[Gary856]

Ideally, get the bike delivered to you, either by a truck, or by an experienced rider.

If you have to ride it home, avoid commute hours, and pick a time when traffic is light. My first street ride was late on a Sunday night, and the streets were almost deserted. Avoid the freeway for a while if possible.

Take your time, don’t hurry. If you need to slow way down to take a turn, slow way down. If you need to pull over to re-group yourself, do it slowly. If you’re so slow and becomes a traffic hazard, get off the road, but don’t hurry just because you’re embarrassed to hold up traffic. They’ll see that you’re a new rider and slow down.

If you keep thinking about countersteering, you’ll get a headache. I thought about it A LOT, and it only got my head spinning. Rather than the term “countersteering”, I prefer the term “push steering”, which is the same thing but more intuitive to me in describing what you “physically” do with the handlebar. If you want to turn right, turn your head to the right, look to the right (where you want to go), and push the right grip forward; the bike will start leaning to the right and turn right. If you want to left left, turn your head to the left, look to the left, and push the left grip forward; the bike will start leaning to the left and turn. It’s very important that you turn your head and look where you want to go, before starting the actual turn physically.

Remember to relax the hand/arm on the opposite side – don’t let your left hand fight with the right hand in a turn, which tend to nullify your steering input.

[Gary856]

Do some research and see for yourself if your perception is correct. My suggestion came from first hand experience, and from my long research. (I thought about, read about, and looked for, my first bike for a couple of years before finally getting the GS500.) I have never read or heard from anybody saynig that they regretted getting a GS500 as a first bike because it’s got too much power or difficult to ride. Brand new beginners, even smaller guys, gush over how a GS500 is super user friendly and easy to ride. If anything, some have concerns of out growing the GS500 within a short time (nothing but a late model supersport would satisfy those guys’ self image), but for someone serious about learning to ride, GS500 is a perfect tool.

[Gary856]

Yes, it seems every other day someone would ask the same question, and the same answers are given. Read through the old threads and you’ll see dozens of similar threads.

I’m 6′, 170 lbs. For my first bike, I didn’t want one that’s too powerful, like a 600, nor a bike that’s smaller than necessary, like a 250. I started on a GS500 after extensive research. A Ninja 500 would be in the same category. If you just do a search on the web on GS500, you can see what everyone says about it.

I just sold my GS500 because after a year of riding it started to feel a little small physically, and I now own faster bikes, but I still strongly believe it’s the perfect beginner’s bike.

[Gary856]

If I were your size, I’d consider starting on a 500 for a bit more engine power, but still manageable and not crazy. Not sure about your bike style preference but my standard recommednation is GS500.

Most bikes are set up at the factory for a smaller rider, 140-ish pound rider. You’ll probably need to go for heavier springs for better suspension action on any bike you choose.

[Gary856]

I had always wanted to take my DRZ400sm to an OHV park to try out dirt trails, and I finally did this afternoon. I didn’t bother reducing the tire pressure (from 25/29 to maybe 18/22) of my Distanzias for the trails; lazy, I guess. Uphills on the beginner/intermediate trails were fun, but right away I felt I was in over my head on the steeper downhills. I’m a total dirt newbie and had no idea how much traction there was in downhill braking. There were quite a few oh-shit moments during the 2+ hrs I was there and I was too scared to explore more than the 2 trails I looped several times, but I didn’t drop the bike until the last run and the last downhill turn. Not much rear brake but still too much; skidded into the turn, locked up the rear and stalled the engine, came to a stop in the steep/banked turn. The bike fell over, and I took a slight tumble. I couldn’t pick up the bike with it lying head-down on a down-slope with loose footing, and had to wait for someone to help.

The DRZsm worked pretty well on the dirt trails and covered up a lot of my skill deficiencies. My lack of dirt skills was by far the limiting factor during the ride.

[Gary856]

My perception is most dirt riders started at a young age either lived in a rural area and/or were introduced to dirt riding by a family member. Most of us urban dwellers didn’t have this opportunity, and when we start riding as an adult we start in an urban setting.

I just came back from a practice ride on a dirt lot next to the county fairground near my house on my DRZ400sm. When riding on dirt/gravel felt easy, I rode up/down some rough dirt mounds and a rock strewn ditch. While there I stopped by a motocross track and watch kids and adults slide and jump on the track. It felt weird knowing everyone of them was a better off pavement rider then me. Riding off pavement was certainly fun, helps my street riding, and I want more. I’m thinking about taking my DRZ to check out a nearby OHV park in the afternoon, but this is still nothing like people living in the Sierras who can go dual-sport riding right in their own backyards.

BTW, “Pro motocross and off-road riding techniques” is an awesome book, filled with insightful tidbits. I kept going, “oh… oh…” Although it’s written for off-road riding, understanding the principles carries over to street riding as well.

[Gary856]

EU (European Union) states have open borders, so one can ride/drive across the entire Europe if he wants. The urban centers are pretty congested, old towns have narrow/rough roads, but the freeways there look and feel about the same as here in the US.

I still find it hard to believe that EU became a reality, Euro became a common currency, and all those different countries can agree on anything…

[Gary856]

Most people feel the freeway is safer than surface streets, because everyone goes in the same direction and no intersections, so less chance to get cut off. It’s hard to beat the convenience and time saving of hopping onto the freeway, even if the distance is only a few miles, so don’t rule out riding the freeway if it’s an option.

GS500, Ninja 500R, 650R, SV650, etc., are all good all-purpose bikes. The two 500s are little small physically for a tall guy, but that maybe a good thing for a beginner. The two 650s are a little more powerful than ideal for a beginner. Since you’re tall with long legs, I’d also check out a DR650 or a KLR650.

[Gary856]

What country/city are you in? Will you be riding a lot of freeway, or mostly city streets and smaller undivided highways?

I just came back from Spain. While there I thought, damn, if I was living here, with the narrow, twisty, cobble stoned, and congested streets, I’d ride a supermoto or a dual-sport for sure. No place to go fast on a sportbike until you get out of the city. But of coruse, being a tourist I stayed mostly in the old town area. I don’t think a supermoto is an ideal “only bike”, though, if a lot of freeway riding will be involved.

I just sold my 01 GS500 to a student from Denmark who’ll be here (San Jose, California) for the next 6 months. He said that he had an 04 R6 before, but found its power was too much, and it was very diffciult to turn at low speed, so he decided to get an easier-to-ride bike like the GS500.

[Gary856]

I ran out of gas twice on my DRZ, both times on hilly roads with no traffic around, before I figured out the fuel range. I ran out of gas 3 times on my GS500, once on an expressway, twice on the freeway, after some carburator work was done that worsened my gas mileage significnatly.

I used to wonder what it felt like to run dry. You’d first notice a slight stumble, a slight loss of power, then it would run rough, and the engine would die in about 15 seconds or so (a rough estimate, not exact). That’s enough time for you to react, to pull over, when the traffic’s light, but it could be hairy in heavy traffic. Some riders are able to switch to reserve on the fly without the engine dying or stopping the bike. I haven’t practiced reaching for the petcock without looking and switching to reserve while the bike’s moving, so I just pulled over, stopped with the engine dead, then switched to reserve and restarted the bike. If it really ran dry and the bike would not start on reserve, switch the petcock to “prime” to allow the gas to flow into the carburator for a couple of seconds, start the bike, then switch to reserve.

Often there’s still a rediculous amount of gas left in the tank (like a gallon) when you hit reserve, so going another 20-30 miles in reserve is usually no problem. Of course, each bike is different.

[Gary856]

A big part of the danger for new riders is encountering new/unfamiliar situations, which tend to overwhelm a new rider who’s still struggling with the basic control of the bike. A lot of us got our first taste of gravel like you did – with the good intention of getting out of somebody’s way, only to be surprised when tires hit gravel.

I wish rider training classes spend some time discussing these topics. Some discussion, visualization ahead of the time on what to do, and some short practices can eliminate a lot of these unnecessary surprises.

[Gary856]

Each reader needs to understand the context and how that relates to his own needs and preferences. Besides, that review you read most likely referred to the current models (since BMW just came out with their first sportbike S1000RR this year), and have nothing to do with the older models that I’m considering. Back in ’05 GSXR-1000 and ZR-10R were the top dogs and the Honda CBR1000RR was the also run, but again that depended on where you set the priorities – the most hard-edged, vicious liter-bike, or the most rider friendly liter-bike, etc.

[Gary856]

By all account R6 is a great middle weight sportbike, known for its sharp handling, if a little weak in the low-end compared to the other middle weights. I had wanted an ’05 R6 (same style as the current R6″s” except the ’05 had the inverted forks) for a long time, and came close to getting one. I thought the ’06 and newer R6 looked weird, but I’m finally warmed up to the newer style. The R6″s” is still a handsome bike, but now it looks a little “yesterday”.

With only 1000 miles of riding experience, you haven’t even started the learning process. If you want to learn to ride, something similar to the Versys (with a more standard, upright position) would be a much better choice than the R6s.

[Gary856]

Cross between a dirt bike and a small street bike = dualsport.

If you’re tall enough – with a 32″ or longer inseam – Kawasaki KLR650 and Suzuki DR650 are two very good dualsports that are suitable for beginners due to their manageable power, good handling, and upright ergonomics. Experienced riders ride them across the country (on and off pavement) due to their toughness and reliability.

[Gary856]

I’m not advocating riding like a suicidal maniac (like some people do), but I found what I used to consider scary became fun as my skills improved, with the same or more safety margin. Whenever I had a problem with a ride or a road, I tried to figure out what I did wrong, and what I needed to learn. The more skilled and experienced you become, the more you will want to seek out difficult and challenging roads and weather conditions to have fun.

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