It's Time to Ride - First Time Motorcycle\Noobe

[matefrio]

My Suzuki m50 is great for a 800cc with a few performance mod it keeps up with my friends fxtbi just fine and I'm a large guy. View attachment 16451

How long have you ridden it cross country?

 

[Anger]

This one does look tempting:::

2003 BMW K1200LT

A 2003 under 10k miles? For shame! I had aquantences who swore by those lt's but even the rt is too dressed up for my tastes. With the r bike the system luggage comes off in seconds and its naked just like a bike was meant to be.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[makeitcount]

What you need to do is to test ride a variety of bikes until you find what you want and what fits you.
I've had nothing but harleys for over 25 yrs. There's a different feel with each group of models whether it's a ducati, a bmw, a honda or a harley.
Just like a car expect to pay for maintenance because that is what keeps it alive and running forever.
Good luck....

 

[Designated]

Dont go small/low powered with the first one. Cheap is fine but get as much engine as you can. You get used to a bike really quickly. I outgrew my first (600) in less then one season. If you really want to go the starter bike route get the lowest price running bike you can find. Then a year later tell us about the new one


Personally I only owned 1 cruiser, a HD FXR. Was a fun bike but spent as much time in the shop as the road it seemed. Just my .02. Don't diminish the importance of looks either. If you feel like you "settled" your gonna treat it that way and just not be as excited to ride it.

 

[Mic]

First off, congrats!! Hope you love it and have a great time.

I would also like to throw out the advice to buy a function bike (ie Piece of feces) for your first bike.
I'm guessing you'll be the guy checking out new bikes all over the place. And once you buy one, you'll find the one you really wanted.
Buy a $1500 old used bike (750cc minimum since you state you're a big guy). Ride it for 6 months to learn (and if you drop it, you haven't dropped your baby) and by then, you'll have figured out what bike you really want.

Harley's are more expensive and they bring you into a "club". Sounds silly but it's kinda that way - you'll be a Harley rider, which is different than a normal motorcycle rider. If status and being part of the "in crownd" isn't you're thing, then don't worry about that. On the other hand, I still don't like that I ride a Japanese bike. They are great bikes and I love to ride mine, but I'd rather buy something with an American name made here in an American plant.

And I wouldn't fixate on Honda as far as Japanese bikes go. Pretty much all of the big four make excellent machines.

Final piece of advice - stay safe and be extra vigilant. If you are a CHL guy and walk around aware of your surroundings, then make sure to apply that same thinking to the road - "How is that guy going to screw me over?" "Is that guy going to pull out right in front of me?" "What am I going to do when the guy in the Tahoe coming at me in the oncoming lane swerves over into my lane?" Trust me....it can and will happen. Don't want to scare you off, but the level of danger to us motorcycle riders is higher than your average Joe in his cage.

 

[macshooter]

Don't ever park your bike facing downhill, it can roll off the stand and fall over. I'm glad I started with an old heap of junk. I dumped it 3-4 times before I learned what not to do. Take that for what it's worth... They don't teach that in the motorcycle safety courses.

Also, as has been said a billion times before, no matter how good a rider you are, you can end up paying for other people's stupid. Some moron texting while driving can f*ck you over royally. That's just part of it. I've been down twice, once in the rain, and once because some asshole changed lanes without looking and ran me off the road. My back is real fucked up from that last one. I don't ride anymore. These days I like having some cage to protect me from the stupid out there on the roads. Think of all the obama voters out there. All those people drive...

 

[Jrygrn]

How long have you ridden it cross country?

I haven't made it cross country yet only around Texas but it'll fly to Lubbock or San Antonio like a dream. That seat is more for looks than comfort but I can still go a full tank (275 or so miles) with out stopping to stretch my ass.

 

[DBDawg]

This one does look tempting:::

2003 BMW K1200LT

I've never owned one, but a couple of friends have BMWs and they love them. With the engine style that they have, it's supposed to be a very smooth ride.

 

[ROGER4314]

You need to be careful about the big engine route, though. I bought my H-D Sportster from a guy who bought it, rode it a couple of miles and parked it. When I bought the bike, it was 4 years old and had exactly 100 miles on it. Those miles were from test rides where it was consigned for sale. It stayed there for about a year waiting for me to come along.

The owner was very tall and slender.....ok....skinny as a toothpick. He couldn't hold the bike up and he told me that it scared the crap out of him. He had plenty of money and traveled as a trucker so he was always gone. It was easier for him to just park it. He told me "I knew after 2 miles that I'd made a mistake!"

The lesson to be learned here is that all bikes are different. What scared him was perfect for me. You try on a pair of shoes before you buy them and you should try the bike before you buy it. If the owner/dealer won't let you drive it, then shop somewhere else.

Last, some hard won advice.............Never let anyone ride your scooter. They will F it up every time! I used to say "If I had a wife, I'd let you ride her before I'd let you ride my bike." I meant that. Just say NO!

When I lived with women, for some reason, they liked to stack or hang laundry on my bike. They learned real quick that wasn't going to fly! That bike is my freedom and I won't have it turned into a clothesline. My bike is much more to me than a machine.

Flash

 

[Rangerscott]

With Harley you're pretty much paying for the name. So you gotta figure that into the sale price. I'm just not a fan of paying a premium for a name. Prices are high and their technology is the same after what 50 years or so. Fine for some, just not me. There are some BMW bikes I wouldn't mind having but if I was gonna have to let a dealer work on it, I'd pray really hard that their charge fee isn't anything like their vehicle fees.

Just like anything with pistons, you take care of it and it'll last so don't worry about a bike exploding on you unless there is a very common issue with said bike. I'm about to roll over 60k on my '01 VFR and I've been told over and over that it's just now getting broken in.

I don't know much about Jap cruisers but if they're engines are anything like their sport/tourer brothers than there's nothing to worry about. Hell I read an article on a guy that went cross country on a Hyosung 650 cruiser when they were still knew and all you could read then was how Korean stuff sucks bla bla. Every company has bad apples. Hell Ducati had to do a massive recall last year or the beginning of this year.

Moral of the story is get what you want. I wont go into starting small or what not. I believe you have to metal strength to make a good choice.

 

[makeitcount]

Final piece of advice - stay safe and be extra vigilant. If you are a CHL guy and walk around aware of your surroundings, then make sure to apply that same thinking to the road - "How is that guy going to screw me over?" "Is that guy going to pull out right in front of me?" "What am I going to do when the guy in the Tahoe coming at me in the oncoming lane swerves over into my lane?" Trust me....it can and will happen. Don't want to scare you off, but the level of danger to us motorcycle riders is higher than your average Joe in his cage.

I absolutely agree! If anything riding a bike will/should heighten your road awareness. Every other vehicle on the road is out to run your ass off the road.
Learn to recognize and predict where the dicks are and avoid them. Its much easier to avoid some one in front of you rather than behind or next to you.
I got 140 dcbl air horns. Unless your car radio is at full blast this will almost blow out their windows.

 

[OldGringo]

FWIW, look at the Victory lineup. A second hand Kingpin tour can be had at a modest price. I currently have two Vic's, 01 V92C (65K mi), and 09 Vision Tour (37K mi), the 01 has never had the case split and only failure was a voltage regulator at 40K mi. and a clutch cable. The only other replacements were consumables like brake pads, light bulbs and the like.
Lot of good bikes out there so look around and find the best fit for you.

 

[M. Sage]

Growing up motorcycles were against the rules. Now, almost 40 years later, I'd like to ride. Have an MSI Basic Rider course October 8th. I assume, if they don't scare me off a bike, a bike will be purchased.

I have a friend that goes on weekend jaunts, whenever possible for 3 - 5 hrs., I'm a big guy, don't need the speed but would like to keep up with his Harley Street Glide.

The Street Glide is my buddies 3rd bike, He started with a honda 750 cruzer, then a Dyna Glide and feels he went too small till this one.

Ok, so I've been looking at Victory bikes, Hondas, and Harleys with no love for one over the other. What would you all recommend? Oh, and I love black out\ denim black bikes.

Budget would be around 10k max.

Start out used and inexpensive. You'll at the very least drop your first bike.

MSI course shouldn't scare you off a bike, it's not designed to do that. But it will teach you skills that a lot of people don't even know exist.

 

[AKM]

I want a Vstar 650 Bobber. Ill buy one when I start working.
custom bobber

 

[AKM]

 

[txinvestigator]

I purchased a bike last rear after a 20 year hiatus. I got a 2007 Honda Shadw aero 750. It is a v twin and water cooled and shaft drive. This 1 has floor boards.

My favorite bike was my former Honda 750 Saber. It was a sport tourer. V4.

I love my Shadow but my next will be a v4. I prefer the way a v4 runs. But I love the floorboards.

The shadow 750 is really too small for more than a couple of hours at a time.

 

[TheDan]

Get a Ural!

Actually... I don't think it would fit your requirements, but I love mine.

 

[Dredge]

HD's tend to hold their value better than the Jap type bikes. He "entry fee" is a bit higher as well but you can find a good deal on some used bikes. Whichever route you take, get what you want rather than settling for something lesser (as folks have previously mentioned). My baby has been a load of fun and it's almost as much "therapy" as shooting.

 

[matefrio]

Really looking forward to the class Monday. We'll see how fast I get one after that. I'm liking Victory models right now. Something with floorboards.

I've seen a couple of videos about how the engine is made on Victory models. Hydrolic lifters, oil cooled and the ease of maintenance are very attractive to me.

 

[Greg_TX]

When you start narrowing down your list of bikes, go to either the Sargent or Corbin websites and see if they offer an aftermarket seat for it. They are way more comfortable than factory seats and will add miles to any ride. BTW, I wouldn't worry about being able to keep up with a Harley...