I’m sorry I’m slow but I’m just a giant reflective orange triangle.

Today, I test drove my motorbike on the road for the very first time.

Initially I wanted to go down and ride it in the morning, but I had a terrible attack of the nerves. Then, as luck would have it, my bike refused to start. Ok, it started and then died off, and I had to throttle a little so that it wouldn’t die. Then when I brought it to gear 1, *poof* it just died.

I called everyone that I knew had a bike but they were all asleep. In desperation, I approached a fellow biker and told him of my problem. He then proceeded to start the bike with absolutely no problems at all ><. He said maybe it wasn’t warmed up enough.

Well, I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I found a solution to the problem: when kick starting, throttle once you hear the ‘starting’ sound. Then throttle when bringing it to first gear. Then after that, ok. Good for times when you decide not to warm it up properly (3am and you don’t want to wake the whole block, etc, cause my bike is not exactly the quietest bike in the area).

I told him that it was the first time I was bringing my bike out and on his advice, I decided to put it off until night time when there were less cars. So after that, I ended up doing parking lot practice (which was quite useful in making me less nervous later) and then going cycling with my ma.

Every time I do something to the bike (not just ride it, even things like warming it up or covering it), it’s like a big family occasion. My ma will come down along with me cause well, she’s worried. Today was an even bigger occasion so my sis came down as well.

The first time round, I admit I was going a bit slow, cause I was still a bit unsure of both my bike and the road conditions.
The second time round was a lot better.

My bike is kind of light so even when going at normal road speed (50 – 60km/h), the bike already starts shaking a little and the front wheel feels a bit like it’s lifting off the ground 😡 I don’t even dare to think of what it’ll feel like on the expressway.

The feeling of being on a motorbike and feeling it respond to your every movement and instruction is damn shiok (good).
I don’t know how to describe this to non-bikers, but it’s just damn shiok la.
The kind of shiok feeling that you have during your motorbike practical lesson when you do most of the stuff correctly, then after that the instructor will tell you that you passed this time round.

The feeling is even more shiok than riding a bicycle, but it’s not really fair to put them in the same category.
Cycling is more like riding with friends while talking and shouting, racing each other, struggling up hills together, trying to go long distance and having a satisfying meal at the end of it, that kind of thing, very relaxed and social.
Motorcycling is a more intense experience that requires your undivided attention, and it’s also more a solo (with the exception of your pillion) activity, I mean, how well can you talk to another biker through a pair of helmets?

(If there are any non-Singaporeans reading this post, you must be wondering why I gave this post such a weird title. In Singapore, people who have had their 2B licence for less than one year have to display a ‘probation plate’ (an orange triangle on a yellow background) on the front and back of their bike. If you check out this picture of my bike, you’ll see what it looks like)