Growing up in Southern California, (SoCal) I saw plenty of motorcycles cruising up & down the coast. That feeling of freedom on two wheels when hitting the open road. I also remember watching plenty of Supercross during the 90s and 00s too. Pretty awesome to witness the “King of Supercross” himself, Jeremy McGrath, and Legend Ricky Carmichael battle it out year after year. Funny enough, my middle name is named after Steve McQueen. That’s where my love of Triumphs began when I was old enough to understand who the “King of Cool” was. I mean the epitome of cool.

When we lived in Tustin, my uncle had a motorcycle and I remember my mom saying, “Oh you’re not putting my son on that thing. I know how crazy you ride.” Even though I knew motorcycles were dangerous, I still loved everything on two wheels. From playing with my little toy bikes to pretending that I’m on a track somewhere hitting jumps while just in my neighborhood cul de sac going off curbs on my bmx bike. Oh to be a kid again and have that imagination flowing without a care in the world.

I don’t know why it took this long but I got the motorcycle bug last year during the pandemic. With me approaching two years at Super73, COVID fueled my curiosity. Enough to where I did a bunch of research with the free time I had to see how fast I could take a class, finish the courses and get on a bike. I came across an article online that explained how it would benefit me as a new rider, in the long run, to go through a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) rider course than just going straight through the DMV. I honestly can tell you that was the best decision I made. It covers the basics of operating a motorcycle and safety-oriented mental strategies. Things that can easily apply to riding an electric bicycle (e-bike) like a Super73.

Steps you’ll take:

1. Find an MSF rider course in your area.

2. Pick up essential riding gear; DOT helmet, gloves, boots, jacket, eye protection, etc.

3. Pay attention and have fun.

URide has been offering high-quality, customer-friendly motorcycle training in Costa Mesa since 1988. Aaron W. referred me to them as he took the course the previous year and had nothing but good things to say about the experience. I wish I had pulled the trigger back then but still happy I went my own way with the Motorcyclist Training Course. I called and was greeted by Greg. I believe he’s the owner. We had a nice chat about how I was a new rider and how the course got reworked for COVID. It consists of a (6) six-hour classroom via Zoom, we all spent many many hours on Zoom in 2020. Then (10) ten hours of practice riding conveniently located at Orange Coast College (OCC). 

Ted was our instructor for the online classroom and practice-riding on the range. There were about 24 students on Zoom and we had to keep our webcams on for the full length of the class. Totally understandable as people could take advantage and have someone else take the course for them or just not pay attention at all. Ted was straightforward and had dry humor. It was refreshing because it was no BS when it came to discussing topics like gear choices or riding in the rain. He was not about riding in the rain at all. Massively against taking his Adventure Bike out even in SoCal when it rarely rains. “It’s not worth riding when there’s a bunch of idiots out there on the road that don’t know how to drive when it rains,” he said. I don’t blame him. Honestly, the Zoom was pretty painless. Ted made it light and fun for everyone. Even though it was towards the end of the night, I didn’t feel like this was a chore that I was made to do. It definitely made the class go by quicker with him interacting with all the students and cracking jokes. 

Classroom topics include:

• Risks of riding

• Rider responsibilities & preparation

• Gear choices

• Control operation and how to turn, shift and stop

• Street riding strategies

• Reading the terrain and traffic

• Managing curves

• Survival maneuvers such as swerving and quick stops.

• Riding sober (yes, this is still a topic in 2021)

• Rules, regulations, and laws

Next was getting on the range and OCC was only 10 minutes away. Upon arriving I met Ted and (6) six of my fellow riders. All were from different walks of life from an older gentleman in his 60s riding a dual sport to a young guy in his 20s ready to hop on a Harley. There was a container in the parking lot where everything was housed from riding gear to all the motorcycles. Speaking of motorcycles, they were all Kawasaki Z125 bikes in different colors and one dual sport. The naked motorcycle is nimble and pretty peppy. The 125 refers to the 125cc engine, four-speed manual transmission. A fun unintimidating bike that was easy to swing a leg over and ride. It felt like a much heavier SUPER73-RX which I felt comfortable on, obviously. 

The group went through the basics of operating the motorcycle. From how to properly get on and off the bike, front, and rear braking, to the clutch and throttle. What helped was knowing how to drive a manual transmission prior to the rider course. It was pretty easy getting used to releasing the clutch and easing on the throttle to get moving. Staling the bike is never fun but everyone got the hang of it after some attempts. The parking lot had plenty of room for all of us if we went a bit wide or needed some extra tarmac to stop the bike. Ted placed cones for each exercise and was very informative when talking about what each rider had to do. With it only being (6) six of us, we had the advantage of getting coached one-on-one if we needed a bit more practice. Even getting some encouragement after each attempt when you went through the cones properly. I could ride all day. It was actually a pretty fun time when you get the hang of it all. Riders got the opportunity to get up to speed at times if Ted knew that they could handle it safely. I shifted up gears pretty quickly getting up to 30 mph then downshifted applying the front & rear brakes gently coming to a complete stop. These little Z125 bikes were pretty easy to throw around. 

It was around the high 40s to low 50s each morning in November so everyone was pretty bundled up until the sun finally peaked out. I was used to thinner gloves but keeping warm was a priority that morning. 70% of your braking force is through the front brakes so it’s imperative that you have feeling in your right hand. Thanks to my buddy Greg for hooking me up with some riding gear; DOT helmet, gloves, and jacket. As you might know, riding gear can get expensive so saving on these high ticket items helped with the budget. They (URide) recommended checking out Cycle Gear and Revzilla for affordable safety gear. I did visit a shop in Huntington Beach and the prices weren’t too bad. 

After hours of classroom time and riding on the range, the day had come to take the final. I was a little nervous at first but then after hopping on the bike after acing the written test, it all came second nature. We went through all the drills and Ted graded us on the basics making sure we remembered all that he taught us. It went by so fast and everyone did so well that we had a little fun afterward. He proceeded to create a four-way stop with a mini-highway in the parking lot. We took the different intersections, fully stopped, and then hit the highway going around as many times as we wanted. I think it was a great exercise as it felt like a “real-world” scenario. Scanning traffic before pointing the bike, turning, and accelerating to get up to speed. 

I then headed to the DMV to take the written test. Like everyone, I hate going to the DMV. I feel like you get transported back 10+ years ago with the decor and technology they have in place. My number was finally called and I went to the testing section. There was a line of touchscreen computer screens with partitions on each side that deter from cheating. I’m old enough to know better. It took me to my last try to pass and I felt relieved. Riding was a breeze but taking this test with how they word things was a pain. If I failed, I would have had to come back another day and pay another $35 fee to take it again. That would have been embarrassing. Woo, I now have my M1 license! Time to hit the road.

All-in-all a great experience. I highly recommend going through URide for your motorcycle training if you’re here in SoCal. Or you can find the right course for you online to get trained and get riding. Again, a lot of what you learn can be applied to riding your Super73 like SPAT; Speed, Position, Aim, Turn. Looking forward to these type of group rides in the near future.

As always, have fun and ride safe!