Should I get a motorcycle?
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Anonymous
| My neighbor is upgrading and selling an almost brand new one. I've never owned one before. I'm intrigued |
Anonymous
|
Depends on what type of bike, and your personality type.
Details? |
Anonymous
| No. They are extremely dangerous because drivers don't see them. |
Anonymous
I am a woman, 5'3" approx 125 lbs, the bike is a smaller one, a red Rebel. Right now I am a stay at home mom and yearning to explore other parts of myself besides my nurturing side. I am generally pretty cautious so I don't think I'd go on highways. |
Anonymous
| No |
Anonymous
Op, Dismiss this post and others like it, as it's clearly written by an uninformed person. That's not an endorsement for getting a bike, but rather advice on who to take or not take advice from. What kind of bike? Do you live in DC? Are your weekends free? Because you'll need to take a riders class if you've never ridden. Plus, it's a great class anyway. Tons of useful stuff to learn. I'd caution about getting a sport bike or other high performance bike as s first bike, too. Go with a standard or a cruiser style. |
Anonymous
A Rebel is great bike to learn on. Many rider classses use Rebels as their class bikes. I've ridden one. They're light, easy to maneuver, and women can get both feet down flat when stopped, as well as lift the bike up if it falls over. Those are two HUGE factors for choosing a bike for a female rider. Since you've never ridden before, a basic rider course is mandatory for you, and that'll be a good insight into helping you decide if you want a bike or not. I thought I would breeze right through the class, since I'm an amateur race car and off-road driver, but it challenged me at times, and I learned things even with the level of experience I brought in. You'll learn things about riding and safety in the class that would fill a dozen pages on this forum Where do you live? Because I took the class in Howard County, and the instructors were amazing. I'd highly recommend HCCC rider class. |
Anonymous
OP - No I live in a small city, not DC. I like the idea of rider class, I'll check it out. The bike is my neighbor's a Rebel which I just looked up and is recommended for women. |
Anonymous
|
My husband's close friend just took a motorcycle riding class as part of the journey to getting his first motorcycle.
Shattered his leg during the class and may walk with a limp the rest of his life. Just happened a couple of weeks ago. |
Anonymous
I took the motorcycle class as part of getting my license too. Honestly, if you wreck one of those little bikes so badly that you shatter your leg you were either 1) going WAAAAY faster than you are supposed to during the course and/or 2) doing something completely stupid. |
Anonymous
| Buy it and then take a class. Worst case scenario you decide it's not for you and you sell it. |
Anonymous
I seriously doubt this happened.. I can count on one hand the number of times I ever got into third gear during my basic riders course. Most of the time you're riding around at parking lot speeds. How one "shatters" their leg at bicycle or jogging speeds in beyond me, except that it's a pretty good induction of a bald faced lie. |
Anonymous
I'd recommend taking the course before you commit to buying a bike. I'm also a woman and got my license when I was 34. I rode for a few years on and off but found I really didn't have the time when the kids were little. Now that they're older I'm back into riding and loving every minute. But I'm a car/motorcycle/anything that goes fast type of woman and always have been. |
Anonymous
Sounds like you live in a easier place to learn (small city) than DC, so that's a plus. And if you have uncrowded rural roads nearby, that would be ideal. The Rebel is a good bike. But I'd caution about getting out on busy highways with big, fast traffic until you really develop a feel for the bike. Being a lightweight motorcycle and a lighter-weighing rider like you, it gets pushed around by winds and turbulence from other vehicles. I say this because my first bike, a Kwai KLR650, is also somewhat light, and even though I weigh 200+lbs, I was amazed at how much the turbulence from behind trucks pushed me around. It was scary at first, then you begin to understand and plan for it. Riding a motorcycle will make you a MUCH more aware driver, too, even when you're in a car. You're constantly scanning and maintaining situational awareness And it's an amazing thing to get out early on a summer morning, just after dawn, and go for a ride. The sounds, the smells, the feel of the bike, the way you control it with your balance and body, it's like a sensory feast. People who've never ridden just don't understand |
Anonymous
OP - yes I thought more about it and even if I do get the bike and take the course, the problem is time... I don't know when I'll get to ride and DH pointed out an extra $50 a month is still an expense we don't really need right now. |