Motorcycle decisions

[scyllacat]

I have decided that nothing else major will be decided for a while --until I am on my way to getting a motorcycle.

I think I want the Honda Shadow ACE 750 or the Shadow Spirit. Tug says they may be too big to start with, but says they're not too big if I actually like riding once I learn on my own. If I find it scary or rough at first, he said, I should get a smaller bike.

Smaller being about the ccs. The 750 is 750 (duh) and the Spirit is like 1070 or something. Go rawr.

I am on assignment (from tug) to get the booklet from the state patrol to take the written licensing test, find out when and where a motorcycle training class is, and find out what said class provides (bike, almost always. helmet, maybe yes, maybe no).

He is very enthusiastic about me learning to ride, which is nice, having someone to cheer me on.

Meanwhile, I dream of leather chaps, boot chains, and a black helmet with red flames on. If I don't turn out looking like the quintessential tough biker, I will be the cute and adorable parody of the quintessential tough biker!

On the other hand, I got in an argument with Tug last night, (about something on FM, not bikes) and I don't know what to do about that. I guess I will try to call him on the phone, later.

Comments

[lumin-esc.livejournal.com]

Hope you don't mind me randomly jumping in!

I'm not a cruiser person, but I'll admit that both mentioned bikes look very nice.

That's the bad part, too! Beginning riders (almost) always drop bikes. I dropped mine three times in my first two months! The low-speed maneuvering skill is slow to come and usually results in some scratched fairings or scarred chrome.

What I did (and what I generally suggest) is that beginners buy a mechanically sound rat bike from the eighties. One is less likely to cry when one drops it, and it's waaay easier to pick back up.

At any rate! I hope you find a bike that you dig. Have fun, and (as they say) keep the sticky side down! =)

[scyllacat.livejournal.com]

"Sticky side"? The implications make me wary.

Well, I was planning on a ~used~ bike, not a new one. And I don't mind a scrape-up... and I can't really afford to make several upgrades; so if I total, it's just gone for a while, no matter what kind I buy, so I'm going to be being really careful.

So, your advice is well-taken, and this is my idea for how I will utilize it, without giving up my dream of being on the open highway on something gloriously fast ASAP.

Nice to meet you. How did you get here?

[lumin-esc.livejournal.com]

Nice also to meet you.

I reach a state of such intense boredom at work, sometimes.

I just started surfing through friends' friends lists. YouNice also to meet you.

I reach a state of such intense boredom at work, sometimes.

I just started surfing through friends' friends lists. You’re the first degree of Paka!

[milkpanzer.livejournal.com]

Having been in a nastybad motorcycle accident I can heartily recommended purchasing a bike you don't mind dropping. Make sure it's in good condition though! Stupidly enough, the reason the bike I was on crashed (I was the passenger) was because the right hand grip slid off! So check even the little things! The motorcycle was totalled (it slid in to Douglas Fir, go *crunch*) and we were both glad that A) We survived and B) we hadn't sprung for a more expensive bike for starters.

Don't you just love advice from people you don't even know? ;D Btw, I'm Tug's friend who goes by 'coyohti' on FM.