[JackTrade]

Eh, not for me. I’m just that way I guess. I’m the kinda guy that prefers hand-crank windows in a coupe and detests built-in nav systems in all cars. Unsurprisingly, my idea of a great exotic is a Lotus Elise.

Years ago, got a chance to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari 355 with one, and yeah, it was one cool car, but I couldn’t help feel something was missing. Not performance wise (not that I pushed it), but something in the practice of driving…

Or how Porsche 911s have steadily over the years lost that “I’ll kill you if you look at me the wrong way” handling dynamic. Yeah, they’re amazing cars still, and are reaching ever higher performance levels, but it’s just not the same.

Such is progress I suppose, and honestly, it’s all relative in the end…I’m sure there are people that think motorcycles with electric starters are for wimps or that synchromeshed manuals in cars are an unnecessary modern convenience.

[JackTrade]

Modern cars, even performance cars, are becoming less about driving and more about being conveyed in a gadget-laden pod. Corvettes now come standard with automatics. You have to order a real, clutched manual as an option. Sigh.

It’s ironic that as cars become faster and faster, the driver is less and less involved in that’s going on. The line between playing a high-end driving videogame and actually driving a car is fast becoming blurred.

That’s one of the reasons motorcycles appeal to me…they’re in a lot of ways a step back to a different time. To ride one, you have to be intimately involved with what’s happening…they demand your attention and involvement. As we all know, your attention wanders, and really bad things can happen fast.

For me, vehicles are about the immediacy of the experience, and the skill to pilot them well. I no longer lust after high-end exotic cars like I used to…most of them now aren’t really fun in any real-world way. They’re mostly about theoretical numbers and bragging rights.

[JackTrade]

I think all Elwood is saying that self-control is a baseline for riding any sort of motorcycle. But on a supersport, it’s not enough in itself…you have to have the experience and ability combination, what we’d call “skill,” to handle it safely and successfully.

As a new rider myself (about 18 months), I sure feel I have self-control, but there are times when I take a turn wide, or am less than smooth with the throttle that I definitely know I lack the skill part of the equation.

[JackTrade]

are you keeping the choke out? As Bouncingradical says, carbed bikes can be very cold blooded and need time to warm up, esp. in the winter…you have to give it a fair amount of choke…or however one describes using it…maybe it’s *not* giving it choke, but you know what I mean.

Your owners manual should tell you, when using the choke, what rpm range to keep in the engine in while you’re using it.

Pull the choke out when you start it, and then gradually back it off to keep the rpms in that range as the bike warms up. Pretty soon, it’s all the way in and the bike is running fine.

[JackTrade]

Sta-bil?

The first time you go down is the hardest time, and you really feel the tug of not continuing riding. When I dropped my bike, I remember that twinge of hesitation about getting on it again.

I wonder how many people have their first spill and never ride again? The woman I bought my Buell from went through something similar…after about a mile riding in traffic, she parked it in her garage and that was it until I bought it from her a year later.

[JackTrade]

Drivers are better across the pond than they are here. It’s much more difficult to get (and keep) a license than it is here. So while motorcycling is still dangerous, it’s somewhat less so as drivers are more attentive and skillful, generally speaking.

That kind of predictability does make a difference. When I’ve driven in Europe, I feel safer, like there’s less of a chance of the kind of idiotic unpredictability you get here in the states (e.g. “I missed my exit on the freeway, so I’ll just stop on the shoulder and back up!”)

[JackTrade]

When it comes down to it, what’s really behind the common advice given here to NOT start out on a supersport is really the question of odds.

As in, the odds of a beginner safely operating one for any length of time are pretty low. And that’s definitely true; accident rates, insurance costs, and mortality figures bear it out.

BUT…the odds aren’t zero. There *are* outliers, people who ride them as beginners and do just fine.

While I agree with the others here that it’s better to start on a small displacement bike (that’s what I did), the fact that you’re here, that you sought advice, and are fairly considering it may indicate you may be an outlier.

Most people who ask for advice re this question (it comes up a lot) have already made up their mind, and are looking for validation for their choice. When they don’t get it, they get annoyed and upset. You see this on TONS of motorcycle sites.

Have you considered a 650cc twin bike instead? Plenty of power, but with a more linear, progressive delivery. They’re easy enough for a beginner to ride, but still provide plenty of fun for experts.

[JackTrade]

For a first bike you’ll keep for at most a year, that’s a great deal, even if the ergos aren’t perfect.

I’m 6′, 200 lbs and have been riding a Buell Blast for a year. It’s kinda small for me (all Buells are snubnosed bikes to begin with)…the seat height is 27″, and my knees are high on the tank. But it’s worked out just fine, and if I had to do it all over again, I’d get the same bike.

The Rebel’s seat height is about the same, so it should definitely be do-able for you. And as others have pointed out, the market for beginner bikes is so strong that you’ll easily get most if not all of your money back. Think of it as just a rental bike!

[JackTrade]

…that I noticed when taking the MSF course (on a 250cc bike moving at low speed in a parking lot) was how quickly I could provoke that peculiar sensation you get when you start to lose control.

For me, it’s a combination of a fleeting mental realization that something’s not right + a queasy feeling in my stomach that there’s trouble coming fast.

In my riding since, I still get it from time to time when I screw something up like get a line in a turn wrong, or jerk the throttle open.

It’s scary, and always soon after I bring things back under positive control (fortunately), I’m flooded with a sensation of being incredibly grateful for having a forgiving bike. And that sensation is WAY stronger for me than any feelings on inadequacy/envy I get when I roll up next to a supersport in traffic.

I agree with Gary…there’s no such thing as respecting a bike. You either have the skill & judgement combination to handle it, or you don’t. When it comes to supersports, I envy those that do, either naturally or through their experience; I’m honest with myself that I don’t, so I stay away…for now anyway!

[JackTrade]

First time I got caught out in the rain (a flash summer afternoon t-storm), I made the rookie mistake of unconsciously trying to wipe my visor clean with my hand. :-0

[JackTrade]

…if it’s a satire piece or not, at least to me.

The protesters are remarkably matter-of-fact (even seemingly bemused and good-natured at points, which is not usually the personality of people who protest things) about the mistreatment, and the fact the bikers didn’t actually physically harm them seems unlikely.

Still, many MCs go out of their way to try to show that they’re not (necessarily) the hoodlums of the movies (doing charity runs and such), and it IS possible I suppose that the protesters decided to take the high road afterward in terms of their reaction.

If it *is* real, my thoughts are 1) those protesters have balls and 2) that biker gang is very articulate.

[JackTrade]

Learn something new everyday…those Kikkers are pretty wild. Not my cup of tea, but wow…foot mounted clutch?! Are these for riders who think Harleys are too modern?

Agree w/Briderdt…a 250 is an ideal (or maybe too ideal as the case may be, power-wise) beginner displacement. Most of the bikes MSF uses in their training classes are 250s…and that’s plenty of power to get you in trouble if you’re not careful. Even a mere 50cc scooter can get you in a very serious accident very quickly.

[JackTrade]

One of things that draws me to the CRF230 is that anachronistic analog gauge…looks like something you’d see in a 1980s car!

[JackTrade]

Have worked well for me. They’re mesh with a zip-in quilted liner. I wear them as overpants (order 1 size up) over my jeans. They have adjustable, hard CE knee armor, pads on the hips and a zipper to attach to your (Fieldsheer that is…curse the non-existence of a universal zipper!) jacket. Also, the legs are designed to go over your boots, rather than tucked into them like racing pants. Fit is motorcyclist snug, but not overly so.

I live in the mid-Atlantic area, so I’ve used them comfortably in the summers (90s and muggy) and in the winters (30s and blustery).

Of course, as with any mesh product, you’re not at optimal abrasion protection levels, but for me, they’re a nice all-around compromise. I wear them every time I get on my bike.

[JackTrade]

I’ve been considering the same thing as others here…getting a small dual-sport for urban/trail use. I like the look of the Honda CRF 230L.

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