Brilliant Idea or Fatal Mistake

[Kills On Site]

So I've had this desire for a motorcycle for a while. At a place close to my house they recently got a pair of Suzuki GSX-Rs, one black and one yellow. I've never riden a motorcycle before, but I do bike a bit. Is this a desire thats going to get my ass killed or have a shit ton of fun. Anyone have some personal experience to share on the matter?

[HM-PuFFNSTuFF]

A friend of mine died on his.

[tnf]

I've considered one for some time now just to use commuting to work and back. But I've also driven by a wreck that was caused by a merging driver not seeing the guy on the motorcycle who was doing nothing wrong. Car was fine, biker was not. That's the only type of thing that worries me. I used to drive a shitty little dirt bike to college and back to the house I lived at - this was only a couple miles but even with that I had some real close calls with dumbfuck drivers. It's that lingering concern about other people's stupidity and lack of attention and my wife being concerned about the fact that I've already had several serious head injuries and concussions (one put me in the hospital for a week) that are keeping me from getting one right now. I really want one for the summer though.

[Κracus]

Yeah I want one too, that sounds like a little much to start off with... try to keep it under 500cc for your first bike, and buy a bike you won't mind tipping, because you're going to, and you don't want to tip a nice bike with a nice paintjob unless you have a lot of money and don't mind spending it repainting the scratches you're going to leave on your first bike. Plus, it really is dangerous to get a powerful bike for your first bike. And this advice is comming from me, the one individual on this msg board that does stupid things on a daily basis. Well used to anyway.

[Nightshade]

As I've told others here that have asked the same question, it all depends on you own level of maturity. Yes, bikes are a blast and yes, they're dangerous. Since you've never ridden before, I'd advise you to stay away from sportbikes like GSXRs. Even the 600s have ~100rwhp and that's A LOT. I learned how to ride on a Ninja 250 and it was the smartest thing I could have done. I know ONE person that started on a sportbike (he had a GSXR 750 when he was 16) that never laid it down. It's not necessarily that you'll ride wide open throttle everywhere, but that if you get in to a hairy situation you may unintentionally give it way too much gas and dump it. Or worse, high-side and get thrown into a tree.
Look at a Kawasaki Ninja 250 or a Suzuki GS500E, they're both great bikes to learn on, fun to ride, and they look halfway decent as well. Anyone that tells you to go for a big, sexy literbike for a first ride is a fucking retarded squid.

[Tsakali]

too lazy to check but I bet skydiving has a better survival rate than riding .
but I do want to get one myself .

[l0g1c]

How old are you?

Bikes are lots of fun, but here are the pitfalls that I've encountered.

You WILL ride fast. Make sure you've got as much awareness and common sense as you do speed and you should be okay. Just don't go overboard. I try to keep track of all cars within a certain radius and position myself in what I feel is the safest position.

Spend the couple hundred bucks on your Motorcycle Safety course or find someone who's been riding for years to show you the ropes. I mean veteran here, not some kid that's been riding for two seasons. Emergency stops and being able to maneuver to avoid an accident will save your life.

Don't get a fancy crotch rocket for your first bike. I'd say a 10 year old bike somewhere around ~500 cc's is a good starter bike. Should be nice and cheap too. You will probably lay it over while you're learning (hopefully not in traffic). You don't want your shiny bike to be thrashed in the first season. The cc recommendation isn't really because of speed, but because of weight. A bike that size WILL still go quite fast enough. You want something that you will be able to muscle around to make up for your lack of experience.

And the cardinal rule that kind of ties everything up is "Ride like you're invisible." Some people say "Ride like everyone is trying to hit you" but that's kind of extreme.

If I remember right, you're just graduating from HS? I honestly would wait a couple more years, and don't take that personally. I know when I was your age *wheeze* I wasn't responsible enough for a bike.

If you listen to only one thing I say, take the MSC and take it seriously. In fact, if you're somewhere where they provide the bikes, you may want to take the course before you even buy a bike. You'll gain a lot of perspective in that time.

[Scourge]

I'm getting one pretty soon. But I'm going in the cruiser direction. Probably with a Dyna Super Glide. I've been riding bikes since I was around 14 and no major mishaps. I agree with Nightshades comment on maturity level. If you're going to act immature on it you're much more likely to get hurt.

[Kills On Site]

Wow, I can tell by the lack of sarcasm in this thread that it may actually be a bad idea. I probably should wait, shoot for a car in the meantime. Here is a question though, would any of these schools provide bikes to learn on, that way I can see if it is for me or not?

[Scourge]

The one here does. So it's a good possibility.

[Nightshade]

Wow, I can tell by the lack of sarcasm in this thread that it may actually be a bad idea. I probably should wait, shoot for a car in the meantime. Here is a question though, would any of these schools provide bikes to learn on, that way I can see if it is for me or not?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure most MSF courses provide bikes.

[andyman]

Wow, I can tell by the lack of sarcasm in this thread that it may actually be a bad idea. I probably should wait, shoot for a car in the meantime. Here is a question though, would any of these schools provide bikes to learn on, that way I can see if it is for me or not?

Someone in another post compared it to skydiving, and they are half right... If you're in the air, you have a good chance of dying. But unlike skydiving, if your on the ground, you still have a good chance of dying.

Your best bet is to take it slow, 3 people I worked with all fell off their neato crotch rockets within a couple months of getting them and they all thought they were experienced.

[Doombrain]

lol, if you get on a gsxr1000 as your first bike, you're a dead man.

[saturn]

As I've told others here that have asked the same question, it all depends on you own level of maturity. Yes, bikes are a blast and yes, they're dangerous. Since you've never ridden before, I'd advise you to stay away from sportbikes like GSXRs. Even the 600s have ~100rwhp and that's A LOT. I learned how to ride on a Ninja 250 and it was the smartest thing I could have done. I know ONE person that started on a sportbike (he had a GSXR 750 when he was 16) that never laid it down. It's not necessarily that you'll ride wide open throttle everywhere, but that if you get in to a hairy situation you may unintentionally give it way too much gas and dump it. Or worse, high-side and get thrown into a tree.
Look at a Kawasaki Ninja 250 or a Suzuki GS500E, they're both great bikes to learn on, fun to ride, and they look halfway decent as well. Anyone that tells you to go for a big, sexy literbike for a first ride is a fucking retarded squid.

Sound advice. Been thinking about getting a bike licence for a while now.

[Nightshade]

Bikes are so much fun, people that don't ride just don't get it. But you have to be smart about it, because it's VERY easy to get into DEEP trouble and get extremely dead.
I was riding with a friend a couple months back on a nice, twisty two-lane road with lots of fast sweepers. We passed a cop at 70+ and decided to put some distance between him and us. We weren't going at ludicrous speeds, but we were moving right along and as we headed into a fast downhill right-hander I saw flashing lights on an oncoming car. It turned out to be a rural mail delivery vehicle and not a cop, but it broke my concentration just enough that the bike started to drift towards the double yellow line. It also caused me to back off the throttle just a bit mid-corner, which is a big no-no. When I glanced down at the speedo I was still going 93mph, lol. Someone with less experience may have just plowed head-on into the mail car's grille.

[l0g1c]

Hehe, from sober and sagely advice to a "Runnin' from da cops" story.

[bork[e]]

[quote="Nightshade"][/quote]

Even though I'm sad your little story didn't end differently, why is it a "no no" to let off half way through a corner?

[l0g1c]

When you turn on a bike, you lean over. The only thing stopping gravity from dragging you down is the centripetal force of going around the corner. If you slow down, you lessen that force and you go boom.

[Nightshade]

Not exactly. The biggest problem is that the bike attains a certain balance in a corner and when you let off the throttle it unsettles the chassis, changes the forces acting on the suspension, tires, rider, etc. If you're rounding a bend at speed and you simply let go of the gas or hit the brakes, the bike tries to stand back up. You'd have to have it leaned over VERY far and scrub off a shitload of speed in order for it to just lay down. The most likely outcome of mid-corner deceleration is that you'll straight-line the corner and end up eating tree bark or a guard rail. If you get off the gas/hit the brakes then get back on it you'll be wobbly, off balance and off your line.

[Nightshade]

Hehe, from sober and sagely advice to a "Runnin' from da cops" story.

Nah, I have a radar detector on my bike, the cop didn't even clock us. We just wanted to not be in the area if he decided to turn around and see what we were up to. I'm surprised he didn't, because my buddy locked up his back tire when he saw the cop.

[menkent]

guy i worked with about six years ago died on his bike. some soccer mom in a minivan didn't see him coming toward her and turned left in front of him. he smacked into the side of the minivan at about 35-45mph and was DOA at the hospital.

[JooKed]

I got my Ninja 250 when I was 16, and I'm 17 now.

I took the MSF 2 times.

If style is another concern, then thats no worry. You can eliminate the back fender on the 250, and most females barely notice the difference between a ZX-12 and an EX 250r. If you're lucky, you can get a used 2008 Ninja 250 which looks SICK.

[Nightshade]

It's not at all a bad looking bike, it just has a lawnmower engine.

Seriously, here's what you can do on one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2irI45vlEw

[Peenyuh]

Balance and reflex. Bikes can be great fun. Start out small, most guys who phuq up on bikes do it on bikes that're too much fer them to handle. Riding is definately worth gaining the confidence and skill required. Get into it. You'll love it.

Seriously, here's what you can do on one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2irI45vlEw

*yawn* That's 3:49 I'll never get back. Don't you think he was being a little too conservitive? By the looks of all the vids posted there, I thought he was over qualified fer that ride. Of course, I don't know how fast he was going...

Definately right about the "lawn mower".

[Nightshade]

Umm, I think you may not quite be appreciating the speed at which he's traveling in relation to how ridiculously tight that road is. Deal's Gap is motorcycle Mecca, but without smelly people slapping their heads on the ground. I've noticed that most of those vids are deceptive in that they can't accurately convey either speed or grade.