[shaggles]

That really sucks. I’m going to feel guilty riding my motorcycle now.

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The only automatic motorcycle I can think of is the Aprilia Mana.

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I read somewhere that the ability to ride a bike was a prerequisite for the class I took but they never asked anyone if they could ride a bike.

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I’m thinking maybe the Pacific Coast Highway might be the way to go.

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The msf beginners course is just that. The only time I’d ever ridden a motorcycle in my life was once on my cousins Honda 50 about 30 years ago. Although I hear the SV650 is pretty beginner friendly I think you’ll have a lot easier time with the bikes they provide for the msf course. I think most places use 250cc cruisers like the Rebel, Nighthawk and Virago which besides being lower powered also have lower seats and are lighter than the SV.

[shaggles]

I think the standard SV650 has a more upright position.

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Interesting. I didn’t realize the fuel tank on the Nighthawk was so large. That’s close to double what my bike holds.

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Most msf courses use cruisers so once you take that you should have and idea what those feel like. In my opinion just sitting on a bike tells you very little about what it’s like to ride. As far as 600+ cc bikes goes Yes that is a stereotypical answer you’ll hear from a lot of people. How could riding a motorcycle every be boring? Read the post on why it’s not a good idea to start on a 600cc sportbike for a better explanation than I could give.

[shaggles]

Another good reason to buy a used bike.

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Nighthawks are cool. They had one in my msf class. I didn’t ride it but it looked a little taller than the other bike (mostly Yamaha Viragos and Suzuki GZ250.) They’re supposed to be pretty light too.

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I don’t get the ‘you’ll get bored’ attitude towards smaller bikes. First of all how could riding a motorcycle ever be boring? I can’t think of anything quite as exciting as riding on the freeway on a bike whose top speed is 75 mph.

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That’s pretty funny. Been there too.

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Thanks for the review. Sounds like a cool bike. I looked at the S40 and S50 before I bought my bike. The 50 was too expensive for me (and wouldn’t have been a wise choice) but the S40 seems like a real nice bike for the $$$.

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This is the way my MSF instructor explained/demonstrated countersteering:

Stand astride you bike or scooter holding it in a balanced position with the wheels parallel.
Press forward with your left hand and note what happens. The bike will start to lean to the left.
Straighten up the bike and bars and press forward with your right and the bike will lean to the right.
Once you get used to how much you have to press to make the bike lean (not much) practice it while moving. The long you press the more the bike will lean. The reason it’s important (as explained by my MSF instructor) is to do with the weight of a motorcycle and the speed. Depending on how fast you’re moving and how heavy your bike is you might be able to initiate a turn just by throwing your weight to one side but as you move faster the rotational force of the wheels act to keep you upright and especially with a bike that weighs 2 0r 3 times what you do it becomes hard to muscle it over. You have to use countersteering or it just won’t lean. Or maybe it will lean but not far enough. Anyway that’s how I learned. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

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I think mine was $140 or something. They provided helmets and bikes. If I understood it right most of the cost was for insurance. I don’t know how anyone can do it for $25. That sounds really low.

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