Find a new friend ,he's only going to hate you. I have "fixed" a few of these guys on the racetrack, They come thinking they are the fastest thing next to God, only to be embarrassed by a lowly EX.

FOG

 

It sounds like his attraction to motorcycles is based on all the wrong reasons. It sounds like he just wants to look cool. Litrebikes are not to be trifled with, though, and it's hard to look cool when you're getting scraped off the pavement. FOG is right. You won't change his attitude, sorry to say.

 

He really has no concept of what the riding experience of motorbikes is about. most I have encountered can't grasp how brutally fast and quick a liter bike is,...until its too late. If he won't listen to you, he probably won't to anyone.

 

The best analogy I can come up with is that the military trains pilots in small, slow, single-engine, propeller-driven aircraft, not F-15s. Juping on a literbike is essentially like that, or like trying to learn to drive in a formula 1 car. The problem is that your friend has absolutely no idea what he's getting into. And, unfortunately, he'll have no problem finding other like-minded guys who bought a 'Busa for their first bike who will tell him "Dude, the throttle works both ways".

Riding should be fun. And learning to ride is one of the more complicated things you can undertake. Learning to drive a car means, for the most part, using one foot and a steering wheel. A bike involves coordinating both hands and both feet all doing separate but interrelated things. If you toss in the probability that screwing up will launch you into someone's living room or into traffic at 90mph, it's no longer fun. A learner bike shouldn't introduce more complexity into the process. Guys who learn on overpowered bikes tend to learn to fear their bike, rather than having the actual riding mechanics (throttle, clutch, brakes) become an unconscious, background activity that allows the rider to actually concentrate on what's going on around him.

Long-winded article I wrote 6 years ago, for similar reasons:
http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40231

 

Guys who learn on overpowered bikes tend to learn to fear their bike, rather than having the actual riding mechanics (throttle, clutch, brakes) become an unconscious, background activity that allows the rider to actually concentrate on what's going on around
him.

And as with power tools, if you are afraid of it you've given IT mastery of the situation. Guys who "learn" on high powered bikes (and cars) live by the grace that technological progress has produced much more idiot-resistant technology than in the past. Better inherent stability, smoother power delivery, traction control, abs brakes... You live by the skill of the design engineers, not your own skills.

 

Take him to a local funeral home and tell him to start a preneed policy for all his funeral arrangements. It won't be long for him. ;D

The best you can do is pointh im in the right direction. Some people will have to learn the hard way. Some people never learn at all. The rest of it is really up to him.

 

And as with power tools, if you are afraid of it you've given IT mastery of the situation.

Ummm... what? A Black & Decker drill won't high side you if you screw up. It doesn't take a whole lot of concentration or skill to keep your fingers out of a table saw. Now a chain saw will take your leg off if you do dumb things that cause it to kick back, but that kind of makes the same point I was making- you have to respect the tool, and it's a lot easier to learn the skills needed to use a tool if you're doing so on one that isn't at the top of the power heap.

Guys who "learn" on high powered bikes (and cars) live by the grace that technological progress has produced much more idiot-resistant technology than in the past. Better inherent stability, smoother power delivery, traction control, abs brakes... You live by the skill of the design engineers, not your own skills.

Which is exactly why drivers are getting worse. Who need skills, or to even pay attention, when your collision avoidance system and anti-lock brakes and stability control will save your ass for you? And doesn't such technology give the operator a false sense of their capabilities? If traction control and ABS allow the operator to have all of the nuance of an on/off switch, what does that do for the operator's sense of involvement or desire to develop actual skills?
All of which is beside the point anyway. There's a reason why Kenny Roberts puts aspiring Moto GP riders on 110cc dirt bikes and has them tear ass around a dirt track on his ranch. Finding the limits on a small, forgiving motocycle gives the rider a feel for how a motocycle behaves at the edge of control without the consequnces that would occur by doing the same on, say, a GSXR1K on the street. Learning should be fun, and learners make mistakes. The bigger and more powerful the bike, the more the cosequences of mistakes are magnified.

 

Just get him into the MSF class. When he launches that weedy little 125/250 with the drum brakes into the parking lot, he'll either figure out that a superbike is too much to start with, or he wont.

If he won't take the class, good chance he'll total the R1 before he can get it out of the parking lot, so problem solved there, too.

Either way, he's living in some movie fantasy right now, and the only way he'll come back to reality is on his own. You trying to teach him will just cost you a friend. You basically have a couple choices:

1) keep trying to educate him, lose him as a friend, and he'll die anyway being stubborn.
2) you explain your reasons, then drop it and let him make his choices, and he either learns or doesn't. variable odds depending on how thick he really is
3) you tell him he's an idiot and you can't be friends if he's going to be that stupid, lose a friend, maybe he figures out why.

Hopefully he'll at least take the class. Technically, in CA it's an option, but if he bought the R1 here he'd still have to take the DMV proficiency test to ride at night, and he'd likely drop it in the parking lot and fail. But he'd get a year to kill himself in daylight on the learner permit first if he avoided the exam.

I actually suspect he'll eventually figure out to back away from the R1. Best thing you can try to insist on is the MSF BRC so he gets some actual bike time. That has a huge tendency to wake people up.

 

Technically, in CA it's an option, but if he bought the R1 here he'd still have to take the DMV proficiency test to ride at night, and he'd likely drop it in the parking lot and fail. But he'd get a year to kill himself in daylight on the learner permit first if he avoided the exam.

It is "only" an option for those over the age of 21. If you are under 21 you MUST take the MSF to get your license in California. I know because I took it at age 19. Because it is required for people under the age of 21, the state pays for most of the class for you. Instead of the normal price I think it is like $50 bucks or something pretty cheap for two days of riding instuction on someone elses bike.

 

You should tell him that for the price of a new set of plastics on his r1 (which he WILL need) he could afford a 250 or 500. Plus these bikes dont lose a lot of value after a seasons riding. Tell him to get a 500 now, sell it and get his r1 next year if he still wants it.

 

He sounds like a statistic.

 

And as with power tools, if you are afraid of it you've given IT mastery of the situation.

Ummm... what? A Black & Decker drill won't high side you if you screw up. It doesn't take a whole lot of concentration or skill to keep your fingers out of a table saw. Now a chain saw will take your leg off if you do dumb things that cause it to kick back, but that kind of makes the same point I was making- you have to respect the tool, and it's a lot easier to learn the skills needed to use a tool if you're doing so on one that isn't at the top of the power heap.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to say that the stakes were just as high, but statistically you are FAR more likely to injure yourself if you are afraid of a power tool you're using. You tense up, you hesitate, you don't think because you're too busy being afraid of it.

Table saws can buck and kick a piece back at you if you don't feed it properly, or you can jerk your hand back when it grabs the piece and lay your hand across the blade. Circular saws can bind and kick back out of the wood you're cutting, especially paneling. Air tools can whip their hoses around, nail guns can jam and then misfire, or kick back hard enough to knock the wits out of your brain.

The point being, and the analogy contained therein, is that when you're afraid of the tool you're not focusing on using it, you're focusing on keeping it from maiming you, and because you aren't using the tool but fighting it you're going to eventually lose. It's a machine, it's not afraid of you.

 

just hope for the best he lives thru his first accident.. it happens.

Got a class mate who totalled his bike and lived scratch free (okay, sore butt coz he landed on it). A co-worker who totalled his bike but lived with a few scrapes and some bruise.

Both squids.

 

I can understand not wanting to wear gear, when I first started, I didn't. Knowing what I know now, I never ride without jacket, gloves, and my full face (I should wear padded pants and boots too, but it's beyond hot here(Excuses excuses huh?)).

Guys who learn on big bikes end up riding like **** most of the time anyways. Nothing like watching a guy putting all his weight on the handlebars with a death grip. My first bike was a 250 rebel, and then my parents got me the EX, which isn't as attractive or powerful as my friend's GSXR600. Learning on the 250 was a godsend though, it lets you learn without putting you in situations you can't handle (With luck and intelligence helping of course). I would be happy to ride on anything though, and I had a rough time riding, and almost quit the first day. But now I love to get on my bike, listen to music and ride. I can't explain why, but riding is just part of me, and if you're friend doesn't share this characteristic, which all of us "true" riders have, he doesn't need to be on a bike.

tl;dr: I agree with pretty much everything everyone already said. If you want to do something, show him this thread. If he gains some humility, good. If not, find a smarter friend (longer life expectancy is also usually included). I wish you luck with this.

 

[...]Guys who learn on big bikes end up riding like **** most of the time anyways. Nothing like watching a guy putting all his weight on the handlebars with a death grip.[...]

Ya know, I used to wonder why they teach people to turn by pushing in on the bar. It's clear from the physics that what you're doing is steering away to induce a bit of countersteering lean. It took me a bit to realize, that also encourages new riders not to grab the bars so hard. If you're pushing away from the bars instead of pulling on them, you naturally develop a looser and easy grip.

I do kinda wish they'd just said it more directly: don't grab tight. Just hold on enough to keep the throttle where you need it(gloves sure make that easy too), with the brakes and clutch in easy reach. The rest is all legs around the bike and body intent, can even put a little extra foot weight on one peg or the other to help.

I bet that's a lot harder to feel out on other bikes.

 

"Ummm... what? A Black & Decker drill won't high side you if you screw up."

A powerful enough drill sure can. At the ripe old age of 11, I attempted to drill a hole in a piece of sheet metal with dear old Dad's big blue Makita drill. One that plugs into the wall and has a handle on the side. It takes five seconds after releasing the trigger before the chuck stops spinning. Sounds like a starter on an airplane. You all get the idea. Anyhow, here I am attempting to drill a hole, fortunately the metal was clamped down good, because the drill bit in, the bit bound up, and sure as anything, I got thrown over the workbench.

I would honestly say that if your "Friend" doesn't want to see reason, then he isn't really the kind of person you want as a friend, and certainly not as a riding buddy. He will want to go 150+ mph everywhere if you ride with him. Assuming he survives.

 

It's funny that this is being discussed. I saw a guy the other day on a 250 Ninja who looked like he was close to holding his body off the seat with his arms. Never seen such a death grip before. That's what learning is all about though, and self-teaching yourself little things can be very insightful, as well as taking instruction from people who know what they're doing.

 

Thanks a ton guys, i think i may have resolved the situation... i broke one of my number one rules about riding etiquette and i took another guy on the back of my bike (something i never have done, always girls). I accelerated hard once or twice and hit some of twisties at a pretty decent lean (considering i had a passenger) and once we got off the bike i exagerated a bit and told him that I had been taking it easy on him and that his R1 would be about twice as fast in all aspects. i know this isnt true, but to someone who doesnt ride it makes sense... twice the CCs equals twice the acceleration in many's eyes. He has now begun to at least entertain other possibilities and is looking at a potential Honda CBR250 (thank god). I used so,e of the advice that you guys gave to good use, so I just wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the help... you all may have saved a life today ;D

 

The only thing left is a good, swift kick in the ass for acting irate.

 

Thanks a ton guys, i think i may have resolved the situation... i broke one of my number one rules about riding etiquette and i took another guy on the back of my bike (something i never have done, always girls). I accelerated hard once or twice and hit some of twisties at a pretty decent lean (considering i had a passenger) and once we got off the bike i exagerated a bit and told him that I had been taking it easy on him and that his R1 would be about twice as fast in all aspects. i know this isnt true, but to someone who doesnt ride it makes sense... twice the CCs equals twice the acceleration in many's eyes. He has now begun to at least entertain other possibilities and is looking at a potential Honda CBR250 (thank god). I used so,e of the advice that you guys gave to good use, so I just wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the help... you all may have saved a life today ;D

Well done. It's hard for some people to realize just how fast a motorcycle can go. The EX500 is a perfect example. We all make fun of how slow it is on this board. It's only a 500! Only two cylinders! A paltry 60 HP!! I mean, really? It's so SLOW it's painful!

In fact, it's so slow, it will accelerate as fast as a new Corvette. Something like an R1 is, in the estimation of my ass dyno, 3-4 times as fast as an ex500. And much less forgiving.

One of my fav motorcycle stories involves a gentleman who bought a literbike, I want to say it was a Suzuki. It was blue and white but not a Yamaha. He bought it at the very shop I was standing in, looking for a bike, the day I bought my KLR. I saw this man roll his new bike out. I saw him ride it from the parking lot. I saw and fell in love with my KLR. I looked it over, and decided to purchase it. I was signing the papers, when the proud new GSXR rider walked back in, (fortunately for him) and informed another salesman that he needed to have the bike towed back, since he had crashed it about 1/2 mile away. I felt better about my "slow" bike purchase after riding by a wrecked GSXR.

 

One of my fav motorcycle stories involves a gentleman who bought a literbike, I want to say it was a Suzuki. It was blue and white but not a Yamaha. He bought it at the very shop I was standing in, looking for a bike, the day I bought my KLR. I saw this man roll his new bike out. I saw him ride it from the parking lot. I saw and fell in love with my KLR. I looked it over, and decided to purchase it. I was signing the papers, when the proud new GSXR rider walked back in, (fortunately for him) and informed another salesman that he needed to have the bike towed back, since he had crashed it about 1/2 mile away. I felt better about my "slow" bike purchase after riding by a wrecked GSXR.

This guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9zNUPDmnz4

21 seconds of ownership... :

 

Wow that really sucks. What the heck happened? Good for him he was in full gear.