My Take on the First Bike question...

[whisper15]

Ducky
It is great that you are excited about your new adventure. Everyone should be.
Enjoy and BE SAFE

[Scott58]

You make some pretty decent points, but the bottom line is you haven't been riding long enough to get yourself into situations that are gonna change your mind (or not). I've seen new riders do some pretty stupid things. much better they do it on a 250 then a 750cc tactical fighter. Nice bike you have there by the way, but if you show it one moment of disrespect it will kill you.

[RhadamYgg]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAoeJUKg36g&NR=1

This is all I'm thinking about with regard to cornering at high speeds.

RhadamYgg

[jstark47]

The speed limit is 35 ... In my book, it cant be appreciated fully at anything under 65 mph.

That is thirty miles per hour over the limit.

Lotsa luck doing 30 over on the BRP in season. They got about a billion places to hide up there - they will nail your a$$ for sure.

30 mph over the speed limit would be considered excessive speeding. Also, if you hit some gravel or sand in the curve at that kind of speed the results would be devastating. True, even at slower speeds the sand in a curve will probably wipe you out, but what we are really talking about is your speed + mass at time of impact on a tree - and the survivability of that force at time of impact.

Particularly on the BRP. You wipe out a turn up there, you're gonna hit either a tree, a rock, or a guardrail. Or maybe nothing at all -- for the first 150 feet down!

[Ducky]

YES i was going 30 over the speed limit on the parkway. Id be willing to bet most of you focusing on that fact (which ive admited was not a good idea) have never been on the parkway and for those of you that have...id give you 100 bucks if you could go 100 miles on the parkway at the posted 35mph limit. Its extremely slow but I understand why they keep it that way. It keeps the place safe and if I got caught going that fast, id deserve the ticket issued. Let it go already! It was stupid of me ok?

Most everyone else is saying the same thing. High speed means higher statistical chance of injury. AGREED.

250 cc going 65 on the parkway = 748cc going 65 on the parkway IMO.

Bigger bike means chance of getting in an accident is higher. NOT QUITE.

Riders that CHOOSE bigger bikes usually choose them to go faster...A rider that CHOOSES to go fast on a big bike would CHOOSE to go faster on a smaller bike. BIKER ERROR is NOT the same as BIKE CHOICE ERROR.

I think its wrong of you guys to give new guys the impression that a 250cc is a safer bike. Impact on a 250 doesnt seem to me to any different than impact on a 750/1000 at the SAME SPEED. Yes, bigger bikes CAN go faster...but if you CHOOSE to go that fast...you CHOOSE the consequence if things go wrong. If you buy a bigger bike and cannot handle it in a parking lot experience (u turns, figure 8s ,etc ) and you drop it...its probably a good thing...you'll be forced to reconsider your need to ride..If you manage to handle the 250 cc in the parking lot..it doesnt mean you're ready for the road either! You now just think you're better than you actually might be.

Ducky

[Fast Eddy B]

I think you're trying too make hard to make a pretty stupid point.

Great. You have a 748 and you haven't crashed. So what?

I had a CBR600F three weeks after my license, didn't crash and didn't die.

But these other bikers are nearly as skilled as we are, right?

(wink)

[Skier]

I think its wrong of you guys to give new guys the impression that a 250cc is a safer bike. Impact on a 250 doesnt seem to me to any different than impact on a 750/1000 at the SAME SPEED. Yes, bigger bikes CAN go faster...but if you CHOOSE to go that fast...you CHOOSE the consequence if things go wrong. If you buy a bigger bike and cannot handle it in a parking lot experience (u turns, figure 8s ,etc ) and you drop it...its probably a good thing...you'll be forced to reconsider your need to ride..If you manage to handle the 250 cc in the parking lot..it doesnt mean you're ready for the road either! You now just think you're better than you actually might be.

Ducky

The newbies always trot out the ol' "the bike only goes as fast as you tell it to" argument and ignore the fact they lack the skills to tell the bike exactly what they want.

[storysunfolding]

The newbies always trot out the ol' "the bike only goes as fast as you tell it to" argument and ignore the fact they lack the skills to tell the bike exactly what they want.

Exactly- and it's not even how it responds to intentional actions. Say you're silly enough to ride with a wrist up posture and you hit a bump that throws you back a bit causing you to goose the throttle.

On the ninja- not much of a reaction
On that duc- you're going to accelerate fairly fast.

[Ducky]

I didnt really post here to change anyone's mind. Simply to introduce my prospective on the issue. I'm excited about riding..i LOVE it and I wanted to share my choice with you all. I GET IT, you disagree, and I really do respect that.

I'm a newbie, a noob, and I'm happy to be a part of this riding culture. I'm glad I made the choice i did. I have ALWAYS wanted a ducati 748 and I have it now..its an accomplishment to look at that title and know its paid for. To anyone out there who is new or relatively new like me, I suggest you listen to these folks who are more experienced and buy a 250cc or maybe a 50cc. Probably the safest start might be a scooter or something. I dont know. For me, Ducati 4 life. Thanks for listening!

[NewVABiker99]

I think its wrong of you guys to give new guys the impression that a 250cc is a safer bike. Impact on a 250 doesnt seem to me to any different than impact on a 750/1000 at the SAME SPEED. Yes, bigger bikes CAN go faster...but if you CHOOSE to go that fast...you CHOOSE the consequence if things go wrong. If you buy a bigger bike and cannot handle it in a parking lot experience (u turns, figure 8s ,etc ) and you drop it...its probably a good thing...you'll be forced to reconsider your need to ride..If you manage to handle the 250 cc in the parking lot..it doesnt mean you're ready for the road either! You now just think you're better than you actually might be.

Ducky

The newbies always trot out the ol' "the bike only goes as fast as you tell it to" argument and ignore the fact they lack the skills to tell the bike exactly what they want.

Newbie here. I know this is argument is geared more towards sportsbikes, but... I took the MSF last summer and just purchased my bike last weekend. (Hooray!) I got a Virago 250, which is the same bike I rode in class. I had contemplated buying a Honda Shadow 600 up until the week before I bought, but in the end, I'm really glad I didn't. Not so much because of the power but because of the weight. See, I live in a hilly area and every day I've gone out to practice I've stalled my bike starting from stop on a hill. Ugh! I'm so glad I'm trying to learn this skill on a lighter bike. As frustrating as it is, I know I'm not going to drop it and I'm not going to roll down hill. LOL! How I see it, I gave myself two less things I have to worry about by getting a smaller bike.