need some advice..

[DavidKim91]

hey im new to the whole street bike thing..
whats a good bike to start with.. ahaha.. just kidding
what im really here for is to ask if starting out with a car is better than starting out with a bike..
i am new to the automotive nation.. mostly because i dont have my g1 yet.
i like the thought of having a car because they seem much more safe for an early driver. but then i also want a bike because.. well i can drive earlier than if i had a g1 and i live in a small town so i would like to get out asap.. lol
could i get some advice.. like if i should get a bike or just stay the hell away from them until i have my g2 for a couple years?
thanks a bunch

[Torch]

Hi,

I grew up in a small town too, I know where you are coming from, a bicycle will only take you so far and picking up your girlfriend for the Prom just isn't cool unless you have a car.

To answer your question I would start out with a car, from personal experience most of the accidents you will get into will happen when you are young, a car is far more forgiving and will take most of the damage instead of your body.

I'm not going to go into a great deal of detail on this... Learning the rules of the road and human mannerismns is easier in a car, once you have learned the physics of driving and how to react to other people's driving it is easier to transfer them to a motorcycle instead of having to absorb everything all at the same time.

Then there is the short-fuse factor, a lot of young white males develop into an "angry white male" where anything and everything will piss you off. When I was younger and even into my mid 20's I had a very short fuse, I knew that being on a motorcycle would not be a good thing.

I am in my mid 30's now and finally felt I was at a place where I would not be a danger to myself and everyone around me and have been riding now for around four months. If obscene hand gestures still make you want to kill someone I would wait until you are a little older, being pissed off at someone while on a motorcycle is more or less an instant death sentence (you will do something stupid and get yourself killed).

Just some things to think about.

[speediva]

Learn to drive first. It's one thing to learn how to balance a bike, react to scenarios on 2 wheels, and adjust... it's a whole other ball game to learn the rules of the road, and learn the kinds of bonehead moves to expect in addition to the 3 other things.

[jeffcoslacker]

If I'd had a motorcycle any time before I was 20 or so, I wouldn't be here now...just didn't have the maturity and fear of death to temper my wild side...

I take it you live in one of those countries that won't let you hit the road on a Hayabusa your first day with a MC endorsement, huh? We have a lot of young guys killed on bikes they can't handle within days of purchasing them here...most don't have a MC endorsement or any training at all...just asking for it.

I don't like gov't regulations of what you can and can't do, but that one is something I could accept here...but then again, it's like the logic of gun control...the people who really would be responsible owners would be being handicapped with the regulations, the nitwits don't play by the rules, so it doesn't really affect them...you can't stop someone from riding anything they can get their hands on...

Most people I know (including myself) rode for a long time before ever getting an M on their license...some guys I ride with still don't have it (one is a cop!)...it's really not a big deal here...it's a small fine and you can even get that dropped if you have the endorsement by the time you go to court usually...

What do they do to you there if you're caught riding without the correct endorsement?

[DavidKim91]

"I take it you live in one of those countries that won't let you hit the road on a Hayabusa your first day with a MC endorsement, huh?"

this is very true.. i live in canada..
and hopefully i dont turn into a angry white male, because im a young asian male.
well enough joking..
thanks alot for the advice.. i had some doubts about it anyways. because i barely know anything about bikes.. not close to what i know about cars.. (which still isnt too much ) i will do that and then maybe in about 10 years ill get a bike and look into it.
thanks again guys

[aussieidiot]

isn't Canada a state of USA???

i recently saw news footage of an Aprilia, possibly a 250 but not certain. looked like the tank of a Mille
it was of a 20 yr old male who was wheelieing and lost control. went through a glass store front. the news angle was of young men and their dangerous attitudes towards cars and bikes. basically they said this guy deserved to die because he did a wheelie.

found out the next day it was a school friend of my apprentice.

on their last day of school, the headmaster said in his speech "out of the 120 of you, 5 will be dead in 5 yrs."

makes you think huh.

pretty much messed with my apprentices head and he hasn't ridden his ZX2R for awhile. i think now he'll be selling it

[Torch]

Regarding the friend of the apprentice who died, you tend to re-evaluate things in your life when it becomes personal and someone you know dies.

[richtazz]

There are many things to learn about when first learning to operate a motor vehicle. Starting out on a motorcycle is a VERY bad idea for one simple reason. Every new driver makes mistakes, 1 in 3 will have an accident in the 1st year of driving, 1 in 2 in the first 2. In a car, you have air bags, crush zones, and metal all around. On a bike, it's you and air. Wait until you can drive a car, and keep passengers limited to 1, preferrably a mature experienced driver. That way you won't end up a statistic, or kill one of your friends due to an error in judgement.

[DavidKim91]

oh and one more thing...
how much should a person pay for a bike to start off with??
dad is thinking of trying it out b4 i do....
but for like a crappy bike.. but still ridable...?

[jeffcoslacker]

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/mcy/297214586.html

there's tons of these all the time....

[DavidKim91]

lol...
i was going to the nice smooth body kinda bike.. but i geuss thats what you gotta start with eh?
well my dad is... 6'2 or so...
im 5'8
are there any height rates for motorcycles? as i said b4 i dont know much about bikes..
thanks a bunch..
oh and would you recommend any websites to start searching? i live in southern ontario (Canada).. (right above detroit, michigan)

[richtazz]

I still would STRONGLY suggest against learning to drive/ride on a motorcycle first. If you have your mind set on getting a bike first, get a cheap, older bike with no lower fairings/plastic. Those parts are expensive to replace when (not if, but when) you dump it. Take a motorcycle safety course before ever touching a tire to the road. It will teach you things you didn't know you didn't know. I took one after riding on the street for 8 years (and 15 years dirt bike riding prior to that), to get a discount on my insurance. I thought it a waste of time, but I learned a lot of great information that dispells a lot of myths and old biker tales that just aren't true.

[DavidKim91]

yea im trying to find motorcycle classes in a near by area.. not too much luck but my friend told me that there is for sure one around here..

[Torch]

Check with your local/state department that issues driver's licenses, they should be able to refer you to who you need to contact to take the course. Here in Oregon they are know as Team Oregon, once you pass the course you can have the Motorcycle Endorsement added to your driver's license without having to ride with a permit for a year, at least that is how it works in Oregon.

http://teamoregon.orst.edu/to_web/index.shtml


Good luck!

[speediva]

I just ran a quick search for "motorcycle safety + canada" and got: http://www.safety-council.org/info/traffic/mtp.html

Let us know if you are able to find a local place that offers a safety course. I know I took my course (stateside) from MSF, and I was licensed when I passed the course. And I got a discount on insurance.