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In my opinion, none of these are suitable first bikes for a new MSF Basic Rider Course graduate. Second bikes, yes, perhaps.

Do yourself a favour and learn on a used 250 or 500 c.c. bike (depending on your height and weight). You’ll get plenty of fun and experience on one of those. Six months later, sell it for what you bought it for and then get the bike you want.

You’ll be a better (and safer) rider for it…

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I totally agree with Ben and Matt on all points.

Yes, cruisers don’t accelerate anywhere near as fast as sport bikes and the engine vibrations and low gearing on the “smaller” cruisers (600-750 c.c.) is what makes them uncomfortable going at speeds beyond 60-65 m.p.h. Although they have a low center of gravity, they can also be very heavy compared to a 250 or 500 c.c. bike and that’s a good reason not to choose one as a first bike.

Ride your own ride and stay within your limits. In motorcycling, peer pressure can kill…

[Rab]

Once the novelty of polishing your bike wears off (as it very soon will if you actually ride the bike as opposed to just looking at it like the Harley guys do), you might come to appreciate a once-a-year polish like Nu Finish

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I’ve experienced exactly the same thing at various other parts and service desks.

There’s a lot of arrogance and “attitude” in many motorcycle dealers.

I left a voice-mail message at the parts desk of a local dealer last week (as nobody had answered), requesting a price for an approximately $350.00 part. They didn’t return my call, so a mail-order dealer (9.99 UPS shipping), who was, I’m sure, cheaper anyway, got the order instead.

I vote with my feet and so should you. There are good dealers out there and we should patronize their establishments to the exclusion of the others.

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It’s actually a do-rag (as in hair-do).

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http://www.leatherup.com

Reputedly good gear cheap…

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Here’s what I do when the engine’s “cold”:

1. After checking tires and oil level, I go through my FINEC* routine.

* – FINEC is Motorcycle Safety Foundation jargon and means:

F – Fuel – Switch fuel tap on (if your bike has one).
I – Ignition – Switch on (turn the key).
N – Neutral – Check the gearbox is in neutral. If the bike’s in neutral, you’ll be able to roll it forward; don’t trust the green light.
E – Engine – Check that the Engine Kill Switch is in the “on” position.
C – Choke (pulled all the way out if bike is cold) & Clutch (pulled all the way up to the hand-grip).

2. With the clutch still held in, press the starter button (don’t twist the throttle if the bike’s cold).

3. When the engine starts (hopefully immediately), let go the starter button and gently let out the clutch (you’re in neutral remember).

4. Next, gently push the choke in about half-way (until you hear the engine revs just start to drop).

5. Check all my lights and brakes work.

6. Ride-off (short-shifting to keep the revs down).

7. Push the choke all the way in when I get about a mile away from my start point (while in motion).

Note that when you can do step #7, will vary with different bikes and different weather (cold weather needs choke on longer and very hot weather may not need any choke at all (or very little). You’ll have to experiment to find out what works for you. If you push the choke in too soon, the bike will “stutter” and be jerky. If it does that, just pull the choke gently out a little until it runs smoothly again.

IMPORTANT: When you’re in the “experimental phase”, you should push the choke in very gingerly while in motion and at any sign of engine stuttering, gently pull it back out a little until the stuttering stops; just remember to push it back in (all the way) further down the road. If you just shove the choke all the way in before the bike’s ready (while in motion), the stuttering engine could upset the bike enough to cause an accident, so be very gentle with the choke until you get a feel for it.

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I use “Nu Finish”, the once-a-year non-wax (polymer) car (and motorcycle and boat) polish which comes in an orange colored bottle. You can buy it everywhere and it’s cheap.

It beads water “forever” and makes tired-looking paint shine again. It’s wonderful stuff but be aware that it’ll white-stain rubber (foot pegs, grips, etc), vinyl (seats) and matt (flat) paint finishes, so keep it on the shiny painted areas and chrome. Once or twice a year (depending on the amount of rain it’s exposed to) is enough to bead water and keep paint shiny all year long.

I’ve also been using ProtectAll “all surface care with carnauba wax” recently to spruce the bike up in between washes (and yearly “waxes”).

The “ProtectAll” works fine, but then again, someone else recommended Mr. Sheen (furniture polish), and I’ve no reason to doubt that that works just as well as the expensive ProtectAll (for in-between times).

http://www.protectall.com

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You little devil you…

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Yep, air-cooled bikes run better when they’ve been ridden hard. They like the heat.

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There are things you can do to improve your visibility in this respect.

1. Manually flash your brake-lights when slowing down.
2. Wave your left arm up and down when slowing quickly (even if they don’t know what it means, you’ll get their attention).
3. Buy a brake-light flasher bulb / unit (which does #1 automatically).
4. Buy supplementary brake lights. There’s a variety of standard bulb and LED ones available and even one which sticks-on to your helmet and gets activated by a “wireless” brake-light bulb. I had a flashing LED license-plate unit called the lite-blazer (google it) which worked great until water got into it.

If you feel strongly about standardization, why not write to the AMA (American Motorcyclist Association). They’re an advocacy organization for motorcyclists (founded in 1924) and you should consider joining for all our benefit (I’m a member).

http://www.amadirectlink.com

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I use Olympia Motosports Airglide jacket and pants for 3 season riding and use a waterproof touring jacket in the Winter.

The good thing about the Airglide stuff is that both jacket and over-pants are two-piece. The outside is a mesh and cordura, armoured jacket / pants and they both come with waterproof and windproof liner jacket / pants. You put the liners in / out as the weather dictates.

[Rab]

A Ninja 250 is not a “slow” bike unless you choose to ride it that way. It’ll keep a newbie amused for quite some time and may be all the bike you’ll need or want. Bigger really isn’t always better as far as motorcycles are concerned.

That said, it seems that money is the real issue here. It’s called “buyers remorse”, and pretty much everyone who has put money down on something and not yet received it has buyers remorse.

So! You can either suck it up and buy it (and I’m sure you’ll love the bike), or you can go back to the dealer and either see if he’ll give you your money back, or perhaps have something less expensive in a used bike that you can apply your deposit to instead. Maybe they’ll be open to giving you a a store credit for a future new or used bike purchase if the other two options don’t work out.

MSF course is an absolute pre-requisite to riding a motorcycle in my opinion.

Meantime, you should buy or borrow (from the library?) the book “Complete Idiots Guide to Motorcycles” (no offence intended – it’s a great primer on all things motorcycle), “How to Ride a Motorcycle” by Pat Hahn, and/or “Motorcycling Exellence” (the MSF book; 2nd Edition is best).

“Proficient Motorcycling” by David L. Hough is also a great book for more advanced riders.

Try “www.Half.com”, etc. for used book bargains.

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bam37 said:

“as long as you learn how to ride in the summer and fall”…

What, learn to fall off?

Har! Har!

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Motorcycle and side-car would be okay (Ural make some).

http://www.imz-ural.com/

I know that some folks ride on two wheels in the snow, but it wouldn’t be me. I had enough trouble with 4 wheels when I lived in Boston, MA.

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