I had practiced riding it around town for about a month before I actually went in to take the test. Riding around town is no problem. That test is made for smaller bikes, I tell ya. I would recommend taking it with a small bike if you can.

True that. When I started asking around all the people I knew that have had motorcycles, I discovered that just about every single one of them drove around with no license. ROFL
I had a hard time trying to figure out when the heck I am ever gonna need the kind of skill it takes to go around those cones. When will I ever need that in the real world?

Agreed.

Very good post. Last month there was a story in the paper about motorcycle accidents. I believe that most of them were operator error (one drove into a wall, another off the road with no other traffic around).

My buddy told me that he drove his bike around Kansas for 10 years and never once got pulled over. Said the cops pretty much ignore bikes.

Ewww. That is hilarious and gross at the same time.

Yeah, the instructors should be pissed. Who do you think had to clean that bike afterwards?

if you read those studies the most common is the motorcycle runs off the road due to rider error. next most common, a left turning car pulls out in front of the bike.

i saw another with some expert and average riders where they gradually got them drunk and ran them around a test course. they found that their performance decreased measurably after even one or two beers. a lot of people think that they ride better after a low to moderate amount of drinking :rolleyes:

some bikes when they see you they are just looking for a reason. I think they are likely ignore cruisers for normal traffic stuff, but more likely to scrutinize cruisers other times. (bar closing time)

When I see a motorcycle at closing time I think... That poor bastard's family

I rode the Honda Shadow yesterday, but the money end isn't going to work out between us. The owner is a coworker and she'd offered to work with me on paying for it (some now, some later), but she needs more than I have to pay off the note on it. Bummer. Was a great ride, and I really liked the bike.

Couple days ago went and played around with a 2009 Vulcan 900.... that's a sweet bike. Wish I could talk myself into spending $8K on a motorcycle, but I can't. Not for a first bike. Might consider one of the new Vulcan 500s.

Supposed to go take a look at a little Rebel this weekend. We'll see how that goes.

Maybe look at V-star 650s

I bought a 2003 650 Custom for $3200 in 2005 w/ 47 miles on it; sold it last year for $3200 w 5k miles

Great bike. Zero issues.
Other than being a little short in 5th gear at 70-80-mpg; needs a taller 5th gear or 6th. I’m 6’ 230 and it hauled me around just fine.

Maybe look at those?
Heck of a lot cheaper; good bike; smaller; good to learn on/improve on etc. for not a lot of $$$.

V-star 650 is a great choice

Just got home from road testing the Rebel... it's a last resort. If you're taller than about 5-7 I'd recommend against it. It's really small, smaller than the Nighthawk. Runs well, and has decent pickup, it's just physically small.

LOL, I'm just a hair over 5-7, 150 lbs. How was it as far as vibration compared to other bikes you've tested?

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/mcy/1275409360.html sold.

It's a lot quieter than the Shadow I rode the other day, but I can't really comment on vibration... it wasn't something I noticed. It got it up around 50 mph and it didn't feel strained at all. I'm only 5-10 (though significantly heavier at 230).

Thanks FMB. I'm still in window shopping mode, so I appreciate your input on actual road tests. I got my permit yesterday and will now sign up for a safety course, so hopefully soon I'll be doing some road tests myself.

Dont get one period. You're Welcome

:Scanlon: times have changed.
sec

Thank you FMB for starting this thread!!

Only MV can scam on chicks on his sweet bike

Well, I'll probably be picking up something on Thursday. It'll either be a 2001 Vulcan 500 LTD or a 2009 Vulcan 500 LTD. Haven't made up my mind if I want to spend more money or less money, but it'll be one of those two on Thursday.

Both models are exactly the same except for color.

sweet.
sec

http://www.rubbermag.com/news/0710/i...1016_vdmba.jpg

I still love this look for bikes. Don't hate the jap bikes.

Don't ask me price.

Johnnypag.com :thumb:

I'm getting very anxious... like a kid waiting for Christmas. I want Thursday here faster.

I remember that feeling, picking one up for the first time. If I hadn't held on I might have floated away.

Cool pic googlegoogle. Is that a speed twin?

I'm SOOOOOOO pissed. Bastards sold both bikes out from under me. I told them I was coming today for the 2009, and they sold it this morning. Took 1/2 day off work, drove 80 miles to pick the thing up that ****ers sold it 6 hours earlier.

:banghead:

welcome to the motorcycle experience...please have a seat and we will call your name. what was your name again?
sec

Sorry that happened. It's a common model, I bet you can find one soon.

Buying a motorcycle isn't like buying a car. It's more like buying a television.

Holy shit. I would be spitting nails right now.

Those ****ers owe you a bike and a little extra something for your troubles.

looks like single cylinder.

They don't owe him anything if he didn't reserve it with a deposit, but they should have reminded him of that fact beforehand I think.

The way the economy is, with so much inventory on their floors, I guess I don't blame them for selling a bike to someone who was in the store with cash in their hand.

there's a pipe on the other side. look through the spokes in the rear... parallel twin

I totally understand it, and after the initial pissed off I get selling to the first person there with the money. I'm actually as pissed as anything that I took a half day off work and drove 80 miles for nuthin'.

thought it was a
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Bonneville


but it's a t.tiger.

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/20...2008-photos-2/

the photo has better angle.

great looking bikes.

First bike I ever rode on (as a passenger) was an early 70s triumph trophy. love the brand. In fact whenever I go to auctions or shows, there are always 70s bonnevilles for sale very clean and very affordable. Would love to buy one someday, but I can't justify it. love the rocket and the new thunderbird... maybe next time I switch up

Wifey just came in with a pic... this is my new toy... slash labradoodle.

Just brought home my very first bike.

A beautiful 1998 Honda American Classic Edition 750. 8900 miles, roughly. This pic is from the Craigslist ad.

only 8900 miles, a honda is just getting broken in at 10k. on the internet you can find a PDF copy of the owner's manual if you don't have one, and you can also get one of those shop manuals for this bike as well I bet. will help you learn it inside and out and do your own maintenance. On some bikes they recommend having the valve clearances checked at 10 or 12k, probably worth having done. No more than you will spend on maintenance on a Honda, hour or two of labor is an inconsequential sum.

congrats.

Gotta go buy some disk locks. Right now she's just under a cover.

nice looking ride.
sec

excellent...be careful!...you'll be glad you didn't go smaller..you'll adjust to this bike pretty quickly.

when you are missing your wife..a nice ride will help out..congrats!

Oh, you mean from all the ladies I'll be picking up with the motorcycle, a la Midnight_Vulture?

Sweet.

:D

don't forget to pop your collar when you get off.

So how is it going so far?

Haven't been able to ride much. The bike needed to be serviced badly, it'd been sitting in a garage for 2 years. So I stayed off it for the most part on the weekend, took it into the shop tomorrow. They said it was in great shape, but was in bad need of new plugs, which are supposed to be in this morning. Should get her back shortly, then it's ridin' time!

Just in time for a birthday alone, since the wife will be working. Looks like I'm joyriding this evening.

congrats !
Nice looking skoot.

Sweet ride. Congrats.

wild1,
where can you find owner's manuals? I need one for my 2005 Shadow Aero.

I cannot remember the website, but I've always found them by searching the internet. They are out there.

Fire Me, I was turned on to a product called Seafoam. It seems to clear up 'gunk' in the system very well. I have not had a carbureted bike for a few years now, but when I brought an old ride out after the long winter I would treat the first two tanks with Seafoam (half a can for each tank was about the right mixture). A lot of people with all types of motorcycles swear by it. You can buy it at any auto parts store for less than $10.

I'll keep an eye out for it. :thumb:

You're welcome and don't do what's in my signature:

Well, I can't seem to find them. Perhaps I am not looking in the right place. I suppose I am stuck going to the Honda dealership.

I'm sure some message forum exists for you model. Perhaps they could help.

The only riding leathers you'll ever need....I'M BATMAN!

http://www.universaldesigns.ca/UDR/store/TDK/TDK.html

http://www.universaldesigns.ca/UDR/s...ages/TDK_1.jpg

You should buy a enduro bike and learn how to ride first.

Get use to it riding in the dirt them move to the pavement.

JMO.

not bad advie form kcbronc


one thing to think of

I have a 78 honda twinstar
and I have a bitch of a time finding parts
and you have to order everything
and they do add up

Ummmm.....wth? Why?

The only post from KCbroncoHater I have ever agreed with.

My first bike was too much for me, luckily I survived it but I dont recommend riding on the road first.

Because if you have never had a bike there are differences you need to get familiar with like accelerating out of corners.

Take the motorcycle safety course (MSF) offered through most community ed programs, and then spend a 1,500-2,000 or so miles on a 500-800 cc bike....over the course of a year or so....is a better option, IMHO. They teach the steering and turn and curve techniques.

:shrug:

Yea the other option is to go small. I agree. But I think like a 250 or 400cc. A 750cc bike is still a lot for a newb.

My first bike was TL1000. Bad idea. LOL. The good news was once I got used to it I had a lot of bike.

I'm just thinking the MSF course teaches the gyroscopic turn thing (push with outside hand, lean into the turn)....that a lot of newbs don't get. It makes such a huge difference, that with experience riding in an urban setting...offsets the need for a training-wheels type approach....but, JMHO.

But your way works too, I'd think.

nOObs have a steep learning curve and it isn’t uncommon for them to hit the ground. Dirt is softer than pavement for both you and the motorcycle.

I rode around town on a scooter for almost a year and after doing the MSF course I felt like that actually gave me a pretty solid foundation. Not that I haven't learned a lot since starting riding, but I've ridden pretty much every day, rain or shine, for more than 4 months.

love the sound of these bikes.
Vtwins rule.

I guess that is true. I was a motorcycle n00b, too. Friends told me you will lay it down within the first 6 months. Well, that never happened.

Sounds like you're due.

:)

(j/k Be careful!)

Ha ha ha ....... fugger! 4321

:p

Actually, that is the one thing that I am always aware of - safety. I am very careful. Have been since I started riding a bicycle around town 10 years ago. Drivers can be idiots.

Keep the dirty side down.

I don’t mind v-twins and have enjoyed riding the few v-twin sport bikes I’ve had the opportunity to throw a leg over but I grew up around 4 cylinder bikes and nothing matches the hair raising shriek of a high strung 4 cylinder sport bike whipping through the RPM’s.

Starting in the dirt is just the opinion of some people.
I’m like you, started pavement and stayed there.
Not that I haven’t or don’t ride dirt bikes when the opportunity arises though.

this is true...esepcially when you think you're about to max out the engine and look down and you have about 4k more RPM.:evil:

This has never intrigued me.... I much prefer the low rumble of a cruiser (which is why I didn't even consider the crotch rockets).

To each his own, it sure would be boring with everyone riding the same thing. But I'd rather get to my destination in style than at 120 mph. :)

yeah; I had my cruiser too and love it (in fact, that'll probably be my next road bike).
the sport bikes are definitely race bikes with mirrors. it's a blast to feel the acceleration etc. Then again...if you're experienceing any kind of awesomeness on a sport bike, you're probably breaking several laws :D

I'm seelling my in the spring; and maybe in the next few years I'll probably look at getting another metric cruiser.

FYP :D

For just cruising or general transportation v-twin cruisers are easier to get along with. They make power in an almost lazy fashion, probably because power is available so low in the rev range. 4 bangers are kind of buzzy by comparison.
Sport bikes in particular are not good at just lazily cruising around town. Without air moving through their body work they’ll get hot, they tend to buck and surge at low RPM’s and generally act indignant. Sport bikes are like a high-strung race horse, they want to get out and run. Fuel injection has tamed them somewhat but still it's in their DNA.

Absolutely.
Sport bikes are much closer to their racing cousins than sports cars are to theirs.

this is mostly true; they're not good for lazyily cruising - primarily (for me anyway) because of the riding position. Forearms and writsts etc. start to get fatigued.

Mine is an 08 CBR 600RR; it does buck a bit a super low revs (there is a small flat spot in the power curve around 2-3.5k if I remember) and if you're not careful you when the power recovers it can surge a bit if you're still on the throttle.. Fuel injection has helped out a ton. my ZX-6r (2003..R.I.P.) was carburated and it had a few flat spots if I recall and would get a little annoying in traffic.

Mostly though, I think the bikes want be in their happy ragnge - 8.5-12k RPM or so. The power REALLY comes on in that range; and the gears are so close together ratio-wise that you can really keep in in that range for a good flogging. But, the trade off is nearly constantly shifting (this isn't so much an issue on a litre bike given their torque). Definitely 'buzzy'. As you say...they definitley like to run/be pushed hard. And will do so with no problem.

I really liked my V-star 750's low end; it was nice for short roll-ons in traffic etc. But she was buzzy at hwy speeds (75+); mostly because of no 6th gear; and a fairly short 5th. othewise, and great bike. Especially for the $3300 i paid for her (she was 2 yrs old with 45 miles on it!) I'll probably look at another Star bike, but probaly in the 1100cc range this time.

in fact, there is a division of AMA racing call Superstock or Formula Xtreme ( I can't recall)/..the bikes are basically factory bikes with very very minor adjustments made for the track. Watching that division of racing is great; those guys ride the Sh*t out of those bikes; basically the same bikes you can go buy with no experience (a bit scary if you ask me).

Yes, you’re thinking of Super Sport. They are mostly 600cc 4 cylinders that aren’t allowed much in the way of modifications from a stock bike. Exhaust and appropriate injection mapping are about it for performance modifications.

I have never tipped my bike over.

Of course it has 4 wheels and is a car so that helps a lot.

For my first bike, I bought a Suzuki Boulevard 800. I had zero experience on a bike. This one was perfect. I loved that bike. Problem was I travel too much and only put 3K on it over 4 years. Hated to see it go. It was shaft drive and fuel-injected and very comfortable.

Are you an organ donor?