Just another Earthen Blog allotment in efforts to help enforce baby boomers' positive image of themselves.More and more, people who have entered this age group find themselves with a need - especially this time of year - to get out and do something different. Well, here's a suggestion/possibility, and one I'm trying out - and that is an understatement. I'm determined.Learning to ride a motorcycle/motorscooter. My husband had recently inherited a Yamaha 550cc and was re-aquainting himself with riding a bike. I finally got the nerve to ride as passenger, and though it was exciting, it also unnerved me. I really don't enjoy not being in control, preferring getting somewhere under my own steam. And since I'd never learned to drive a stick in a vehicle, that lent to my decision to stay away from a clutch altogether. I quite honestly didn't think they made an automatic motorcycle. How could that be? Still we got the advice of our local motorcycle sales/repair shop, who gave us a short list of manufacturers who make automatic motorscooters. Naturally, the first thing my mind conjured up was a vespa or moped. I could just see me tooling up Arizona's I-17 on one of these.Not! Nope! No way!
Well I got online and looked into a couple of scooters on the list... the Yamaha Magesty, and the Suzuki Burgman, both in the 400cc category. I checked out the specs in the seat-height area, especially. I'm only 5'1" with a short leg span. The mpg is awesome - 50+! This is, of course, another great motivator in these rising-gas-prices times. I called a couple of local dealers, got some pricing (and boy did they vary! - it pays to shop). We finally decided to go and physically see one.I sat on it, and wondered if I was absolutely nuts! Sitting on the seat's lowest point, my feet were only on their tippy-toes. I couldn't sit flat footed. No kind of structure around me, and though it's much lighter than a motorcycle, for my little frame this vehicle was still a bit front heavy. But like I said... I was determined. I figured it'd take time to get comfortable with it. So, the Suzuki Burgman 400 it is! We brought it home that day, and that was two weeks ago.We took it out to a nearby parking lot just for me to try it out, and I learned to throttle and brake, all the while keeping my feet close to the ground. I made a couple of short and easy turns, though they were quite difficult to maneuver at such slow speeds. I finally got up the courage to put my feet up on the floor boards while throttling, slow down and brake, and get my toes down. And it worked! That is, until the next time out, when I attempted the same maneuver, and landed my feet wrong (on a slight incline to my right) and both bike and me went over.Well, that's when we decided we had to look into changing the seat somehow - lower it to accommodate my short legs - so that I could straddle the bike with both of my feet flat on the ground. Again, I was astonished to find out this sort of thing was done regularly. Heck, Suzuki was aiming the Burgman 400 at women. There had to be other women riding them just as short in stature as I! At least I hoped so.We found a local shop (only two that are reputable in the Phoenix valley) that do custom bike seats. While talking on the phone with this gentleman, he recommended that I also sign up for a motorcycle riding safety course, and mentioned one in particular - one that his wife attended to learn how to ride. So I did... which is when I learned that they only use the bike that I didn't want to learn on - in their classes... the clutch kind! Geez! But they emphasized how they take their time with you and make sure you get it right. That heartened me. Also, this course, among others is recognized by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation - a biggie in awareness for safe motorcycle riding. So, it seems I'm on my way. Check out these websites - covering the above-mentioned areas.
WRN -Women Riders Now-
Motorcycle Safety Foundation
Suzuki Burgman 400
It always pays to do research, ask questions, just be as informed as you can. The more you 'network' in this way, the more enlightened you become in your area of interest. And that's key in any endeavor.
Before I get back on my Suzuki Burgman, my seat is going to be re-contoured, and I'm going to learn how to ride it by the safe and informed method.I'll keep you updated on my progress!
Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 09:32AM 
