Direct Access Probs

[Duff]Chef

[Duff]Chef

[Duff]Chef

Associate
Joined
30 Jun 2004
Posts
167
Hi All,

Well, not new to biking, but new to road riding and hitting a few problems.

Basically, the missus, my parents, her parents, the dog etc, dont want me to do my test. To the point of the grief I get is insane. I have ridden dirt bikes for years (parents are farmers) but making the step onto the open roads seems to be causing issues.

They have absolutely no problems with me in fast cars, but when it comes to bikes I get grief.

Basically, this all started with my theory test, gf opened the letter confirming the booking and went ape ****. It spiralled from there. Anyway, I did the test, passed fine, now need to to book my CBT and direct access. Although, this was 5 months ago, havent yet to do it due to the problems it causes.

So the question is, risk it all and do it anyway, or just bow down the bs and cave in???

Oh, and fyi, I live with the missus, so cant hide anything (she should be on CSI)..
 
Well, living alone I faced no such issue and the 100 mile away parents knew I'd do if it I wanted to anyway, though obviously expressed their concerns around the dying bit.

If you want it bad enough my simplified view is to do it. I'd expect resentment if the 'missus' stopped you going ahead, likely resulting in her being buried in the garden. :)

Are you in the 'born-again' age group (what is that anyway? 35+?) that means you will automatically die as soon as you pop the sidestand up?
 
nope, not a born again biker, unfortunately / fortunately, only 26.

This is the thing, I seriously want it, freedom etc, plus since a kid I have wanted to ride bikes on the road. I am thinking hte gf might just have to deal with it, although not sure if she will.

I suppose the big problem, is part of me doesnt want to upset everyone.

C
 
I've got a similar situation here, annoying to say the least! After racing motocross for a few years when I was younger, and having the money to get a bike/insurance/gear/etc this year I planned to do my direct access once I turn 21 in September. Convincing the gf and my parents that I won't die the instant I pass is another matter...

Good luck OP, if you really want it enough then don't let them stop you!
 
Best thing I did was take the wife to look at helmets and other gear. Once she saw that you can get some pretty good kit that will reduce your injuries if you come off she was happier with me getting a bike.

I would however not allow her to start riding.
 
It’s a tough one to call really, I myself had similar problems when I started making plans to ride – though I had no prior experience, and people always thought I was ‘mad’ in cars; though that was something I’d given up a couple of years before taking my bike test… driving like a loon I mean.

The facts are that a bike offers no protection in a crash – if you’re hit, there’s no crumple zone to absorb the impact, your body will be doing that, or if you’re lucky you’ll be thrown away during the impact – though will still likely suffer injury.

I have full leathers, and bar a chest protector, I wear pretty much ever armoured item you can buy – hell I even used to wear shin pads on my first bike :D But from experience I can tell you that this stuff won’t make you invincible, and again from experience, I can vouch for the paragraph above.

I don’t think there’s an easy catch-all way of putting your loved one’s minds at rest, but it also sounds like they’ve already bought into all of the common thoughts about riding a motorcycle; informed or unfounded. And I bet hell nor high water will change their minds – the best you can hope for OP is that they appreciate what you want and love you enough not to stand in the way of your dreams.

There’s a fair chance you’ll be injured if you start riding, likewise, there’s a chance that you may sail through for many years without so much as dropping a bike at standstill – it’s all chance. One of the things I forever feel I’m trying to remind my loved ones is that it only takes one other person to miss a beat, and I could be put into harms way – it’s not always down to me and my riding; a second’s lapse of sense or judgement on some else’s part could easily do me as much damage as if I had ridden outside of my skill level!

Oh, and if you want to get a bit gory with your defence, one of my biking buddies always seems to coin this expression – in a bike crash you have a chance of being thrown clear of danger, in a car crash, you have a good chance of being trapped in the wreckage…

I think you should personally follow your heart, maybe sit down with your loved ones and see if you can have an adult discussion about it, get them to appreciate your feelings on the subject?

Whatever you choose, best of luck and be safe fella :)
 
Sorry for the late reply.

Scort and others, thanks for the advice, after some reading up, I took her this evening to our local Honda dealer, showed her some gear etc. She seemed more confident (not enough that she wants to do it).

So after a long discussion, making her see I dont spend my Friday nights in pub with mates etc and it is something I have wanted to do for years, she is finally on my side (all be it, belated).

So, tomorrow, I will be booking my DAS. Going to go for mid - late feb, hopefully to get out of the bad weather (more snow today). Then it is just onto what bike to buy (my car purchases to go buy, this will be lots of reading up, followed by lots of test rides).

Thank you for the help, and also understanding what really is a sticky situation.. (women eh??)
 
[Duff]Chef;18143558 said:
Sorry for the late reply.

Scort and others, thanks for the advice, after some reading up, I took her this evening to our local Honda dealer, showed her some gear etc. She seemed more confident (not enough that she wants to do it).

So after a long discussion, making her see I dont spend my Friday nights in pub with mates etc and it is something I have wanted to do for years, she is finally on my side (all be it, belated).

So, tomorrow, I will be booking my DAS. Going to go for mid - late feb, hopefully to get out of the bad weather (more snow today). Then it is just onto what bike to buy (my car purchases to go buy, this will be lots of reading up, followed by lots of test rides).

Thank you for the help, and also understanding what really is a sticky situation.. (women eh??)
Click to expand...

Well done! My wife also read and watched a long way down/round. Seemed to help the cause too.
 
[Duff]Chef;18143558 said:
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My pleasure :)

Good to see that she has come around, you never know, could end up convincing her to ride pillion with you…

Best of luck with the test and everything, any idea if they’ll be back to just the single test by the time you take yours? I heard that the current module 1 & 2 test was being scrapped, in favour of something like the old one.

Any ideas what sort of bike you’ve always dreamed of having, chopper, sports, touring etc?

Oh, and, depending where you go – you may find test rides may not be given until you’ve had your license 12 months.
 
Iv been advised on the test rides by my local Honda dealer, I cant get on any sports bike, only something like a hornet until 12 months.

As for what bike I am looking at, not too sure tbh. All of my friends have sports - 600's etc. Contemplated something like that (GSXR600 prob), especially as I don't plan on doing much commuting on it (A3 diesel for that plus needed for work) so may only do the odd day (40miles each way), the rest of the time will be social, etc summer use. I would also like to do some advanced courses over the summer to hone skills etc. Try and keep away from being a statistic.

I also like the look of things like the Z750, Street Triple, KTM 690Duke. So tbh, not a clue.........ha.

I doubt she will want to go pillian, I don't think she is too keen tbh, but bowing in the fact I have always wanted it. Plus doubt she could deal with me banging on about it.
 
From everything I read the ER-6 is better than the Z750 to ride (but the Z750 has the better engine), another good contender is the Versys (same engine as the ER-6)
 
I'd suggest you don't buy brand new for your first bike, that's not to say get something cheap and nasty, but you'll more than likely drop it (quite likely at no more than walking pace) and there's no reason not to let someone else take the initial depreciation hit.

As to bike everyone is different and what your friends ride may not be what suits you best.
Try to at least sit on a few before you decide
 
So are you telling us that they are worried that you will get killed yourself or something?

As you have so much experience riding a dirt bike moving to a normal bike is going to be super easy. Just explain them why you want to get a normal bike and that you will ride it responsibly and safely and that you will be fine.
 
I wasnt planning on new, someone else might as well lose a load first. Was thinking somewhere around 2007 tbh.

@apatia77 - yes they were worried about me hurting myself.

I have sat on quite a few in the pillioned (is this a word???) on a few as well. The reason I am unsure between a sports and a street / naked, is that I dont know if I want the hunched riding position of a sports in comparison to the free position of the naked. I also like the big GS bikes, but feel this might not be the best route on a first bike.

I have read plenty of arguments for and against each type as a "first bike". but, I dont plan on rushing into buying, so will be taking a good look around first.
 
As you rightly say, there are plenty of ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments on your first bike, and bike types in general really – just go with what your heart and head say, not the crowd or popular opinion.

Me, I started on a sports 600, I had absolutely zero riding experience prior to taking an intense all-in direct access course, and despite what popular opinion said, I survived on that almost a whole year – it was only some other plonker that ended that bike’s life (the thread seems to have gone now): in a nutshell I got seriously wiped out by a driver who pulled an illegal manoeuvre on a roundabout as I was in his blind spot.

I’ve only ridden the 500cc nakeds during DAS, they were nice, a really comfortable riding position, but that’s not to say a sports bike is bad – again, popular opinion says that a sport bike will cripple you; bit of an exaggeration, but the belief is that the constant hunched over position will do no good.
I guess this one is dependant on your height, I’m a short arse at 5,7, so I don’t have to hunch down much, mind you, a mate who is over 6 foot rides a GSXR600 and has no comfort issues…

When you’re riding there are a few things you can do to keep the comfort levels up, sitting up so that the wind hits your chest takes pressure off of your wrists, likewise gripping the tank with your knees and trying to get your elbows lower (almost in line with the grips) takes all weight off of your wrists. With a spine protector on, it may help to ease and back pains – I’ve never had any; could be my back protector or aforementioned vertical challenged-ness :D

All bikes are going to be powerful, don’t think that the s that you’ll ride will be slow, they’ll easily leave most cars for dust in the TLGP, bar some serious turbo-powered fire-breathing monster :p The reason I mention this? Well another popular opinion is that a sports bike will be far too powerful – but it’ll only go as fast as you tell it, you’re in control, so I feel it’s a moot argument that one.

One thing that I do tend to agree with is the old saying that a 1000cc is too much for the road – when I had my R1, that thing absolutely flew, and I rarely had the throttle back to the stopper – more like ½ to ¾ at most; but the amount of power that gave was scary. Though blowing off 100-200K+ super cars on my 7K bike was still immense fun ;)
So unless you have a very fast angel on your shoulder or racer-like skills, a 1000cc bike will rarely, if ever, be used at full on the roads. This is speaking out of my own experience, and I still consider myself a learner, so the point will be debated by those more experienced than me.

As for possible bikes, a Triumph Daytona 675 would be my recommendation for the year you’re looking at – I test rode one in the summer and it was immense, so light and flickable, brilliant brakes, looks to die for and the triple engine sounded fantastic – it did actually turn heads with a standard can on!

If you fancy something with a little more umph, then a nice K6-K7 GSXR 750, but I have one, so I’m biased :p
 
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