My wife, the perpetual beginner

[viverrid]

Originally Posted by Pantah

So if you have all the answers, why the thread?

To vent, and share with others.

Just because somebody mentions something to you, doesn't necessarily mean they are asking you what they should do.

Actually that's a more common experience with women speaking to men. The woman will complain that she tried to tell her husband/BF about something that was bothering her, and then he suddenly started telling her what to do. Like if she tries to tell him how hurt she was that her best friend since high school snubbed her at a wedding reception, and the husband starts to tell her how to send unwanted pizzas and magazine subscription to the other woman's house, or how to poison her dog. But the wife never wanted advice at how to "get back at" her friend, just wanted to share how upset she was.

[Scooterchick]

Originally Posted by viverrid

This isn't really a rant, just a dunno WTF.

Well, then it would have helped had you started your thread with "keep your ideas to yourself cause I ain't asking for them"! ha


Now we ALL know(men and maybe two women on this thread)....you really didn't want any answers or suggestions!
ok then.....! We got it now.

[viverrid]

Originally Posted by Scooterchick

....move to a less complicated bike (scooter, even a Maxi scooter) if she wants to be able to go on the highways without having brain freezes about gear sequence, etc; (forget about the dirt),

You're projecting, and you have it backwards.

What she LIKES is to ride dirt. She used to even ride TRAIL, but the trails around here are generally very technical and she thought it prudent to give them up after some injuries. She has no desire to ride on highways except as little as possible to connect scenic dirt segments.

It's not going to help her improve her clutch handling to ride a bike without a clutch, any more than somebody can learn to drive a stick shift by switching to an automatic transmission. She handled a clutch and gear changes when she first learned to ride in 2004. She handled a clutch and gear changes when she took it up again in 2008. She handled a clutch and gear changes when she used to own & drive a clutch car. But she is having trouble with PROPER clutch handling on the bike this time.

Just because YOU gave up on EVER learning to use a clutch, and think that dirt is forever beyond YOU, doesn't mean that SHE should give up on something she's done TWICE BEFORE. Besides, if she didn't ride on dirt, she couldn't ride at all, since both our driveway and the road we live on are dirt. There are probably 25 houses on our road now, but that's in 5 miles and the middle three miles or so only has 3 houses that are all off the grid, there being no grid power there. For her to NOT ride on dirt would be completely counterproductive.

If she turned one way out of our driveway she'd reach pavement pretty quickly since we live nearer to one end of the road and both ends are paved. But that only goes to the state highway which has higher speeds, tractor trailers, and no shoulders. She prefers to turn the other way where she gets maybe 4 miles of dirt before it tees off at a less heavily trafficked paved local road.

[viverrid]

I bought the XT for myself (as my "sick bike"), normally it would be too small for me. It had about 4,000 miles on it. I was told it had been owned by another noob. It looked like it had never seen dirt. Didn't have a scratch on it, the tires were worn flat in the middle and the side knobs had no wear. This isn't a matter of just lean, it's that in mud or loose dry material the tire will sink in some and then get spun, causing wear to the knobs higher up. A knobby used in dirt will still wear out in the middle but there will be SOME wear further up the sides.

It wasn't just a matter of fresh plastic, the tank didn't have a scratch on it, and the frame near the footpegs showed no wear. Somebody must have only ridden in soft shoes, and never gripped the tank with muddy gritty knees. People do put fresh plastic on beat up dirt bikes to sell them, but who the heck changes the tank or totally strips & repaints the FRAME (for an XT-225).

Anyone, the one worn thing on the bikes was that the clutch only engaged toward the end of the travel, but there was the specified amount of freeplay in the lever. A noob rider might have done a lot of "friction zone" exercises, or a lot of unintentional clutch slippage. I think the clutch is worn, though not enough to fail to engage. My wife's hands are smaller than mine. Today I had a brainstorm and went out and put even more slack in the cable. Now there is way more than the proper amount of freeplay in the lever, but the clutch engages more in the middle of the travel.

Maybe that was the problem all along. All the engagement was too close to her fingertips for her to easily control it.

[Scooterchick]

Well,

That wasn't the case with me (the giving it up part).....I just prefer to ride what I ride right now and be safe about it.

At this point, I think we are just wondering (as someone has already said) why the thread?? Especially if you don't want any dialogue about what you are saying.

Going round and round about this certainly hasn't resulted in a suggestion or dialogue that you approve of. So.....

what's the point?? We've heard you if that's the only reason you posted the thread in the first place.

Mission accomplished! Well done! . Glad we got that figured out. And by the way....I was not the only one on here that suggested she move to something less complicated like a scooter. So, don't make this about "me". You started this thread. Not us!

MoveON.org!

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by viverrid

That's what she needs to practice, not avoiding the issue by switching to a vehicle with no clutch.

She is not going to improve her operation of the clutch by riding a 2-wheeler that doesn't have one.

She does it fine in a training exercise. The problem is that in actual practice she has fails.

Gotta get her more seat time.

Not that you're asking for advice, but eliminating one variable that seems to be causing issues would be beneficial, no?

Let her get comfortable on the bike without having to worry about all that clutch in/out/sorta in/sorta out stuff. Betcha it'll be a world of difference. After all, all ya do is put it in 'go' and go. Right?!

M

[High Country Herb]

I can understand why many are recommending a simpler machine; to allow her to learn one thing at a time. It can be tough for some people to learn starting procedures, clutch operation, gear shift pattern, and situational awareness, all at the same time, and that all has to happen before she can even build one minute of seat time. Eliminating some of those barriers could allow her to learn one thing at a time well, and get some seat time.

For instance: getting an e-bike would eliminate starting, shifting, and finding neutral at stoplights. Getting an electric start scooter with an auto trans, would only eliminate kickstarting and shifting. A Rekluse clutch would only eliminate the clutch. The level of simplification is up to the buyer.

When someone mentioned scooters, the Big Ruckus came to mind. It is easy to ride, street legal, and can certainly handle dirt. All that is for not, though, if she isn't interested in a scooter. I totally understand, since scooters are not really my thing either.

[viverrid]

Originally Posted by Scooterchick

...You are the one who seems to have a "fixation" with her being on a motorcycle. She may need to switch machines is all some of us are suggesting. She may not "need" to be on a motorcycle at all as a mode of transportation or sport.

I repeat, she was the one who asked for the XT. When I bought it, I had no expectation she would ride it. The bike was for me for when I got sicker, but I didn't yet so bought another DRZ (I used to have an '02). She didn't want the XT being left to anyone else when I die (it would have gone to a son who rides, along with my other bikes, he would have probably given it to his GF since it's too small for him also).

Nobody "needs" to be on a motorcycle. We all ride because we WANT to. She WANTS to ride a dualsport motorcycle on dirt roads, which she has done before. If she wants to decide to give that up because she'll never be good at it, that will be her conclusion & decision, not me choosing to 'put her on a different kind of bike and have her ride on highways'. Instead I am trying to help her achieve her goals while I am still alive and not too sick to do so.

It's funny (again) how some people are saying for me to stop telling her what to do or even to stop riding with her, while others are saying I should make her switch bikes and ride differently than she wants to. It's her bike now, I transferred the title and registration to her (to get it out of my estate and so I don't have to change my will over an XT-225). It's not up to me to sell it and buy a scooter.

[viverrid]

Originally Posted by High Country Herb

I can understand why many are recommending a simpler machine; to allow her to learn one thing at a time. It can be tough for some people to learn starting procedures, clutch operation, gear shift pattern, and situational awareness, all at the same time...

She already did all that in '04 and in '08. We both thought she could do it again in '12.

Maybe the clutch cable intentionally out-of-spec adjustment will be all that is needed. She hasn't tried the bike yet since I just did it this morning.

If she doesn't get the hang of it again it will be up to her to either quit, or undertake a riding type different from what she currently wants (and different from what she can do living where we live now).

[Scooterchick]

Originally Posted by viverrid

I repeat, she was the one who asked for the XT. When I bought it, I had no expectation she would ride it. The bike was for me for when I got sicker, but I didn't yet so bought another DRZ (I used to have an '02). She didn't want the XT being left to anyone else when I die (it would have gone to a son who rides, along with my other bikes, he would have probably given it to his GF since it's too small for him also).

Nobody "needs" to be on a motorcycle. We all ride because we WANT to. She WANTS to ride a dualsport motorcycle on dirt roads, which she has done before. If she wants to decide to give that up because she'll never be good at it, that will be her conclusion & decision, not me choosing to 'put her on a different kind of bike and have her ride on highways'. Instead I am trying to help her achieve her goals while I am still alive and not too sick to do so.

It's funny (again) how some people are saying for me to stop telling her what to do or even to stop riding with her, while others are saying I should make her switch bikes and ride differently than she wants to. It's her bike now, I transferred the title and registration to her (to get it out of my estate and so I don't have to change my will over an XT-225). It's not up to me to sell it and buy a scooter.

Your're right. NONE OF THIS IS UP TO YOU. So, let her post her own thread about it. Be interesting to see what "she" actually had to say about things. And nobody EVER suggested that you "make her" do anything...I mean really, this is like.......

[viverrid]

Originally Posted by Scooterchick

...So, let her post her own thread about it.

Never gonna happen, she doesn't "post". At work we print out her emails and put them in her "IN" basket. Then she tells us how she wants to respond and we post her reply for her. A lot of times we already know what she wants and an employee will answer for her before she even sees the message.

She doesn't "post" at home and has never been a member of any internet forum. I'm on here a lot now as I only work part time due to my illness. (When I ride now it can only be for a couple of hours on days when I'm feeling well, not all day as often as possible like it used to be.)

[Jim Moore]

Originally Posted by viverrid

To vent, and share with others.

Just because somebody mentions something to you, doesn't necessarily mean they are asking you what they should do.

Actually that's a more common experience with women speaking to men. The woman will complain that she tried to tell her husband/BF about something that was bothering her, and then he suddenly started telling her what to do. Like if she tries to tell him how hurt she was that her best friend since high school snubbed her at a wedding reception, and the husband starts to tell her how to send unwanted pizzas and magazine subscription to the other woman's house, or how to poison her dog. But the wife never wanted advice at how to "get back at" her friend, just wanted to share how upset she was.

So you're like a chick.

[High Country Herb]

By the way, I'm glad to see in your signature line that you are continuing with treatment. My wife works with a guy who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about 4 years ago. He looks better now than he did a year ago. The doctors still are not considering him to be in remission, but quality of life has improved drastically.


I definately don't think you should stop riding with your wife. The goal of enjoying a hobby together is how this whole thing got started, if I remember correctly. Weather it be putting around town, or helping her pick up her bike with a smile and word of encouragement, its all quality time.

[Scooterchick]

Originally Posted by High Country Herb

By the way, I'm glad to see in your signature line that you are continuing with treatment. My wife works with a guy who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about 4 years ago. He looks better now than he did a year ago. The doctors still are not considering him to be in remission, but quality of life has improved drastically.


I definately don't think you should stop riding with your wife. The goal of enjoying a hobby together is how this whole thing got started, if I remember correctly. Weather it be putting around town, or helping her pick up her bike with a smile and word of encouragement, its all quality time.

Well, according to him in an earlier post, it was never about them doing it together.... haha

sooooo, ummm........ha. Next!

[Scooterchick]

Originally Posted by Jim Moore

So you're like a chick.

Now, THAT was bad! ha

I think maybe he meant how "everyone else" was responding to him...??

What did you mean for those who are not actually women?? ha

Wow......