Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey, I'm a newbie. I joined hoping to learn a few things about riding and hopefully (eventually) share some riding stories and experiances. For now i'm on a 1999 Honda XR200R i bought off a kid from school for $900. So far it's been a good learner and been a blast to toss down the trails next to my house, despite being in need of a trans rebuild. Doesn't like to down shift and is near impossible to find first

Still no moto permit yet, but i plan on getting it soon. How differant is the class M test than the class D test (MA tests)? And of course, a rider saftey course after that. Not exactly safe on my bike, though it's never really been on the street past my house (dead end dirt road, turns into a decent trail for riding).

So far i havn't hurt myself too bad on the thing, though it's been down quite a bit (damn mud!). Oh, and a quick question, can someone(s) suggest a good starter bike for the road. Sport or cruiser, doesn't matter, i'm just itching to get riding around town, instead of up a mountain.

Howdy Geoff and Welcome .
Some one will be along shortly with recomendations of all kinds.......
Kind regards, Wizzard

Welcome aboard! There is a list of recommended starter bikes in the New Biker forum. Enjoy the website.

Cheers,
Loonette

Why don't you take the MSF class BEFORE you get your license instead of after? And if you've been down 'quite a few times' take it easy. I guess that's normal for dirtbiking though. Anyway, take the class. It might seem boring at parts since you already know some basics. But my experience with safety training is that a lot of it catches on whether or not you think you need it. I'm in the construction industry and we have tons of training which everyone makes fun of and some see as a waste of time. We also haven't had a time-loss accident in 13 years - not bad for 65 guys who climb around on roofs and lift heavy stuff on construction sites all day. My point being that training takes hold whether you think you need it or not - it moves safety techniques and possible pitfalls to the front of your mind and you'll remember that stuff when you need it most. No matter how good you think you already are, training can improve your skills.

good idea on the safety course. though i need the moto permit first to take the course. And yeah, it's mainly in mud that i drop it, i just hit the throttle too hard and the wheel kicks out from under me. THough doing that a lot has gotten me better at correcting it at speed on dirt. Havn't highsided yet, though i low sided once. Again, hitting the throttle too hard for the situation loose wet stones on an uphill hairpin on uneaven ground. But each time i fall, i try to learn something from it. What did i do, what part made me fall, how could i have corrected, etc. And one thing i've noticed, if you panic when it gets squirrelly, you've got a good chance of going down.