What size bike do you recommend to start on....

[gsJack]

250-750cc = small
750cc-1300cc = medium
1300cc-2300cc = large

That of course is from a cruiser riders point of view, but this is a cruiser oriented society we live in. The majority of the riders in this part of Ohio ride very, very loud large cruisers. Makes many friends for motorcyclists amongst the general population.

"And, incidentally, since when do Americans need to apologize for doing things different than the rest of the world? We have a much higher standard of living here, so it's only natural that we like extravagant things. Then again, you can just keep your head shamefully buried in the sand if you so desire."

What exactly do you find shameful about having a wee bit of social conscience about the worlds resources? I do so desire to have a little myself and will not apologize for it!

[ronboskz650sr]

I said medium. I think medium now days is more like large in my teen years, but the style of bikes have split. It used to be UJM, and in 1979, a 650 like mine was medium to large, depending on if you could tell it wasn't a 750. Even a 500 wasn't recommended as a starter bike back then, in the days of 500cc two stroke bikes that screamed but needed a straight line to ride on.. Times and motors have changed, and more instruction is availabe, so I said medium.

[ZooTech]

What exactly do you find shameful about having a wee bit of social conscience about the worlds resources? I do so desire to have a little myself and will not apologize for it!

Okay, since when is a larger bike devoid of social consideration? I just went for a ride with Scan (the moderator) and my Dad, and Scan has a 1200cc standard and my Dad has an 800cc C50. Of our three bikes, guess which one has two spark plugs per cylinder and a catalytic converter?

Yup...you guessed it...my super-huge, rain-forest destroying 1600cc Mean Streak. My Dad's exhaust blows a little smoke at times, and smells like an old fifties V8. Mine has little to no smell to it.

Besides, I just can't share the same bleak outlook on the world as you. I hear all the doom-and-gloom stories every day at work, yet I never see any of their horrific theories coming to fruition, so they usually move on to the next big environmental issue. And the funniest part is, the ones who are most vocal about this stuff get up from the table and go out to their $50,000 Lexus SUV's, drive to the airport, and take a private jet over to the Congo for the sake of some feel-good mission designed to prevent the native people from ever developing their own country, thus forever trapping them in the third-world swaller they call an existence.

/rant

[gsJack]

Don't know what your problem is buddy, but the natural resource I was referring to was oil. Didn't know it came from the rain forests. Thought the subject was large vehicles like our SUVs and two liter plus motorcycles which are quite different from the vehicles used by most of the world.

Who said I had a bleak outlook on the world? Please don't attribute things to me that I didn't say. C'mon now, 30 mpg motorcycles? And 10 mpg SUVs? Just not my style fella in a world that's fighting over oil reserves and I just said so that's all. If ya got a problem with that, it's your problem.

Bye.

[ZooTech]

Don't know what your problem is buddy, but the natural resource I was referring to was oil. Didn't know it came from the rain forests.

And I didn't realize we were running out of it. Which AP article was that little factoid in?

Thought the subject was large vehicles like our SUVs and two liter plus motorcycles which are quite different from the vehicles used by most of the world.

Because they are more environmentaly conscious than us, or because their governments suck and they're all too poor to live like us?

C'mon now, 30 mpg motorcycles? And 10 mpg SUVs? Just not my style fella in a world that's fighting over oil reserves

Who said I had a bleak outlook on the world?

You did.

If ya got a problem with that, it's your problem.

Only problem I have is understanding why people get so worked-up about oil and why so many people worship the way Europe does things, that's all.

[gsJack]

[quote="Nibblet99"]Ok, answer the poll, then post your reasons for the choice.
One post each, and no debating / arguments


Sorry, Niblett99.

[Mintbread]

We have a much higher standard of living here, so it's only natural that we like extravagant things. Then again, you can just keep your head shamefully buried in the sand if you so desire.

If you think your standard of living is so much better than the rest of the world, I am afraid it is you whom has their head in the sand.

P.S: The irony in your sig is utterly delightful.

[Kal]

No debating or arguement...

PoV is important to understanding how the question is set.

Nibblet is from the UK, the same as me - in fact we've met through mutual friends.

Over here smaller bikes are a lot more common and are frequently someones first bike.

The bikes owned by my friends range from a 35cc Puch to 1200ccXJR's. Bikes bigger than the 12's exist but are generally considered excessive.
Afterall with a national speed limit of 70mph just how fast do you need to go?

A number of my friends and myself are currently on 125's. Last summer I was doing a 120 mile commute to work on one.

The roads range from 4 and 5 lane motorways (70mph) through dual carriageways (mostly 60mph) down to town/city/villages on single lanes with 30mph limits.

Generally roadrage is confined to gestures and language regarding someones personal ancestry with physical assaults being comparitively rare and receiving a serious response.

Cars over here go from 600cc's through to 2,000cc's with anything over 3ltr needing a second mortguage to insure and run. (Dont ask about petrol prices - it will only upset us)

In Nibblets view, and mine, because of the culture we live in small, medium and large bikes fall more or less into those sizes.

Yes, I voted small. All the skills you need for riding you need to ride a smaller bike and I feel that while the skills you need are still in early development you are less likely to get into serious trouble with a smaller bike.

[ZooTech]

If you think your standard of living is so much better than the rest of the world, I am afraid it is you whom has their head in the sand.

I don't see too many Haitian refugees washing up on your shores, or people sneaking across your borders just to pick strawberries for a living. I am not naive enough to think that every other country besides America is a hell-hole, but I'd rather be here than anywhere else.

P.S: The irony in your sig is utterly delightful.

Which part? Laugh it up either way.

Nibblet is from the UK, the same as me - in fact we've met through mutual friends.

Over here smaller bikes are a lot more common and are frequently someones first bike.

Smaller country, smaller cities, smaller roads...thus smaller cars and smaller bikes. It's easy to understand, however, this forum's audience is far more reaching than the culture of the U.K. (despite your government's best efforts) so please bear in mind a lot of the members have a different view of engine displacement and, around here especially, a >1200cc bike is hardly considered excessive. In fact, for two-up purposes, the bigger the better.

[Kal]

Care to debate that on another thread, as requested at the start of this thread!

Dear Gods but you are a wind up artist.