[SantaCruzRider]

Getting a permit and taking the DMV test may feel like a shortcut, but it can be a lot harder than it looks. I won’t even get into the safety issues (there are plenty here to address that). But from a logistics standpoint, you need to get yourself a bike to practice on. That means you need to take your BS-looking paper permit, convince some bike seller to let you test his bike to see if you want to buy it (good luck with that, because if you drop it and get hurt, the seller is probably screwed). Once you get the bike, you have to get it home (avoiding freeways and sunset, as your permit typically won’t let you ride on superslab or in the dark), Once home, you can call Geico and find out how much insurance costs for a new rider with a permit. Assuming you still have enough equity in your home, you can pay for insurance as a semi-licensed biker and you are ready to start practicing.

If you work at it, it is possible to teach yourself enough to pass the DMV test (which at least in Cali is tougher than the MSF class) and then you’re legit. Now you can bask in your success and try to ignore the fact that the lazy guys who took the MSF are all now getting discounts on their MC insurance, dropped someone elses bike on their first day and went bike shopping with a full legit MC license.

Different strokes…

[SantaCruzRider]

If you’re looking for online sites for gear, I’ve had great luck with NewEnough and MotorcycleSuperstore. They both have closeout sections with low prices on great gear. Closeouts are usually from a manufacturer’s previous year(s), and sizes and colors can be limited — but it’s worth looking. Depending on your size and fussiness over color, you can get a good armored Cortech or Fieldsheer textile jacket on closeout for under $100. Both companies stand by their gear and are good about returns (for defects). But if you order the wrong size, you’re typically paying shipping for the return.

I have mostly Cortech, Teknic and Fieldsheer gear and have had no problems. First Gear appears to the value brand on alot of sites. Their gear looks decent, but I have no personal experience.

For boots, I love Zappos. They ship free, if the size is wrong, they return and reship for free. They carry Harley and other cruiser style leather boots, but not moto-specific armored boots — so may not be what you want.

The two sites mentioned above are also great for helmets, but I would STRONGLY recommend against buying any helmet that you haven’t tried on first. There are just too many variables and nothing is more unsafe, distracting and sometimes painful than a poorly fitted helmet.

Some of the cheapest gear I’ve purchased includes: Armored Fieldsheer jacket at MCsuperstore – $70; HJC helmet at NewE – $120 (my son has a helmet we got for $50 — it’s gaudy as hell, which is why it was marked down from $200, but he’s 12 and loves it); armored leather gloves, NE — $15. So if you look around, you can get some good stuff for low bucks. There’s no reason to go unprotected.

[SantaCruzRider]

It can definately be challenging, especially if you don’t do it often (which Gary mentioned). There’s a lot going on and drivers can be unpredictable. But two things you can always expect is that the guy in front of you is going to slam on his brakes and the guy to the right of you isn’t going to see you and is about to lane change on top of you.

Sport bikes may be more top heavy than similar sized cruisers. I know my Concours carries alot of weight up high, especially with a full tank (7.5 gals). But even riding a low slung cruiser won’t help if you get frozen by a situation. A moped with a frozen rider in the same situation is going to hit that stopped car just as fast as a sport bike.

I’ve been there before and it happens really fast: I’m in the second lane, stop-and-go parking lot speeds, looking over my left shoulder for a gap to jump into the fast lane, glance forward and the guy if front of me has stopped. From experience, I’m already covering the front and back brake because I have to half expect this to happen. And when it does, it’s the rear brake I hit first as it’s less likely to cause me to drop the bike than smacking down the front with the front tire all cockeyed. I’m also covering the front, but use it only when the bike is settled and/or it’s essential to avoid mounting the car in front of me.

I also agree with Gary on the crampbusters. I thought about getting one a year ago when my wrist was bugging me. But I didn’t like the added complexity. I also like to range my hands in and out on the grips and don’t want to have to think about where the paddle is. Ultimately, I just introduced some hand and forearm exercises into my admittedly infrequent exercises and now my wrist is good for at least 90-120 minutes at a stretch. By then I’m usually ready for a pitstop and stretch anyway.

[SantaCruzRider]

You might get better advice if you provide some more info, such as the kind of riding you intend to do, do you have any MC experience, what are your concerns about the 250, etc…

[SantaCruzRider]

I agree that it’s healthy to spend a little time dissecting mistakes we make when we ride (and have close calls in particular).

One thing I find interesting is that two of the root causes you list are actually gear related. But in your introduction, you mention that such things as gravel on the road are not root causes as plenty of folks ride through gravel without problems. Is it possible that the same could apply to your skills with the sport bike or cramp buster?

[SantaCruzRider]

Telling a guy who’s new to riding that a 600 gsxr might be a great bike is pretty much the opposite of the purpose of this site. And basing the bike choice on someones weght is equally lame.

What’s the formula for that? <150 lbs you start with a 250; 150-180 gets you a 500cc; 200-250 it's a 600 gsxr; 300 lbs and it's liter or nothing?

Personally, I don’t have an issue with newbies buying and starting on whatever they want. But it’s absurd for them to look for (much less find) affirmation of their poor choice on a site whose recommended reading starts with a story titled “Why 600ccs is Too Much.”

Anthony: I’d recommend you keep reading this site as you’ll find some really great info on smart bike choices for a beginner. You might also check insurance rates for different bikes. It’s a pretty good indication for what the insurance industry thinks your chances of avoiding hurting yourself, your bike or others might be.

[SantaCruzRider]

$800 is a lot fora non-running 10-yr-old bike that has possibly been wrecked. Typically, if it’s was so easy to get it running, the seller is foolish not to do so. Even if it runs rough, it ads significantly to the value. So that tells you that the seller is either grossly underestimating the work needed (ie. possibly lying) or he is lazy beyond believe. Neither trait is desireable in former owners of your next bike.

[SantaCruzRider]

But I’ve heard of folks having some pretty spectacular results from running some cleaner through the tank and carbs. Since it’s running, you’re probably pretty close and may get off with a relatively cheap synch and tune.

Does it strike you at all as odd that such a low mileage bike has the paint worn off at the rider’s knees? Do you think it was from a cover rubbing or was the PO a fantasy rider who spent hours sitting on the bike in his garage while he pretended to cruise the open road? You don’t think it’s just a new speedo do you?

[SantaCruzRider]

Before you hop up several bike rungs, I’d humbly suggest you give some thought to how much experience you really have. You make it sound like an eternity, but five months isn’t that much time. And two hours a week (I know you said that’s minimum, but it’s the only number you gave) is more in line with how much you might ride to keep your skills from degrading, not necessarily enough to really be building on.
It takes longer than you might think to build muscle memory and train your mind to pay attention to the right things, plus having time enough on the road to have experienced some of the small surprises that will save you when something really scary happens.
Don’t take this wrong, in the last 5 months you may have become a spectacularly accomplished rider — but I think that would be pretty exceptional.
Also, you don’t mention why you feel you need a new bike. Is your current one underpowered or physically too small? If you popped some street tires on it, could it hold your interest for a few more months? Maybe not and maybe the 650R would be perfect. But I’d give it some real thought and not jump at the first one that comes up on Craigslist — just my 2 cents.

[SantaCruzRider]

I rode a friend’s DRZ400 for several weeks and used it to pass the Cali DMV test. Really fun bike, especially around town. If I was looking for a town or short commute bike, the DRZ would be at the top of my list. It’s just awesome how you can slip through traffic, create parking in dirt patches that scare off most road bikes and hop off curbs at will. It was fine on short fwy jaunts with no issues at speeds up around 65 (I didn’t try faster, so can’t attest to top speeds).
The KLR is also a great bike, but the fuel tank is huge and adds quite a bit of weight up high. Still, I don’t think you need to worry about either bike being top heavy. You’ll quickly get used to it and you’ve got the height needed to keep them upright (unlike me, who had to basically hop onto the seat to compress the springs enough to get one toe down!)
If I ever get a garage big enough for a second bike, it will probably be a 250-400 dually “town bike”.

[SantaCruzRider]

I ride in the dark to get home from work (at least until daylight savings time changes) and my commute includes boh freeway and mountain roads.

On mtn roads, I slow down to be sure I’m giving myself a bit more room in case there’s a tree or some debris in my path. I also tend to ride a bit toward the center of the road as this gives me a bit more room to avoid the rocks and mud that tend to wash onto the right edge of my lane. I’m careful not to cross into the opposite lane, but have plenty of warning of oncoming traffic as I see their headlights shining off the trees ahead. My biggest concern is deer, though there seems to be more of those crossing the road around twilight than I do when it’s completely dark.

On the freeway where it may be particularly dark, I avoid being the first vehicle in a pack and instead choose to follow a bit behind a car. That gives me a bit of warning as they are likely to brake or swerve to miss large debris up ahead. I’m especially careful right after a 3-day holiday weekend as area roads are littered with a surprising number of kids bicycles, ice chests, beach chairs and other crap that has fallen off RVs and out of pickups.

I also use the Halo band and use to have it slip onto my neck every time I rode over 70 mph. I talked to the manufacturer and he actually said that it was a safety feature designed to make riders less visible to LEOs when you’re blasting down the road at illegal speeds. Sounds like a lame excuse to me.

But I found soaking the band for an hour or so in fresh water can put a bit more elasticity into it. Then I use a couple small loops of masking tape at each quarter to tack it to my helmet. It’s stayed on for a year since doing that.

[SantaCruzRider]

Love my Scarabs. They keep my hands toasty in the 40s and comfortable into the mid-30s (haven’t tried them below 34, but still plenty of heat for an hour-long ride at that temp).

One thing to keep in mind related to temp is the bike you’re on. Mine has a full fairing and windscreen, so gloves that feel good on my bike at 34 might feel cold if I jumped onto a naked bike at 45F.

[SantaCruzRider]

I put my bike away three weeks ago when the temps dipped into the mid 30s on my morning route and I saw the first frosting of snow. Got some new gloves from Santa, so took the beast out for some mid-day errands, but otherwise, I’m pretty much parked until probably late March — and I live in NorCal, so you’re probably 15 degree colder and 5″ more rain on a good day.
Still, it warms my heart to see diehards like you riding 365 — go, man, go!
BTW: I went the goretex over my leather route for rain as well. I end up looking like a giant red tomato, but it keeps ALL the rain out and breathes enough for comfort.

[SantaCruzRider]

I’m going to see if they have one of these in my area — looks like nothing but fun.

[SantaCruzRider]

You should be able to drain all the gas (strongly recommended) from the petcock.
Once empty, you should inspect the inside of the tank (with a flashlight) to ensure there is no rust (which can happen with tanks stored half full). If you have some surface rust, you will want to take care of it before you start running it into the carbs.
I’d then put in some fresh gas, prime the petcock and see if it fires. If it does, it would be wise to run some SeaFoam. I’ve heard of folks running really high concentrations of the stuff and successfully “ungumming” carbs.
If you live a charmed life, you’ll be fine and spared any carb rebuild.

[Author]

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