Bike riders, get in here.

[j_downey50]

My dad has always been into bikes. He had two Harley Davidsons, but one got totalled when he let a girl drive it. [img]graemlins/twak.gif[/img] So now he's down to his 2004 Road King Custom. Very nice bike. He's almost as obsessed with his bike as I am with my car and it's kind of rubbing off on me. I found myself wearing an Orange County Choppers shirt when I was working out yesterday and earlier this week, I was watching American Chopper. I also caught myself looking at Cycle Trader today and that's when I finally admitted that I want a bike.

I don't want anything that isn't American-made, as that's been the trend in my family for generations. Nobody in my family has ever owned an import and I'd like to continue that if I get a bike. This is why I chose Buell. I've seen quite a few of them around and they look very nice.

My dad supports me in my wanting a bike, but he'd rather have me wait a couple years. I'm 16 right now and for a 16-year-old I'd say I'm a pretty good driver. I pretty much know what I'm looking for in a bike, it's just a matter of finding one and having my dad cosign.

So my question is this...
How young is too young to start getting riding experience? What age did you start riding and did you wish you'd have started earlier or later?

[Blue Flame V6]

There isn't to young when it comes to riding. What there is is to big of a bike. People who they say are to young to ride ususally start out on like an R1 or a GSXR 1000 which is a death wish pretty much. A buell blast 500 is a good bike not very sporty or fast but pretty good bike and low priced too. My friend had one and I rode it a couple of times it was comfortable, definetly not for me because it had the cruiser feel. It averaged 70 mpg and topped out about 100. You couldn't do wheelies on it or really show off but it was a nice bike. One big thing when riding is to wear gear and a helmet. Sure nothing is going to happen to you 99.9% of the time you are out but its the one time when all that gear is worth every penny you spend on it and you will be glad you were wearing it. Personally I say go for it!

[j_downey50]

Thanks. I was looking at a couple bikes and there are some used Buells for cheap around here with 1203 motors. Kinda big, but I can't really seem to find anything smaller. I can definitely see how too big of a motor would cause trouble, but I'll be too scared to use the throttle that much anyway until I have a lot of experience. Gear... The first thing I would do when I bought my bike is get a ton of gear. For the first month or so, I'll be wearing a full body suit of armor. I'm going to be pretty paranoid when I first start out.

[nikon]

you can never be too young, I started when I was 9 on a 50cc dirtbike, now too young to be on the street is a different story. You better know what your doing and have alot of responsibility

[TealV6]

Well, being a MI rider... first - take the MSF course! Sign up now at a college near you. This will be the best thing you can do next to getting the best gear you can.

Have you ever rode dirt bikes, scooters, mini bikes? Those will give you the basics of where components are and balance, but riding what you own is different than the MSF. Those are usually 250 Nighthawks.

First bike, I would buy used. Something that you will not mind IF it goes down. Should you buy and 8000.00 R6 and drop it, you'll be pissed and the ins will KILL you. This is what I did. I knew how to ride and was "borrowing" my friends Honda for years, but that was a cruiser vs. my sport bike. I wanted a sport bike because of the speed and handling. I knew I wanted a Yamaha and knew I couldn't afford a new R6. So I found the YZF600 the middle of the road.

It's still being made today, it's got 600cc's of power to move when needed, almost the same suspension as the R6, but only lacks the gearing that the R6 has. It has nice lines and is really comfy to ride. I got mine, abused as it was, and did some work on it myself to enjoy.

If you know you want a sport bike, look at CBR F3's, the YZF600 (97-present) or Suzuki GS. I would not go more than 600cc's for the first year or 2. The sport bike will be like nothing you have ever rode or driven in a car. It just handles like crazy and the speed will snap your neck back.

Remember, a crashed bike with a loan payment sucks and so does really high ins payments for a 16yr.

If you get back down this way (auburn hills) I'll let you check out my Yammie and a friends Honda cruiser.

Steve

[j_downey50]

I'd definitely take a class or two before riding.

I've ridden scooters, bicycles, and dirtbikes... that was a long time ago though. I've also been a passenger on my dad's bike.

I'd more than likely get my first bike used. I don't see myself making payments on a bike and paying insurance on both the 'Bird and a bike with the wages a 16-year-old makes.

My dad is just more concerned about my safety. He knows I have a heavy foot in my car, so I'm sure he's assuming I'd be riding the hell out of a bike. He started riding not too much older than I am right now. I'll talk to him some more about it.

Steve - I'm around the Auburn Hills area a few times a year. I have family in Sterling Heights. Next time I'm up there I'll let you know so I can check out the YZF. That bike is sweet. :D Thanks for the help.
Gotta get a Buell though. ;)

[JusFlyinBy]

You'll be fine. Just be smart and don't get cocky. The biggest worry is the drivers around you, not yourself. Listen to Blue Flame and get the gear.

As far as age goes... like nikkon I been riding dirtbikes since 8, starting with an RM60 and moving up thru the cc's to a two stroke 400 as I got older. So making the transition to the road at 17 wasnt a big task for me. I started on an old sportbike Ninja 600R. I would have had it at 16, but couldn't afford a street bike then.

Like I said, 16 or not, just think of the consequences when you feel the urge to do something stupid. A Buell blast will pretty much force you to not do anything too stupid so that isnt bad. Good luck.

Oh, btw... sticking to an American bike is going to make it much harder to grab something affordable/reliable.

[j_downey50]

My dad is friends with everyone at the Harley shop and he rides with them a lot during the summer. That's why I got such a great deal on my new paintjob, front end, and hood. ;)
A lot of them are Harley mechanics, some work on cars. They always cut us some pretty good deals and I'm sure they wouldn't have any problems with a Buell.

I've found a couple bikes I could afford... as long as I finance through my dad. I don't have $6k in cash anymore. I spent that on my car.