[haakon59]

Here in Seattle, the International Buddy dealer is also a Ducati dealer. I visited them and talked to them, they were a very nice group of guys and I was impressed with the Buddy. That horn is suprisingly loud! After I had done some research I decided to go with 250cc or perhaps higher, if I decide to get the scooter. If I go with a motorcycle, I think I am just going to go with a 250cc bike, nothing larger.

I agree with you about the experience of the manual shift of a car–I was guessing that just having the concept down would be helpful. I actually came to prefer it but shifted to an automatic when I needed a better car for transporting people. Now that this is not a concern for me any longer, if I buy a new car again, I think I will again go with a manual transmission–if I can find one that is!

You brought up one issue I was worried about though–since you have both a scooter and a motorcycle, does your motor reaction get confused when switching between the two? I envision scenes where I apply the brakes too hard on a scooter because I thought it was a clutch, etc. Or the opposite–not remembering the back brake on the motorcycle is operated with the foot pedal instead of the left hand. I am not talking here about “normal riding” but about the quick reaction time you will need if stopping at a red light, etc. That is why this question has become important to me to sort out in advance. I am thinking I should do either one or the other and stick with that choice at least for a year or so, when I am more comfortable in traffic, etc., generally. So this is my dilemma–I share the reaction that a scooter can be more convenient for short trips in the city, but wonder if I should just go ahead and get a motorcycle so that I will develop the coordination needed for this. For me, part of my motivation is safety. No one wants to crash and I want to cut the risk by giving myself less stuff which might “confuse” my automatic reaction times. Thanks.

[haakon59]

Briderdt, you are right on target, this is the point I was making–it was the mindset I was thinking could be helpful. I realize I will need to work on developing the coordination to ride the bike, which will be different. I didn’t think about the wind, so thanks for mentioning this.

The throttle response on the bigger bikes I am sure is shocking when you have no experience. Knowing this will be the case in advance helps, but I think I will stick with the 250 first and gain more practice with a less powerful machine. I read some reviews of the Ninja 250 yesterday and it appears to be a nice bike, so I will have to add it to my list.

The motorcycles I have been considering mostly are either the Suzuki GZ250 or the Honda Rebel 250–obviously I am still open to considering other brands and bikes.

[haakon59]

Good point, Sangria7, about finishing the MSF and still not being road ready–I was guessing this would be the case. I realize that learning the skills of riding is mostly a matter of practice and experience, with some pointers from the school, of course. I have been considering buying a bike first, mostly just to give myself a small amount of practice before hitting the course, but I have reconsidered and have decided not to do this based on the sound advice you and others have given me. You are right about the sales people, initially I was considering a 250cc bike but the salesperson felt 750cc’s would be OK, which took me by surprise honestly. I am guessing they themselves are so used to riding that they are not considering the needs of a beginner–after all, 750cc to them is going to be a small bike. But I also realize they are going to make more money selling me a larger, more expensive bike.

You are right about some of the reasons I am considering a scooter–stop and go traffic in the city, etc. Thanks for the advice.

[haakon59]

Thank you for your confidence building assurance–this is the type of input I was looking for. I was guessing that I would be OK but read an account yesterday of a person who failed to make it through the course, which worried me.

You are right, part of the reason I am considering the scooter is because of the clutch. Seattle has some hills and I remember having to learn the skill of stopping on a hill with my manual transmission car. At first it was an “anxiety producing event” but I learned it just fine and drove for years preferring a manual transmission car. In the last few years I have switched back. But as someone else mentioned, this is largely irrelevant as the coordination skills will be completely different.

University Honda just recently closed their doors–I don’t know them personally so I am not aware of whether the owner just wanted to retire or if they had bad sales in this terrible economy, or what their reason is. But I didn’t know about Renton Motorcycles, so I think I will go down there, thank you for the referral.

Let me know what you think of Evergreen–I haven’t signed up yet, so your recommendation will be helpful. A friend of mine from years ago actually also had nice things to say about Puget Sound Safety. Thanks.

Oh, and yes, if I do this, I would absolutely love to be part of some group rides–you can never have too many friends is my philosophy!

[haakon59]

I am happy to hear this–obviously I have been worried that my lack of previous experience would put me at a disadvantage. Also, I can see that you are right about waiting to buy a bike, so this is what I will do. Thank you.

[haakon59]

Thank you for the reference, I will have to see about acquiring that book. As far as additional learning goes, I suppose I need to decide whether I am going to get a motorcycle or a scooter. I am sure you are right about all this becoming an addiction.

[haakon59]

The biggest question I have right now is: motorcycle or scooter? I am hoping that I will learn some solid pointers through this forum.

[haakon59]

Thank you for your advice. I was planning on taking the course through Evergreen in Seattle (classroom) and Renton (practical). I am not sure if I am worried about nothing of if this is going to be a huge challenge–obviously I want to pass the course so I don’t have to take the test through the state licensing people.

Most of the motorcycle people I know seem to think is is mostly a matter of practice and that the coordination will come. I just worry whether I will be able to do this in 8 hours or not. I will be considering buying a bike in advance, I guess, and trying to practice in a little, given some instruction perhaps from a friend. Thanks.

[haakon59]

Yes, I plan on taking the MSF and there are 3 companies in my area which offer it. I am guessing most of my riding will be in town, but I will likely be using it on highways too (50 mph).

Lately, I have been looking at 750cc size motorcycles which weigh around 500 lbs (depending on the brand) and which I feel comfortable on. But, I think I am going to stick with a 250cc motorcycle, if I go this direction. Several writers have commented on the usefulness of learning on a smaller bike which doesn’t have the power to accelerate as much, etc., and I feel this is good advice. Besides, part of my motivation is gas savings.

I am a little worried that I won’t be able to learn how to shift fast enough to pass the MSF course–even though generally I am coordinated, etc. 8 hours of practice seems like a very short timespan to me and I don’t currently own a bike so I can’t practice. This is part of the reason I am a little concerned.

[haakon59]

MaxDadAK–Yes, I have been looking at the Yamaha VStar 250 and it seems like a nice bike. I haven’t been up to the new Yamaha dealer in my area yet, although I did visit the one closest to me earlier. Yamaha makes a nice product. Thank you for the recommendation.

[haakon59]

I live in Washington State, which does require an endorsement and I therefore plan on taking the Motorcycle Safety Course, there are three schools in my area.

I have visited several dealerships for scooters–Kymco, Sym, Vespa, Piaggio, Aprilia, Buddy International, Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, etc. If I do decide to go the Scooter route, I plan on getting a 250cc scooter (or more) and have narrowed my choices down to Aprilia and Suzuki, but there are many good choices I could make.

At first, the reason I thought first about a scooter is because I imagined it would be much easier to learn on. All you have to do is “twist and go”.

But as I have thought about it more, I started to wonder if shifting will actually be a big deal. Will it? I had no problem with my car, after all. Now I don’t have any experience on a motorcycle, except a few times as a kid, more than 30 years ago. There is a little bit of coordination involved, I imagine, because I will need to shift and pull in the clutch and accelerate and will have the front brakes controlled by my right hand and the back brakes by the foot pedal. When I am just sitting here thinking about it, it sounds like it will take a lot of coordination. Yet I see people ride motorcycles all the time and they get it.

I was in a Moto Guzzi bike shop the other day (I was looking at the Aprilia scooters there) and several of the customers came in and assured me that learning the clutch would not be a big deal after I told them why I was looking at the scooters. So it has me thinking: maybe I should consider the motorcycle instead. People take this motorcycle safety course all the time and they pass it, so I imagine I can as well. At least I hope so. Recently, I have run into some people who have not passed this course, so now I am a little worried. At this point, I am going back and forth.

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