ive always liked to ride a bike but just now ive started to get into it.

i plan to take the classes some time in January (only free time for now)
i was really liking the 2009 Honda 600RR but maybe thats too much..
then i saw the new 2009 Kawasaki 250R o.O.. i like it because it looks really nice compared to many smaller bikes ...

i plan to go tomorrow and see how i actually feel sitting on one and if i reach and what not..
i think i should since im 6' tall.. but im only like 120-130lbs o.O does it matter? lol

also... i dont know how to drive stick in a car.. so i dont know how to drive one on a bike.. should i learn on a car first? or what...

hm... any ideas or advice?

thankss


Modified by tyronne1126 at 8:50 PM 10/9/2008

 

IMO learning how to drive stick on a car would help you out on controlling the RPM's on a bike. im 5,7 110 pounds if im doing okay u should b great. i just started riding also so now i have a fellow noob with me..

oh yea i went to the dealer to see how they felt and how heavy they were it really helped out now i have a crb 600f4i... i wouldnt recomend anything new try sumthing used then upgrade when ur a little better

 

Get an old Hondamatic. It doesnt matter what you learn on, its not hard at all. They will even teach you at the school.

 

as said before, id recommend starting on a used bike and don't even think of buying anything until you have your license, it may turn out you don't even enjoy riding enough to buy a bike. at 6' you won't have any problem on any bike and your weight isnt as big of a factor as i think ppl make it to be, whether its leaning the bike into turns or picking it up after you drop it, just know how to use whatever weight you have.

i think it doesn't matter if you know how to drive stick in a car but whatever vehicle you learn stick on, it will be way way easier if you understand the concept of it and how it all works. that way you dont think "first pull this lever while twisting this and letting go of that lever then when the needle hits 6 release the other lever..." you just think "go" and its one motion. understanding how the steps work together will also help when the teacher tells you to find the catch point or some other similar phrase.

just prepare as much as possible, be modest in selecting your first bike, and have fun

 

I remember at MSF, somebody said they had never driven a stick before and were worried about clutch/shifting and the instructor said for the most part, most people could get the hang of it even without the car experiance. Its not the same you use your hand to work the clutch, and your foot to shift, its the exact opposite in a car. Your hands and arms are a bit more sensitive than your feet, so you'll feel the "friction zone" better. Everyone had some difficulty getting going the first day at msf, but everyone was good by the end of the day.

I would not recomend a brand new ninja 250, they go fast and dealers want more than msrp for them. You can find use ones for 1-2gs. The older version may not look as nice, but you can't see it when your riding. Might want to expand you search too-
Ninja 500, 650
Kawi Versy 650
Suzuki GS 500
Suzuki SV650 and Vstrom 650
Yamaha FZ6

These bikes are a bit bigger, but are still fairly tame and are forgieving bikes that you can grow into. I'd say this is the time of year to buy, but you live in Cali, so nevermind.

 

id try to learn stick on a car but i just dont have one to try on.. so we'll see since i haven't really made up my mind yet. hopefully i can go today to look at a bike or two to see how i feel actually sitting on one..

i dont even know if my gf really likes it
i know parents wont

aren't 500 and 600CC bikes faster than a 250? o.O

if i would have to get an older bike with that cc wouldn't it be okay to get like a 2003 or so Honda 600RR?

haha the time to buy? why? the economy is being nice on this somewhere else? lol

 

I don't know what classes you are taking but MSF lets gives you behind the wheel lessons and in California a MSF completion certificate exempts you from the behind the wheel test portion of the M1 license exam. Pretty much once you get out of MSF you should be able to handle a small bike on the regular roads.

Don't be like our governor who got into a motorcycle accident and didn't have an M1 license.

Manual on the car and manual on the bike, conceptually its the same but the mechanism is different, so its mutually exclusive (you can learn off either just as easily). If you understand the concept and physics behind a clutch and manual transmission, it can help you work the bike better.

CBR 600rr is a decent bike (though its exhaust in my opinion looks too much like an anus) But I agree with everyone that its better to start off on a used bike as with more experience with a smaller bike will reduce the risk of causing severe injury and death or expensive damage to a newer larger and faster bike.

500cc and 600cc are a LOT faster than 250cc
You also have to consider engine type. V twin and parallel 2 engines (Ninja 250r, and 500) have generally don't have the sensitive explosive power as the inline 4 (CBR600rr). On a 250 if you crank it 45 degrees instantly, you will get a pretty good boost but if you did that on a 600rr, the bike might slide away from underneath you if you aren't prepared. As far as power is concerned that is specific to displacement AND engine type. That is just something you get used to after riding a lot.


Modified by Xentropa at 5:53 AM 10/10/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tyronne1126 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">id try to learn stick on a car but i just dont have one to try on.. so we'll see since i haven't really made up my mind yet. hopefully i can go today to look at a bike or two to see how i feel actually sitting on one..

i dont even know if my gf really likes it
i know parents wont

aren't 500 and 600CC bikes faster than a 250? o.O

if i would have to get an older bike with that cc wouldn't it be okay to get like a 2003 or so Honda 600RR?

haha the time to buy? why? the economy is being nice on this somewhere else? lol

</TD></TR></TABLE>

since you brought up your girlfriend, don't let her ride with you for a good 6 months or 15K-20K miles. added weight makes everything on the bike harder to do and will only increase the chances of bad stuff happening in an "oh ****" moment.
the time of year comment is talking about it being fall/winter which bikes tend to lose value being out of riding season. bikes in cali still go down in price but not as much as they do in states where say, you have 3 ft of snow on the ground.

a 600rr will be ok, but not great. this will be repeated and pounded into your head over and over and over in this forum but the best bike to learn on is the one that you won't care when you drop it and won't get too excited when you accidentally give it too much gas in a corner.
by the way, have you figured cost of insurance and gear into your budget?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tyronne1126 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">id try to learn stick on a car but i just dont have one to try on.. so we'll see since i haven't really made up my mind yet. hopefully i can go today to look at a bike or two to see how i feel actually sitting on one..

i dont even know if my gf really likes it
i know parents wont

aren't 500 and 600CC bikes faster than a 250? o.O

if i would have to get an older bike with that cc wouldn't it be okay to get like a 2003 or so Honda 600RR?

haha the time to buy? why? the economy is being nice on this somewhere else? lol

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Get what you want, a 03 RR is no sloutch and not the easiest or most forgeiving bike to ride, but you could find one for much cheaper than a new one.

The time to buy, means that in most parts of the country the weather turns rainy, snowy, people start riding less, guys who are looking at bills for school, etc have to move bikes to get money in their pocket (motivation to keep a bike goes down when your not riding it), and since less people want to ride during the winter, demand for those bikes go down and so does the price. At dealerships, bikes start to gather dust, and take up space, so dealerships are more apt to let you talk them down, than during the summer when demand is up and some sucker is willing to pay full price, because he wants to ride.

My hope is you don't get talked into buying when you hit the dealership, most are willing to sell to people without endorsement.

 

what you mean endorsement? .. aight i get it about the time to buy haha thanks..

well... im going to have to look around for a used bike and see whats going on.. i just dont have someone to help me look and see if its alright. dont want something messed up.

yea i know im not going to take my gf.. i might take her to class haha so she can learn too but shes like 5'2" haha

im going to take the MSF class here in Costa Mesa.. yea i know everything about the license thing.. i basically get it after the class.. just go to the dmv and what not

 

what bikes look like a sport bike.. something decent.. that is about 1 or 2k like everyone says? o.O...

all i find is 600 and 1000cc bikes for about 6k ..

 

A motorcycle that looks like a sportbike for 1-2gs is gonna be a ninja 250, maybe a 500. Try searching craigslist by price, might find something else that catches your eye. Most 600s and 1000s are going to run significantly more. I think your fooling yourself.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by that one guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

don't let her ride with you for a good 6 months or 15K-20K miles. </TD></TR></TABLE>

6 Months = 15-20K miles?!

You must put some serious mileage on your bike haha

 

okay.. i went to a local dealer around here...
i was going to go see the Ninja 250 but they didn't have any ninjas.. so i was just looking and the guy showed me a 500 suzuki.. not sure what bike it was..
but he pointed me toward the 2008 Suzuki GSX650F ... it was 6,999.. he said about 10k out the door? or who knows.. depending how it goes o.O.. is that too much?
i honestly dont really know anything.. but.. the bike didn't really feel very heavy to me. i was able to hold it up .. both feet flat on the floor.. of course ive never riden one yet at all.. so who knows..

what you guys think? im trying going to try to find a 250 somewhere to compare the size and what not

 

i have another question... i was looking up on youtube haha just to learn.. and see how i feel about it. anyway, for braking.. must you down shift every time to brake? its not like a car where you can just down shift all the way? after being done breaking? it just seems so.. weird and lame.. haha. you need to pretty much start breaking soo early..

hoope you guys understand

 

buy used. If you buy used u can avoid a lot of additional fees. Honda CBR 600rr and bikes of similar class will run about 5K at least for up 3-4 years old and maybe high 6K for 1 or 2 years old. If its cheaper than that its probably damaged or a salvage.

The reason for the downshifting is the transmission of a bike isn't the same as a car. If you are at a complete stop and in 6th gear, its going to be hard to get it back into 1st because the gear mesh won't lock in easily at a stop for higher gears. You can't go from 6 to 1 directly, you have to go 6 5 4 3 2 N 1.

 

the thing about used is that i cant afford straight out $$.. not even 1k haha .. so might as well buy new and make payments//

iono.. im just looking into it slowly.. its not like im going to go out and buy one in a week or two or month or so ..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tyronne1126 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so might as well buy new and make payments</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, then I hope you get full insurance, because if you wreck it, you will be paying for a bike you do no longer ride.

Take your time man, save up for a beater learner bike, save up for gear then make the plunge. I spent a long time reading, learning, saving up money. In the end it's worth it.

Also, if you find riding is not for you, you will not be stuck making payments nor having interest rates up your ***.

 

yea.. thats why im not rushing anything. its all kool. we'll see how it goes.. thats why i want to take the MSF. im pretty sure ill figure out that id like it or not there..

 

how does full coverage work on a bike? or what does it cover? like.. say you totalled it or something bigg?

 

full coverage covers everything. if its stolen, totaled or knocked over while its parked and your in the store or whatever. you can get quotes to get all the details of what it covers but it will for sure cover the more common things that happen that can be your fault or not.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by that one guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">full .</TD></TR></TABLE>

youre sig is pretty annoying, stretches out the screen

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tyronne1126 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the thing about used is that i cant afford straight out $$.. not even 1k haha .. so might as well buy new and make payments</TD></TR></TABLE>
You cannot afford a new motorcycle. Period. You don't want to know what a loan default will do to your credit.

Rather than making payments on a brand new bike right now, save the money you'd be using to make those payments each month in a savings account and put it toward the used bike of your choice once you've saved enough. It's better to earn interest than to pay it. You'll also save a considerable amount of money on insurance.

A motorcycle is not a necessity; you can wait for it. Financing a toy is not a particularly clever financial decision, particularly in an economic downturn.

 

thanks you thats sum good advice.. ppl cant wait thats why they regret some of their buys when something goes wrong.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tyronne1126 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">aren't 500 and 600CC bikes faster than a 250? o.O</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not always, my 250F will walk my 650, up to 50 mph. Of course, getting there, one sounds like a swarm of bees (which is not a bad thing), and the other sounds like the world being torn open.

Have you considered a standard or a cruiser, over a sport bike? For the street, you get the same level of enjoyment (minus the 'cool' look, although I'd argue my cruiser looks pretty damn cool, plus, no one looks cool when they're over their head), and you get the benefits of extra stability, a lower learning slope, wrists that don't hurt after 30 minutes, and lower insurance premiums. If you are set on a sport bike, than the 250R gets a major from me.

Also, when thinking about the money, remember, motorcycles are generally expensive, there are a lot of hidden costs that you won't think about. Most daily riders have at least a grand wrapped up in gear alone, tires wear out 10x faster, maintenance is more (assuming you don't do it yourself) because you have to go to specialized shops, etc. Don't try and buy the most expensive bike you think you can afford, because you'll find yourself strung out on the small stuff.