My first bike...

[tomdietrying]

Yeah, I'm like Bart. I think I want a bike, but the safety factor is keeping me from it. I think I'll take Dallas's advice and take a bike course just to see if that's what I really want as my everyday transportation.
Peace.
Tom
012009

p.s.
Are there any Dallas area VXers who want to take a motocycle course with me?

[Triathlete]

I still remember my first "bike"...



...it was a gold Scwinn Stingray with a banana seat and high rise handle bars! It was sweet!

[Dallas4u]

Billy, I'm sure your 'bikes' these days cost as much as some decent used motorcycles out there! Hell, the downhill Specialized I used to have cost about as much as my first motorcycle!

I've spent some time on BeginnerBikes.org in the past... nice forum to check out if interested in getting in to (or back in to) motorcycles:

http://www.beginnerbikers.org/

[ojmagg]

This may be the perfect blend between bike and sports car...I saw one downtown last year...I think they are sweet...different from the norm, thats for sure...

http://spyder.brp.com/en-US/

[Bulldoggie]

Wow!
I was looking to get a bike too.
I have had many in the past, dirt and steet, 2 and 4 stokes. Now alot of these bikes go for big dollars, VINTAGE????????
I have a short commute, so a scooter would suit me well, BUT they cost as much as a BIG BOY bike
A used Honda Shadow, Suzuki Intruder, or a Yamaha Virago, can be had in my price range.
For a first bike the Honda Rebel is nice, but I can find a Shadow for the same amount.
Just missed out on a beautiful 750 Intruder w/ saddle bags and windscreen for $1200. He had 50 callers on the first day, of his post

[Dallas4u]

This may be the perfect blend between bike and sports car...I saw one downtown last year...I think they are sweet...different from the norm, thats for sure...

http://spyder.brp.com/en-US/

I've seen them as well! In fact, I saw one in NE Portland last week... first time ever in person. Pretty sweet! If you have a VX and want to stay different, this is definitely a way to go... but I gotta tell ya. $15k is pretty pricey, maybe not for something of this nature, but it's out of my price range... for now.

http://www.motorcycle.com/manufactur...est-61047.html

[MSHardeman]

If you like the CanAm Spyder (and I do) then you have GOT to check out the Trirod.

http://www.trirodmotorcycles.com/

Talk about unique and nasty....this thing is SWEEEEET!! It's a bit pricey at $50k, but it is basically a custom chopper.

[ojmagg]

Sweet Jesus, that thing is flippin' smokin'...but $55k...ouch!

[Dallas4u]

If you like the CanAm Spyder (and I do) then you have GOT to check out the Trirod.

http://www.trirodmotorcycles.com/

Talk about unique and nasty....this thing is SWEEEEET!! It's a bit pricey at $50k, but it is basically a custom chopper.

Whoa... I think I just shat my pants!

[ISCE]

Something else to consider for a first bike is the 250R Ninja. It's a great starter bike and they hold their value great when you are ready to sell it in a year or two and upgrade.

http://www.kawasaki.com/products/Detail.aspx?id=200

I rode dirt bikes growing up and consider myself a good rider. When in college I had a serious street bike accident and ended up with two screws in my left knee. Didn't ride again on the street until 2 years ago. Ended up just picking up one of these 250R Ninja's for the gas mileage and to ease me back into riding. The plan was to sell it and upgrade to a bigger bike. The thing is though I love the bike, and now just planning on keeping it. It handles great and I am close to some great twisty roads where this little bike keeps up with my friends' much larger bikes no problem.

For your commute distance though it may be too small as it's not all that comfortable on longer trips. I work out of the house now, but when I go downtown for meetings it's typically less than 20 miles and the bike is perfect for that.

Like the others said, take the riding courses and become completely comfortable on the bike. There are a LOT of idiots out there who have no problems trying to run over you. You want to be able to do anything you need to on the bike to get out of the way. This bike is low cost and I just filled up and got 62mpg.