my first bike

my first bike

juvinious

Member #5,145

October 2004

I suggest you pick up the book Twist of the Wrist II. Excellent read more inclined towards the street than the track and will help you be much better biker.

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Paintown

Chris Katko

Member #1,881

January 2002

bamccaig said:

The Kawasaki Ninja 250R goes from 0-60 in under 8 seconds, the quarter mile in 16 seconds, and has a top speed of 154 km/h (95 mph). That's plenty for a first street motorcycle. It'll more than keep up with traffic and it hopefully won't even kill me doing it.

I'm going to tell you from first-hand experience, if you're not light-weight and/or planning on doing highway travel, get a (slightly) bigger bike. The 250 holds around 10,000 RPM at 70 MPH. Any idea how much vibration comes out of an engine at 10,000 RPM? You'll rattle your teeth out of their sockets if you drive on the highway for more than 30 minutes. Your joints will physically ache.

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bamccaig

Member #7,536

July 2006

Chris Katko said:

I'm light weight (125 lbs) and I only have about a 20 minute drive on the highway. The highway is officially 55 mph (though people drive closer to 65 mph).

** EDIT **

Insurance through my current broker (liability and theft)(assuming an M1 license):

2008 Honda CBR125R: CAD$1100/year.
2008 Yamaha V-Star 250: CAD$1200/year.
2009 Kawasaki Ninja (*cue gasp from broker*) 250R: CAD$1200/year.

I'm leaning towards the Ninja... :-/ My dad seems to be leaning hard towards the V-Star though... This could be interesting.

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I mean the best with what I say. It doesn't always sound that way.

Matthew Leverton

Supreme Loser

January 1999

My insurance is $20/month. Yours shouldn't be too much higher...

Thomas Fjellstrom said:

I wonder if its similar to how I steer when I'm riding with no hands. Of course I mostly just use my own weight to handle the turning.

Countersteering requires hands to steer in the "opposite" direction. There's no way to turn quickly at mid to high speeds by just leaning. You can make wide turns by leaning and shifting weight, but countersteering is absolutely required for real turns.

On a bicycle, I think the learned behavior is a quick twitch in the opposite direction, followed by a lean, and turning in the same direction.

Everybody does it... except for the kids just learning how to ride a bike. Why do you think they crash on turns at the beginning? Because they haven't figured out countersteering and their parents probably aren't smart enough to tell them about it.

Around 30mph, it seems to be very pronounced and easy to do. As soon as you turn in the opposite direction (which is natural), the bike dips toward the curve. By shifting your weight, you can maintain a good speed.

If you cannot convince yourself of it, try steering with one hand at minimum speeds of 10-12 mph. Think about which way you want to go and push in that direction.

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jhuuskon

Member #302

April 2000

Bambam, I thought of an elaborate and lengthy explanation exposing your flawed reasoning but chose not to since it's probably not going to make any difference.

So instead I'm just going to reiterate: You're a goddamn wuss. Riding easy on a 174hp Hayabusa isn't in any way different from a 21hp 1983 Yamaha RD125LC, but the extra horsepower and torque allow you to accelerate out from some nasty situations that would result in a crash on a 125cc. Even the 70-something hp of the SV gives you that benefit but a small displacement 4-stroke won't. Come on, grow a pair!

You don't deserve my sig.

Arthur Kalliokoski

Second in Command

February 2005

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They all watch too much MSNBC... they get ideas.

bamccaig

Member #7,536

July 2006

I really like the part about feeling comfortable running as fast as you can and just throwing yourself at the pavement. Funny he didn't actually mention a helmet though...

jhuuskon said:

Bambam, I thought of an elaborate and lengthy explanation exposing your flawed reasoning but chose not to since it's probably not going to make any difference.

Truth be told, the main reason I'm looking at smaller bikes is because they're cheaper. A lot cheaper. And easier to find. The whole reason I'm looking into motorcycles right now is because ML showed me how affordable a bike can be.

The insurance is also a LOT less for smaller bikes. When I went in to get quotes today, the broker literally gasped out loud when I said "Kawasaki Ninja". She expected the results to be unbearable and was very surprised by the quote I was given.

--
I mean the best with what I say. It doesn't always sound that way.

Matthew Leverton

Supreme Loser

January 1999

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My helmet.

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Trent Gamblin

Member #261

April 2000

No frickin laser beams?

Dario ff

Member #10,065

August 2008

No pictures of you riding the bike, or wearing the helmet, or using both? :-X

TranslatorHack 2010, a human translation chain in a.cc.
My games: [GiftCraft] - [Blocky Rhythm[SH2011]] - [Elven Revolution] - [Dune Smasher!]

Matthew Leverton

Supreme Loser

January 1999

I only do one at a time. :-/

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Chris Katko

Member #1,881

January 2002

bamccaig said:

The insurance is also a LOT less for smaller bikes. When I went in to get quotes today, the broker literally gasped out loud when I said "Kawasaki Ninja". She expected the results to be unbearable and was very surprised by the quote I was given.

It's only 600cc and above that have insurance hikes.

bamccaig

Member #7,536

July 2006

Chris Katko said:

It's only 600cc and above that have insurance hikes.

I haven't found a sport bike yet with an engine's displacement between 250 cc and 600 cc. :-/ Certainly not in Canada/USA.

--
I mean the best with what I say. It doesn't always sound that way.

Chris Katko

Member #1,881

January 2002

For instance:

Suzuki GS500

Kawasaki Ninja 500R

bamccaig

Member #7,536

July 2006

A 500 is practically a 600... ::) Suzuki conveniently offers no suggested price on their Web site (not the Canadian Web site anyway) and the nearest dealer is over an hour drive away. The Kawasaki Ninja 500R is apparently over CAD$7000.

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I mean the best with what I say. It doesn't always sound that way.

juvinious

Member #5,145

October 2004

bamccaig said:

The Kawasaki Ninja 500R is apparently over CAD$7000.

And apparently the last of that series in 2009. They are phasing it out and marketing the 600 in it's place.

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Paintown

Chris Katko

Member #1,881

January 2002

bamccaig said:

A 500 is practically a 600...

Except on the grounds of insurance price and horsepower. ::)

The 500cc Suzuki has 52 hp. The 500cc Ninja has 59 hp. The 600cc Suzuki has 125 hp. Meanwhile, I see new 2009 500 Ninjas on eBay for $3,600.

bamccaig

Member #7,536

July 2006

eBay?! You want me to buy a motorcycle on eBay?! ::) By the time I get it shipped, probably for a few thousand dollars, and likely over the border, through customs, pay duty, etc., it'll probably be September; which I guess will be good because I'll have the whole off season to fix all of the things wrong with the "mint condition!!!!!111" motorcycle.

--
I mean the best with what I say. It doesn't always sound that way.

Chris Katko

Member #1,881

January 2002

bamccaig said:

By the time I get it shipped,

Why would you ship it? It's a motorcycle. Drive it.

10 minutes of searching got all of the following information:

2005 Kawasaki Ninja 500R; 3,073 miles; $2,000 to $2,700 (Buy It Now).

The Bike

Directions

But if you'd rather pay more than twice that, there's nothing I can say at this point.

juvinious

Member #5,145

October 2004

I personally wouldn't go with the old ex250 models (2007 and below) as the kawi 250r was completely redone from engine to body in 2008... which includes a nice gas gauge. If you want more information between the differences of the two you can view a very good write up here.

In fact, a good deal of resource and information for kawi 250's can be found here, I'd highly recommend reading through that site.

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Paintown

bamccaig

Member #7,536

July 2006

Thanks, juvinious. I'll definitely be reading through both of those sites.

** EDIT **

Matthew Leverton said:

The rest of the gear, I'll make do with what I have for now (regular leather jacket, gloves, and high ankle covering shoes.

Based on what I've been reading, you should expect to spend up to $1000 on proper safety gear for motorcycling. It sounds like a really good idea to have since you really can't prevent other drivers from wrecking you. It seems having "armor" will give you a better chance of avoiding maiming or death. Have you invested in better gear since you posted this or do you ever intend to?

--
I mean the best with what I say. It doesn't always sound that way.

Arthur Kalliokoski

Second in Command

February 2005

Leather clothes and high top boots are more to prevent abrasion when sliding along the pavement than to provide impact resistance.

They all watch too much MSNBC... they get ideas.

Vanneto

Member #8,643

May 2007

bamccaig said:

It seems having "armor" will give you a better chance of avoiding maiming or death.

Nothing except the helmet helps for serious injuries. Basically, if you hit something or something hits you at a high speed, you're dead. Period. Oh the adrenaline.

In capitalist America bank robs you.

bamccaig

Member #7,536

July 2006

If you survive it will probably be after sliding across the pavement for a few hundred feet. A jacket doesn't help you much if you aren't wearing the pants to match it. Plus, most leather jackets are probably designed with form before function whereas when it comes to motorcycle gear you'd probably prefer it was designed for its intended purpose.

In the motorcycle gear that I'm looking at, there is impact padding in all the major joints, etc. There is also a back protector (extra) that fits inside the suit. It might not prevent injury, but it should protect you from a lot more than just a plain leather jacket would.

http://www.aerostich.com/aerostich-suits/roadcrafter-one-piece-suit.html

If you get it in high visibility coloring like I'm planning to then you'll also be easier to see than with black leather (albeit, a yellow, one-piece suit would probably look kind of silly on a cruiser).

:-/

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I mean the best with what I say. It doesn't always sound that way.

Matthew Leverton

Supreme Loser

January 1999

If you crash a motorcycle and hit something immediately upon flying off the bike, you're going to be in bad shape no matter what. Otherwise, if you hit the ground cleanly (especially when low-siding), the proper gear will save you a lot of skin. You may still have plenty of broken bones.

But obviously it's more risky riding a bike and crashes are usually not going to end well. However, I've read stories about bikers walking away from accidents without a scratch, while the person who caused the accident was dead on impact. So there's no sure thing.

And no, I don't have proper gear yet. I have leather jacket and gloves, but they aren't reinforced with any sort of armor. I'll be upgrading my leg and feet defense within the next month.

I'll be geared up properly by the time summer comes and I'm doing 180 MPH on the bike.

bamccaig said:

If you get it in high visibility coloring

I'm pretty sure that's a biohazard suit.

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