Ok heres my story:

im 21 now, been around bikes for a long time. my father grew up riding as a kid and we've always had them around. when i turned 16 my dad convinced me to get my permit, and he taught me how to ride. at the time we had a yamaha 350XT dual sport (enduro). great bike, easy to learn on etc etc. well my first time out on the street i pull up to a non busy intersection with my dad behind me in his car. i come to a stop, look both ways. at the last second i see a car coming that i dont know how i missed. i panic, reemed the throttle, put it up on the back wheel and spilled all over the intersection, face down on the pavement, bike shoots off across the intersection into someones lawn. the car that was going through the intersection had to lay on his brakes to avoid running me over. it was quite scary for a 16 year old on his first time out.

needless to say i havnt ridden again since then, 5 years ago.
my brother is 18, and he just took that class over a weekend and got his licsense, i see him bombing around all day and he loves it, and im anxious to try again, but very nervous. a friend of a friend passed away a few weeks ago in a motorcyle accident. some 17 year old girl cut him off and he got hit pretty bad (died a week later in the hospital).

these things scare me. to top it off i KNOW that if i get on a bike i will be VERY tempted to do stupid things.

my questions to you guys:

Whats the ideal setting to learn on? would you advise that safety class?
whats a good bike for a starter? not looking for anything to break the sound barriar, nothing more then a 600. early-mid 90's bikes.

can you offer any advice to some one that has had a bad experience but has the desire to get "back on the horse?"

 

I suggest not riding in a populated place the first couple of times...but only because of your history. I definately suggest the msf course...even for experienced riders, it's really a good class. Don't do anything stupid. I was tempted at first, but was riding next to a friend one day when he pulled it up into a wheelie...seconds later, the bike goes over, and I have to hold his bike away from mine with my foot until I get away from it...he lost half of his *** on the concrete. But he is riding again....

 

1st, welcome to our forum. Looks like you had a close call, but seem ready to get back into it. I took the MSF course a month ago, and I would tell anyone to do the same. But keep in this mind, in no way are you ready for the street after it.

As far as beginner bikes, I could say SEARCH, but I will help you out. I wont get into the argument about 600cc bikes and beginners.

1) Ninja 250

Also, check out http://www.beginnerbikes.com

 

amen brotha.

bikes are a waay dangerous hobby, you have seen that firsthand. don't ride until you're comfortable living with the risks and fully aware of the consequences.

I also recommend Twist of the Wrist II. The book focuses on the differences between what your gut reaction is, and what you need to do in a situation to survive (usually stay on the gas, not let off). Most of it is street/sportbike riding technique, but it falls in nicely with the MSF class' direction to understand how to control your motorcycle.

I had a wreck on my 3rd day of riding, very similar to your experience. I didnt ride for 5 years after that (until i could afford a bike, insurance, the MSF class, and decent riding gear). I have ridden for just over a year since, and I've had the close calls that come with riding in a suburban neighborhood full of sport utility land-based cruise missles piloted by soccer moms.

Once you get comfortable riding the machine, and you treat every ride like you're getting into the cockpit of a F-16 fighter jet, you've got a fighting chance to come out alive and have fun in the process.

I make an analogy to an F-16 cause most bikes now a days are a fair comparison to that plane. Much smaller, lighter, faster, more dangerous, and more nimble than anything else out there. For $10k you get the same experience without leaving the ground, and without needing a pilots license (but one is optional).

 

wow thanks for the warm welcome fellas!

yea, fall is fast approaching, so prolly spring will be my time, but im going to spend the winter preparing, reading, educating etc etc. i dont want anything more then a 600, but i fear ill outgrow a 250 in a matter of months and thus become a wasted expenditure.

could some one go into detail about the MSF class?

 

I think learning on a gixxer would scare me, but here I am planning on buying a used 600cc something.

 

get a light bike. ninja 250 is a good example 300+lbs. Most middleweight 600s are 400ish. BIg difference in real life. Also the ride height. gixxers especially are a bit top ehavy and really easy for a beginner to tip over in a lot. Especially if he/she isnt 6' tall

 

i just finished my msf course this past weekend. it was the best 75 bucks ive ever spent. i got my permit yesterday too another good 15 bucks.

msf teaches you many riding skills needed to ride. they start off teaching you how to walk the bike and u go up to swerving out of the way of cars and such. you learn how to take tight turns, ride in circles, u learn how to brake efficiently and brake in emergencies and correct a skid caused by rear brake lock. check out http://www.ccrider.com

 

did you have your driver's license back then? seeing another car at an intersection would probably freak out a beginner car driver too. and their reaction might have been similar to yours. but of course, in a car you would have laid down some rubber and cleared the inersection without a scratch.

since a considerable amount of time has passed, im sure you would get better results, or at least not do the same thing this time around.

 

Ninja 250. get an 88+ (EX250-F2) they are te second generation and I have heard that there were some great differences in the frame. Absolutly no worry of pulling the front wheel off the ground on accident.

Oh, BTW, I ride an 88 ex250.

-Dustin

 

yea i did have my drivers licsense but it was an automatic F150, so i didnt really have any experience in regards to clutch, throttle. especially in emergency situations where i had to get on it fast. since then ive learned alot....so i might just take that MSF course you guys speak of

 

you wont regret it.

 

i think when everything is done with, ie the course and purchasing a bike, you should go back to the intersection at night with no one around. just to get the butterflies out of your stomach. when you go through the intersection a coupld of times you'll desensitive yourself to what happened there and you'll be more comfortable. take it easy and ride safe. never ride in someone's blind spot and just be aware of everything around you.

 

I recommend that you also read "Proficient Motorcycling" by David Hough. Cheap (only $17 at amazon.com), and worth much more than its weight in gold for the advice. A *must have* in any motorcyclist's collection. Any decent public library will also have this book.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...lance&n=507846

Read it, think about what you read, then reread it again.

 

u really just need to get back on .. yesterday was my first time on a bike in about 2 years.. after i laid down a 1,000.. at first i was nervous.. but after about 5 min.. i was cool.. not al the way cool, but i was a lot less nervous then when i started

 

Well, I think a 600 would be a decent bike to start on. Also, whether you get a 250 or 600, if you are thinking of your past accident at every intersection you go through, it's bound to happen again. You have to pay attention 100% to your riding and your surroundings every second riding. I started with a older 750, and didn't have any problems with power or speed. But, i'd recommend a 600, cause it's gonna be your pretty much your first (your second, if you don't plan on wrecking it the first time out) and cash might be a factor (and plastics are EXPENSIVE AS HELL) Just going on and on like a retard. Good Luck!

Remember the day when you knew everything there was to know about riding? That was the day you crashed.

 

No matter what anyone thinks, riding is super dangerous. Lets ne honest, we all speed when we ride, its almost impossible not to. I am always worried about someone pulling out in front of me, or some idiot running a red light or stop sign.

 

my first, but definitely not last. . ..