Month: June 2019

Happy #MotoMonday!

In my last post, I had just purchased my very first motorcycle, a Kawasaki Ninja 250, and Josh was helping me get it home in the back of his truck. You might remember from my last post, that I very much wanted to be the first person to put miles on my new motorcycle. I also wanted to be the first person to drop it. See, in college I had a friend, Kris, who bought a beautiful new Suzuki GSX-R. He was showing it off to several of us classmates, when one of them asked if he could ride it. Kris obliged and the guy took the bike for a spin around the block. As he was pulling back up to where we all standing, he came to a stop and then just dropped the bike. Kris ran over horrified. Thankfully the guy wasn’t hurt, and the bike was only a little scratched up, but not broken. Kris later admitted to me that he wasn’t mad at the guy for dropping his bike, but disappointed that the first scrapes to his new baby weren’t caused by him, but by someone else. That always stuck with me. So when buying my bike, I made a point of telling my friends, like Johnny and Josh, that they were welcome to ride my motorcycle once I drop it.

So back to bringing my motorcycle home. Josh and I unloaded my bike, and I put on my gear. We fired her up and went about 1/2 a block to a relatively empty parking lot so I could get some practice on my new wheels. I was so excited and took things slow just like I had learned in my Motorcycle Safety Course. Finally I could feel my confidence building and began to accelerate! As I neared the end of the lot, I started to look to the right and prepare for my turn. Then I got nervous, braked hard and fell over! “Well that didn’t take long,” I said laughing to myself. Josh helped me lift it back up (something I soon learned to do on my own) and I asked if he wanted to take her for a spin. It’s funny how much smaller my bike looks when he rides it. I am glad I was the first person to drop her though, it made me not feel so protective when someone else rode her. I got a lot of great practice in that day, and it was yet again another moment where I felt so grateful to have a fellow rider there to encourage and support me as I learned. Please enjoy the photos bellow. While I do not have any of when I dropped her, if you look closely in the last photo, you’ll see my right break lever is bent from when I fell!

Did you feel strongly about being the first person to ride and or drop your bike? Or do you have your own special things that mean a lot to you when it comes to your bike? I would love to hear!

PS: Don’t forget that we are having a sale right now! 10% off your order to Celebrate my 10 years of riding! Enter code YAY10YEARS at checkout for your discount!

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Happy #MotoMonday Everyone! Last week I shared about why I chose the Kawasaki Ninja 250 for my first bike. This week I wanted to share the adventure of going to purchase it! I live in CA, so there are certain laws in place to protect new riders that I had to adhere to. Even though I had passed the riders exam, I still had a Riding Permit until my license came in. This meant 3 things:

1) I could not have passengers.
2) I could not ride on the freeway.
3) I could not ride at night.

This proved a bit of a challenge since the shop that I would be buying my bike from, was about an hour south on the freeway. My friend Johnny offered to ride it back for me, but truth be told, I wanted to put the first miles on my first bike!! Thankfully, fate intervened in the form of Josh, a incredibly nice friend of Johnny’s, who I happened to meet at a lunch the same day I took my Motorcycle Safety Course. Josh was the owner of a beautiful 50th Anniversary R6 as well as a truck! He seemed genuinely excited about my learning to ride, and offered to drive down with me to pick up my bike and bring it back! I’m telling you, world’s nicest guy! I spent the whole drive down freaking out about how excited I was to finally own a bike, and the whole drive back freaking out that I owned a bike and it was in the back of the truck! While at the dealership, Josh patiently waited as I signed the papers for my baby. We grabbed lunch while they got her all prepped, including shaving down the seat to help it be even an inch closer to the ground for my short legs! When it was time to pick her up I was on cloud 9! I had brought my camera, and Josh was wonderful enough to snap photos of me as sat on my new bike for the first time before loading it into his truck. There is nothing quite like buying your first bike, and I did not stop smiling the entire drive home!

What I found so truly special about my experience to this point, is the way that riders come together to encourage and support fellow riders, no matter how new or seasoned. I had been riding on the back of my friend Danny’s bike for over a year, and we would do canyon rides with our friends Johnny and Rob. I had only just met Josh, but he joined Johnny and Rob when they came to cheer me on at my riding course. Then Josh offered his time and truck to help me get my bike home. This is just a few people sure, but it accurately represents the boundless kindness I continue to witness from the motorcycle community!

How did you get your first motorcycle home? Did you ride it yourself, have a friend ride it or maybe have it delivered? Also check back next week to hear about my first actual ride on my new Ninja!

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Happy #MotoMonday Everyone! Remember the feeling you got when you bought your first bike? I sure do! But first I had to decide which bike I wanted. I knew I wanted a sport bike, but didn’t need anything ridiculously powerful and also wanted to be mindful of things like the seat height. For my first bike I ultimately decided to purchase a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250. Kawasaki had recently updated their Ninja in 2008, and it had enough engine power to zip around town, look super fast and sporty and was a small enough frame that I could reach the ground when sitting on it. Everyone I spoke to agreed they were great starter bikes. That said, I have always had a predisposition toward Yamaha motorcycles, and loved the overall look and feel of the 2009 Yamaha FZ6R in white. Bluntly speaking, the FZ6R was a tamed-down R6 with a thinner frame that they marketed towards women. I was seriously considering it, especially since it was almost the same seat height as the Ninja 250 and aesthetically I liked it more. I had to weigh the pros and cons as I wanted to set myself up for success as a rider and be financially responsible as well.

Happy #MotoMonday Everyone! After purchasing my gear, or what I was able to find in stores at least, I signed up for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Course. I wanted to make sure I was learning everything I could to be the best and safest rider I could be. Some of the perks of the MSF Course:
1) 3 Day class, 1 classroom session and 2 days of riding.
2) They provide you with a motorcycle!
3) Successfully completing the course got you a certificate, and would serve as the riding portion of your license exam. So you’d only need to complete the written exam at the DMV!!!
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The classroom session focused on the importance of awareness on the road, and how to look ahead for potential issues, because the truth is no one else is looking out for motorcyclists. The riding days took you from standing with your bike, to walking it slowly, and eventually throttle control, shifting and figure eights! Each state will have its own Safety Course, so be sure to google the motorcycle safety course for your state so you can get the most out of your riding education! 

🏍🤪🏍 Funny story time! That’s me on the left riding the Honda Nighthawk 250. When I first got to the class, I requested being put on a Kawasaki Ninja 250, as I was planning to purchase a Ninja for myself once I completed the course. They kindly obliged and I hopped on the rather tall Ninja they had on hand. If you remember from my earlier post, I’m only 5’ 1”, so I was toggling the weight of the bike on my tippy toes. Before we even turned the bikes on, the instructor asked us to try squeezing the clutch, and then the brake. I squeezed the clutch, cool. Then squeeze the brake, and suddenly tipped over. We all had a good laugh, and the instructor put me on the Honda for the rest of the course. It was the right choice, and I learned so much more without having to worry about if I could touch the ground. Today I wear flat boots and can balance my bike easily on one leg, but it took time to learn and gain that confidence. I am so grateful for everything I learned in this course and recommend it for anyone learning to ride, or wanting to better their foundational riding skills!

Happy #MotoMonday Everyone! Thank you all for the follows and warm reception of @motomusegear on our Social Media Channels. Seeing as this is the beginning of Moto Muse, I thought I’d share a bit about my beginnings. 10 years ago, I decided I wanted to stop riding on the back of my friends motorcycles, and actually learn to ride myself. So I went to my local motorcycle shop and bought my first set of gear. California law only requires you wear a helmet, but thankfully I was already surrounded by a community of riders that encouraged always wearing gear, no matter how hot it got. I fell in love with my Scorpion helmet and leather jacket. In my naivety, I purchased a pair of motocross Fox gloves, as opposed to street gloves. I also picked up a pair of Icon wedge boots, that the guys gave me a hard time about, however they ended up being the perfect starting boot for me! See, I’m only 5’ 1”, so reaching the ground and balancing a bike was a bit intimidating at first. Having a wedge boot allowed me to be up on my toes, yet still feel a solid connection with the road when stopped. You may notice I’m not wearing protective pants. When I was shopping, the store only had one style of women’s motorcycle pants in stock, and they were not in my size. It would be about a year before I finally tracked down a pair of riding pants I liked that also fit. While I was so incredibly excited to learn to ride, I couldn’t help but feel let down by the selection of gear for women. It was the planting of a seed that would eventually grow and inspire me to launch Moto Muse. 🏍

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Hi, I’m Hannah, lady rider, fashion designer and leather crafter. Today I’m excited to announce the soft launch of Moto Muse!!! This company has been a dream of mine for almost a decade and I’m excited to see it become a reality. The motorcycle community is so near and dear to my heart. Since my wheels first hit the pavement, I’ve felt so welcomed, and I love that no matter who you are, or what you ride, you are a part of this family. I am unbelievably grateful to know so many incredible ladies who share a passion for riding, and who lift up and encourage each other at every turn. My dream is to make this a brand that’s about more than just the products we sell: I want Moto Muse to continue to pay forward the kindness and support I’ve felt from this amazing community by lifting up my sister riders, and embracing the elegance we bring to the road!

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So please check out our website and feel free to follow us on our social media channels. We have exciting things planned and hope you’ll enjoy going on this journey with us!