Well, I finally did it....

[FurthurOnTheFly]

After 31 years of heavily admiring, but heavily fearing motorcycles, I finally conquered my fears and passed my MSF class today! It was a great weekend with great instruction and I can't wait to get on my own bike.

My original intention was to just pick up a scooter for commuting around town, but everyone was so afraid of me riding around in Phoenix with no experience I thought taking this class was a good thing on the xmas list. Josh ended up taking it with me just for giggles, and he passed today too....so now that we have both had the taste of how much fun it actually is on a motorcycle we are now both wanting one!

We are both researching various dual sport models, although mine is still mainly going to be used for commuting to work. I already have my helmet, jacket, and gloves although these are more on the "sport" side of riding and less on the traditional "dual sport" style (my helmet is quite bright PINK :Wow1 but its too late to return anything now. At least you will see me coming down the road!!

I'm hoping to be on a bike of my own by March. :bike_rider:

 

[juicebox]

Nice! I have always wanted to take the MSF class. You should look into supermoto bikes like the wr250x and drz400 (that one is kinda heavy I have heard). I am all about dual-sport bikes and dirt only bikes, but my uncle has a sport bike and it is very fun, but I don't trust myself to be good on it. I have ridden it a couple times and every time I look at the speedo I always seem to be going way over the speed limit. It's fun though, but I still love being out in the desert riding a bike. nothing beats it. In fact, I had a really big cruiser bike, it was a Honda Shadow Aero 1100, it was sweet. It was the best big cruiser I had ever had or ridden. I always got tons of compliments on it, but even in my small town, I had so many close calls with dumb drivers that I sold it and just decided to stick to dirt stuff.

I have had tons of bikes in my 26 years of life, starting when I was 5, I think about the only bike that I have ever wanted but never got is the xr400. I have had 2 xr400s sold out from under me. I still scan the classifieds for a nice xr400r that I could make street legal, I have seen a few in great condition go for about 1000 bucks. Then I could have a little grocery getter bike that I could put in the back of my truck and take camping. I had a sweet xr600r that I loved but it was way heavy and somewhat slow, but soooo reliable.

Anyway, welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycles, be safe! :roost: :bike_rider:

 

[RHINO]

congrats,,, you could do like me and ride a dual sport with a second set of super moto wheels for town. i call it a dirt worshiping street fighter.:sombrero:

 

[1leglance]

Congrats...now the real fun starts as you watch for that killer bike deal.

I would still like to get a Ural with the powered sidecar (I can't handle falling off like I used to).

So where did you take the class, how much and how long was it?

 

[Rexsname]

I'm so happy for you! I had a blast taking the class last fall and am still enjoying the learning process. Do you think your comute might involve some freeway use? 'm still not at the point where I'm comfortable at free way speed, about 65 is my comfort zone. Let us know what you end up with.



REX

 

[goodtimes]

Very nice!

Glad to hear you took the class (I assume it was the BRC) before getting on the road. Wise move.

Watch the flea market section at advrider.com. Lots of bikes, bike parts, [riding] gear, etc for sale over there.

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

Thank you everyone! My current short list of bikes includes:

NX250
KLR250
TW200

I also really like the Royal Enfields, I love the style and the idea of having a comfortable bike on the road (where I'll be 95% of the time) but something I can take off road as well. I'm not looking to ""take it off any sweet jumps" just some fireroads and easy trails, but the main purpose will be commuting to work. However these are hard to find used around here and are a bit out of my price range for new.

I also love the older BMW Dakars but again a bit out of my price range and probably more power than I'm looking to start with. Hoping to keep it under 350cc.

My original intent was to buy one of these:

Its cute, its funky, its fun but everyone keeps telling me that I need to start with a 250cc minimum and the Madass only comes in 125cc. I still really want one but I don't want to spend $2k on something I will grow out of or not enjoy in a year which is what everyone keeps telling me will happen!

Lance we took our class at Ride Smart and it was fantastic. They are having a special right now for $180 which we got in on. The instructors were great and I never felt uncomfortable or out of control on the bike. They don't just focus on what you need to be tested on they focus on real-world situations and how to get out of them, like swerving, obstacles in the road, stopping suddenly in a turn, etc. Plus they are just a fun team to be around so we were laughing all weekend. Highly recommended and we will be back for the advanced class once we get some miles on our bikes.

Rex, fortunately my commute is all surface streets so I will not need to be jumping right on the highway. Another reason I was just going to go with the Madass bike. I know it will take some time for me to get used to going even 45mph cause I'm a big chicken. eepwall:

I've already been checking out Adventure Rider, there is a lot of good info over there. I'm certainly open to any and all advice, ideas or recommendations from this group too because I am a total noob and have no idea what I'm doing!! :elkgrin:

 

[scarysharkface]

A KLR 650 is an excellent all-rounder. It's not as powerful as the other 650's but does well on both highway and gravel (and some dirt). It's also got a ginormous gas tank.

Other than that, I recently picked up a '98 Suzuki DR350 and love it everywhere but the highway..

John

 

[Oni]

Congrats on taking the MSF course...that's a great way to get started! :bike_rider:

When on the street...pretend you are invisible! That car turning left coming towards you does not see you and will turn left in front of you! Learn to use the front brake well and practice countersteering a lot!

You may want to add the Honda CR230, Suzuki DR200 or Kawasaki Sherpa to your list too.

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

Oh yes! I forgot about the DR250! Thats on the list too, along with the Super Sherpa. I find that next to the BMW's I'm really liking the Kawasakis. I also lust after a Honda Transalp but I know that will be next to impossible to find!

As for the countersteering, I was a little leery about it until we did an exercise yesterday focusing on it and then I loved it! I realized I do that on my bicycle all the time without knowing it.

Luckily for us we live in a cul-de-sac so I plan on doing a lot of my practicing out there and around the neighborhood before bumping it up to the streets. My goal is to do at least a trip from Phoenix to Prescott and back one weekend with some camping in there of course by the end of the year.

 

[goodtimes]

Thank you everyone! My current short list of bikes includes:

NX250
KLR250
TW200

I have a '06 TW200 that is in pretty good shape. Not perfect mind you (few scratches, two pea-sized dents in the tank). It might be for sale soon . . .

 

[Rexsname]

Oh man Heidi,,,,, If you get the chance on a TW200, JUMP ON IT!

I would love one if I had no Freeway to ride.

REX

 

[GlennA]

Get something you don't mind dropping a few times. I've seen many new riders buy new bikes only to crash or drop them. Even a low speed drop is expensive.

I, too, think a 125 is to small. You will outgrow it in a matter of months. That TW200 offer is a good choice and they hold their value. When you decide to upgrade, you can get most of the money back from the TW and move up.

 

[mcgovski]

congrats....and I second the opinion of "get something you dont mind dropping"

have fun!

 

[RHINO]

heidi i say if you want the madass go for it,, it sounds like you will use it like the scooter it is. you never really outgrow a scooter, but you do accessorize it with a real bike at some point, keeping both for the different purpose they each fill.