- This topic has 23 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 14 years ago by SantaCruzRider.
Trying to convince the “BOSS” that bikes aren’t as scary and dangerous as she thinks!!
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February 3, 2010 at 6:45 pm #3692madjak30Participant
I have wanted to get a street bike since I was 16 (now 39??), but couldn’t justify the extra expense. I read Ben’s “living without a car” article, which will work in warmer climates, but here in Alberta, Canada…well, lets just say from October to March, you may find it a little cool. I have to have a truck for work (oil field) to carry tools, etc, to and from the jobsite, but for weekends and trips to visit friends the 13 to 14 liter per 100kms fuel consumption gets a little costly.
I have been a “car guy” since I was 16, and have talked about getting a “project car” for many years and recently my wife said that if she lets me get one, will I stop bugging her to get one…well, duh…but now that I have that green light, I don’t want a car…I want a bike. The bike makes more sense…cheaper in all respects: purchase, insurance, fuel and maintenance…not to mention, it will fit in the garage with her SUV and the obvious fun factor. If I get a car, I would have to build a garage in the back yard (another extra expense). So, I am sold! I have also read most of the articles on this site, along with the feedback, so I realize that starting with a 1000cc bike is dangerous, if not stupid…
I’m 5’10 and weigh some where near 275lbs, so I would prefer a little more torque from the larger bikes, but don’t want the instant throttle response…
I went to the bike show here last month to sit on all the different styles of bike and realized that, for me, sport bikes just don’t feel comfortable (also don’t really like the boy racer style)…too tight/cramped…cruisers look cool, but I don’t like their feet in front position either. I could probably get used to that position, so they are not out of the question, but I am looking more at the standard bikes. The Suzuki Gladius felt good, but is there any foam in the seat? Wow, not comfortable after 5 mins in the saddle…Kawasaki 650R/ER6N, too cramped…this is getting short listed now…
Suzuki DL650 V-Strom…great seat, comfortable foot position, nice instruments…but funny lookin’ bike…
Kawasaki Versys…quite comfortable, good foot postion, good instruments…also a little different lookin’…
Kawasaki KLR650…all good, but what is with the bent beak front fender?, also a little tall
Suzuki GS500…seems right, but they don’t make the naked bike for North America anymore…our dealer has a one year old used model on the show room floor that I sat on.
Buell Blast…not at the show, and no dealers within an hours drive…so I don’t know, but looks like a similar riding postion to the GS500.
I think the bikes that I am looking at are decent starter bikes that I won’t want to “upgrade” next year, but also aren’t high strung bikes waiting to bite your head off if given the chance…
Oh, well. The first task is to sell it to “the BOSS”, then I will let you know what I get…later.
February 4, 2010 at 4:01 am #24388owlieParticipantWelcome to the forum, madjak!
1st) for dealing with your sweetheart- the common advice is to take her with you to take the MSF Basic Rider Course (or whatever the Canadian equivalent is).
2nd) on cruisers- you don’t necessarily have to have forward pegs on the cruisers. I ride a Suzuki S40, and it basically is a standard. The pegs are kicked forward a wee bit, but not so much that I feel off balanced by it. (I’m also not a fan of forward pegs.)
If you didn’t get a chance, you might try sitting on the S40. It is a single cylinder, 650. It fits me just about right. You are a little taller, but I don’t think you would find it cramped.
Also, you indicated that you have no problem tinkering with things mechanical. Bikes are great in this regard. If you don’t like the seat, you can replace it. The handlebars in the wrong place? Get new ones. Same for any number of other items.
Best of luck!
JodieFebruary 5, 2010 at 2:34 am #24402Sean_DParticipant… except it was her that really wanted to learn to ride. She convinced me to go to the MSF course with her. We both had a blast, learned to ride and had a good time shopping/test riding bikes together. We actually went into it with the idea of purchasing scooters. The Piaggio MP3 was one of the ones we had our eye on. Since it leans much like a motorcycle we figured we would do the course on a motorcycle instead of a scooter and really decided that we prefer the motorcycle. She purchased her bike in October, me in November. Its been a blast learning together.
February 8, 2010 at 7:43 am #24452WetmelonParticipanthere in Alberta, Canada…well, lets just say from October to March, you may find it a little cool. I have to have a truck for work (oil field)
Ft. McMurray? Cold as balls. Honestly. It’s only -12 here in London, Ontario, and there’s no way I would ride a bike in this cold. Or on these salted roads…
February 9, 2010 at 3:16 am #24467TrialsRiderParticipantIf it helps, tell the Boss I said; Bikes aren’t scary or dangerous, it’s the mini-vans you really need to watch out for, most tailgate and drive with their foot to the floor.
I’ve been in a few vehicle accidents myself and the one that caused me the most physical injury, started with me in the back seat of a car! Mind you, that was a VW bug crashing head on with a full size 60’s Dodge, pre seat belts, …but I did sustain the least significant injuries of three passengers after flying through the front windshield and sliding along the pavement, at least on a motorcycle you’ll be wearing a helmet hmmmm, on second thought, maybe you shouldn’t mention crashing at all
How about this; when I wanted a dog it took 2 full years of; “can I have a dog? can I have a dog? can I have a dog? can I have a dog?” and now I have a Dog! …so that worksYour wish list indicates that you are very open minded on styles, one almost dual purpose, CV carburetor equipped thumper and several fuel injected road only twins, do you plan on riding much gravel road?
Fuel injection is much easier to self service on a bike that is parked for half the year, you can’t push start most fuel injected bikes as they need fuel pressure to run, but you can jumper cable start them.
Looks sounds important to you but as one other writer suggested, you can swap out a high front fender real easy if it doesn’t suit and I agree it doesn’t, not on a bike with semi knobby tires, a windshield fairing and wide radiator body panels. The original concept of a high fender is to reduce unsprung weight and prevent clog up with rocks and mud.
Forget the 2010 Buell Blast their advertisement is a 2009 Blast that has been put through a car crusher NOT a real intelligent advertising scheme and it begs the question, what model will they crush for 2011?You’re a big guy at 5’10, 275 lbs. Madjak so you should be able to toss a mid weight bike around Alberta with ease. If price is no object check out the BMW dealer before you make a decision, either way, cost the insurance on various models first.
Good luck & hope you get that bike, what ever it is you’re going to love it
February 10, 2010 at 7:44 pm #24509CBBaronParticipantFirst seats seem to be fairly easy to fix and most serious riders I know have purchased an aftermarket seat no matter what bike they ride.
Dual sport bikes like the KLR are said to be easy to lower with a linkage change. May even be available from Kawasaki, I know Suzuki sells one for the DR650.
The GS500F (faired) should be the same bike as the GS500 only with extra plastic. It may look like a sport bike but is actually a standard. The Ninja 500 and Ninja 250 are of similar style though I found the GS500F to be the most comfortable in a seat test.
I also really liked the feel of the WeeStrom and Versys. These seemed to be nice general purpose bikes. They look “different” but thats part of what I liked about them.
I’d agree with others about the Blast. Its kind of an orphan with the demise of Buell and was considered good only as a beginner road bike even before it was canned. I think you may find it a little small also. In this class of bike I like the TU250x and Ninja 250 much better.Craig
February 28, 2010 at 7:58 am #24678madjak30ParticipantI recently got a flat “NO” from the “Boss” on getting a bike, so I like your “can I have a dog?” analogy…she just doesn’t seem to get why guys want to have toys. To be honest, I don’t understand why either. Having a second vehicle, paying for insurance,fuel and maintenance doesn’t save you money…but, I know it gets my heart racing when I hear a tuned “muscle car” or a bike go by. For the dollars and cents argument the bike will work better. The purchase price alone is a pretty good argument, never mind that you would only use a third of the fuel on a bike. But for her, the bike is scary because she has no experience with them. I don’t know if I will be able to “win” the argument, so maybe begging for forgiveness????
My plan of action may be to get my liscence and training this year and make my purchase in the fall or early spring next year. The trip to Disneyland this spring will eat most of our spending money for this summer….
February 28, 2010 at 5:41 pm #24682SantaCruzRiderParticipantProblem is that your arguments will never carry as much weight as her “I’d always be worried about you” and “I can’t stand to live without you” argument around safety.
You can try the saving money argument, but that may come back to kick you in the teeth. My experience riding 10k per year on bike that gets double the mileage of my car and is completely paid for is that my gas savings covers my insurance, registration, self-done maintenance, tires and gear. I end up saving a few hundred a year, but I’d be TOTALLY upside down if I added a bike payment and full coverage insurance. Your mileage may vary, but I’d be careful about BSing the Boss.
I had to laugh about the “forgivenss” route. I tried that with a boat purchase several years ago. Wife came home to a boat in the driveway and gave up a “what the hell is that” comment. I guess when I told her I was going to go look at a boat she didn’t understand that the logical conclusion would be that we would all be looking at it at our home. Anyway, every day on that boat was crap cause she resented it. I finally told her that if she didn’t chill, I was going to sell it and start over. Within a year I sold it and then bought a larger one — which she had full disclosure and warning that I was buying. I never asked permission, but at least she was involved in the process — and now everyone is happy.
Good luck.
March 1, 2010 at 3:25 pm #24692madjak30ParticipantI think that may be the way I end up going…as for the dollars and sense, she was okay with me getting a new Dodge Challenger, but not a bike?? Although after I told her how much an R/T or SRT-8 was she wasn’t so supportive…lol…you see, she likes the Challenger, so is all for owning one. (maybe we should trade in her SUV for one???) I do think that would be a fun car, but talk about payments…here in Alberta, a Chellenger R/T averages around $40,000, and an SRT-8 averages over $50,000…not really a toy that I would concider “in my price bracket”…so if I pick up a used 500cc bike for about $3000, I think that is a more logical choice…similar acceleration, better handling and braking…no payments would be involved, and I am sure the insurance would be cheaper, not to mention a third or less in fuel bills…my 12yr old daughter is pumped for me to get the bike, she loves going to the local bike shops and bike shows to sit on them…it’s only the “boss” that will be the hard sell…I think my next step will be getting her to the bike shop and sitting on a bike, or scooter, for her maybe…???
Fingers crossed…lol
March 1, 2010 at 3:47 pm #24695MunchParticipant“my 12yr old daughter is pumped for me to get the bike, she loves going “
There ya go! 2 against 1, majority rules. I will still say though not only get her to the shop but get her to go to a MSF course, if not to participate but atleast to watch.
March 2, 2010 at 4:55 am #24730madjak30ParticipantThe guys that put on the course here offer an introductory course, just to let you get a taste for motorcycles to see if that is something that you are really interested in ($150). And if you decide that biking is for you they give you a $75 discount on the normal beginner motorcycle course. That is what I would like to talk my wife into taking…but first I have to get her to sit on a few bikes so that she can maybe start thinking about it…this may take a while, hence the beg for forgiveness course of action…I don’t want to be 50 before I get my first bike…
I will be trying to get her to sit on a few bikes and explain that it would be a nice way for just the two of us to take off for a weekend trip to the mountains…only a couple of hour ride, with some scenic stops on the way…maybe she will like the free feeling and the views better than the excitement of riding itself…??? who knows, I just know I want a bike but don’t want to piss her off in the process….
There are some GS500F Suzukis in the paper for $3200, so I am itching to pick one up…or maybe two, but I think she is more of a Burgman type of girl…doesn’t like shifting gears (can’t drive a manual and has no interest in learnig)…
Thanks for your input.
March 2, 2010 at 6:33 am #24737owlieParticipantHmm… You may consider that your 12 year old daughter is part of the problem. It could be that Mom is concerned about her little girl on the back of a motorcycle.
March 6, 2010 at 4:14 pm #24808SantaCruzRiderParticipantA likely response will be that then in an accident, your daughter will have no parents rather than just one.
My wife and I used to ride, but she doesn’t ride with me anymore for pretty much the same reason (has since our 12 yr old was born).
Personally, I’d just buy it — but I’ve been married before and am no marriage counselor
March 28, 2010 at 7:51 am #25238madjak30ParticipantI took the “BOSS” out for dinner tonight, and we were talking about our plans…etc…and I told her that I would like to do one of three things…get a muscle car, but the budget is up to $5000, so you can see that may limit the choices…eighties or nineties car…a couple of dirt bikes for my daughter and I…or a street bike for me…I provided her with some examples from Kijiji, and also handed her my bonus check that we didn’t know I was getting…that of course killed the “we can’t afford it right now” argument…but then she said something that made me almost fall out of my seat…”I would rather you got yourself a street bike than the car…”, she didn’t even talk about the dirt bikes, but even if she did…I don’t know if I would have heard her…
HOLY CRAP!!! I think today was one of the best days…EVER!!! Now, I just have to decide on a bike…I have found a few GS500 and GS500F on the web…they all seem to hover around $3500 – $4000…or there are a lot of super sport 600cc on the market for $3000 – $3500…wow, does no-one want them or what? Definately not for me, and not just because I am starting…just don’t feel comfortable…Katana 750s aren’t bad and are in the same price range as the GS500s…but all of the “naked” bikes are either too old, or too expensive…I talked to the guy in the Suzuki shop Friday, and he said that he used to prefer the “naked” bikes as well, but after he rode a few fairing bikes…he prefers them now…is there much difference in riding a bike with the fairing vs naked?
I will be booking my training course on Monday…looks like I won’t be riding until May, looking at the online schedule, but I was told to call them anyway…people may drop out or if they may squeeze in one extra person to the class…Suzuki guy used to be an instructor…I just have to get my written done before the class, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
I’ll keep you posted…WOO HOO….
March 28, 2010 at 12:54 pm #25240TrialsRiderParticipantAnd now you nearly have one ! BTW. give it some time, my wife really loves my dog now just don’t drive her crazy with it, she needs some time to see how it keeps you occupied and makes you happy. Whatever you buy, learn it inside out, keep it spotless and enjoy it totally.
Bikes aren’t like old cars, they won’t get covered in rust and go to crap, save up a few old tooth brushes, they work great for cleaning in around all the tight spots -
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