Planning on riding a motorcycle

[colmbo]

A guy we had in the ER last night could speak to the "gear" issue.  He was wearing a helmet, shorts and t-shirt.  Pretty much doesn't have any skin remaining on the left side of his body.

[The Fugitive]

My son was only working part time and doing college at the same time. He was thinking a bike would be a good deal money wise, parking wise and so on. I pointed out to him that for what he would pay for a bike, gear, insurance, and such he could buy a beater used car. Not have to worry about it being stolen (bikes are easy to throw on to the back of a truck), cost about the same as the bike and gear, and being in New England be able to use it far more often than a bike.

He paid $800 for a Cherokee and over the last two year put $1200 dollars into it and topped it out at 309K miles before the engine went. $3 a day isn't a bad deal. 

Get a car, learn to drive it, learn to take care of it. Then when you have more experience, and out grow those tendency's that you WILL look back on and think "why the H@LL did I ever do that!!!" you can again look into buying a bike.

[ToeTag]

Then plan on death.  Sad thing is it wont be your fault.

[Buzzard7]

Wear your helmet around the house to get used to its weight. Strengthen your neck up for the eventual fall. Wind and bowshock waves from trucks are your enemy.

[Midway]

Then plan on death.  Sad thing is it wont be your fault.

Exactly right on.

[morfiend]

A guy we had in the ER last night could speak to the "gear" issue.  He was wearing a helmet, shorts and t-shirt.  Pretty much doesn't have any skin remaining on the left side of his body.

 This is exactly why I stressed that the OP get some good equipment.  Sure you don't "need" a $300 pair of boots but wear a good quality boot.Those fancy $100 gloves aren't needed either,a good pair of rawhide work gloves will work almost as well. Never and I say never cheap out on a brain bucket and get a good leather jacket.

  I have far too many friends who were to Macho to gear up,especially on hot days and they are mamed for life as a result. Sure it wasn't their fault,usually isn't but when a bike hits a car or get run of the road by 1 the bike never wins! I know tried it myself once.

  If your new to driving,take a drivers ED course in a car,learn to drive the streets in a car first,if you can afford a small on/off road bike you can always learn to ride off road and atleast you don't have to deal with cars. Riding in the dirt will teach you bike control in slippery condition that will help when you finally venture on the road. Besides you might find you don't like riding and would rather have a car!

   

[Wmaker]

My advice...

Titanic, get one of those Hayabusas and see how fast you can go with one.

[RngFndr]

I was riding a streetbike before I had my first car.. But I grew up on Motorcycles..
Had a AMA racing license before I had a drivers license.. That kinda makes me an exception to the rule..

If you have no experience at all on a bike, on the street, you are a ready made statistic..
Even after a "Riding Course".. 

Be smart, BUY A CAR..
Better yet, buy a Pick up truck, and a small dirtbike, learn to ride that way.. Much safer!

[homersipes]

I was always told kind of a rule of thumb was that your feet should be able to be flat on the ground when seated, and not tip toeing the bike.  start with something small like a 400 maybe a 600 before buying something more powerful and faster, the old jap bikes are usually good for learning and usually aren't too expensive.  this was the wifes first bike, paid 400 for it and put almost 50k on it in the 5 years that we rode and never had any problems with it, of course exhaust was modified a bit

Oh and leathers, buy a good riding jacket as stated before its very worth it    and watch out for the idiots on the road that want to pull out in front of you, or run into the side of you.  loud pipes do save lives, they have saved mine before

[Sol75]

In personal experience I can only speak on Sportbikes, as that is all I have ridden, but, like the others have said, start SMALL (ie a 250 Ninja, or CBR).  I started out with a Ninja 250.  I now ride a nkna ZX-7R (700 class) on the street, and a Ducati 1098 for the track.  I cannot stress enough to GET GEAR!  Our sportbike rider's club has a saying, AGATT (ALL GEAR ALL THE TIME).  I actually own 2 sets of gear, one set is a nice textile jacket with armor padding, a back protector, Shoei helmet, armored textile overpants, and alpinestars boots+gloves.  This is my street gear.  Track gear is a full 1 piece leather suit, again with A* Boots/Gloves and an Arai helmet. 

If you have ever watched MotoGP or the like (Motorcycle racing) then you have seen the guys who high-side at 100+mph, and they stand up and walk back to the bike... this is partially due to trak design (lots of runoff area) but the MAIN reason is due to GEAR.  Include gear as part of the purchase of the bike.  if you cannot afford gear and the bike, don't buy it.  When (not IF) you go down, it will save your life, skin, etc.  Also, if you ever plan to ride a backpack (passenger) get at LEAST a helmet, jacket, and gloves for your passenger.  Personally I purchased a Medium helmet, and jacket, and medium gloves, as those tend to be the best "balance" for fitting people.  Might be alittle large, or a little too tight, but either is usually tolerable.

After you have the bike and gear, get a riders course!  Here in OH Motorcycle Ohio offers the Basic course for 50 bucks.  Sign up early, as slots fill quickly.  After that, ride, ride ride.. I also HIGHLY recommend participating in at least one track day at a road course near you.  Even if you have no interest in going fast, or racing, the track day will do for your handling of the bike at higher speed, what the riders course does for basic awareness and low speed handling.  You will learn more in one track day than in years of riding.

With that said, if you have any other questions, I will be glad to answer them for you!

[FGBullet]

If you're a new driver you definitely should acclimate to driving the asphault jungle in something wrapped with metal.

You've been given great advice. Here's a few points to ponder based on my years of riding experience:

1) Drivers don't see motorcycles anywhere as easily as cars. I had 4 people pull out in front of me in the last 18 months. Three of them were on cell phones and not paying attention. One was looking straight at me and still pulled out. She acted like I was crazy when I layed on the horn. I was prepared and off the throttle when she pulled out. I had just enough room on the side of the road to get out of the way. Look at every driver as a threat, whether they're sitting at a stop sign, red light etc. I lost a friend last year. A driver pulled right out in front of him and he T-boned the car. The driver, a doctor, was devestated and said she never saw him.

2) Gear is an absolute necessity. I once got hit while sitting off the side of a road in a driveway. Car lost control and veered off the road. I went over the car and slammed back first on the ground cracking my helmet. Got up and was fine as I had just stopped to talk to a friend and still had the helmet and gear on. Luckily the car was only doing 30 and the bike took the impact.

3) Drivers don't see motorcycles.

4) Take a riders safety course.

5) Drivers don't see motorcycles.

6) Don't take everyones advice lightly. You will drop the bike. You will have close calls.

7) Drivers don't see motorcyles.

P.S. A coworker purchased a bike last year. We offered to train him to ride properly. The next day he decided to teach himself. Started it up, twisted the throttle, and rode down the driveway, out of control into a deep ditch and tore his rotator cuff, requiring surgery. He sold the bike shortly after.

[titanic3]

   Thanks guys, will take caution and take it slowly.

[bmwgs]

First thing you should do before you even purchase a bike is take a Rider Education Course.  There are a couple of type offered, and any dealership or Google can give you information on them.  Here is the link to one for New York.

http://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/injury_prevention/children/toolkits/motorcycles/importance_of_rider_education.htm

Gear does not have to cost a fortune.  There is some great gear out there at a reasonable price, just need to do some research.  Find a local club, just Google motorcycle clubs for you area, not a biker gang, and they will be a wealth of information.

When you purchase a bike, start with a small cc light weight bike.  Used is always better when learning.  

Start slow and take your time.  Just like anything else in life, it takes time to learn.  If you ever find yourself scared when getting on the bike, sell it, because it is not for you.  

Fred

[mechanic]

Get the fastest bike you can and ride like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XihQeZpwqpE

Definitely a good idea

[ariansworld]

Get the fastest bike you can and ride like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XihQeZpwqpE

Definitely a good idea

That guy is an idiot...... 
I wouldn't go out and buy a brand new bike for your first bike.... simply because you will lay it down. It is not a matter of if, but when.