http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=393x1427Oh my.
armyowalgreens (1000+ posts) Fri Sep-11-09 06:18 PM
Original message
So I'm thinking about getting a motorcycle and I need advice...
I have very limited riding experience on mostly quads. I have ridden a small dirt bike a few times.
I'm thinking about getting a Ninja 250. But I've also thought about bigger bikes.
I'm a college student that lives half a mile from campus. I don't usually commute further than 15-20 miles from my house.
What do you guys think would be a good starter bike for me?
I dunno.
The militant
gigolo primitive is already in trouble in school, for alcohol and grades, and it's not even halfway through the first semester at Arizona State yet.
One suspects the militant
gigolo doesn't have a promising--and most surely a short one--academic career anyway, and besides, he's poor, and so perhaps the militant
gigolo primitive should just stick with walking that half-mile to campus--which isn't like it's halfway across the globe, after all--until he gets his head screwed on straight.
david13 (670 posts) Fri Sep-11-09 06:21 PM
Response to Original message
1. How about a Ninja 250.
Is that one of those cartoon motorcycles?
The only motorcycles with which franksolich is acquainted are Mohawks; otherwise they're all just motorized bicycles to him.
armyowalgreens (1000+ posts) Fri Sep-11-09 06:23 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. That's #1 on my list. But would that be a fun bike to ride?
I want something that's practical, but I also would like something that I can have fun on. I've talked to a few people that own 250s and the opinion is split. Some said that it's very fun to ride. Others said that it gets boring after a while.
david13 (670 posts) Fri Sep-11-09 09:47 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. Maybe they just mean riding gets boring after a while. It is just driving. And after enough miles, one is ready to get off, and just sit in a chair.
It's deadly out there for motorcycles. So it's twice as energy absorbing as driving a car. If you want to stay alive.
But a few days away from it, and one would like to get out there again.
The fun is not the freeway, nor city streets. The fun is out onto the country roads thru' the forest or hills, etc.
Gold Metal Flake (1000+ posts) Fri Sep-11-09 10:16 PM
Response to Original message
4. A 250 gets boring after a while because it is slow.
If you want to ride on the weekends you may find yourself at speeds above 60, and a 250 does not have much left at that point. But it does make a good starter bike.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation is where you want to go right now. Take their beginner course. They teach on 250s so you will be riding what you will probably buy. I took this course and it not only taught me a great deal but it also gave me confidence that I did not have before. I took it in April, started riding on an old KZ400 and in early July I bought an Intruder 800 and am very happy with it. I am not a hot dog on the bike, but I do like to blast up an on ramp when I feel like it. The power of the 800 is great when I get on a freeway (although I am only on freeways briefly, still new at it). It's also damned easy and comfortable to ride.
Get a 250 if you want, just don't pay a lot. I don't mean get a clunker, I mean search for a good deal so that when you want to move up you won't be out of money. Are you sure you want a sport bike? If so, and considering your student status and you shortish commute the 250 Ninja might be a perfect fit. If you like cruisers you might look at the Nighthawk 250. Anyways, take the MSF course. Not only will you learn a LOT, but at the end when you pass your riding course you will get a cert that will allow you to bypass taking the riding test at the DMV. That's how it worked for me here in SoCal.
happyslug (1000+ posts) Sat Sep-12-09 02:06 AM
Response to Original message
5. The real issue is HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS A CYCLIST
If you see a motorcycle just as a means to get from A to B, then a 250 is good enough. It is a basic level of transport with excellent fuel economy. It can keep up with traffic, and in those cases where traffic is going faster then it, the traffic is light enough to get around the 250 (if there is NOT enough room, everyone should be going below the max speed of the 250 anyway, do to other vehicle and shear volume of traffic).
On the other hand if you want a cycle to be a motorcyclist, then a 250 is to small. You want the bigger bike, even if you never go anywhere near its max speed. You will justify the extra power for various reasons, such as keeping up with traffic, being able to "Speed out" of an accident, etc. If that is how you view yourself a 250 will become to small in a hurry.
In between these two extremes are people who can justify the bigger bike, but they tend to be people like police who want to chase down fast cars, people who want to go form coast to coast on a bike (and thus want the extra power) etc. A lot of people think they are in this group when they really are in the second ground above, but how you view yourself is important so do not underplay it to much.
Comment of self-image. Marketers have been playing on self-image for years, successfully getting people to buy things they really do not need. You have to be careful of this in yourself, remember bike makers spend millions if not billions of Dollars to get you to buy their bike, and bigger bikes are more profitable then smaller bikes (and thus the push to get people to buy bigger bikes).
The classic tale on this subject is a story I heard in my marketing class in Collage. The auto companies involved were omitted from the stories (For the reason that the companies did NOT really want the story tied in with them, for it show how careful the companies are when it comes to marketing).
The story went this way, two auto companies did a survey on the American people. The first company ask people want they wanted in a car and people told them they wanted a sensible, economical car that had good interior room, good fuel economy and just enough engine to go to and from work and a safe car. The other auto company asked the same question BUT not what the person being asked wanted, but what did his NEIGHBOR wanted in a car. The response was big car, lots of chrome, big fins (This was from the 1950s) and to hell with safely and fuel economy.
Each company built its cars based on the result of their polling. The first company, which made a small, safe, reliable economy car went out of business, while the other company, which built large cars with lots of Chrome and huge fins made lots of money (I suspect the first car company was Kaiser, which tried to break into the car business in the 1950s and went out of business for its cars were not popular while the later was Plymouth whose models in the late 1950s had the biggest fins, most chrome and worse fuel economy and safety record. Kaiser went out of business while Plymouth prospered till the 1990s).
I mention this for the simple reason the motorcycle companies have spent almost as much money as car companies when it comes to convincing you what you need. They also studied people and cater to their weaknesses (and you are in the "Marketing" segment most converted by any seller of goods, you are a young male. Your buying habits are NOT yet fixed, that begins with your first bike (and car).
People tend to stay with a brand their entire life, a brand their often unconsciously start to use in their teens and early 20s. Once "hooked" the company selling that item can count on you buying replacements of that item from that same company (People do change even in the dotage, but as you age you change less and less, that is just how people are, we are creatures of habit and thus will repeat what we did previously unless we have very good reasons to change).
I bring this up for many people view cycles as just a means of transportation (as is walking), but the majority of people put their self-image of themselves in HOW their get around. You have people who want to appear to be successful so their buy Cadillac, even through for all practical purposes the ride of a Caddy (Since at least the 1960s, prior to the 1960s Cadillac were built with better suspensions then Chevrolet's but all that tended to end in the 1960s when the cost of building better cars became just a small part of the actual cost of building a car) is the same as a Chevrolet. The difference between a Cadillac and a Chevrolet over the last 40 or so years is rarely a difference in ride or engine but image and extras on the cars (And most of the Extras you could get standard on a Cadillac were available as options in Chevrolets starting in the 1960s).
My point is simple, make sure you are getting what you need, NOT something you have been told you need by marketers. I rode a 250 in the 1970s and except for interstate highways was fast enough(and on interstates other cars could get around me as I rode on my 250 EXCEPT where traffic was to heavy and then most of the cars had to slow down to my speed even as their barely passed me).
Side note: Over the last four years I have been driving a 80cc motor scooter. It gets up to 40 mph on interstates. On the interstates I do travel on, almost all are inner city so traffic is already going around 40 mph just do to the traffic volume. I also take it on a four lane NON-limited access highway (which is being converted from a two lane highway). On the two lane parts people get upset that I can not go over 45 mph, but on the four lane sections they just pass me by and leave me alone.
A 80 cc is to small for most highway use but I mention it to show you that speed is NOT necessary, and is only really needed on roads where faster traffic can NOT get around you. Such roads are also to be used by Pedestrians, bicyclist and horse drawn wagons so such high speed driver should be going no faster then 55 mph on such roads and a 250 can clearly get up to that speed, I have had my 80cc get up to 50 mph (yes it was downhill but it did hit 50 mph). When I had a 250 it was more then powerful enough to stay at 50 mph even up hills and unless you are on a high speed, low volume highway a 250 is more then enough engine.
The primitive whose favorite tool is the plumber's snake, for his commode:
Robb (1000+ posts) Sat Sep-12-09 12:11 PM
Response to Original message
6. All motorcycles are fun.
Bigger bikes are a different kind of fun for most, but can be intimidating.
I loved my big rallye bike, the power was fantastic and fun, but for day-to-day it was more than was necessary. We still have a 250 dual sport that's an absolute blast to ride, dirt or paved, and lives at around 78 mpg. Used it would probably run about $1500 right now.
Take the MSF course. There are usually several different styles of 250s used, and you can ask to try them out. Dealers donate them for the day for just that purpose -- to get you into different seats.
Bigger is not always better. Sometimes it is.
guitar man (1000+ posts) Mon Sep-14-09 12:58 PM
Response to Original message
7. It depends
First off, how big/tall are you? A 250 might be fine for smaller to medium sized folk but if you're a big guy you may want a bigger bike. There's no rule that says a starter bike has to be small, if you're big you may want something in the 500-650cc range.
Secondly, what type of riding do you anticipate doing most. City/surface streets and two lanes rarely exceeding 60mph or do you want to take to the interstates too?
armyowalgreens (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 06:53 PM
Response to Reply #7
10. I'm 5'9'' 130 pounds.
Not a big person.
I would be doing mostly city riding with the occasional trip out to the windy highways about 30 miles east. But most of my trips will be less than 15 miles one way. On occasion, I would have to hit the highway to get to my parents house 30 miles away. The freeway speed limit is 65. I'm assuming a 250 could do that.
guitar man (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-17-09 09:42 AM
Response to Reply #10
14. Oh yeah
A 250 would do it fine, a 400-500cc bike would be real nice
Haole Girl (1000+ posts) Mon Sep-14-09 05:21 PM
Response to Original message
8. Get what you want
Keep in mind you might cry when you drop it if it's a nice bike. I know this from experience.
david13 (670 posts) Mon Sep-14-09 06:39 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. No, girl, no crying. What you do when you get a new bike, is you get a stick or something, and bang it. Wham. Then you get that out of the way, and after that, when you drop it, or somebody bangs it, it doesn't bother you.
Robb (1000+ posts) Mon Sep-21-09 09:28 PM
Response to Reply #9
15. LOL. When I started riding
...an old timer told me the first thing you do, you push your bike right the hell over. Then walk around and pick it back up.
If you have any problem doing either thing, you've got the wrong bike.
ceveritt (41 posts) Wed Sep-16-09 07:46 PM
Response to Original message
11. Ninja 250
There's way, way, way too much over-thinking going on in these replies.
I've ridden a 250 Ninja. I've ridden for 40 years. I've worked at magazines and done road testing off and on for 27 years.
The answer is, yes, a 250 Ninja would be a splendid first motorcycle. And it is fast enough to keep you entertained for some time.
If you can, purchase one. If you can, take the MSF course. And have a wonderful time. Congratulations, and welcome.
JustABozoOnThisBus (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-17-09 01:54 AM
Response to Original message
13. A 250 should have enough power for most commuting unless you live in the mountains, then you might need more.
Since you mention commuting, you might want to consider the cost of luggage and whether the bike can accommodate it. A couple of side bags, maybe a top bag, they make a bike a lot more useful for commuting and errands. Or just for carrying some tools and parts. I commute to work a lot, and need the bags to hold the computer, lunch, books, raingear.
Well, there goes the student loan money--not for tuition or books or booze or legal fees.
