beginner questions, please bear with me!

[Fast Eddy B]

edit: I read through the article before, and i don't quite understand this part:

The six-speed gearbox is light and smooth, with sixth gear a genuine overdrive, allowing cruising at 100kmh to happen at a vibe-free 6500rpm - accelerating will require a down shift unless you are travelling downhill however.

If you are in sixth at 100mph, don't plan on going faster, unless you are going downhill, or shift to fifth.

Ed

[jonnythan]

edit: I read through the article before, and i don't quite understand this part:

The six-speed gearbox is light and smooth, with sixth gear a genuine overdrive, allowing cruising at 100kmh to happen at a vibe-free 6500rpm - accelerating will require a down shift unless you are travelling downhill however.

If you are in sixth at 100mph, don't plan on going faster, unless you are going downhill, or shift to fifth.

Ed

Yes, except the author said 100 kph, not 100 mph. That's about 62 mph.

[arktos08]

Okay, i get it now. One of my buddies reccomended Honda Phantom TA200, but i can't find detailed specs. Kinda annoying how even the makes of the bikes don't have the specs on their sites.

edit: Finally found (never mind an incomplete) spec. I think reaching for the handlebars is not a problem and from the pictures it looks low enough for me, but it seems rather hefty to me at 140kg (dry). That's 3.5 times my weight!

[Flting Duck]

The only thing that is irritating about the process here is that they limit you to 200cc bikes for your first year of riding, which virtually eliminates all the beginner bikes posted here.

There is, of course, a reason for the limitation on CCs. The main reason being that beginners tend to make mistakes. On a smaller CC bike, the result of such mistakes is much less.

For example, one common beginner mistake is to roll on the throttle while braking. Do that on a smaller bike and it will just go a little faster. Do that on a 600cc sportbike and the bike will launch the front wheel and land on you before you even have a chance to react.

I skimmed that review of the 150 you're looking at and that seems to be a good beginner bike.

Even being limited to a 200cc bike, you'll find that riding is a blast.

As for your countersteering/steering question: Yes, it's very similar to riding a bike. However, since a MC weighs more than you do (unlike a bike where you weigh more than it) the physics are slightly different. Something you'll get used to pretty quickly and nothing to be intimidated by.

And yes, when going very slowly (as in less the a few miles an hour) you actually steer the MC, not countersteer - just like your pedal bike. Slow turns on a motorcycle is the hardest skill to master. But most of your training course will focus on low speed maneuvers so it's nothing to get worried about.

Good luck and have fun.

[flw]

arktos08:

Have you been to a dealer to sit on one of the bike your looking at? If not you should. You should also go sit on some other bikes that are in the same class.

When at the dealer:

- While sitting on the bike, can you reach the ground with your feet still flat?

-When you are sitting, can you reach the handle bars without reaching in a uncomfortable way?

-Ask the dealer if you can sit on the bike for 30 minutes to see how the seat feels. A poorly designed seat (for comfort) can ruin any ride. So put your ipod/mp3 player on and have a seat with most of your weight on the seat.

-While sitting on the bike, lean the bike from side to side to get a feel for the weight of the bike and its center of gravity being high or lower as compared to another bike you've tested or will test.

-Gas prices are only going to go up, so ask the gas mileage in the city. I assume you have a government agency that oversees the honesty of these numbers. So what is the city kilometers per liter of gas as compared to another bike? Power is nice but not running out of gas is better. Same for the monthly cost of the gas.

-Generally higher mileage and lower cc bikes cost less to buy Insurance.

-If new, how long is the warranty and what does it not cover?

Not at dealer but with used seller only

-If used will the seller guarantee the bike till you have a mechanic look at it and or have it for 3 days? This is to verify there are no major mechanical or electrical problems with the bike. Even if you just get a single day, wipe up any oil on bottom of bike, then be sure to ride it cold, warm, in city, in country, ride some paved hilly roads, brake hard several times (front and back brakes) and when turning is anything seem loose. So if all seems well did you have any bluish exhaust or oil drops on the bottom of engine or anywhere you wiped down earlier, this includes brake fluid leaks.

You just want to verify that your getting what the seller says the bike is. If he says it leaks oil, then how much? Same for burning oil. You'll get bad gas mileage, have to buy oil regularly and have to clean spark plugs often.

[jonnythan]

Same for burning oil. You'll get bad gas mileage, have to buy oil regularly and have to clean spark plugs often.

Or it might just be a 2-stroke