Friday afternoon was sunny and 70, and so when I left work, I had a couple hours to kill before the game. Not enough time to get too far away from the arene, so I rode around a bit and ended up decided to just go on to the arean and sit in the sun. I am glad I did.
There were three guys in the parking lot, mid-30s to mid-40s. One of them had just bought a GSF500 (it literally had only the miles from the dealer to the parking lot on the odo), the other two were trying to teach him. (One of the guys rode it there for him.) It was really touching. They were so patient with him, much better than I could be, trying to get him to learn they whole clutch/brake/throttle start & stop process. I avoided giving advice (mostly) and tried to just be happy for him. I did ask and found out that he is signed up for a class next month. He really knew nothing...wasn't entirely sure if that keyhole on the gas tank was how you got in there. This came up because Suzuki apparently saves 4 cents by not putting a gas guage on the bike! He thought he could juts look in the tank, but that means you have to stop the bike and turn it off and use the key. We explained to him about learning his range and filling up routinely, and I told him he'd need to learn how to slide his hand down his leg to find the reserve fuel knob.
My only piece of advice was that he should take his time, learn his own pace, and not worry about impressing anyone or being a stunt rider. (In this area, most black riders have GSXers and 'Busas, and ride them like it's a performance.) Even though his buddy said he's a street racer, he supported my advice.
ANother guy came by in a truck as was friendly and supportive. I like the way the motorcycles really tear down walls, and people of different cultures and races can talk like they've known each other for years.
Unfortunately, dude dumped his bike before he was done, scuffing up the fairing and one mirror. It proably won't be the last time, but as I've learned, all that can be fixed with a little time and money.
I left them to go into the arena when it opened, and had such a great feeling all night. There are so few times when most men will let down their guard and be open to letting another guy tell them what to do...or tell another guy to do in a way that is supportive and doesn't put him in a "one down" position. Oh, and we made the playoffs, so I was in an even better mood by the end of the night!
Topic: Passing the torch (Read 2405 times)