A big scare with the Nomad

[tkd]

Ok,

So, y'all are probably gonna laugh at this. My wife, bless her heart, decided she wanted to learn more about motorcycles, which is great, so what does she do? She decided to get her permit.....A little studying and off to the DMV......and bam, she has a permit which makes her legal to ride with limitations here in MN. Well, she passed with 100%! Of course I was proud and told her so then she asked "do you think I should start practicing on our bike".

Now, let me clarify something. My wife rode a moped for a little while in HS and has never ridden anything bigger than that or with a clutch and gears. She has also never ridden other than a bicycle that has 2 wheels for the last 20 years. My heart started to flutter.....turn her loose on an 800lb bike with gobs of torque? I don't think so........So the good news is I gently convinced her that perhaps the Nomad was not a good "starter bike"

Fortunately, she agreed and she was already signed up for the MSC this coming weekend. Talk about a close call..............




PS, I am being a good sport and taking the course with her because I know I don't know it all.


What's been your biggest scare?

[ice793]

my buddy wants to ride and he never has ridin anything,so when i had my 900 he talked me into letting him ride it in my cauldisac and he was doin fine but panicked and forgot to pull clutch and bike kinda got away from him and almost ended up in the back of my neighbors tahoe he fortunatly saved and layed it gently down on its side thank god for crash bars,so after that i told him sorry time for msf so you can crash thier bikes.

[fish]

my biggest scare ??? maybe not a scare but more surprised to find my wife sitting on my old 800 the scare will come when she rides by herself for the 1st. time.

[caddman11]

My wife wanted to ride, and I too wanted her to ride. We both took the ABATE safety course and it was well worth it. Even though I have been riding for 38 years, I still learned things. It was great fun doing it together, and you need to look at it that way. I feel really lucky that I have a wife that is interested and wants to participate in one of my hobbies. It's also very nice to have a riding partner when you go riding instead of riding with only one bike. I'm not saying that we never ride two up, because we do, it just gives us more options. :-*

She has now been riding for 6 years and back then, you rarely saw a female rider, but now it's becoming pretty common. We get some pretty strange looks at bike nites mainly because she rides a Harley 883 Hugger, (perfect size and weight for her and enough power to keep up at highway speeds) and I ride the Nomad. You know how stuffy that some hard core Harley riders can get.

[markusmaximus]

Smart move tkd. My wife has no desire to learn. Even if she did, being, shall we say, vertically challenged, she probably couldn't reach the ground. She's happy being a passenger, and so am I.

[kawgirl]

Take it easy on the gals there fellas. I ride the 800 lb. Nomad with no problems. It's a matter of learning what to do and practice. You guys had to go through the same process at some point and time. Not mad at anyone, just saying................

BTW, my starter bike was a Suzuki Intruder 800. Great bike.

[scion0]

Originally Posted by caddman11

My wife wanted to ride, and I too wanted her to ride. We both took the ABATE safety course and it was well worth it. Even though I have been riding for 38 years, I still learned things. It was great fun doing it together, and you need to look at it that way. I feel really lucky that I have a wife that is interested and wants to participate in one of my hobbies. It's also very nice to have a riding partner when you go riding instead of riding with only one bike. I'm not saying that we never ride two up, because we do, it just gives us more options. :-*

She has now been riding for 6 years and back then, you rarely saw a female rider, but now it's becoming pretty common. We get some pretty strange looks at bike nites mainly because she rides a Harley 883 Hugger, (perfect size and weight for her and enough power to keep up at highway speeds) and I ride the Nomad. You know how stuffy that some hard core Harley riders can get.

My wife is taking the class starting tonight... now I just have to find a good starter bike for her...

[tkd]

Kawgirl,

I didn't mean any offense. If my wife can prove that she can ride a bike, then by all means, she can certainly try the Nomad under the right conditions. I just thought that having never ridden any sort of motorcycle and not being the most mechanically inclined, a Nomad might be a bit overwhelming for her first try.

I guess my sense of humor takes some getting used to......BTW, when we are in the class together, I'm going to pretent I dont' know her unless she specifically ask me to help. I've learned that while I'm generally a good teacher at many things, trying to teach the wife is better left to someone else.

Have a great weekend

[Top Cat]

Cindy decided she wanted her own bike so the search began to find something she felt comfortable on. I told her it was absolutely a necessity for her to be able to reach the ground flat footed.
After visiting many dealers she thought an 800 S50 Suzuki was the answer. I thought it was physically too small but didn't say anything.
We went to a dealer who had Suzuki and Honda bikes. She sat on a Shadow 750 C-2 and her eyes lit up. This is bike that fits me the best was her comment.
She has her permit but can't get into the MSF course till August so it is practice on the lawn for now. In time as her confidence grows we will go to the road. We have a very large lawn
Amy, how long did you ride the Intruder before trading up?

[fish]

Originally Posted by caddman11

My wife wanted to ride, and I too wanted her to ride. We both took the ABATE safety course and it was well worth it. Even though I have been riding for 38 years, I still learned things. It was great fun doing it together, and you need to look at it that way. I feel really lucky that I have a wife that is interested and wants to participate in one of my hobbies. It's also very nice to have a riding partner when you go riding instead of riding with only one bike. I'm not saying that we never ride two up, because we do, it just gives us more options. :-*

She has now been riding for 6 years and back then, you rarely saw a female rider, but now it's becoming pretty common. We get some pretty strange looks at bike nites mainly because she rides a Harley 883 Hugger, (perfect size and weight for her and enough power to keep up at highway speeds) and I ride the Nomad. You know how stuffy that some hard core Harley riders can get.

only 6 years ago, my wife used to ride before kids 25+ years ago.

[davidjones1]

I am with you guys it was a little scary when the wife wanted to start riding, but I am for it if this is what she wants. she dump the 800 I had in the drive way and pulled back from wanting to ride for now and I want her to move on this at her pace, but going to a MSF course is the only way to go. because mine will tell you I can't teach her a thing lol. and by the way kawgirl can ride a bike with the best. she is cool to watch move it down the rode and thru the twisties.
ride safe.

I recommend a lighter bike to start with also.The Nomad is very heavy at low speeds.

[redeye]

My wife took the MSC last May & bought herself a new 2007 Honda Shadow 750 on June 10th. This is a very light & well balanced beginner bike I would recommend to anyone....-Rich

[kawgirl]

Originally Posted by tkd

Kawgirl,

I didn't mean any offense. If my wife can prove that she can ride a bike, then by all means, she can certainly try the Nomad under the right conditions. I just thought that having never ridden any sort of motorcycle and not being the most mechanically inclined, a Nomad might be a bit overwhelming for her first try.

I guess my sense of humor takes some getting used to......BTW, when we are in the class together, I'm going to pretent I dont' know her unless she specifically ask me to help. I've learned that while I'm generally a good teacher at many things, trying to teach the wife is better left to someone else.

Have a great weekend

No offense taken as I noted in my post. Not mad, just stating that we all have a learning curve. The Nomad is a bit of an undertaking for one who may not have some natural ability in those kinds of areas. Good luck with the class and enjoy the ride.

You have a great weekend yourself! Find some riding time. :)

[markusmaximus]

Originally Posted by kawgirl (nckawgirl)

Take it easy on the gals there fellas. I ride the 800 lb. Nomad with no problems. It's a matter of learning what to do and practice. You guys had to go through the same process at some point and time. Not mad at anyone, just saying................

Hi Kawagirl,
I can't (or won't) speak for other guys posting, but my comments were not meant to offend or hint at any sexism. My point, perhaps not well stated, was that the Nomad is not a good bike to learn on, regardless of gender. Added to the challenges of maneuvering a 800 lb bike is the issue of not being able to reach the ground flat-footed, which many women (and a few men) face. I would much rather anyone (regardless of gender) learning to ride drop my old 440 lb, 500 cc Vulcan than the Nad. Personally, I wish more women would learn to ride. And from what I read, you are a highly competent rider. My apologies to you or any other women who took my comments the wrong way.