Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 Forum - View Single Post

bigearl · 05-06-2010, 09:51 AM

Regarding weight not being important.

The point really isn't "don't drop it". When you first learn to ride there's a billion things going on. For instance you may have to maneuver more by duck walking , or you get your feet down a little early or a little late, or you get too much rear brake and you get a little out of whack, or whatever else. The easier it is for you to push the bike back to balance point after being off-balance, the less nervous it will make you. Even if you don't drop it those little things add up for new riders. And if you do drop a bike in public and it's heavy and you can't get the bike back up fast enough- it will humiliate and scare people enough that they may just give up right then.

So light weight helps that comfort feeling. The OP just asked if that 250r was a good one to start on, AND IT IS. But if the question was "what's the best way to learn how to ride" my response would be get a light plated dirtbike and go to your local ORV/OHV/Old logged national forest area and spend every weekend for the summer cruising dirt roads. Get a little crazy, have fun, wear good gear, figure out what what it feels like when you are just short of locking it up, things like that. Then take the MSF and find a 650 or less bike with good ergos for you for a year. Then buy whatever you want.

There's a lot of good advice here though and some very good bike choices. Used bikes can be a great buy as others have mentioned if you know what to look for. I like the WRx I mentioned because you can drop them without harming them and it's really hard to upset the suspension with things like train tracks and potholes.

05-06-2010, 09:51 AM	#30
bigearl Drives: 10 Camaro 2lt Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Napa Posts: 553	Regarding weight not being important. The point really isn't "don't drop it". When you first learn to ride there's a billion things going on. For instance you may have to maneuver more by duck walking , or you get your feet down a little early or a little late, or you get too much rear brake and you get a little out of whack, or whatever else. The easier it is for you to push the bike back to balance point after being off-balance, the less nervous it will make you. Even if you don't drop it those little things add up for new riders. And if you do drop a bike in public and it's heavy and you can't get the bike back up fast enough- it will humiliate and scare people enough that they may just give up right then. So light weight helps that comfort feeling. The OP just asked if that 250r was a good one to start on, AND IT IS. But if the question was "what's the best way to learn how to ride" my response would be get a light plated dirtbike and go to your local ORV/OHV/Old logged national forest area and spend every weekend for the summer cruising dirt roads. Get a little crazy, have fun, wear good gear, figure out what what it feels like when you are just short of locking it up, things like that. Then take the MSF and find a 650 or less bike with good ergos for you for a year. Then buy whatever you want. There's a lot of good advice here though and some very good bike choices. Used bikes can be a great buy as others have mentioned if you know what to look for. I like the WRx I mentioned because you can drop them without harming them and it's really hard to upset the suspension with things like train tracks and potholes.