[giggles42]

Thanks everyone for your kind words of encouragement. I did work on the bike and fixed the oil leak but had a lot of work getting the fairings off but feel quite proud of what I managed to achieve - my hard work can be seen in the pictures. The bike in now fine, fixed and serviced and I'm finally back on it and getting my confidence back bit by bit

[OleDirtyDoc]

you will get it.just don't get nervous or scared.when i ride i always try to be in balance with myself(no i am not a Buddist.lol)and make the bike an extension of myself.like i said,you will get it.

[ratgti]

there is a riding tips section here in our little corner of cyberspace. seemed to open my mind a good bit about what to do , what not to do , and what to look out for while riding . mostly common sense , but then there are those of us who ( including myself ) need insights into the incredibly obvious. be safe out there . gear up and get after it ...................................

[Ms_Mitchell]

good luck Im new to riding too myself

[jarvis]

Thanks everyone for your kind words of encouragement. I did work on the bike and fixed the oil leak but had a lot of work getting the fairings off but feel quite proud of what I managed to achieve - my hard work can be seen in the pictures. The bike in now fine, fixed and serviced and I'm finally back on it and getting my confidence back bit by bit

Try this giggles
Nice big empty car park. Start riding around in a large figure of eight, nice and steady, then slow down a little and tighten up the loop, keeping your balance using clutch and throttle to steady the bike, if at any time you feel uncomfortable, start to loose balance etc just open the throttle and ride out of the loop, remember speed is control. try to resist the urge to put your foot down, you already found that doesn't work.
Just keep practising it comes second nature in the end.

You say your on tip toes, have you looked into finding riding boots with an extra thick sole?
I don't know where to start looking but there are many women who ride on the MCN forum and they'll point you in the right direction

Oh and U-Turns are for tests only, I've never done one since I passed my test in 87......Bloody stupid idea (not you, putting it in test)