gareth
Established
If you are going for your first proper bike, I'd advise staying clear of anything too sporty or too rapid.
Loads people seem to pass their test and buy sports 600's. Today’s 600 water cooled Jap bikes are rockets, and have quite radical front ends making them pretty twitchy.
Ideal first proper bikes are the CB500 or the ER5. Plenty of go, practicable, easy to look after and neutral handling. Once you ridden 6mnths or so on one of those, you are ready to within reason try anything you fancy. The other thing is the person who spends a bit of time on the CB500 and then say buys a sports 600 will quickly get to grips with it. While the chap who went straight from passing his test to the sporty 600 will still be trying to get to grips with the thing.
And my best three tips for beginners are;
1. Learn how to steer your bike. Amazingly they don't teach you this to pass your test, and it's probably not how you think you do. There is only one way to make a bike change direction and it's worth leaning.
2. Learn how to brake. Practise. Don't discover in an emergency that you ain't figured this out yet. What happens to beginners is they grab a handful, the forks dive, the front locks, they let go and then grab another handful. The bike now acts as a pogo stick with the front suspension bobbing up and down wildly. Though with modern BMW's you may not have this problem with their fancy telelever front end. Bull all the same you need to learn how to stop.
The trick is pull the lever in gently and right up to the point you can hear the tyre squealing if you need to stop real quick.
3. Learn to look ahead. New riders and if truth be told most of us on the road tend to look directly in front, not up front. You need to pay attention to what is happening ahead. The other point about this is target fixation. Where you look you will go (especially if you have sussed out 1.) At some point you will over cook it in a tight bend or roundabout, whatever. Don't look where you think you are going to go, as that's exactly where you will go. Look right out the other end of the corner and you will come out the other end of the corner. Your bike is usually much more capable than you are, mine certainly is!
Loads people seem to pass their test and buy sports 600's. Today’s 600 water cooled Jap bikes are rockets, and have quite radical front ends making them pretty twitchy.
Ideal first proper bikes are the CB500 or the ER5. Plenty of go, practicable, easy to look after and neutral handling. Once you ridden 6mnths or so on one of those, you are ready to within reason try anything you fancy. The other thing is the person who spends a bit of time on the CB500 and then say buys a sports 600 will quickly get to grips with it. While the chap who went straight from passing his test to the sporty 600 will still be trying to get to grips with the thing.
And my best three tips for beginners are;
1. Learn how to steer your bike. Amazingly they don't teach you this to pass your test, and it's probably not how you think you do. There is only one way to make a bike change direction and it's worth leaning.
2. Learn how to brake. Practise. Don't discover in an emergency that you ain't figured this out yet. What happens to beginners is they grab a handful, the forks dive, the front locks, they let go and then grab another handful. The bike now acts as a pogo stick with the front suspension bobbing up and down wildly. Though with modern BMW's you may not have this problem with their fancy telelever front end. Bull all the same you need to learn how to stop.
The trick is pull the lever in gently and right up to the point you can hear the tyre squealing if you need to stop real quick.
3. Learn to look ahead. New riders and if truth be told most of us on the road tend to look directly in front, not up front. You need to pay attention to what is happening ahead. The other point about this is target fixation. Where you look you will go (especially if you have sussed out 1.) At some point you will over cook it in a tight bend or roundabout, whatever. Don't look where you think you are going to go, as that's exactly where you will go. Look right out the other end of the corner and you will come out the other end of the corner. Your bike is usually much more capable than you are, mine certainly is!
Paul700
Newbie
Ash,
Save yourself the grief, until you get the wrong side of 30, the insurance cost in the UK will eat into your film money too much.
I must be a miserable git, but seriously, bike, kit, helmet, gloves, boots, wet weather gear, tyres, brake pads....it soon gets ugly.
Other posters are quite right, two wheels is great, but you should really have all your affairs in order.
I am lucky enough to have a bike at work to play with, I mean work from. This came with the best road training availiable in UK. 14 years of biking, and I am sure others would agree, you develop a 6th sense.
Ride if you want, many are called, most make it through, just be careful and assume everyone else on the road is trying to kill you.
Various 100/125cc, Yamaha XJ600, suzuki GSX600R, Moto Guzzi 850T3, and all sold!
Now Suzuki DRZ400 (company bike).
Save yourself the grief, until you get the wrong side of 30, the insurance cost in the UK will eat into your film money too much.
I must be a miserable git, but seriously, bike, kit, helmet, gloves, boots, wet weather gear, tyres, brake pads....it soon gets ugly.
Other posters are quite right, two wheels is great, but you should really have all your affairs in order.
I am lucky enough to have a bike at work to play with, I mean work from. This came with the best road training availiable in UK. 14 years of biking, and I am sure others would agree, you develop a 6th sense.
Ride if you want, many are called, most make it through, just be careful and assume everyone else on the road is trying to kill you.
Various 100/125cc, Yamaha XJ600, suzuki GSX600R, Moto Guzzi 850T3, and all sold!
Now Suzuki DRZ400 (company bike).
aad
Not so new now.
A lot of Guzzis here, me included-see gallery for more info.
The UK has a great selection of learner bikes.
The UK has a great selection of learner bikes.
gweldoncone
Member
I have several bikes but the one I enjoy the most is my W650 Kawasaki. They don't import them to the US any more but they may in the UK.
Ash
Selflessly Self-involved
Paul, I was weighing up such costs, and I just dont want to wait another 10 or 20 years to ride. But I'm a longboarder, so I guess I'm getting a share of adrenaline..... I could always save up the cash and get a nice sporty car instead? 
jmilkins
Digited User
Ash said:... I could always save up the cash and get a nice sporty car instead?
Ash, beware - "4 wheels bad , 2 wheels good".
I'd go for the Suzy SV650 if I was starting over.
Ash
Selflessly Self-involved
ahhh!!! the conflicting emotions and the empty wallet!!!
tajart
ancien
mango, you are getting wise with age.
bearexposures
Member
honda 600rr for the build quality so i can ride in the wet..and a carbon fibre clad ducati for the sunny days, the scottish roads are the best in the country, being from England and riding there for years i feel qualified to say it. i agree with FRANKs, 2 wheels free the mind and soul...
gareth
Established
Chalk and cheese.
And anyway even supercars get stuck in traffic.
Ash
Selflessly Self-involved
too true gareth,
mango, you read my mind. i can't have a girl who's cooler than me though!!
mango, you read my mind. i can't have a girl who's cooler than me though!!
Paulbe
Well-known
Oh wow! When I first saw the "bikers" thread I thought it was those things you pedal! Ahhhhhh--someone said the HD "Fatboy" was a terrible MC name..have you seen some of the people who ride them???
I have an HD Dyna but please----start small and then go up in ccs...
Yes you can pick up a 700 lb bike--there's a tiny gal at Sturgis who shows how to walk up a Gold Wing--if I can find the link I'll psot it--ride on!!
I have an HD Dyna but please----start small and then go up in ccs...
Yes you can pick up a 700 lb bike--there's a tiny gal at Sturgis who shows how to walk up a Gold Wing--if I can find the link I'll psot it--ride on!!
Red Rock Bill
Well-known
Hi, I'm 62 and this spring traded my 1976 BMW R60/6 for some remodeling work on my kitchen. But I kept my KLR 650 a bike better suited for all the unpaved roads and trails in Western New Mexico.Regards,Bill
Mauro
Mauro
Dear Kully,kully said:
I must confess it is not easy to see a Royal Enfiled riding on Italian roads: I think I am the only one in my province. But it is funny to see the other bikers faces when I stop to traffic lights! Another funny moment: when I park the bike and I take my Kiev 4 out of my saddlebags, people all around start asking for information. Probably I am considered as a living museum, eh eh eh...
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AlanS
Member
Hi Ash, just seen this thread. I run 2 Ducatis, ST4s and 748sp I have also been riding since 1968 (16yrs old). I don't ride as soon as they grit(salt=corrosion) and they grit a lot up here. I do have big days out on the wonderful (empty) roads of northern England & Southern Scotland, weekends in Scotland and tours abroad.
Don't get a rocketship, SV, Bandit etc. plenty fast enough, buy good quality clothing and wear it. Learn how to ride safely, and practice the skills every time you go out. It can be fun without the 'Death wish' so many seem to think you need.
Have fun.
Don't get a rocketship, SV, Bandit etc. plenty fast enough, buy good quality clothing and wear it. Learn how to ride safely, and practice the skills every time you go out. It can be fun without the 'Death wish' so many seem to think you need.
Have fun.
Fred
Feline Great
Ash
Selflessly Self-involved
Great to see so many responses, and from all over the globe, I'm especially thankful to you UK guys, since, of course, I'd be riding in the same conditions as you lot. I'm getting a clearer picture in my mind, but of course the 'rents have no idea yet!
Jon Perry
Established
Best not to tell them...
Just turn up on it one day!
Make sure you have a friend there with a camera to record their expressions!
Jon
Just turn up on it one day!
Make sure you have a friend there with a camera to record their expressions!
Jon
kully
Happy Snapper
Ash said:
As Jon says - I just turned up with a bike one afternoon.
"WTF!?!?"
"Err.. I need it to get to work"
"Bloody hell... oo, ok then"
AlanS
Member
Parents can be tricky if there is no biking history. I was lucky as we had bikes as long as I can remember. My Son has also followed the tradition and started at 16 (he is 21 now) and also runs a Duke (ST4). I wish you luck with them.