First time on the highway

[Luiz]

So I just got my FZ6 a month ago and it is my first motorcycle. I love it so far.

Today is the first time I go on the highway I drove the bike down from school to my home (about 200 miles) I was a little nervous at first. It was really windy and I was surprised how much the wind can be a factor. Everything went smoothly other than 2 10 minute rain storms. So thats 2 in 1 for me(first time on highway and in the rain)

What is the longest anyone has ridden without stopping? I stopped about halfway for 10 minutes.

 

[Nelly]

Well done on the highway ride. Highways are very daunting at first. Good observation cannot be stressed to lightly. Your first motorcycle [FZ6] can also haul some serious a55.
If you have not done so already take a training course like the MSF.
Stay safe and well done.

Nelly

 

[scottsst]

good on ya with the first highway riding I know my first run on the highway was a big step for me but its old hat now .I have been known to go 180 to 200 miles between stops if I need gas I stop before !

 

[Kilbane83]

Heh yeah I avoided the highways for a few hundred miles around here people are insane. Pretty much impossible to get from one side of town to the other without riding on a highway or interstate though. When going any real distance I ride tank to tank no reason to stop between really. 200miles give or take is about 2.5hrs seat time for me.

 

[cv_rider]

Good work! Big step. I remember being quite intimidated by it, but it's actually safer than riding slower on surface streets. Cars are more predictable.

Watch out for rain. Too many things that are not normally dangerous suddenly are dangerous (rain-related crash posted today, BTW). I try to avoid riding in the rain, and so I never get experience or confidence in how much traction I really have. An experienced rider will have no problem for it, but for me, it's just an extra wrung up the risk ladder that I'm not willing to go on.

 

[MisterX]

Congrats on your achievement. After I got my bike, I too avoided the highways. The first couple of times I dared to ride them, I was a nervous wreck! Now, it's not so much of a big deal to me. To a point that is. There's still a stretch of the highway around where I live that I've yet to ride. Too many exit ramps, and the people here will try to run you over just to get to them.

As for the rain; I abhor riding in the rain. Then again, I don't necessarily have the confidence that others here on the forum do when it comes to wet weather riding. It's the whole two wheel vs. four wheel thing that stays in my mind.

 

[sideslider]

Heh yeah I avoided the highways for a few hundred miles around here people are insane. Pretty much impossible to get from one side of town to the other without riding on a highway or interstate though. When going any real distance I ride tank to tank no reason to stop between really. 200miles give or take is about 2.5hrs seat time for me.

Seems crazy to hear people avoiding highways... city driving is so much more crazy here than freeway.

too many corss streets, people and animals running accross the street everywhere.... city transit drivers (who can be very agressive drivers)

OMg give me a highway where I can find a buble and everyone is going the same direction...

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Seems crazy to hear people avoiding highways... city driving is so much more crazy here than freeway.

too many corss streets, people and animals running accross the street everywhere.... city transit drivers (who can be very agressive drivers)

OMg give me a highway where I can find a buble and everyone is going the same direction...

+1, but the downside is that if you crash, there is a good possiblity that you will be crashing at a high rate of speed.

Just remember, in general, the fast lane is the safest lane to travel in. You only have to worry about a bad lane change from one side. The slow lane is the most dangerous, how many times have you seen vehicles try to exit from the next lane or even two at the very last second. They aren't looking for a motorcyclist when they do it, so a wipe out is almost guaranteed.

Be careful with the wind too. There has been a very popular subject in how to ride in windy conditions. Make sure you are well rehearsed. I have always said, the wind is probably the biggest hazzard to a motorcyclist, just because you can never see it or predict when it's going to hit ya.

 

[Kilbane83]

Seems crazy to hear people avoiding highways... city driving is so much more crazy here than freeway.

Yeah it's one of those hindsight things hah. Going fast inherintly seems like it should be more dangerous.. until you realize that you don't have to watch every sideroad and stop light and stop sign hoping a hemi doesn't fly from behind a building to squash you. Highway traffic tends to be much more predicatable than city traffic for sure... predictable but I wouldn't say safer heh.

Just remember, in general, the fast lane is the safest lane to travel in. You only have to worry about a bad lane change from one side. The slow lane is the most dangerous, how many times have you seen vehicles try to exit from the next lane or even two at the very last second. They aren't looking for a motorcyclist when they do it, so a wipe out is almost guaranteed.

Good advice there :thumbup:

 

[Luiz]

If you have not done so already take a training course like the MSF.


Nelly

I took the course but they don't really prepare me for highway riding. It helped me realize potential hazards but It needs to be improved in the US I think.

Thanks everyone for the input, I also realized that the highway is safer but it still is a lot more indimitating for a begginner like me.

 

[sideslider]

I took the course but they don't really prepare me for highway riding. It helped me realize potential hazards but It needs to be improved in the US I think.

Thanks everyone for the input, I also realized that the highway is safer but it still is a lot more indimitating for a begginner like me.

I rode a gz250 http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/GZ250K7/Specs/Default.aspx to work for a year or more... talk about scary!!

the fz makes the freeway much easier

 

[rickvan67]

I'm relieved to see that I'm not the only one that suffered (and still suffers a bit) from highway anxiety when i first started riding. When I took the MSF course one of the instructors asked me why I didn't ride in on the "fizzer". I didn't have the balls to admit to him that i didnt ride it in because I was paranoid to ride on the freeway!

 

[ReblTeen84]

I've had mine since Sept and havn't touched the interstate. However, our interstate/s are 95, 395 and 495. I'll try 95 in the spring, but even my MSF instructor said, and i quote, stay the hell off the beltway (495) for at LEAST your first year, and when you DO ride it the first time, ride in a group. However, I can also get pretty much anywhere i need to go without hitting 95, it just takes twice as long or more. Besides, riding around town give me more curves/corners and i'm just starting to get the hang of how far I can lean the bike in some of those corners! :Flash:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I've had mine since Sept and havn't touched the interstate. However, our interstate/s are 95, 395 and 495. I'll try 95 in the spring, but even my MSF instructor said, and i quote, stay the hell off the beltway (495) for at LEAST your first year, and when you DO ride it the first time, ride in a group. However, I can also get pretty much anywhere i need to go without hitting 95, it just takes twice as long or more. Besides, riding around town give me more curves/corners and i'm just starting to get the hang of how far I can lean the bike in some of those corners! :Flash:

Yup, those highways are pretty congested and also move at a pretty aggressive pace. Lots of trucks too.

My advice here is to find a less congested freeway and ride, so you can get accustomed to riding at a faster speed. It's going to feel different, the wind, the noise, etc. After you get use to riding at a high rate of speed, you can tackle the heavy/aggressive traffic at those speeds without feeling too out of place.

I also forgot to mention that you never want to ride axle to axle, and avoid placing yourself in their blind spots by minimizing your time spent in that area where they might not see you, even if it means throttling up or down, but on those highways, you will be better off to throttle up.

 

[ironman]

I guess it never occured to me to be paranoid of the highway. When I got my fizzer (first bike), back in August, I had my dad pick it up from the dealer for me and I took a bus 200 miles to his house. Then I rode it around the neighborhood for 2 hours getting a feel for it and jumped up on the highway headed for home. One stop for gas and gatoraid and the rest was smooth sailing. I was much more comfortable cruising on the highway than in town. Like everyone else has said more predictable fewer variables and wider shoulders on the road for escape routes (should you need them).

 

[notjohndavid]

I hadn't ever been on a bike really when I took the MSF course. After they gave everyone their certificates for passing I asked said something like "okay... it's great that we were able to do this in a closed, controlled area, but when are we ready for the streets?" and the instructor said something like "We've given you all the tools you need to be able to ride"... to which I said "yeah but not on the highway? that's scary". "That's your choice. Keep in mind that the most dangerous place for motorcycles is intersections. Once you get on the highway they're generally safer than other places"

Well it took me a couple weeks of riding around town before I was comfortable to get up to highway speeds. After months of traveling on the freeways I have to say that I actually feel safer on the highway than I do around town. I was certainly nervous my first few times... especially when I got blown around by the wind (I started on a GS500... the FZ6 is muuuuuuuuch nicer at freeway speeds) but I got used to it and now don't even think about it.

..... okay I had a point. two actually. We get more comfortable with things when we're exposed to them over and over (such as being on the freeway). I guess that's experience. A concern of mine though is becoming complacent. I don't want to take safety for granted just because I've not had any mishaps in the past.

The other point is that if you don't feel safe in a situation you shouldn't let someone else talk you into putting yourself there.