Selecting Your First Motorcycle

by Phil Floria

There are a lot of people starting out or coming back to the sport of motorcycling. Sales for all brands are up and making history. It seems like for each and every new rider we have someone who is returning to riding after a long absence from the sport. To a lot of us this isn't news; we all know folks who are in this situation. Just how to begin, can be as simple as buying a new or used motorcycle discovering the rights and wrongs the hard way. This is an attempt to pass on some advice to those new and returning riders.

Step one, if you're thinking about riding; enroll in a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider Course. New riders and returning riders will be glad they did when they hit the DMV and attempt to get their motorcycle endorsement. But it will go much further than that. Today's traffic presents hazards which you need to be aware of. And the Basic Rider Course will get you started correctly; of course there is a lot more practice necessary to develop those skills you learn.

Insurance should be one of your foremost concerns. Stepping into the dealerships and being awestruck by the array of new motorcycles, thoughts of skill levels and insurance and maintenance costs seem to disappear. For new riders insurance usually isn't a concern until they have to buy it. Today motorcycle insurance is dependent on the type of bike you select more so than it's engine size. Returning riders should give this some thought too, although most returning riders with good driving records never consider it a problem, in some cases it can be.

If your considering a sportbike, insurance costs are extremely high, and the larger the engine size the higher the cost. In some cases your insurance bill for the year could be larger than the total payments on the new bike for a year. Today most manufacturers make it easy to get loans with little or nothing down, but do nothing about insurance. Today you really don't want to be out there without insurance. It doesn't take much to total a motorcycle and there are more than enough situations out there just waiting to test your skill at accident avoidance.

When I was considering buying my Yamaha YZF R1 a liter size sportbike, I made several calls to different insurance companies to find the lowest rate. Now I have a spotless driving record which goes back thirty years. I also owned several motorcycles and two cars at the time I started shopping. I am well over the 21 year mark by twice that plus ten. My full dressed Harley Electra Glide and my Fat Boy cost me less than 500 dollars a year for full coverage. I had been with several other insurance companies during the ownership of both of them and still never saw a bill higher than 500 for the year.

My first three calls got insurance quotes of $1,500 dollars a year just for the YZF R1. My own insurance company came back with the same numbers. It looked to me like the R1 would be staying on the showroom floor for some time.

My insurance agent did some calling on my behalf and got the insurance rate down to what I was paying for my Fat Boy about $432 dollars a year for full coverage. All of my insurance needs house, and cars are taken care of by the same company. What does all this mean, don't overlook your own insurance company that's the place to start, but then get quotes from as many other insurance companies as you can, you never know, you just may get it cheaper.

The more technically advanced the machine you chose, the more questions you should ask your salesperson. As I found out, tire life was short, and spark plugs are rather expensive outlays for the R1. Never mind taking it in for servicing. These are hidden costs we sometimes overlook. Tires on most motorcycles will last a season or about 8,000 to 10,000 miles; on new sportbikes the tire life may not exceed the oil change intervals and they aren't cheap.

Most cruisers and standards will cost less in the long run depending on your riding habits. Hot Roding any motorcycle will sooner or later become expensive. Riding it doesn't hurt it, but abuse will. Running it hard without giving it ample time to warm up, down shifting at high rpms, and of course stunting will wear out engine and chassis parts quick.

Another thing is to truly appreciate your skill level. If you're a new rider, you may have attended the MSF basic rider course, but your skill levels are still developing and not ready for the liter size sportbike or possibly a middleweight 600. Here you have to be honest with yourself. Today's modern motorcycle isn't a toy to be taken lightly, unlike the machines of ten or twenty years ago, they are fast and agile; and in the wrong hands of not to skillful riders, unforgiving. Returning riders are in the same boat as new riders when it comes to today's modern motorcycles. It takes skills which have gone dormant over time; some will come back pretty fast but others will require practice and lots of it.

Deciding on just what type of motorcycle you want may not be the easiest decision. Give some thought about what type of riding you intend to do, touring, commuting, Sunday rides only, off road, or any combination. This may be harder than you think, especially if you're new, because you may not have a clue. You may have just fell in love with a particular machine; just how you will use it or what it is intended for may be two different things.

Obviously a new Harley Fat Boy used off road may not be the best choice, as well as new dual sport equipped with knobby tires may not be the best choice for touring and long distance travel. What if you don't know just what type of riding you will do or become involved in, just what do you do.

If your motorcycle choice is based on what your friends are riding, you need to take some time to really evaluate what you're getting into. Reading magazines will help you discover the differences in the machines and in the groups who collect behind the different types of motorcycles. Read as many different magazines as you kind find; if you only read Chopper or Sportbike content magazines you'll be shortchanging yourself and possibly miss out on just the right aspect of the sport which will really make you happy. Reach out and investigate the rest of the sport; you may find out that one motorcycle may not be enough for all of your interests.

The first bike for the new and returning rider should be a used middleweight motorcycle (500 - 750cc). Here's the problem with this choice, most of people are not too keen on admitting they are just learning or polishing up old skills, and they're sometimes embarrassed to be riding an old smaller bike in a group of new slick chromed out Harleys or Gold Wings or the latest sportbikes. Don't be ashamed, your fellow riders will respect your decision to start right and learn how to ride before dropping a big wad of cash on a new bike. Most of us all started on smaller machines and worked our way up the horsepower and weight ladder.

One other thing, never apologize for your choice of motorcycle, because of its size, power, or style. If it fits you and you're riding that's all that matters. After all, you're the one making the payments, not your friends.

Ride it for a year, practice your skills and let those new riders' minor mishaps befall the old bike. Minor mishaps happen to all new and experienced riders alike; bikes falling over, kickstands not holding, parking on soft ground or hot asphalt and it sinking in until it falls over. A quick stop with the front wheel turned and having the bike drop like a rock from under you are just some of the minor mishaps.

My new R1 fell over in my garage when the bike was moved and somehow the side stand flipped up, without knowing I let go of it. Lucky for me it fell on me, now the "Beast" has a character dent in the tank from my femur.

A used bike can take all of that punishment a lot cheaper than a brand new one as well as your ego. Just think how you would feel dropping a brand new motorcycle on the ground. Or mounting up on a new Gold Wing or Harley Electra Glide only to have it fall over with you on it. All of these bikes are in heavyweight range. Which presents another problem for the new or returning rider; a 750 lb plus motorcycle will be a handful to maneuver in a parking lot. The middleweight machine will be less than 500 lbs, smaller and easier to handle in close quarters.

Give your size some thought, if you're built like me for speed, tipping scales at a heavy 160 lbs with long legs and gangly arms handling a heavy bike will be more work than you think and may keep you from really enjoying your days out. This will wind up keeping you from riding more. Given some time handling the smaller bike your skills will develop faster and your confidence will be much higher, and later on you will be able to adapt to the bigger machine much easier. Besides, smaller bikes today make good power and handle well which means fun, lots of it.

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