- This topic has 5 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 9 months ago by sunsetpark.
Huloooo…
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August 15, 2009 at 3:46 pm #3298sunsetparkParticipant
Hey Everybody………
So I’m a complete newbie. Except for I took a ultimate training course from Motoventures.com 2months ago. Awesome experience!!! went from just putting my leg over a bike to riding single track trails in 2days! 4days total. I rode fire roads on a w250f. A lot of fun…I would like to get a bike but live in brooklyn ,NY. Was thinking of drz400 or bmw f650gs. A friend with same experience, besides scooters got the 650gs and feels totally comfortable riding around the city. Maybe even a supermoto 250 type bike for the city but worried about long distance rides. Any thoughts? Also what do you think of aprilia mana 850? It’s a clutchless bike for a newbie? Still too much huh?
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=738141Would love to hear you…..
MarkAugust 16, 2009 at 7:46 pm #21644owlieParticipantWelcome to the forums, Mark! That ultimate training course sounds like a blast!
August 17, 2009 at 12:34 pm #21674JtownJJAParticipantWelcome to BBM. I enjoyed that video on the Aprilia. I had seen articles about it but hadn’t given it much thought. After seeing the review, I would consider it, although I would hate to see the price tag. The riding position and shape of the bike reminds me of the Kawasaki ER-6n.
August 17, 2009 at 4:30 pm #21698ranetteParticipantI grew up in and around NYC, though I no longer live there I visit 3 or 4 times a year. Every time I think about how much fun it would be to zip around the city on a scooter and at the same time think what a pain, how frustrating, it would be to ride a motorcycle. I think the Mana would be an interesting, and viable, compromise. You’d still have the frustration of not really being able to take advantage of a beautiful V Twin but you wouldn’t have the frustration, and sore left hand, of dealing with a manual transmission in stop and go traffic. Incidentally I never minded driving a standard transmission car in the city, the bike is a different situation, guess my left foot is a lot stronger than my left hand.
Actually if it is at all feasible, I would think about something like an ER-6n and a Buddy 150(my scooter)http://www.genuinescooters.com/scooters/buddy/intl.html MSRP $9600 combined, over a Mana with an MSRP of $9899, best of both worlds.
August 17, 2009 at 11:26 pm #21737eonParticipantI have heard both sides of the argument for the F650GS. Some say it is too much and some have started on it and love it. I guess it comes down to the rider being able to exercise self restraint AND being a quick learner.
On the scooter forum I read a long term biker was thinking of swapping out his MP3 for a Mana. He was all set to do it when he got cold feet. Nothing to do with the bike but the fact the dealers were falling over themselves to give him the bike at cost. Seems it has not really caught on in America. Worth thinking about if resale values are of concern to you (if not it is a killer deal). As far as performance he posted some comments about that. I will look them up later but off the top of my head I think he said that even though on paper it has less performance than a Shiver (Shiva?) it outperformed it on the track. Being in the optimal gearing ratio all the time has its advantages. Could you start out on a Mana? Yes you could. Is it the best idea, probably not but others have started on more powerful bikes and survived. And not having to worry about gears is a big advantage when starting out, especially in city riding. I guess it comes down to you and how comfortable you are on a bike.
August 18, 2009 at 1:03 am #21738sunsetparkParticipantThanks guys…….. That ER6n looks great, especially the $4000 difference from the mana. I wonder if there is such a thing as a test ride for them? I’m 5’6″ and learning on dirt was pretty intimidating but Gary Laplant really was a great teacher. He took me on some crazy single track stuff. Yes i dumped the bike a lot but eventually got real confident and let the bike do the work. Only wondering if I can transfer that to a street bike…….
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