Riding in the neighbourhood in a big city?

[Sailorwithabike99]

Hey everyone! I just got my first bike ever last week (1999 CR125R) and have a few questions about riding in the neighbourhood. 
 

So. The nearest trails to me are around 2h away and I take the bike there every few weekends to ride, but being new to this, I find that riding it around the block for a lap is just heart-warming and makes my day. I ride as slow as possible (15-20km/h?) and as soon as I see kids or people walking on the road I slow it down to a fast-walking pace. So far, no one’s had an issue with it except one guy. 
 

I made a turn at like 10km/h and this guys kid was playing in his driveway. This guy absolutely loses his shit and runs up at me and my bud, saying we’re “racing and going too fast.” He then proceeds to hit me in the face (helmet) with a basketball. We take his house number down to call the cops for assault and he then apologizes and shakes my hand. I think we’re good now but I feel like he doesn’t want me riding my bike. I didn’t call the cops tho since I felt like we had settled it. I checked with the other residents of this neighbourhood and everyone’s cool with me riding here since I wear all the equipment and do my best to respect their lives/peace. 
 

I have no clue what I did wrong and I get how he could’ve been overprotective of his kid or whatever but come on... idk if this is a common thing amongst us dirt bikers or something, knowing how loud these bikes are, but any advice would help me get my riding started. Thanks!

[Armbarn sailor]

When a mans kids are in yard or driveway, stay well clear of yard or driveway. Most people don’t care as long as you stay off their property. 

[William1]

Unless you have the legal right to ride where you ride, do not break the law. Do not ride on the street, do not ride on other peoples property unless you have a signed permission.

[BillDirt1]

4 hours ago, Sailorwithabike99 said:

Hey everyone! I just got my first bike ever last week (1999 CR125R) and have a few questions about riding in the neighbourhood. 
 

So. The nearest trails to me are around 2h away and I take the bike there every few weekends to ride, but being new to this, I find that riding it around the block for a lap is just heart-warming and makes my day. I ride as slow as possible (15-20km/h?) and as soon as I see kids or people walking on the road I slow it down to a fast-walking pace. So far, no one’s had an issue with it except one guy. 
 

I made a turn at like 10km/h and this guys kid was playing in his driveway. This guy absolutely loses his shit and runs up at me and my bud, saying we’re “racing and going too fast.” He then proceeds to hit me in the face (helmet) with a basketball. We take his house number down to call the cops for assault and he then apologizes and shakes my hand. I think we’re good now but I feel like he doesn’t want me riding my bike. I didn’t call the cops tho since I felt like we had settled it. I checked with the other residents of this neighbourhood and everyone’s cool with me riding here since I wear all the equipment and do my best to respect their lives/peace. 
 

I have no clue what I did wrong and I get how he could’ve been overprotective of his kid or whatever but come on... idk if this is a common thing amongst us dirt bikers or something, knowing how loud these bikes are, but any advice would help me get my riding started. Thanks!

Same here, l don't do it anymore though. Did what l had to do, this was back in the 80's. Got away with alot of shit, one time had the whole police force on my ass. That's what made me quit city riding. Only ride plated now. ?

[510KTM]

1 hour ago, William1 said:

Unless you have the legal right to ride where you ride, do not break the law. Do not ride on the street, do not ride on other peoples property unless you have a signed permission.

Agreed ..we are already fighting an up hill battle 

[Big Ron L]

if Your doing work on your bike going around the block once or twice to check things out is no big deal but I wouldn’t make it a habit.

Is their any woods nearby you could mess around in. Their might be a few hiking trails you could get away with riding if you hit them at the right time.

[mlatour]

As suggested above, while riding around the block occasionally to check out a repair before venturing out on the trail is usually acceptable,

doing it on a regular basis gives ALL dirt bikers a bad image.

 

Having to drive out 2 hours away to ride isn't fun but imagine if someone in that area rode around on

the streets as well and managed to piss people off enough to close access those trails...

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by mlatour

[mlatour]

Riding around the neighborhood also shows off your toy and makes it easy to locate where you live, making it inviting for thieves.

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by mlatour

[DEL107]

Find the nearest industrial park or commercial area and try riding there on sunday  Keep it brief though or cops will come eventually  Put a toolbox out and say you just needed a few minutes for jetting your carb before going to the mountains

[Sailorwithabike99]

Thank you everyone! I guess I’ll quit riding around the neighbourhood since there’s so many kids outside now that the weather is nice. There’s a hiking trail around 1km from me that I can get to through the inside streets and it’s a pretty dense forest with no police anywhere. I’ll stick to that to annoy less people. Thanks again everyone. Being new to this sport, it’s gonna take time for me to learn what’s right and wrong when it comes to technicalities like this, so I appreciate you all for educating me along the way?

[SparkinPegs]

Alright Sailor, here is my 2 cents. Stop the struggle now. Go ahead, get your motorcycle license. Sell the CR, and get yourself something that can be street legal. KTM EXC, xr650r, drz400, klx, WR, CRFX etc. Now, you can ride around all damn day long if you wish. So your the same thing as any other road legal motorcycle. So, if some "hero" runs up on you and hits you in the face with ball, take your helmet off and hit him back in the face with it. 

[Sailorwithabike99]

22 hours ago, SparkinPegs said:

Alright Sailor, here is my 2 cents. Stop the struggle now. Go ahead, get your motorcycle license. Sell the CR, and get yourself something that can be street legal. KTM EXC, xr650r, drz400, klx, WR, CRFX etc. Now, you can ride around all damn day long if you wish. So your the same thing as any other road legal motorcycle. So, if some "hero" runs up on you and hits you in the face with ball, take your helmet off and hit him back in the face with it. 

I actually always wanted a road legal bike, but the major problem is that people in this city can’t drive cars for the life of them. Every weekend you hear about motorbikers passing away after being hit. Idk if I wanna take that risk. That’s why I stuck to off-road riding. Although, I might just get my license anyway and make this bike road legal with some mods like mirrors and lights and such. Thanks for the suggestion mate!

[BillDirt1]

Plated is king, hate urban drivers too. Just got back...

Edited May 24, 2020 by Diverdown

[The Inquisitor]

i waited to get me street bike license until I was 50yr mostly cus I didn't think I was smart enough when I was younger not to kill myself but ya I understand that if it comes down to car/truck vs a bike, a car/truck is going to win every time.

In the process of getting the street bike license I almost got hit twice by stupid car/truck drivers and it would have been totally their fault cus I was not speeding etc and they were either talking on a cell phone or completely not paying attention and it could as just as well been me in a car/truck.

I'm glad I waited and I feel the now that I ride a street bike, its made me way more spatial aware when I'm driving my van and made me a better dirt biker/street biker and more importantly a vehicle driver.

It you ride a motorcycle, error on the side on the side caution but have fun and ride to live another day.

[Drop-Bear]

I could not wait to get my bike license. The last 12 months felt like 12 yrs. Got my permit. went directly to the bike shop (where I was working), grabbed a brand new Kawasaki GPX 250 (Boss wouldn't let me have an Suzuki RGV 250 straight up). Left the shop, got about 15 minutes away, and T-boned by a car pulling out of a car park . I stayed up right, luckily, there was an armoured truck right behind me.

Still never gone down though (Touch wood).

[Drop-Bear]

The GPX250 lasted 6 months, and I killed it. Couldn't handle the pace. Grabbed an RGV250 Suzuki, took 10 yrs, and 5 x RGV 250's, and 4 x manner dangerous convictions before I got off my learners permit .

Race bike with lights. Was never gonna end well. First one was the Pepsi replica, 2nd was the Lucky Strike replica. Cops loved those bikes more than I did .

No regrets. Had a total blast.

Learners were limited to 250cc back then. Hence the RGV. If you have to go 250cc, best It's a 2T.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Drop-Bear

[Sailorwithabike99]

All excellent points! I feel like being a biker on the road with cars and trucks, you’re the minority that the drivers aren’t thinking about. That makes it a whole lot harder to hit us without even realizing it. A big cheers to you guys that have had close encounters or crashes and lived to see another day! Keep shredding y’all!

[Drop-Bear]

When you take your test, or do a riders course, they'll teach you how to be visible on the roads, like making sure you can be seen in review mirrors etc. There's lots of ways to ride safer.
I assume every driver will do the silliest thing possible. In most cases, they do.

[Turboloader]

4 minutes ago, Drop-Bear said:

When you take your test, or do a riders course, they'll teach you how to be visible on the roads, like making sure you can be seen in review mirrors etc. There's lots of ways to ride safer.
I assume every driver will do the silliest thing possible. In most cases, they do.

Here is Bear driving round his town.?

 

[Drop-Bear]

9 minutes ago, M E T A L A C I D said:

Here is Bear driving round his town.?

 

Was actually pretty close back in the day. But, we were much worse .

We had mates that worked at Tyre Power. So, fresh rubber was never an Issue.