Total Motorcycle Community Forums

jonnythan wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZlAPD67jfQ

This is probably how her first ride will go.

That clip never gets old!!!

You guys are laughing, which is understandable, but I want to make it clear that I think this is no laughing matter and I did not intend the clip to be humorous.

I meant it to be sobering. The clip wouldn't have been funny if the guy went into the road like that and hit a moving car, or hit a brick wall and broke several bones, or if he went face first into the window. It wouldn't be funny if the daughter of the OP did that, wrecked her bike, and ended up in a coma.

Okay. I'm a Motorcycle Safety Instructor. I'm 46 and have been riding for 5 years. I recently taught a "Ladies Only" Basic Riders Course. It was a blast for the ladies...

It was also pretty sobering for some of them.

We ride 250cc Honda Nighthawks and Rebels on the range. They've got something on the order of 20 horsepower and weigh just over 300 pounds. Nevertheless, they STILL manage to startle and surprise new riders.

That 1100 is going to weigh on the order of 500+ pounds and most likely has closer to 70 or more horsepower. NOT a newbie friendly bike. The weight will be the biggest struggle for your daughter. If she is not familiar with the operation of a clutch or shifting gears, that will be another skill to master along with the general motorcycle operation details.

My suggestion to YOU is to go to the MSF website www.msf-usa.org and click on your (or your daughter's) state. Then see if you can find a site nearby that offers the BRC and better yet has a "ladies only" class offered. You could make it your "happy bike day" present.

Pam

Lion_Lady wrote:That 1100 is going to weigh on the order of 500+ pounds and most likely has closer to 70 or more horsepower. NOT a newbie friendly bike. The weight will be the biggest struggle for your daughter.

+1

571 to 639 lbs dry, depending on the model.

Gui wrote:... although she is over 6 feet and pretty strong lady... She is may be 160 lb, tall, blond and good looking.

Uhhhhhhh... I'd be willing to personally teach her how to ride. I'm 6'10" and pretty strong dude. Not to mention good looking. Plus you're not that far from Detroit...

dzervit wrote:

Gui wrote:... although she is over 6 feet and pretty strong lady... She is may be 160 lb, tall, blond and good looking.

Uhhhhhhh... I'd be willing to personally teach her how to ride. I'm 6'10" and pretty strong dude. Not to mention good looking. Plus you're not that far from Detroit...

Well, she should be fine then! Being blonde and good looking is half the battle won when it comes to motorcycle riding.

I'd be willing to personally teach her how to ride

That is a good one.... hmmm 6.10' wow... you must have an Europian background. This is not a "singles" board is it? LOL!! we're not close to Detroit though. Thanks for your offer.

So what kind of a bike do you ride to stow away your length?? That was her concern. She set on a Yamaha Vstar 650 and she found it crampy.
I mean,... just sat on it, never checked out what the bike really was like.

Anyway, I haven't heard from her after I emailed some of the replies. I hope she's not angry with me for bringing this to a Bike Board. But nobody would know who she is anyway, unless you come down to "teach" her...... I may just tell her that.....

Europian... check. Single board... nope! Just full of quick-witted motorcyclists.

I rode a VStar 650. It wasn't that bad with a couple modifications. Still have it, sorta.

I currently ride a BMW R1200RT. Beemers are great for us tall folks. Tried on a few others, but fell in love with the beemer and all its wonderful features.

A road trip across Canada sounds like fun!

Gui wrote:Thank you all for your support, your reply and wisdom shown.
I agree with all of you and I have emailed her a few of your replies. I may email her some more, because she need to hear from others.

I believe she is an impulsive buyer and does things at the spur of the moment. We used to disagree a lot, but the last couple of years we're doing great. But NOBODY can tell her anything, once she has made up her mind. This is her problem.
Some friend asked her about the gears and she said, I think it is automatic, you just ride it!!!. He said we all know that you need to shift that machine with your foot. She never said a thing after.

My other daughter told her also a few things...that she's grazy etc. etc. I carefully told her yesterday that it would be very wise if she takes a Motorcycle safety course, where they may drive the available bikes. These will be much lighter and lower in cc than what she is buying (tomorrow). She said that she would take this course, so that is a good thing. Hopefully she will talk with the instructor about it.

I hope and pray that she will realize during this course that her machine is far too BIG for her, although she is over 6 feet and pretty strong lady. The V-star is some 730 lb. She is may be 160 lb, tall, blond and good looking.

But her being blond...may mean something else as well ...hahaha!

OK, so far so good. I feel somewhat relieved, although the danger will be there.

Thanks again.

Doc Gui

As a man that had trouble with his parents that is too long to go into I can say I understand your concern. I sometimes almost do things just out of spite because my parents don't want me too. However reason and self-preservation are usually things that jump in at the last second to prevent me from actually going through with something like this.

If she's like me I'm sure she'll back down before she picks up the bike. If I was doing it though, I wouldn't even tell you I was going to back down not buy a bike at all or maybe that I was getting a different bike. I'd just let you stress about it

However now at 26 I love my mother very much and I also love her enough to not tell her I'm getting a motorcycle right now. If not ever, I don't want her to worry at all.

I asked her for my Birth Certificate since I had to prove 7 points of ID, but I told her that was just because I wanted to renew my license early lol.

Let us know how things go, I don't have enough experience with motorcycles to preach about it to anyone. Good luck to you.