Wear full gear, there's nothing in this world that is a more sound investment. I'm 18 and I thank god I didn't have the "too cool for gear" attitude, that many sportbikers and cruiser guys share. You can be the best rider in the world, and that still isn't going to stop someone barreling out of their hidden drive without looking. Just last week I was taken to the hospital after totalling my bike, and another car at a 5-way blind stop with obstructed signs. The paramedics and trauma surgeons alike told me that had I not worn gear, I would have been dead. They say that too often the most horrific cases they deal with are bikers without gear, bleeding everywhere, infectious, usually with many broken bones, spinal problems.... And if they hit their head on anything, forget about it. I hope you have more sense than the majority of the 20-year-old crowd barrelling down I-95 with wife beater, shorts, and a backwards cap.
Their is alot of good advice on this thread esp from Whart/SRT Mike etc. I work in the Motorcycle trade and would recommend taking a intensive training course and get some good quality gear from head to toe. As I work in a Triumph and Yamaha main dealership I'll try and not be biased on bikes FZ6 good overall 1st bike same engine as R6.(Very useable preformance can humble many exotic sports cars) FZ 1000 too powerful same engine as R1. TDM good big twin if your a big guy R6 and R1 full on sports not the best first bikes Triumph all are fantastic road bikes best for 1st bike as a sports Daytona 650 fantastic handling and very forgiving. R6 is not. Triumph Tiger probally best for a big guy superb comfort and excellent touring capacity CBR 600 another good sportsbike RR version to focused Hornet good naked fun bike. Get to test a few and make your own mine up comfort is very important as is the gear you wear. Remember the best looking bike is not alway the best to ride and live with day to day. Good luck
Good advice - I am glad you are OK. But the image of Doody in a wife beater, shorts, and a backwards cap is quite funny
Hi Gavin, I have a question for you. My company makes bike parts - we distribute through Tucker Rocky. I have been contacted by various shops in the UK about carrying our stuff. I'd like to get into the UK market, but it would be easier to go through a distributor rather than selling to 100 shops directly. Do you guys in the UK buy through guys like Tucker and Parts Unlimited? If not, who are the distributors who service the UK market, and do you know if they service the rest of Europe? I've heard its a hundred small distributors there but that could be wrong. And finally - I hear there are 2 BIG shows in the UK, one in Bristol and another somewhere else. Do you know which shows I mean and when they are? I missed them last year. As I recall one was October or so and one around February. I'd love to bring our trade show display this year. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread folks.
rotflmao! oh, but to be twenty again...... superb data all. many many thanks. wildly wildly helpful. i finally had some bandwidth today to visit a local dealer (GBM in Arlington). nice people, though they are very well-trained in the hard-sell. got to sit on a lot of bikes. i've pretty much ruled out a pure sportbike - my back and wrists won't dig that. maybe someday, but not too start. the standards with sporty flair were attractive. a good friend of mine who has been riding for decades suggested that my car experience might very well lean me towards an inline-4 rather than a v-twin (eg: FZ6 over SV650). he also said he's never known any biker who "hit it right" on their first bike, so i should be realistic about it all a priori. i'm not doing anything until after i take the MSF course and do more research. i figure early september in new england should be a good time to buy a bike - pick up a leftover '05 off the lot at firesale prices perhaps.... again, many thanks, gents! doody.
Bikes I've had that I that were so-so: Honda 750: inline4 Honda CBR600F2: inline4 Suzu DR-Z400s single Bikes I've had that were good: BMW 1100RT boxer twin MV Agusta F4S inline4 Bikes I've had that were great: Honda ST1100: V-4 Honda VFR interceptor: V-4 Ducati 916: V-twin Honda TransAlp: V-twin Notice how all the good bikes were Vs?
I'm bristling! I don't think all the good bikes were V's. In the realm of sportbikes, those that are head and shoulders above the rest would be R1, GSX-R1000, ZX-10r, CBR1000RR. All amazing bikes, all I4's. Compared to the RC-51 (looks cool but a bit of a dog and overweight), TL-R ('nuff said), SuperHawk (stop laughing, I know, I know), and plenty of other twins.
Yeah!?! Well, you know your problem? You're not a fat 47 year old that likes to putter thru the mountains! The Vs have character. Good road bikes. I'm not talking track bike.
Question to Uro: Please share why you felt the MV was only a "good" bike. I own a 996 Ducati and have considered upgrading to an MV. Since you've owned both the MV and a 916, you're certainly qualified to have an informed opinion. Thanks, CW
Thanks, Uro. Good points, and I guess I'll stick with the Duck. It's been a good bike. Maybe even a great one. As the dealership and service organizations have grown, parts availability has gotten significantly better. However, the execution of the service still leaves something to be desired. On the other hand, I can't think of any local motorcycle service that was good! It's fairly well-known around here that for every service story with a happy ending, there's one with a less-than-happy ending. Hence the do-it-yourself school of motorcycle maintenace! I do agree, though, that the MV is the holds-no-barred hottest looking bike there is, and they sound like a beautiful aria. Have you heard anything about the later models? You wrote that yours was an early bike. Not that that's an excuse to produce something that isn't developed properly, but has the subsequent time been used to fix those problems? Or do the current bikes still suffer from these design problems? Regards, CW
If you wait a couple of months the Triumph mid-size triple will be out. If it is consistent with their other bikes, it will be a great streetbike. Probably very user friendly and comfortable (for a sportbike). The triple is somewhat like an I4, but with more torque down low like a twin. It builds speed very deceptively. I just sold the 955 Daytona, but it was the fastest in a straight line of all my bikes, including my 999. While the I4 Japanese 600s and literbikes are no doubt brilliant performers, they are not without their own problems. GSXR1000's have had some frames break, ZX-10s have had fuel injection problems, etc. As they try to get them lighter each year, durability might be suffering as well. People see them as indestructible, and hammer them much more than the Ducati or BMW they just paid $18k for.
I don't know about the newer bikes. There are owners on here with newer bikes although I'm not sure who. Maybe Chaa?
And, Cornerswell, depending on where you live, there are some marvelous Ducati mechanics. i cannot speak highly enough of Bruce, at BCM, up in Laconia. But, since you haven't filled out your user profile (#$@*^), I have no idea where you are in relation to New Hampshire.
Whart, I do know of BCM. I'm in the Mid-Atlantic area, so Ferracci and DucPond are within reasonable distances. BTW, I'm PM'ing you. CW
Go with a chopper. Check out www.americanironhorse.com Very cool! If that's more than you want to spend, buy a used Harley. While not the fastest , a Harley V-twin gives you a riding experience like no other motorcycle can. As with the Ferrari driving experience, "...if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand..."
Frank: I have to respectfully disagree with your suggestion that a first time rider opt for a chopper or even a Harley as a starter bike. Neither, as you know, is about handling, or ease of management on the road, particularly at low speeds. I don't believe that a chopper, in anyone's experience, would be the right choice here, no matter how much you, me or others love them. I have the same view of a Harley as a first bike. No matter how much pleasure you get from the experience of riding one, it's not a bike for the beginner- it is far too heavy, has poor brakes and frankly, handles like poop. (I have one, among other bikes, and i appreciate it for what it is, but it is the last thing i would recommend to someone starting out. This is not about bashing Harley, its sort of like suggesting that somebody who never drove a stick shift or performance car get started, say, in a Diablo- way too big and unwieldy for the beginner).
That is probably true to an extent. But, if you take a good riders course there is no reason why a first bike can't be a Harley...a Sportster comes to mine. And, while older Harleys did have poor brakes, the new ones are much better...and the ones on my new AIH LSC chopper are superb as well as the brakes on most custom choppers . I agree that a used dirt bike is always a good starter bike though...that's how I learned back in 1969 on a Honda CL100...which also had poor brakes
I couldn't agree more. I run a powersports dealership and we are constantly guiding beginners to lighter/less powerfull bikes to get started on. We try as hard as we can NOT to sell them the biggest/baddest bike they think they need (or can afford). Instead we prefer to sell beginners something they can learn on and hone their skills effectively. Sure, we are chasing away potential profits up front but we are often repaid by them becoming repeat customers who have become avid riding enthusiasts instead of another statistic. Larry
I don't think I would say any of the cruisers I've ever ridden had "good" brakes. The V-Rod is probably one of the best and they are passable stock but better upgraded. The problem, IMO, with starting on a cruiser is most folks never learn real bike control. When I had a cruiser I went riding with the guys - mostly RUBs who didn't really do much other than go from A to B (B often a bar) and back. I remember doing a nice rolling burnout on my VTX and the guys looking on in horror and a couple telling me they never actually gave it full throttle. I'd be scraping the hell out of my pegs and exhaust one very turn and they are telling me I am nuts and I am going to drop the bike and I was "leaning sooooo far over". Theres nothing wrong with not being into corner carving, but its good to know what the bike can and can't do, and something like an FZ-6 or 600R or even a Honda 919 is going to teach someone a heck of a lot about bike control. Just my .02. I love cruisers but I've found the riders in large part are much less experienced and less in control than those who started off on other bikes and learned about handling, braking, turning, etc, etc.
If you just have to get a Harley, a Sportster (especially the Sportster Sport) wouldn't be too bad. Not nearly as kicked out as some of the big bikes from H-D. You won't have to worry about looping out either, ever.
fwiw, i have no intention of getting a harley or chopper, but thanks for the suggestion nonetheless . i'm pretty focused at this point on standards with a sporty bent in the 600 range (as previously discussed). i've been visiting dealers in MA the last week or so - very different experiences at different dealers - ranging from totally cluelss salesguys giving out bad information to ridiculous hard-sell guys ("uh, i don't even have my permit yet, how do you want me to get it home if i buy it today?") to hardcore but low-key ultra-biker guys (the latter have been great, the other two i can do without). i expected more of the latter. doody!
My first bike was a ZZR1100. Big bike i know but it has great comfort for you and pillion. It is very smooth and a great handeling bike that does not bite.
Not to digress (much), but does anyone else notice a pattern with our friend of late? The bike is the last clue. Dude-man: I was going to go spend a few days @ Keith Code's thing when I get back. Wanna go? I figure it's a good way to get real experience w/o hurting myself. --Dan
