Motorcycles - Good or Bad Idea?

D M:

Bad, it's not your ability to drive the bike that's dangerous, it's all the morons driving cars out there. Next time you go out for a drive try and count how many stupid things you see people do. Then think about whether or not you want to risk driving in front of, next to, or behind them on a bike.

This includes if I don't weave in and out of traffic and ride my bike like I drive, correct?

I guess there's no differentiation between city/suburban...

heister:

You need to look at this from a use base. What do you plan on using the motorcycle for? I for one love to ride. However if you plan on doing your commute through Midtown Manhattan I would suggest the subway.

I'd probably keep it in the suburbs and ride it only out of city - will still use subway. Which model do you have and what do you typically use it for ?

heister:

You need to look at this from a use base. What do you plan on using the motorcycle for? I for one love to ride. However if you plan on doing your commute through Midtown Manhattan I would suggest the subway.

I'd probably keep it in the suburbs and ride it only out of city - will still use subway. Which model do you have and what do you typically use it for ?

Sport bikes are a class, a big class at that, not just a crotch rocket.

I had when I was younger one I had a triumph speed triple. Great bike, comfortable, sporty, and had a simple to maintain engine. That is key for your 1st bike. Buy a used bike preferably one with a carburetor. Learn how to ride it, maintain it and most importantly if you like it before dropping 15k+ on a bike.

Pissingintowind:

I daily commute on a Suzuki SV650. But, I also live in California. Don't buy a motorcycle in Manhattan.

More than happy to answer any specific questions!

I drive a Vespa. Zero to sixty in forty-five seconds, baby!

gross

...ugg... soo trasher. Perhaps you can class it upp with a baby-seat on the back?

Riiiight.

I somehow think that riding a bike wouldn't fit the upper class white-collar social scene.

Personally, though, I'd rather splurge on a Ducati 1098 and an MV f4-1000 instead of wasting money on a 3 series beemer :D

Although, you could split the difference and buy the BMW k1200s...

Bankers don't normally have the big bikes (or maybe just don't talk about them). I know quite a few bankers, from analyst to MD, who leave the beemer and mercs in the garage and use their 125cc during the week.

That's what I'm talking about -- I've got a 150cc Vespa and it's plenty powerful enough to get me around in the city. The big bikes have a self-consciously rebellious attitude that most bankers seem to consciously avoid.

Vespa....LMAO, I've never seen those little shits outside of Italy.

Manhattan's full of them. Vespa Soho does a pretty brisk trade.

Everyone knows that the only good vespa is the tinned curry :)

Take it easy Shia.

Dumbest scene ever:

• "Why? You ride Mr. Moore?"
• "I'll put it to you this way: If you rode the rest of your life, really became the best that you could be, YOU WOULD NEVER RIDE LIKE I RIDE. "

Haha fuck, i saw this topic and was going to make a shia joke...early bird gets the worm apparently.

Had one be ready to crash/fall inevitable rule, was doing wheelies within 2 months, i also put it on my resume(intrests) remember -ride hard or find god!!! lol

haha make sure its a harley, its really hard to wheelie it i think lol make it the background of the resume

But for real, does anyone have any good suggestions for a street bike?

had a sport gxsr suzuki softer ride than yamahas or hondas , never rode any other brands or styles although choppers do seem comfy

How about the Kawasaki Ninja 250R or 650R? I've wanted to buy one since high school. Also is it worth buying new or used? And is there anywhere to park a bike in the city if your building doesn't have a garage?

My first and only bike was the ZX6R, which has a 'cheater' engine and was 636cc. If I bought another sport bike, I would likely just stick with a 599cc. In my opinion, there is virtually no reason to go any higher. A 1000 is hardly any faster than a 600 in the hands of an average rider and I actually prefer to be light and nimble vs larger. It's personal preference but I like the 600 for a sport bike. Now, if you're talking cruisers, then bigger is better in my opinion because none are nimble to begin with and the are typically used for cruising around (go figure, lol).

I know a lot of people that say you will get a 600 and then want to get a bigger bike a couple months later, so just skip to the bigger one and save yourself the time and money...but I honestly never wanted to. My bike was fast. It was as fast as the 750s and 1000s I would ride with and I thought it looked better too.

Just be aware it is probably the single most dangerous thing I've done in my life. I nearly wrecked probably a dozen times in the couple years I owned the bike...and while I can proudly say that it was truly never my fault...it really doesn't matter if you end up in the hospital. People pay close to zero attention when they are driving nowadays and you are already tough to see on such a small object so you have to be so careful and watch everybody...play defense.

I've known a couple people who were in rough accidents. One guy (he claims it wasn't his fault) end up going through the back window of a car, so from 30 to zero in an instant. He's still alive but he spent a shit ton of time in the hospital recovering, has had tons of surgeries and the scars on his arms, hands, neck, ankle and leg make you want to puke. These aren't like I cut myself with a knife scars, like little lines of discolored skin, I'm talking about huge swaths of brown and purple skin and divots where muscles were cut and chunks of skin came up missing. I know another guy, he was my boss in the Army, and we used to race our cars etc. Well, I got out of the Army, he moved to AZ to teach Intel school and ended up buying a bike. Apparently he was coming home (possibly from the bar and possibly speeding) and lost control of his bike and slammed into the concrete telephone pole on the side of the road. He broke his neck, back and countless other bones and had so much brain trauma that he slipped into a comma. Literally I think it had been years that he was in a coma (no shit). Sadly I was friends with him on MySpace and a friend of the family was updating us with his status about whether or not the doctors think he will ever come out of the coma, etc. I no longer have my MySpace account and have since lost touch with him, so I'm not sure what the outcome was, but as you might imagine, not good in any regard, especially considering he had a wife and 2 little girls.

Anyways, I don't say that to scare you but to tell you to be sure you want to ride and that you know the consequences before you sink money into a bike. Though the aforementioned accidents were likely a result of careless behavior, I will be the first one to tell you that no body is responsible on a motorcycle. Even my father, who is a deputy sheriff and his buddies (also cops, lawyers, judges, etc.) go riding and even they will get it cranking above the speed limit just for fun.

The only other thing I will leave you with and anybody else that may come across this thread is...even if it isn't required in your state, take a motorcycle safety course. I never rode a bike before taking the course so it was a necessity in my mind, but while I was there, I sat next to a guy who'd been riding for 30+ years. He just moved to FL and was require to take the course in order to get the motorcycle designation on his license and he admitted to me before leaving our last day that he learned so much and that he'd be doing things in an unsafe manner for all these years. The short of it is, he felt like it benefited him tremendously, and even though he already knew how to ride a bike he said the class taught him home to operate it. Just my 2 cents.

Regards

Thanks so much man, if i had any credits i would def throw a SB your way. I am merely looking for something to make a commute on in the city. I know the city is far more dangerous than the highway, but if i get the job I am hoping I get I plan on moving in with my bro for at least a few months to get some cash saved up for my own place and will have to share a parking space with him so i kinda need a bike. Ill def take your advice and go with the smaller and more nimble bike esp in the city. There is no need for tons of power if you can only go 40 mph anyway

You might want to look into a "Sport" bike, as opposed to a "Supersport" bike. Kawi has one that is pretty nice (ER-6N) but look around at the other manufacturers. The advantage of the sport over the supersport is a more upright position riding position which is far more comfortable and the bike would be move maneuverable at low speeds that a supersport (probably better for the 35mph, in-city driving).

Regards

honda cbr600 (my first bike) or suzuki r6

Riding a bike just to put it on your resume is lame and doesn't compensate for your tiny penis..

But in the spirit of this thread I'd have to say ducati's monster or the newer daivel are pretty nice..

My first bike was a late 80s honda interceptor 700 and it was PLENTY of get up and go

I highly recommend Harley's Rider's Edge program. It's not very expensive, and if you fall, you don't bear the cost. That's important, because most people fall once or twice as they're just learning. You don't want to do that on your own bike.

I also recommend the Harley 883 iron. Great beginners bike.

Thanks, appreciate it. Only tough part about the Harley classes is that the closest ones to me are out in New Jersey, which is kind of a bear to get to. I was thinking of signing up for a class at a school in Brooklyn or something, solely for the convenience of it. I'll have to figure something out. I've literally never even sat on a motorcycle, but have always been enamored with them and think riding would be a fun hobby and I've gotta start somewhere.

That bike is awesome, btw.

I highly recommend the MSF's basic rider course. It lowers your insurance premiums and in most states, it also gets you out of having to take a road test.

Try to focus on getting a lot of practice making turns, doing stops, and working on throttle control- ideally in an empty parking lot. And start with a 250 or 500 cc bike if you're getting a sportsbike. Oh and ATGATT, especially around NYC.

Remember to watch your turn signals. They don't automatically turn off on a bike, and they don't click either.

Don't lane split until you know what you're doing and even then, my rule after ~10k miles is that cars have to be stopped.

It's a lot easier to learn to ride outside of Manhattan. You will spend your first 500-1000 miles stalling the motor at traffic lights. It is humiliating enough in downstate Illinois where people are so nice that they don't honk and even sometimes get out of their cars to help. I would recommend buying your first motorcycle outside the city and not moving it in until you are comfortable taking it over one of the bridges or tunnels.

Highway 9-W up near Nyack is a lot of fun to ride on and getting some practice taking some higher speed turns.

If you need someone to ride with or have more questions, shoot me a PM.

^Spot on. I got a Ninja 250 in August and want to move up to a 500-600 soon. Stalling was the main issue I had early on.

Yes. And it's really embarassing when you're first at the stoplight and there's a bunch of cars behind you. I can't imagine what it must be like to have to deal with that on some avenue in NYC with cabs, trucks, and cars all behind you and worrying about whether that policeman at the corner is going to ticket you for obstructing traffic.

The BRC prepares you to operate a motorcycle, but not on the road. And it's a bit like learning to drive a car for the first time. You start with local streets around your neighborhood. Then you learn to deal with bigger two lane streets with stoplights. Then you learn to deal with four lane roads. Then finally you get on the interstate. But that's after five-ten hours of practice, and that's for dealing with rural Illinois traffic. Moving to NY/NJ and learning to drive in that traffic was daunting to say the least. Unlike the suburbs or small towns, you're always going to be in a car's blind spot, there will always be idiots doing left turns who can't see you, and the consequences are a lot worse on two wheels than four.

But the nice thing about a motorcycle is that if traffic's completely stopped and you know what you're doing, you can pull out between two lanes and be on your way. Yes, I'm that asshole who gets to cut in line for the Holland Tunnel. And you don't have to work too hard to find a parking spot, even in Manhattan.

If you're thinking of getting a sportbike, check out sportbikes.net. You've got some really experienced riders there along with folks who've done a lot of racing, and they'll steer you in the right direction. Try to spend a year or two on a 250 or 500 before moving to a 600cc. The 600cc bikes might be faster, but a lot more can go wrong on them and you want to get some experience in first.

As it stands, a 500cc bike has the power/weight ratio and similar 0-60 stats as a mid-range Ferrari, and a 600cc race replica bike has the power/weight ratio of a formula one. And a Ducati 1098 blows just nearly every land vehicle out of the water short of ~130 mph. So you don't need to rush this. Get the mid-range Ferrari (Ninja 500) first, then maybe after a year move into a top range Ferrari (650cc Vtwin), then after another year get the Formula 1 (Honda CBR 600, Yamaha R6, Ducati 848, 1098, etc. Notice that I left off GSXR, Gixxers are for squids.)

I stalled my first bike (ninja 250) multiple times at lights, fun times. Got soo many dirty looks hahaha.

And I agree with IP (yet again) on his suggestions. Start off small, don't get a big bike -- when I was starting out I read somewhere that all you need to kill yourself on a sportbike is "a twitchy wrist and 2 fingers" = flipped bike = you dead. I didn't believe it until I almost did it.

first, design your biker tats. the rest will take care of itself.

I took the MSF BRC course in Illinois. It's a great intro to riding, but you'll still want to practice on low traffic roads before going out to do normal riding. I agree with Illini that you don't want to go out and buy a 600cc bike right away.

Can you get a decent bike that has automatic transmission? Or are you going to look like a fag if you do?

Bernankey:

Can you get a decent bike that has automatic transmission? Or are you going to look like a fag if you do?

But motorcycles generally do not come with automatic transmissions.

You're going to kill yourself. Stick to 4 wheels.

But yes, motorcycles are the riskiest activity I engage in both in terms of controllable and uncontrollable risks. Hang gliding and wreck diving are actually much safer.

TheKing is about to discover that risk taking becomes a habit, and it's probably a good one. Pretty soon, he is going to find someone inviting him skydiving and he's going to say, "Hey! It's safer than motorcycles!"

You're going to kill yourself. Stick to 4 wheels.

Only sportsbike I've driven was a Buell 1125R (unbelievably fast). Killed my wrists putting all that weight on them (and I'm skinny). I'll stick to Harleys.

You'll shoot your eye out kid!!!

I agree with IP except for the small bike thing...kinda. The basic rider course is an absolute must have. I was in the same position as you when I took and it was tremendous. There was a guy in my class that was 50 years old and had been riding dirt bikes and motorcycles since he was a kid. He had to take the course to get his motorcycle license in FL and he said he learned stuff that he never knew and thought it was well worth the money...that's coming from a very experienced rider.

My first bike was a ZX6-R which was Kawasaki's 636cc sport bike (they also had a 599cc bike as well). I took the course, found the bike online and arranged to test drive it and buy it. I showed up at the guy's place, took it for a quick spin and then handed over the money. I promptly headed to the back of the guy's neighborhood in an undeveloped section and spent about 20 minutes getting used to the clutch engagement on the bike in the hopes that I would feel comfortable enough to make the 25 minute drive home. After getting accustomed to the bike and feeling confident I could operate it without any issues, I rode to the entrance of the neighbor to be on my way. Once I got there I realized that the cars seemed to be going far faster than I liked so I turned around and went back to the empty development and spent another 20 minutes or so getting a bit more used to the dynamics of the bike. Went back to the entrance of the neighborhood and told myself it was 'now or never' and looked for an opening and traffic and went for it. Admittedly I was super nervous but just had to take the plunge...trial by fire I guess. The one crappy thing is the bike was practically brand new so I couldn't ride it too fast because of the break-in period so I stuck to the back roads to get back to my house...which worked out great because I was still nervous driving around in traffic for the first time.

Anyways, I did what was pointed out above and just worked some back roads near my house at first and then eventually got on a 2 lane highway to get it up to speed. I spent most of the first few days driving the bike semi long distances to the end of the county and back down the 2 lane highway just trying to put on enough miles to pass the break-in point. Once I got there I just took it out in normal traffic. I think starting off with smaller roads helps to some degree, but you won't encounter the things you will while you are in serious traffic and going across a bridge, etc...so it's a situation where you have to experience those things to get used to them...but the back road practice gives you confidence in the command of your bike...but you will still be a nervous wreck when you are cruising next to a semi or moving van, etc.

As far as a smaller bike is concerned...I didn't do it and I don't think it's necessary. If you have the money to spend, then so be it, but you will quickly get sick of a 250 and will want to upgrade. I think anything over 600ish is overkill, save for the 750 GSX-R, in some cases, but a 1,000cc or 1,300cc or 1,400cc is totally unnecessary. My friends had those bikes and they weren't noticeably quicker than my bike at 636cc.

If you feel like you are a responsible person, go for the 600 level bike...if you don't trust yourself...stick to a smaller one to start off with.

Regards

By the way, the most dangerous aspect of riding is the other drivers on the road, and it's not even close. You have to be constantly aware of their behavior, and watch for areas where people could easily turn into you.

As such, the best experiences are riding on scenic routes, and city/urban riding can be stressful (get comfortable riding in the far left lane ASAP).

Incredibly helpful posts. Thanks to everyone for the advice. Silver bananas to go around.

Great post, also considering a bike, funnily enough I'm torn between the 883 and the various sport bike options out there...

Defintitely second MSF BRC. They even loaned me a bike for the course... I think this is standard. It's hysterical to see some of the new riders screaming across the parking lot completely out of control. I'm sure they were happy to be using loaners. The course also counts for your road test... at least it used to.

My first bike was a Ducati Monster 620 (years ago). You can pick the new version up for less than $6K used. I thought it was fairly easy to learn on and has more than enough get up and go for an experienced rider. Fun bike. Wish I still had it.

I have a big time hardon for the Monster and have heard that used ones can go for a decent rate. Shit is just so cool.

Not yet. Spend a year on a Ninja 500 if you can. Then you can go for a monster or, better yet, a Ducati 848.

Yeah, the ninja is pretty cool. I'm not in any rush to go crazy or anything.

Probably a dumb question, but does knowing how to drive a stick shift make it easier to learn how to ride a bike?

Immensely helpful and informative. SB for you once more.

I pretty much only drive a stick shift, so it's good to know that it's helpful, at least from a mentality point of view. Thanks again for the info.