Choosing Bike and Gear

[sleepercivic88]

I was talking to a coworker (35 year old engeneer) about getting my first bike. He is an experienced rider and owns a ducati monster 8**. I have been wanting to get into riding for a long time and have been eying the ducati monster for about a year and a half. my questions are.

1. Is a ducati monster 620 to much bike for a begginer. The guy at work says the 620 has a very predictable powerband and is light so it should be perfect. I read the begginging stickys and I only read stay away from 600+ sports bikes. The monster is a vtwin so does it fall in a different catagory?I just want to confurm this with a 3rd party source.

2. What gear should I stay away from as far as brands. I dont know any of them. what brand makes a good full face helmet and jacket and so on.

Thanks,

[Myself002]

I would say the monster is fine, others will disagree. It's all up to you and your learning curve.

As far as gear go to newenough.com they have some good brands. I have a preference for alpinestar or vanson leathers.

[bok]

take the MSF and see what bike is right for you, also go to a dealer and sit on a bunch of bikes...you may be surprised by what feels best to you.

as far as gear, Joe Rocket makes decent textile jackets and pants. Shoei Arai, HJC all make decent helmets...again try them on and i believe there is a sticky around here for how to fit one.

alpinestar, makes decent riding boots although i personally wear Daytonas.

again a dealer should have a decent selection you can try stuff and see what works best.

[Myself002]

and remeber just cause its stocked at a dealer doesnt mean its riding gear.

t-shirts are bad!

[sleepercivic88]

Thanks. I sat on the monster at work and it feels great im 6' 165 lbs. The class starts next month and im going to start buying saftey equipment and saving money for the bike.

Also I work in carheart double need work pants will these be exceptable pants for a 3 mile ride to work with a 35mph speed limit.

[Myself002]

it depends on if thats acceptable to you or not. To some people just a t shirt shorts and flip flops are acceptable others require full gear at all times.

Completely up to you. Just remeber you can always go into a bathroom and change at work.

[Dragonhawk]

You want some advice on starting out?

Here. I made an entire webpage specifically for a beginner like yourself and it answers a lot of your questions:
www.CaliforniaBikeNights.com/learn

As for getting a Ducati Monster 620 as a first bike, sure, you can do that. However, in my opinion, it is at the very top of the power-band that a beginner should consider.

I recommend that you take an MSF course and learn how to ride. From there, you can decide if a 60HP Ducati is right for you. Most bikes in the training course are going to be 40HP or less.

Whatever you choose, have fun and ride safe.

[rapidblue]

whether a duc is a good starter bike or not, try buying a used POS first. In the "unlikely" event that you drop it, you don't want to be crying over trahsing your brank new bike.

I bought a $500 40-year old bike to learn the basics on. Shifting/braking/leaning/stop $ go traffic. I fell over on my third ride, and did some minor damage to the the bike and boy was I glad it wasn't a new $10,000 bike.

the great thing about a cheap nike like that is that you ca turn around and probably sell if for what you paid, even if you took a light spill or two. Lots of people are looking for bikes like that

just my $0.02 though

[BigChickenStrips]

ducati's are the sexiest bikes on the planet, possibly in the entire universe. that being said... thats quite a bit of change to drop on a first bike. (what if you ride for a while and decde to take up a new hobby?) i dont think theres anything wrong with the bike. i'd love to have one, but its a very expensive way to get into the sport. also maintance is going to be a lot more $$ than a japanese bike.

so im not saying i think its a bad idea because the bike is "too much" in the power department, but it may be "too much" in the $$$ department.

if money is no thing for you-- hellz yea, get the red one and the black one and ride them each on even or odd numbered days, those are sweet bikes.

good luck and ride safe.

[Sev]

ducati's are the sexiest bikes on the planet, possibly in the entire universe. that being said... thats quite a bit of change to drop on a first bike.

Triumph Daytona 675
Yamaha MV-0S

to name a few...