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Congrats on taking your first steps to a lifetime of riding passion!

Below is my standard response for newer riders, to help build your skills and your confidence as you embark on an amazing adventure:

Advice to New Riders

Motorcycling can be a lifelong passion, but you have to be smart about it and remain ever vigilant.

The training mentioned below is mostly US-based, but there are similar courses around the world, and most of the books/videos will apply no matter which side of the road you happen to ride on.

My best advice for newer riders: understand that motorcycling is a skill, and focused training and proper practice can make you a better, smoother, safer rider.

Experienced riders understand the Fundamental Truth of riding: Motorcycles aren't automatically dangerous (despite what naysayers will repeat ad nauseam), but they are quite unforgiving of mistakes.

Every rider has to know their own skill level (regardless of the bike they're riding), but it's sometimes hard to know just where that skill level is. And even harder to learn how to raise that skill level without putting yourself and others at serious risk.

As a kid, you didn't just jump on a bicycle and head directly out into the busy street, did you? I imagine you were given a small starter bicycle, maybe with training wheels, and you rode around the driveway or backyard until you got better at balancing, steering, and stopping. Then the training wheels came off, and you graduated to bigger bicycles as your skills grew.

Motorcycling is much the same. Start small, build your skills and your confidence, then progress as your time, experience, and budget allows. Most of that has to be done on the bike, of course, but there are several good resources that you can use during the down time to help improve your understanding of motorcycle physics and best riding practices.

And when you are riding, your entire attention should be focused on the ride. No distractions, no stressing about work or family or relationships or life. And no riding impaired under any substance, legal, illegal, or otherwise. You have to focus 100% of your energy on the road. Remember, your #1 goal is to make it safely to your destination, no matter what the road throws at you.

It bears repeating that ATGATT should be your normal mode right from the beginning. This brings us to another Fundamental Truth about riding: Pavement hurts, but with the right gear, you can walk away relatively unscathed. Remember, it's much easier to repair/replace a broken motorcycle than a broken person...

But it's better not to crash, obviously, which is where skills training comes in.

Focused, professional training from a qualified instructor is always worth your time and effort. Having a skilled professional trainer watch you from outside and critique your style is invaluable in reaching that next skill level, and in building confidence.

Even after 4 decades and around 600,000 miles on two wheels, I still take regular training courses and track days, still read up on riding skills and accident avoidance, and still "practice" on every single ride. It's what keeps you safe out there.

On a side note, ABS is a great thing to have on a motorcycle. It just sits there unobtrusively, unless you need it during an emergency braking situation when it kicks in and can easily save your ass. Like ATGATT, it can be the difference that lets you walk or ride away from an incident.

The MSF offers their Basic Rider Course and Advanced Rider Course, which are well worth the small time and money commitments. Some riders might already be at that point, or beyond, so they'd be looking towards developing more advanced riding skills, as mentioned below.

Riders of any skill level can start with reading things like Twist of the Wrist I & II by Keith Code, Smooth Riding - the Pridmore Way by Reg Pridmore, and Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride, & Street Rider's Guide: Street Strategies for Motorcyclists by David Hough.

Many of the ideas and techniques explained above can be practiced locally. Just find a large empty parking lot if you're in the city, or a lonely side road if you're out in the country, and try to recreate what the books are telling you.

And if you're interested in doing much longer rides, you should read Don Arthur's excellent Fatigue and Motorcycle Touring, which I re-read before every extended multi-day ride.

Then continue with the Twist of the Wrist I & II videos (can also be found on YouTube).

And don't forget some helpful websites, such as The Pace, The Pace 2.0, The Fine Art of Braking, and TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation.

That will set you up for a skills-based track day such as Ride Smart, where the point isn't to "win" or to "put a knee down" but rather to expand your riding skill set by practicing all the above ideas in a safe and controlled environment, with immediate feedback from qualified instructors.

You can also look at instructor-based training, such as Lee Parks Total Control program. And there are a few other places that offer one-on-one training as well.

Skills-based track days and private training can be found all over the country, if only you search for such things.

That should keep you busy for a while.

And remember to enjoy the ride...

Congrats on taking your first steps to a lifetime of riding passion!

You're right to be nervous, because there's a lot that can go wrong in traffic. Nervous keeps you aware, which keeps you alive. With time and focused practice, your awareness and skills and confidence will all improve dramatically, and fun will start to overtake fear as your primary emotion while riding.

Below is my standard response for newer riders, to help build skills and confidence as you embark on an amazing adventure:

Advice to New Riders

Motorcycling can be a lifelong passion, but you have to be smart about it and remain ever vigilant.

The training mentioned below is mostly US-based, but there are similar courses around the world, and most of the books/videos will apply no matter which side of the road you happen to ride on.

My best advice for newer riders: understand that motorcycling is a skill, and focused training and proper practice can make you a better, smoother, safer rider.

Experienced riders understand the Fundamental Truth of riding: Motorcycles aren't automatically dangerous (despite what naysayers will repeat ad nauseam), but they are quite unforgiving of mistakes.

Every rider has to know their own skill level (regardless of the bike they're riding), but it's sometimes hard to know just where that skill level is. And even harder to learn how to raise that skill level without putting yourself and others at serious risk.

As a kid, you didn't just jump on a bicycle and head directly out into the busy street, did you? I imagine you were given a small starter bicycle, maybe with training wheels, and you rode around the driveway or backyard until you got better at balancing, steering, and stopping. Then the training wheels came off, and you graduated to bigger bicycles as your skills grew.

Motorcycling is much the same. Start small, build your skills and your confidence, then progress as your time, experience, and budget allows. Most of that has to be done on the bike, of course, but there are several good resources that you can use during the down time to help improve your understanding of motorcycle physics and best riding practices.

And when you are riding, your entire attention should be focused on the ride. No distractions, no stressing about work or family or relationships or life. And no riding impaired under any substance, legal, illegal, or otherwise. You have to focus 100% of your energy on the road. Remember, your #1 goal is to make it safely to your destination, no matter what the road throws at you.

Side note: When you're out on the road, legal Right of Way means nothing if it means that you get hit by some idiot who's not paying attention. Being legally right is for courtrooms afterwards, whereas simply recognizing and avoiding the dangerous situation before it happens is a much better way of staying safe.

It bears repeating that ATGATT should be your normal mode right from the beginning. This brings us to another Fundamental Truth about riding: Pavement hurts, but with the right gear, you can walk away relatively unscathed. Remember, it's much easier to repair/replace a broken motorcycle than a broken person...

But it's better not to crash, obviously, which is where skills training comes in.

Focused, professional training from a qualified instructor is always worth your time and effort. Having a skilled professional trainer watch you from outside and critique your style is invaluable in reaching that next skill level, and in building confidence.

Even after 4 decades and around 600,000 miles on two wheels, I still take regular training courses and track days, still read up on riding skills and accident avoidance, and still "practice" on every single ride. It's what keeps you safe out there.

On a side note, ABS is a great thing to have on a motorcycle. It just sits there unobtrusively, unless you need it during an emergency braking situation when it kicks in and can easily save your ass. Like ATGATT, it can be the difference that lets you walk or ride away from an incident.

The MSF offers their Basic Rider Course and Advanced Rider Course, which are well worth the small time and money commitments. Some riders might already be at that point, or beyond, so they'd be looking towards developing more advanced riding skills, as mentioned below.

Riders of any skill level can start with Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride, & Street Rider's Guide: Street Strategies for Motorcyclists by David Hough. Then move on to Twist of the Wrist I & II by Keith Code and Smooth Riding - the Pridmore Way by Reg Pridmore.

Many of the ideas and techniques explained above can be practiced locally. Just find a large empty parking lot if you're in the city, or a lonely side road if you're out in the country, and try to recreate what the books are telling you.

And if you're interested in doing much longer rides, you should read Don Arthur's excellent Fatigue and Motorcycle Touring, which I re-read before every extended multi-day ride.

Then continue with the Twist of the Wrist I & II videos (can also be found on YouTube).

And don't forget some helpful websites, such as The Pace, The Pace 2.0, The Fine Art of Braking, and TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation.

That will set you up for a skills-based track day such as Ride Smart, where the point isn't to "win" or to "put a knee down" but rather to expand your riding skill set by practicing all the above ideas in a safe and controlled environment, with immediate feedback from qualified instructors.

You can also look at instructor-based training, such as Lee Parks Total Control program. And there are a few other places that offer one-on-one training as well.

Skills-based track days and private training can be found all over the country, if only you search for such things.

And when you're done perusing all of the above information, then sit down and watch On Any Sunday, On Any Sunday 2, and On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter

.

That should keep you busy for a while.

And remember to enjoy the ride...

I like them a lot better. Looks mostly, function is about the same. I could see out of the stock ones fine. Those are Chinese specials I got on amazon for about $30. Look like CRG arrow knock offs and are actually pretty good quality. Came packaged like an Apple product in a nice box and shit. Once I snugged everything on them down good they are pretty sturdy and clear.

I got some Rhinomoto mounts and a set of $17 mirrors from Amazon. I like the mirrors, because if they break, they're cheap to replace.

The fender is this from aliexpress, but I've added some lights and mounted my license plate on it with an adapter plate that I made with my neighbor's help. I also added lights for the license plate, and brake/turn.

Also, it does quite a good job of keeping the passenger seat and your back clean. I was having issues with a dirty back with my fender eliminator.

http://imgur.com/a/RXHVw

It's got a pair of these lights. You mostly just need a license plate light, which would be considerably easier to wire than what I did. There are five wire cores leading to that plate mount. It was a bit overkill.

I should get a video of it in action, though. The brake flasher is cool, and the turn signals are nice too.

I highly recommend this kit http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000TVAIG6?pc_redir=1405023855&robot_redir=1
My girlfriend picked it up for me as a gift one day and it's honestly very good. And I am one to never give into gimmicks of the auto cleaning world but this one is awesome. The only thing that is meh is the drying towel. It's one of those rubberized chamois cloths, and those never seem to work out anyway. Everything else is awesome!

• Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash
  
• Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0
  
• Simple green (for the wheels)
  
  Always use a wash mitt (do not use a sponge), dry with a chamois, and always work in the shade. I also use the 2 bucket method with grit guards. Basic vid here (there are much better ones out there but it's a pretty easy method to grasp)
  
  Hope this helps!

Ya man. I absolutely love white tire lettering. Did it on my last bike as well. Looks great in person. Extremely time consuming and strenuous though, to do well. Easier with the tires off the bike of course.

What you need is this Sharpie OIL BASED paint marker. Last basically all season and then some. Very durable

https://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Oil-Based-Marker-Medium-1-Count/dp/B001PLKRZQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492483544&sr=8-1&keywords=sharpie+oil+based+white

There’s not much you can do to prepare your buttocks other than preparing your subconscious. I hope you have a wonderful trip this weekend and take plenty of pictures to share. I’ve purchased this and it does help.

Zone Tech Double Strung Wooden Beaded Ultra Comfort Massaging Seat Cover - Classic Black Premium Quality Massaging Car Seat Cover for Stress Free all https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HFI6EGS?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Rizoma makes the best I've heard. Hot bodies makes some nice flush mounts for the front aswell. If you end up wanting to go the cheaper eBay/Amazon route I recommend not even trying for LEDs. Cheap <$50 LED turn signals aren't worth the box they come in in the daytime. Mini standard bulb turn signals work well and [look good] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VSEIYU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_YzILxb4D5N0AD) IMO.

Just a heads up, careful where you leave your bike. That ground looks pretty soft. Especially since its wet, theres a chance the stand could sink and bike will fall over. Same goes for asphalt on a hot summer day.

Something like this may save you from having to pick up your bike.

I got pretty much everything on amazon, save for the seat and bags.

I just got done installing a Memphis Shades Batwing with lower deflectors, and a Ultimate seat with backrest on mine a couple weeks ago. The 6" recurve/spoiler windshield I ordered for the batwing is a bit to short for me (I'm 5'8"), which causes wind buffeting around my helmet. I'm still debating on going for a 9" spoiler or 11" standard. The seat, while being a bit more firm, is a lot more supportive than the stock one. I haven't had the chance to test out the backrest yet, but it seems like it will make longer trips much more comfortable/tolerable.

The Viking Bags I got for it should have been a bolt on affair, but they conflicted with the shock and seat so I brought the bike to a local shop to get them installed properly and the turn signals relocated. I should have ordered the shock cutout versions, but didn't check until after the return date, oh well, live and learn.

Some other universal things I installed myself were Grip Puppy comfort grips, motorcycle bar phone mount, bluetooth remote control with bar mount.

This job was an amalgamation of many different components rather than a single kit.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQE5JAK/ref=pe_309540_26725410_item

I bought two of these packs and some wire, and some quick connectors

http://www.amazon.com/Allstar-Performance-ALL76232-Universal-Connector/dp/B003C01FD6/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1369623890&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=12v+connector

and then I took my soldering iron and went at it with some black electrical tape and heat-shrink tubing

I had a remote & module left over from my last bike, which is why i opted to do it this way rather that buy a new kit from a site like ledglow.com

Coincidentally, the module I am using is from ledglow.com

http://www.ledunderbody.com/replacement-single-color-flexible-motorcycle-control-box-and-wireless-remote.aspx

My method is not for the faint of heart. I recommend buying a plug and play 6 or 8 pc kit, rather than trying to make your own kit like I did, but to answer your question the LED's were from amazon with that first link.

I have the link below. It's a generic Chinese LED light for $57. Install was somewhat difficult, as you have to retrofit it. The 919 headlight assembly is somewhat proprietary, but a 7" does fit. I had to order a '79 CB500 headlight ring from 4into1.com, as it's a universal 7" ring. You then have to clip/dremel off the tabs on top of the bucket, drill an additional hole on top for a top screw, and drill holes for the side screws, as the original screw holes do not line up. After that, you can install it, and I filled the gaps on the sides where the stock screws were with Flex-Seal and you can't tell that I had to drill additional holes.

Let me know if I can clarify anything!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074PQ8T2B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks bro. I gotchu homie

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074PQ8T2B/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517584040&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Bicyaco&dpPl=1&dpID=51HYxz58PcL&ref=plSrch