New Rider

[twcurry]

I know this has been discussed many times before, but please bare with me. I am new to motorcylces, and am taking the MSF course this weekend. That said, I have obviously been drooling over bikes for the past month. Today I sat on a Victory Vegas and fell in love. Even though it's a heavy bike, it's balanced so well that you can barely feel it at a stop. Would this balancing factor in to the ability to have this as a first bike? It honestly felt like I was standing up a sportster 883, and was such a comfortable bike to sit on. It didn't make me feel as intimidated as the Hoda's and Yamaha's of smaller sizes. Also, the gas tank doesn't seem like this massive thing between me and the handlebars that makes me very uncomfortable with the other bikes. Thanks!

Troy

[Scott58]

The proof will be in the pudding. I don't like heavy bikes for myself personally because of slow manuevers not so much the starting and the stopping. When your in a busy grocery store parking lot is when your going to know if you made the right decision. It may work out well for you as the bike isn't spending all its time in parking lots and should perform well out on the open road.

[TechTMW]

73 horse and 93 ft-lb isn't exactly newbie material.

Nor is a 620lb weight.

Sitting on it and riding it are two very different experiences. you'd be doing yourself a favor by getting a smaller used cruiser and riding it for a year. For example - the sportster 883 is 200 lbs lighter and $6,000 cheaper.

[Hardly]

I'm brand new too. I've taken the MSF/BRC class.
I've looked at many bikes & have decided to go with used like many of the pro's on this forum suggest. It is a 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan 500cc. It seems to be in great shape. I'm buying it from a Kawa dealer. It has 8900 mi's on it. I decided on this bike AFTER my BRC class.
What I'm leading up to is that, I've come close to buying a new 650c. I also looked at the 750's sport/standards. I've really anguished over what kind of bike I would want to start off with. This K-500c makes the most sense. Now I really prefer a 'standard', like the Triumph Bonneville 800, but lets face it, I'm not good enough to tackle that baby! I do prefer the 'standard's foot controls which are straight down & not out front like the cruisers. A Victory Vegas is a real sweet bike but,,,, what a rocket eh?
If one can handle it, go for it. My humble advice is to go through the MSF course b4 you make up your mind on a motorcycle... By the way, follow those intructors every word!! to the letter!! You will learn things you never knew about motorcycling + the safest way to go about riding!!
Enjoy!

[JustJames]

@ Harley, congrat and good choice on your bike. I was once aim on Kaki Vulcan too. this is the same engine as Ninja's 500 so it is not really slow bike compare to the same class.

@ Twcurry, You might feel comfortable when sit on Victory Vegas, but the feeling might change when you ride on it. The factor is weight and power of the bike, eventho the bike is really comfort and balance well but the weight might play in action when you do slow speed and the power might get you in trouble when you are really on the throttle.

[iwannadie]

a heavy bike at a stand still with your feet down isnt a problem at all. its once your feet are up and your moving at slow speed and the bike starts to lean. your first reaction will be put your foot down which most likely will break your ankle and trap you under the bike once it falls. a heavy bike at slow speeds takes alot of work to keep up for a beginner.

[twcurry]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I guess it's one of thos situations where my eyes are bigger than my experience level. I'll definitely look more seriously at the smaller bikes now.

Thanks!

[ZooTech]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I guess it's one of thos situations where my eyes are bigger than my experience level. I'll definitely look more seriously at the smaller bikes now.

Thanks!

There's nothing wrong with wanting to start out big...that's America! But bite the bullet and throw down a grand on a beater and become proficient at riding that, then move up to the Victory. If you're one of the unfortunate souls to lay down your bike while still learning, you'll be glad you dropped a 20-year-old beater rather than a shiny, new Victory. If you are a quick learner, you may only need a couple months on the beater before you feel comfortable dropping $15k on a new bike and hitting the open road. But if something about riding takes you by surprise, you'll be glad you're only out a grand or so if you change your mind or need more time.

I ride a relatively heavy yet surprisingly agile and well-balanced cruiser. I haven't sat on the Victory, but I have seen their line-up and I imagine they are similar in balance and feel. A 600-800 pound bike is easy enough to roll around a showroom or shuffle around the garage, but they carry serious momentum once moving so you'll have to use the bike's accoutrements to steer it and stop it, and that's where you might be taken by surprise.

Don't worry...I can still remember when I thought bikes like mine were HUGE! Now I feel like the bike was made for me, and bikes like the GoldWing and the Harley FLHTC don't feel big at all. But I'm glad I started with an old 500, rather than anything smaller. Find yourself either a standard or cruiser in the 500-800cc range and figure out what your learning curve is. You'll be throwing your leg over that Victory before you know it.

[earwig]

I know this has been discussed many times before, but please bare with me. I am new to motorcylces, and am taking the MSF course this weekend. That said, I have obviously been drooling over bikes for the past month. Today I sat on a Victory Vegas and fell in love. Even though it's a heavy bike, it's balanced so well that you can barely feel it at a stop. Would this balancing factor in to the ability to have this as a first bike? It honestly felt like I was standing up a sportster 883, and was such a comfortable bike to sit on. It didn't make me feel as intimidated as the Hoda's and Yamaha's of smaller sizes. Also, the gas tank doesn't seem like this massive thing between me and the handlebars that makes me very uncomfortable with the other bikes. Thanks!

Troy

I don't know how much money you make but 15,000 on a first bike seems like a lot to me, I am all for starting big though...

[blair]

the sportster 883 is 200 lbs lighter and $6,000 cheaper.

It's lighter, but it's more top-heavy, so the weight issue might not be lessened in severity.

Taking 6 grand off the value of something you are destined to drop on the ground at least once is a good idea, though.