- This topic has 23 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 9 months ago by sycofirefighter.
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July 8, 2009 at 8:19 pm #3117sycofirefighterParticipant
I am new to this website and have a couple questions. I love the idea of being free and getting great fuel millage so I think that motorcycling is for me…now what. Of course take the MSF safety class and then get a bike. Buying a bike for me is a HUGE deal, I am 17(essentially 18) but I am extremely mature and responsible for my age(trust me the name says it all) I am 6’2” and 255lbs. I don’t really want a crotch rocket because insurance rates are crazy high, I really want to be comfortable, so cruisers are looking great. I was looking at the Vulcan 500 but is it capable of hauling me at 65-70mph with room to spare? or would I need something bigger. I am open to any and all suggestions even looking at the sport bikes. My budget is limited as I am saving money to move out and begin life as an adult. Used bikes in northern VA are all large, there are no small bikes on craigslist or in the paper. I can scrape about $5,500 up for gear and a bike.
Thanks in advance
July 8, 2009 at 9:22 pm #20440sycofirefighterParticipantOk, thanks will do
July 8, 2009 at 9:26 pm #20441zeppelinfromledParticipantBefore you decide on a cruiser, just try to sit on a sports bike. Maybe a Ninja 650R or a SV650. Both of them have plenty of power for you, but they also have a more upright posture. It’s worth spending 5 minutes to sit on them to be sure before you buy a cruiser.
July 8, 2009 at 9:47 pm #20443sycofirefighterParticipantI love the look of the sv650, it is a standard but I would think it might be a little much for me, Price is also an issue, insurance is also really bad for a sport bike and an 18 year old male. I’ve had people(yes plural) die on me from riding sport bikes and that kinda turned me off of them. Also as a 17 year old guy I admit I still am a dumb ass kid that still does stupid stuff(like running into burning buildings for free ) It is possible that I could get carried away. Honestly road rash doesn’t look good on me lol. I will look but it would take A LOT to get me to buy one.
Do I really need a 650cc bike? I know I am big but would a 500cc do? or is it a question of me fitting?
July 9, 2009 at 12:11 am #20449MunchParticipantmore of a fitment thing. The V500 is plenty powerful for you as Elwood stated. However as a beginner friendly bike it can be quite compact. I am 5’10’ 180 lbs. It fit me comfortably but with longer legs you would likely need to look into forward controls to get you the leg room. The V Star 650 and Honda 750’s are a bit longer of a bike giving you a bit more leg room and not to much of a jump in performance to make it scary.
As with any bike though respect the ride your on and be honest with yourself and you skills or lack there of. Get lots of practice time in and learn your bike.July 9, 2009 at 12:52 am #20452sycofirefighterParticipantyea, I’ve just got to go to the dealers and test fit them all.
July 9, 2009 at 1:37 pm #20461AParticipantGet a cheap used car. You need exposure to stupid drivers on public roads.. without the experience of dealing with stupid driving behavior, your survival rate on a motorcycle in public roads is very slim.
Drive a car so you have better protection in order to survive mishalps and learn how to react to stupidity in emergency situation, learn to avoid impact, avoid drastic velocity change, avoid slamming on the brakes.. always look for a way around or out of trouble.
When you have developed all those skills as reflex reactions, you will have much better chance of survival on a motorcycle.
17 year old should be riding a bicycle, get in shape, save money on insurance; burn fat, not fuel.
July 9, 2009 at 1:56 pm #20462sycofirefighterParticipantI’ve been driving for 2 years. I have a car, its a 2001 ford escape that gets 15 mpg, thus the reason for wanting a motorcycle. Guess what I am a FIREFIGHTER!!! I am a professional athlete without the knowledge of when the game day is. Professional players know game day is Sunday. Mine is any day any time. you have to be in shape. Exposure on public roads isn’t a big deal either, I’m in northern VA 38th worst drivers in the nation. I ride in a fire truck with flashy lights, stupid people are attracted to flashy lights. I take my driving very seriously, no tickets, not accidents (knock on wood), I beat the odds that you crash in the first two years of driving. I’m ready for a motorcycle. sorry for the flame but it pisses me off when online i say in 255 and people automatically think I’m a fat slob and that I have no experience in anything. I’m not saying I’ve experienced everything but for my age I’ve done a lot and seen more.
July 9, 2009 at 2:45 pm #20463AParticipantDriving for two years and you think you’re an expert?
There are only two kinds of motorist, those who have not crashed and those who have, until you do crash, you have no clue what you might be doing wrong.
“38th worst drivers in the nation”, really? that just means there are 37 cities that you likely won’t survive in.
I also felt invincible when I was 17, I rode my bicycle from Seattle to Washington DC and San Francisco to DC before I turned 19. I was a bike messenger in Seattle and San Francisco. I didn’t start driving until I was in college, then I became a limo driver and drove over 200,000 miles in 3 1/2 yrs in Lincoln Towncars, with many miles in NYC.
I have totaled a car by hitting a deer, crashed on my motorcycle due to lack of sleep/target fixation, experienced stupidity on public roads on bicycles and cars, that’s how I learned to react with emergency maneuvers and I believe that I have survived on motorcycles so far because of my experiences.Submitted by sycofirefighter on Thu, 07/09/2009 – 09:56.
I’ve been driving for 2 years. I have a car, its a 2001 ford escape that gets 15 mpg, thus the reason for wanting a motorcycle. Guess what I am a FIREFIGHTER!!! I am a professional athlete without the knowledge of when the game day is. Professional players know game day is Sunday. Mine is any day any time. you have to be in shape. Exposure on public roads isn’t a big deal either, I’m in northern VA 38th worst drivers in the nation. I ride in a fire truck with flashy lights, stupid people are attracted to flashy lights. I take my driving very seriously, no tickets, not accidents (knock on wood), I beat the odds that you crash in the first two years of driving. I’m ready for a motorcycle. sorry for the flame but it pisses me off when online i say in 255 and people automatically think I’m a fat slob and that I have no experience in anything. I’m not saying I’ve experienced everything but for my age I’ve done a lot and seen more.
July 9, 2009 at 5:10 pm #20464ranetteParticipantI’m with Psycho on this one. No, two years does not make you an expert, but it’s not like the kids coming on here saying they want to ride before they’ve ever driven. Some people become very competent drivers in a few years, some-driving texters for example-never will.
His attitude, at least in the way he presents himself online, seems to be in the right place, and honestly I’d have been offended if I was told to “burn fat not fuel.” Certainly bicycles have their place as both a means of exercise and transportation but to tell someone not to ride, implying they’re lazy, is pretty damn insulting. Bicycles and motorcycles both have two wheels, that’s where the similarity ends, different tools for different jobs. Again, I’ll come back to one of my pet peeves, it is NOT a matter of when you’ll crash your car or bike, it is a matter of IF, and I think to say that “without the experience of dealing with stupid driving behavior, your survival rate on a motorcycle in public roads is very slim” is being alarmist, and in a way elitist-“THIS is how I did it, this is the way you should do it or you’re probably going to DIE”. You also seem to think that if you haven’t crashed a car you don’t know how to drive? “until you do crash, you have no clue what you might be doing wrong.” That is truly asinine. With experience you learn what you’re doing right and wrong without necessarily putting it into a wall. I’ve been driving for 30+ years, had a few minor accidents in my teens and 20’s from which I probably didn’t learn a whole lot and have been totally accident free, including fender benders-with probably about 50,000 of those miles in NYC-for the past 25 years or so. Did my early accidents have anything to do with that? Absolutely not. Maturity, a willingness to learn, and a little luck all come into play. That’s not to say you cannot learn from a crash but to say that’s the only way to learn??? No way!
Look, nobody is going to deny your main point, that the more experience that you have on the road the better. Most of us probably won’t even disagree that most-though not all-17 year olds are probably not ready for a motorcycle. However making ridiculous statements like “your chances of survival are slim”, “you can only learn from crashing” or that a 6’2″ 255lb. 17 year old needs to burn fat, does nothing but destroy your credibility with the OP and the rest of us, leaving us to discount the sensible advice that your post may contain.
July 9, 2009 at 5:27 pm #20465AParticipantIn the US, bicycles rarely serve the purpose of transportation. Kids think of bicycles as toys, adolescens want cars as soon as they are legal to drive; most people never know, or even think about how far they could travel on their own physical ability.
As a former bicycle shop worker, I’ve seen kids come into the store wearing $200 sneakers.. but parents too cheap to buy a $35 helmet.
For a 17 year old, I recommend riding a bicycle, regardless of their physical fitness. the experience a 17 ear old can gain from riding a bicycle around is worth far more than most could imagine. More than likely, a 17 year old with cycling experience would become a better, more understnding motorist toward other occupant of the road like cyclists or motorcyclists.
Grow some skin, this is the internet, people are wrong all the time.
July 9, 2009 at 5:46 pm #20466eonParticipantand I think this time you are one of them. I am a life long cyclist, come from a family of cyclists. First time I ever really got out of my hometown was on a bike. Toured Scotland when I was 16 when a few quid in my pocket and a tent on the back. Had the time of my life. But this is a motorcycle forum so I don’t think it is appropriate to be pushing bicycles to someone looking for advice on which bike to get.
July 9, 2009 at 6:26 pm #20467ranetteParticipantFirst, my skin is plenty thick and I’m no way insulted, just some back and forth.
The thing is the guy comes on and asks some very reasonable questions about getting a first bike and your response is “go ride a bicycle”. It’s like someone going to buy a house and you tell them all they need at this point is a tent. Maybe it’s true but it in no way answers the question and is so far off from being usable advice that it serves no purpose.
As far as elevating bicycles to a higher level in the US, thinking of them as a major means of transportation, it may be a good thing but you’re talking about a major cultural shift. This country has had a love affair with the open road, “Baseball, hot dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet,” and that’s not about to change. How we negotiate that open road better change, we certainly can’t go on the way we have been, spewing poison into our atmosphere. I won’t deny anything you’ve written about bicycles, however to think that we’re going to hop on bicycles and pedal the 40 miles to our jobs just isn’t being realistic. More efficient, lower emission vehicles will sell, bicycles will never be more than peripheral transportation for Americans. That isn’t to say that they shouldn’t be encouraged in urban environments where they would be the ultimate low emissions vehicle. However to think that they will become a primary form of transportation here simply seems a bit too idealistic to me.
July 9, 2009 at 6:43 pm #20468AParticipantWhat I post are simply my opinions, there is no right or wrong.
But regardless, adolescens are getting way too lazy these days.. wouldn’t you agree that a 17 year old would better benefit from riding a bicycle around than a motorcycle?Does it make sense to risk his fine life when he has limited exposure to road stupidity and limited accident experience?
Drive a car if he must, but riding a bicycle at least he’s less likely to kill someone… not to mention better for environment and his physical condition.
What’s the harm if he waits a couple of more years to get a motorcycle before getting more road experience? He’s only 17.. may be legal to ship him off to kill people with the service, but you can’t buy him a drink.
Idealistic.. we’d all be riding bicycle when the fuel runs out… or get up to high enough prices.
When it is acceptable to commute 40 miles for your job? can’t find a better job closer? can’t find a close place to live? 40 mile one way commute takes at least one hour or more, that’s 10 hours a week, you should be getting paid for one extra day of work every week.July 9, 2009 at 6:43 pm #20469EliasParticipantI’m going to say I agree that a little more practical road experience would be ideal for this kid, BUT, in respecting that he wants a bike now based on this thread, we can put the later behind us and guide him toward the appropriate bike as best we can.
You will be fine on a 500. Go sit on some and find your fitment. And it’s good that you respect the power of bikes, as most new riders at your age level don’t. But don’t think for one second that your firefighter training translates into motorcycle skills. I made a thread in Off-Topic asking what everyone’s day job is, so go call it on the mtn in there…super-olympians crash just as hard as couch potatoes, I’ve seen it.
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