RightCoast_Chrs

I have been thinking about getting a Bike for a while, everyone tells me its not worth it to get one becasue they are too dangerous, how do you guys feel about it.....i mean im not going to drive like an idiot but i would love a bike to cruze around in, just cant afford to get hurt....Are they really that dangerous or if driven right they can be fun and safe....let me know what you guys think...

Brew

Well I don’t know how old you are but it’s probably easier to take it up when you’re younger as long as you don’t pull stupid stunts like young people seem to like to do once in a while.
If you are a good rider the main thing you want to be aware of are idiot drivers of the auto persuasion. Sometimes they will not see you because they are not looking for motorcyclists; they are looking for other cars. They’ll try to turn left in front of you try to merge into you, pull out from stops in to you so you need to be very defensive. I would also recommend taking some motorcycle classes if you are a noob. They’ll teach you panic stopping and evasive maneuvers.
I will tell you this and some people will say I’m wrong and depending on what type of bike you get I may be Buuuuuut. Get used to panic stopping with only your front brake. If you get used to using your rear break every time you stop you’re going to use it in a panic situation and end up skidding and hitting what you’re trying to avoid. I used to practice all the time seeing how fast I could stop by sliding my weight as far back as possible and grabbing the front brake. Sometimes I could even get the front wheel to skid and then just backed off from there. When I took Keith Codes superbike school they had spotters around the track that you flag you in if they saw you on the rear brake.
They also teach you counter steering and other techniques.

I gave it up when I had kids but plan to take it back up once school and college are done with. It’s a lot of fun but you really have to pay attention to everything around you.

ewood87

Few things
TAKE SAFETY CLASSES! Every class.. safety, performance, exeperienced rider course.. there all well worth the money. Dont worry about the money or weather or not its "cool" to take them.. i thought about not taking them and my friends all said they would steal my bike and hide it from me if i didnt.

As far as dangers.. its really up to the rider and your surroundings. If you have self control and are familiar with the bike -- they are extremely safe, they can stop faster than any car, accelerate faster than most any car, corner better than any car.. but if you DO screw up, its bad.. real bad. That is again where the courses come in, they will teach you how to fall (and there are very very wrong and very right ways to fall.. if you let off the rear brake skidding/wrecking thru a corner for example -- your gonna high side and flip the bike and probably end your life.) Knowledge = big. 1000x more critical than in a car, cars are forgiving -- bikes are not AT ALL.

Also, know your limits and stay within them. I would highly recommend starting on something 600cc or less (ninja 250). Me -- i started on a R6, and believe me it was to much bike for me. However, i controlled myself (very hard at times, like in front of friends) and kept it below 7-10k rpms till i was very comfortable with the bike. Bikes are extremely fast, you think they are extremely fast -- but once you get on them you realize how fast they are.
A twist of less than a ½" on the throttle will rev the engine up to 10k, and if you let the clutch out in first gear with any gas at all.. your going to be on your ass looking at the bike flipped over 20 feet in front of you. Shifting conservativly at 1/2 throttle will put you at close to 100mph in no time.
I could go on and on about all the different safetys and how dangerous they can be..

Me, i made sure i was scared of the bike.. if anything that helps you. The last thing you want to do is hop on and think you can do 150mph (which you probably could.. right before you try to slow down for a corner and end up flipping into a garage or something at 100+)


And panic stopping, i taught myself it this way: grab everything. pull in the clutch, pull in the front brake, kick down the rear brake, and kick down the gears. itll get you stopped fast, and you will stop faster with front + rear than just front.. not to mention a lot of bikes will do a nose-stoppie if you use just the front.


Sorry for the long post, theres just SOOOOOOOOO much that could be talked about -- could write a book. Basically, yes they are VERY VERY VERY FUN. However you must be very respoonsible and respectfull of the bike. You cant just look out for your driving, you have to make up for all the other assholes' bad driving too.

worm696

I agree with just about everything that has been said here. I haven't been riding long, but safety first. Safety classes are a good idea, I did'nt have the extra money and needed a gas saver. I have been very cautious and have been fine. I would suggest some parking lot riding if nothing else, to get familiar with your bike and riding in general.

ewood87

I agree -- parking lots = great. I also went riding on sunday mornings and what not when there were not very many cars.. but there was still the stop lights and what not to get used to, just less pressure. When theres people around you theres a lot of pressure to put it in gear and go and sometimes you might gas it to early or go around a corner the wrong way or something just because you are too worried about your surroundings before you have the bike 'learned'