Newbie in Auckland wanting to get into bikes (noob_biker)

[bosslady]

I'm not the best person to ask for bike recommendations. If I could say anything it would be make sure you put some money aside for lessons. I'd rather pay for lessons that have a nicer bike if I could only have one of the two when starting out.

[noob_biker]

I'm not the best person to ask for bike recommendations. If I could say anything it would be make sure you put some money aside for lessons. I'd rather pay for lessons that have a nicer bike if I could only have one of the two when starting out.

Yup thank you. I have to keep reminding myself I'm getting one mainly to learn how to ride and become very competent at it so I can pick it up easily when I'm older again. Looks and what it is exactly don't matter. I plan to keep it for a year or so before I sell everything I own to import an R32 GTR after I finish uni but I know I'll always want a bike sooner or later so it's good to pick up the skills now

[bosslady]

Yup thank you. I have to keep reminding myself I'm getting one mainly to learn how to ride and become very competent at it so I can pick it up easily when I'm older again. Looks and what it is exactly don't matter. I plan to keep it for a year or so before I sell everything I own to import an R32 GTR after I finish uni but I know I'll always want a bike sooner or later so it's good to pick up the skills now

cool, make sure you do! what you learn will stay with you forever (so to speak), bikes, not so much.. also a year isn't a great deal of time for riding, jmo, I'm 8 or so months in and it's only just beginning!

[haydes55]

Yup thank you. I have to keep reminding myself I'm getting one mainly to learn how to ride and become very competent at it so I can pick it up easily when I'm older again. Looks and what it is exactly don't matter. I plan to keep it for a year or so before I sell everything I own to import an R32 GTR after I finish uni but I know I'll always want a bike sooner or later so it's good to pick up the skills now

Why blow thousands on an old, has been, car when for similar money you could get a faster more modern bike?

I've had a few mates buy skylines and sylvias and spend thousands every year buying diffs, gearboxes and CVs etc.

[tigertim20]

bosslady what bike are you saying is reliable that you chose over a sports bike? When I say sports I thought even something like what mossy1200 linked was a sports bike? (http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-615150256.htm , which is an awesome bike that I wouldn't mind)

I mean I just want a small bike, going by your info and seeing you own a GN250, I just looked them up on trademe and they're a bit older looking style than I'd like but I'd settle for any cheap reliable sports-ish bike

I'm seriously considering that Spada... So cheap and looks cool!

Is 42000km lots for a bike? What kind of mileage is low-average-high for bike engines? Perhaps give me equivalents to car mileages?

Thanks for the heads up on gear guys. Talked to a friend who got a new helmet that is pretty nice at uni today and he said he got it for $200 from somewhere on barrys point rd so I'll go have a look there soon.
Would I be better getting riding jeans or some leather pants too? Jeans would be nice because I can wear them through the day then.

Thanks for the estimates on the gear too. I will trawl trademe

Why blow thousands on an old, has been, car when for similar money you could get a faster more modern bike?

I've had a few mates buy skylines and sylvias and spend thousands every year buying diffs, gearboxes and CVs etc.

42000km can be fuck all on a bike, my old 91 cbr600 had 140,000km on it when I sold it and was running sweet as still. It can be a shitload of kms too if the bike hasnt been well looked after.
kms are less important than treatment and regular servicing.

for the gear, if its not a hassle to carry a bag with some spare jeans and get changed, then Id say get proper pants. Otherwise get riding jeans for nw, but plan to get some proper riding pants, either leather or cordura are fine, down the track

[nzspokes]

Yup thank you. I have to keep reminding myself I'm getting one mainly to learn how to ride and become very competent at it so I can pick it up easily when I'm older again. Looks and what it is exactly don't matter. I plan to keep it for a year or so before I sell everything I own to import an R32 GTR after I finish uni but I know I'll always want a bike sooner or later so it's good to pick up the skills now

Once you get a good bike, any car will seem a little soft. And its much cheaper.

Once you get a bike come to Sass. http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...highlight=sass

[noob_biker]

cool, make sure you do! what you learn will stay with you forever (so to speak), bikes, not so much.. also a year isn't a great deal of time for riding, jmo, I'm 8 or so months in and it's only just beginning!

I was told that... Unlike a car, every time you ride a bike, you learn something new even after many years of riding said one guy. Sorry if I sound like a bit of a dick but in your 8 months have you had many close calls? I've spoken to quite a few people now and the first thing they nearly always say is "You have to ride like everyone is going to kill you". How true is that for you?

Why blow thousands on an old, has been, car when for similar money you could get a faster more modern bike?

I've had a few mates buy skylines and sylvias and spend thousands every year buying diffs, gearboxes and CVs etc.

Yes I too blow and have blown quite a bit on my skyline and previous ones. It's more of a goal I've set myself as I love the car. It's legendary to me and I just have to have one
My friends who ride say once they have had a fast bike, cars just never bring the same thrill again... We'll see haha...

42000km can be fuck all on a bike, my old 91 cbr600 had 140,000km on it when I sold it and was running sweet as still. It can be a shitload of kms too if the bike hasnt been well looked after.
kms are less important than treatment and regular servicing.

for the gear, if its not a hassle to carry a bag with some spare jeans and get changed, then Id say get proper pants. Otherwise get riding jeans for nw, but plan to get some proper riding pants, either leather or cordura are fine, down the track

Ah cool I was under the impression 100,000km on a bike was impossible and was like an old 80's car rolling it's odo over to 0 again or something. Did your old CBR need a rebuild or anything though?
Cool I might get one of those bags that sit on the back maybe, that way I can take stuff when I go to uni.

Once you get a good bike, any car will seem a little soft. And its much cheaper.

Once you get a bike come to Sass. http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...highlight=sass

Haha I was told cars will seem pretty lame after I get a bike. What exactly do you do in Sass? Do you all go for rides? Or is it more of laying out cones, practising stuff? I don't really know if I'd be keen for cruises on a bike. So many horror stories :/ Might attend track days rather than doing road riding for that kind of stuff. Too scared of flying into a ditch or something. So many videos I see, they just slide off unexpectedly because of gravel or losing grip. What if a car comes the other way...

[Maha]

"You have to ride like everyone is going to kill you". How true is that for you?

It's bullshit and a general statement, you might as well stay home and do the laundry if you let that be your guide.
The people who live by that, are the ones who take a few unnecessary risks here and there.

Just be vigilant and by doing so, be safe in the knowledge that you are the better road user than some of the others around at you any given time.

''So many horror stories :/ Might attend track days rather than doing road riding for that kind of stuff. Too scared of flying into a ditch or something. So many videos I see, they just slide off unexpectedly because of gravel or losing grip. What if a car comes the other way''

You seem a frail person, the kind that could be a hazard to ride with.
Track days? fuck me, how about getting a bike first, spend the 'track day' money on some professional lessons, get out of the mind-set that you're in for doom and gloom, and then maybe, just maybe, the world of bikes wont look so terrifying.

[bosslady]

I was told that... Unlike a car, every time you ride a bike, you learn something new even after many years of riding said one guy. Sorry if I sound like a bit of a dick but in your 8 months have you had many close calls? I've spoken to quite a few people now and the first thing they nearly always say is "You have to ride like everyone is going to kill you". How true is that for you?

Haha I was told cars will seem pretty lame after I get a bike. What exactly do you do in Sass? Do you all go for rides? Or is it more of laying out cones, practising stuff? I don't really know if I'd be keen for cruises on a bike. So many horror stories :/ Might attend track days rather than doing road riding for that kind of stuff. Too scared of flying into a ditch or something. So many videos I see, they just slide off unexpectedly because of gravel or losing grip. What if a car comes the other way...

No, I have never had any "close calls" in my 13 or thousand k's or whatever it is. However, my riding style has been described by others as "conservative" and "cautious" which I guess is code for I don't ride like a prick or that I'm a Nana or something. I don't have anything to prove to anyone and in any case, I don't exactly have the right bike to even bother trying! I don't ride like everyone is out to kill me, if I did, then I would not enjoy riding? What is the point leaving your house every day thinking people are out to kill you? I ride with the assumption that maybe that car that wants to pull out of the side street I'm approaching didn't see me or maybe that car can't see me in their side mirror and they're going to cut into my lane etc. Ride on the assumption that people don't see you/notice you. Make yourself visible both in where you position your bike on the road and for some, maybe wear High-Vis (I don't atm, I think it's naff, but maybe I'll change my mind one day who knows). This is why it is important to get instructor led lessons on the road. Like I said, I have had a few now, worth every penny.

Curious why you do not want to go for "cruises" on a bike? How else are you going to learn and/or put into practice techniques/skills you learn? As for track days, they ain't nothing like the road buddy and ain't gonna teach you diddly squat in comparison to road riding + lessons. The two are very little alike. I've done about a half dozen track days on my ginny now and it's great fun but doesn't teach you much (for use when road riding) except for maybe in my case, it helped build a bit of confidence leaning the bike, but other than that nothing really. You'll also find there are very little, if any hazards on the track i.e. pedestrians, cars, trucks, animals, bicycles and every other kind of hazard on the roads on a day to day basis. You shouldn't be scared of flying in to a ditch, lol, just get some lessons, truly, learn the skills to know how to handle situations outside of the norm and importantly, don't be over-confident on the road and you'll be right. There is no point living in fear.

[george formby]

Very pertinent bosslady. We went the same way. Training, training, training. Worth it's weight in gold.

[Akzle]

Ah cool I was under the impression 100,000km on a bike was impossible and was like an old 80's car rolling it's odo over to 0 again or something.

Might attend track days rather than doing road riding for that kind of stuff. Too scared of flying into a ditch or something. So many videos I see, they just slide off unexpectedly because of gravel or losing grip. What if a car comes the other way...

dude. late 80s cars where the best for the million miles. unless they rusted out.

you're so fucking hero. just because the track has more runoff than the road.. shirley you'd be better to learn not to bin it so hard...

[Road kill]

Buy a new helmet.

Gloves,I wear thinsulate lined riggers gloves during the summer and wool lined riggers gloves during winter.

Don't lane split in urban or city traffic,it's not worth the blood loss.

Filtering to the front of the Q ain't so bad but it's up to you how much you want to piss off the personality disorders that will carry on like you just shat on their front lawn.

Welcome aboard.

[carburator]

I was told that... Unlike a car, every time you ride a bike, you learn something new even after many years of riding said one guy. Sorry if I sound like a bit of a dick but in your 8 months have you had many close calls? I've spoken to quite a few people now and the first thing they nearly always say is "You have to ride like everyone is going to kill you". How true is that for you?



Yes I too blow and have blown quite a bit on my skyline and previous ones. It's more of a goal I've set myself as I love the car. It's legendary to me and I just have to have one
My friends who ride say once they have had a fast bike, cars just never bring the same thrill again... We'll see haha...



Ah cool I was under the impression 100,000km on a bike was impossible and was like an old 80's car rolling it's odo over to 0 again or something. Did your old CBR need a rebuild or anything though?
Cool I might get one of those bags that sit on the back maybe, that way I can take stuff when I go to uni.



Haha I was told cars will seem pretty lame after I get a bike. What exactly do you do in Sass? Do you all go for rides? Or is it more of laying out cones, practising stuff? I don't really know if I'd be keen for cruises on a bike. So many horror stories :/ Might attend track days rather than doing road riding for that kind of stuff. Too scared of flying into a ditch or something. So many videos I see, they just slide off unexpectedly because of gravel or losing grip. What if a car comes the other way...

yep after reading that load of dribble.. stick to buses...you will be safer...

[tigertim20]

I was told that... Unlike a car, every time you ride a bike, you learn something new even after many years of riding said one guy. Sorry if I sound like a bit of a dick but in your 8 months have you had many close calls? I've spoken to quite a few people now and the first thing they nearly always say is "You have to ride like everyone is going to kill you". How true is that for you?

Youll keep learning for as long as you have an open mind.




Ah cool I was under the impression 100,000km on a bike was impossible and was like an old 80's car rolling it's odo over to 0 again or something. Did your old CBR need a rebuild or anything though?
Cool I might get one of those bags that sit on the back maybe, that way I can take stuff when I go to uni.

CBR only, to my knowledge, had a clutch replaced. certainly didnt need anything other than the usual cam chain tensioner replacement while I had it ($80 or so and ten minutes to fit)

Haha I was told cars will seem pretty lame after I get a bike. .

you talk about wanting a skyline. I worked for a bloke that had a 900hp streetable GTR. He took me for a few ries. Id went like, fuck, and pushed you back into your seat and felt great.
however the experience wqas bland compared to being geared up in full leather, coming out of a sweeper, seeing the straight, and slamming the throttle open, feeling the back move around a little under you, and feeling the front of the bike lift, you lean forward to try and force the front tyre down, but it doesnt want to, the noise becomes a scream mixed with wind rushing past, the force of which is trying to pull you off the bike and it sceams through the gears till you have to hit the brakes, throw your weight back to keep the rear down, and lean over, dragging you knee through the corner before getting back on the gas again . . .

Cars just dont do it for me since I bought my first litre bike

[haydes55]

you talk about wanting a skyline. I worked for a bloke that had a 900hp streetable GTR. He took me for a few ries. Id went like, fuck, and pushed you back into your seat and felt great.
however the experience wqas bland compared to being geared up in full leather, coming out of a sweeper, seeing the straight, and slamming the throttle open, feeling the back move around a little under you, and feeling the front of the bike lift, you lean forward to try and force the front tyre down, but it doesnt want to, the noise becomes a scream mixed with wind rushing past, the force of which is trying to pull you off the bike and it sceams through the gears till you have to hit the brakes, throw your weight back to keep the rear down, and lean over, dragging you knee through the corner before getting back on the gas again . . .

Cars just dont do it for me since I bought my first litre bike

Since buying my bike, I've forgotten how cars crash. I seriously have no idea how to crash a car :/

That might be because I've only driven a van and a mazda 3 in the last year or so.