SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  The Lounge    To motorcycle or to not motorcycle
Page 1 2 3 4 5 
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
To motorcycle or to not motorcycle Login/Join 
Telecom Ronin
Picture of dewhorse
posted
As now that I am finally done with child support images of fun little cars have been dancing in my head. Nothing extreme...just fun, maybe a slightly used GTI or 3 series....

But then I think what about a bike....again nothing crazy something fun and maybe a bit practical under 600CCs.....maybe even a 400. I have had an itching for a KLR for years.

Anyway....here is where it hits a bit of a wall...1. I am 45 and have never rode 2. don't have alot of garage space as like most DFW homes all the things that should go in a basement are in my garage. 3. Pretty sure my better half would kill me or worse

But for the next year I am a geographical bachelor and could buy one have a bit of fun and see if I actually would like it.

Just not sure a bike will scratch the fun car itch?

What say the SF brain trust?
 
Posts: 8301 | Location: Back in NE TX ....to stay | Registered: February 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes
Picture of sandman76
posted Hide Post
Go take an MSF course. See if you like it. You probably will. Like someones sig. line on the forum. Any motorcycle is more fun to ride than any car is to drive. Paraphrasing here.


_______________________
“There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life.”
― Frank Zappa
 
Posts: 1956 | Location: Douglas County, Colorado | Registered: July 13, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member!
posted Hide Post
Go get that KLR650 you have been itching for. Great do-everything motorcycle! Easy to learn and ride on too. Great used ones going for $3-4K, and they are so simple it will last forever with low maintenance. Good bike for taking the MSF courses too as they are really easy to ride as long as your tall enough.

Fast and stable enough to hop on the freeway to get to the backwoods trails and tons of accessories.
 
Posts: 4340 | Location: Boise, ID USA | Registered: February 14, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
The success of a solution usually depends upon your point of view
posted Hide Post
My own personal opinion is that no car can match the experience of riding a motorcycle, but, you have to have that passion ot else its just another way to get around.

Sandman gives good advice with taking a MSF course to see if you like it. Afterwards you can rent bikes a few times before buying.



“We truly live in a wondrous age of stupid.” - 83v45magna

"I think it's important that people understand free speech doesn't mean free from consequences societally or politically or culturally."
-Pranjit Kalita, founder and CIO of Birkoa Capital Management

 
Posts: 3839 | Location: Jacksonville, FL | Registered: September 10, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Crusty old
curmudgeon
Picture of Jimbo54
posted Hide Post
45 isn't too old to start riding unless you have health issues that would affect your balance. As has already been said, take the MSF class. Personally I'd do that before buying a bike to see if it's for you.

The KLR650 is an awesome bike. Go to a dealer and see if your legs are long enough to be comfortable. Another option would be a used Suzuki V-Strom 650.

Jim


________________________

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll have to be a horrible warning" -Catherine Aird
 
Posts: 9791 | Location: The right side of Washington State | Registered: September 14, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
My $.2 on this. I absolutely love motorcycles, rode a few times in High School and crashed one. That is when I accepted the fact that I would live on the "side lines" of the motorcycle culture. I believe if you talk to any serious rider it is not "if" you crash, it is "when". So at 45, how quick do you heal?

And on a side note, I crashed my bicycle almost a year ago and I still have shoulder pain and a puffy hip.
 
Posts: 2044 | Registered: September 19, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Yes, start with the MSF Basic Riders Course. If you think your wife is going to be an issue in owning a bike, sign her up, too, but be ready to shop for a pair of bikes.


--------------------------
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
-- H L Mencken

I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is.
-- JALLEN 10/18/18
 
Posts: 9127 | Location: Illinois farm country | Registered: November 15, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
lets see,
graduating class from High school , this month with 142,000 new drivers,
general population of drivers never looking for a motorcycle,
drunk drivers,
poor drivers,
elderly drivers,
nothing to live for,

sure , go ahead , live the dream





Safety, Situational Awareness and proficiency.



Neck Ties, Hats and ammo brass, Never ,ever touch'em w/o asking first
 
Posts: 54501 | Location: Henry County , Il | Registered: February 10, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Thank you
Very little
Picture of HRK
posted Hide Post
Go take the MSF course, there are independent schools and most HD dealers offer the course on training motorcycles designed for the course, at the end if you pass you get your endorsement.

And you learn about the rules of riding on the street.

After that, rent a bike before buying, you could rent a different bike and ride once/twice a month without the investment in a new motorcycle to see if it's for you.

I don't know all of them however I have used Eagle Rider, they are nationwide and take care of the equipment.

If you want to try a big twin:

https://www.eaglerider.com/dallas

For scooters to smaller Metric

http://2wheelsinmotion.com/bikes-2/

After you rent a few times you'll know if it's in your blood or just something you needed to get out of your system.



 
Posts: 23244 | Location: Florida | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Not really from Vienna
Picture of arfmel
posted Hide Post
Bendable forgot the morons twiddling their cell phones and car stereos in his list of hazards to consider.

I’ve had one hit me while I was driving an elephantine white Super Duty crew cab. A pretty damn noticeable vehicle. If I had been on a bike I would probably have been killed.
 
Posts: 26852 | Location: Jerkwater, Texas | Registered: January 30, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
You can't go
home again
Picture of LBAR15
posted Hide Post
Took an MSF course during my college years, got my MC license, picked up a Yamaha FJ and had a blast with it all through the 90's. Crashed a few times, one time my fault but two times not. Sold the bike when I got married, 13 years later got divorced.

Then I realized at 40 that the best part of my life was just beginning and I didn't want to have some idiot in a cage mess it up for me, so I bought a sports car instead. Cool That's my 2 cents anyway!


---------------------------------------
Life Member NRA

“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve." - Lao Tzu
 
Posts: 4635 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: June 21, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of mcrimm
posted Hide Post
I loved to ride when I was young. That was right up to the moment that big old white Buick pulled in from of me and I hit the right fender. I came finally came to with a kind police officer talking to me. He hauled me to he ER.

Luckily I was wearing a helmet that saved me from probable death. I wasn't wearing gloves and the result was a torn up right hand. That is when I began working on ambidexterity. I had hit the Buick so hard I had white paint transfer on my jeans that never washed out.

I don't think it is worth the potential injury or death to feel the wind in your hair. I get plenty of that in my 2 seater convertible.

Mike



I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown
...................................
When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham
 
Posts: 4214 | Location: Saddlebrooke, Arizona | Registered: December 24, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
No, not like
Bill Clinton
Picture of BigSwede
posted Hide Post
Off road? Go for it. Pavement Eek these idiots on the road will eff you up. Saying this after a soccer mom pulled out in front of me with her minivan May 2017, I did my flying Superman impression. Ended up with a permanently separated shoulder, seven busted ribs and a totaled bike.



 
Posts: 5302 | Location: GA | Registered: September 23, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Honky Lips
Picture of FenderBender
posted Hide Post
I'm in the very same boat, just 12 years younger.

I'm looking at a moto guzzi V7 III or the new Triumph street twin.

both are solid beginner bikes, that you can simply buy once and ride forever.
 
Posts: 8144 | Registered: July 24, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of JohnCourage
posted Hide Post
50 Years old here and I have not ridden in 12+ years. Just purchased a new bike this week and looking forward to picking it up next week. I agree, take the course where they provide the bike and see how it feels. I have always loved riding and for me it will be casual in mornings or evenings not major touring miles. Triumph Thruxton R was what I landed on.

Good luck on your decision.


JC
 
Posts: 1267 | Location: Roswell, GA | Registered: June 27, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thin skin can't win
Picture of Georgeair
posted Hide Post
Last time I started thinking the same thoughts, with wife and kids I was responsible for, my wise and patient wife steered me towards a PWC. Can't cover as much ground, but way less painful when you lay it down and much harder to run into/be run into on a lake.

All that, plus the same rush and fun of fast acceleration and incredible handling, even more so in current models than the first we got in '97.



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12350 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Slayer of Agapanthus


posted Hide Post
I am against it.


"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye". The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, pilot and author, lost on mission, July 1944, Med Theatre.
 
Posts: 5952 | Location: Central Texas | Registered: September 14, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Go ahead punk, make my day
posted Hide Post
Make sure your organ donor card is filled out, please.
 
Posts: 45798 | Registered: July 12, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
The Quiet Man
posted Hide Post
The best money I ever spent was when I bought my first motorcycle. I'd had some drama at work. I'd just gone through a divorce. I desperately needed something to get me through and I decided to sign up for the Motorcycle Safety Course through MSF. I'd never been on a motorcycle before and the price of the course was well worth it both to teach basic skills and to give me a taste of whether or not it was a hobby I'd really enjoy.

A week later I was on my first motorcycle. I bought a VStar 650 and rode it like I stole it for a couple of years. Tremendous starter bike. Looked a lot bigger than it was, had enough grunt to haul me across several states without issue, and was cheap enough that I didn't mind putting some scuffs and scratches on it.

I'm now on my 5th bike and have ridden about a third of the US mainland. For me at least, getting out on a long ride takes my mind off of whatever is bothering me at the time. I've literally left my house in the morning "for a short ride" and found myself 300 miles away for lunch. It's turned into a running joke between my wife and I.

I've met people of all walks of life all over the country that I had nothing in common with other than motorcycles and shared stories, conversations, and beers with them. I've seen things from the back of the bike that I'd have never have noticed in a car. I've spent a fortune over the last 15 years or so, but it's been worth every penny.

My advice would be to take the 3 day MSF course. They'll put you on a little 250cc bike and run you through some basic drills. It will teach safe habits (the emergency braking drill probably literally saved my life once), it will build confidence, and it will give you a taste of what its like. If that works for you, buy a small used bike. There are plenty of them out there. Go with something you won't be afraid to ding up a bit. In your spare time take it to a parking lot near you and practice low speed manuvering. That kind of stuff has gotten more people I know injured than anything else.

Once you decide that you want to commit to the hobby long term, sell the little bike (you'll be able to get a good bit of what you put in it back, there is always a market for starter bikes) and buy the bike you want. I'm a Harley guy (I currently own two), but you can get a LOT of bike for the money if you look for gently used Japanese bikes. I don't really follow sport bikes much, but small to mid sized sport are an absolute steal when you consider cost to HP.

Just know your limits and ride within them. Assume every vehicle you see is driven by an ex with a grudge and ride defensively. Enjoy the ride.
 
Posts: 2590 | Registered: November 13, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of skonie
posted Hide Post
I bought my first motorcycle at 42 years old. I do not regret it. I hadn't ridden in over 30 years, since I was a kid. You can't really go wrong with the KLR-650 as a first bike if you're tall enough.

Even if you don't plan to buy right away, take the MSF course so you can get the M endorsement on your license an then when you are ready, it's one less thing you have to do.
 
Posts: 1510 | Location: NV | Registered: July 01, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata Page 1 2 3 4 5  
 

SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  The Lounge    To motorcycle or to not motorcycle

© SIGforum 2024