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Motorcycle Superstore has reasonable prices and lots of honest reviews (Leatherup only print the glowing reviews I’ve noticed).

Competition Accessories and Iron Pony often have good closeout bargains.

Aerostich has expensive motorcycle clothing, moto-camping gear and (mostly unnecesary but cool) gadgets. They seem to cater to the affluent BMW types. The free printed catalog is worth getting.

These ones have a limited selection but are worth a look:

J.C. Whitney (motorcycle section).
Whitehorse Gear
Shadetree Powersports.

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Jumper cables work, but if you get a boost from a car, don’t have the car’s engine running or you could damage one or both vehicles electrics I’m told; might be BS, but that’s what I’ve heard.

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Agree with everything eternal05 said there.

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Yes, that’s what you need, a finger wiper/squeegee to slip over your left-hand glove fore-finger. Put it on the glove before putting the glove on; goes on much easier that way.

Rain-X is good stuff too for riding in the (clean) rain.

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I’m 5’11”, ~180-200 lbs (it varies) and I started on a Honda Nighthawk 250 which has the same air-cooled 234 c.c. parallel twin-cylinder engine as the Honda Rebel. The Nighthawk was plenty powerful enough for a beginner and would happily cruise all day at an indicated 65 mph. It would slow down a bit (to ~55 mph) going up long hills, but kicking it down a gear would soon get me back up to 65. It *could* do ~80 mph flat-out going down hill with a wind behind you, but was not really comfortable at that speed due to vibration, etc. I used to take the Wife as pillion (passenger) occasionally too (she’s quite a bit lighter than me) and it carried us both around town with no difficulty.

The Rebel might be a little more cramped than the Nighthawk 250 (I’ve never ridden one), but as Elwood says, “at $800 you can’t lose as a trainer”; ‘seems like a good price to me. If it’s in good condition and runs well, you’ll easily sell it for $800 in 6 months or so I would think; when you’re ready to move-up.

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Another vote for Idiot’s Guide and Proficient motorcycling although the latter might scare her away as some of it is a little disturbing. I know that I was a LOT more wary riding just after I’d read that book as I then realized all the things that could go wrong.

I also found this video useful at the beginning and it’s basically what you’d learn in MSF BRC plus some other stuff like hill starts, etc.

http://www.ridelikeapro.com/store?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=19

It has Jerry Paladino (a former Police motor officer and instructor) and his Wife taking the beginner motorcyclist through all the basics. Triumph Bonneville and Harley Cruiser are the bikes they demonstrate on.

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Assuming that you have tubed tires (if you have wire-spoked wheels you’re running tubed tires), after removing the puncturing object, put an 8 oz bottle of bicycle “Slime” in the tube (you remove the valve and squeeze it into the tube; see directions on the bottle), pump the tire back up and rotate the wheel to distribute the Slime. You may need to pump it up and rotate a few times for it to seal.

If it seals the puncture (sometimes does, sometimes doesn’t; depends if clean puncture or tear in the tube), it’ll let you get it to a motorcycle dealer (any dealer will do) who will put a new tube in it for you for not much money.

It’s worth a try, less hassle and safer if you don’t know what you’re doing.

N.B. This is a TEMPORARY repair to get you to a dealer to fix it properly; also keep your speed below 50 mph on the way.

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They equated loud pipes with a “look at me” mentality.

Err… Is there any other reason for loud pipes?

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He said at least two inches, and when it’s that tight on both sides, you’d probably have stopped and evaluated the situation before proceeding (or not) through the gap; possibly power walking the bike through the gap.

The mirrors on a bike are like whiskers on a cat. If they can get through, then the rest of the bike can get through (unless you have bags/cases).

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I lane-split a good part of the way to and from work (have to to make any progress), and have been doing so for years now.

On a few occasions, I’ve knocked a car’s wing mirror and only once did any damage occur. The glass fell out of the truck’s wing mirror, but as it was a really shitty, rusty old pick-up truck, it was probably about due anyway and may well have been cracked already.

Usually, it just pushes their mirror out a little if it does anything.

Okay, so they get a bit of a fright and might have to pull their spring-loaded wing mirror back-in. BIG DEAL!

There’s every chance it wasn’t your fault anyway as they might have been slowly veering into your path (not exactly unheard of).

You’re best to ignore it and carry-on. If you go back you’ll probably get an earful or a punch in the mouth.

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I have an HJC “breath-box” in the garage somewhere. I’ve only used it twice and doubt I will again.

Yes, it’s easy to fit, but the velcro-attached wings made my CL-15 helmet uncomfortably tight on my cheeck-bones. It also made me feel claustrophobic and didn’t seal around my nose very well so directed some of my breath upwards onto my glasses; steaming them up.

I now use a pinlock visor insert which is fantastic and eliminates visor fogging 100%.

It can be costly though; especially if you have to buy a visor with the pinlock studs as well, but some newer HJC helmets’ visors are already “pinlock-enabled”, so you only have to buy the pinlock insert.

Another option is Fog City inserts, which stick onto your visor. I’ve heard they work pretty well and are a cheaper option than the pinlock insert/new visor combo, but the clarity is somewhat compromised I’m told.

In addition, if you wear glasses, you should clean them with a microfiber cloth and anti-fog spray every couple of days in cold weather and you’ll be set. Rain-X for the outside of the visor, to help clear the rain.

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I owned a 2006 Bonneville for two years/24,000 miles.

It is, as you say, a very predictable bike in both power delivery and cornering, but not a beginners bike in my opinion. It’s too heavy and powerful for your average newbie.

I had spent about 9 months on a Honda Nighthawk 250 before getting the Bonneville and that seemed about right to me.

Triumph have no reliability issues and are well built, solid machines. Spares usually took about a week to arrive here in NorCal.

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I don’t see a problem with any of what you’re saying, so long as you’re not *paralysed* with fear. Many of us have been where you are now.

Maybe you should start commuting to work by motorcycle; one day a week at first. That’s one way to get lots of miles in traffic and experience will help you overcome your mental blocks.

Beware of falling into the trap of thinking (as I did initially) that faster, risk-taking riders (on the street) are necessarily better riders. Sure, there are some great and fast street riders out there, but most of the fast street riders I see out there every day are squids who are just too stupid to realize the danger they are putting themselves (and others) in.

One of the best motorcycling “skills” you can learn is to ride your own ride and not feel pressured into riding beyond your limits or competing with anyone on the road, or keeping up with other riders when it’s scaring you, or allowing yourself to get pissed-off with that dick-head car driver who wants to race you, etc. etc. etc.

Ride your own ride. No-one else cares if you’re fast or not…

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There are better options which will prevent visor fogging and allow you to use your full-face helmet as intended.

Do an internet search for “Pinlock Visor” and “Fog City Pro Shield”.

The former needs a Pinlock stud equipped visor as well as a Pinlock insert and works spectacularly well (I have one). The Fog City sticks-on to your existing visor and also gets good write-ups (although it may distort your vision slightly).

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Oh yeah, another good purchase is a cable lock or cable and lock combination to secure your motorcycle jacket (through an arm) and over-pants (through a leg) to the bike and then all snugged-down with a cargo net (a.k.a. bungee net).

If you go somewhere in the Summer, you don’t want to have to tote around (or wear) a heavy motorcycle jacket and pants. An accessory helmet lock is good too, but your bike may already have one so check first by asking the salesman.

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