| Author |
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Carbonbigfoot
| | Posted on Saturday, April 18, 2009 - 10:45 am: | 
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Whenever I need to pick up my motorcycle, I just grab it and set it in the bed of the truck...
R |
Blake
| | Posted on Saturday, April 18, 2009 - 03:39 pm: |
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"is this too much bike for my first bike?"
Yes, but if you are really mature and see to it that you take a proper rider's safety course, then progress in your riding over time, much like Pariah, then you will be fine. If you get stupid and start pushing the envelope, you will surely crash, or be hit, and suffer the possibly fatal consequences.
Learn to ride well, and always ride like you are invisible to all else on the road, cars, trucks, pedestrians, other bikes, critters of all sorts, and even mother nature. And before you throw a leg over the bike, be sure to invest and use good quality safety gear, full-face helmet, proper riding boots, armored riding jacket, pants and gloves.
As suggested, keeping the bike below 5K revs will be a good way to protect yourself as you master two wheeled transport, but even more important may be to learn how absurdly quick you can stop using just the front brake. One of the most common rookie pitfalls is not knowing the full capability of the front brake and front tire and thus being afraid to employ them when needed.
Ditto for lean angle. In most cases, if you perceive that you are into a turn too hot, fight the urge to run off the road; instead look into the turn, away from the menacing edge and force yourself to lean the bike over more and make that darn turn. Even if you are into the turn too hot and end up lowsiding/sliding, it is less likely you will be seriously hurt than if you ran upright at speed off the road.
Learn how counter-steering works, and how it is vital to being able to control the machine. |
Zac4mac
| | Posted on Saturday, April 18, 2009 - 10:02 pm: |
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Court - that hurt!
Your dedication to "the cause" never ceases to amaze me. 
Gotta say tho, I quit listening to Judas Priest after I watched one of them kick a running Harley off the stage.
Bobby - It can be done, Pariah(Takis) proved that.
It will take super-human levels of self control, the odds are stacked high against you tho.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
I love my R so I won't say "don't do it", I will say be careful.
Above all else, be SMOOTH.
Zack
(Message edited by zac4mac on April 18, 2009) |
Sruzhyo
| | Posted on Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 02:20 am: |
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Hey man,
If you're set on buying a big 1125, then buy mine!
It's an 08, all updates accomplished, just over 9k miles, and I'll give you a wicked sweet deal on it (vs dealer cost on a new 09).
It's still got lots of factory warrantee, and zero probs! Let me know
Steve |
Jmr1283
| | Posted on Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 10:38 am: |
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this is my first bike (R)like its kind. and its a lot different then a harley so goin from that to the r isnt much different then u.
but counter steering and such. most stuff will be discussed in the rider course for ur test. but i just took the test not the weekend course with the driver course the next day. but i had prior experience with two wheels.
if u take the weekend course ull get a crash run in driving. and if u still feel like u want to buy the cr then do it. then take a little more classes. not just to practice but its goin to help u excel in motorcycling.
so i imagine most will people will agree take the weekend course. then if u excel in that then buy the bike. take some advances courses |
Bobby_fletcher
| | Posted on Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 02:05 pm: |
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Well, I did it!!! I really appreciate all the many different opinions/advice that I received from all!!! I will be safe and will invest in courses!! Thanks again! |
Speedfreaks101
| | Posted on Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 02:30 pm: |
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Well, he got it. I am the friend that wanted him so badly to got another route. Its uncommon for me to care about what personal decision anyone makes and even rarer for me to speak to them about it. For anyone in the future that might run into this thread and fails to understand why it is such a big issue let me add a bit more.
The problem with buying a powerful bike is not that anyone thinks that you are going to go out and run balls to the wall from the first time you ride. If that is your intention then it does not matter what you are on then you are going to have issues and a short lived motorcycle career. The issues are however sensitive handling, suspension setup, and tractable predictive power. Sportbikes as a whole are sensitive to steering inputs and weight changes, the Buell due to its geometry is more sensitive to steering inputs.
The 1125 has a fully adjustable suspension and is of essential importance that it is set up right. The suspension setup makes or breaks the bike and can cause many issues that can be dangerous if not done correctly.
Last and most important is a tractable predictable (dependable) power. These bikes are built for corners. When you are green you want to know what is going to happen especially in corners, when the throttle is applied. A lower power bike will allow you to grow and learn at a much faster rate since are not apprehensive about applying the throttle to get you out of trouble. If you are worried about the consequence of applying the throttle in a corner then the bike is too powerful for your skill level. In short, the features that make the 1125 a fantastic bike for an advanced rider also make it a terrible choice for a inexperienced rider, much less someone that has never ridden anything with two wheels.
This is not even getting into the wear and tear of powerful bikes. They eat up tires faster (300-500 a set) every 3000-8000 miles, suck more fuel, cost more to insure and more expensive to buy. Don't get into the mentality of needing the best, because next year you will last years bike with year old technology. Not to worry they made more than one of each model so you will be able to get one later on when you have a better skill set.
Also make sure you budget for gear. Helmet, gloves, jacket, boots and imo pants. You need gear for cold and hot weather so you will need multiple jackets, multiple pairs of gloves and buy the best protection you can afford. If you buy a bike without budgeting for gear then you have failed yourself. Take a safety course, practice, read Total Control, practice more and take any skills class that you can and listen when experienced riders speak. Find a local road that is lightly traveled and has some curves and ride it daily. The reason for this is that you can practice what you learn in a somewhat controlled condition so that you are the variable. Motorcycles are not a recreational activity, but rather an art, with a skill set that is to be honed with time and effort. ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time).
Be careful my friend (s),
Bart |
Jmr1283
| | Posted on Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 08:29 pm: |
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a huge thing that is probably the best thing to remember is................................................ .................................................. .............................
Make sure when u just start out on a ride that u dont get on the throttle even slightly when the tires are cold. you will go sideways with a probable lowside highside out come.
Let ur tires warm up a couple miles.
ive had this bike for over 6-7 months and the other morning i pulled out and i really didnt give it much gas at all and rate side ways i went i almost high sided. granted it was 15-20 degrees. but still just a huge thing to keep in mind. |
Mrncgy1
| | Posted on Monday, April 20, 2009 - 07:37 pm: |
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Jmr,
That's exactly what happened to me and how I ended up low siding my bike. "MAYBE" over 5 mile an hour. |
Jmr1283
| | Posted on Monday, April 20, 2009 - 09:58 pm: |
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yup its probably up there for the number one sportbike crash. hope u made it through with now really damage. to u, ur gear and ur bike.
probably only costed u a pod and lever and if u felt like ur engine case puck/ am i right?
these 1125's are a beautiful thing.
just imagine if it was another full fairing sportbike. instead of the 100 dollars make it 1000+ |
Cyclonedon
| | Posted on Monday, April 20, 2009 - 10:52 pm: |
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For a first bike, get what you want, take care of it and have fun. Don't take passengers for two years, it is harder than it looks. Short cute ones ride much better than tall thin ones.
wow, if they are short and really cute, I sure would have a problem trying to wait two years to take her! |
Mrncgy1
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - 09:05 pm: |
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Jmr,
Actually the engine case puck was the first thing to pop right off. It was really cold and the mirror snapped in half. I just got rid of them and I scratched my d and d about a quarter size scratch. Like I said I was only going about five miles an hour. The hit to my ego was worse than to the bike. My coat did Do it's job though. I'm glad I had it on! I've been a pretty big stickler as far as helmet and coat ever since I got this bike. |
Cgameprogrammer
| | Posted on Thursday, April 23, 2009 - 06:24 pm: |
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I wonder if the OP will even ride his new bike much. My first bike was a tame Ninja 650R and even it scared me the first month or so. Never dropped it or lost control or anything but motorcycles can be scary. The OP isn't licensed, never took the MSF course yet, and his bike is a 1125CR. When he does finally try it out, it might intimidate him so much he just leaves it in the garage and eventually sells it. I hope not but sadly that happens pretty often with new riders.
Bobby_fletcher, my main advice to you at this point is "respect the clutch". |
Fast1075
| | Posted on Thursday, April 23, 2009 - 08:03 pm: |
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This reminds me of a friend that after I bought my Blast, caught a bad case of "I wanna bike too"....he is 45 years old and hadn't ridden in 20 years...his last bike was a dirt bike.
What did he buy??? Brand new ZX-10...he hasn't crashed it so far, but he has scared himself so bad on more than one ride with me that he had to stop, get off and calm down....on the other hand I have never seen anyone come so close to highsiding at speed without actually crashing...that thing is scary fast, and I'm fearless 
The thought of a newbie on a '25 makes my cheeks pucker up. |
Naiguy
| | Posted on Thursday, April 23, 2009 - 10:04 pm: |
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so Bobby
i read the thread from start and held off on giving my opinion.
i see you have got the bike......
well how do you like it.
my first bike was a sv650s in 2001 and i crashed and dropped that bike more times than i like to admit { still have the scars} and it was a "beginner" bike.
7 years later i got a xb 12 and rode that for 8 months straight and got back in to the swing of things and then stepped up to the 1125 cr.
iv read books and taken classes and still find my self having to remind myself to chill.
the CR pulls harder than any bike and from 0 to say 150 blows most bikes away with its gearing. ask me how i know. lol
read kieth codes twist of the wrist 2.i got mine at cycle gear, and right now a friend of mine that bought my xb is reading it.
its made me a better educated rider on handling survival reactions that can lead to pavement surfing.
good luck
and tells us how do you like the C racer. |
Hooper
| | Posted on Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 12:50 am: |
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He bought the CR...that's a done deal, so we can change the topic. Congrats, man! I'm THIS close to getting one too (but I have a bunch already).
Wow. I've enjoyed reading all this, as I still consider myself a new rider after 5 years and 40,000 miles in three countries, most US states, blah blah blah. I'm just glad that I have THAT EXPERIENCE. Some of it was NUTS (like doing a solo trip around Scotland in October as a newish rider), or trying to get a Road King down a sandy road in Arizona (it crashed into the ditch while I slid down the road on my back), and then hitting an f'ing deer a year ago. I was wearing full gear, stood up, picked up the bike, and waited for the cops to arrive.
Experience is EVERYTHING. This kid will be okay if luck is on his side and he starts slow and rides that CR like a BEGINNER. Frankly, you have to learn TRAFFIC more so than how the bike behaves. If you're a good/smart/intuitive/mind-reading car driver, you might be an okay rider.
Just get lots of useful miles on that fantastic bike, slowly but surely, different kinds of riding, different levels of traffic, curves, crap on the roadway (sand and salt at turns will make you slide if you don't look for it!), etc...
Use your brain...and make sure the CR is black. And check in often. |
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