[gitchy42]

Sounds like a good first day! Hope things go well tomorrow…

[gitchy42]

Hope you enjoy it at least as much as I did my training. Let us know how it goes

[gitchy42]

Thanks for posting this….not really any basic information that I didn’t already know, but watching someone try on helmets definitely puts it all together, makes a little more sense now.

[gitchy42]

What bike you should start on really depends on what you want to ride in the future. Since you are asking about the rebel, I’ll assume that you like cruisers more than sport bikes, touring or dual sports.

If you like cruisers there is the Honda Rebel 250, Suzuki GZ250, Suzuki TU250, Yamaha VStar 250 (I think this used to be called the Eliminator), and a bunch of older 400cc and 500cc bikes. Out of this collection the TU250 stands out as having a more upright position as well as fuel injection with the old-school standard look. From what I have read, out of the 250’s the Rebel has the least power.

Just my 2-cents worth….

Nate

[gitchy42]

Actually Bob Lamphere’s Beaverton Honda Yamaha Suzuki Kawasaki (What a mouthful), I’ll probably head over to Cycle Gear next week, along with Portland Motorcycle, probably to stare wide-eyed at everything there too. Found it interesting that while I was poking around at the store I heard one of the clerks say ‘Thanks Bob’, looked over and there was Bob Jr, dunno why it surprised me really…he does own the place now.

[gitchy42]

Good job on passing the test!

[gitchy42]

Welcome to the group Danijel.

If you go with the GS500, make sure you look for the older GS500E, or whatever the same model is called over there. The newer GS500F has a full fairing.

However, being in Slovenia, does your country have a progressive/tiered license structure? If so you will be limited to the 250cc class, or maybe the 150cc class for a year or two and that will completely change the types of bikes you have to choose from.

Nate

[gitchy42]

They taught us that the fastest way to stop is to use both brakes together. Luckily for me the rear brake on the bike I got was adjusted a little loose, made it hard to lock it up.

Also they taught us to squeeze both levers and push on both pedals, at the same time. I felt that the harder I squeezed the brake the harder I squeezed on the already disengaged clutch.

Don’t know if this helps, good luck!

[gitchy42]

Wow, this looks like a blast….and I live in Portland….hmm, you’re giving me ideas…

[gitchy42]

I’d simply say that when you looked it up KBB was $2900, and ask how low they can go. They may say that they get their prices from somewhere else, or they would loose money going that low. However, if they need space in their showroom you would be surprised how fast they will hit their bottom. Something I learned when buying cars, look for dealers that have to move stock to get to just about everything, they are usually begging for space and more willing to take a small profit on something so they have room for something worth more.

Before you go to buy the bike get a good idea of how much you are willing to spend on it and don’t be swayed, but don’t pass up a good deal because it’s $50 more than you want to spend.

[gitchy42]

My first time on a quad was a little honda that had a centrifugal clutch, so I only had to worry about shifting. After I learned a clutch in a car/truck, when I hopped on my friends’ blasters and banshee’s it was easy for me. Also, a guy at work has a midget race car that has a zuke 1-litre and running gear, with the hand-clutch located on the shifter, so I got some more practice easing out the clutch to get that thing moving.

For learning in a car, I’ve found that using a car that needs to have the clutch replaced makes it a little easier, or one that has a HUGE friction zone. The clutch will usually slip enough that it is forgiving when you dump it out too fast. The problem is that you don’t really learn to ease it out, but it gets you started.

[gitchy42]

We did do some ‘traffic’ practice though. Changing lanes, sharp turns from a stop, and negotiating ‘traffic’ (other people in the class). I’ll check out that DVD. Thanks again.

[gitchy42]

I forgot to mention a portion of the law. It requires insurance agencies to give a discount on rates to anyone who passes a DMV approved course. Right now those are the Team Oregon BRT and IRT.

[gitchy42]

Didn’t have to do a u-turn actually, but we had to make a sharp right in a box without putting down a foot or going over the lines, got through it fine. While we were practicing I had a little trouble, but most of that was because I was following someone that was going too slow into the turn, and too slow in the turn and too slow out and too slow through the weave….I kept having to worry about running her over, even when I backed off a lot I managed to catch up. Actually I had the most trouble with the quick stop while we were practicing I kept goosing the throttle, and freaked out a little and released the brake. Happened two or three times before I learned that it doesn’t matter what the throttle does when the clutch is in.

[gitchy42]

I hope you have a good time in the training! All last week I was a bit jittery, counting the days to the weekend…hehe

[Author]

Posts