bill@allegra.UUCP (Bill Schell) (03/10/85)
Perhaps some of you veteran motorcycle people out there can help me out. I'm looking for a little guidance in buying my first bike. My problem is that I know next to nothing about motorcycles. I'm looking for a bike that I can use for tooling around town and for short trips (<= 100 mi.). I don't need blistering acceleration, but I don't want a moped either. Also, as the roads around here are somewhat twisty and hilly, it would be nice if it handled well. (I'm 6'2' and 175 lbs, if this makes a difference). Any recommendations as to what types or sizes of bikes (new or used) would be good candidates would at least give me a starting point for looking. Pointers to magazines, books and especially training courses would also be greatly appreciated. Please send any replies by mail, I'll post them if anyone wants me to. Thanks, Bill Schell AT&T Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ (allegra!bill)
silva@ccup.UUCP (Rich (the Wiz) Silva) (03/13/85)
{burp}
Here's my nickles worth....
Unless you have bunches of money around I would strongly suggest
buying a 'small' used bike as your first bike....
1-> Its alot less expensive all around...
cheaper insurance...
cheaper to buy in the first place
you wont 'cry' so long after you first bang it up
2-> You'll get first hand experience fiddling with parts...
this is very worthwhile, you have to first decide
which kind of whatever to get (usually shocks,
chain, and/or tires on a used bike)
3-> after you've had the bike for awhile, you can better
decide what you really want in a bike....
1-> maybe you really do want the blazing accel.
2-> maybe you want a 'two-wheeled Winnebago'
3-> maybe you want quick-nimble-not-so-stable sterring
maybe you want steady-put-it-in the corner
and 'forget' about it steering.
4-> chain or driveshaft?
5-> pair of shocks? or (what do they call it) single-shock
rear suspension
6-> riding attitude.... hunched over, sitting back, on
your head, whatever...
7-> how many passengers :-)
In any case this allows you to better decide what you're looking for without
investing the money in a new bike, then changing your mind...
Richdir@obo586.UUCP (Dan Rosenblatt) (03/19/85)
{for the line-eater?}
A good way, my wife and I found, to learn everything you (n)ever
wanted to know about motorcycle riding and saftey was to take the
"Motorcycle Rider Course" as given by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.
I'm sure its changed since we took it, but it consisted of 8 hours
classroom and 16 hours on-bike instruction with the bikes and helmets
supplied by the instructor. The bikes were 75 to 175cc enduro-types.
By the end of the course, they had us doing quick-stops, emergency
avoidance, and riding over railroad ties (4x4). We also found that
as a result of taking the course, we only had to take the written
test and not the practical when getting the MC validation on our
licenses. I strongly recommend the course (and am not connected to
it in any way). Their address is:
Motorcycle Safety Foundation
780 Elkridge Landing Road
Linthicum, Maryland 21090
By the way, I'm currently riding an 82 Kawasaki 750
Spectre and have never had an accident or a ticket.
Dan Rosenblatt
obo Systems, Inc.
...{ihnp4!denelcor,nbires!gangue}!obo586!dirbarbay@spp2.UUCP (Chris Barbay) (03/23/85)
I would like to second the recommendation of the Motorcycle course given by the MSF. I went through the course in Long Beach, CA and I really enjoyed it. The instructors I had were two motorcycle police officers and they had many tips on accident avoidance. When I went through the course, I was required to wear long pants, a jacket, and gloves. If I had a helmet, I could have brought it along, but they do provide them for those who have none. The course was 24 hours over 3 Saturdays. 8 hours were devoted to lecture and 16 hours to practical riding. We rode Honda 250s. This bike was small enough to handle for most people, but also had enough power to make it seem more practical. (Unlike riding a minibike) I took the course only 15 months ago and I recommend it highly to those who have limited or no riding experience. After the course it was suggested that when we accumulated approx. 9 months of riding experience, we should take the advanced course. This course is one day, and you bring your own bike. The course is composed of all riding and going through extensive accident avoidance manuevers. I am plannning on going through that course soon. -- Chris Barbay
chip@vaxwaller.UUCP (Chip Kozy) (03/25/85)
> {for the line-eater?} > > A good way, my wife and I found, to learn everything you (n)ever > wanted to know about motorcycle riding and saftey was to take the > "Motorcycle Rider Course" as given by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. > I'm sure its changed since we took it, but it consisted of 8 hours > classroom and 16 hours on-bike instruction with the bikes and helmets > supplied by the instructor. The bikes were 75 to 175cc enduro-types. > By the end of the course, they had us doing quick-stops, emergency > avoidance, and riding over railroad ties (4x4). We also found that > as a result of taking the course, we only had to take the written > test and not the practical when getting the MC validation on our > licenses. I strongly recommend the course (and am not connected to > it in any way). Their address is: > Motorcycle Safety Foundation > 780 Elkridge Landing Road > Linthicum, Maryland 21090 *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** I couldn't agree more! My wife and I found the MSF course (12 hrs classroom and 12 hrs "range") to be a cheap (as opposed to buying a bike) way to find out if we would enjoy riding. The info put out in the class was really well put together and presented in easy to understand terms. The "range" practice introduces you to just about anything you would find on the street, and then some. The course we took was run through our school districts' Adult Education program. I would suspect that other areas handle this in the same manner. BTW, MSF also (in our area) sponsors an "Advanced" course (recommended that you have 2K to 3K miles on your bike) as well as a maintainance course. Both of which we have not yet taken, but plan to ASAP. -- Chip Kozy (415) 939-2400 x-2048 Varian Inst. Grp. 2700 Mitchell Dr. Walnut Creek, Calif. 94598 {zehntel,amd,fortune,resonex,rtech}!varian!chip