[SantaCruzRider]

Was in Palm Springs last week and was amazed to see a bunch of brand new 3-wheel Spyders cruising around. But then I found the source — a local shop that owns a bunch of them and rents them out to vacationers.
I have no doubt that a fair share of their sales will be to rental shops and you’ll see them popping into your favorite resort town as well.

[SantaCruzRider]

Congrats on the new bike. I’m sure you’re going to love it.
My advice is to take it slow as you get into tune with the bike, stay focused and ride often. You should be in for some great riding weather and your area has access to all kinds of terrain, so you should be in for some serious fun.
On the subject of gear: I’d advise buying quality gear that you’ll wear all the time. When it comes to jackets, I wear CE armored leather. Venting keeps me cool enough even in summer (I’m in the Santa Cruz/San Jose area) and it provides the best protection. If I were in SoCal, I’d probably go with textile or even mesh to avoid getting cooked.
Gloves: I wear armored leather that come to the wrist. They are warm enough for me for anything over 40 and work through the summer. I bought a couple pair online and have had no issues with fit. But if you’re an odd size (7-foot-tall and/or 300lbs), you may have to work a bit harder to get what works for you.
Pants: Gets something you’ll wear. I’ll wear just jeans if I’m cruising around town, but the truth is that they provide almost zero protection. I wear armored overpants for my daily 90-mile commute.
Boots: I’ve got some MC boots, but I prefer construction type zip ups. The ones I wear have steel toes — which work for my Kawi liter bike, but may not fit the shifter for some bikes. For me, they are more confortable once I’m off the bike.
Helmets: Get a full-face that fits with super comfort and wear it. I’ve done a fair amount of research and have yet to see anything showing that brand or price provides any greater safety. If there was, you’d see the claims in every ad that manufacturer ran. Buy a $400 helmet because it fits like dream, it vents a like a hairnet and the paints job makes your heart flutter. But don’t put too much value in the belief that it will give you super powers or one bit more protection than a $100 unit. I’d love to see something that proves otherwise, but never have. From I’ve seen, the quality difference in the “premium” brands is in the paint and packaging — it’s what we in marketing call “perceived value” and the higher price is part of the branding. Personally, I have HJC and SpeedX helmets and love them.
All totalled, I’ve spent only about $400 on full gear (not counting extras). I got everything but the boots and one helmet online at serious discount.
Best of luck with the new ride.

[SantaCruzRider]

You can quote all the stats you want, but your mom is likely going to see as a pretty thin veil. Your mom is probably comparing the safety of driving a car vs riding a bike, and the truth is that a motorcycle is substantially more dangerous. There’s no getting around it, so IMHO, don’t bother.

Instead, tell her you realize it’s more dangerous and explain briefly that you are taking pains to minimize the risk by buying and wearing safety gear and getting riding instruction.

If you’re lucky, that will take the edge off and she’ll be able to sleep at night. But be sensitive to the fact that theres’ a good chance mom will never like it, so last weekend’s ride may not be the best topic of conversation at Thanksgiving.

[SantaCruzRider]

Salvage title is one thing (it better be dirt cheap, talk to your insurer first and plan on giving it away for parts when you’re done), but the “you can get it titled” deal is nothing but BS.
You don’t know if the bike is stolen, liened or clean. The seller needs to get a title for it, otherwise, you may end up being a sucker. I would run, not walk, from that deal.

[SantaCruzRider]

First real riding experience was a dirt bike weekend with friends in Palm Desert, Cali. 2nd day out I took off on my own on a borrowed bike, jumped it into a dry creek bed and failed to consider that the other side of the creek was waiting. Seeing the 2-foot dirt wall quickly approaching, I hit the gas to try to get the front wheel up. Unfortunately, being a moron, I didn’t think this through too well. Front wheel cleared the bank but the frame/engine did not. I flew forward, both my knees hit the bars, hyper-extending and dislocating both joints and providing sufficient leverage so that the bike tumbled over the embankment and on top of me.

Luckily, the bike stayed running and I was able to ride back to my friends — staying in 1st gear because I couldn’t shift. I ended up totaling the bike (frame, forks, front wheel, bars and engine were destroyed). 6 months on crutches/in casts, then another 6 in knee braces and I was wanting to try again.

But I waited 10 years for my next episode. I was living in Hawaii, went to the DMV, took the written test, rented a big scooter and passed the practical. I then showed up at the Harley shop and bought a new Sportster. Dealer showed me how to shift and off I went. First month in, I set the bike down at a stop, and broke a taillight (subsequently replaced with a nicer set). Otherwise, rode the bike 360+ days a year for several years with no incident.

Sold the bike and took a break from riding when my son was born and I moved out of the states.

A few years later I was back in Cali — so back to the DMV for another MC license. Written test for the permit, borrowed a friend’s bike for a couple hours refresher, then passed the DMV practical on it. Now racking up 1,500+ miles a month riding to work and loving every second.

At times, my knees still ache from that first crash 25 years ago — a good reminder of the consequences of a momentary lapse in judgement.

[SantaCruzRider]

Brider makes a good point about old bike, low mileage. I’d bet that as many bikes are destroyed by sitting in a garage for 2 years than are broken by being ridden that same amount of time.

[SantaCruzRider]

First off, I’m not a mechanic — just a guy with a bike and opinion. And in my opinion, I think you’re going to have to do some research to see what high mileage is for a particular bike or group of bikes. There are some great bikes out there that are lucky to go 40K and then there are others that go 100-200k before a major rebuild.

Case in point, I ride a 15-year-old Kawasaki sport tourer with 44k on it, never had any major work, and from what I hear, it’s just starting to get broken in. I currently putting about 360 miles a week on it. But that’s not the case with all bikes.

I’ve never owned one, but I think the GPZ is a pretty solid liquid cooled bike that could probably put in some serious miles. I wouldn’t bat an eye at 10K, but around 20K I’d want to know if certain parts were typically failing and whether the previous owner had fixed them.

As for age, parts get harder to find and mechanics may not even work on some older models. I’m guessing that the GPZ would be OK as it had a long run. In fact, I think the 94 is pretty much the same as the current Ninja 500.

But depending one how it was stored and used, a bike that’s 10 years old can start to have lots of stuff going wrong. Gaskets dry out and leak, hoses crack, springs and wires fatigue and snap. It’s usually fixable, but it can nickel and dime you to death, and having an unreliable bike takes the fun out of it.

If you can find a decent 94-95 with less than 20K, it might be a great deal. Something older would have to be in really condition (mechanically) and substantially discounted in order to catch my eye. And I’d never buy something that old sight unseen and unridden — my 2 cents.
Good luck.

[SantaCruzRider]

No personal experience with the bike, but it sure looks like a nice ride. Parallel twin might not be as beginner friendly as a V-twin, but that’s just a guess.

Not sure if you spend a lot of time with folks of small stature, but 5-10, 220lbs isn’t necessarily too big for the average bike. In fact, the Ninja 250 fits like a larger bike, as does the Ninja 500 and Suzuki 500.

I look forward to hearing if anyone here has ridden the ER-6n and has an opinion. But otherwise, I think there are a number of really nice sport bikes in this class and it sounds like you’re scouting in the sweet spot.

Take your time shopping and maybe I’ll see you out on 280 or 85 later this summer.

[SantaCruzRider]

You may want to call the DMV to confirm, but I think you should be OK. Here’s what I found on a related site:

“If you are moving to California from another state, you may register a new federally certified vehicle in California if it was first registered by you in your home state, or for military personnel, in your last state of military service. When applying for vehicle registration in California, you must provide evidence of your vehicle’s previous registration and that you were a resident of the other state when you acquired the vehicle.”

Looks like the Cali rules are primarily designed to prevent current residents from buying a new bike from out of state and bring it in. But a Cali resident can import a bike that has more than 7,500 miles, as it’s then considered “used.”

Best of luck.

[SantaCruzRider]

One of the great things about the 1000rr is that it revs so high that you probably don’t need to shift out of first until you’re at freeway speed.

I figure that I do half of my shifting just to give my left foot a bit of a stretch.

Seriously, take a class. Shifting isn’t difficult, but the 1000 is not going to be the least bit forgiving of your learning curve. Also, wear all your safety gear, make sure your insurance is paid and grip the throttle low to reduce the launch velocity.

Best of luck.

[SantaCruzRider]

There are a lot of benefits, typically including:
— substantially lighter bike (less wiring, exhaust, carbs, etc…)
— narrow bike — great for getting thru traffic
— great on gas
— Easy to work on yourself, both because they have less engine, as well as because access is usually easier than a twin or 4-banger
— lots of torque, which is more fun than hp around town

The downside (in my opinion) is that the bikes have a very different sound and a bit different throttle feel that may not appeal to you. Typically, the more cylinders, the smoother the power and related sound. That’s not a bad thing and is something that gives the bike its character. Some folks have said that a 4-banger (which I ride) feels like riding a sewing machine and the retort might be that a twin or one-cylinder feels thrashy by comparison. Neither is fair, but it illustrates the point that they do feel/sound different and I would advise you to check them out in person before making up your mind.

As for vibration, I’d read up about the particular bikes you’re considering. Vibration has at least as much to do with engine counterbalancing and mounting, frame geometry, etc… The buzziest bike I ever had was a v-twin (which was only capable on long trips because you had to stop every 110 miles for gas). My 1000cc 4-cyl isn’t super smooth either and in fact buzzes the bars about as much as my friend’s 400cc single.

Personally, if I was to buy a 2nd bike, it would be a one-cyl. dual sport. But if I was looking for a cruiser, I would lean more towards the twin — it defines the class (just my 2+ cents).

[SantaCruzRider]

I like to take turns with the bike inside a bit higher powerband as I feel I then have more control. I enter turns fairly conservatively, but those few times I’ve come in a bit too hot, the answer has always been more lean and a tad more throttle to keep the bike tight and tracking the needed radius. The worst situations (for me) have been when I was a bit hot and in too high a gear. Then the bike gets vague, wallows when I increase the lean and just generally feels too loose.
As for engine wear, I’m not screaming the engine when I shift, so I feel it’s a non-issue. Barring blatant abuse, I figure most metric bikes outlast their owners’ interest anyway. Ride it the way you like it, do the maintenance, rinse, repeat… LOL

[SantaCruzRider]

So you’re a big guy and you’re worried about looking silly on a small bike. I have a buddy who’s about the same, rides a 400cc dual sport and laughs that he sometimes feels like a circus bear riding a bicycle. Whatever, he still riding the crap out of the bike and having a blast.

A guy your size might have a valid reason for stepping straight up to a 500cc bike, bypassing the 250-stage. But otherwise, I think all the start-small advice on this site applies equally.

WAY more important than how you look on the bike is how you feel on the bike. I think it’s important to sit on lots of bikes and see what you think. I’d include the big dual sports (KLR 650 and such) in the mix as well.

As for the 883, I don’t think it’s the worst choice. My first bike was a 94 883. In stock form, it’s very well balanced and surprisingly underpowered for it’s engine size. Not that you’ll notice it, as it has an awesome feel and sound. It’s really fun to just cruise and when you get the itch to twist the throttle, it powers up in a satifying manner but then runs out of steam before you can get into too much trouble. It’s also one of the few bikes that you can buy in 883 form and then in a few years drop another $1k into it and pump the engine up to 1150-1200ccs.

I found the biggest issues with the 883 for a beginner were the weight (which is only an issue at low- or no-speed) and the rear brake sensitivity — it’s very easy to lock it up in anything close to a panic situation. Learn to handle a lock up and to always use the front brake and you mitigate that issue.

Have fun looking and take it slow.

[SantaCruzRider]

In the well-defined world of broad generalities, the difference between similar size v-twins and parallel 4s is that the 4 will typically have higher top hp, be higher reving and create ever greater horsepower as revs increase.
From a dead stop, the two may not feel a lot different. But while the twin is screaming at you to shift at 8k-9k, the 4 is screaming for you to hold on as it starts to deliver it’s top hp and keeps pushing to 10k, 11k, maybe even 14k for some race-tuned 4-bangers.
Cyllinders aside, I personally think that one of the biggest differences is that 4s are more likely to be built and tuned for more squidly behavior.

[SantaCruzRider]

My approach is to wave when I can and enjoy the response when you get it. Like others have said, I’m not going to pull my hand when I need it and I hope that no other rider does either.

Some other riders just aren’t into it and that’s their deal. You have no idea what the other guy is dealing with, could be rain grooves, pothole or trash in his/her lane, mommy didn’t love him the same as his older brother??? I’m not going to sweat someone else’s issues — whether they are relate to controlling the bike in the moment or attitude.

Go ahead and wave. If I can, I’ll wave back.

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