- This topic has 8 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 9 months ago by roborabbit.
The wait is over! …. and a worse one begins.
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July 10, 2009 at 6:26 pm #3125roborabbitParticipant
So, the MSF I signed up for finally came and went. The course was…. alot easier than I was expecting it to be. Not that I didn’t learn tons of worthwhile skills, techniques and other usefull odds and ends. But while waiting for the course to come about I had fully prepared myself to fail and fall multiple times. However, while I was prepared for a strenuous and stressfull few first days on a motorcycle, I was suprised by how non-chalant and easy going the course was. And though it wasn’t as intensive and involved as I would wish for, the instructors managed to teach you without you actually knowing you were being taught. Overall the course was a good one and the instructors were the ones who made it that way. Out of 9 students only 1 failed and that was at the last minute on the final part of the eval where her pant leg got caught on the foot peg and caused her to drop the bike. My one wish is that the MSF would up the cirriculum a bit. Not neccissarily making it harder but more instructional and realistic. If you were to base your view of the motorcycle world and street survival off of what is taught on the tarmack in the course you would think that the only skills you needed to survive on the streets were the abilities to brake hard and make right turns. But nothing is prefect and you take what you can get.
Anyway, I passed with almost a perfect score(god damned box turn), and got my license the next day. And now here I am agonizing over choices for bikes and waiting for a day off of work to go and get one. My number one problem is the … draught in used bikes in my area. Being a new rider and one apt to drop the bike a few minutes after I leave the sales lot I refuse to buy new. Which, when you take into account the bike I want is painfull. Plainly people love their BMW’s too much. Right now I’m looking for a BMW G 650 GS or Xcountry. So far the closest one I’ve found for sale is 500 Mi away from me. This bike… seems to be the best for the $ and that is probably why I cannot find one for sale used. And now I’m left choosing between bikes that are, while not my first choices, not exactly what I want. Right now my choices are:
KLR-650 – Fits right, can flat foot both feet, and the pegs / handgrips are in a natural position for me.
DR-650 SE – Same as above but ever so slightly less preformance power.
Ninja 500r – Bit cramped for my frame(long legs + high foot pegs = knees above my hips), and while it’s not uncomfortable I prefer a more upright position. Also, position makes me put weight on my wrists / the handgrips.
GS500F – Same as aboveSo, Yay I am now licensed to practice in a parking lot but I have to wait and find a bike first …. or give in and buy new….
July 10, 2009 at 7:48 pm #20486eonParticipantCongratulations on taking and passing the MSF class. I agree with you that the class is on the basic side but that is just the start of your learning. Plenty of other classes out there and material to read to improve your skills. Once you get your bike the learning begins in earnest.
I like your choice of bikes. That’s the direction I am leaning in myself once I decide to get bike number 2, although it is the F650GS (or maybe even the 800) that has my eye. I decided to go new for my first bike as it made life simple. Go to the dealer, plump down the cash and ride away. Plus it meant not waiting for the perfect used bike to show up (I had had my fill of waiting by this time).
Hopefully your wait will not be too long.
July 11, 2009 at 6:01 am #20491SafetyFirstParticipantAbout the BRC…
I think you are right to an extent.
The way I see BRC is like the head instructor told everyone being handed out their completion cards (while I got to stand there and wait to get a re-take card.) He said “you’re qualified enough at this level to ride in a parking lot. Don’t think tomorrow you’re just going to get on the interstate.”
He’s right.
I think a lot of it is like Elwood says — it’s muscle memory. I think BRC is great in that it gives you enough to be able to get on your bike and start learning to IT. As opposed to learning how to become proficient on a Honda Nighthawk 250. Every bike has it’s own “feel.” A Nighthawk 250 isn’t going to handle or feel or react the same as a Goldwing as a Harley D as a dual-sport as a Gixxer as a Ninja 250, etc, etc, etc.
July 11, 2009 at 4:45 pm #20497briderdtParticipant…it was almost 6 months before I got onto a highway. I worked my way up from local roads in the subdivision, to longer routes, steadily increasing the radius, and finally getting on the highway itself. Now, it’s not such a big deal.
July 11, 2009 at 7:02 pm #20500EliasParticipantI wish my BRC was more challenging as well…but I can say that it was definitely challenging enough for the ‘never ridden before’ rider. Plenty of people were struggling, which put the course’s demographic in perspective for me. I plan on taking the two more experienced classes in the future.
As for the bikes, I say don’t settle for less, wait it out and get what you want. Maybe not at first, but after a few months of riding a bike that you ‘settled for,’ you’re going to start having buyers remorse, and probably end up trading it in for the model you wanted in the first place which is going to cost you more $$$ in the end. However, take this with a grain of salt because this is coming from an extremely patient guy who waited over a year for the perfect truck to show up on a local lot. Don’t settle for less, that’s my 2…
July 12, 2009 at 5:12 am #20514SafetyFirstParticipantI get what you’re saying, E, but don’t suggest to the guy that just because a slick new Gixxer looks good with him on it in the showroom, it’s the best thing to start on. I’d rather someone start on a bike in the class they like with wee bits of power, so curiosity with the throttle doesn’t kill the cat. Not to mention giving up on practising low-speed stuff in a parking lot because it’s a heavy beast.
On the other hand… if one of the modes on the 09 GSX-R600 is labeled as ‘wuss’, I’d gladly consider it maybe next season.
July 12, 2009 at 8:36 am #20517EliasParticipantYeah, had he/she been considering more sport-oriented machines, I wouldn’t recommend going for the gold. But it seems Robo is focusing on more responsible beginner bikes, based on their list. If it was some kid wanting a Gixer…ha, well, no way I’d endorse that suicide.
July 13, 2009 at 4:21 pm #20556eternal05Participant…but there is no “wuss mode” on any gsx-r. They are what they are, period.
July 13, 2009 at 8:40 pm #20565roborabbitParticipantDecided on getting a used 2008 KLR650, after searching and reading …. alot of reviews and other things it seems like the best decision. The only real downside is that some, like 10%?, have an oil consumption issue. Which stems from improper break-in and kawi using some 07′ parts in their new 08′ redesigns. After reading about the oil consumption I started to get a wee bit put off of buying a used 08 KLR, since without tearing apart the top end (oil burning stems from the cylinder/piston/seal seating) I wouldn’t be able to find out if it was a “defective” model. After that I started looking into buying a new 09 model instead, in which the manufactuers end of the problem seemed to be solved, but after playing with numbers and adding to the fact that I would have to break-in the bike while learning how to ride, I’ve come back to buying a used one.
’09 KLR650 OTD 4,900-5,200~ + some free gear
’08 Used KLR650 OTD 3,600~ + the cost of having to do a top end rebuild to solve the oil problem = 4,200~4,400 (from what i’ve read the best fix for the oil is to buy a 685 kit which costs about 375$~ add to it 4~hrs of labor and misc and that is where i’m getting this figure)So after a few sleepless nights of deciding what to get I’ve decided to take a chance on the 08 KLR 650, which hopefully won’t have any Oil issues or otherwise, and learn how to do some wrenching if the bike does end up needing some work.
~hoppin along hoping to get on the road… or in a parking lot soon
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