Motorcycles...

HateEternal · #1 April 23rd, 2006, 02:48 AM

Yea so I want a bike pretty bad.

I'm kind of wondering how many of you ride, or have opinions on bikes. A lot of my friends are getting bikes this year and it's always been something that I've wanted to do but never really had the guts to. I'm a real sucker for sport bikes, they've been catching my eye for as long as I can remember.

The problem is that I can't make up my mind if it is a good idea or not. There are a lot of factors: cost, safety, usefulness, etc. At this point I'm planning on getting a bike mostly for fun, but if wearing the gear over normal clothes to work isn't too bad I would definitely consider it for commuting.

I've more or less decided on getting a Kawasaki Ninja 250 (if anything) because it is a light bike which has been praised as the ultimate beginner bike. It is also very cost effective, new they run around 3000 USD and used around 2500, they also seem to hold their value extremely well. The small engine means it gets great gas milage and I can worry a little less about hurting myself. The problem with that bike is that all my friends have 600 cc engines, so I'm going to have a hard time keeping up. I would love to get onto a 600 cc super sport, I just don't think it's a good idea.

I guess the main thing holding me back right now is the danger factor. We all know that bikes are dangerous. I tend to be a pretty conservative guy when it comes to risks. I enjoy my extreme sports but I am really careful when I'm on my snowboard for example. Unlike a lot of people (unfortunately) I plan on taking the training courses and getting full gear, helmet, jacket, gloves, boots, and pants. I've seen too many bad crash videos and road rash pictures in the last couple days to do otherwise(Not that I wouldn't have worn gear in the first place). I don't see myself doing anything stupid on a motorcycle, for the most part I am a really defensive driver, although I have become a little more aggressive ever since I got my Mazda 3, but still cautious. I haven't been in any accidents or gotten any tickets (knocks on wood) but other people still scare the crap out of me when I'm on the road.

Any thoughts or insights?

delsoljb32 · #2 April 23rd, 2006, 09:30 AM

you can be the safest, most well trained motorcyclist in the world, and some retard on his f'ing cell-phone will still veer into your lane

something to consider

I almost lost 3 friends at the same time in a lil scenario like that.

g/re/p · #3 April 25th, 2006, 03:53 AM

I am planning on getting a BMW Rockster.

http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/bikes/bike.jsp?b=r1150rr

**fryke** · #4 April 25th, 2006, 05:14 AM

Nice bike. I'm not a particular fan of naked bikes (I need 'em more practical, i.e. I travel with a loooooooot of stuff usually...), but if you're into that, it's certainly one of the nicer looking ones, and BMW's not known for bad quality. Although that ABS incident last year made 'em look like idiots in the press...

HateEternal · #5 April 25th, 2006, 10:34 PM

That BMW is definitely sweet. It's a lot more money than I would ever spend on a bike though, at least so far.

If I were to throw caution (and economics) to the wind I would totally jump for an R6. That thing has gotta be the hottest bike I've ever seen. The R1 is sweet too... but I kind of like the mid sized bikes better. I'm not really into these things for practicallity, mainly fun.

lilbandit · #6 April 26th, 2006, 02:55 PM

Ducati 749R, a 999 is probably too much. Always like the older 748 too. If you saw the 2nd Matrix movie thats the one Trinity rides in the highway chase scene.http://www.ducati.com/bikes/my2006/d...elName=749R-06