Replies to post #1119 on Cars, etc. (GEARHEAD)

[jmhollen]

Hi,

I tend to somewhat disagree when it comes to road machines.

The best place to learn is on a dirt bike in a big open field or country roads while wearing appropriate "..Oweee..." equipment like MX boots, gloves, helmet, jacket, etc.

When it comes to a road bike, you need enough 'oooomph' to stop and or get out of the way (..upright..) when carrying a passenger - which most people do. Anything under 500cc is marginal, IMHO.

I had a Yammer-n'-stammer 250 Big Bear when I was 135# and in college, which had the power and brakes to run with the 650 and 750 BSR's and Trumpets. It would almost keep up with the Honda 750-4's, but it was real "..peaky.." (..2-cycle, not seen much anymore..) for a beginner.

My first "..real scooter.." was an '80 Kawi Z1 Classic 1000cc Fuelie. That was followed by several GPz1100s. Big and bloody-fast high-performance also equals quite stable and forgiving, if you're not engaged in the insane to start with. Having a good dose of "...Ludicrous Speed..." power tends to help keep you off the throttle until your "...OMG..." comfort level catches up with your checkbook.


I taught a nice young lady from Martin-Marietta to ride her brand shiny new Kawi 750CSR twin without a whole lot of trouble. She did just great after we lowered the suspension an inch front and rear, and had her riding boots "..raised.." a 1/2 inch.

She suffered one case of road rash when she when out with someone else, who wasn't watching out for her. The road rash incident occured when a dumbass buddy took her into a gravel parking lot off of a major street with no warning or previous explanation. She never whined a bit - although I know she was scuffed pretty good in a few places.

It has a lot to do with who takes the time to teach you to ride on the actual road. Bike school only helps with the technicalities.

I used to take Glenda out every weekend in the Denver-to-Evergreen area, put her ahead of me in the right side of the slow lane - and make damn sure the cars stayed away from her. In no time, she was "..puttin'.." around by herself on her own.

Park your Sub at the iHub - Bub; .....the experience might just "...float your boat..." !!!

[Rick Faurot]

I agree. My first bike was a Honda 305 Superhawk. What a great bike. I had tons of fun on that bike for very few dollars. I learned how to handle it in all conditions and it was easy to handle because it was light and the horsepower was modest. When I moved up to a Triumph Bonneville, I already had the chops to handle most situations. When I hit a wet or otherwise unstable road surface, I was comfortable and safe dealing with a spinning or sliding rear wheel. The Triumph was not so heavy that I couldn't pick it up or push it if need be.

Later when I was taking some classes and wanted a commuter bike, I chose a Honda 350. Like with the Superhawk, I had tons of fun with this bike and it cost very little. I drove it regularly on the freeway, too, and nobody ever passed me (except when the CHP caught up with me, but we won't talk about that now).

I'm 6' 1" and 190 lbs and all three of these bikes had plenty of horsepower to get me around plenty fast. If I was to buy a bike today, I'd look at a Honda 750. This would be more horsepower than I'd ever use and anything bigger would be more dead weight than I'd want to ride if I ever lost it. The horsepower of anything over a 1000cc bike is a waste unless you are drag racing. Where are you going to ride 150 mph on the street?

My advice to a beginner is that a 650-750cc bike has way more power than you know how to use and a big enough frame to be stable and comfortable. You can always trade up--if you're still in one piece!

[Bob Zumbrunnen]

Wholeheartedly agree and you expressed it so well.

If you get too much bike (or car) to start out with, you never get a chance to learn about the limits. Knowing the limits or, more correctly, what you can get away with, can keep you alive.

To give a 4-wheeled example, in about 5 weeks, I'm going to meet Tom Veale out in Vegas with some friends of his to play around in very light 450-hp cars on a racetrack. That would be a very dangerous endeavor if not for the fact that I've become pretty adept at driving a car twice as heavy and with half the power.