Newbie Mistakes

[SuziQ07]

Originally Posted by cayuse

Thanks for sharing!
Not long after I got my licence, I met the family for lunch, parked the bike, fastened the disk lock, had lunch, walked around with them for a couple of hours, and hopped back on the bike to leave. Guess what? I rode away and got about 3 feet before the disk lock hit my forks and I dumped the bike in the street. Luckily, there was no traffic, and as a bonus the 6 people having tea on the patio 1/2 block away didn't seem to notice (I checked, of course). After another little walkabout (same excursion) I put my helmet on and rode ~1/2 hour into town to do some shopping. As I pull into the parking lot I realized that the odd cool feeling on my neck was due to the helmet straps flapping in the breeze. I hadn't fastened them!

So now, I never start up before checking for the disk lock, and my hands don't leave my helmet before I strap up.

Don't worry. As GZ Jess said, a lot of things will become habits. I'm sure I'll relearn a few at the start of next season.

These are all great thing to be reminded of...very important. It doesn't sound like you did any damage to your bike. And I'm glad the 6 people who were dining didn't see you! :cool:
I was fortunate that my loose flying bungees didn't get caught up in the back wheel...then I would have gone down! Amazingly, the rubber material on the bottom of the bag kept it in place for several miles at 55 mph. I really dodged a bullet with that one!
Every time I think for just the slightest second that I may need a bigger bike I remember that I still have so much more to learn on the GZ250. I don't think I could part with my GZ for a long time too.