Motorcycle Forum / General / Sportbikes / December 2005

There are many reasons to want to ride bikes. Frugalness isn't necessarily a
good one, considering the overall risk to getting yourself kilt. Buy a Honda
Civic, they get about the same mileage as most bikes on the highway, and
when you get into a collision with an Expedition at least you've got a
fighting chance, what with airbags and 3000 pounds of aluminum and steel
wrapped around you.

I agree with Troy -- it's not the best reason to ride.  In fact, I think you'll
find yourself driving more becuase of the headaches involved.

That said -- wait to make a decision AFTER you take the msf class.  You'll be
riding several different styles of bikes which will give you a feel for what you
like best.  It will also show you that modern 250's are better than 500cc 15
years ago.

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I don't think they heard you correctly.  You listed fun before save.
Fun is the only reason to justify it to yourself.  Saving money is just
a rationalization.  So really you only have to weigh fun against
everything else: danger, weather, helmet hair if you have some,
wrinkled clothes, keeping shoes at work, maybe marital strife, theft,
etc.

Seems to me you already decided that the fun is worth it all. You are
doing all the right stuff... with your build I would suggest the 500.
Make sure you have money for safety gear.

As was suggested in another post, wait until after the class.  Trust
me, either way you will ride as soon as you get the bike.  It will be
better if you've had the class first.  Above all else they will teach
you counter-steering.  For your safety it is crucial you understand
that before you step up from mopeds.

Interesting link I got over at uk.rec.motorcycles re: motorcycles and
pollution:

    1. wessie
          Dec 21, 5:32 am   show options

           Newsgroups: uk.rec.motorcycles
           From: wessie <putmynameh...@tesco.net> - Find messages by this
author
           Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:32:11 GMT
           Local: Wed, Dec 21 2005 5:32 am
           Subject: Motorbikes '16 times worse than cars for pollution'
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     http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/story/0,12188,1671724,00.html

I can't believe how bike riders in a bike ng is discouraging someone
from buying a bike.
If you have a bike in mind, I say go for it. That will be one of the
best investments of your life, I don't care who  you are. The amount of
fun you'll get from it will make it worth it in no time.

As for models, have you considered a street legal dirt bike? That's how
I started long ago and I am glad I did it this way. Best way to learn to
ride a bike in the streets is to first learn to ride on some easy
trails.

A bike like an older Suzuki DR, Honda XL or similar are great street
commuters, far easier to learn to ride on and honestly more fun than
some semi sports bike. And since you can take it offroad on the
weekends, that is a huge benefit you'd get from it. It also handles wet
and snow a lot better than any street bike, in those days you may have
to ride home from work on snow (yes, that happened to me several times).
And anyone can ride a light, not-as-aggressive dirt bike since they're
far lighter and easier to handle than a conventional bike. Even a 500cc
street bike is a bit scary given the weight. Believe me, if you can
locate a bike like a Suzuki DRZ400S you will never want to get another
bike. That is a superb street bike and a very capable and fun dirt bike,
absolutely the best enduro bike ever, by a long shot. And for bragging
rights, it can damn nearly keep up with a 600 real sport bike and
definitely kick the a.s of a GS500. Then again they cost a small
fortune, so you could do with a mid to late 80's as a starting point.
Safer to learn on, more fun, more versatile. Can't go wrong.

If dirt isn't your thing (I can't believe how that'd be case unless you
lived in Manhattan) then another good bet is a Ninja 250. That's the
bike I nearly bought before deciding on a Katana 600. As a beginner
rider I definitely do not recommend a 600 sport bike. The Ninja is a
sport bike but as the numbers denote, one that is easy to handle, light
and damn right fun to ride (a Rebel?? What r u thinking??)