To ride or not to ride.

O

Orbain

Registered
How to begin..
1st off I have never riden before in my life. That shock aside I'll get to the meat of the question. I know the whole 'busa as a 1st bike question has been addressed a lot so lets try to stay away from that as a topic. I'm addressing you all not as busa pros, but as experienced riders in general.
I just moved out here to LA from MA back in april. Since moving here I've come to realize that parking here is a living hell. I drive a '97 eclipse GSX and I love it to death, but this place is making me want to put a bullet through the engine block.
I got 4 parking tickets within my 1st month here before I realized what the hell I was doing, since then none but I still have to park like 10 minute walk away from my house, after of course lookin for the spot for 10 minutes. Iritation to say the least.
Ok ok ok, I'm gettin to the part about the bikes. Chill.
I've never considered having a bike before, partially because of the danger, mostly cause the roads and weather suck complete ass in MA. But I've been thinkin recently. "Here in LA the roads aren't that bad (although the trafic is). The weather is wonderful. Hey maybe a bike would be the answer to my car woes!" Not only would I be able to freely park around, but it would also help out with the OUTRAGEOUS gas consumption costs out here.
Now this is the part where I get to my concerns. 1st concern: learning in LA. Like I said before the trafic here blows and people drive like morons out here. Would learning out here be a dangerous thing, or perhaps something that would just make me a better rider? 2nd: The bike would only be solving my problems if it allowed me to sell my car and therefore fix my parking problem. Is owning only a bike really do-able? Is rain gear ect good enough? Is a bike good for the daily commute, and if so would wearing gear be needed/easy to do on a daily basis?(keep in mind I've never riden therefore I've never worn riding gear so I don't know how easy it is to get in and out of.)
And for all of you nice guys who got this far into my post, I thank you. Have a cookie.
Any feedback from you all would be super cool. You can also catch me on AOL IM: Orbain418. Thanks a bunch

-Orbain
 
I'm having a cookie now, it is peanut butter, my wife made it. Thank you for the opportunity to have one.  
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<!--EDIT|Kevin Kesler
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orbain im a 1st time rider and this is my 2nd hayabusa in 1 year (message). take an MSF course well worth it living in LA owning a bike of this magnatude its gonna get stolen with the quickness i live in EBF georgia out in the sticks and saw 9 bikes get robbed in 1 night and with living in LA be prepared to pay LA insurance rates id vote against it bro find a new spot to dwell with better parking options and dont give up the car for a bike cause when the busa gets took, your gonna need 2 pair of air force 1's
thats just my .02
 
Learn to ride in LA...Whoa..I did at 15 and a half...1966 or so...on a borrowed Suzuki step through 90cc machine..Tee shirt no helmet @ 45 mph..OOOOO this is cool..And some luck involved....
If you have never ridden a MOTORCYCLE before.....easiest way is something like a 400cc Suzuki Burgman...only 2 controls..easier to pay attention to traffic and learning to ride...Throttle and brake is all there is....less to concentrate about....Full on Mc has FIVE different things to master..Two is safer...auto trans and brake... Be safe and good luck too . Thanks for asking us..
 
I didn't wanna bring up the whole which bike to ride topic, but I was likely going to be gettin a 600 or something else for my 1st bike. I'm just here cause a busa is my target bike for later. Also, most of you have loads of riding experience. So if I have a bike that isn't going to be stolen (a 600 sits outside the house next door all the time), is replacing my car with a bike still crazy?
 
I don't think I would get a bike as my only vehicle, they are fun to ride and all but there are times you need 4 wheels, like for groceries, picking something up at the store. What if you want to go on a date and it's raining, are you going to make your date put on a rain suit? Plus if you have to ride the bike, eventually the fun will be gone and it will be a chore. I would keep the car, park it down the street, get an older used bike that if you drop it, it doesn't matter and ride it on the nice days.

Do I get another cookie now?
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Whoever owns the 600 is just lucky....he or she still has it.....Five inputs vs two is up to you...
600's are cool and also waaay fast if you twist it up....but you havn't ridden before. A 600 sport bike
is a real weapon..can you wield it as a first bike safely..? Probably if you a level headed person..
and don't ever show off..it always causes pain...
 
First you didn't give us enough info! Like your age, marital status (wife/girlfriend). Level headed or hot headed? The list could go on.

Having a bike as your only means of transportation is do-able, but what do you do when it comes to groceries? Shopping of any kind is almost out. What about taking that significant other out for the evening? Is she going to appreciate the wind-blown hair and running mascara?

I would say no, but give it alot of thought. And the Busa is definately not the best choice for your only daily ride!
 
Having a bike as your only transportation can be pretty trying, it's certainly possible, especially in So-Cal but you will have to get creative and luggage capacity becomes an issue.  I think one of the Adventure touring bikes out there might be a good solution though.  Do it all, nimble, cross country ability, easy maintenance etc.  Something like a Suzuki V-strom, ro BMW F650GS etc.  Sort of a Dual Sport on Steroids.

First though Sign up for and take the MSF Beginners class.  It'll give you a huge step up in confidence and you'll actually know how to ride a bike, unlike a lot of folks out there.  Take the course and decide if you even like to ride?  If you do, great find a bike that fits your needs (NOT A Sportbike most likely) and be on your way.  

One other thought, and I personally don't like them, but there are some pretty serious "Scooters" out there nowadays 650CCs all sorts of weather protection and luggage capacity, hell might just be the answer.  
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  OK OK, but you never know...

As for gear?  as a Bare Minimum you'll want a high quality helmet, or two if your riding everyday, some good riding gloves and a Quality jacket.  You'll also want some rain gear probably unless you can just assume it'll never rain.  Hell, it's SoCal so it may not.  GO to WWW.Newenough.com and check out their closeout section lots of good stuff.

OK GO here AMA NEW RIDER... Good stuff here... Try to only listen to "REAL" experts, not me nor anyone else on the board, listen to the AMA- American Motorcycle Association, or the MSF Motorcycle Safety Foundation. They will be able to give you real information without bias or opinion. this is especially true when it comes to riding skills. Let the MSF give you the basics and then work on developing your skills.
 
Oh and listen to Pacemaster... You can trust him... A Burgman may not be hardcore, but it is logical and functional, not to mention they will still get up and go. Any sport bike is a bad idea for a first bike simply because of the expensive plastics and fragile nature. Just a thought...
 
Ok as a heads up. I'm a 20 year old takin some time off from school to live and work in CA. I am single and level headed. Even with my turbo car I haven't really raced anyone. As far as groceries I walk home with em anyhow cause parking is just such a pain in the ass its not even worth my time to drive to the store
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You're right about the luggage space though. Its kinda hard to say though, cause when I think about it lots of my friends don't have any transportation at all, so is it that bad? Maybe its just that they always are using my car hah. Tough inner-debate for sure, but I'll keep thinkin about it and feel free to keep inputing opinions on the situation.

last thought: about how much does one of those Automatic trans bikes cost that you were talkin about?
 
Thanks Revlis......My wife wants to ride as a newbie..has her license, but no experiance....two controls vs five should take some of the danger out of learning to ride...She has a 1971 SL100 Honda..rode it once or twice in four years...I like the idea of only two controls to worry about vs five. But the best thing..she loves to ride on the back of our Busa since we have a full GIVI luggage setup with a high backrest.....Ask Doc...BigO..wheelies two up WooHoo
 
Think about the cost. 20 years old+motorcycle+SoCal+Insurance=
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, Not to mention riding gear which could easily total $2000.00 or more depending on what you get. A motorcycle as the only mode of transportation would get old fast in bad weather.
Listen to the others what they said about starting on something cheap, but easy to learn on. Save yourself many headaches and money.
 
I would push you toward no...And these are my simple reasons...Since your just taking a break from school your more than likely taking most of your dollars to survive (unless you get alot of financial support from your family)...So cost of bike and insurance would be on the top of the list...Next since you have never owned (ridden) a bike you would need to take a MSC this would allow you a chance to actually ride and you may discover that you don't even like them, will also help in getting license...Last I would never own a bike as a lone mode of transportation wet weather, hot weather I think you get my point...Anyway think about it and I'm sure you'll come up with the best solution...Look at the bright side of the 10 min. walk I'm sure you pass alot of females take advantage of it...
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