Learning to ride a motorbike

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Learning to ride a motorbike

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Coil

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#1067113 16-Jun-2014 22:17

Mark:
TimA:

O, U liek moterds too?
Ooo you live in Auckland?
Come rides with Tim!

Here is some more coincidence ... I'm also sitting at Vodafone this week too (France Street though) :-)

You should joins the MotardedNZ Facebook group ;-) Bunch of Motarded Aucklanders there and usually a run goes off to do something noisy on the weekend.

You dont work for us by any chance? Ill join that group.

Mark

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#1067126 16-Jun-2014 22:27

TimA:

You dont work for us by any chance? Ill join that group.

Nah external vendor contract scum :-)

Join away ... and you've reminded me, need to go nag about the group stickers! :-)

Coil

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#1067128 16-Jun-2014 22:28

Mark:
TimA:

You dont work for us by any chance? Ill join that group.

Nah external vendor contract scum :-)

Join away ... and you've reminded me, need to go nag about the group stickers! :-)

Unisys? City Cleaners? Thats all i can think of :)

oxnsox

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#1067130 16-Jun-2014 22:29

gjm: thanks for all the replies guys. Ive been a cyclist for quite a few years so am used to riding like people are out to kill me. Also used to ride a scooter for a few years while at uni so hopefully these things will come into play and help me be a good rider. A 250 should be fine for me as there isnt any motorway riding on the way to work and (for the moment at least) this is strictly for commuting / avoiding parking hassles.

Cheers again....any more advice more then welcome.

If you're just looking to commute and have used a scooter, don't be afraid to get an up sized scoot. Good for a commute, can keep up with traffic and will hold your groceries or laptop dry and safe. And for real fun you can tour on them too..... but not as much fun thru the twisties if that's what twists your throttle

Mark

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#1067165 16-Jun-2014 23:24

TimA:

Unisys? City Cleaners? Thats all i can think of :)

Evil Machine Company :-)

Mark

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#1067169 16-Jun-2014 23:37

Rappelle: I am also looking in to getting a motorbike at the end of this year! I do not have a motorbike license or basic skills cert, but currently ride a scooter. Would anyone have any suggestions for a rather tall + bulky rider? (6'2/105kgish) (non-motard ;) )
I had a VTR250 recommended to me due to a slightly more upright position, but would love to hear more.

Also based in Wellington if anyone is around here!
Cheers

You're a big chap, you might need more than a 250 (wind and hills would make it struggle), there are quite a few 400 to 600cc machines out there that are LAMs compliant .. more the newer models, which leads to this question :

What is everyones budget for their new learner bike ? :-)

Take a visit to your local motorbike shop and have a sit on various things, take a note of the bikes the dealer suggests and then hit TradeMe, then when you go look at something that catches your eye take a friend who knows bikes ... test rides are a bit of a problem when buying private, I know if I was to sell mine I'd want the potential buyer to hand over the full cash amount of the bike before I let him/her ride off on it.

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Geese

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#1067259 17-Jun-2014 09:13

I'm 34, been riding since 17. Had motorcycle licence well before car. I do clock up some big annual kms but not from commuting.

Was known as "Speed Demon", as I've mostly ridden 125cc bikes. I find 125cc perfectly acceptable for what I do. Most will do 100km/h on the speedo (although we all know on GPS will probably be slower). As previously stated, I found while I was sitting at GPS speed limit, I would often get overtaken around town or tailgated, as people generally bully the small bikes out of the way. But new prices for 125cc are so cheap I think if your not going on motorway or otherwise in a hurry, they are so cheap to buy and run... even spares like rear tyres are under $30!

I have a Suzuki AN125 scooter, and its been reliable, can do 95km/h flat out, seems to be fine cruising long distance at 80km/h. It does have noticably lower fuel economy than 125cc motorbike - like a nana gets 30km/L, often gets low 20s.

On my GN125 and CBR125R I get 40-45km/L around town and around 30km/L constant 100km/h. I have done big rides on them, such as 500km day trips to motorcycle rallies like Brass Monkey, or to visit relatives. I find them light and easy to manage, can change direction on tight corners quick, and really fun to ride. The engine sizes requires revving out to some extent and working the gears which I find the fun part... come up to a corner 6,5,4,3 out of corner ... rev up 4,5,6... etc.

I've had a VT250 and CBX250RS - they were early learner bikes.

I "upsized" to a 2 stroke 150cc RGV150, and that had amazing (relative) acceleration and top speed, and was a blast to ride, but half the fuel economy (max 25 km/L, riding hard drops to 17km/L), as one would expect for 2 stroke. They guys in my bike club gave me constant stick about that bike - that at the kms I do I'll need a new engine annually... and so on. I got quite tired of hearing that rubbish constantly (even though it may be true), so I decided to upgrade...

I looked at Yamaha V-Star Virago 250cc V-twin, but at $7K new there were better value choices like Suzuki GW250 for $5,500 however thats really heavy for its size. An option was a Suzuki LS650 S40 at $8K, best value bike around for engine size, however as I'd never gone bigger than 250cc, I was as many are distracted by the 650cc engine size and thinking its too much of a jump. I test rode one and was really impressed and so I bought one.

Its opposite end of scale to 125cc, once in top gear one rarely needs to change gears once up to speed while riding unless slowing right down. I can go over Kilmog both ways and hold 100km/h in top gear and not change or lose speed. Also heading into headwind no longer slows me down like before! It has loads of torque and thats where it counts. Its quite light, and economical getting 24km/l. I find there is little vibration (compared with 125cc!) so I can ride it all day and not be fatigued like smaller bikes do from vibration. I would definitely recommend the S40 as they are quite sedate and that big single thumping sound is awesome!

sdav

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#1067293 17-Jun-2014 10:45

One thing I noticed (looking for places to book a learners licence test) was that when you have a learners or restricted you are limited between 10pm and 5am. While this makes sense if it's your first licence, anyone know if it applies even if you have a vehicle licence? Be weird that after 10 years or driving I'm somehow not allowed to ride at night! I realise riding a bike is different to driving a car but surely riding at 3am (when sometimes I finish work) is better for me with less traffic!

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