Motorcycle newbie advice

[ledhedsymbols]

I have never considered myself a "motorcycle guy." I could list a thousand reasons why. A couple months ago, I started to think more about it and realized that I'm not a "commute on a motorcycle guy" but I am a "let's go for a ride and see some stuff on a motorcycle guy."

My wife promptly vetoed that idea, for all the above mentioned thousand reasons. Last night, out of the blue she told me that she had reconsidered so long as she didn't have to ride on the back.

My Google-Fu says that "a 250cc is a good bike for a beginner." I just can't see the logic in that. We are both in our mid '30s and are not interested in driving beyond our skill. I also don't want to spend time and money on something that we will want to replace as soon as we get some experience.

I like the looks of classic British motorcycles and am interested in a Royal Enfield or a Triumph. My wife prefers a sport-bike and has no real preference at this point. I was thinking a Bullet for me and maybe something like a Ninja 500 for her.

What says Pelican? I know there are some serious "motorcycle guys and gals" here and I would like to know what you would recommend.

[rfuerst911sc]

I'm going to assume this is your first bike, if that is the case you need to go easy on the engine displacement. You can get in over your head real quick. I advise going with about 500cc's in what ever brand you want this is plenty of power to get you in trouble ! Take a motorcycle safety course in your area and get to know the bike solo before considering adding a passenger. Be safe you have to assume every vehicle on the road is out to KILL you ! Very sobering thought you have to remain sharp at all times and anticipate every dumb ass and what they are going to do. It is an enjoyable ride/sport but you have to be on the defense 24/7.

[Dan J]

Motorcycles are great! I started riding 3-4 years ago my first bike was an old BMW r100s
the safety course is a must for sure. Plus you've got to learn to panic stop I didn't practice this enough and got to spend a week in the ICU as a result. Healed up fine still love to ride
I have a bunch of bikes now you have to figure out what you like

[nostatic]

Have you or her ever ridden?

[SteamWolf]

250cc is an ideal first bike and you will be teriffied for the first week, comfortable in the third week and bored with it in 3 months. Plan on stepping up to a 600cc in 12 months time. Don't go straight to a litre bike or you will die. The reason is not so much riding beyond skill, but learning what levels are needed. Perception is VERY different on a bike than a car, and it's very easy to have an un-co moment with throttle, clutch and brake. On a 250, this leads to a stall. On a litre bike this results in a huge wheelie with your face dragged along the ground until it flips and lands on you.

Always look where you WANT to go, don't look at where you DON'T want to go, because the bike follows your eyes (target fixation).

Always assume everyone else on the road is an imbecile and is actively trying to kill you.

Don't buy a Harley (or other cruiser type bikes). They are ****. Unless of course you like freeways and straight lines, in which case they are awesome. But then so are convertibles.

Take a rider training course of some sort. Not only are they awesome fun, they give you a massive head start by teaching you tricks and tips that otherwise take years and gravel rashes to figure out. There's nothing wussy about a bit of training.

Buy a good helmet, good gloves, good pants and good boots. The jacket is surprisingly less important, as long as it's got decent padding. The sorts of crashes road bike riders experience are usually more impact compared to race riders that fall off and go for epically long slides.

Royal Enfield is a poor quality bike but a cheap way into that classic style. Buy the Triumph! Enfield is a 50's design made in India with 40's equipment and 50's tooling.
Triumph is a modern bike made to look like the classic style, and will be very reliable, and handle well.

[Jim Bremner]

Go and take the Motorcycle riders classes.

The learning curve on your own is STEEP and painful. In a car you have ONE brake pedal that gives 70% to the front and 30% to the rear. On a bike there's TWO brakes a pedal for the rear under your right foot and a lever by your right hand for the front. Too much rear brake the bike wants to slide out from under your butt. Too much front and it wants to flip you off nose first or it wants to slide out from under your hands. I learn at age 387 to ride on a bike designed for 10 year olds. I dumped it a few times! I will tell you that there's ZERO room for error in traffic. cars are heavy and you don't want one on top of you. Learn else where. By the way I would buy a SV650 as a first bike but that's due to me being 200#, and having raced Karts, Mountain bicycles and Road bicycles.

[SteamWolf]

SV650 is an excellent choice for a second bike for people that are new to bikes. It's a nimble stable bike that goes really well for the size. I wouldn't pick it for a first bike though, but it's a great intermediate between the disposable lerner's bike and a full sized one.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Have you or her ever ridden?

Gotta start at some point. Seat time is important. You've got to be able to handle the bike 2nd nature because you need 100% of your attention for the road and other vehicles. I'd say 500 miles on deserted roads would not be over doing it getting started. And not all at once. 10-20 miles the first day and then sit and think about it.

Just remember, almost everyone with a car has had some kind of accident. No different on a bike, it's just the fact that your body is quite a bit more involved.

[BK911]

I have been riding almost 30 years.
My 250 is fun enough to cruise around on.
It does lack power, but I am in no hurry.

[Buckterrier]

Edited - language filter avoidance. -Z-man.

[dlockhart]

If you want a ride everywhere bike that is great for beginners or experts, a KLR may be the ticket. Cheap and reliable as a hammer. It won't go anywhere fast, but it can slog its way to some great places.

[on2wheels52]

If you're going to ride you gotta start somewhere. It's not a marriage, bikes are almost as easy to sell as they are to buy.
I would recommend 400cc or smaller to begin. After 40 years I still have two that size.
Jim

[Rick Lee]

I think any new rider would very quickly outgrow a 250. My first real bike was an 1150 and I quickly upgraded to a 1200, not for speed, but for comfort and a better tranny. Now I have a K1200R with some upgrades that make it just scary fast. I can't see ever wanting something faster than this bike. It's terrifying, but a lot of fun.

[HardDrive]

I ask everyone the same question: Do you feel confident on a bicycle? If the answer is no, then maybe you should reconsider. If the answer is yes.....

I would skip the Royal Enfield. I own one. I like mine, but its a toy. Fun for hauling around the neighborhood, or up to a coffee shop, but not really adequate for American Roads. Triumph would be a much better bet. You can get a solid Bonneville for $5-6, a bit more if you want a newer EFI model.

If you have zero seat time, get a mechanically sound but cheap Japanese 500-600. Enough power to feel confident on the road, but if you dump the thing, you won't feel bad.

2005 Kawasaki Ninja 500

[cstreit]

My wife rides the Ninja 500. Enough power to get around, light, and easy to maneuver. Great first bike that you can keep riding.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I just got off of my 1993 VFR750. I've been riding my GS1150 most of the time lately. It was a reminder how fun the VFR is. I had ridden dirt bikes for a few years, commuted on a bicycle for years and my first real street bike was an old CB400F. For a first bike I'd consider a well cared for older BMW in the 700cc range. Great bikes that you can grow in to but not enough power to kill you right away. I've not ridden a modern 250cc road bike but would have quickly gotten tired of something that small.

[nynor]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I ask everyone the same question: Do you feel confident on a bicycle? If the answer is no, then maybe you should reconsider. If the answer is yes.....

I would skip the Royal Enfield. I own one. I like mine, but its a toy. Fun for hauling around the neighborhood, or up to a coffee shop, but not really adequate for American Roads. Triumph would be a much better bet. You can get a solid Bonneville for $5-6, a bit more if you want a newer EFI model.

If you have zero seat time, get a mechanically sound but cheap Japanese 500-600. Enough power to feel confident on the road, but if you dump the thing, you won't feel bad.

2005 Kawasaki Ninja 500

exactly. +1 for the triumph. my friend has a 2007 bonnie. it is his first bike, he'd never ridden before buying it. he still loves it and its been a solid piece of machinery.

a 250 is simply not enough.

[Bill Douglas]

Good advise given above.

And it's all about road sense. Figuring out who is going to change lanes on you, where your escape route is when everyone jambs on their brakes. This is why I don't ride. I used to but too old and foolish to survive now.

There are some beautiful bikes around these days, rolling works or art...

Keep us informed please

[Rick Lee]

I rode up to Lake Watson in Prescott yesterday. On the way home I was doing 90-100mph and was about 90 miles from home when the glass in my right side mirror flew away. I just saw a flash and figured a radar camera had gotten me, kept going. Later when I went to change lanes, I noticed the mirror was gone. What a pain the ass that was the rest of the way home with so many left lane hogs and going through the twisty parts of I-17. I've had worse happen much farther from home - like getting stranded on Coronado Island on a Sat. afternoon or running out of gas near Death Valley, 30 miles from anything. Bikes can be an adventure.

[ledhedsymbols]

Holy Smokes! Talk about a great response. Thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts everyone.

To clarify:
Neither my wife nor I have any experience on motorcycles before other than screwing around on the occasional dirtbike in our youth.

Step one will be to sign us up for a three day course which will get us a chance to see how it goes, and get the endorsement so long as we enjoy the class. After that, it will be at least a little while before we get anything.

Size isn't too big of a concern for me. I'm not a very big guy at 5'9" and about 170 pounds. I don't intend to get anything big and heavy, especially to start.

I'll keep it posted as we take the class and think/talk about it some more.