Hi there! I'm Brandon, and I just got my first bike. I've been dreaming about a Yamaha sport bike since I was a kid and I put together a model of an FZR. I posted pics of my bike in the gallery section, it's a '99 YZF R6, blue and white, European specs. It's got 12k kilometers, I think that translates to about 7500 miles. Other than a small scratch it looks brand new. I paid $6000 out the door including helmet and a cover, which is the average price for that model and year over here in Japan. The only riding experience I had was the 3 day AMA/MSF beginner rider course I took 9 months ago. That was on a 250cc Honda Rebel. Which is waaaay different than riding a sport bike. So I was pretty nervous riding my R6 the first few times. I've only had it a few weeks, so I'm still a little nervous everytime I get on. I think it's the horror stories everyone (literallly EVERYONE) has to tell me when I mention getting a bike. And it's a healthy respect for the power of the bike and potential for a crash. So, as a first time rider I've got some questions I was hoping someone could help out with:
1) It rains all the time here, sometimes a light mist, sometimes heavy. I see bikes on the road in wet conditions, but I'm paranoid to do it myself. If I'm riding safe and under the speed limit with good tires, do I need to worry so much about wet roads?
2) I get soreness in my palms and wrists from riding. I've read in other forums it's from a death grip on the steering and having my weight too far forward, so I make a conscience effort to relax my grip, sit back on the bike and grip the gas tank with my legs, but I still get the soreness. Will this go away after awhile?
3) Getting the throttle down has been a little tricky, like for taking off from 1st gear. If I give it alot of gas and have the RPM's way up there, I'm worried I'll take off like a rocket and lose control. But not enough gas then I kill the engine. I'm getting better the more I ride, but still kill it once in awhile. Thats embarrasing. Yesterday I tried giving it alot of throttle but I think I let the clutch out too fast, so I killed it after it threw my balls against the gas tank pretty hard. Definitely a skill to master while I can still have kids.
4) Once I take off in 1st gear, do I pretty much need to put it in 2nd immediately? It seems that way, because 1st gear, even when driving slow has that jerky motion that feels and looks awkward.
5) I read in a forum that other riders have the RPM's between like 6k to 8k before they shift. Even when going into 1st gear. When I'm riding and I'm listening to the engine and feeling for the time to shift, my RPM's are like 2 or 3k. Seems like it would be punishing or tearing up your engine to always shift so late or with such high RPMs. Actually I just had a thought, do they mean that they shift gears at 2 or 3k RPM, but with the clutch in THEN they throttle the RPMs to 6 or 8k then let the clutch out? I could see laying easy scratch in 3rd or 4th gear that way.
6) I've got a new SHOEI full face helmet, it has vents near the mouth, but my face shield is always fogging up when I ride even after adjusting it higher or lower. I wind up opening the shield a crack to stop it. Any tips on breath fog?
7) Do many riders listen to headphones while riding? I know it must not be safe, but it'd be nice to listen to some metallica while riding.
8) They sell this computer peripheral thats yamaha handle bars for playing sport bike games. It looks pretty realistic. Anyone ever use one of those? I might buy it this weekend, I'll make another post if it's worthwhile. If it's as realistic as it looks, might improve my shifting skills.
9) I read an in-depth description of counter-steering, but it seemed really complicated and didn't make much sense (like to steer left, we're actually trying to turn right). If counter-steering is what I think it is, the description I read was just over-complicating it. Would an easier desc be that it's leaning the bike in the direction you want to turn? Like to turn left, you push downward on the left grip and footpeg?
Well, that's all the questions I've had since I got my bike. Hope it's not an overwhelming post :) Thanks for the advice!

Hi Brandon. Congrats on the bike and nice choice!
Where are you stationed in Japan? I was in Iwakuni with MWSS-171. First piece of advice I can give you is the Japanese suck at driving, even with their mittens on. :lol:

As for you questions:
1. When it first starts to rain, the oils on the road pop up and usually I'll pull over, wait for a while to let it wash off and then keep going.
2. Check your position and try to relax. You'll feel more comfortable and the bike will respond better with a lighter touch.
3,4. To start off, concentrate on your clutch control instead of the throttle for a smoother start and know these bikes aren't the best at low speeds.
5. They sell anti-fog spray. Or use the little Japanese masks :lol:
9. You will naturally countersteer, but if you want more info here's a nice link: http://www.msgroup.org/TIP048.html

There are also a bunch of books. I like "Sport Riding Techniques" (Nick Ienatsch. Essentially, everything will make sense and get better with practice. Get to know your brakes and what they can do from different speeds and have fun.

Great post, Brandon :!:

I will add these to the new FAQ section as answers pour in.
They are exactly the questions we all face at first.

Sounds like you have great respect for the bike which is excellent.

Happy and safe riding to you !

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it. Gives me alot more good info to go on. I posted a question on another R6 web forum and I got one informative reply and a dozen posts about how I need to trade my bike in for a scooter because I don't know what I'm doing. I think I'll just stick with R6.com :)
I'll check out that book you mentioned. I watched some riding videos online at www.shaggystudios.com, they were fun to watch. Made me want to get out and find some twisty roads.

Congrats, don't rush yourself and try to find isolated areas to practice until you get a good feel for the bike. I would not recommend touching a road until you have gotten good enough where riding the bike is second nature.
In my short time so far, the only advice I can give is take your time and ride well within your limits and always respect the bike.
There are lots of good books and you may even want to try and the MSF course or advanced course once you are ready to test for your license.

Good luck,
Chris

Also, just get seat time. Ride everywhere. If you have a car, skip it. Ride to work. Get a nice fitting school bookbag or courier bag and ride to the store. Get used to traffic. On a day off just ride around. Traffic's good for throttle control, you get lots of practice. Hills are great too if you can find some. You pick up the feathering of the controls when gravity is working against you.

Since it was a long initial post I'll just address each of your questions:

1) When it first starts raining it's dangerous because of the oil being washed off the roads. After about 5min it's ok...and you actually have enough grip in that front tire to do a stoppie in the rain.

2) The soreness in your palms is from the deathgrip and riding position.

3) Clutch Control

4) Sounds like you're a tad "ham fisted". Just make small movements smoothly with your right hand :)

5) Shifting at about 6-8k is about right. The engine doesn't start to make power until 8k, and if you are shifting at 2-3K you are doing more harm by lugging the engine in a band of operation it was not designed to carry that type of load at...this will lead to premature wear faster than shifting at 15K.

6) That's a SHOEI for you :evil:.

7) Headphones and bikes are a bad mix...if you must only put one ear bud in one ear.

8) I don't think you had a #8

9) Counter steering is easy...just turn the clipons (handlebars) in the oposite direction you want to go. Want to go left...turn right and visa versa.

I was short and to the point...it's 4:47AM locally and I'm tired. I was in Japan too, enjoyed it a lot. My cousin is over there right now in the Marine's. Have a blast and get some leather...

Music when riding is not good. It's easy to damage your ears. I tried it on one long trip (Prague - Budapest). By then i was tired of listening to the metallic sound of the GSX600F I had ridden all the way from Norway. On the way back I found out that ear plugs (silencers) are better to use. I use it all the time when riding my old GS650 Katana too. But after getting my R6 I've stopped using them. The sound of the wind and the humming from my carbon end can is music in my ears :wink:

:) "Ride Within Your Limits" 8)

you see? this is why I like this site alot. The sincerity and sense of brotherhood/sisterhood. I can relate to most of those questions you had Brandon. I remember the jerky throttle that I produced on those 250cc Rebels. hehehe :shock: And the deathgrip and soreness of my hands. I had that riding my friend's R6 SE. I've learned alot from this site so far.

Thanks y'all! :D

There were a lot of questions and I have the attention span of a gnat on crack, so here's what I rememeber....and think I might have known at one time. Rain- my bike was purchased in a friggin monsoon and trailered 16 hours in it. Now she loves the rain and I am always caught in it. Big rule- most dangerous rain riding is when it starts and when it is about to end. Like mentioned before, oil and road "crap" get washed away, but then settle back down. Just be careful in it and leave plenty of room for any errors. The hand soreness- deathgrip, yes, however there is the ulnar nerve(I think) that is in the palm of your hand. Pressure to this for long periods will cause the pain and numbness. When I started with bikes I used an old pair of mountain biking gloves. Some have extra padding in the palm for this sort of thing and it does help. Try FOX. Ummmm...counter steering. Don't think about it. It's like the theory of relativity and I suck at math. It is just the way it is. Made no sense to me until I walked around a corner one day real quick. I made a right turn and pushed my right shoulder through first(to the left) and then it all made sense. Screw the scooter crap and those crackers. Ya gotta start somewhere and what better bike than the R6. Good luck.

You have some really great answers here B-Rock, so all I will say is just three little words.......

Practice, practice, practice.

Oh yeah, and relax a little bit. It seems to me that you are thinking a little too hard, which is great in the begining, but you need to relax a little so you can focus. Good luck to you, and thanks for your service to our fine country. 8)

when you mention counter-steering, is it the same idea as counter-steering with cars? (counter-steering when the back end loses traction, so you "push the handlebars left to turn right, etc.?)

above around 25mph or so you can no longer steer the bike by turning the bars as you would do on a push bike.
you'll find that you are countersteering naturally otherwise you wouldn't be able to make it round bends over 25mph! The trick is to actively think about this action - by countersteering fast you can drop the bike on its ear much quicker. this can enable you to take a deepr line into the corners before flciking it on its side to hit the all elusive apex!
just remember - pushing on the left bar will turn you left and vice verca.......
happy hunting.