Forum Replies Created
Motorcycle Insurance Beginner Guide (My Story)
-
xkcd is great.
In the end, I spend enough of my time getting angry and po’d by things/people at work. I don’t let a much of low-life losers that I’ll never actually meet get me down…
I love the gratuitous wheelie at the end.
I remember when I was doing the BRC, my trick was to look back at where I had entered the box and then look at where I was supposed to exit the box. I was on a little Suzuki 125, and I had a lot of fun with that particular exercise.
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Its an institute you cant disparage
Ask the local gentry
And they will say its elementaryActually, as long as it is above 0F, it generally feels warmer in Alaska in the winter than in Oklahoma since there isn’t a constant north wind. Once it gets below that though, it is just miserably cold.
And, yes, it was love that brought me up here and keeps me here.
Welcome to the group.
I basically second everything that Elwood says, but here are my two pennies worth…
First, you should think about how you are planning to ride the bike. If you are just going to be taking easy rides down country roads and don’t ever plan to get above 60 or so, any of the 250s will probably work for you with no problem. If you are wanting to take day trips or commute regularly on the big interstates, then you will probably not be as happy with a smaller bike after the first couple of months. After all of the reading I have done, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that you mostly hear about people complaining about having started too small because they chose to buy a new bike very quickly after buying the first one. However, you don’t hear alot of complaints about people who started too big because, let’s face it, no body wants to admit to not being as good as they want people to think they are.
With respect to the bikes themselves (btw, I’m about the same height as you are.):
Honda Rebel: This one fit me fine when I sat on it, but I think that the controls were further forward than on the S40. This shouldn’t be to hard to modify if you go with this bike.
Honda Shadow: I couldn’t find the specific model you mentioned on their website, so I’ll substitute the Spirit. The Spirit is a 2 cylinder, 750cc engine. It weighs 530+ lbs. Basically, this translates to significantly more power than the other two bikes, and a lot more bike to pick up if you drop it. Now, having dropped mine several times, I can tell you that trying to pick up a bike in the middle of the road while your adrenaline is still pumping and you can’t get a decent lungful of air, a lighter bike might be nice to have.
Suzuki S40: This is a single cylinder, 650 engine. It weighs 350lbs. From the moment I sat on this bike, I knew it was the right bike for me. I still sat on a few others, but I didn’t seriously consider anything else. That said, within the first 50miles of riding, I dropped it three times. Maybe starting with a smaller bike would have prevented this, maybe not. None of the drops caused severe injury to me or the bike (though I had to replace one of the tail lights), but I have no doubt that I pushed too hard, too fast for my skill level. I pulled back and started at the basics again, and I have gone another 450mi without adding any more scratches to the chrome.
One thing to note with the S40 is that it is well know for backfiring (not loudly, but still). Suzuki makes a couple of 250s that you might consider looking at. Also, you should look at the Vulcan 500, and maybe Yamaha’s V-Stars (they have a 250 and a 650- both two cylinder)
In the end, it comes down to what you are comfortable with. A bigger bike is probably going to be alot more work while you are still learning the basics.
Also, if you haven’t taken the MSF, do so before you pick out the bike. You’ll have alot better idea of what you are looking for.
Best of luck!
Owlie“Guy #2: So what you’re going to want to do is head over to Home Depot
and pick yourself up a nice pair of man hands and a sack o’ nuts.
Should take care of that for you.”That was the best laugh I’ve had in a while. I’ll have to file it away for future use…
I’m just not buyin’ that the Hawaiian shirt on a guy riding a bike in Florida is going to turn that many heads. Now, a skilled rider in a Hawaiian shirt with a cute little dog on the back of his ride, I can buy that.
I don’t know why, but I always assumed the Scottish mountains were more heavily forested. The funny part is that I didn’t realize that it is heather until I looked it up.
Up here, we just refer to it as the tundra, but many of the plants that make it up fall into the same family. I haven’t spent much time in the areas outside of Seattle, and what little time I’ve spent, someone else has been driving, so I haven’t seen nearly as much of the state as I would like. However, my last visit, in May, we went to Snoqualmie Falls, that that was gorgeous. Too many people, but still gorgeous.
So far, I’ve been able to avoid riding in the rain except for a couple of sprinkles. I’m hoping the weather holds up for at least another two days so I can get my bike in for its first service. I don’t have to have done it to know that riding in the cold rain is going to be a miserable experience. I don’t envy you the ride.
