Those pictures are a fail poster waiting to happen...
It's been done.
Apparently, this is epidemic.
Those pictures are a fail poster waiting to happen...
The main thing that would bother me is committing to financing a bike for so many years and being stuck with it. What if I find out that I really don't like riding every day? I could possibly find some cheap POS and pay cash, which would be the smart thing to do since I'm bound to make a mistake and drop the bike, or possibly lay it down while moving..
So that's my life story. What do you guys suggest? I'm more interested in sport bikes then cruisers, but I'm not completely closed to the idea of getting a cruiser. Maybe someone could outline the advantages and disadvantages. I'm also not interested in going out and buying some big 1000cc bike either, 500cc is more then enough.
Am i ever supposed to turn the tire into a corner? Or is it ideal to keep it going straight or even slightly counter-steering? Does anybody have a description of how to properly control a slide, and is it possible (think Valentino Rossi here) to use brakes when entering a corner to get some sort of trail-braking effect, or is it better to just shift your own weight around?
On a side note i've decided i NEED as much good body armor as possible as i don't like not knowing how to control vehicles and my curious riding style will probably land me on the ground more then once, even though knowing how not to crashing is ultimately my goal.
A word of caution to the new riders here: look well ahead of your front wheel. I was cruising around on some back roads today and my nice paved road suddenly became a gravel path. Fortunately I saw it well ahead of time so it wasn't an issue. You never know what you're going to come across out there.
I was in a very similar situation to your own. I rode a lot of BMX and street when I was a teenager (still do a little) and I'm not really scared of much in my car. Mostly because the Ford's too slow to get me in trouble :lol:. I thought I would be very comfortable on a bike once I got the controls down, but I was more or less wrong. The heightened sense of awareness you get on a bike is great, but it also makes (me at least) more wary of cars, and I've grown leery of cobblestone streets :lol:. Overall though, I like it more than driving a car.So recently, like many people, I've been toying with the idea of trading my car in on a motorcycle.
At low speeds, when you're not leaning the bike, turn into the corners. Once you start leaning more you progressively counter-steer. Also, keep your body upright (perpendicular to the ground) at low speeds. Lean with your bike at higher speeds. You get a feel for it when you ride more.Am i ever supposed to turn the tire into a corner? Or is it ideal to keep it going straight or even slightly counter-steering?
I've never tried anything like that on pavement, and I don't think I ever will. On dirt though, it's about as straightforward as you make it sound. Begin turn in, keep the back end light as you brake, maybe roll on the throttle a little, letting the back hang out and then straighten up and come blasting out of the turn. Damnit, I just remembered how much fun that is . You don't need to pitch yourself so far in and forward as on a quad, but body english is necessary for balance. A nice big grassy field is great for this, wet grass lets you slide easily and provides a soft landing.Does anybody have a description of how to properly control a slide ...
Yep it was the MSF course. The instructors seemed very competent and I could tell they enjoyed what they were doing. Some of the other people in the course struggled a bit on certain things so I guess I was just lucky and everything came naturally to me.Are you sure it was an MSF course and not the A+ course? I've had both, people do mistake one for the other, and the MSF one is both different and much much better.
And, of course, a lot depends on your instructors. If you have idiots, you're not going to get much from it.
Either way, if you're new to bikes, it lets you screw around with someone else's bike before you start riding "for real" so the initial abuse goes on those bikes instead of yours.
You really think a decent bike could be bought for less then a grand? Something that could be riden without any (or very little) work?Doesn't have to be a POS, but remember that $500-1500 will actually buy you a decent learner's bike. You can learn to ride on it and cheap is good because EVERY newbie drops their bike at least once in the first six months. You read that right; we ALL dropped our first bike at least once in the first six months. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying, period.
Anyway, buy something cheap, good, and common so when you drop it it takes less damage and it's cheap to fix. Somewhere upthread is a list of learner's bikes that can be found on the used market. Get a little learner's bike, learn to ride, *then* trade in the car on something that you really want to ride.
That was something else my brother in law told me about. He isn't doing it, but he said it would probably be a good idea. But he told me it cost about $250.00, does that sound about right to you?My advice to both of you:
http://www.msf-usa.org/
http://store.msf-usa.org/Store/MoreDetails.aspx?pid=135
Do a Ridercourse first - it will save you from having to unlearn too many bad habits, and it will keep you alive. I also recommend the above Motorcycling Excellence book as a pre-reader before taking the course. It is not a substitute for the course, but it is THE primer on the art of riding a motorcycle.
Oh I realize it will be much different and I'll be much more wary of the cars around me. I'm already paranoid about being in people's blind spots and watching cars that are looking to make a right turn to pull out in front of me. I have no tickets and have never been pulled over, despite being a speeder. I know even driving my Toyota on the streets requires me to be very careful. It's top heavy as hell and weighs over 5,000lbs and doesn't have very good brakes. And now that it has a solid diff locker in the rear, it requires some careful operation to maneuver around. Every vehicle will require certain car when driving on public roads.I was in a very similar situation to your own. I rode a lot of BMX and street when I was a teenager (still do a little) and I'm not really scared of much in my car. Mostly because the Ford's too slow to get me in trouble :lol:. I thought I would be very comfortable on a bike once I got the controls down, but I was more or less wrong. The heightened sense of awareness you get on a bike is great, but it also makes (me at least) more wary of cars, and I've grown leery of cobblestone streets :lol:. Overall though, I like it more than driving a car.