Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Apart from the Buell I used in the MSF course, I'd never even sat on a motorcycle until I bought my softail deuce. Its 1450cc and wieghs in around 700lbs. Apart from the sheer size of it compared to the Buell I'd quickly grown used to, everything else was pretty much the same as the smaller bike.

I will say that although the bigger bikes tend to ride themselves, they are heavier and not as easy to throw around so if you do go the route of going large right off the bat, take it steady. Dont get yourself into something that you wont be able to get out of.

Are you taking a safety course?

On a side note...in the training course they had us jump the bike over a piece of wood by opening the throttle and then pulling up on the handlebars. Something tells me it wouldn't quite work the same with the Harley:)

Why not consider the vstar 650 classic or custom. Basically same as the 1100. 100+ pounds less and unless you plan doing long.... distance 2 up will do everything you want. Its also less rigid in turns and handling plus mods will increase the HP if you want to eventually. Curisers are for crusing, taking you time, enjoying the ride. So why not enjoy? Also can't beat the price for looks and quality.

On a side note...in the training course they had us jump the bike over a piece of wood by opening the throttle and then pulling up on the handlebars

Hmm...we did the same exercise but they didnt say to pull up on the handlebars...just that if you hit the throttle the bike will naturally lighten in the front, and to stand on the pegs to use as shock absorbers.

Sometimes when hitting small hole in the road I instinctively pull up on the handlebars, but I doubt I could lift even my light 350 pound bike any significant amount

In my course they didn't have us pull up on the bars, just stand on the pegs and give it a little gas. Even this way the cruisers (rebels and GZ250s) were able to get about 2 inches of air over the large board. I got zero air but was able to carry a lot more speed over the board as I was on a dual sport.

A large cruiser would still clear the same obstacle perhaps even easier as the 250s cruisers are about as low as you can get for a bike, you just would get zero air and instead have the suspension soak up the bump.

I couldn't even imagine riding a liter+ bike right now. Getting a 500 at the end of this week as my first bike which is already going to have 40hp on the bike I took the MSF course on (a 125 dual sport). Going to be jumping from 12hp to 50hp.

Mustang wrote:On a side note...in the training course they had us jump the bike over a piece of wood by opening the throttle and then pulling up on the handlebars. Something tells me it wouldn't quite work the same with the Harley:)

We were told to stand up too....didn't have any trouble doing it on the buell, as matter of fact it was one of the more fun parts of the course!

I do instinctively stand up on my cruiser when I'm going over a hole I din't see til the last moment or the railway tracks that are bumpier than they should be.

Never sat my butt on a bike before I bought my 1670cc Warrior. Over 600lbs. dry weight and I have no complaints at all. At this point I'd probably be disappointed to drive anything smaller. It is powerful, nimble, and treats me right.

FWIW - I was a long ago rider who had been away from riding for many years. I started back like MstrJim45, with a Honda Shadow Spirit 1100. Although I had occasionally ridden a few "big" bikes over the years, this machine was almost seven times more displacement than my previous biggest bike (160cc & 38 years ago) and about twice the weight.

I was VERY cautious for the first 1K or so, and I also took the MSF course, all of which helped. I've put 5K on the bike since August 1 of last year, so it's do-able. So far, the only time I've "dropped" the bike was in my front yard as I tried to make a dumb maneuver. It just slowly laid down. Just be darn careful and NEVER let the bike "get ahead of you".

Good luck and safe riding.

Kurt

I'll agree with a past post that it seems your mind might be made up and are looking for support to back up your decision and perhaps expecting minor, predictable criticisms that you'll take on advisement.

Having said that, my first bike was an '82 Seca 650; which I rode for about 3 seasons. By the end of the second season, I was getting sick of it. Not comfortable enough, not enough torque or top end power.
I got rid of it in 1997, since I started fixing the fixes.

8 yrs. later, my V-Star 1100 is being delivered this Saturday. I'm bound to be rusty, but like many others, am planning on taking it real easy in the Spring until I get back into the swing of things. I'll likely take a refresher MSF course in the summer as well.

I would say take the MSF course then go for the 1100 if you feel confident. I was a little upset after listening to everyone and starting on a smaller (750cc) bike, because a year later I felt the need to sell it and lost about $1000 bux. 2 instructors in my MSF course said they don't tell people to start small anymore, and that starting small is sort of an "old school" rule because years ago 750cc wasn't even considered small.

earwig wrote:I would say take the MSF course then go for the 1100 if you feel confident.

Definitely take the course and, if you can, try renting a few bikes. I did and was able to make a better buying decision after several weekend rentals of different bikes/sizes/styles.

I was a little upset after listening to everyone and starting on a smaller (750cc) bike, because a year later I felt the need to sell it and lost about $1000 bux.

I was told the opposite by everyone I talked to. "You're a big guy (I'm 6'3", 250lbs) - you can handle a big bike." Well, maybe but the idea of a "big bike" (1100+) scared the daylights out of me as my first ride!

I rented a 750 Shadow for a weekend and discovered....oh yeah...I *would* like a bigger bike. The Shadow left me feeling like my knees were up around my ears. I rented a VTX 1300 and a ST 1300. Ended up buying a Royal Star after getting *lots* of practice on the rentals.