[nycking23]

I have always had an interest in motorcycles, but when i first got my license it just wasn’t an option since I had to give my brother a ride to school every day. Now that my car is about to finally be fully paid off, I was thinking about using the money that I normally spend on the car note towards a bike. My only real problem is that my father is a huge fan of Harley Davidson and has been riding them for ~15 years. I am going to have no problem convincing them to allow me to get a bike, and they won’t be too worried about my safety because they know me and trust me. However, I need to figure out a way to convince them to let me get a sportier bike than my father’s Electra Glide Classic. It’s a nice bike, but just not for me.

As far as my first, I know I’m going to look into a beginner’s bike, something not extremely powerful. I also know I’m going to take some lessons and get my motorcycle license as well as full gear, is there anything else I should know before I begin my leap?

[Anon]

Hopefully your father will realize that Harleys aren’t for everyone. Hopefully he won’t rag on you too much for getting a beginner bike, I find that a lot of cruiser riders don’t take CC’s or Horsepower nearly as seriously as sportbike riders just because of the way the typical cruiser delivers the power.

It sounds to me like you have a good idea what you are doing by starting out on the right bike, getting full gear, and taking some lessons. I think if you do all that you will have no problem having a long and fullfilling riding career.

Anon

[uncle_bernie]

There’s tons of good information our there if you look for it. Here’s a few things to check out if you’re interested.

1) This site has a lot of good articles. This article especially will give you a good historical perspective in a short time about how far modern bikes have come from their humble beginnings.

2) Donald Burger, a Houston attorney, created a blog which chronicles the first 18 months of his motorcycle riding experiences. He rode every day for 18 months and blogged about every single ride. There’s really good observations about mistakes, techniques, and how to really think out there on the road. You can read about it here.

3) As they say, reading is fundamental. There are lots of good books and dvd’s available. My personal favorite is “Proficient Motorcycling” by David L. Hough. I highly recommend it.

Other than that, you seem like your approaching this the right way. Good luck out there on the road!

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[Author]

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