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My experiment on Jairo can basically be summed up as follows:
Can you adequately learn the fundamentals on an aggressive platform?
It didn’t take long for the “squid” to stop looking so squidly.
I only hoped to keep his bed from turning into a grave.
Fortunately, he allowed himself to be guided, taking my words to heart and doing exactly as advised. As well as riding principles, I advised him on the benefits of proper sport riding gear. In one ride I would tell him the benefits of owning sport riding boots rather than his canvas shoes, and by the next ride, he was properly booted up. When I advised of the security of a full leather suit, he was in one next time I saw him.
Admittedly, it was a scary thought that someone would actually do exactly as I said – he would jump when I told him to, and the only question he would ask was, “How high?” Even guidance counselors must feel the burden of responsibility when they are listened to, but like I previously wrote, Jairo made the sense of responsibility feel less burdensome not just with his eagerness, but with his earnestness. He was a genuinely hungry mouth waiting to be fed without a sense of entitlement.
Of course he was devastated, but that didn’t deter him from saving his money again to buy another motorcycle. Two months after his bike was stolen, he contacted me to say he was ready to buy another, and though he liked his GSXR-750, he wanted to know if there was something else he should consider.
Now, let’s briefly summarize Jairo’s riding and bike ownership history:
- Started riding in 2010 at 20 years old.
- Bought an EX250 as a first bike.
- Four months with the EX250 before trading for the GSXR-750.
- GSXR-750 was stolen about six months later.
I thought he was ill-equipped for the GSXR-750 when I met him, so here I had an opportunity to put him on something he belonged in. So when he asked what bike to get, I said to him in all seriousness –
“An 05-06 Suzuki GSXR-1000.”
THIS 2006 Suzuki GSXR-1000.
Did I make his bed into a grave after all?