Took my first ride around my community. Beforehand, I was nervous. Was I going to make those turns? Am I going to stall out at the light? It turned out BEAUTIFUL. The crisp air hitting my face while I was riding. I felt Amazing! This week, I’ll be riding to work for the first time.

First full week of riding. Man, I’m in love. The confidence and trust in the bike has been tremendous. Look forward to getting better.

Went to local College where they hold MSF (it's called MSS in NYC area for some reason), and so glad I did. I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth it. It ended up being just two of us in the class (was supposed to be 6) so we got a LOT of ride time in. My bike was hard to do some of those drills with though being it's a big ass cruiser lol. He even said I should use one of his bikes instead, but I told him the whole purpose of me taking this course is to get confident with MY bike, so I stuck with mine. I was doing good until I dropped my bike on one of the exercises lol (on the right side). Got the first drop on the new bike out of the way at least. Glad I had crash bars installed (which I don't like the look of). BUT it saved damage to the body, engine, lever, mirror, pedal, and made it easier to lift! OH! I picked up the bike all by myself too!! Now I know I can! lol I used the handlebar method and it lifted so much easier than I expected! Not that it was "light" but I did it with not as much effort as I expected! I DID forget to put the kickstand out before lifting it (eek)... luckily the instructor got there just as I got it upright and he did it for me. But I highly recommend it. Especially if you have a new (or new-to-you) bike, or if it's been a while since you rode. The Advanced course recommends you should have at least 1000 miles under your belt before taking it but the guy in the class with me had like no miles since taking his waiver course in March of this year and he did great. I made sure to tell him about DDTF too of course. lol My next thing is to attend a Lock and Lean course (or similar). I think they have one "kinda" near me in NJ but I just missed last months class when I checked which is why I signed up for MSS/F. :(

Hey everyone! Hope to get to know you all more. How long have you been riding and what do you ride? If you’re looking for places to jump in, here’s what the Crew has set up for you 👇 • General Discussion — introductions, questions, ideas, and everyday rider talk • Your Crashes & Close Calls — share experiences so others can learn from them • Post Your Motorcycle Pics — show what you ride and what you’re working on No pressure at all—participate where it makes sense for you. And if you’re ever unsure where something belongs, feel free to DM me anytime and I’ll help point you in the right direction.

Braking with rear, front, and both brakes simultaneously. https://youtube.com/shorts/OCFs-JNdCgU?si=8TCg74YF6LPrbhVO