[API-CBR250R]

I have had my CBR250r for around 2 months and I feel like I learn something VERY important everytime I read this board and especially every time I go for a ride!

All I heard from the Honda salesman (and friends) was that I would "outgrow the 250" in six weeks. Well, six weeks and 500 miles on 2 lane road and parking lots later...I still feel like I have not even scratched the surface yet.

I am currently learning to ride with proper foot position and keeping my grip loose. (Great Hints from this board!!!)

I can't see moving up to a bigger bike anytime in the next year or two. (If at all)

I enjoy all the redlining and shifting and I even like the sound of the stock exhaust. (Hope that is not offensive)

When I took my motorcycle safety course, they told me I would ride 1-2 times a month. That was so wrong! I ride at least 6 days a week. I had work issues that prevented me from riding for 3 days and my mood got irritable around the house and job. My wife finally told me (at 10pm) - please go for a ride on your bike tomorrow, so you can get back to normal." She even noticed it! My son loves riding it with me as well. He is still elementary school aged, so to him we are riding on a rocket.

All in all, I think this is the perfect bike for me. Not just for 6 months but possibly for years and years. I just wonder if I can expect to keep learning volumes of stuff for the next 6 months or does this curve ever slow down?

Do you guys who have ridden for decades still feel like you are perfecting some subtle detail each time out?

Thanks!

 

[Honda CBR 250 Rider]

The learning curve only slows down when you run out of things for yourself to learn.

Keep riding and new situations will arise for you to experience.

Learn the sounds your bike makes and where they are actually coming from. The exhaust is virtually silent why you are riding. You are hearing the engine as it makes the most noise and is closer to your ears than the exhaust. A lot of people seem to confuse this.

Don't let any moron instructor tell you how much you will be driving/riding anything. You'r experience will NEVER be any one else's.

You may one day master your current ride, but you won't master riding motorcycle's just by riding one.

As for those who ride for decades. You can ride motorcycles for 100 years and put 1,000,000,000 miles down, but unless you've experience a sufficient amount of riding situations, you will never been a master.

You're welcome.

 

[Michael]

Do you guys who have ridden for decades still feel like you are perfecting some subtle detail each time out?

In general, no, but when I move into a different environment, a different country, if even a different area in the same country, there is usually a bit to learn. Each place has its own little quirks and customs about how people behave on the road.

There are differences between bikes too. I have ridden bikes with 3, 4, 5, and 6 speed gear boxes as well as CVT transmissions, where you don't change gear at all.

The standard change pattern is down to first the up for all the rest, with neutral between first and second, but I have ridden bikes with other patterns.

Gear change on the left and rear brake on the right is standard, but I have ridden bikes with it the other way around. Those CVT machines usually have the tear brake on the left hand handle bar.

Whenever I get new tyres there is a difference to get used to, more so with a change of brand.

All in all, it is adjusting more than learning.

 

[Aufitt]

Never stop learning, going ahead lin leaps and bounds now after 35 yrs riding. more in the past few months than all those put together tenfold.

I realise I'm no where near ready for a 600 yet when I see clubmen level C grade 600 riders only 2 secs off lap record pace, I'd be 10 seconds slower than them on their bikes and currently 23 seconds off lap record on mine. which may as well be an eternity.

Another year or 2 on small bikes for me, despite riding big roadies since 1985.. I must have been a walking statistic back then.

 

[pete_falcone]

Most subject matter experts suggest that riders don't achieve full confidence until 10000 miles.

 

[Aufitt]

Most subject matter experts suggest that riders don't achieve full confidence until 100,000 miles.at least

fixed that for you

 

[API-CBR250R]

Most subject matter experts suggest that riders don't achieve full confidence until 10000 miles.

Makes me feel better.

When I ride, it is a combination of fear, freedom, and thrill each time (even though I am usually under 50 MPH).

 

[rrages]

I think 1000 miles is a pretty big turning point for most. Somewhere around 750 miles a light bulb went on over my head and I started doing alot more things right. Not really scared of it much any more. It's a very stable and predictable device if used within it's limits (and mine). About the only thing that freaks me out is wind like you get if a storm is approaching. Unpredictable pushes this way and that at highway speeds can be very disconcerting.

 

[Top]

I think 1000 miles is a pretty big turning point for most. Somewhere around 750 miles a light bulb went on over my head and I started doing alot more things right. Not really scared of it much any more. It's a very stable and predictable device if used within it's limits (and mine). About the only thing that freaks me out is wind like you get if a storm is approaching. Unpredictable pushes this way and that at highway speeds can be very disconcerting.

you'll get used to that also with a few more miles under your belt.
the only way i can describe it, its like your upper body feels the wind before the bike and you just kinda shift against it.

it still moves you though lol

 

[Top]

But to answer the OP question...
The learning curve never really stops...you just get used to learning

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Motorcycle.com Free App

 

[jsonder]

Actually, the time to worry is when you start to feel complacent about riding. This often occurs about a year after starting (or starting up again for folks who stopped riding while raising kids).

It isn't mandatory to outgrow a 1/4-liter motorcycle.

 

[fastCBR]

I think 1000 miles is a pretty big turning point for most. Somewhere around 750 miles a light bulb went on over my head and I started doing alot more things right. Not really scared of it much any more. It's a very stable and predictable device if used within it's limits (and mine). About the only thing that freaks me out is wind like you get if a storm is approaching. Unpredictable pushes this way and that at highway speeds can be very disconcerting.

I think 1000 miles is right around when it for me it stopped being some big event for me to take the motorcycle out anywhere. Those first few hundred miles every time I got on the bike I'd have to give myself a pep talk, be mentally prepared, I'd have a healthy dose of fear/stress/amazement while riding, and inevitably I'd make a mistake or two per ride.

After about 1000 miles, while there is still obviously a lot of learn, I don't think twice about taking the bike anywhere - I've frequently used it for commuting in rush hour traffic.

My point is I think we've all been there, and you do reach eventually reach a point where you get more comfortable with things.

 

[pete_falcone]

1000 is a critical juncture where confidence grossly exceeds ability. This is similar to the "one month anniversary" in relationships these days, where the couple are on a euphoric high having passed a milestone, but they haven't really encountered any critical challenges yet. They basically only scratched the surface of things and not delved deep into matters that determine the long-term health of relationships. (I had an ex that celebrated the anni. of our relationship on a monthly basis, which is why I used it as an example. On month two, she picked a fight with me because I didn't greet her with a "happy two-month anniversary!!" I thought, "are you f***** kidding me?" We lasted only six months.)

From my observations, the three things that accelerate learning are starting on a slower bike, riding meaningfully more often, and training. I find that the kids who start in dirt bikes/100's competitively have the best motor skills. As for street skills, that's just something you pick up over time. Having good motor skills helps significantly with execution when the pucker factor is high. For instance, in an e-brake situation, a rider with poor motor skills will most likely stomp the foot brake and slide themselves into the obstacle.

 

[Frank Bama]

I was off the bike for 2 months with an injury and I fell like I'm learning a lot of stuff all over again. Lesson #1 has been "es una buena idea to start with a 250", not a ride goes by that I don't think to myself "that would've hurt had I been on a 600/650" at least a few times...

 

[Redeye]

Although I can't claim decades of riding, I added up the miles on four bikes since starting to ride several years ago, which came to 55,000 miles. Not quite a novice any more, I still enjoy those a-ha! moments learning something new and still find myself correcting mistakes. Maybe that's why riding never gets old or routine.

Every once in a while I think about buying a larger displacement bike. One of the four bikes mentioned previously was a 600, traded for my CBR. I'm fascinated by the mid-2000s Honda 919. They're not very common in the US, which helps make it interesting to me.

But right now, 250s provide all the utility I need and all the enjoyment I want. If you want a larger bike, go for it. Motorcycling is a great pleasure; get what suits your needs and wants best. I don't believe the learning curve ever ends. But once you master basic controls and have confidence each time you ride, the more advanced skills will come to you.

For off-road riding, my "big" bike is a 150. Sure, I get some ribbing from time to time about riding a "kid's" bike. That's fine. I ride for myself and for my family of young riders, not for anyone else.

 

[realbtl]

Next year will mark 50 years of riding not counting 2 years on a mini-bike before I was legal age. I don't learn something every time I ride. I do however keep myself open to the idea that I'll learn something new on this ride today.

 

[Wynne G Oldman]

I've been riding for 30 years, and I still learn new things every now and then. It's usually small but useful specific stuff on roads that I travel often. When I drive my car, it's different. I still enjoy the experience, but it's not as involved. I feel much more at one with the journey on my bike, as I do in the car, and I seem to notice more things, that I wouldn't in the car (road surface, cambers, scenery etc.).

 

[Steve_47]

It isn't mandatory to outgrow a 1/4-liter motorcycle.

lol... I really like that! Next time someone ask what kind of bike I ride, I'm saying, "a 1/4-liter".

 

[Lowcard]

I learned how to ride on a dirtbike. On backroads, trails, mud & dirt in Texas. I learned more about being "one" with a bike riding off road. Riding on pavement is similar, but alien. New challenges, new obstacles, new difficulties. But i do keep my senses aware at all times and i feel that i do learn small things, even if its not in the front of my mind.

 

[Steve_47]

I just wonder if I can expect to keep learning volumes of stuff for the next 6 months or does this curve ever slow down?

Like anything else you do, the amount of learning will slow down as you gain experience. However, if you truly enjoy what you are doing, you will never stop learning about it.

By the way, welcome to the forum