[Tiresias]

I need to commute to my new job and don't fancy spending 5 hours a week on the bus. I can't really afford a car and besides, parking in this country is virtually non-existent.

So it's got to be a motorbike.

My first priority is safety, my second is not looking like one of the ubiquitous Korean noodle delivery men. This rules out most scooters.


Smallish motorbikes like this,



are cool but I've heard they're dangerous. Then again, as someone with little-to-no riding experience it's probably not a good idea to climb onto the 1352cc Kawasaki Nnja ZX-14.

Any recommendations, cautions, suggestions or concerns will be appreciated. At the moment I'm thinking of going with a medium sized bike in the 150-250 cc range.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

My first priority is safety.

This completely rules out ANY motorcycle and renders this thread pointless.

[Laminar]

I started off with a 200cc Honda, and it was a great size to learn on, even if it was a bit small for my 6'5" frame. A 150cc bike will get you around town nicely, a 250cc bike will get you up to highway speeds (albeit a bit slowly). If you're a "handy" person, it would be possible to pick up an older bike for cheap and get it running again - a lot of those old Hondas are absolutely bullet-proof, but owning an old bike is going to have its quirks. If that kind of "adventure" is not for you, a new bike would be a better option.

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

This completely rules out ANY motorcycle and renders this thread pointless.

I know, but I already do a lot of cycling around the city and motorcycling can't be much more dangerous than that.

Originally Posted by Laminar 

I started off with a 200cc Honda, and it was a great size to learn on, even if it was a bit small for my 6'5" frame. A 150cc bike will get you around town nicely, a 250cc bike will get you up to highway speeds (albeit a bit slowly). If you're a "handy" person, it would be possible to pick up an older bike for cheap and get it running again - a lot of those old Hondas are absolutely bullet-proof, but owning an old bike is going to have its quirks. If that kind of "adventure" is not for you, a new bike would be a better option.

I'm 188 cm. And I'm not going to be riding on the highway but there is 10-15 minute stretch on a straight, four-lane road so I'm not exactly just zipping around the city. It's a thirty minute bus ride and probably 20 minutes on a bike if I cruise.

What's a good cc given my needs?

Oh and ah, I'm definitely not capable of restoring a motorbike.

[ThinkInsane]

A Ninja 250 is a good starter bike. Or Rebel 250 or a Seca II. Small bikes, pretty forgiving for a novice and they won't break the bank or make you look like a noodle man. Take a motorcycle safety course, it is worth your time if you don't have any experience riding.

[Laminar]

A good 250cc bike should get you up to 160kph or so (not that you'd need to go that fast, but it's nice to have the room overhead).

I'm really unaware of what's available in your area and what the licensing process is. If you can get into some kind of motorcycle safety course, I'd recommend it.

[Tomchu]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

I know, but I already do a lot of cycling around the city and motorcycling can't be much more dangerous than that.

Famous last words!

Low sides, high sides, road rash, proper braking, proper upshifting, proper downshifting, countersteering, moving from a standstill on a steep incline, ...

There are many, many nuances to riding a motorcycle that you cannot possibly fathom right now, having no experience. :-) This is not a bad thing, but please don't underestimate the danger of getting on a machine that can propel your relatively unprotected, soft, fleshy body at 120 km/hr.

Definitely take a safety course when/if you do get this bike. They'll teach you things that you couldn't possibly figure out on your own (at least without some injury). For instance -- let's say you're zipping along at about 80 km/hr, and something jumps out onto the road. You brake, but you brake the rear a little too hard, and it locks, and starts sliding out from under you.

What do you do? Ease off on the rear brake, obviously -- right? No. At this point, you're screwed, and you should pretty much just hold on to that brake and let yourself and your bike fall into the "inner" side, and hope for the best. If you ease off on the brake, and the rear wheel gains traction again, but perpendicular/close to perpenduclar to your original direction of travel, you're going to get FLUNG over the top of your bike, and probably sustain more injuries than if you had just fallen on your side.

It takes lots of self-control and quick thinking in the moment that this kind of situation starts happening. Fortunately, I haven't yet high-sided (or low-sided, for that matter) my bike, and I hope never to. Before I started riding, I read hundreds of articles about riding technique, and watched tons of slow-motion accident videos to see what it is that can happen and what the rider did wrong. I'm going to be taking a proper riding course next month also.

But anyway, about the bike ... I picked up a '92 Kawasaki EX 500. It's a solid bike -- not weak by any definition, but also very forgiving. It has the power (if I need it) to get away from a scary situation. I think a newer 250cc ought to be good, as I think that technology improvements in the last 17 years make engine size comparisons alone unfair.

[olePigeon]

I'm a sucker for the BMW F 800 ST, but it costs as much as a car.

Metallic Blue with the storage option. What a bike.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

Smallish motorbikes like this,

are cool

I regret to inform you that you have been dramatically and wildly misinformed.

[kylef]

I'm in the same position that you are, even the same height heh. After we've passed our test here we are restricted to 250cc, but that level seems alright for a starter bike. The 2008-2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R seems to fit the bill perfectly: looks; reliability; comfort; speed; and good MPG. I'd recommend taking a look at it

And get yourself some gear! No $70 helmets.

[TheoCryst]

Originally Posted by kylef 

I'm in the same position that you are, even the same height heh. After we've passed our test here we are restricted to 250cc, but that level seems alright for a starter bike. The 2008-2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R seems to fit the bill perfectly: looks; reliability; comfort; speed; and good MPG. I'd recommend taking a look at it

And get yourself some gear! No $70 helmets.

I'm looking to get my first bike soon too (I almost did a few years ago, but ended up holding out). I'm torn between the Ninja 250R (sexy, great cost, but a little small for a 6'1" guy) and the 500R (a little more power for the highways, matches my size, but a less-modern design). Decisions...

But I definitely agree on the gear thing -- you can never be too prepared.

[climber]

Look at a super moto type bike like the Yamaha wr250X. This bike is fuel injected and gets better than average gas millage.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by TheoCryst 

But I definitely agree on the gear thing -- you can never be too prepared.

[phantomdragonz]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Pants, boots?

I ride with all the gear (setup boots, joe rocket mesh padded pants,joe rocket leather jacket, gloves, helmet) EVERY TIME I RIDE!

-Zach

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by phantomdragonz 

Pants, boots?

I ride with all the gear (setup boots, joe rocket mesh padded pants,joe rocket leather jacket, gloves, helmet) EVERY TIME I RIDE!

-Zach

I have boots, but no pants. I can't find a pair that would fit me. 34/36.

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

I have boots, but no pants. I can't find a pair that would fit me. 34/36.

Have you checked the freakish size section?

[phantomdragonz]

most motorcycle boots (at least the racing type) are made for pants that come to the center of the calf, my mesh joe rocket ones go all the way past my ankles (34" inseam) I have to wear my pants outside of my boots for that reason, maybe you could get away with wearing shorter pants with tall boots?

I have been seriously considering getting my pants altered so they are shorter and fit inside my boots.

-Zach

[mattyb]

Why not a scooter? Some of the three-wheeled ones are pretty good, you don't even have to put your legs down at traffic lights.

[kylef]

Originally Posted by phantomdragonz 

most motorcycle boots (at least the racing type) are made for pants that come to the center of the calf, my mesh joe rocket ones go all the way past my ankles (34" inseam) I have to wear my pants outside of my boots for that reason, maybe you could get away with wearing shorter pants with tall boots?

I have been seriously considering getting my pants altered so they are shorter and fit inside my boots.

-Zach

Some motorcycle boots are a bit like ice skates: rise above the ankles to prevent a break.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

I know, but I already do a lot of cycling around the city and motorcycling can't be much more dangerous than that.

… except that you're going much faster.
5 hours on a bus per week isn't all that much, really. Get used to it. Take something to read and learn to relax.

[Doofy]

[Dave N]

Says Red Molly to James "That's a fine motorbike.
A girl could feel special on any such like."

1952 Vincent Black Lightning


Sorry, couldn't resist -- one of my all time favorite songs!

[ghporter]

My first motorcycle was a Honda C70 (called the Passport in the late '70s and early '80s).

This one isn't mine, by the way. Number plate aside, I traded in mine in 1982...

In any case, 73cc, step through frame, good brakes, solid running gear, the C70 is still a great bike to commute short distances with. I got up to 96kph going uphill on mine; it can move in highway traffic. But it's great for commuting because it sips gas and runs like a top. It's also relatively inexpensive.

I'll also point out that I have had three motorcycle "mishaps." All three were single-vehicle issues, and all three were on the C70. It's not dangerous as a motorcycle, not at all. It's that I was a new rider. Statistics show that most people have their motorcycle accidents within their first 6 months of riding (at least in the US). So whatever motorcycle you choose, get training. Serious, hands on, detailed training. It could save your life, but it WILL make you more comfortable.

One final thing. While you're riding a motorcycle, the other drivers can't see you. But they're still out to get you.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

My first motorcycle was a Honda C70 (called the Passport in the late '70s and early '80s).

A bogger! ("bog seat", due to the seating position).

I cut my right heel off on one of those things.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

I have boots, but no pants. I can't find a pair that would fit me. 34/36.

I'm told surgeons HATE jeans.

In a motorcycle accident, jeans completely disintegrate, and surgeons and their assistants spend literally hours picking every single cotton fiber out of the raw flesh with tweezers.

Jeans are pretty much the worst thing you can wear on a motorbike.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

A bogger! ("bog seat", due to the seating position).

I cut my right heel off on one of those things.

My best friend got one in blue, and my wife and I got matching yellow bikes. We all stopped in a parking lot and my wife's started to tip over (she leaned the wrong way), and though she stepped out of the way, our friend tried to catch the bike as it fell. What did he wind up grabbing? The muffler, of course. I learned some new words then...

My mishaps were pretty standard new rider things, at least the first two. I hit the brakes WAY too hard not three weeks after buying the bike and I flew over the handlebars for 20 feet. I am STILL finding bits of asphalt in my elbows from that. The second was when I made a turn through a puddle, a mistake in itself; I found the large pothole in the middle of the puddle with my front tire and down I went. Spent a long weekend vacation in bandages for that goof. My third was caused by another driver. I was going one way on a pretty sharp S curve and the oncoming car's driver decided to take his half out of the middle, or maybe more my side, of the road. I successfully got out of his way but just before I stopped I found the beginning of a drainage ditch. At least that one didn't scrape up the same parts that the first two did. All of this is on topic: I want to explain this to emphasize that mishaps can happen and as I said above, you need training to avoid them. After taking a formal motorcycle riders' safety course, I could handle all sorts of things and knew what to look for and look out for. I could jump a 4" obstacle (simulating a muffler falling off of a beater in front of me in traffic), and ride at about 4mph for almost 100ft. Very good real-life skills to have.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Statistics show that most people have their motorcycle accidents within their first 6 months of riding (at least in the US).

As I understand it, the statistic is about people on their current bike for less than 6 months. IOW, even experienced riders are likely to screw up when they switch to a new bike.

Anyway, it's not really that hard to learn, especially if you stay off the highway for the first month or two. Really the only thing that's different about motorcycling (if you already know how to ride a bicycle and drive with a clutch) is that you can't brake in a turn. So you have to think ahead, and if there's a blind turn you have to slow down early so that if you wind up having to stop you have enough room to do it in a straight line.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

As I understand it, the statistic is about people on their current bike for less than 6 months. IOW, even experienced riders are likely to screw up when they switch to a new bike.

Anyway, it's not really that hard to learn, especially if you stay off the highway for the first month or two. Really the only thing that's different about motorcycling (if you already know how to ride a bicycle and drive with a clutch) is that you can't brake in a turn. So you have to think ahead, and if there's a blind turn you have to slow down early so that if you wind up having to stop you have enough room to do it in a straight line.

You're correct about the statistic; I just wanted to emphasize that NEW riders need training. When you change bikes, you're a "new rider" for the new bike. And you're right about learning how to ride. It's just that Motorcycle Safety Foundation (or equivalent) training helps you work out those strategies and tactics like how to slow down before you enter the curve and power out and so on.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Yes, I agree. Take a course, first, before you do anything else. If for no other reason that you might find out you don't like riding after all. Then you don't have to sell a bunch of gear.

[Rumor]

I suppose I should post a picture of my bike.



1969 Honda AC160. I go to the DMV to get it titled on Tuesday. I hope to be riding by September. It doesn't need much done to it.

Headlight, new gas tank, battery, oil change, spark plug change, upholster the seat, brakes, tires, perhaps another thing or two.

[Laminar]

Sweet.

Here's my stable right now:

1983 Nighthawk 550. It's my daily driver, I've put almost 4000 miles on it since April.


1976 CB550. Still under construction. I'm going to cafe this one, I'm going to fiberglass my own tank and seat, the exhaust is/will be all custom built with homemade baffles/fiberglass packing.


1974 Kawasaki H1. 500cc two stroke three cylinder. I just got it for free this weekend. It's complete minus the seat and the air filter. I got it running for a few seconds last night, just needs some cleaning up. This bike should be quite the screamer when I get it going.

[ghporter]

I've said it before, Laminar, that Nighthawk is SCHWEET.

[Paco500]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Why not a scooter? Some of the three-wheeled ones are pretty good, you don't even have to put your legs down at traffic lights.

Wacky- but oddly appealing