[WeaponZero]

I’ve wanted a motorcycle ever since I was in my mid teens. What started it for me was 80s movies where teenagers who were still in high school had motorcycles, and the way they depicted it, there was like a whole world of freedom these teenagers in these movies experienced because they had their bikes. By day they were normal kids but by night they saw and experienced things that most people never see in their entire lives.

I was seriously in danger of becoming a squid or an involuntary organ donor because I almost bought a ’98 CBR900RR for my first bike when I was 19 or 20. But due to a family emergency that sprung up I had to blow my savings on helping out my mom in a dire time for her. This led to my not being able to buy a motorcycle until 7 years later.

During those 7 years, my obsession with what got me into bikes in the first place (cheesy 80s movies) grew and I decided that when I did buy a bike, I wanted something that was like those 80s bikes in the movies: a practical, sporty standard. This led to my doing research on the SV650 and I became dead-set on buying an SV650N for my first bike.

I was browing cycletrader.com at work when I saw an ad for a 2000 SV650 in my area for $3000. The ad stated that it had an upgraded rear shock but was otherwise bone-stock. I called the number only to find out that the guy selling it lived only 4 blocks from my work. So, I went over there with my dad on my lunch break one day, he rode it around to test ride it, and I bought it the very next day along with a Joe Rocket jacket, River Road gloves, HJC CL-15 helmet, and Tourmaster Solution WP boots, and my Class-M restricted.

I signed up for the first available MSF course but it wasn’t until almost 3 months down the road. During that time my dad said we should take the bike to an empty parking lot to practice with it. I spent one weekend riding around this parking lot getting comfortable on the bike, which led to riding it around neighborhood residential roads and practicing starting on hills, which led to commuting to and from work on it. I waited until I had taken the MSF course before I took it on the highway.

[WeaponZero]

Pennsylvania is weird. The law here in PA states that you are not obligated to wear a helmet provided you have had your Class-M (unrestricted license) for at least two years. Below two years you are required to wear one.

Personally I believe that helmets should be required under all circumstances in all states, because I have been hit by debris in my helmet that I know would have caused me to lose control of my bike and crash if I were not wearing a helmet because it would have hurt a LOT. That creates a hazard that is dangerous for everyone else around you.

[WeaponZero]

learning to ride on a chopped out bike like that you may not be able to grasp the basic fundamentals of riding.

[WeaponZero]

Being that the ER-6n is fairly new to the market (hasn’t even been around for a year yet), you won’t find many people who have experience on one. What I can say is that magazine reviews comparing it to the SV650 say that it is more user-friendly and not as sporty despite the more aggressive design, and that the ergonomics of it are not as comfy as it may look. Some magazines have describes its ergonomics as “weird”.

[WeaponZero]

I weigh just above 300 lbs at 5’11” and ride a Suzuki SV650 (working on losing weight). It did fine for me as a starter bike but one thing I learned riding around on the MSF bikes is that any engine, even a little 250, will hardly tell the difference between your 265 lbs and a normal weight guy. The only area where your weight might become a concern is on the bike’s suspension components, which is where many 250s fall short. Still though, give them a try and don’t be afraid to go aftermarket for shocks and springs. The key here is weight. You want as light of a bike as possible to learn on because the things you master on a lighter bike (I’m talking dirtbike light, or Ninja 250 light) will carry over to riding a street bike much easier than if you had learned them on a 400+ lb street bike.

Oh and one very important thing: Being a big dude who weighs as much as a normal man plus his small yet highly attractive female passenger, taking advantage of the sporty handling capabilities of a sportbike will come a lot harder to you. I’d advise doing what I’m doing and try to shed those pounds so that you can actually ride your sportbike like a sportbike, and not like a cruiser with a rocket engine.

For everyone else, I now declare myself BBM’s unofficual “go-to guy” for information regarding a fat guy on a sportbike . Feel free to contact me at [email protected] for questions on the matter.

[WeaponZero]

I weigh just above 300 lbs at 5’11” and ride a Suzuki SV650 (working on losing weight). It did fine for me as a starter bike but one thing I learned riding around on the MSF bikes is that any engine, even a little 250, will hardly tell the difference between your 300+ lbs (if you weigh as much as I do) and a normal weight guy. The only area where your weight might become a concern is on the bike’s suspension components, which is where many 250s fall short. Still though, give them a try and don’t be afraid to go aftermarket for shocks and springs. The key here is weight. You want as light of a bike as possible to learn on because the things you master on a lighter bike (I’m talking dirtbike light, or Ninja 250 light) will carry over to riding a street bike much easier than if you had learned them on a 400+ lb street bike.

[WeaponZero]

The bikes we had in my class were:

Suzuki GZ250s
Honda Rebel 250s
Kawasaki Eliminator 125s
Yamaha TTR225
Yamaha TW200

I did my first day of class on the GZ250 and just couldn’t get the hang of it. the “Feet forward” riding position demanded by cruisers made it nearly impossible to be able to control the bike for me. I was struggling with half the exercises they made me do on that bike despite the fact that I had been riding for a few months when I took it. For day 2 I used the Yamaha TW200 and the difference was like night and day. Everything came easy, even easier than on my personal bike (Suzuki SV650).

[WeaponZero]

ATGATT is a rule to live by. Unfortunately I still don’t own a pair of riding pants because of my fluctuating pants size (losing weight–woohoo!) but I do own everything else and wear it even if I’m taking my bike up the street to my dad’s place.

For the record, I do believe people her age should have to take regular driving tests to keep their license. As someone who was born and raised in South Florida, I can say I have seen many times how deadly an elderly person who’s eyes and ears are gone can be behind the wheel of a car.

[WeaponZero]

I use Verizon Wireless because I have friends in the truck driving industry and they all say that, as a trucker, you don’t really have a choice, you have to go Verizon due to the service everywhere. I can confirm this as well because when I went out to Seven Springs Resort last fall, I went with a group of people who, between all of us, had cell phones using Sprint, Cricket, T Mobile, and Verizon, and my Verizon phone was the only one that got service there.

As far as phones go I like the Casio G’Zone Boulder because I’ve never been much for all those web features. I’d trade all that for a phone that can be run over by a truck and is completely waterproof, and that’s exactly what I got.

[WeaponZero]

Don’t ride on public roads until after you’ve taken the BRC. Practice starting and getting it moving in a parking lot just to get good with the clutch but THAT IS IT.

There were people who failed the BRC course I was in because they had never operated a motorcycle style clutch/shift system before (and contrary to popular belief driving stick doesn’t prepare you for it) and didn’t get it down by the end of the first day of riding. Practice with that and THAT ALONE. That is it.

[WeaponZero]

Ive been completely infatuated with SMs ever since I took my day 2 of MSF on a little Yamaha TW200 dual sport. The way it handled and the way it felt was everything I envisioned motorcycling would be like back when I was a bench racer. I would gladly trade my SV650 for a DR400SM if I could, but right now it’s not a possibility. Suffice it to say, the KTM has become my new dream bike, and I WILL own one someday.

[WeaponZero]

Thats right, Mr. Ducati repli-racer lol.

[WeaponZero]

Reactivating this old thread to state how my plans have changed. Now that I have had some riding experience under my belt and tried different bikes, I’ve discovered the beauty that is SM-type bikes.

For those of you who don’t know, Super Motard bikes are essentially on/off-road dual-purpose motorcycles that have had their wheels, tires, brakes, and suspension components with sportbike ones. And there is NO experience on 2 wheels quite like riding one. Even the little 250cc ones absolutely blow my SV650 away in pure giggle-factor.

My new dream bike is a KTM 690 SMC, but if I’m never able to afford one, I imagine I’ll be quite happy on something along the lines of the new Yamaha WR250X…

[WeaponZero]

The Harley Sportster is just as good of a first bike as, say, a Honda Shadow 750, which many people start out on. First of all, if you like Harleys you know what you’re getting yourself into: Low tech for a high price, and notorious problems including a rough ride and oil leaking problems (not true with Twin Cam 88 powered Harleys) that Harley lovers claim add to the “character” of the bike.

If you really want to own a Harley brand motorcycle as your first bike, then the Sportster 883 is your only option, but the general consensus is to go smaller and cheaper for your first bike so that when you do have to make those inevitable repairs due to newbie screwups, it doesn’t cost you the price of another bike.

[WeaponZero]

On the way home yesterday it didn’t rain at all, and there was no smoke or burning smell, everything ran just fine. The burning smell I’m positive was coming from my bike because it was there every time I came to a stop. But it’s only there in the rain.

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