The Motorcycle Thread

As others have said go take a motorcycle course. They usually have a selection of standard, cruiser, moto bikes that you can try out to see what you like, don't like etc.

If you're around Calgary, go to Too cool Motorcycle School, or the Calgary Safety Council. Both are really good schools with a large selection of bikes to ride.

I ride with a few girls. One rides a Ninjette (Ninja 250), one rides a GS500, and the other a SV650. All three are about your height and they don't have any problems. Make sure you get a bike that you can flat foot. Being able to flat foot the bike just means it's one less thing you need to think about when you stop/start, and helps build confidence with the bike.

I would stay away from the SV650 as a starter bike unless you already have some bike experience. Take the course, start on a USED small bike, learn how to ride it proficiently, take a refresher or advanced rider course next year, ride bike hard and put away wet with new found skills, sell USED small bike for close to or same price you paid for it, buy bigger bike and repeat.

Learning how to ride a bike takes years of practice and taking courses helps reinforce and develop the skills needed to ride one.

 

I think being able to flat-foot a bike is over-rated. It makes it easier to back up if you need to but as far as general riding goes I never found much of a difference between flat-footing a bike and being able to get the toes of both feet on the ground. I'm kinda short (5'7") so I can't flat-foot most sportbikes but it was always a non-issue. Dirt bikes and dual-sports, however, I can only get one foot on the ground at a time which I would not recommend for a first bike. Even after riding for a while, I'm not totally comfortable on tall bikes.

I think what all this boils down to is that a motorcycle is like a pair of shoes. You've got to try a bunch and find one that you're comfortable with and that even if a bike sounds like a perfect fit on paper you never know until you ride it. Try to find trusting friends that will let you ride their bike or sometimes dealerships will either let you have a limited test ride or manufacturers will have events where you can ride a bunch of their models.

 

For guys I would agree with you. It's not a big deal if you have to tip toe around.

Most girls I ride with were terrified of dropping the bike when they started out, and most felt like they couldn't pick it back up if they dropped it. Not being able to put their entire foot on the ground only increased this worry even more. In my opinion being confident on the bike is just as important as learning the skills to ride it.

 

OK, we're back looking at bikes. My wife hates anything crotch rocket like. I found a 2006 Honda 750 Shadow, but according to my father-in-law, a 750 frame might be a bit small for me. I am 6'3", all arms and legs. He's saying for that style bike, I might need a 900 or larger, since the frames on those are bigger.

Anyway, does anyone have any knowledge of those, good or bad?

 

OK, the verdict is that the 750 Shadow is too small. Looking at a 2008 Yamaha Raider 1900. Might as well go big or go home, right?

 

I had a 750 Shadow ACE until recently and it was a good size for me, kind of big actually. I am 5'10".

But, my friend has a Shadow 1200 and it's barely any bigger. The model will dictate size more than the engine output.

I'm going to assume you have rider experience if you're thinking about getting a Raider 1900.

 

Yep, I had a Ninja 600 back in the day. I also have a healthy fear/respect of motorcycles and ride like everyone on the road is trying their best to kill me. Me having a Raider 1900 would be like having a Ferrari and only using it to go to the store for milk: It will never be used to it's full potential. It won't go on the highway, and it will probably not even go over the speed limit.

 

If you are not going to ride over the speed limit, then why not get a scooter? Suzuki and Honda both make some nice freeway legal scooters. Seriously, if you are just getting something to ride to work and maybe pick up some groceries, then get something that is designed for the job.

Having said all that, I must just love to get speeding tickets as I managed to collect two over the last three years. I got a GSXR 1100 and it's only purpose seems to be to allow me to easily get the tickets mentioned above. Now the motorcycle gets to sit in the garage while I am forced to ride the bicycle to work cause I cannot afford another ticket.

 

When I say I won't ride over the speed limit, I mean don't expect 110 in a 50 or 140 on the highway. That's just plain stupidity, and I'm too old for that kind of stuff. The roads near us have had multiple fatal motorcycle accidents. There are so many white crosses that people have put up around here that you could actually string telephone wires along them from town to town. I have no desire to add myself or my wife to that list. I want a big, comfortable cruiser that I can take to work, ride with my wife and not break my goddamn back on, so no scooter for me, thanks.

 

In that case, Suzuki M109.

 

Funny Harley commercial:



For the middle of riding season, this thread sure is dead. The weather has been exceptionally kind to me on the weekends, and I've spent at least half of my weekends out on the open road for the last month and some. I might have paid a queen's ransom just to get insurance at my age, but it was worth every penny just to be able to ride.

 

Just bought my first bike a month ago, a 2011 Ninja 650r. And damn, if it isn't the best purchase I've ever made.



Sex on wheels, let me tell you. I will find any way to not have to drive my car. If I have to go to the grocery store, I only buy what will fit in my backpack.

 

Helmet-less rider dies protesting helmet laws.

I think ABATE would do a lot more good teaching Harley riders how to use the front brake than protesting helmet laws.

 

I can't believe the number of people I see with no helmets. I low sided on some gravel at the apex of a turn once, and if I wasn't wearing a helmet my typing here wouldn't be coherent. The rule I went by was if it's too hot to wear my gear, then I'm not riding.

 

This thread dies a lot. I'll do something about that.

So last year, I bought my 2002 SV650S and it's been a good bike to learn on. Since I bought it last September, I've put about 1500 miles on it and gotten fairly comfortable on a bike. The only problem is, I don't really love my SV650. When I went and did the Kawasaki demo day earlier this year and rode the ZX6R, I had a seriously good time. So I started to think that maybe a 4-cylinder sportbike would be better for me.

My insurance for a year is up on Sep. 15 of this year, so I'm starting to look at other bikes on Craigslist, and I really don't know what I should do. I would plan on selling my SV in order to buy the next bike, so the price range on my next bike is probably around $3-3.2k. I know that decent sportbikes can be had for that price, especially when summer prices start to settle down and fall pricing sets in, but it's the insurance issue that's scaring the crap out of me now. My SV for next year would cost $320 to insure with Progressive. Online, Progressive quoted me at about $750 for a 2002 CBR 600 F4i (one of the ones I'm very interested in), and when I called, I was quoted somewhere between 450 and 500 for the CBR. I have NO IDEA why my quote goes down $250 when I call, but no complaints.

So instead of paying ridiculous sportbike insurance, I just started to consider a Yamaha FZ6. 4-cylinder, but considered a standard bike. I know a few people on this board have mentioned the FZ6 before, so I'd like some opinions. It looks like it has a great engine, decent styling, is priced well, cheaper insurance, and I've heard that it's very nice to ride. But I'm just concerned that I won't love it like a sportbike. Anyone have any input on this?

 

You might check out Kawasaki ZZR's from around '05 or so. They're exactly the same as the Ninja 600's from 2001, but since Kawi released the new 636's in 2003, they re branded them as the ZZR and classified them as sport touring, so big insurance difference. More aggressive seating position than the FZR and not a de-tuned engine.

Coincidentally I used to have an '01 Ninja and really enjoyed the bike.

 

I never even realized that bike existed. It's pretty cool that they basically continued to make the previous generation under a different name. Unfortunately, an online insurance quote that I ran put it at pretty much the same as the other 600s, at about $650/year. This might be because it's a 2005 and worth a bit more than the other bikes I was looking at? Regardless, I like the looks and will put that one on the list.

I guess I should say that I don't prefer a Ninja over anything else; it's just that the only supersport I've ever ridden was the 2011 ZX6R. I get the impression that most of the Japanese 600s are probably very similar, but it sounded to me like the CBR 600 F4i is the most comfortable of any of them. And I'm not such a big fan of GSXRs just because of their squid connotation. That, and I think insurance is highest on one.

For clarification, I am about 6' 3", 190 pounds, and my SV isn't the most comfortable thing. After about an hour, I'm ready to get off and take a walk. But with my size, I doubt I'd be comfortable on any sportbike.

 

Hmmm... maybe they've gotten wise to the fact that it's basically the same bike.

My old room mate had an '01 F4i (he got me into riding) and my bike was loads more comfortable than his. The ninja's seat was just more padded. However, you can always buy an aftermarket gel seat or something if it's a big deal to you. Riding position is of more importance since there's really nothing you can do to change it. Because of your size, you're probably going to feel cramped on all the bikes.

The F4i is a solid bike and you're right, performance-wise, the Japanese 600's are all going to be pretty close together.

 

I hadn't seen this posted here yet. It's a guy on the Nurburgring with a ZX-10 with a special gyro mounted camera so the viewpoint doesn't move with the bike. It really allows you to see the lean he puts on the bike as he drags a knee through the corners. Not for those who get motion sickness easily.