
With all the hype of having the coolest jockey shift knob and bending the craziest lever to mount it on with the torch set you just bought is really fun, yeah. Then you set up your crazy clutch lever and have the most killer linkages and you're a king. Until it becomes time to ride that death trap you put together.

Not being able to pull off a quick u-turn and wobbling around sharp corners is gonna get your ass in trouble, jockey shift or not - especially if you're too cool to run a front brake on your first real deal motorcycle.

I've ridden with a few guys out there that have been riding all their lives and it shows. We can ride two-up through traffic and I trust them to make room for me through the tightest spots when splitting lanes at speed. But every one of these guys have gotten into their fair share of accidents too.

Avoiding accidents is what every rider is doing when riding a motorcycle on the street, especially commuters. Accidents can easily happen and it does NOT have to include another vehicle. Learning how to naturally avoid accidents is one way to make riding even more fun and you can learn the basics of how to do it here: http://www.msf-usa.org/

The MSF may not be able to teach you everything and some classes may not be that great but its
definitely better than just throwing your ass out on the street. If you're new (or old) to motorcycles, go find out where the nearest classes are and take the course. Chances are no one in the class will know you and you can still hold onto your street credibility. In fact, you'll even get up to 10% off your motorcycle insurance. In some states passing the basic MSF course automatically gets you a motorcycle license. Its a good deal.
And don't get me wrong. Running a clean 21" up front with a spool hub while jockey shifting your way to chopper freedom is fucking great... just don't kill yourself doing it!