Hi Everyone, I am writing here since I feel embarrassed to say anything to my friends or family. I got my first bike about 5 days ago. I took the MSF course in January of 2026. I rode the bike around my neighborhood for the past 5 nights, watching DanDans intro videos + MotoJitsu. I am aware of how dangerous it is and take it very seriously. I was practicing figure 8's, U-turn's, etc. Today I was planning to go to a parking lot across the street to work on more drills. Instead I made a turn and ran into a parked car. I tried to grab the front brake but of course hit the gas as I tried to do so. I lost control and dumped the bike. My leg is a little banged up but otherwise so injuries. The radiator is definitely damaged and the headlight is bent. Feeling pretty embarrassed and frustrated by this since I was on my way to practice. Brand new bike too.

So my husband kindly let me know I was not shifting correctly off road. After watching a video I realized he’s absolutely correct. So today I went around the property trying out up shifting at certain points and standing up at others. The video is here, I’m still not sure I’ll keep the camera there, I managed to hit it a couple of times when standing. All my mistakes are in the video, @Daniel Tolomei , and everyone else, if you watch let me know what you think I can improve on. I hope you enjoy the tour lol PS: No, I was not wearing full gear because I’m going slow and I’m in our property and it’s too damned hot here. We’ve had several 104+ days in a row so it was just leggings and an spf shirt plus helmet, boots (I’m saving up for proper off road boots these will not do) and gloves.

anyone in the Phoenix area that practices often ?

Wore full gear and managed to go through this with just some pain and a few scratches

40yo new rider from luxembourg. Upgraded from 125cc to 400cc and crashed the bike and my knee within a month. Back on the 125cc and calmly accepting this is maybe good enough for now