[samgoody]

Hello everybody,

I stumbled across this site while looking for advice on beginner bikes. I am a 30-year old professional from Jordan working in Saudi Arabia, and I have lived in the US for six years. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before, and would like to start a motorcycling hobby. Unfortunately, the local motorcycle market is full of 600cc and 1000cc supersports and large displacement cruisers, and there are very few good choices for beginners. Hopefully, I will be able to choose a bike that can serve me as a beginner. I’ve got lots of questions, which I will be posting in the General section of the forum, and would appreciate every ounce of help I can get. Perhaps I may even be able to give you glimpse of what motorcycling is like here in the Gulf region if I ever get a motorcycle.

Best regards,

Samgoody.

[megaspaz]

welcome to the forums!

i have no idea on gulf riding since i’ve never been there or what the market’s like. if all they have are 600+cc bikes, look for a twin engine kind of bike. twin engine bikes are known for usable low power band and linear power distribution. Harder to 12 o’clock this kind of bike due to goosing the throttle. being a typical ‘merkin, my only images of the roads in your area is either straight highways or off road. perhaps a dual sport bike of some kind or a motard would be a good bike to look at.

Edit: i’ve never ridden a motard or a dual sport and i’m pretty sure they aren’t twin engines, so you’ll need to be careful with the throttle.

—
If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…

[samgoody]

Hi megaspaz,

You’re almost right on the mark as far as the roads here. Most of Saudi Arabia is flat desert, so straight roads are the norm, but there are a few long sweepers here and there. In the south west of Saudi, there are some mountainous regions, but they are a very long way away from the area in which I currently live. I’ve been to that area, and there are some nice twisty roads there, not to mention some really beautiful scenery. They can be very trecherous, though, as it can get foggy and slippery there.

Motorcycles are generally rare in Saudi Arabia, althgouh the motorcycling contingent is steadily growing. Beginner motorcycles are an even rarer breed, partly because there’s a lot of disposable income and people with more money than common sense. I guess if someone has a lot of money and wanted to show off, they wouldn’t want to ride around on something that’s labeled a “beginner” bike.

As for motards, some of them are single-cylinder engines (e.g. KTM 690 Supermoto), but I’ve read advice somewhere that said to stay away from that type of engine as well. I’ve sat on a few, and I find them to be a bit too tall for me as I have a 32″ inseam.

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