Gauging Interest — Beginner Motorcycling Series

"E. Julius" (soonerfrommi)
03/10/2015 at 17:58 • Filed to: None

As some of you may know, I'm planning on joining the two wheels bad club when I return to the US this summer. When it gets closer, I'm considering doing a series of posts describing my experience going from almost clueless to fully licensed, properly equipped rider. Things this series would include:

Full cost breakdown, including gear purchases, training courses, motorcycle, maintenance costs, insurance costs, books, fuel, etc.

Resources I found useful

How I bought my bike

What it's like getting on a bike for the first time and becoming comfortable on the road

Things I would do differently

And much more!

The idea is to capture the learning process and provide a concrete idea of the costs and commitments involved so others can learn from my mistakes. Hopefully it's something that those considering making the jump as well would find useful, and the rest of you would find entertaining. Any takers?

DISCUSSION (36)

area man > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:03

Do it.

E. Julius > area man
03/10/2015 at 18:04

Well that's all the encouragement I need. Done. Expect the posts to start at the end of May.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:05

YES!!! I've lately developed a burning desire to get a sport bike but I have no idea how to start. This series would be greatly appreciated.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:07

I think that would be helpful for those around here looking to get into 2 Wheels Awesome!

And you've got a few other experienced riders around here, who I'm sure would be willing to contribute with their knowledge, experiences, etc.

area man > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:10

I've never ridden before but I'm very curious about how one goes about it, so I'm definitely looking forward to living vicariously through you.

E. Julius > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/10/2015 at 18:13

Helping people in my current situation is exactly what I'd like to do! I know we have an awesome sub community of riders around here (Peter Black, Yamahog to name a couple) who have been extremely helpful thus far. What I'd like to do is complement their experience with my complete lack of experience haha

E. Julius > AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC
03/10/2015 at 18:14

Well expect the posts to begin around May once I return home, and then probably one every week or two for a while after that. I don't know if that's soon enough for you to benefit, but in the meantime Peter Black SV wrangler has written tons of excellent posts for beginners.

E. Julius > area man
03/10/2015 at 18:17

Perfect, that's exactly the kind of reader I was looking for.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:20

Awesome, can't wait to see the posts. You got a first bike picked out yet?

bob and john > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:21

DO IT.

Now, I need to speak to addicted to M3's....

E. Julius > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/10/2015 at 18:23

Well my budget isn't super high so I'm definitely going to buying used. At this point I'm learning towards a 250cc Kawasaki Ninja. Everyone says they're great beginner bikes, they're super easy to find, and there's plenty available within my price range. I was originally thinking about some 80s Honda or something, but I've been convinced by the veteran riders around here that it's in my best interest to have modern brakes.

E. Julius > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 18:24

I figured it would be a great complement to all of your posts for beginners from the perspective on an experienced rider. On top of that, your posts will definitely be getting some plugs because they've helped me a ton!

bob and john > AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC
03/10/2015 at 18:25

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/why-a-sportbik…

*cough*

E. Julius > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 18:33

This presents an excellent opportunity for me to raise a question I've had since your beginner bikes posts. What type of bike would you classify something like the Ninja 250r as? In your post you call it a "sport" bike, since obviously it's in a totally different league compared to the 600cc sportbikes, but is there a different category it falls into? Or do I just have to use finger quotes whenever I'm describing it to somebody?

bob and john > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:34

I'd call it a sport bike. In the same way a BRZ is a sport car.

just a very slow one :P

E. Julius > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 18:36

Ok, thanks! I didn't want to walk around looking like an idiot for using the lingo wrong!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:37

That's a pretty good call, older bikes are cheap but they are for a reason.

Do you have any riding experience at all, dirt bikes or anything like that? The reason I ask is because I personally don't like 250's as beginner bikes, aside from they are very cheap used. I think most riders outgrow them too quickly, and from a financial standpoint it sucks, unless you get it stupid cheap. I bought my first bike (Honda Nighthawk 250) for $400 so it didn't matter much. But my friend bought a Honda CBR250R for like $3,000 last summer is and 3 months later was kicking himself, wishing he had bought a bigger bike.

bob and john > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 18:39

A lot of guys call them 'standards' but meh. it really depends on the person. I call them sports.

E. Julius > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/10/2015 at 18:51

Kinja'd!!!

Pictured: the extent of my two wheel experience. Honestly I don't think it will be an issue in my case. I'm fairly small (5' 8", thin build), so I'd like to learn on a smaller bike that's really easy for me to control. That way I can learn the skills without worrying about having to muscle the bike around.

On top of that, the difference between a 2004 Ninja with 10,000 miles (which is close to what I'd end up with) and something like a 2000 Ninja with 25,000 miles is only a few hundred dollars, so I won't take too much of a hit on depreciation. I won't be able to take the bike to school with me either so I can pretty much only ride for two months. Even if I find it boring after 1.5 months (unlikely) I'd put up with it until I sold it next summer and get something bigger then.

And if I do end up regretting it, that will make a great post so others can learn from my mistakes!

E. Julius > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 18:53

Ah fair enough.

E. Julius > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 18:58

By the way last night I bought that Dainese jacket you recommended a while back. I would have waited but they were on closeout and I didn't want to miss the opportunity. They had to order the color I picked from Italy though so it won't ship for like three weeks. Fortunately I'm in no rush!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 19:00

Haha, those little things are awesome!

My friend with the 250, hes a 5'4 Indian guy, and the 250 is actually too tall for him. We keep talking about lowering it, but he's on the fence about it since he wants to sell it.

But you are right, after a certain point, bikes basically stop depreciating, so if you're looking at something that old you're right, not much of a price difference. And if you can only ride it for a few months before going back to college, then you're right... that will be just about enough time for you to get bored with it. And you'll probably just about make your money back when you sell it.

Sounds like you've really given this some thought. I just hate seeing people run out to get a motorcycle and have absolutely no clue what they are getting into (like my friend with the 250, which I advised against).

bob and john > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 19:05

BTW, I wanted to tell you the name of another book you should read, but I forgot what it was called. remember it now

The total motorcycling manual. covoer looks like this:

Kinja'd!!!

E. Julius > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/10/2015 at 19:06

Well I'm "trapped" here in France for two more months until I can make the purchase, so the only way I've been able to satisfy my desire to get a bike is to do tons of research! That little homemade mini bike was a blast, although it was sketchy as hell. I bought it out of a guy's shed in the bad part of East Lansing for $150. No suspension, barely functional drum brake, not even rubber motor mounts. Shook like crazy and was unbelievably squirrelly, but it was pretty much an engine bolted to wheels so it felt sorta fast wen you're three feet off the ground!

Appreciate the advice by the way! I love hearing everybody's takes on situations like these.

E. Julius > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 19:07

Thanks! I'll put that on the list. Gotta do something to feed my two wheeled desires before I can actually hit the road.

bob and john > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 19:09

NICE. What did you pay for it, if you dont mind me asking?

E. Julius > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 19:10

$190 with free shipping. I also got $5 cash back to use on the website so I guess technically $185. MSRP was $240 I think. I looked to see what else I could get in that price range and I liked that one much better than the others.

bob and john > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 19:31

holy fuck thgat is a CRAZY good price. I'm jelly.

E. Julius > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 19:37

Exactly why I wanted to move on it! Fortunately I wear the smallest size they sell, almost all the larger sizes were already sold out.

Officer Jim Lahey is not a real cop > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 19:45

10/10 would read

AdverseMartyr > E. Julius
03/10/2015 at 21:22

For your current situation with only a few months, I would go the Ninja route, but it could be worth considering if you have a minor amount of mechanical skill and do the research that you could find a newer front end with good brakes to bolt onto the front of an older bike (cafe style I think it was). The conversion wouldn't take more than a day to do. The hardest part would be gauges and speedo if it is a different size front wheel. Followed by the triple tree if you can't find appropriate forks. (Finding the parts could take some time, but the labor shouldn't be more than a few hours.)

E. Julius > AdverseMartyr
03/10/2015 at 21:31

Pretty much all I've ever done is replace a side view mirror on my Civic, so very little mechanical skill. I'm very eager to learn though and I think I could pull something like that off, but given that my time is so limited I'd rather just buy the damn thing (like you said). I'm sure at some point I'll get an old project bike to work on, but that probably won't be for awhile.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > bob and john
03/10/2015 at 22:14

Yeah, I've read that and your other post with the best beginner bikes. I would just ideally like to end up with a sport bike after some experience.

Baconpocket > E. Julius
03/11/2015 at 00:04

just here to add some more encouragement. Go for it. I'll be reading along even though I have been riding since 2009. I love the enthusiasm and different paths of new riders.

E. Julius > Baconpocket
03/11/2015 at 03:54

thanks!

Joel Ness > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/11/2015 at 03:56

3 years experience here, I can answer most questions I think