[madjak30]

It’s not the level of skill of the rider that would be in question…I think an inattentive driver could change lanes just as easily into a skilled rider as a newbie, especially if it is a quick lane change to “not miss” an exit ramp…I’m sticking to my gear…if I have to take a tumble on the shoulder of the road, I would rather be wearing my gloves, jacket and full face helmet. The police around here wear gloves and a helmet, but just a short sleeved shirt on the hot days. As for the DMV requirements…a helmet is required, and they suggest pants and long sleeves…the only gear is the helmet.

Of course the rider training class advocates ATGATT, and enforces it…if you show up for the class without the gear, you are asked to leave…you can go get your gear and come back, but you can’t participate without…boots over the ankle, gloves, DOT helmet and jacket (minimum jean, but recommend leather or riding jacket). They also recommend bringing rain gear, just incase…the courses run rain or shine…I was lucky!

Later.

[madjak30]

These I was pretty good at…cones…not so much…lol

[madjak30]

He makes that look so easy…I did well enough to pass my course, but I wouldn’t say I was good at it.

[madjak30]

Makes me miss living in Castlegar, BC, Canada. The country around there is similar…in Alberta all of the roads were designed with a straight edge…and if there was a forest in the way, they knocked it down…makes for some boring rides with wheat, barley and canola fields in all directions…nice to look at, but boring to ride…until you hit the foothills…

Once I figure out how to post pictures, I will put some up of the foothill area west of Rocky Mountain House, AB.

I bet your butt is killing you, along with the muscles in your face…lol

Again, nice pics of the scenery and the bike.

[madjak30]

You should try to take the course sooner than later, before you learn any bad habits. They are hard to break. I assume you are learning to ride with your husband…just be sure to get the protective gear as well, not just a helmet.

Good luck.

[madjak30]

That’s pretty rediculous…and I don’t mean it in a good way! What an idiot…How about a squid with his son on the back being a Jr. squid…Dad about 30ish, son about 6ish…tank tops shorts and flip flops both…atleast they were wearing helmets…

Welcome to Sylvan Lake in the summer, they are everywhere…lol

[madjak30]

The 650R has 70ish Hp, and the 500R has 60ish Hp. It is a big step. My GS500 has 50ish Hp and I find it powerful enough to lug me around and have some fun, and if you look at my picture I’m sure you can tell I don’t weigh 160lbs. I can keep up to my neighbors 1994 Mustang GT when accellerating from a stop, so 50 Hp is enough to begin with. I don’t know about you, but my first car wasn’t that quick, but I thought it was…lol

The 500R/GS500 will do 0-60 in about 5 to 6 seconds (500R-4.5/GS500-6.1)…the 650R/Gladius will do it in under 4 seconds (650R-3.8/Gladius-3.…yup, that much more powerful…and they aren’t really FAST bikes…hyperbikes do it in under 3 seconds…the 250R does it in 7.7 seconds…

Just to compare…

1995 BMW 325i – 7.7 seconds
2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R SpecV – 7.3 seconds
2006 Honda Civic Si – 7.2 seconds
1999 Mustang GT – 5.5 seconds
2005 Mustang GT – 5.1 seconds
2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi – 4.5 seconds
2005 Corvette C6 – 4.3 seconds
2001 Porsche 911 Turbo – 3.9 seconds

As you can see, a bike will put you into some pretty serious performance company…even with a “beginner bike”.

You really don’t need as big of a bike as you might think to have a lot of fun. You can easily stay ahead of traffic with any street bike. The cars that I listed are thought of as quite fast for their class of car, but most people just look at the cc’s of the bike and make assumptions. Even the 250R has lots of performance.

Choose carefully…

[madjak30]

You already have the popular vote on this site…the Ninja 250R, but I would check out the super moto option. I bought a Suzuki GS500 as my first bike, but I find the bend of the knees tiring after an hour or so of riding. I’m 5’11 with an inseam of 33″, so I’m not as tall as you, but our leg length may be similar. It’s not terrible, but there are more comfortable options out there.

The Kawasaki KLX250SF, is a nice 250cc dual sport bike with sport tires, front forks and brakes. This type of bike is light, simple and fuel efficient. The manouver better than any sport bike and are a lot lighter. You sit higher and have wider handle bars, both of which are good for beginners. Around town these bikes are quicker and more fun than a sport bike, but the 250cc supermoto bikes top out around 85mph…the sport bikes will go 15-20mph faster. Yamaha makes a WR250X which is along the same lines, and Honda makes the CRF230M. Suzuki makes one that is a little bigger, and has more power…not crazy, were talking 30Hp compared to the 18-25 on the other bikes. The Suzuki DRZ400SM will give you close to the speed of the small sport bike, 95mph ish, but still have the manouverability of the smaller SM bikes. Plus, these have been on the market for a while so you may be able to find a good deal on a used one.

The other options that would be suggested…the Suzuki GS500, nice bike…it has decent power and is stable and quite economical…a used Ninja 500R, similar to the GS500 with a little more sporty feel to it…some may suggest the Ninja 650R, but it is quite powerful and may not be the best bike to learn on if you have no previous experience…same goes for the SV650/Gladius from Suzuki. Really those last two are only good beginners for someone that has dirt bike experience, or displays a “natural ability”…I’m sure I’ll irritate someone with those comments, but when I started out I thought this will be simple…I had some dirt bike experience (125cc bikes when I was 14), but street bikes have lots more power for accelleration and for braking…the brakes are the part that really surprise you, especially at low speed. They seem to stop immediately.

Anyway, go to the bike shops and sit on all the bikes you can. The most important thing to find out is, what are you going to be comfortable sitting on? I think the sport bikes look cool, but I just don’t seem to fit on them. The “standard” bikes are better for me…and the jury is out on cruisers…I like them, but they feel wierd with your feet out in front of you…maybe when I grow up…lol

Good luck!

[madjak30]

You should tell us more about you and your interests. What type of bike are you interested in, do you have previous experience in riding? That sort of stuff.

What types of bikes are available in Pakistan?

[madjak30]

Any of those bikes will work for you…the real answer is to go and sit on them at the dealer. See which one you feel the most comfortable on and feel the most comfortable with it’s weight. Everyone has mentioned that the Ninja 500R is the prefered bike in reviews…but they are comparing it as an experienced rider…a slight edge in braking, accelleration or top speed really won’t mean much while you are learning. You want something that makes you the least nervous. The 500’s will be heavier and the 250 will have less power and a lower top speed…but you need to sit on one (and I mean for as long of a time as you feel comfortable in the shop), tip it from side to side to feel the weight. The other plused for the 250 are, lower insurance rates and better fuel consumption. Not that the 500’s are bad, 45-50mpg is nothing to sneeze at, but the 250 will be more in line with 75mpg…they are better than a hybrid…

Also, make sure you take a training course…I’m glad I did. I probably would have had trouble passing the road test, and also developed a lot of bad habits that I would just have to break later.

I would go and do the “sit on one” thing before seriously shopping for a bike…be an informed shopper…lol

Good luck!

[madjak30]

That’s one mean machine…not sure about the “Transformer” looks, but wow!!

I beleive that it is the fastest 0-60 and 1/4 mile bike available…it even beats the V-Max. What did you step up from?

I’m riding a GS500 right now and the power is fine for me, but as I go for longer and longer rides I am finding the bend of the knees a little tight. I have remedied it by just hooking my heals on the pegs and putting my butt on the pillion for a while to stretch (this is after about an hour) then I am good for a while again. I sat on the B-King and it is deceiving how comfortable the bike feels. It’s a little taller and quite “standard” in the position.

I’ve been drooling over the Bandit 1250S, but I don’t know if I want to stay with a “sporty” bike…I may try the cruisers…the Suzuki M50 looks pretty cool to me. I also like that the cc’s aren’t too big…I will have to check out how that will affect my insurance rate…

Anyway, nice ride…I’m jealous, but not ready for that kind of power, yet…lol

[madjak30]

I got the bike insured on Saturday May 15th, and on the Monday I used it to commute to work…120kph in traffic…it wasn’t too bad, I just made sure there were no vehicles travelling next to me. I either sped up or slowed down so that I didn’t have to worry about them changing lanes into me.

On the way home that day, some guy on a Gixxer blew by me…I didn’t even see him coming, kinda scared me…I didn’t think I would get that from another rider, but I guess it takes all types…

Anyway, I just thought I would update this thread.

Thanks.

[madjak30]

It takes nice vids. I may beat you to the road…you know, father’s day is coming up…lol

I also need a tank bag…good thing I have three kids…lmao…

The Sea to Sky hiway out to Whistler is supposed to be a nice ride as well. You will probably beat me to that one, but we’ll see. I don’t know if I can sit on my GS500 for that length of time, I get squirmy after an hour or so. Might need to change to a FI bike that has a taller seat, Bandit 1250S…?

Later.

[madjak30]

It is still cold here in Alberta in the mornings, 5C (38-40F). So I pull on full choke and fire it up, go back in the house to get my helmet and gloves, go back out to the bike to put it all on. This morning my wife decided to start a conversation…I left the bike running for what I thought was about 2 mins in the driveway, but the reality is probably 5 mins…when I went back out it was revving at 4000-4500rpm. I usually only let it rev around 3000rpm. I hope it didn’t damage anything. I turned off the choke and it idled fine. I usually have to leave it on half while I gear up, but not today…it was good and warm. I ride a GS500 which are notorious for being “cold blooded”, but I don’t seem to have that problem with it.

I might get a new bike next year just to get FI…?? We’ll see…

[madjak30]

Man, I gotta get me a camera…that kinda shows how much fun just riding around is without having to say a word…

Very cool.

Still a lot of snow in the mountains…I’ll have to get a camera before I head down the Icefields Parkway. It’s the road between Banff and Jasper in Alberta, Canada. It twists through the mountains past glaciers and a lot of look out points.

Did you have to make the helmet mount or did you buy one?

Again, cool video.

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