I took my Apex riding course this weekend and I got relicensed to ride my spyder. We had people come from as far as Ohio to take this course and honestly, it was well worth the trip for them.
The first night was 3 hours in classroom reading a book. Boring but necessary. I was the only licensed rider in the course.
I was also the any manual transmission on the range. The instructor told me that scared him to begin with but once he saw me control the fricton zone and use the clutch to start, his fears went away.
I actually got into a argument with one of the instructors because we were not allow to go faster than 15 MPH and they expected me to shift into second. The spyder does not like second at that speed. He argued that I should in second between 10 and 20 MPH and then third. I told him if he didn't think that I could shift properly, we should follow me out to a real road and watch me ride. Which he did without my knowledge, he apparently followed me when I left the range for the day. He said he as prepared to follow me all the way home, but once he saw me ride under normal conditions all his concern went away.
I learned how to drift and how to bring one wheel off the ground around a turn. They taught all the basics too but as I soon learned, I had all those down. The other students in the class kept asking me why I was there. I gave a demonstration on how to shift for all the automatics because they could not wrap thier minds around 1 N 2 3 4 5, so on break, I got permission to demonstrate.
I know that this is going to sound corny so I appologize, but by the end of the second day, all the students felt like family. We helped each and encouraged each so nobody would dropped out. We watched each other for heat fatigue, volunteer to be the sacrafical first person on a course. It was a great show of support and friendship for people that just meant 12 hours eariler.
As for me, I helped each student learn about their bikes. How to lock the handbars, why their feet/legs were getting hot, how to bring the handbars back, stuff like that. Everything I learned here on this forum (Thank You).
My skills test was perfect and I missed three sidecar questions on the written test. What a great but tiring weekend.
__________________
2008 Premier Spyder GS #1927, purple LED lights on license plate, handle bar risers.
__________________
2010 Blue RT Audio & Convenience model Se-5 transmision. Dealer-added foglights, accent LEDs and extra speakers. Some RTS chrome windshield, front spoiler and top trunk trim, RTS frunklight and frunk liner, Top Trunk liner, Chrome lower air deflector, fendertip LED bulbs and ISCI floorboards added by yours truly...
Last edited by Bob Denman; 08-01-2011 at 06:39 AM.
@Bytemi - I think that they are used to teaching on motorcycles with small engines that can shift that early. Good thing that you stood up and said it was not safe or practical on YOUR Spyder.
My poor old Hayabusa would not go slower than 25MPH in first without requiring the clutch to be slipped. But it would go 85MPH in first if I wanted to!
BTW, excellent write up on your experience! My wife wants to get licensed and I'm looking at classes in Arizona.
__________________
Dave
'11 RT Ltd.
Working on some custom LED lighting with an intelligent controller...
__________________
2010 Blue RT Audio & Convenience model Se-5 transmision. Dealer-added foglights, accent LEDs and extra speakers. Some RTS chrome windshield, front spoiler and top trunk trim, RTS frunklight and frunk liner, Top Trunk liner, Chrome lower air deflector, fendertip LED bulbs and ISCI floorboards added by yours truly...
I'm just tickled to see how much fun you're having...
__________________
2010 Blue RT Audio & Convenience model Se-5 transmision. Dealer-added foglights, accent LEDs and extra speakers. Some RTS chrome windshield, front spoiler and top trunk trim, RTS frunklight and frunk liner, Top Trunk liner, Chrome lower air deflector, fendertip LED bulbs and ISCI floorboards added by yours truly...
It's funny how we can find our abilities can stretch in the darndest directions!
I've got 20/360 vision in my left eye due to a detached retina, yet when I took up archery as a sport I somehow got REAL good at estimating the distances to the targets at the 3D tournaments that we attended. It turned out that all of the basic range practice that I did at 20 yards to improve my form kind of imprinted in my head... I could look at a distant target and cut the distance up in 20 yard pieces in order to figure things out! Drove my shooting partners NUTZ every time! My Missus couldn't figure distance to save her life... but if I whispered it to her... BANG! Another bullseye! So she won the trophies (LOTS of them!), and I'd trip and fall over every rock and stick I could in the woods! (Did I mention terminal clumsiness??)
So has your "Hugsband" conceded yet how much cooler your Spoyder is than his ride?
__________________
2010 Blue RT Audio & Convenience model Se-5 transmision. Dealer-added foglights, accent LEDs and extra speakers. Some RTS chrome windshield, front spoiler and top trunk trim, RTS frunklight and frunk liner, Top Trunk liner, Chrome lower air deflector, fendertip LED bulbs and ISCI floorboards added by yours truly...
Apex Motorcycle Saftey Coure
)
Linear Mode
