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AAAintheBeltway
Registered: Oct 2001
Posts: 14532 |
07-24-12 07:40 PM
I think it would be a mistake to move the pegs and controls forward on a sportster. No doubt someone makes a kit to do it but why? If that is the seating position you want, why not just get a cruiser? I think Star , which is Yamaha, makes an 800cc cruiser. Honda used to make a terrific sport cruiser called the Magna I think. 800cc and shaft drive as i recall.
What I would look into is going to a dealer and negotiating a deal where you would buy a used smaller bike with a guaranteed trade-in on a bigger bike within a month or so. That way you can get used to riding on something easier, see if you really like it, then get somehting you can enjoy for a while.
The most dangerous miles you will ever ride on a bike are the first 200 or so. It's a lot easier to control a smaller bike, but make sure you do get something that can keep up with freeway traffic.
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r-in
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1227 |
07-24-12 08:18 PM
If it was a Buell it was their smallest model, and there was no way it weighed 800 pounds. It was a pretty small bike, and was their intro bike. I don't think any of the bigger Buells came in close to 800 lbs. A sportster is a Harley. Harley screwed Buell out of exsistence, but fortunately Eric Buell kept going making a race bike, and now has financing to produce street bikes again.
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Runningbear
Registered: May 2002
Posts: 1689 |
07-26-12 12:44 AM
I read a statistic once that said 80% of motorcyclists that die, get killed in the first 8 months of having their license. So you have to be really careful during this period. Believe it or not, it's over confidence that gets you into trouble. After 3 months of riding, you think your good at it and you take more risks. This is the danger zone. You want to push the bike a bit harder and get a bit of a thrill. But you can come off pretty easily and some times its not even your fault. I've dropped the bike once when I hit oil at an intersection and I got knocked off once by a car that turned without indicating. Luckily both happened at less than 15mph. Another time I nearly crashed when I hit a piece of furniture that fell off the back of a pick up. Another time I nearly crashed when a bee bit me on the neck. And one other time I got hit in the face by a bird. Believe me, it doesn't sound like much but at 50 miles an hour, its like getting a straight right from mike tyson.
You have to be ready for the unexpected.
Runningbear
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AAAintheBeltway
Registered: Oct 2001
Posts: 14532 |
07-26-12 01:26 AM
Quote from Runningbear:
I read a statistic once that said 80% of motorcyclists that die, get killed in the first 8 months of having their license. So you have to be really careful during this period. Believe it or not, it's over confidence that gets you into trouble. After 3 months of riding, you think your good at it and you take more risks. This is the danger zone. You want to push the bike a bit harder and get a bit of a thrill. But you can come off pretty easily and some times its not even your fault. I've dropped the bike once when I hit oil at an intersection and I got knocked off once by a car that turned without indicating. Luckily both happened at less than 15mph. Another time I nearly crashed when I hit a piece of furniture that fell off the back of a pick up. Another time I nearly crashed when a bee bit me on the neck. And one other time I got hit in the face by a bird. Believe me, it doesn't sound like much but at 50 miles an hour, its like getting a straight right from mike tyson.
You have to be ready for the unexpected.
Runningbear
Wow, you had some close calls. I know a bug hitting your face shield at hihgway speeds can make your ears ring. I don't even want to think what a bird felt like.
I don't know what they teach at the safety school, but in traffic I would probably want to get close up behind an SUV. Cars will turn left in front of you like you're not even there.
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DanS
Registered: Sep 2008
Posts: 333 |
07-26-12 02:01 AM
Find a used Honda blackbird 164hp at 10500rpm. I ride one and it is a blast. Not for first time riders though . I,ve ridde 100,000 miles in the last 10years. Prior to the blackbird I had a Honda 1800 vtx. I put 50k miles on it. Nice upright position.
Be careful.i
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jnbadger
Registered: Nov 2004
Posts: 1482 |
07-26-12 05:12 AM
Quote from Runningbear:
I read a statistic once that said 80% of motorcyclists that die, get killed in the first 8 months of having their license. So you have to be really careful during this period. Believe it or not, it's over confidence that gets you into trouble. After 3 months of riding, you think your good at it and you take more risks. This is the danger zone. You want to push the bike a bit harder and get a bit of a thrill. But you can come off pretty easily and some times its not even your fault. I've dropped the bike once when I hit oil at an intersection and I got knocked off once by a car that turned without indicating. Luckily both happened at less than 15mph. Another time I nearly crashed when I hit a piece of furniture that fell off the back of a pick up. Another time I nearly crashed when a bee bit me on the neck. And one other time I got hit in the face by a bird. Believe me, it doesn't sound like much but at 50 miles an hour, its like getting a straight right from mike tyson.
You have to be ready for the unexpected.
Runningbear
Holy crap. These are the reasons I never got a road bike in the first place. I grew up riding dirt bikes, and was use to taking big jumps, and intentionally kicking it sideways to get around a turn faster. (Not to mention riding the occasional wheelie to impress the neighbor girl. Didn't work, BTW)
But my brother would let me take his V45 Magna out once in a while. And my room mate had a Ninja he would let me take around the suburbs of the Twin Cities. They were easy for me to get the hang of, but I always had the urge to bring that balls to the wall mentality to the street.
I had very little discipline, and I eventually got to the point where I realized it, and it started to scare me. Then, when a friend was killed when a car pulled out in front of him, that pretty much did it.
He was fairly new to riding, and I knew that if the same thing happened to me, I didn't have the skills to deal with it. Maybe his crash just scared the hell out of me, but it's like I was absolutely positive I was going to die soon if I kept riding on the streets.
That was over 20 years ago, and riding road bikes still scares the hell out of me. I won't even get on the back of one. But put me on a dirt bike for the first time in 15 years, and I'll see how far I can jump.
Hats off to you guys who are with it after all of these years, and still going strong. Or even you new guys who are smart enough to be disciplined and take it easy and be safe. Just be extra careful with all of the nut jobs who still insist on texting and driving. Drives me f...ing nuts when I see it.
Done rambling now. Be safe.
(And oh yeah... watch out for the birds and the bees. They'll get you every time.)
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