[Andrew]

I’m in central IL so I know what you mean about the limited riding season. Taking a bike on any of those roads at peak hour seems like a death wish to me. At least waiting till next year should means your confidence and skills are more ready for it.

[Andrew]

I have some pics of the Ninja by the house I can upload. The lake was tricky as the little parks next to it were not signed so it was a matter of seeing the sign when it was too late. I bypassed a couple because they only had gravel parking lots.

The wife has put a ban on interstate riding for this noob so I don’t think I’ll see 80 any time soon.

[Andrew]

If the lane splitting is legal it must be CA or TX.

[Andrew]

I also wonder how long it’s been since some veteran riders were noobs and if they at all remember how hard it was to get the basics right in the beginning.

[Andrew]

+1 On the HJC CL-15. I have the blue Draco model.

[Andrew]

I know on the Ninja 250 forum they say you have to re-jet if you change your pipes.

[Andrew]

When I did the MSF course I didn’t know how to drive a standard either. I did fine after some early problems with stalling. I was dropping the clutch and not giving the engine enough revs. I was probably the worst shifter in the class too. I did get the hang of it and I did have fun and pass.

So you will be ok but you will have to work harder at the beginning than the people who have driven a stick.

[Andrew]

I have the book I just don’t agree with the bikes it lists. If someone is a complete noob like I was then most of those bikes are bigger than what is needed. As a noob I passed the MSF and was parking lot trained. I now have my own 250 and I am practicing on it to get more comfortable doing the basics before I head out into traffic.

Someone who has some dirt riding experience or who used to ride when they were younger is a lot different than I am. They had skills or have some skills that I did not when I started off a square one. In fact having never driven a stick put me slightly more behind than that.

[Andrew]

Weight is a funny thing. My Ninja is 305 lbs and the Nighthawk in class was 280 lbs yet the Ninja feels a lot lighter to walk and to ride. You will need to go and sit on a lot bikes to see what is comfortable. If you like cruisers then the Suzuki GZ 250 and the Yamaha VStar 250 (Used to be called Virago) are good starter bikes also.

[Andrew]

They went over this in the MSF class. If you want loud pipes then get them. Check your local laws on loudness also. Don’t get them thinking they make you safer though. They don’t. It’s a myth that they do.

[Andrew]

The Rebel is a good beginner bike. I wouldn’t go with a 125cc unless the Rebel, or whatever you rode in class, freaked you out. The tip toe thing does work for some people but it’s a preference thing. You also have less leverage if you need to walk the bike anywhere.

[Andrew]

I have been using my first 2 fingers to cover the brake which has meant I have a more relaxed grip on the throttle. That leads to doing things much more smoothly than I had. I have the 07 Ninja btw.

[Andrew]

The riding was fun right up until the evaluation.

[Andrew]

I think a lot of new riders don’t want to deal with buying multiple bikes in their first few years and so try to start out on the bike they really want. That’s making a decision based on your wallet and ignoring the reality that riders change their bikes more frequently than car drivers. I also think new riders apply car logic to what they should buy and how long they will keep it. No one wants to buy a learning bike and then upgrade. But how many people did that when they learned to drive because they bought or had access to an older junker or family car? Lots I would bet.

[Andrew]

If you don’t ant to read the articles on the site about big bikes then how about thinking about your buddies R1. Looks like it has 155 hp and can provide 88 lb/ft of torque. Thats a race bike with blinkers on dude. My Ninja has 25 hp and 16 lb/ft of torque. So for 4 times the displacement and along with the extra weight it has 6 times the hp and about 5 times the torque.

If you have no riding experience then an R1 is likely to be a very quick way to get your own video on you-tube. If you drop the clutch by mistake or grab a whole bunch of throttle the R1 will respond so fast that you will be in trouble.

When I did my research the items that came up regarding beginner bikes were:

1. Smooth handling. A bike that responds instantly to a riders touch, like a BMW, is bad for a beginner. A bike that responds a little slower a gives a margin of error to the noob is better.

2. Smooth power delivery. A twin or a single will deliver power in a predictable fashion. An inline 4 bike will change as you go up the gears and the powerband. A flick of the wrist will not do what the noob thinks. Thats bad.

3. Smooth suspension. A noob will be better off with a softer more forgiving suspension than a hard race suspension that could wig out the noob in the middle of a corner. That would be bad.

4. Weight. Read some of Elwoods posts about how long it taking him to get used to his Sportster. Riding is about skill. Skill can handle a heavy bike but a noob without those skills does not.

If you read any of Bens articles he talks about skill development. A smaller more friendly bike promotes faster skill development. That allows the rider to learn skills on something forgiving before transferring the skills to something bigger and faster later.

[Author]

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