[Amoryl]

note, I’ve not tried this. one one of these forums, I can’t remember which (could be this one even….) someone was looking for earplugs and reccomended http://www.etymotic.com/ and I note they also have earbud headphones as well, which according to them not only channels music into your ears, but still eliminates outside high decible sound same as their earplugs. they’ve quite pricey, but hey ever look at the price of the “cheap” Bose headphones? yikes!

[Amoryl]

on sportsbikes I’ve usually only seen the hard plastic boxes, not the leather bags

[Amoryl]

honda makes the rebel 250, yamaha makes the virago/v-star 250, and suzuki makes the boulevard s40, all lauded as good beginner friendly cruisers. personally I really like the look of the Virago 250. and unlike many of the newer members here, your sister’s small size and weight will mean she won’t be saying “I need an 1100cc bike because those little 250s are just too cramped) they also have the advantage of having amazing gas milage.

like spaz said, or at least from EVERYTHING I’ve read, cruisers have in general less power per cc than sportsbike, so you can go a bit higher without worrying about accidentally screaming 100+ uncontrolled down the highway, however they come with a much larger increase in weight the more cc’s you’ve got, and that could be a real issue with as small as she is. if she drops that shadow, she’s going to have a hell of a time lifting it back up, and even if her husband is there to help get it back up, it’s going to have a serious psycological effect if she can’t right her bike herself when/if she drops it. and if she’s as uncomfortable as it sounds, then she’s very likely to drop it.

sounds like the hardest one to sell will be the hubby, some people get set in their mind what others need to have, regardless of the wishes or concerns of the other person. hopefully he can overcome that and get his wife what SHE wants, not what he wants her to want.

[Amoryl]

reminds me of the other day when I was watching one of those wildest/craziest/stupidest video shows, some idiot on an ATV doing some stunt jump. got way up in the air, started to tip, tried to engage the rear break which will apperently cause enough torque to right the ATV even in the air, and realized that for some reason never properly explored that he’d removed the rear breaks entirely the other day. end result was a massive wipeout on an ATV that was about 20-30feet in the air. BRILLIANT!

[Amoryl]

I’ve always been partial to purple, and would likely do a dark purple (more on the blueish side than red) if I custom painted my bike (when I have bike)

[Amoryl]

I was looking at the yamaha V-star 250 for my first bike…but I don’t wanna be a poser….

guess I’ll have to get that Goldwing for my first bike. hey, I hear some of them even have Airbags…that’ll be safe…right?

[Amoryl]

reminds me of that jetta commercial with the baby sitter and the 2 young kids. wild crazy kids, parents turn them over to him, he actually *gasp* takes them outside runs them everywhere, then feeds them tons of sugar, then runs them more (including the cutest scene ever of the little girl huffing and puffing on a treadmill at the gym) and then turns the totally exausted children over to the shocked parents (who clearly never learned the concept of keeping children active) who remark about how they don’t understand how he manages to wear them out like that.

[Amoryl]

how much is it to take the MSF in california? since thats where I’ll be taking it.

and while I understand trying to go smaller and lighter in your test bike, how far off is the test from reality?

I mean the I understand not handicapping yourself unnessisarily, but is the test THAT much out of line with what I may experience on the road? if I can’t pass the test honestly, with the bike I’ll be riding on the road, should I really BE riding on the road? yeah a scooter’ll hug a quarter on a turn, but I won’t be riding that scooter on the road…

[Amoryl]

or get a 125cc Kawasaki Eliminator and have the kids run behind you

[Amoryl]

I remember being told that the Rav 4 was made specifically to fit into a Japanese car wash. apperently SUV’s became all the rage durring the 90’s in japan, and they had a bunch of off road parks to run them around in. only problem was that SUV’s and huge cars like that were a pretty new import to japan and none of the regularly availible car washes were big enough (barring, I’m assuming, big Semi truck car washes) so they made the rav 4 to the exact dimensions to fit in one. I can’t honestly prove this is right, but it’s what I’d heard from someone who’d lived there.

[Amoryl]

because a bike loaded with 3 or more HUGE purses with frills and matching clasps and tassles is sooooo manly

last I checked (ok…I didn’t check) the Harley dealership doesn’t measure your junk to see what bike you qualify for.

maybe someday, for a lark, I’ll go in and tell em “I’ve got a really tiny thingie, like REALLY small, do you have a model called ‘The Overcompensator? or something similer?”

[Amoryl]

yeah I guess I love my sister but…

she’s the poster child of white trash, in many ways. all her friends are basically the same, the female friends are bleach blonds, the guys are all painters or contract workers (not that there’s anything wrong with that, I work in plumbing myself) and they’re all without exception heavy HEAVY drinkers. sis, while not a rider herself, has a lot of Harley friends, and they’ve surely colored her opinion of that. plus she has a tendency to be convinced that any whim she has is absolute fact, and therefore never actually researches anything for herself.

I’ve learned to take everything she says with a grain of salt, but this was a bit much even for her.

[Amoryl]

theres also the V-Star classic thats 650cc and a damn nice looking bike. personally I’m looking at the V-Star 250 for my first bike, and after I ride the heck out of it, get the feel of only having 2 wheels beneath me, and so on and so forth, then I’ll move up to the next bike, having recouped almost all the money spent on the 250 due to 250’s having amazing resale value. yeah I won’t be able to take it for cross country road trips comfortably (though if you’re determained people can and HAVE crossed the country on all manner of bikes, even some lady I heard about on another motorcycle forum doing cross country trips on a 7- or 90cc scooter from the 60’s)

every time I look at a thread talking about getting a 1000+ cc bike as their first bike, I’m reminded of when I picked up a Schwinn mountain bike. I had to sign a waiver stating that I understood that just because my BIKE was capable of taking the rough and ready mountain trails, that didn’t mean that I was able to, and should ride to my level of experience. the difference being that on a mountain bike (or high end street bike) it’s largely only speed and location where you’ll run into trouble, not the bike itself. however the bigger bike you get, the more out of your depth you’ll be, and most people have the tendency, if even just a little, to try to push the limits of what they’re on. with a 250, there’s not nearly as much limit to push as the 1000+ and thats another reason to start smaller.

I started driving on an old 83 escort, I know I’m a safer driver than I would have been if I’d started in a new ford mustang. and I’ve never met anyone who won’t speed at least a bit if you put them in a fast car, unless they’re already terrified of driving to begin with.

[Amoryl]

I honestly think that the bigger, tougher, “safer” cars actually put you in more danger, because you’ve got a false sense of security, and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the very worst drivers I see on the road drive around in huge honkin SUV’s. they believe they’re so safe and secure in their wheeled titanics that they stop actually driving. they weave in and out of traffic, drift over lanes, cut across multiple lanes when they realize they’re about to miss their turn, they plow through left turns long after the turn light turns red (the suburbs of chicago are notorious for 2-3-sometimes even 4 cars making left turns after the turn light turned red) all while talking on a cell phone, drinking coffee, reading maps, or paperwork, doing makup, scolding kids in the back…

on a bike you need to actually ride. you need to pay attention to the road, to the traffic, to conditions, your speed….you concentrate so much more, you notice so much more (because if you don’t you’ll get creamed) yeah people don’t notice you and try to kill you, but people don’t notice anyone and try to kill them all the time. people try to kill me and I’m in a huge van. sure I’ll likely survive most accidents I’d be in, but because I pay attention, I give people room, and I expect other people to try to kill me, I’ve not been in an accident in….over 10 years. (I was young and not nearly as defensive a driver as I am now) and never an accident since I started driving this van for work.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that in many ways riding a motorcycle is likely safer than driving a car, you’re generally more nimble, you pay more attention, you learn to anticipate problems that 99% of drivers never will, and you have FAR less blind spots than any car.

the counter is that no matter how safe you ride, no matter how cautious, how aware, and how defensive you are, there’s always the chance that you’ll be in an accident, just as in a car, and in that way a bike is much less safe then a car, if all your skill, knowledge, and luck run out and you impact with someone or something, the chances of walking away are much less, let alone without injury.

so (and this is extremely scientific and accurate numbers pulled magically out my rear) I’d figure, assuming that YOU are a good rider, that 80% or so of threats on the road are actually less for a skilled rider on a familier bike, and the remaining 20% or so of risk is more dangerous than a driver.

personally I’d rather bet on the 80% vs the 20% (even though that 20% is whats more likely to kill you)

I could be horribly wrong, but thats my impression

[Amoryl]

um….don’t ride with her?

make her take the MSF course herself, giving her the basics in a controlled professional environment might drive home the understanding of the lean durring turns and she might stop freaking out quite so much.

I understand that my gf will never ride a bike, nor will she ride on one with me. sometimes you’ve just got to accept that your wife/gf and you will never meet together on a bike.

[Author]

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