Which First Bike

**stevedee** · 8th January 2006, 09:15

I don't think that it would be a problem finding place in Auckland it would not have to be acres of space. If the "basic handling skills course" were refocused on what matters new riders could get to the course in a car or a mate could drive them there. They would not need a bike for the first few weekends.

They run a basic handling skills course in Wellington in a car park. I guess after this the graduates can go out on the road and test their skills. Always seemed a bit silly to me.

spd :-)

**T.I.E** · 8th January 2006, 12:57

Originally Posted by Motig

Well unfortunately a lot of you don't seem to have noticed that the vast majority of Kiwis now live in an urban enviroment and puttering around on a farm is not possible.

i have been living in ak for over 20 years of my life, and alot of that in mt eden and central.

Originally Posted by Motig

And wasn't the question to do with the size of bike for a learner

"For that reason I decided to start this thread where the more experienced riders can give their ideas of what qualities a first bike should have, and to describe their early motorcycling experiences with regards to their bike's capabilities."

**Jantar** · 8th January 2006, 13:11

Originally Posted by erik

Wouldn't that make it more expensive, not to mention all the extra hassle of buying, selling and then finding a new bike?

Actually it makes it less expensive rather than more expensive. An ideal first bike would be inexpensive, say around $1500, Even if it depreciates 20% in the first 6 months that is only a drop of $300. However if your first bike is a $5000 screamer and it depreciates at 20% in 12 months rather than 6 it has cost you $1000, or $500 for that first 6 months. Definitely it is less expensive to buy a bike that is most suitable to your capabilities and to upgrade in small steps, but often.

Originally Posted by erik

...A bike that feels fine in a straight line but tends to stand up strongly and go wide when the front brake is touched in a corner, is not a good bike for a newbie. .

What you describe is a very good bike for a newbie as it teaches a newbie to enter a corner properly and not rely on brakes or anything else once committed. It also encourages the use of throttle to control any alteration of line rather than brakes.

**metric** · 8th January 2006, 15:49

Originally Posted by skelstar

T.I.E: you make some good points, but to be fair it doesnt cater for the guy/girl who gets a bike for, say, commutering, digs the sensation, and before they know it they have done their first big trip over some big hill and is confident in the twisties. 2 months later (actually less) they are quite competent on their 250 single, and are wishing for more. 6 months on a learners is a long time if youre riding more than 2000kms/month. Not everyone is gonna want to upgrade their 250

.

totally agree skelstar... that's me to a tea pretty much

I've only just got back from my second half of my holiday down in the coromandel (took the bike this time) and had a blast riding back through the hills of the coromandel and on the flats of the hauraki plains...

zxr250a gets my vote

- nice and easy to overtake as required (squirt the power on)
- seems really stable
- doesn't seem to bad for gas
- not uncomfortable after nearly two hours of riding

however can't wait to upgrade as soon as 9 mths is up!

**Fireproof** · 9th January 2006, 20:34

I've been riding now for about 3 weeks after purchasing an rgv150. I've already completed several trips between Auckland and Hamilton and tried to get as much practice in as possible. I must admit that initially the open road riding was pretty scary (yes i know im only suposed to go 70!), particulary riding in wind and past trucks. I found that intially i stuck to around 80-90km until my confidence picked up. The bike is pretty good for what it is but am already looking at maybe moving to a 250. The thin wheels don't seem mega stable on the open road and the bike being very light is easily buffeted round.
The bike is excellent round town and would be ideal for the commuter but im thinking a 250 would be a lot better for the long hauls. If i knew what i know now i think i would go for something like the gsx or zxr as a first bike.
(Ha, anyone interested in an rgv??)

**Ixion** · 9th January 2006, 22:16

Originally Posted by Fireproof

,,The thin wheels don't seem mega stable on the open road and the bike being very light is easily buffeted round.
,,

What is it with this obsession that newbies have with the thickness of their tyres? Is there so secret code that correlates tyre width with cock size or something.

The other day someone was bewailing the "skinny" tyres on his FXR150. I had a good look at an FXR150 today. Bugger me, the tyres are as wide as those on Phoebe- and she's a 500cc two smoker. Newbies, listen up. The narrower the tyres on a bike, the better it handles , and the less likely you are to crash. The wider the tyres, the more difficult the handling , and the more likely you are to lose it. Stop worrying about tyre size, OK

**Fireproof** · 10th January 2006, 08:14

Originally Posted by Ixion

The wider the tyres, the more difficult the handling , and the more likely you are to lose it. Stop worrying about tyre size, OK

I wasn't saying the bike doesn't handle well but was merely pointing out the greater feeling of instability on narrow tyres (yes even narrower than the FXR). I have ridden a FXR and a 250 Bandit and noticed particularly on the Bandit the way you didn't feel like you were trying to balance on a knife blade. The thinner wheels seem to be more susceptable to minor ruts and grooves in the road, giving an uneasy feeling, but obviously that is due to my inexperience? I struggle to believe i would be more likely to "lose it" on some wider tyres, and by wider I am not talking ATV fat, just a little more meat on the tarmac.

**sels1** · 12th January 2006, 12:16

My 2c - I grew up on small tailbikes in and around Wellington city and suburbs. There is always somewhere off the seal to play on if you look around....even if they are not entirely kosher (dont be nusience and dont hang around too long..

)
So yeah, I agree with those other oldies that recommend dirt bikes (street legal) for a first bike.

**hXc** · 12th January 2006, 13:18

Well I've been riding for about a year and a half. I started out on an A100 for 30 mins - crashed and broke my thumb. 3 weeks later I had surgery on my ear so couldn't get a helmet on for a month anyway.

During this time I kept telling dad I was keen to keep riding so he went and got an XR200 for me and an XR250 for him to play on. I learnt the basics of riding, braking, cornering, basic wheelies etc on either of these 2 bikes and I think I'm not a bad rider because of this.

July last year, I got interested in bucket racing. Started off on a stock standard, partly stripped Yammy RD50. It was a dog!
Went from that to a TF125 dropped in a TZR250 frame. It was okay but had a fair few troubles with it.
Dad then bought a CT125 dropped in a RG50 frame. He then purchased a GS125 from Eddieb in Wellington and we decided to flick the TF/TZR and I now ride the CT.

I will be turning 15 in 3 weeks or so and have just got my first road bike (Picking up on Saturday). This is a 1989 VT250 Spada, I believe it belonged to a member of KB (Spada). I knew from the start while searching for road bikes that whatever I got wouldn't be a FXR(too small), wouldn't be a 2 stroke(prefer 4's) and wouldn't be a GN.
That leaves me with inline fours or v-twins really. Not a cruiser fan, so it'd be a sprotbike or a naked. I have been told many a time, "Get a GN, they're great bikes for learning on." The thing is, I don't need to learn to ride, I need to learn to ride on the road. I know enough about riding to know when something is going wrong and how to attempt to fix it. I just need to learn the road rules etc etc.

I'm quite happy with the choices of made while riding and have only ever had one serious crash (on the a100), although I have had 2/3 others where I got up and pissed myself laughing. I agree with the trail bikes to learn on and then maybe get into buckets as it's a fun, relatively cheap form of racing and it has taught me a lot so far.

**k14** · 12th January 2006, 13:31

Originally Posted by hXc

I will be turning 15 in 3 weeks or so and have just got my first road bike (Picking up on Saturday). This is a 1989 VT250 Spada, I believe it belonged to a member of KB (Spada). I knew from the start while searching for road bikes that whatever I got wouldn't be a FXR(too small), wouldn't be a 2 stroke(prefer 4's) and wouldn't be a GN.
That leaves me with inline fours or v-twins really. Not a cruiser fan, so it'd be a sprotbike or a naked. I have been told many a time, "Get a GN, they're great bikes for learning on." The thing is, I don't need to learn to ride, I need to learn to ride on the road. I know enough about riding to know when something is going wrong and how to attempt to fix it. I just need to learn the road rules etc etc.

Yeah mate, good call. Great first bike to buy, my first was a 87 VT250F, a few models before your one. Good bikes to learn on, really reliable and just a general good bike alround. Dropped mine like 5 time i think, all I did was break a lever once or twice. Hope it goes well mate.

**jazbug5** · 12th January 2006, 13:31

Great attitude, hXc; there's a lot of people who could learn a few things from you, young feller.

**hXc** · 12th January 2006, 13:35

Originally Posted by jazbug5

Great attitude, hXc; there's a lot of people who could learn a few things from you, young feller.

Well I try to not be a young hoon, sometimes it takes over but what do you expect, I'm a drummer.

But seriously, I have been told by many people that I'm too mature for my age. Some person in the pub once thought I was 19 for sucks fake!

**ducatilover** · 12th January 2006, 14:25

why dont the noobies write down what they want, then find a bike that fills the criteria? eg, commuting ----km each day in --------- conditions.
occasional rides through country or dirt or W.H.Y
and so on and so forth, writing down "fastest mofo i can get my hands on" does not apply to this, cos thats a stupid idea [i would know]

in my case as an example- i didnt write down what i needed and ended up with an incapable bike.
what i needed- a bike with the ability to ride long distances through the country. as i "commuted" atleast 140km per day.
so it would need to be comfy and relativly powerfull/torquey.
something easy to ride long distances....
stable in a high wind area....

and i made the mistake of getting a gn... which was slow and very uncomfortable and not stable. and riding it through country areas was not good for the fuel economy..

although it would be cheap to fix. and very easy to learn on...
so would a honda vtr250, which was out of my price range but nonetheless fitted all my requirements [and they look the shizz in dark red mettalic]

and maybe a mandatory training school would be a good idea also

**ducatilover** · 12th January 2006, 14:27

Originally Posted by hXc

Well I try to not be a young hoon, sometimes it takes over but what do you expect, I'm a drummer.

But seriously, I have been told by many people that I'm too mature for my age. Some person in the pub once thought I was 19 for sucks fake!

how old are you? at my course some people though i'm 18 or 19. but they were stoner fucks