Reviews, Tips and Beginner Guides for New Motorcycle Riders

The great folks at RidersDiscount.com provided me with the FS-10 helmet by HJC to review. I have been dying to try this helmet ever since I saw it online. It has features that few other helmets have and the price is lower than even the most inexpensive Shoei helmet....read more

The piece of gear I received for testing was the Mens Safety Green Airglide 2 Jacket. The first things I noticed when I took it out of the box were, "Wow this seems like a good quality jacket," quickly followed by, "Wow, this is... bright!" The jacket is made out of Cordura and covered in 3M Scotchlight reflective material. I already have a bright green Kawasaki motorcycle, but when you place this jacket next to it, my bike appears to be a deep shade of forest green. To be honest I was a little apprehensive about wearing something so bright since I normally ride in a black helmet, black leather jacket, black overpants, black gloves, and black motorcycle boots (notice a theme?). After a little debate I figured that I should give it a shot, besides whats the worst that could happen?...read more

Shoei is a name synonymous with quality helmets and for good reason: they make some of the best helmets out there; used by professional racers and everyday commuters alike. My first (and current) helmet was a Shoei TZ-R and it has served me well throughout my years of riding. When the opportunity arose to test out the new Shoei RF-1000 I was very excited to see what improvements were made over my TZ-R....read more

Many first time motorcyclists are stunned by the amount of gear they should be wearing if they want to protect against the variety of potential injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. The pavement is not very forgiving, and one of the most common traumas motorcyclists receive is road rash. Road rash happens when the rough pavement grinds off layers of skin, muscle, and if you skid fast and far enough, bone. Even with the threat of road rash, a lot of new riders do not want to wear leather pants or textile overpants when riding....read more

The driveway leading out of the parking lot from "The Motorcycle Man" sloped upwards at around a 25-30 degree angle. I rode the bike up to the point where the front wheel was about a foot from the edge of the road and most of the bike was on the incline. On the S40 I probably could have kept the bike from rolling backwards by either applying the front/rear brake or just pressing down with my feet and holding the bike without applying the brakes. The S50 didn’t allow both options....read more

The new bike was showing about 160 miles on the odometer at the start of the first weekend of riding, as a result of the three 50'ish mile first impression mini test rides that I'd managed to squeeze in during the previous evenings after work.. Fresh oil had been put into the engine at that early mileage mark in an effort to ensure any initial break-in impurities were removed....read more

Like a one-two punch I am releasing part 3 of this review just a day after part 2. During this ride Gary throws off his rose colored glasses and looks deep down for any problems with the brand new 2008 Ninja 250. Will these new found 'nits' outweigh all of the benefits of the new ninja? Only one way to find out!...read more

Now is the long awaited second part in the 4 part review of the all new 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250. Part 1 was more of an easy going ride, but we all knew that wouldn't last long. For this ride Gary starts to open the bike up a bit more and tests the limits of the suspension. Stay tuned for Parts 3 and 4 where Gary takes the bike to even more extreme lean angles and higher rev limits!...read more

New to motorcycles? Don’t know which one is right for you? There are a lot of great reasons to start on a 250cc bike when you are just learning to ride, from the cost of ownership to the ease of learning. Whether you are brand spanking new to the hobby of motorcycles or maybe you rode a decade ago, either way a 250 is the best tool to start your riding career. ...read more

The 2008 Ninja 250 is the bike everyone is talking about this year since it has received a MAJOR face lift from the engineers at Kawasaki. Best Beginner Motorcycles was lucky enough to catch up with Gary Jaehne, the author of Sportbiking- The Real World: The Advanced Riders Handbook and Sportbiking - The Real World 2: Rider and Bike Tuning Handbook. Gary Recently purchased one of the '08 Ninja 250s and has written a 4 part ride report of his experience....read more

This is the story of Chris Young who suffered a really bad crash and survived. I think it is a good example of a lesson learned, although a painful one at that. Enough description, on to Chris' crash! ...read more

There are a few things that it will take you a few months to learn once you finally get your motorcycle and you start riding regularly. If you are lucky you will have a riding mentor with some experience help guide you and tell you some of these tips, but if you don’t then feel free to study this guide. This is a lot to remember at first so when I started riding I would only concentrate on doing one thing really well for the whole ride, like looking through the turn for example. Eventually this becomes automatic and you can concentrate on building other good habits. ...read more

When you crash on a motorcycle there are a lot things that can happen, all of them are bad. Unlike when riding in a car you aren’t protected by safety belts and a roll cage, instead you are ejected from the vehicle. Here is a list of some of the things you can expect if you crash on a motorcycle, especially if you don’t wear protective gear....read more

Although I love my Chrome Messenger Bag, I found that sometimes I just don’t want something on my back when I am riding my motorcycle, especially if I am carrying something heavy or something that needs to be transported horizontally (like food!). I looked around for an inexpensive but good quality solution and came across the Cortech Tailbag....read more

For a long time my only riding jacket was a First Gear Mesh jacket, and it held up pretty well in all weather conditions. After trying on my friends leather jacket and seeing how much more protection it offered, I decided I needed to get some leather of my own. There are a lot of brands out there to decide from: Alpinestars, Joe Rocket, Icon, Vanson, Teknic and dozens of others. While surfing various motorcycle forums I heard some really good things about Shift Racing jackets so I decided to check them out....read more