Well... I'm considering taking a beginner motorcycle safety class... it's about $150 and they provide the motorcycles for you to learn on. The class consists of 2 days of classroom instruction and 1 day of riding. Then of course, if I pass, I'm gonna take the next step and buy a motorcycle. I found a place (motorcycle shop) off of the South Loop that teaches this class. HCC teaches it as well but I don't think I want to take the class there. Convince me to do it or talk me out of it... let's hear it folks. oh, also... in late September there's a motorcycle rally in Galveston, The Lone Star Motorcycle Rally... I'm going, anyone else?
Do it. I used to love riding (pre-family and baby days!). My advise... Take the course... The one i took had some safety tidbits I still remember 15 years later (such as stats on drinking and riding, shoulder check after a stop, and others) Wear a helmet. A good one. Not quite so cool...but your noggin's worth it. Ride carefully. Racing, and scraping pegs just ain't worth the risk -- you're not surrounded by the big steel cage anymore! Be careful. Have fun.
rockHEAD, I was in your shoes a couple months ago. I'd been thinking about riding for about 5 or 6 years. It is definitely more dangerous than driving a car, but you can take some steps to mitigate the risks (formal instruction, protective gear, and no alcohol when riding). You're probably taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course. I highly recommend it. It teaches you the basics, but you'll need some more practice on your own before you become comfortable on the street. I took the course at Awesome Cycles, because the course availability is great. I took delivery of a used sport-bike (Suzuki GS500) the day before my course. Are you more interested in cruisers, sport-bikes, dirt-bikes, etc?
Just don't get your fingers hurt... we need pbp. Stay safe dude - it's probably just a phase or mid-life crisis.
Every other person I talk too has had a motocyle accident. I will never get on one for that reason alone. When you crash you really crash. You have to live each day. No doubt. I suscribe to that philsophy of life, but you have to decide if you want to take that risk. Is is really worth it? Thats the bottom line question you need to answer.
If you really want to live on the wild side, ride one with a kilt. You can post your results in the "I like to were dresses" forum.
You'll definitely be able to ride cruisers at the MSF course. The nice thing about them is the stability compared to sportbikes. I'm used to bicycles so I prefer the seating position of sportbikes, with my feet underneath me instead of in front of me. I also love the power and handling, and just the feel of the wind rushing past me. Risk-acceptance is a personal thing, but get good protective gear, especially for the first six months. That's when us beginners statistically have the most crashes. I'd recommend a helmet (full-face is best), gloves, and motorcycle boots at the minimum. A thick leather jacket and pants/chaps will be a lot cheaper than skin grafts if you go down. Some leathers are perforated so you won't get too hot as long as you're moving. The Lone Star Motorcycle Rally looks great, but my sister is getting married that week, so I won't be there. Looks like a good opportunity to test out some bikes and enjoy music, though.
My cousin taught me how to ride a crotch rocket, fell down about 3 times out of the first 10 times I rode (this is in Indian traffic). but then found it really easy to adjust to cruisers, and any type of bikes in america,
You can learn to ride a bike safely, but you can't control those around you. If you aren't riding around like an idiot, 90% of the problem is not letting other people hit you. You aren't as visible as a truck or even a car to others. My advice is to get the bike if you want it, but don't drive at night when the drunks are out, or in the rain when most people generally drive like crap anyway. I used to have a roommate with a bike. He had one near-death experience when he lived with me. He was driving back from a bar-tending job at night when someone cut him off just before an intersection. The car that cut him off was driving through the next intersection when it got T-boned by some drunk running a red light. He stopped riding his bike at night after that.
My advice is to start on some cheap metric iron, to avoid dropping your new expensive toy you WILL put your bike down eventually, and of course it's most likely when you're new at it try a Vulcan 500cc, $4,849.00 brand new; you can keep up with the Harley guys, save tons on insurance and to a lesser extent, gas the newest "standard" bikes have come a long way in terms of refinement i.e. the Suzuki SV650, quick and torquey... Triumph makes quite a few tasty standards and Kawasaki has the W650 not so fast but just as retro as the Triumphs I'm trying to steer you away from the bloated 700+lbs cruisers, (a Harley Sportster is fine imo) they are boring to me and clumsy at parking lot speeds another course of action would be to get your dream cruiser, and buy a beater dirt bike to practice on (if you can find somewhere to ride)
I've been riding for over 20 years and I will tell that motorcycles are the most fun and most dangerous thing you can do. Cars just don't notice you, so you have near misses almost every time you ride. Take the class. I will guarantee that you will learn something usefull and it is alot of fun riding those 200 pound 125 cc around. What ever you do, wear a helmet. The guys that ride around without one are idiots and are just asking for brain surgery.
I'd rather you didn't ride motorcycles. I don't care how safe you think you are in operating the motorcycle. It's the other boneheads on the road that will wipe you out. My friend was driving on a rural highway that was considered a pretty safe ride as he had rode it many times before. However, some idiot pulling a trailer pulled out in front of him. So, he had two choices...either slide his Harley chopper in the back of the trailer or hit it head on. He had his gf on back. So, he slid it in. If we would have hit head on, then he and her would be dead. So, he got mangled. Bad skin road rash, broken pelvis, broken ribs, messed up back, etc. etc. etc. . He will never be the same. He is laid up for at least a year and can barely get out of bed without some serious pain and help. His gf is similarly messed up. He does nothing now. He will be lucky if he returns to normal. He was very active but I doubt he will be the same person. He basically lays in bed all day long now. I've known too many people over my life who have either died or been badly hurt so I won't even consider operating or riding on a motorcycle. I don't think your very wise if you do, either, but that's your choice. The risk is unavoidable and too often real. Your never safe on on one of those. Good luck...cause you need it.
Man! We certainly have a lot of "Mom's" on this board. RH: I've got a friend that I believe is selling his Honda Shadow. Still a really sharp bike, and a great beginner's Harley.
Apparently, rH needs someone to give him "Mom" talks if his own Mom isn't steering him away from this accident waiting to happen(assuming he has a Mom and, if not, then my bad and sorry).
He was asking for advice, including reasons not to do it. Should he not be warned of the inherent dangers?
I know how it works. Tell her after you've already bought the bike. I get it. Maybe you can put a ribbon and bow on it when you show it to her the first time and say, "Look Mom....look at what I won!" .
