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5 Common Wear and Tear Items on Motorcycles
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ZoreParticipant
Yeah, I think you’re right. The reason I am bargaining with myself is because I’m not really sure what the bets are . But yeah, from what I’ve read so far everything has been pretty much confirmed. I will start saving up and hopefully I’ll be able to get a hold of good enough gear so that I can either get a 150cc scooter or a 250cc rebel soon enough
I really appreciate all the comments though, I don’t mean to sounds like I’m being dubious about the needs of protection, it’s just that I’d rather hear it first hand as opposed to just guessing my way through it.
Hopefully I’ll have something by Christmas, and I’ll be sure to post about it too
Thanks everyone
ZoreParticipantDang, well, that makes sense I guess. Here is a question though that I have had and you guys can probably set it straight much easier than I, so here goes:
Concerning protective gear in for smaller trips. And we are talking like 10min bikerides like to the store and back — i.e. not highway or anything above 35mph.
The way that I look at it is that there are three types of accidents that are likely to happen. (and this could be completely wrong, this is just intuitively and from videos I’ve seen).
1) Someone else causes an accident and runs into you. This way you are basically screwed no matter what you’re wearing (not literally, but you will break bones no matter what), and really the main thing is just a helmet… the rest just ends up being scratches compared to the broken bones.
2) You mess up in a turn or something at 10mph. The damages aren’t negligible by any means, but they are not terrible. At worst you’ll get a small scar or a twisted ankle, but we are not talking a horrible skid burn.
3) You mess up at a higher speed and you skid along the pavement and here is really where the protective gear plays a huge part in protecting your ass. This is where you are in greatest need of protective gear…
As I said, I’m not a biker and have no personal experience… these are just what I see as the most likely ways of hurting yourself. Does this make sense? If so, the time when you REALLY need the gear the most is in the third case, which is when you drive somewhat faster. As long as you stick to downtown driving and shorter distances with lower speeds, you can manage with just a helmet, jacket, and gloves for a short while…
yes? no? kinda? absolutely not?
ZoreParticipantFirst of all, a big thanks to all of you. Although it’s not exactly great news, at least I have a more realistic perspective on things.
Therefore:
Since this partially comes down to me needing a second vehicle to drive to work on certain days (whenever my GF works at the same time), I am sort of in a position of needing something rather soon. I am considering getting like a scooter or something, anything ranging from a puny 50cc to a 150cc (hopefully the latter). Now, what I need help with is the following: is it worth it?My thoughts: The bike would be much cheaper, I should be able to find a used one for under $1,000 and then be able to resell it again in 3 months for the same price (as long as I don’t buy it from a store, but actually from a private seller that just wants to get rid of it). Moreover, I get the feeling I wouldn’t need to invest quite as much in gear right of the bat. Maybe I’m wrong, but as long as I’ll be starting off driving top speeds of 40mph, maybe I don’t need quite as much. Moreover, I can also learn much better on a bike like that before I then step it up a notch to a heavier/more powerful bike.
So, my question then becomes — if I DO decide to start with a meager 150cc, what protective clothing am I looking at? Do I still need to invest $500 on protective gear or can I start with just a helmet, a pair of gloves and kneepads?
I don’t have a whole lot of friends that are into bikes so that’s why I need as much help as I can get from you guys… any tips or advice is greatly appreciated!Thank you!
ZoreParticipantThanks guys, I appreciate the comments.
To clarify one thing, the reason I was going with such an old/cheap bike is that I’m leaving the country in 8 months and I will have to sell the bike then. Heading off to Europe for an indefinite amount of time but I want to learn here first in case I want to continue the whole thing.
Concerning the driving lesson — I have two options. I might have a very experienced biker that can help me (he has been driving bikes for over 35years) and then the option of doing the MSF. I know I should do the MSF but there is also the price range involved. He would probably do it for free whereas the MSF obviously wouldn’t. Plus their hours are something that my work just wouldn’t let me get away with. So we will see I guess.
But yeah, If I do buy a bike over craigslist or ebay I’ll definitely make sure I find someone to bring with me that knows more than I do… for all I know they could sell me a microwave and I’d be moderately confused at best.
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