I learned to ride in Scotland where you have to start on a 125cc (tiny) get to learn on but very easy to get into trouble. Then to a 500cc after a year then whatever you want. I will say this I have seen a ton more wrecks over here than back home.
Ive had almost every type fo bike you can think of. This is what i've seen so others will have diffrent veiws. more guys I known have wreck sportsbikes than naked bike, less on cruisers. a big bike can get you out of trouble, but it can get you killed quicker. learn off road skills as well as on road. IT HELPS A LOT with control. get a good cared for used bike just in case you drop it. A good running engine will get you places nice paint won't
Just my two cents. Any questions PM me. I ride any time I can. Only owed motorbike untill a year ago when I got a small truck as well.
Thanks a ton for the advice from everyone! The little arguement didn't interest me too much but whatever, that's all you guys, lol.
As of the 16th I'll be taking the MSF at the local Community College which'll be sweet cause they say they teach everything started with how to get on a bike! And you get to use their bikes so I don't need to own one before I take it :-D
I got the bug a few years back. Having never ridden I took a safety course, and then purchased a new 1100 Shadow aero. Pretty big bike, but I didn't have any problems riding it. After about the 3rd close call with people not seeing me (the course paid off in spades) I had had enough. Dieing wasn't so much a concern, but the thought of being horibly mangled....just wasn't worth it in my book.
I got the bug a few years back. Having never ridden I took a safety course, and then purchased a new 1100 Shadow aero. Pretty big bike, but I didn't have any problems riding it. After about the 3rd close call with people not seeing me (the course paid off in spades) I had had enough. Dieing wasn't so much a concern, but the thought of being horibly mangled....just wasn't worth it in my book.
So... You're saying your bike is available now.... ? :-D
I got the bug a few years back. Having never ridden I took a safety course, and then purchased a new 1100 Shadow aero. Pretty big bike, but I didn't have any problems riding it. After about the 3rd close call with people not seeing me (the course paid off in spades) I had had enough. Dieing wasn't so much a concern, but the thought of being horibly mangled....just wasn't worth it in my book.
So... You're saying your bike is available now.... ? :-D
If so, I'll be HAPPY to take it off your hands!
¨The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea¨ - Isak Dinesen
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
I got the bug a few years back. Having never ridden I took a safety course, and then purchased a new 1100 Shadow aero. Pretty big bike, but I didn't have any problems riding it. After about the 3rd close call with people not seeing me (the course paid off in spades) I had had enough. Dieing wasn't so much a concern, but the thought of being horibly mangled....just wasn't worth it in my book.
So... You're saying your bike is available now.... ? :-D
If so, I'll be HAPPY to take it off your hands!
Ah, Hays, You're going to buy a bike for me? You're such a sweetheart lol
I love motorcycles, but have only rode on dirtbikes. I prefer motorcycles like Old School Nortons and Triumphs, but I love bobbers and choppers. Not like the ones from Orange County Choppers or anything, not that they're bad just a little too "flashy" for my taste. I like them to have less flash and more function. I want to build my bike. Has any body ever built a motorcycle?
I used to have a 2005 Yamaha R6, but alas it got stolen and I had no insurance. Quite the expensive lesson learned. I hope to eventually get another crotch rocket in a couple of years. The most useful advice I learned while riding is that you never brake while turning or you'll end up laying down your bike.
you can brake in turns. just depends on your skill level, and commitment to learning. the front brake is a beautiful thing when applied properly. the best advise is there are two types of riders. those that have been down, and those that are gonna go down. if you rider over your head ," beyond your skill level ", you are gonna go down. but that is part of learning.
Pretty much yes, and it wasn't very fun. I wrecked my first streetbike - completely totaled it - and then rebuilt the whole thing over 2 years. It sucked, and I would never want to do that particular project again. Build a nice chopper/rod from parts though - along the lines of Harley and ilk? Yeah, I'd do that...
Regarding braking in turns - as has already been said, yeah you can do it. Should you? No - it has major potential for disaster. Don't even TOUCH the back brake - the likelihood that you will break traction and lay down your bike is very high, and increases exponentially as your speed increases. The front brake can be used, but it has to be very moderately - 3/4 of your breaking power is in your front brake, and pulling this hard will highside your bike and throw you straight into the air.
¨The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea¨ - Isak Dinesen
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
WTF ARE U SERIOUS HAYS! ...u can break in turn depending upon ur skill level...but NEVER EVER THE FRONT BREAK...using ur front will upright ur bike in the middle of a turn...i always used my rear break dragging the brake which helped control my turn......but its all about comfort of how good u are on the bike....took me 6 months before i touched my rear brake
Joe im with Hays on this brother. sport bikes are built with using mostly front brake in mind. i have been racing off road for over twenty five years and have had my street lic. for almost twenty. i too road like an A hole. but i learned alot. and i have been down twice. i have rode with some of the best riders in the world. you wouldnt believe some of the amazing things i have seen guys do. but learning to use the front break in turns. makes guys ride alot faster and with more confidence.
Joe im with Hays on this brother. sport bikes are built with using mostly front brake in mind. i have been racing off road for over twenty five years and have had my street lic. for almost twenty. i too road like an A hole. but i learned alot. and i have been down twice. i have rode with some of the best riders in the world. you wouldnt believe some of the amazing things i have seen guys do. but learning to use the front break in turns. makes guys ride alot faster and with more confidence.
I agree. I have been riding on the street for 14 years and have found it's all about finesse, learning gradually, and knowing the limits of your bike and yourself. I have just recently started riding sportier bikes and am slowly learning to go faster in turns which includes braking while turning. Some bikes also respond better to braking in turns than others as well. Not all bikes will just upright themselves using the front brakes, but finesse is still key.
So just a ltitle update for you guys, I'm still totally into getting a bike. I've decided that the first bike I'm going to get becasue of my size and weight is going to be AT LEAST a 500cc.
As of today I am officially graduated from the MSF course!!!! It was, amazing. Yesterday was the first day I've ever even been on a motorcycle, let alone one that was on, let alone riding one! It was a 500cc Buell. I don't know what model but it was a standard bike.
I never got higher than maybe 30 mph on the range... but to let you know how I liked it.... out of the 12 people in the class, I was the only one told "Slow down". And it was more times than you can count on your fingers and toes :-D
It'll still be a while before I get my frist bike, but I seriously thank you all for your advice throughout the thread. If I hadn't had such a great turnout of replies I may not have been so gung-ho to take the course at this time!
Duder2:
Not all bikes will just upright themselves using the front brakes, but finesse is still key.
In class that was actually one of the exercises we had to practice - Going into a full on leaning curve, and cancel the curve halfway to go upright before braking!! Just saying :-P
That was a Buell Blast you rode for the class. I have no problem with an MSF graduate going bigger off the bat. Just understand that displacement doesn't equate directly with power. What I mean is that that Blast had around 35 HP. if you jump on a sportbike with "just 100 more cc" it will have well over 100 HP. Best of luck with whatever you go for.
Welcome to motorcycles! Looks like you're going about things in a good practical way, I'd recommend taking the advanced course as soon as you've been up and going for a few months. Give serious consideration to what you want from your motorcycle. My current ride is an HD Electra-Glide, I'm into comfort and touring, torque is more important than HP to me. I've ridden through most of the US and a fair part of Europe, Army made me take the schools everywhere I was stationed, learned something every time. Honda has recently started selling a 700cc bike that is a great general all-around commuter, it's been selling them in Europe for years as the "Deauville". Two publications you need to consider subscribing to are Rider Magazine, and Motorcycle Consumer News. Adult content, honest reviews, and expert safety advice in every issue of both. Probably the two most important pieces of advice: Ride your own ride, meaning don't try to keep up with people who are out-riding you either due to experience or insanity, and safety gear can mean the difference between getting up and brushing yourself off, and spending weeks having someone scrub your scabs off daily, while your broken bones mend. 15 years experience as an RN in Emergency and Critical Care speaking, and somewhere near 300,000 miles on two wheels. Not to scare you out of anything, EVERYTHING in life is a calculated risk, just do your homework when calculating.
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
I certainly love riding, and had an amazing time doing it. But I really don't want to get into a crash! A friend I took the class with (just got out of the navy he did) is looking for his first bike to be 900-1100cc... and keeps telling me "since you're planning to get something 500cc, you're going to so regret it after you ride around what I'm going to get!" and I just keep replying to him with "Yes, well, when I drop my $1500, I wont feel quite as bad on my bones or wallet as you will when you drop yours."
Don't get me wrong, I want to ride fast - but I don't want to ride beyond what I'm comfortable with, or that's just not safe! I really do appreciate everyone's advice. Thank you guys :-)
One2gofst:
Just understand that displacement doesn't equate directly with power. What I mean is that that Blast had around 35 HP. if you jump on a sportbike with "just 100 more cc" it will have well over 100 HP.
Could you explain to me a bit more what you mean about Horse power? Like why would a sports bike with 100cc more have 3 times the HP? Is is just because it's a sports bike whereas a Buell is a standard bike? Do Sports bikes generally have significantly more horse power?
I would recommend taking a look at used SV650s. They are a little more than you are looking for. That said, they are great bikes. They are easy enough for a beginner, but still entertaining once your skills improve. Kudos for taking the MSF course. I took it and can not say enough good things about it. There are some things I disagree with that they teach, but nothing they teach you will get you hurt, which is more than I can say sometimes from learning from a buddy. Keep the shiny side up and sticky side down
He Gadwin, I gotta agree with One2gofst, This is about the perfect all-around bike for the beginner, or even for the seasoned vet. I know a guy with a 20 year old Concours that he still tours on, but he got one of these just because...
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Just understand that displacement doesn't equate directly with power. What I mean is that that Blast had around 35 HP. if you jump on a sportbike with "just 100 more cc" it will have well over 100 HP.
Could you explain to me a bit more what you mean about Horse power? Like why would a sports bike with 100cc more have 3 times the HP? Is is just because it's a sports bike whereas a Buell is a standard bike? Do Sports bikes generally have significantly more horse power?
This is a very complicated subject to say the least. To really explain it would be a rather large book worth of info, but in short yes. Modern sport bikes are cutting edge technology that make incredible power and are basically street legal race bikes. A modern 600 will rev to 16,000 RPM and makes 100+ horsepower. The Blast is relatively antiquated technology in comparison (not that it's bad, just different). If you're planning on spending $1500-ish, a 100 hp bike is out of the question anyway, so no worries.
Lots of reasons why, more efficient design, 4 cylinder engine vs. a thumper, liquid cooled vs. air cooled, higher redline. The list goes on and on. It's apples and baseballs. Kind of like how a 2.4L F1 engine can produce so much more HP than the 2.3L Mazda 3 engine if it is only 100cc larger.
Comments
Ive had almost every type fo bike you can think of. This is what i've seen so others will have diffrent veiws.
more guys I known have wreck sportsbikes than naked bike, less on cruisers.
a big bike can get you out of trouble, but it can get you killed quicker.
learn off road skills as well as on road. IT HELPS A LOT with control.
get a good cared for used bike just in case you drop it. A good running engine will get you places nice paint won't
Just my two cents. Any questions PM me. I ride any time I can. Only owed motorbike untill a year ago when I got a small truck as well.
As of the 16th I'll be taking the MSF at the local Community College which'll be sweet cause they say they teach everything started with how to get on a bike! And you get to use their bikes so I don't need to own one before I take it :-D
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
Regarding braking in turns - as has already been said, yeah you can do it. Should you? No - it has major potential for disaster. Don't even TOUCH the back brake - the likelihood that you will break traction and lay down your bike is very high, and increases exponentially as your speed increases. The front brake can be used, but it has to be very moderately - 3/4 of your breaking power is in your front brake, and pulling this hard will highside your bike and throw you straight into the air.
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
As of today I am officially graduated from the MSF course!!!! It was, amazing. Yesterday was the first day I've ever even been on a motorcycle, let alone one that was on, let alone riding one! It was a 500cc Buell. I don't know what model but it was a standard bike.
I never got higher than maybe 30 mph on the range... but to let you know how I liked it.... out of the 12 people in the class, I was the only one told "Slow down". And it was more times than you can count on your fingers and toes :-D
It'll still be a while before I get my frist bike, but I seriously thank you all for your advice throughout the thread. If I hadn't had such a great turnout of replies I may not have been so gung-ho to take the course at this time! In class that was actually one of the exercises we had to practice - Going into a full on leaning curve, and cancel the curve halfway to go upright before braking!! Just saying :-P
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Don't get me wrong, I want to ride fast - but I don't want to ride beyond what I'm comfortable with, or that's just not safe! I really do appreciate everyone's advice. Thank you guys :-) Could you explain to me a bit more what you mean about Horse power? Like why would a sports bike with 100cc more have 3 times the HP? Is is just because it's a sports bike whereas a Buell is a standard bike? Do Sports bikes generally have significantly more horse power?
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain