advice for first time rider/buyer
 

hey guys,

I want to buy a bike this spring and im starting to do my research now. what advice can you give for a first time buyer and rider? what kind of bike should i be looking for? Im not much of a crotch rocket guy right now... seems a little excessive to learn on. I know the usual things to look out for when buying any type of vehicle, im just trying to narrow down what bikes would be good for me. thanks!


I guess I should point out that im looking at used bikes...

I would suggest going to a professional riding school like Pacific Riding School, or BC safety council.
This way, while you are learning and dump the bike, it isn't your bike that is getting damaged.

There are 2 types of riders out there. Those that have dropped their bike, and those who will drop their bikes. It sucks to drop your brand new bike.

good advice! Im def not buying a new bike... lol something cheap for the first time! like cheap cheap! haha

Its all about your mentality, take a read in this thread

http://www.revscene.net/forums/may-h...e-t631030.html

lots of great deals on used bikes right now, which will probably carry on over to the spring. it's a great time to be a buyer

as others have said, it is all about the attitude of the rider. if you are confident, safe and respectful of other road users, you will be fine.

i bought my first bike this august, a cbr600rr. i am a new rider but i keep a cool head and i have been very cautious as well as mindful of other people on the road.

please take a professional riding class as i have (pacific riding school) and I cannot emphasize the impact it has made on me.

I've always believed the best riders learn on the dirt, but apparently this is not a popular concept. Things that work for a new rider are; light weight (like a dirt bike), wide handlebars (like a dirt bike) and centrally located footrests (like a dirt bike). The things that will get a learner into trouble are; narrow or pull back bars, forward or rear set pegs and too heavy or too powerful engine. It also helps to know your body weight and how athletic you are to offer reasonable recommendations.

To offer some additional perspective on how light or heavy bikes can range, I weigh ~145 lbs. my 250cc Trials bike weighs in wet at 168 and my 1000cc street bike is just shy of 600 lbs.

Just a note on those that choose to learn on a 4 cylinder 600cc street legal road racer, they are initially using at most 10% of the performance available and it's only a matter of time before she get's the better of their lack of riding skills.

The rider course will offer you more insight about type and size of motorcycle that works for you, but they really don't want you dropping their motorcycles, that will earn you a failure and get you kicked out of class.

take a course and you will know if you like riding.
Depending on your size, a ninja 250 is a good starter bike. Always some for sale as ppl want to upgrade to bigger bike. Otherwise,an older 600.
Then there are the sport bikes and supersport bikes.
Sportbikes: Yamaha FZ6, Suzuki SV650, Kawasaki 650R
Supersport: Yamaha R6, Honda 600RR, Kawasaki ZX6R, Suzuki GSXR600.

My buddy rides a suzuki drz400sm supermoto and loves it. Basically a dirt bike set up for the street.

As posted above, the best advice you can get at this point is "TAKE A COURSE" The best investment you can make is improving (in this case learning) your riding skills. I can say from personal experience that taking the course saved my life due the skills and knowledge they embedded in my brain. I went to Action which I believe relocated from Surrey to the valley somewhere. Pacific Riding is supposed to an awesome school as well, which is located where Action used to be in Surrey.

In a nutshell, I believe Action became PRS one way or another.

To the OP, when I said new bike, I didn't mean brand spanking new but new to the owner. I'd highly recommend going to a riding school first, before deciding on which bike to get. Personal experience and seeing all of my friends buy a bike before getting their liscence then decide the bike they bought wasn't right for them and lost $$$ trying to off load that bike cause they found something better that they wanted.

Some bikes are easier to sell then others. I believe a 250 ninja is fairly easy to sell, if priced right because lots of people are looking for a learner's bike to start with. Older 600's like an F3 or older maybe harder to sell because they are outdated, big and heavy, and for a little bit more $$$ you can get a newer bike. For example, you can spend $2500ish on an older 600 or buy a used 03 600RR for like around 4K.

do u have to pay for dumping the driving schools bike??

If it was accidental, then no. If you did it on purpose, or caused excessive damage on the dump, then yes.

yeah I'll enroll in a school for sure... and im 6'1 200 lbs, and athletic. I live on bikes, just not bikes with motors haha, so Im fairly confident.

I was thinking of a classic bike... nothing too special at first, and I dont live in Van so road conditions aren't as consistant, makes me think a crotch rocket might not be the best idea for me to start out on.

thanks for all the great feed back!

Royal Enfield (India) makes a nice 500cc single, unless that's too classic for you, it has tall wheels and a full size frame for someone of your stature, standard riding position and reasonable price (~7K new) Large displacement singles have just enough power to be fun but not so much as to scare the novice rider. Current R-E models have fuel injection and a retro english design and styling. One of the worlds longest histories in motorcycle production, but you won't find find used R-E's in this country as the dealer/distributor network is just starting up.
Just google Royal Enfield images and you'll either love it or think it's a stupid suggestion.


...there are 2 avatars on this forum that I just can't stop staring at: josh t-1 and racerman88

^ cool suggestion man! im going to look them up! see how available they are in BC...

what do you guys think of a triumph or yamaha?

depends what type of bike your looking for. I had a r6 previously and it was tons of fun. It was quick, easily to handle and pretty sweet looking.

Just make sure you have a pre purchase inspection for any bike you plan on purchasing. The $100 fee may save you hundreds more in the future.

looks a little tough to get a royal enfield these days, they're not allowed to be imported into canada anymore, and theres very few available online... hmmm... what would service be like on one of those? i dont want something thats gonna cost an arm and a leg.

Try www.enfieldmotorcycles.ca/find-a-dealer ...should find something out your way, I believe the new importer is in Calgary. I'll be at the Toronto Bike show on Saturday and R-E is slated to have a booth there. I'll let them know potential customers are having difficulty locating them and have very understandable service concerns.
I think the next bike show out your way is - January 20th-23rd TradeX Exhibition Centre, Abbotsford That might not be close to Okanagan, but shows are still the best place to find deals on helmets, gloves and accessories, plus you can do a lot of one stop shopping for a bike. Any dealer serious about representing their products usually attend the bike shows. You were asking about Triumph and Yamaha, both make fine motorcycles with modern Triumph engines actually being manufactured in Japan.
...hope this helps some.