 |
|
Beginner Motorcycle Forum:Forum for new motorcycle riders to ask questions and get answers. Ask motorcycle questions about gear, riding tips, safety, motorcycles, etc. |
| |||||||
| Notices |
 |
| | LinkBack | Thread Tools |
06-23-2008
| #1 (permalink) |
| Spider Interwebby Thingy  | What is the best beginner bike? Kawasaki Ninja 250, Honda Rebel 250: the best starter bikes Starting off your riding career on a big bike isn’t necessarily a death sentence, no matter what you may read around the internet. I started off on a liter bike, and many of my friends did as well. But after several laps around the track, and some seat time on the streets, I would have to agree that starting your motorcycle experience on a 250cc motor is probably the wisest choice. Which 250 you choose is up to you, and helping you decide isn’t the purpose of my writing. My purpose is to explain why starting off with a 250cc motor is a better choice than starting with a 600, 750, or 1000. The braking and handling, the bike weight and maneuverability, and the price and insurance are all more manageable. Brake Time… Riding a motorcycle is a lot easier when the bike has good braking and handling characteristics. In the case of the 250’s, less motor makes for better braking and handling. Let me talk about the track again for a moment: Riding on a track removes a lot of distractions that street riders have to deal with. Instead of worrying about cars, cops, and dogs, you concentrate on skills such as maintenance throttle in a turn, looking at exit points, and smooth braking. That last one is really important; smooth braking is what usually separates the fast guys from the slow guys on the track. Here is where the 250cc bikes really help riders learn to brake smoothly: the big bikes come into turns with so much speed that the rider will concentrate really hard on just slowing the bike down instead of concentrating on all the other skills that make you turn quickly. Let’s use the 80/20 rule: if you spend 80 percent of your concentration on slowing your big bike down, you only have 20 percent left to concentrate on consistent corner entry speed, finding your turning point, looking through the turn, using maintenance throttle to lock your angle in, well, you get the point. Smaller bikes carry less speed, so if you spend 20 percent of your concentration on slowing the bike down, you still have the 80 percent to concentrate with and improve the rest of the skills you need. The same thing holds true on the streets; we have lots of single-vehicle accidents when riders carry too much corner speed and then panic on the brakes. Ninja Be Nimble, Rebel Be Quick… This is where maneuverability fits in. If you try turning a Kawasaki Ninja 250 in a tight little parking lot figure eight (think about the MSF course) you will find that after just a couple of tries you can do it pretty easily. Now try doing the same thing with a 1300 or 1400cc bike such as a Hayabusa… you will find out real quick what I mean when I say that the 250 is a lot more nimble. The smaller motorcycles, such as the Kawasaki Ninja 250 or the Honda Rebel 250, have less everything: less motor weight, less frame weight, less tire and suspension weight… the smaller bikes feel like a bicycle when you jump on them after a day of riding the big bikes. What does this have to do with anything? Since most of us will spend our riding days dealing with traffic, stray animals, pot holes, parking lots, careening SUVs, aluminum ladders in the middle of a lane, and who knows what else, it has everything to do with learning and growing confidence on a motorcycle so that you can quickly and nimbly move around safely. I know riders who have hung up their helmets and gloves for good, because of one accident! Why? Usually it is because they don’t know what went wrong and their confidence has been shot. The whole experience felt out of control, and that is scary. While a more nimble motorcycle isn’t the cure (MSF usually helps), I would be willing to bet one of my lousy paychecks that post-accident a 250 will put a rider back in the saddle faster than a liter bike will. The little bikes just aren’t as scary when you fall off of them. As you grow more skilled on the smaller bike, you can start to consider whether or not you feel ready to move up to a heavier motorcycle (let me also throw in real quick: the resale is pretty good on the little bikes, not so much on the big ones!) Money, Money, Money…. Money! Money is the other compelling reason to start off with a 250. Ninjas and Rebels can be had all day long for the price of a full-time college semester (well, depending on your school…), while the big bikes cost as much as cars and trucks do. That is only half the problem though: many new riders will pay more for their insurance in one year than they will for the total of the bike itself! So, as a new rider, do the math: a two thousand dollar bike that costs you two thousand dollars a year to insure, or a thirteen thousand dollar bike that costs you thirteen thousand dollars a year to insure… think I am kidding? Talk to a few young folks who have tried to buy new sportbikes and they will testify to my words. Even for thirty-somethings like myself, there is a substantial cost difference to insure a 250 versus a larger bike. And here is the cold, hard truth: you may end up being one of those people who decides that riding just isn’t for you. And if that’s the case you will be better off if you haven’t already lost thousands of dollars in depreciation and insurance to a brand new gixxer 1000 that you no longer want to ride. Convinced? Good! Do yourself a favor: if you are a new rider, consider buying a Rebel 250, or a Ninja 250. There are just too many reasons why it makes sense. You will become a better rider quicker because of the friendly braking and handling, and the lighter weight the bike has. And who can argue when it comes down to our finances? The smaller bike makes more sense to your pocket book. Besides, when you are done with it give it to your significant other and go get yourself a new bike… you can afford it! |
|          |
|
10-08-2008
| #5 (permalink) |
| Wild Side  Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Middle Tennessee, USA
Posts: 44
| I guess I broke all the rules, then. First bike, (other than dirt bikes and minibikes, when I was a kid), was a spotless 2002 Yamaha Road Star 1600cc cruiser. It weighs in, dry, in the 740 lb range. I was intimidated at first. I took the MSF safety course, and since then, I've been riding all over the place, in all sorts of conditions. Rain, sun, night, highway, country, town... Yeah, I've dropped it twice. No biggie. I just picked it back up. The only real bruise was to my ego. I got the "Ride Like A Pro V" DVD, practiced in big parking lots, and learned how to handle the bike at low speeds and tight turns. Any idiot can aim a motorcycle down the road and providing there are no surprises, they'll be just fine. Learn how to control your bike, whether it's a 250 or a 1700. Learn how it handles at slow speeds, tight corners, swerving to avoid obstacles, and practice emergency braking/stopping. The more practice and training you get, the safer you'll be and the readier you'll be when the unexpected crops up. My tuppence worth.... -Frank |
|
| |
|
10-08-2008
| #6 (permalink) | |
| Spider Whisperer  Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 70
| Quote:
| |
|
| |
|
10-08-2008
| #7 (permalink) | |
| Wild Side Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Middle Tennessee, USA
Posts: 44
| Quote:
   | |
|
| |
|
| Tags |
| beginner motorcycle, new rider, starter bike |
| |
| Thread Tools | |
| |
"I just know that someday someone is going to start a thread here" 
