentially "blow" the valve to its closed position. This means you're losing some compression with every stroke! If you get them to zero (but not below or you'll cause excessive rocker wear), then you're getting the most out of your engine. (Ducati spec is 0.000 - 0.004 according to the bottom of this page)

Well, as my father constantly reminds me, "You gotta pay to play." Now, to get some playtime in...

Work Drudgery

Nothing sucks more than getting out on your bike on Sunday only to have to go back to the drag of work on Monday.

Sunday: Wake up when I feel like it. Head off on the Duck at about noon. Note smile starting to develop at edge of lips. Hop onto Topanga to Old Topanga. Enjoy bright sunshine and lack of traffic. Bike feels good and I feel good on it. Self satisfied smirk decidedly evident. Contemplate Stunt, but decide against due to time constraints (MotoGP this afternoon!). Opt for Latigo Canyon again. Note slight increase in speed resulting in significant increase in stability mid-corner. Manage one particularly good line through a series of curves. Burst into maniacal laughter at the sheer fun I'm having. Hit friend's house and catch the last bit of the MotoGP race. Opt for roundabout route home just to spend more time on the bike. Split traffic and feel moderately comfortable about it for the first time.

Monday: Hit snooze button. Contemplate not going to work. Hit snooze button again. Continue until horribly late for work. Drag self out of bed, slog to work through an hour of traffic. Get just enough rain on freshly washed car to leave water spots. Arrive to cube with smelly coworker blasting Mannheim Steamroller music again (apparently has never heard of headphones in shared office environment). Attempt to fix irreparably broken system. Get told to start working 9am-9pm because project is behind schedule. Tentative weekends. May need to "adjust" vacation schedule to "ensure coverage." Leave at 9:30pm feeling like you accomplished nothing.

Time: 3 hours
Miles: 100

Weekend Thrills

It's always a good weekend when I spend time on my bike. Friday night I rode to Orange. It was only my second ride at night, but already I felt way more comfortable than I did the first time. I'm actually pretty comfortable cruising at LA freeway speeds now.

Saturday was mostly spent with the girlfriend (the real one, not the Ducati). Saturday evening I had some free time so I headed up Santiago Canyon road. It was late, the sun was low, and the ride was pleasant. The road itself wasn't particularly twisty, but it still put a smile on my face to just be out on my bike. One concern: my downshifts still need a lot of work. I chirped the rear tire again downshifting before a corner.


Sunday I got up to watch the MotoGP race in Germany. SPOILER ALERT! Rossi crashed out and Stoner only came in fifth. Pedrosa ran away to take first by 13 seconds. Kind of disappointing since there wasn't a whole lot of excitement (like Catalunya, or last year at Germany) but a well-spent hour nonetheless.

After the race, I packed up and rode home. Freeways are much easier when it's sunny outside. I stopped home to drop off my backpack and get some lunch, then headed out to my favorite weekend place: the Malibu hills. Todays route meandered along Topanga Canyon -> Old Topanga -> Mulholland -> Stunt -> Schuren -> Piuma -> Mulholland -> Kanan Dume -> Latigo Canyon -> PCH -> Sunset Blvd -> Home.

When I drive my car, I usually try to stop at a few scenic spots to stretch and enjoy the view. When I'm on my bike, these rest stops have a completely different feel. My butt needs a rest and I stretch my wrists, but the biggest difference is that I enjoy them more. The whole day I've been feeling the heat of the valley and the cool breeze off the ocean and the smells as I ride along the hills. When I stop, I reflect on the road travelled and the road soon to be travelled. It's true what they say. Riding a motorcycle gives you a freedom you can't find in a car, even if you drive the exact same roads, under almost exactly the same conditions.

I'd never taken Latigo Canyon top-to-bottom. Previously I've always started at the PCH end. Riding it backwards was great. The view as you descend towards the ocean is breathtaking. The Ducati was so happy in the twists and turns. As I got into the rhythm, swaying back and forth, leaning a little more into each turn, I noticed my speeds picking up a little. Usually I try to back off and stay conservative, but the bike was loving it. Things stabilized. I was able to take better lines. Everything was working so much better. I think there's an optimal corner speed for each turn, and so far I've been erring on the conservative side of things, and feeling unsettled and a bit shaky sometimes because of it. I'm not talking knee-dragging race speeds, but feeling a bit of G force really sorts the bike out.


I've mentioned it before, but it hits me again each time I ride: you go where you look. This time I noticed that if I overestimate my corner entry speed, when I try to scrub speed by braking, I run the corner wide. Turns out, the reason is that I always look straight ahead when I'm braking, and since this is right before a turn, that means I'm looking straight off the road! Smoothly applying brakes while continuing to look through the turn really helps me to set my entry speed accordingly without running wide.

Time: 6 hours (total)
Miles: 250 (total)

Mulholland Raceway

The title is not referring to the driver's website, but rather a fantastic loop of road up in the Malibu Hills.

I've been on vacation from work for two weeks, but spent one week in Salt Lake City visiting family, and the next week road tripping up the coast with some buddies. Sunday was my first day off, so I washed and waxed the 748 and took her up the PCH for some lovely sun-drenched riding.

As I was cruising towards the far end of Mulholland Highway, two Monsters and a 748 passed me, so I fell in behind them to see where they were headed. Turns out that there's a biker bar called Neptune's Net about 3 or 4 miles past Mulholland. It was full of Harleys and chromed out cruisers, so I didn't stop but good to know it's there.

Headed back to Mulholland and took the back end up towards the lookout just past Kanan Dume. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the weather was gorgeous. I got a new pair of Sidi Vertigo Air boots for my birthday, and they worked wonderfully. My feet didn't get warm at all and I felt a lot better on the bike with some proper foot protection.

I focused on smooth downshifts, and am finally getting the hang of blipping the throttle to match revs while shifting gears. I was too timid at first and would end up letting the clutch out with the revs too low, resulting in the bike lurching forward. Being more assertive with the throttle while the clutch is in has almost completely smoothed things out.

After a rest at the Mulholland scenic lookout, I headed down the highway to Stunt Road, which leads to one of my favorite driving roads: Tuna Canyon. It's a tight, one way road to the PCH, but a little too technical for me on the Ducati at the moment.

I took a break to enjoy some scenery and take a few blurry cameraphone pics, then headed off to a look recommended by my friend. Mulholland Racetrack, as he called it, is a Nurburgring-esque loop of asphalt that winds from Stunt Road, down Piuma, and back to Mulholland Highway. The views are fantastic, the road is mostly well paved, and the corners are wonderful. I really hit my stride in this section, smoothly tipping into corners and maintaining an even throttle. I found that for lower speed corners, it helped my balance to pop my inside knee out a little instead of keeping both knees against the tank.

All in all, a great ride. My longest single day ride, so my wrists were a bit tired by the end, but the grin on my face was so worth it. Now I have to survive another work week so I can do it again next weekend!

Time: 3 hours
Miles: 120

Latigo Canyon + Traffic

The day after my birthday was pretty rough, but I was feeling good by about 5pm, so I set out for a cruise since the sun doesn't set until about 8pm. Heading up PCH, there was an accident southbound north of Sunset Blvd, which had traffic backed up pretty far. Hoping to avoid getting stuck in traffic on the way home, I took my time and headed for Latigo Canyon.

I love driving Latigo in my car. It's twisty, and the top part has pretty high quality pavement. This was going to be a learning experience on my motorcycle, since I hadn't ridden anything nearly that curvy yet.

Big learning point for the day: you go where you look. This means several things, but two in particular:

• If you stare at the pavement 5 feet ahead of you, you'll never hit a good line and won't feel stable in a turn.


• The further ahead you look, the better off you will be. Even in blind corners, visualize where you should end up and adjust once the exit comes into view.

The secondary learning point came from inspiration I found reading some of Keith Code's articles: Counter-steering turns the bike. Body movement will not. Counter-steering as a result of body movement will, but that is simply cause and effect. You want to focus on the real cause, so learn to counter-steer to initiate turns.

I also had a bit of a scare downshifting into a turn where I didn't match revs close enough. Letting out the clutch quickly, my rear tire skipped briefly. Fortunately, I was still slowing down for the turn and was moving in a straight line. Keeping my head up and looking where I was going, the bike balanced itself out in a matter of a few milliseconds, but it still shook me up mentally.

Latigo was fun, I headed back to PCH down Kanan Dume, and, just like I was trying to avoid, I ended up in very heavy southbound traffic. I wasn't comfortable splitting the two lanes (especially since PCH isn't very wide) and was puttering along at >5mph when two motorcycles passed me riding the white line on the shoulder. I got in behind them and followed them until traffic cleared up, then got back into the normal flow. Not quite lane splitting, but my first experience with "creative" use of road.

Time: 3 hours
Miles: 60 miles

She's mine, all mine.

Well that was speedy. I already recieved the title in the mail. 3-6 weeks seems like quite an overestimate.

Finally, a full weekend!

What a weekend. Had a total blast with my baby. I saw the girlfriend, too.

Commitments in Orange County forced me to ride down late Friday (to avoid traffic), so that was an experience. My first night ride on the freeway went pretty smoothly. I hopped into the carpool lane and cruised along at about 75. It was like 10:30pm, though, and LA drivers really want to do >80mph. I'm not comfortable with that yet, so I just let them get frustrated and pass me. I figure that's a better idea than getting outside my comfort zone and crashing.

Sunday took the 748 up into the "canyons" east of Orange for a hike with the g/f and her roommates. The hike was nice, the ride was nicer. Nothing too twisty, but traffic was very light and I was able to cruise without worrying about other cars. We stopped for lunch at the local biker bar which was packed with Harleys and custom cruisers. Saw a very nice 996 with tons of carbon fiber, but didn't see the owner.

The ride home was super easy. The Duc really likes it when the road isn't straight. It just seems bored on the freeways.

Miles (total): 140

DMV Visit

The state of California gives you 10 days from the date of sale to the time you must report new ownership (and pay the government). Today was 9 days, so I figured I should get that taken care of before I had to pay the government even more money in late fees.

Headed into the DMV at 7:45, 15 minutes before they open. In retrospect, I could have made an appointment but I lucked out and the wait wasn't long at all. 15 minutes after 8, I walked out with a new registration card in my name (and $180 less in my bank account). The new title is supposed to be mailed to me in about 3-6 weeks. Now we play the waiting game...

Cruisin'

I'd been itching all week, so when I went out on Friday and my good friend Julius suggested a Sunday ride/drive, I couldn't resist. Julius has been my driving partner since I've had my M3. He's owned two s2000's (the first one met an unfortunate end on a rainy day in San Francisco) and drives relatively conservatively, so I was happy to go with him on a jaunt to the Malibu canyons.

We took PCH to Kanan Dume to the Mulholland lookout point just east of Kanan Dume. Enjoyed the view, took a few snapshots, and headed back the way we came.

The ride was great - mostly sunny, 70 degrees. Following some advice I found online, I worked on using my legs and abs to keep my weight off of my wrists, which prevented the pain I experienced during my very first ride. I also got more comfortable with higher speeds, starting to lean into some 50+ mph sweepers on Kanan Dume.

Two hours later, I pulled into my driveway and kind of wished for more, but I had other commitments, so the bike got locked up and covered for another day.

Time: 2 hours
Miles: 55

Night Ride

I've been itching to take the Duke out all this week, but work's been crazy, so when I was actually home before 10pm last night I decided to go for it.

First hurdle: getting the bike out of my driveway. As I mentioned last time, our driveway is pretty sloped. Fortunately, the bike is much smaller than a car, and I can actually disengage the clutch almost fully before I even hit the uphill.

As it was 10pm, there was basically no traffic around my neighborhood, so I just cruised the streets for a bit. Our neighborhood has a plentiful supply of stop signs, so I got to practice 1st gear/2nd gear/neutral/stop quite a bit.

I didn't feel as solid on the bike as I did on Sunday, but I chalk it up to being tired from work and feeling nervous because it was nighttime. I also felt bad about maybe waking some neighbors up with my nice loud exhaust. I called it quits pretty early, but still got some reasonable riding time in. I pulled up onto the sidewalk and managed to back my bike down the driveway incline and park it right where I wanted to.

My bike cover came in the mail, after making a detour to Hawaii. I pulled it out and put it on my bike to keep the dust off. It fits very well and the bungee cords go underneath my bike and through the front wheel. I wasn't sure how I could make it work with my alarm, tho. I could probably lock it and pull the cover over the lock as it's arming, but to take the lock off, I'd surely bump it with the cover. The lock's motion sensing feature is mighty sensitive, and I couldn't figure out a good way to use both the lock and cover, so I ended up taking the alarm out of the lock (it disengages using a provided alan wrench) and just locking my bike up with the cover on, but no alarm.

Verdicts:
1. As long as I park the bike facing the street, getting out isn't a problem, even with both Corey's and my car there.
2. Even with both cars in the driveway, it's not particularly difficult to back the bike down our driveway.

Miles: 3
Time: 15 mins

First Ride

After several weeks of negotiation, I purchased my bike today. I really should have started recording this stuff earlier, since there's a lot of planning that goes into this kind of purchase, but I'm going to save that for a later date (or maybe I'll back-date some posts). Either way, here's how today broke down:

I was buying the bike from a guy who lives in Simi Valley. I live in Santa Monica, about an hour away. The first step was getting a ride from my roommate up to the guy's storage unit where the bike was. We met up and he had the bike in the parking lot. He and I filled out the paperwork and exchanged money. I paid for the bike full in cash. Have you ever touted several grand of bills around? Yeah, it was a new experience for me, but I found that it fit reasonably well into a normal US postal envelope. As for paperwork:

He detached, filled out, and signed his Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability. He will send this into the DMV and from there on out, any traffic violations or parking tickets will become my responsibility. For more details, the California DMV site is here.

Then we both signed the title, indicating what the current mileage was (roughly 17,000). On the back, I filled out my address and information. I have 10 days from the date of sale to take this into the DMV and pay sales tax and registration fees and then the bike will be legally transferred into my name.

With all that taken care of, I donned my protective gear (helmet, jacket, gloves) and he showed me how to start up the bike. I knew the basics, but the Ducati's engine kill switch, when pushed into the "Start" position, sends power to the fuel pump. Make sure you do that before you start up the bike. After that, just push the starter and she should fire right up. A little twist of the throttle if need be, and make sure the oil light goes out. If it stays on for more than 10 seconds, you should shut the bike off and figure out the problem.

One thing worth noting here is that my bike will not start unless the kickstand is up and the bike is in Neutral. I have no qualms with this, but I guess some people like to just start with the clutch in? If you want to bypass the sidestand check there are products from companies like Evoluzione that can help you out.

So back to my experience. Now I'm on this beast of a bike, with my only previous experience on a 250cc in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course, which took place in a parking lot. Fortunately, I remembered most of the drills we went through, and the very first one was just learning how to engage the clutch, give it a bit of gas, and get going from a standstill.

Unfortunately, the parking lot for the storage facility was very small. I ended up just being able to get going before I'd have to hit the brakes, stop, and slowly make a u-turn to go back the other way. The bike was very stable once it was moving, so that instilled a lot of confidence. The clutch itself has a very short distance between fully engaged and fully disengaged, which could be a problem for some people, but I'm used to the same feel in my car (1995 BMW M3).

After several passes of start/stop/u-turn, the gas light came on, so it was time to take my new baby out on the road and fill 'er up. I got directions to the nearest gas station and prepared to step out into traffic. Simi Valley at 2pm on a Saturday wasn't particularly crowded and the streets are pretty wide, so I didn't have much trouble. One left turn, two stoplights, and a right turn and I pulled into the gas station.

Turns out gassing your bike is way different from gassing your car. Yeah yeah, big surprise. Basic steps are the same: shut off the engine, turn the key to "off." Now take off your gloves and helmet. DON'T sit on your bike when you're fueling, unless you enjoy a crotchful of gasoline. I certainly don't. I had an issue getting the automatic shutoff valve not to stop the flow of fuel. With only a 4.5 gallon tank, my bike is more like filling one of those red portable gas canisters than filling a car.

Well, topped off on fuel and resuited up for the road, I took to the street. Two right turns later I found a residential area with wide streets and no traffic. I cruised around, practicing shifts to second and third, stop signs and clutching, and finding neutral from first before I came to a stop. Conveniently, I happened across a school parking lot, where I was able to work on some of the turning manuevers that we learned in MSF. I circled around there, both left and right, for a while, then did some more stopping and starting.

After that I started to head for the freeway, but ended up in the wrong lane of traffic and missed the turn. I'm not used to the limited visibility the motorcycle mirrors afford and was too nervous to attempt even a slightly sudden lane change. This worked out in my favor, as I ended up in an industrial area, which had a maze-like series of parking lots. I zoomed around there practicing left and right turns keeping the throttle steady. I also got a change to see what speed bumps are like. As long as you slow down and lift a little on the footpegs there's no problem at all.

I took a brief break in the shade to rest my wrists. The forward riding position wears on you after a while. I got off the bike and stretched my legs and wrists for a little bit before heading out for the freeway again. I found a good open stretch of road with no cars that had a 50mph speed limit and was able to work my way up to higher speeds. I found the onramp and... deep breath... my first freeway ride.

Turns out 65 mph isn't really that scary on a sportbike. As it was a Saturday afternoon, traffic was light so I didn't have to worry too much. I hung mostly in the slow lane, riding very conservatively, but flexing my abs and using my legs against the tank to take some of the weight off my wrists. A nice long freeway jaunt later, I got off at Kanan Dume to take the canyon road through Malibu instead of the dreaded traffic on the 405 south. I think this was an excellent choice. Kanan Dume is a well-paved wide canyon road with many passing opportunities so I wasn't going to hold anyone up. I worked on making smooth turns and keeping a nice constant throttle. Man, my bike makes a real holler through those tunnels, tho!

The Pacific Coast highway was more of the same. It was great to taste the salty sea air and you couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I hit some minimal traffic at the Santa Monica Incline, but nothing too bad.

I got home, and managed to get the bike down my driveway. My and my roommate have tandem parking, with the first spot covered by the first floor of our apartment, and the second spot on and incline. My M3 will scrape if I'm not careful, so that gives you some idea of how steep the incline was. My car was parked on the street and Corey was out, so I was able to pull in nose first and turn the bike around in the bottom spot without any trouble. I pulled out my new Xena lock and locked the front hub, then went inside to relax for the day.

Miles: 65
Time: 4 hours

What's this all about?

Against my better judgement (and the advice of just about anyone I talked to) I bought a Ducati 748 as my first motorcycle.

I want a place that I can store all my experiences, good and bad, for me to look back and reminisce. Maybe some other poor fool will be able to look here for advice on maintenance, a good ride in SoCal, or advice on your first bike. Since it's going to be a learning experience for me, I figure I can at least share that knowledge with others.