soooo I want a bike..

Discussion in 'The Bucket' started by irr0001, Apr 11, 2010.

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  1. =Jwin=

    =Jwin= Tassled File Fish

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    What he said...

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. irr0001

    irr0001 Purple Tang

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    There is actually a little Triumph store here in Auburn. I went in there last year and looked around and they had some pretty nice bikes along with a lot of old ones. I like mid-80's bikes..

    Definitely going with the full face. I don't want my face sliding across the pavement. I hate those little "bowl" helmets anyway.
     
  4. Peredhil

    Peredhil Giant Squid

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    P's input.

    I'll comment on some other comments too.

    Personally, I like Victory over HD. Mostly bc, like mentioned, HD is dime a dozen, everybody wants one, blah blah blah.

    Victory bikes have a higher customer sat rating than HD too... something to consider. Not knocking HD, but Victory IMO has them beat in any category that matters :p. But a shorter heritage...

    When looking at used bikes, get on your hands and look at the bottom of the frame. Any damage there and it was probably dropped (folks tend to patch up their gas tanks but forget the frame). Bent frame is a worthless bike. Scratched or rusted frame can be repaired, but tells you something... Check for straight forks and bent spokes in the wheel. Check that the chain/belt has very little play.

    I also recommend you stay at or above 700 but under 1000cc for the first cruiser. 600 cc bikes (cruisers) are way under powered to be on the highway... dangerous IMO. 750 is a descent balance. My first bike was a 750cc Honda Shadow. VERY easy to ride and was a great learner. Also had pretty good resell. I bought it used and sold it for more than I paid eventually with 3000 extra miles ;D



    You know how they say "beauty is only skin deep"? Yeah, that's something ugly people say :p In much the same way... "everyone lays down their bike"... same thing. It's a goofy assertion that is not backed by any stats. Of all the riders I know I only know of 1 dude that's dropped (I'm not counting dirt bikes off road). It's simply not true. But having said that, I do recommend getting a cheapy for the first one. No need to spend 10k just to realize you don't even enjoy riding... It's a lot easier to off load a 3k used Honda than it is to offload a 10k used HD. (not to mention being stuck with payments a lot longer)

    Those are the best two tips in the history of riding. I highly recommend them both.

    Otty, if you're rereading this at all... what are night riding glasses? I wear a full face and it has a drop down built in sunglasses, but still curious as to what you're referring to.

    That's really good advise. I don't like bags though. That's why we have backpacks. And for long rides, backpacks with a built in camel pack. Of course, I don't do cross country. 300-500 miles is as far as I go really in any single trip (though most my trips fall in the 20-50 mile and the 75-150 mile radius).

    As much as I hate to disparage any manufacturer... this is very very true information. I don't know anything about their sport bikes, but chinese cruisers break. And break hard. When they totally shouldn't. I'm talking engine block cracking sort of breaking. Terrible bikes. I very rarely see them in the US and question if they're even legal here! I dunno.

    Lots of cruiser folk don't like full face helmets or helmets period. I'll let the second half of that statement speak for the first half. I have an odd need to protect my pretty face ;D8)
     
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  5. irr0001

    irr0001 Purple Tang

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    Well I was hesitant to make this thread. REALLY glad I did. This is all awesome info. I can't wait for mid-summer to get here so I can start really looking around.

    K to everyone
     
  6. horkn

    horkn Giant Squid

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    Have fun with your search, when you have a bike in mind, LMK. I will be glad to assist you in making the decision.

    I recall my first street legal bike. My Mom hated the idea of riding ion the street. She made my dad sell his old the dream 305 honda before they got married. She had no issue with me on dirtbikes as there wouldn't be any cars not looking and taking me out.

    My first street legal bike was my 84 honda XL600R, which was a big street legal XR600R. I had that at 16, and my Mom never understood why it had a license plate on it. I was lucky she was not smart in that regard. I would push it out to the road and then kick start it. With that supertrapp loud exhaust on it I can't see how she never caught on.
     
  7. irr0001

    irr0001 Purple Tang

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    wow. Just mentioned the IDEA to my girlfriend. Completely flipped out. ITS STUPID AND DANGEROUS AND WASTE OF MONEY!

    women (no offense to those of you viewing this thread)
     
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  9. horkn

    horkn Giant Squid

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    LOL. fwiw, my fiance loves bikes, goes to the roadraces with me, and watches them religiously on TV too.

    I have accidentally lost her off the back of my sportbike as well, and she still loves bikes. She was wearing gear, so no damage beside a tiny bit of rash. It was low speed. At some point I will get her her own bike. I know she will do well because she loves driving manual cars, and has good balance.

    I have this mid 80's xr80r honda I NEED to get fixed up for her to learn on off road. Beside it only having 4 speeds, the controls are all the same as a street bike, and if she has to, she can stand up and let it fall.

    I like the fact that you know dirtbikes. That experience is huge and will help you when you get your first street bike. Most newb street bikers get all weird the first time they have a tire slide. Riding off road is all about sliding tires, so that is awesome experience to put to use on the street if and when it happens.
     
  10. Peredhil

    Peredhil Giant Squid

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    yeah you get that reaction some times...

    I did a paper back in college... one of the stats I used amounted to this: Bikes are far far far safer than cars. It's all in how you look at it.

    If you get in a wreck on a bike you are more likely (far more likely) to get seriously hurt or get deadified, however, you are far far less likely to get in an accident in the first place on a bike (statistically speaking... also use this against the "everyone drops eventually" make-believe stat).

    If you look up accidents per mile, bikes are just about as safe as riding planes or trains. OK, not that safe, but it's statistically significant.

    If you factor out all bike fatalities that were not wearing helmets and/or gear (armor man, like a knight!), the fatality rate on motorcycles (at least in TX where I researched it) is extremely low. extremely. I don't recall exact number, but it was surprisingly low.

    I mean if you factor out all fatalities that weren't wearing gear AND a helmet, the fatality rate is miniscule (compared to cars). Not to mention extremely low.

    I also mean, if you factor out all fatalities that weren't wearing ONLY helmet (as most folks wear a helmet and that's it as far as gear goes), the fatality rate is still very very low.

    The idea that bikes are unsafe, while it is correct(ish) is mostly based in misinformation, emotions, and perceptions.

    Waste of money... well... yeah. Maybe you can make a MPG argument or something ... So is your fish tank though really...;D

    good luck with the "whiny over men's every need" <- you like that? acronym baby.
     
  11. irr0001

    irr0001 Purple Tang

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    Exactly! That's what I told her. And yeah the MPG argument is a good one. That's one of the main reasons I want one. I feel bad for my truck getting started 4+ times per day to go to class and back. Its only a few miles, but it adds up at the end of the week!

    Sad thing is...i'm 100% positive that all together I've put more money into my reef over the years than I would a bike haha.

    Perfect acronym!
     
  12. horkn

    horkn Giant Squid

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    For mpg, get a kawasaki ninja 250 and brag about your 70 mpg. You can buy a nice very clean ninja 250 for like 2500.