When are you no longer a "noob"?

[lonesoldier84]

I know every rider will always learn for as long as he rides, but when can you consider yourself above the category of "noob"?

I'm closing in on 5k km and am IMMENSELY more confident and competent than I was at 2k km. My emergency reactions are ok, not entirely amazing as the vets would react, but much more intuitive and instinctual. I dont think much about the bike as im riding and have much more of an intuitive feel for the bike than I did at 2.5k km.

I rode the bike to learn how to RIDE not just "operate a motorcycle" so I was constantly pushing myself to learn how to react, corner, and brake at every possible moment. I would rarely even just go "straight" and would be messing around with leaning from one side of my lane to the other in various manners (feet, body, arms, shoulders, etc) and thats true of every time i was braking or cornering as well. Always tried to learn to RIDE. (i wasnt unsafe tho, if there was traffic I would turn into a grandma or if the road wouldnt allow it) I made it a point to only head out at either at low-traffic hours or find parts of the city (or out of the city) that had low traffic.

Am I still a noob? Am I intermediate yet?

 

[Keits]

I know every rider will always learn for as long as he rides, but when can you consider yourself above the category of "noob"?

I'm closing in on 5k km and am IMMENSELY more confident and competent than I was at 2k km. My emergency reactions are ok, not entirely amazing as the vets would react, but much more intuitive and instinctual. I dont think much about the bike as im riding and have much more of an intuitive feel for the bike than I did at 2.5k km.

I rode the bike to learn how to RIDE not just "operate a motorcycle"

Hmmm....interesting question. Most of your post describes how I feel to the "T" but at 3400mi and only 6wk of riding experience I am definately still a "noob".

On a side note: I was talkin to a couple of guys in my office. One of which rides a '05 Triumph Sprint ST (not completely sure the year is right) Anywhoo- This guy has had his bike for almost 3yrs and only has 2500mi on her. I can't figure out why he bought it if he's just gonna let the bike sit in his garage. I know that he has had at least one previous bike but judging from how rarely he rides now he can't have that much time in the saddle. Not really sure what my point is...just felt like sharing. Sorry to go so far OT

 

[Doorag]

I've done about 10K miles now on various bikes and I'm starting to not feel like a noob anymore. I think you just know when it happens. Maybe it's the time that you get on, ride somewhere and are completely relaxed - no worrying about balance or gear selection or speed or making sure you are observing enough. It just feels 'right'.

I would also warn that this is probably the most dangerous time. If you aren't careful, a sense of over-confidence can creep up on you and that's when you'll do something silly.

 

[christod1]

Hey, I have done about 150,000 Km on a bike and I still consider myself a noob! Seriously now, it depends how you see it. It's all a question of not letting your guard down. People who think that they have done so many miles and because of this don't consider them selves a noob tend to be over confident and make a noob mistake. I don't think its a question of how many miles or kilometers but of experience...

 

[reiobard]

if you are asking, then you are still a noob...


Seriously though as soon as you would feel confident hopping on any bike and having confidence that you would be able to ride it and not have it completely overwhelm you is a good indicator. I have the utmost respect for riding any bike and know the dangers involved, i just have the confidence that i would be able to control any bike to MY abilities... I have yet to ride anything to the bikes ability.

 

[BranNwebster]

I was constantly pushing myself to learn how to react, corner, and brake at every possible moment. I would rarely even just go "straight" and would be messing around with leaning from one side of my lane to the other in various manners (feet, body, arms, shoulders, etc) and thats true of every time i was braking or cornering as well. Always tried to learn to RIDE.

Man I do the same thing. I also do last second avoidance of manhole covers.

I've read twist of the wrist once plus, and about 90% of Sport Riding Techniques. I've done everything I can think of to progress me forward into being a better motorcyclist. Now it's just time and comfort level.

Don't worry about labels. Your here and concerned and not a squid, so I would bet you better than a lot of bikers you see on the road.

Next- Keith Code Superbike School :rockon:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

It's not just about your ability, but the knowledge and skills you have to go with it. I don't think 5000km isn't even close to acquiring the neccessary tools. Dont even think about riding two up unless you have at least 16,000km on your bike. Another factor is how much experience do you have in different riding environments. What good is 10,000 or 20,000km if it's mostly on isolated or less traveled roads. Or riding just when the weather is nice. Try riding in the rain, wind, rush hour traffic, even in different major cities and see how you fair. One mistake in those conditions above could be costly. Why am I using metric?

 

[OkieDavid]

I'd rather like to think of myself as a newbie the rest of my riding life. Keeps you grounded in reality that upon facing the next obstacle/emergency it doesn't really matter how much saddle time you have, your reaction to THIS incident has to be correct or you pile it up. I'll wear my newbie badge with honor as my only concern is avoiding the squid label.

P.S. Everytime you drive a "familiar" section of road it is "new". The pavement grip characteristics, a new roadkill in the corner, piece of rock/debris in the roadway, amount of wear/grip your tires have, the fellow with the leaking rear main seal that lost a pint of oil in the 90 degree turn.....It's new everytime I drive it which by default makes me a new rider.

 

[HavBlue]

What good is 10,000 or 20,000km if it's mostly on isolated or less traveled roads.

Come back here and I'll be more than happy to show you what those 10,000 or 20,000km will get you in terms of experience. There's no street sweepers to give you something nice to ride on. There's no crew out fixing all the imperfections of the roads you ride on. You will encounter crap all over the road like rocks, grass in a turn, people like the buggy folks going 5mph when you are going 50mph, dogs that give chase, deer and various other critters to keep you busy, farm equipment that takes up the entire road from side to side and so on.
This ain't Vegas or the open desert in terms of back roads.

When are you no longer a newb? When you quit making newb mistakes.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Come back here and I'll be more than happy to show you what those 10,000 or 20,000km will get you in terms of experience. There's no street sweepers to give you something nice to ride on. There's no crew out fixing all the imperfections of the roads you ride on. You will encounter crap all over the road like rocks, grass in a turn, people like the buggy folks going 5mph when you are going 50mph, dogs that give chase, deer and various other critters to keep you busy, farm equipment that takes up the entire road from side to side and so on.
This ain't Vegas or the open desert in terms of back roads.

When are you no longer a newb? When you quit making newb mistakes.

Thats right, those isolated roads that you are talking about are totally different than the roads here in town or in any major big city. They offer different hazards as you mentioned. So let say you have 100,000km of experience riding on those so called isolated roads, what good is it if you have very little experience in heavy rush hour traffic that you would find in any major city. You have to be proficient in all environments. Read the last paragraph of my rider resume Blue.

 

[Doorag]

I've been pretty lucky in my experience so far. 10K miles (not km) every day of the year for over a year come rain or shine or wind or whatever, 3/4 of it commuting in heavy traffic in one of the largest cities in the world, of which 1/2 the year is in total darkness (to work and home both) due to very short winter days, the other 25% on a combination of heavily used motorways and small town traffic. I should be pretty well set so far.

 

[HavBlue]

Thats right, those isolated roads that you are talking about are totally different than the roads here in town or in any major big city. They offer different hazards as you mentioned. So let say you have 100,000km of experience riding on those so called isolated roads, what good is it if you have very little experience in heavy rush hour traffic that you would find in any major city. You have to be proficient in all environments. Read the last paragraph of my rider resume Blue.

Plenty, heavy rush hour traffic is a cake walk. When I came to Kentucky having spent 43 years in the likes of California traffic and the backroads of the open California desert I had seen and experienced a great deal but nothing in that environment prepared me for what I have faced here and to me, that rush hour traffic and those nice streets are a piece of cake in comparison. No doubt it's two completely different environments which both require specific skills however, to me, the read on those nice big city streets is far more predictable.

 

[Doorag]

The thing I have found about heavy city traffic in the UK is that they are much more used to motorcycles being around and look out of us. The further away from London I get, the more dangerous it becomes.

 

[BranNwebster]

I learned (am learning) to ride in Houston traffic. The freeway near me averages 149000 est (2006) cars a day. The area that I live in has about 200,000 commuters a day that drive into town.

 

[jsteinb95]

if you are asking, then you are still a noob...


Seriously though as soon as you would feel confident hopping on any bike and having confidence that you would be able to ride it and not have it completely overwhelm you is a good indicator. I have the utmost respect for riding any bike and know the dangers involved, i just have the confidence that i would be able to control any bike to MY abilities... I have yet to ride anything to the bikes ability.

+1 :cheer:

 

[lonesoldier84]

well im still not 100% in terms of not keeping track of speed, revs, gears, and i do still have to think a little at times in some other areas.

So..........

I guess im still a noob :thumbup:

haha, ah well, but as for over-confidence I still only ride to give myself lots of room for error so im not being unrealistic.

as for what i ride in it is everything and anything. half the week i spend all day on the bike, in the city, out the city, in rain, in sunshine, in rush hour, on backroads, whatever.

but i am aware im entering my highest risk phase in terms of rider experience and statistics of bad accidents. that alone keeps me off the throttle. if i werent making a mental effort AT ALL TIMES to stay safe and slow I am the type of person that is a squid. i ride like a grandma 80% of the time, and 20% of the time I am a bit faster but not unsafely so just 20-30kph over limit or so when its not rush hour and visibility is good and there's no crosswalks and stuff. I would have been dead long ago if I drove my bike the way I drive my car. but i dont. I think its a good thing i waited until I was 24 to get a bike as I would have been a loonie toon at 18-21. handful of years did make a huge difference in terms of maturity. awareness of your own mortality is a good thing.

 

[wrightme43]

Statisicly the second full year of riding is the most dangerous and deadly.

 

[jsteinb95]

Statisicly the second full year of riding is the most dangerous and deadly.

Why's that????? :scared:

 

[wrightme43]

I dont know for sure, but thats what D. Hough said in proficent motorcycling. If I remember right it has to do with confidence, and risk taking.

I will make a poll and see how it effects us, well only the people that answer anyway.

 

[FZ1inNH]

Are we really ever NOT a n00b? At least once a week, I'm presented with some new challenge on the road thanks to cagers on cell phones between the ages of 16 and 25. I learn more every time I go out for a ride or commute to work.

You're never going to learn it all. There's a cage just itching to ruin your day around every turn. You just have to be dressed for the accident or be (what you should be) aware of your surroundings and ready to react and hit your escape route.

I've got years of on and off-road experience, but I'm never going to cry "Expert!"