Midlife Crisis Bike...

[< I Fly >]

Well, I am admitting that this is totally a midlife crisis thing, but I am doing it anyway.

I have never ridden a bike before (unless you count a Honda minibike 25 years ago), but I'm gonna start. I have signed up for the local MSF course and will be a total fair weather rider!

I am 6'4" and weigh in at about 230lbs.

I (like all midlife crisis victims) want a cruiser. I *really* like the Victory Vegas and Kingpin, but I think they might be a bit too much for me to handle at first.

What would be the best cruiser for me to start out with?

Thanks!

Kawasaki Eliminator 125.

[VermilionX]

Kawasaki Eliminator 125.

i think w/ his height and weight, he'll eliminate all of the eliminator's power.

[Kal]

Hmm we have a friend with an Eliminator...

I'll see if I can talk Keyoke into borrowing it if you'd like...











(I am going to pay for this at some point)

[dr_bar]

I (like all midlife crisis victims) want a cruiser.

Speak for yourself. I got a sportbike for my mid-life crisis.

If your avatar says anything, your sportbike apparently has a steering wheel,

[camthepyro]

Hey Jedi, just curious, but do you actually live in Sacromento, or just in that area? I ask because I'm from Yuba City, which is pretty close to there, and I usually just tell people I'm from Sacromento unless they know that area. But yeah, I'm from the Yuba City/Marysville area.

[Z (fka Sweet Tooth)]

My friends that ride told me to go in with this attitude-- its not if I will drop it or lay it down, its WHEN I will drop it or lay it down.

If I may....that is a HORRIBLE attitude to have going in, in my opinion. It is a popular mindset, but not at all helpful. You're setting yourself up for failure. You can and probably should buy a beater to start on with the understanding that you are more prone to making mistakes early on, but you should never go into it with the understanding that you will fall. With that concept eating at the back of your mind, you will almost want to wreck just to get it over with.

I have to agree with Zoo, go into it with a positive mind set. Other wise you'll approach a difficult situation with a bad attitude instead of a skilled mind set. You don't want to approach a curve or turn thinking "Oh no is this when im gonna eat it?" when you should be thinking about how to properly execute the turn.

As far as the bike is concerned, first take the MSF class and take note of what whould be comfortable. Then sit on as many diffrent bikes as possible, look at the foot controls, handle bar reach, height from the ground, weight, then sit on as many diffrent bikes as you can.

[Dragonhawk]

What would be the best cruiser for me to start out with?

I made a page on my website that might help you out. Check it out at:
www.CaliforniaBikeNights.com/learn

I think a Yamaha VStar might work well for you. But, you really need to go to a dealership and sit on a few bikes before you can make that decision.

Glad to hear you are taking the MSF first. That is a smart thing to do. Whatever bike you go with, just try to keep the horsepower manageable. Don't go getting something too powerful as your first bike or you're gonna scare the bejeezus out of yourself and become one of those people who quits riding after putting 150 miles on your bike.

[JediNut]

Hey Jedi, just curious, but do you actually live in Sacromento, or just in that area? I ask because I'm from Yuba City, which is pretty close to there, and I usually just tell people I'm from Sacromento unless they know that area. But yeah, I'm from the Yuba City/Marysville area.

I am in the Rocklin/Roseville area.

-JN

[camthepyro]

Oh, ok. Roseville is nice. Happy riding, you're lucky the foothills in northern California are the best twisties I've ever seen.

[dieziege]

Glad to hear you are taking the MSF first. That is a smart thing to do.

Not to be a naysayer, but I see this all the time and I want to add my $1.05....

I just recently (last Saturday) passed the MSF course. I followed the "take the class before buying a bike" advice everyone gives. Here's the problem: Of the 11 people in the range portion of the class, all but 3 of us owned a motorcycle, and all but 5 of us "had ridden"... two actually rode to the class! The instructors clearly expected us to practice on our own bikes (start of day two, one instructor to group: "Has everyone been practicing what you learned last week?" Me: "No" Him: "why not?" Me: "I don't have a bike." He looked taken aback at this.)

Of the three who didn't have a bike, one noshowed day2 (she was not asked to repeat day 1, but was looking very discouraged by the end of the day after making several safety-related mistakes) and another was having trouble all through both days and flunked the test. He was looking overwhelmed and discouraged by the end and I wouldn't be surprised if he gave up. I passed, but I would've been a lot happier if the course had been paced better. Day2 was supposed to run to 5PM but we had finished the testing and shut down the bikes for the day at 3:15PM.

The worst passing score went to one of the people who rode to the class. The second worst passing score (eight) was a tie between me and the other person who rode to the class. The people who owned a bike (and practiced between day1 and day2) but either had ridden a lot 20 years ago or had never ridden before the class did the best. So I'm not saying get a bike and ride it before the class. I'm saying take the class first like everyone says but be prepared to be playing catchup from about half-way through day1.