hi all, i bought my very first bike today, it was a used ninja 500R. the owner didnt relaly have the booklet so im not sure exactly whats going on but can someone please help. what happened is i had never ridden a motorcycle before, and to be honest i dropped it, but it skidded for a bit, i was going like maybe 5, 6 imles an hour and hadnt even shifted out of first gear. but one of the componets was leaking something so i already ordered the part and am getting it replaced soon, but also there was a red light that came on too on the top right corner of the bike. this red light wasnt there before, is that the engine light? cause i know it needed an oil change, is that the engine light? whats goign on? please help

 

Welcome to KF, I assume you like Death Note from your nick. Anyway, the 500R is carbed, so when it goes down fuel will always leak out of the bowls, its perfectly normal and nothing should need to be replaced unless something else was leaking. Also since the bowls have leaked the bike will not start untill they are refilled. You will have to keep running the starter for a bit to refill the float bowls so it can run again. Its best not to run the starter for long tho, dont want to burn it up, so just do it 10-20 seconds at a time till it starts.

Red is always bad, in this case your red light has something that looks like a teapot on it, which means you have low oil pressure. The oil pressure light will aways be on before you start the bike and will go away after you start the engine. After the bike falls over it can take a while for the oil to circulate through the system. Make sure your oil is filled properly and start the bike. If the light doesnt turn off within 15-20 seconds of starting the bike, turn it off and look for other problems. What you have so far sounds typical of a drop, hopefully you didnt do too much damage.

Congrats on the first ride, post some pics up when you get a chance. Gear up, ride safe, and keep her shiny side up.

 

well so far its not too bad, thats the only thign busted and apparently what had happened i found out is when i went down i somehow gripped the handle bars and accelerated it. so gotta watch out for that, alhtough ill be practicing on the kickstand tires off the ground for the clutch/gas combonation, and after i get that down ill move to the grassy plain in the park not far form the house to kind of get the hang of it. i jsut need to get used to starting it with the clutch without dyign first lol. also im just terrified of getting on it and riding it. not because im scared ill fall, i could care less, but because i dont want to mess my bike up, does anyone else have this fear? like when they first started riding? like im not worreid abotu me on the bike im scared of not being able to control it and crashing messing my bike up. thats the only real thing preventign me from takign off at 80 mph lol. i suppose the more practice the better, but when you were starting out riding prom did you have this fear? does anyone else have this fear or is it just me? lol

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oh and btw thank you prom for welcoming me and im not a big death note fan, just kinda picked the name out one day lol. thought it was a funny spin off of my lil pony lol. im semi fluent in japanese so hence the japanese name lol :P ar eyou a big anime fan? i think one of my all time top 5 favs has to be ouran high school host club, love hina, nearly all the hayao miyazaki movies lol, fate stay, and midori days theyres others of course but i think atm those are my top 5 lol. thank you again for the tips ill post some pics up as soon as i put her back together, needs a bit of maintenece not much lol

 

welcome to KF

I understand that one. I am going to take the fairings off of mine so that my wife can learn at slow speeds. Just take your time and get comfy with your new ride.

 

Have you taken the MSF course? They give you a bike that you can drop all you want and lead you through getting familiar with the ride and how to ride it. They even teach you the proper way to get on it. Its very beginner friendly and at the end you get your license in most states. If you dont have the time or the money, there is an excercise they use to learn the gas clutch combo, and its really easy (much better than the kickstand).

Once you get used to the weight and walking the bike around while on it (an understated but very important skill) you can start practicing with the clutch. With your feet stationary on the ground let out the clutch very slowly until you can just feel the bike start to pull forward. allow the bike to roll forward slightly, then pull in the clutch and move the bike back to the original position with your feet. Keep pulling it forward and rocking it back until you memorize exactly where the clutch catches. After you have learned that, then allow the bike to move forward slowly under its own power while you walk your feet to help keep it stable. And when you have mastered that, pick up your feet and ride. The MSF has it set up in steps that will no doubt get you the confidence to get back on and the skills to keep you safe.

I started on a bike that may have been too big for me, and as a result I have quite a few embarrassing stories about learning to ride it. If you see my pics in March Bike of the month you will see that I have slid mine, at a bit more than 5 mph too.

Nobody wants to mess up their ride, but I went into it knowing it was a possibility. The day I got my bike it was dropped and had the starter switch broken just from trailering it back to my apartment. Its not something anyone wants, but it happens. When you ride you take on certain risks, you might take a turn too fast or some cager might not see you and run you over, it happens every day. But I bought my bike to ride, and not riding it would be worse than any damage it has sustained thus far. Besides, there is a lesson to be learned from fixing the damage you caused as well.

I'm more of a gold digger than a fan. I am of the opinion that 90% of everything produced by the entertainment industry, foreign and domestic is complete and utter crap, but I keep an open mind and look for the gold. Adult Swim typically skims the top of the imports, when they decide to play it, but the 200-300 episode series fizzle out around 75 for me. Bleach was great until they said hey, lets add 13 new main characters each with 2 new supporting characters, and all with their own backstory and dedicated episode. The story is still good but I cant force myself to watch it anymore. Some of the gold that I have been able to dig up are Black Lagoon, Full Metal Panic!, Initial D, and of course NGE, but I'm always looking for a show with some good action if you have any suggestions.

Good luck with the ride, and remember to have fun. It can be scary starting out, but as long as you gear up, ride safe, and keep your eye on the cages, you will get more comfortable and it will start to come easy to you. Get that bike back on the road and lets see some pics

 

well i went to go get my bike back today, good news and bad news lol. i started practicing on the grass just incase this time lol. i ended up starting out pretty well, and it didnt drop, i rode it pretty smooth. i owe that partly and probably mostly to the mechanic i went and saw today though, did a great job fixing the bike, low cost, and just a fantastic guy. this is his info btw if anyone needs any work done, 480-593-5352. ask for Anson. anyway he had a small 125cc old dirt bike he let me get used to the balancing and clutch and stuff.. that got me a little more confidence to ride this one. when i started out it was a bit scary but i was on grass i was like whatever lol. of course now and again it would still die, from lack of clutch, gas combo. it was a lot different form that 125. but it wasnt dying as much as when i was focusing on that one thing. then when i was told to start practicing starting and stopping, it died a lot more LOL.. i dont know if i just got nervous or what. i think i did a bit, ive been told i need to relax and not be so tense. i took it around the block after that, i practiced using my blinker, stopping and starting, braking, upshifting and downshifting, everythign. but right aorund the corner form my house is when i had the issue the second time around. it wouldnt start with the clutch/gas. i mean it would turn on, and it was fine, and then it would die, i think i just get jumpy and i let the clutch go as soon as i start giving it gas, when in fact i shold wait until i give it gas and then slowly let it up. thats where i had the success.. i think i just got jumpy or something. anyway it cranked up and i gave it too much gas and it kinda started going for a down slope, so i grabbed the brake clutch and it fell but gently as i caught it. i picked it up didn't even see any new scratches or anything. i didn't see any traces of anything leaking, im pretty sure part of it fell onto my leg giving me a small cut but who cares, my bike is ok lol. anyway i picked it back up, and tried to start it but it wouldn't crank, i turned it off for a min or two, so embarrassing lol.. and tried it it started, i did this for a bit until i got it, and i was riding it just fine and then it died lol. just liek that lol. i ended up just walking it to the garage lol. is this a common issue? i mean do ppl have clutch/gas issues and if so for how long before it really starts to sink in? i know its really bad for the bike stopping like that. it was balancing really well to so i was happy with that .. still a tad scary on the road and stuff but for the most part im pretty comfortable with it, its just starting and stopping. i took some pics, not the best but it was kinda difficult to get an angle, ill be posting them soon, nothign special though, its beat up paint work LOL. until i custom it.

NGE and initial D i wanna watch, havent done it yet, but anythign with loud engines im there lol. i dont care for an anime with like 300 episodes lol.. i would like to eventually get to the end lol. dont get me wrong some i never want to end but lol, sadly they do. lets see for action, gundam is pretty good, in particular i would reccomend 8th ms team and the original. also the movie relentless waltz is pretty good also neon genesis is kind of the same idea and good for aciton, but i like gundam better. fate stay night saber is action too

 

Well I didn't have time to read all the comments, so if this was said already, then good it needs to be said more than once. Get into the MSF Class!!! What I like to do if someone is interested in buying a bike and had never ridden before is to get them on the lawn up here at work, and I start them out on the 1980 50cc moped. Then they graduate to the Yamaha XT 225. I really worry about guys buying bikes and just hitting the streets for the first time. Nobody should ever buy a bike with little or no experience and ride within 1000 yards of anything resembling public roadways. Now I mean this in the best way possible, get the bike fixed, and get into the class, then practice somewhere that has no traffic.

Oh and welcome to the forums, we are here for ya, we just don't want to see you die!!!

 

lol thank you for the welcome and i intend on getting in the class but im kinda hard for change right now, cause of the cost of fixing the bike lol. its fixed now i jsut have to get some quick cash stored away lol. i was practicing just driving around the subdivision after the grass area, i think i saw like 2 ppl the whole time i went around the block twice lol. it was pretty dead lol. nice to meet you just so you know just liek the deej i already wear womens panties when riding LOL.. is there a specific brand you recommend? LOL :P sorry i voted that choice on the poll i just had to open my mouth lol. im not sure id wear them starting out, but definitely for long road trips or something id for sure wear them lol. thax for the tip, i actually didnt know that, but now i have somethign to note down for future reference

 

Congrats on getting it fixed. It seems your problem lies in the clutch control, try this technique that I suggested earlier.
Do not ride the bike until you are able to control the clutch. For this excercise the bike will not move more than 6 inches. Roll the bike forward by slowly releasing the clutch then pull the clutch in and roll back with your feet, and try again, practice it at least 50 times before you try riding again. Once you master the clutch you can concentrate on other things. Let us know how it goes, and keep the shiny side up.

[geek]I've seen more Gundam than I can remember, I own the original subbed, only cause it was $5 on ebay. It was good but the main character was way too whiny, 08th MS Team was pretty cool but I havent seen it since Toonami was new...I'm dating myself now. G Gundam was horrible, just plain horrible. I own Gundam Wing as well, and Endless Waltz which is the OVA movie for the series, both good tho a little tweeny. My roomate ruined Gundam Seed for me, I refuse to watch it. I remember seing Stardust Memory or 00 or something, dont remember anything other than the guy's name was Koh...or am I thinking of something else. Anyway, its been 6 years since I saw any Gundam at all. Never saw Fate Stay, but If your bored and you like lighthearted mecha, check out Full Metal Panic!, you wont be disappointed.[/geek]