M1 license
blutattoo
Posts: 1,294 ✭✭✭
So I'm looking to get my M1(motorcycle) license and I'm looking for feedback on what kind of bike I should get. I rode bikes back in high school, but that's been almost 30 years ago so I have almost forgot what it's like to ride a bike.
I have been looking at an Indian Scout or Chief, Triumph Bonneville, or Harley 1200 Sportster. Any thought on what is good for a returning rider. I want something easy to ride, yet won't get me bored after 6 months of riding. Also anything that allows 2 up easily is a plus.
I have been looking at an Indian Scout or Chief, Triumph Bonneville, or Harley 1200 Sportster. Any thought on what is good for a returning rider. I want something easy to ride, yet won't get me bored after 6 months of riding. Also anything that allows 2 up easily is a plus.
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As far as HD goes, they sporty will be too small for two up if you want to do that type of riding often. My wife and I aren't tall and I had to trade up from my sporty to a dyna. We got an FXDB and it was significantly more comfortable.
Congrats on the endorsement, and stay safe out there!
Jay
There's lots of choices out there these days. Many good bikes. Have you considered the MSF safety class for returning riders? Couldn't hurt.
I don't think the Scout is built with 2-up in mind, either. That Chief should do the trick, though.
Good luck.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Here is how to avoid making classic motorcycle mistake number one =>
Look thru craigslist for a used rice burner under $2k. Ride it for a year, then sell it for what you paid. Do not get your dream bike until then. Here's the deal: When* you drop your old beater because you are awkward out of practice you will not be heartbroken. After you ride your old beater for a while you will have a way better idea if you even want to do this. After you ride your old beater for a while you will know what you really want. After you ride your old beater around for a while you will be capable of toting the old lady on pillion.
You will thank me later.
* notice I did not say "if"
Uh, well, any small grain of common sense argues for those classes. Problem is, the best stats argue against them. There are tons of studies on the subject from all over the globe. Most of them use very poor methodology. All the decent studies agree, tho: Your chances of an accident are slightly increased after an MSF class; beginner, refresher, expert, or you name it.
Don't shoot the messenger. Don't insist on telling me what you believe. I agree it makes common sense. I know that tons of people believe in them. It just turns out that neither common sense nor belief make anything true.
So, yes, they can hurt. Oddly enough.
Still, it actually gets you onto a bike. Step One.
I had to take them 3 different times, 3 different duty stations, and at first really resented it, as I'd been licensed for almost 2 decades the first time I had to do it. The best one was the German school, very real world, as in No Cones, No Parking Lot drills, just real world riding with the instructor talking to me in my helmet as he followed in a car.
That said,
How about that Scout? Is 2-up realistic on it? Sure is a fine looking machine.
oh, and I like the beater idea. Perfect.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
If what you mean by 2-up is both of you ride to the bar, is all, and she has a real tiny butt, then, yeah, you can get by; but if her butt is womanly, she will not be happy perched on taint. If what you mean by 2-up is you want to tote her to a distant bed-and-breakfast in the mountains for the weekend (a wonderful hobby, BTW) then, no. No matter how tiny her butt is. you will need a big half ton bagger with a rack on the trunk to tote all the crap she insists on bringing along. Scout makes a superb long distance mount for one guy for any number of days. Girls are different. They need to bring the kitchen sink, 48 species of chemicals, spare boots, a hair dryer (cause even tho they know the place you are going has a hair dryer, it's not THEIR hair dryer), slippers, etc. etc., unlimited etc, and also more etc.
"I am always told (by many experience riders), to not get a second hand for practice and get the bike you want later. Instead, get the bike that you want now. "
There's no such thing as "the bike that you want". If you do it right, you will own a whole series of various types of murdersickles. Speed bikes, camping bikes, touring bikes, cruiser bikes, project bikes, commuter bikes, rat bikes, something to polish, something to work on, something to ride the hell out of, something to sell. Don't think about the bike you want now. Think about the bike you want next. Start out with something that will tell you if you even want to get into it. A beater to drop. That either starts the series or not.
I usually have three or so at a time. More than that, it gets hard to keep them all rode. Less than that, there's something you want to do that you don't have the right mount for. Right now, for instance, I have the big beemer bagger to tote TOWMBO to a distant B&B, a KLR to go camping, and the Indian Scout for commuting and distant solo travel. I might ditch the bagger next spring to make room for a project.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
@webmost You might have talked me into getting something with a smaller seat. Her discomfort might mean more solo time for me!
I think she is finally, reluctantly, caving. This weekend we will take our first, albeit short, jaunt in the Equinox. Just a day trip. Lancaster, Columbia, etc. Feed her up in the best restaurant I can find.
Yep. If you want the old lady along on the bike, get a big old warthog of a bike with a big butt seat. If you don't, then get that nifty Scout, and put a rack where that pillion would go.
Two wheels is so much more fun.
I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot. I will smoke anything, though.
Put this in your pocket calculator:
My KLR650 cost me $2,900 less than a year old, with 6,000 miles on it. I have 50,000 miles on it now. That machine gets 57 mpg. That's right. A nickel a mile. At the time I bought it, Bearswatter's V8 Durango got 11 mpg. That's 30 cents a mile. Simple fact is, we were saving a buck every four miles. Four into forty four thou means I saved eleven grand in gas alone, minus the cost of twenty nine hundred. Eight grand clear. Last Spring, I bought Bearswatter a Chevy Equinox with a teensy four banger and an ECO button. She gets about 20 mpg round town. So, say we only save fifteen cents a mile. Times 44 thou, you got $6,600. Doing this in my head, so pull out your own calc and sit down with the old lady. Ask her: "How many parishioners do I have to visit for this thing to pay for itself?" They ride bikes for other than toy purposes all over the world. Here in the USA, we are too proud to. Pride is a sin. Keep your Bible dry inside a trunk on the rack, you're good to go. Do your members good to see that their shepherd is a frugal fellow. It's their money; they'll appreciate it.
That's just the gas, Martel. Now check this out:
I insure three motorcycles for $180 per year. Did you hear that? Per Year! I spend more than that each month insuring Bearswatter's car.
No. I'm telling you. Keep track how many miles you put on your car just doing church business, multiply time gas savings, discover that you can't afford not to. Next time you hesitate to run some charitable errand because how are you going to spend the gas, think: "This would be chump change on a bike." Nobody needs to blow thirty grand on a full dresser Hardly Ableson to ride to the tavern dressed like a pirate. Buy an old rice burner for a song and get your hair in the breeze while doing God's work.
You know I'm right.
Just have to break the mold.
The bike I was assigned for the course was called the "Widowmaker" by the instructors. A Suzuki GZ250 with 47K miles on the odometer and more slop in the gear lever than a pig pen. This thing had more scratches and dents than I thought possible. The top of the gas tank had a huge dent in it that looked like someone slammed a sledge hammer on it. Not sure how that happened. Maybe someone got pissed when they didn't pass the test. In any case I am off the shop for a bike now.
I am taking Davis's advice. I'm looking for something a little less expensive for the first year or two. I really like the look of the Triumph Bonneville and the Moto Guzzi V7, both of which I can get in the $5k range used. I like the Suzuki C50 and the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 which I can get for about $4k, but my wife hates the thought of me buying a Japanese bike which is a good problem to have I suppose. I'd feel a lot better about dinging one of those than a $12k new Indian.
I'll keep you all posted. I am going to test a couple out on Monday.
or
Both simple and clean.
either way, keep the rubber side down.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
@genareddog I'm not worried about parts cost really. I only plan on using this for a year or two. After driving heavily modified BMW's for the last 20 years all motorcycle parts are cheap to me. Try spending nearly a grand on brake pads or $1500 on a set of tires and you'll see why my wife wholehearted supports my switch from race cars to a street bike lol.
Congrats!