[shaggles]

I still do that at least once every ride. After 30 years driving a car it’s hard for me to remember to manually shut that thing off although I’ve gotten a little better about it lately. I never really thought about how dangerous that could be though. Thanks for bringing it up.

[shaggles]

I bought my bike from the Pacific Northwest Motorcycle Safety Foundation in Seattle after taking the msf course there. I wasn’t interested in cruisers at first either but after taking the course on one I didn’t see being comfortable with my legs tucked up underneath me. I guess my point is don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Although I haven’t tried a sports bike so maybe that’s not a very good point. A better point is don’t pick out your bike before you even learn how to ride. Here’s the url to PNWMSF: http://www.pnwmotorcyclesafety.com/ I highly recommend them for rider training and I think they still have a couple Viragos for sale.

[shaggles]

Seattle

[shaggles]

I just got some proper mc boots too. I tried on a couple of different pairs and I said ‘These are definitely not walking shoes.’ The guy at the shop said ‘let me have you try these on’ and brought out a pair of Sidi Way boots. Man are they comfortable. They were about $40 more than the other boots I’d tried but well worth it.

[shaggles]

Your local shop gets my vote. You can see the stuff and try it on and the prices are usually in line with what you find on the internet. If you decide to buy online anyway at least you’ll know what fits you.

[shaggles]

I found a great website with lots of helmet reviews the other day. Here’s a link:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Reviewed-motorcycle-products/Products.htm

[shaggles]

It seems like your height more than your weight would be the issue to me. They use 250 cc cruisers in all the MSF courses so you should get an idea of how they feel once you take that.

[shaggles]

I love the look of the Bonneville and the Thruxton. Both are on my short list when I’m ready to move up to a bigger bike.

[shaggles]

I’m a real noob so you probably want to take the advice of the more experienced riders before mine but I’d say don’t even try to make up your mind before you learn to ride. Then you can try out the different types of bikes and see which you like best. When I took the MSF class a quarter of the people there had already bought a bike. I’m not judging. I would’ve probably done the same if I’d had the money but now I’m glad I didn’t. I can’t imagine buying a bike without riding it first. I ended up buying a Virago 250 from the school and I’m really happy with it. It’s easy to ride, it was cheap and it gets great gas mileage. It’s not what I ever pictured myself riding but I think it’s the right bike for me at this point.

[shaggles]

I just got my license a month ago so everything is new. I got a bike, helmet, gloves and jacket so far. still need some actual mc boots and pants. Oh yeah…and insurance.

[Author]

Posts