[uncle_bernie]

It took me three “long” months to want to move up ot the S50. So, I’ve had it total now about 4 months. Why am I so reluctant to sell it…hmmmm

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

Some others to consider:

Kawasaki Vulcan 500
Buell Blast
Suzuki S40

Not sport bikes, but all good beginner bikes for someone who wants a little more juice than a 250.

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

The MSF course I took and the book Proficient Motorcycling promote the idea that it’s better to try to keep the bike upright. Once you lay it down, you’ve completely lost control. To paraphrase, better to take your chances on two wheels instead of none.

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

When I bought my Suzuki S40 it only had 61 miles on it and I followed the guidelines to the letter. The S50 I just got a few weeks back had 2000 miles on it already so, well, I just opened it up and away we went

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

Go with the Kawasaki. They’ve been around for decades and the bikes are solid. Hyosung is an unproven quantity at this point with a shaky support network.

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

Maybe one of these…

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

One thing I found hard to do was practice swerving around “obstacles” at 70 mph. I put obstacles in quotes because so far, at highway speed I haven’t had to swerve around “surprise” obstacles yet. During the MSF course we practiced these maneuvers at 18-20 mph. I realized though, that at some point I had to see what that felt like at 70 mph and be prepared. This was, for me, especially shaky when doing the quick counter-steer to the right because I tended to roll on the throttle as I did it. There’s a lot of trust that has to happen in your early stages of riding that the bike, even at 70, wants to be and will get back to upright after that quick lean…but it wasn’t easy for me at first to believe that and I had to learn how to push quickly on the right grip without simultaneously opening up the throttle.

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

When riding the freeways I try to either slow down or speed up as necessary to get to the part of the freeway where I have the most space around me and my bike. Sometimes I speed up to get to a place where that is and sometimes I slow down. People in cars, in general, don’t give a damn about you. They’re just trying to get from point A to point B as fast as possible. But, truth be told…going FASTER to get away from cars is more fun

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

I just came up with that little pun. A Hayabusa s a ballsy move for a first bike. And by ballsy I mean that your balls are likely to be left on the pavement…glad yours weren’t…

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

The roads around Houston aren’t nearly as cool as the ones I’ve driven around in Austin. You have a very fertile concrete playground around you my friend…. Enjoy (but don’t forget to think!)

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

To start out on, even though Texas is a mandatory bigger is better state, go with the smaller bike and move up once you feel comfortable doing so. For a friend of mine here in Houston, who is a 5′ 6″” woman, that desire to move up to a 750 happened in a month, for me it took three months to want to move up to the Suzuki S50. Everyone’s different…

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

If we had tiered licensing in this country like they do in Europe then that wouldn’t happen. I have to say, though, that I’m conflicted about that. If we had that kind of licensing here in the states I wouldn’t have been able to buy my s40 legally and certainly wouldn’t be able to be on my s50 now. I feel very comfortable with my riding abilities but I guess laws are made for the majority.

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

My wife is a violin teacher, I ride a Suzuki, the obvious jokes do not apply. As canstaett said above, the S40 is a very doable, and nice first bike. I found no trouble transitioning from getting reacquainted with riding on a 250 in the MSF course to riding the S40. There was a bit of trepidation when I first rode with actual cars around me but the bike wasn’t the intimidating factor in that scenario.

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

Welcome fellow Texan…all your barbecue are belong to us!

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

[uncle_bernie]

Hey, welcome to the site. I’ve driven in Dallas a lot, and you probably have as much freeway “fun” as we have here in Houston

~He who laughs last didn’t get the joke…

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