| Author | Message | ||
     Jsizzle |
I am a brand new rider looking for a bike and I don't know if this bike is too much for me. What do you guys think? | ||
| Albert666 |
what do you normally ride? anyone can ride any bike pretty much the throttle works both ways  | ||
| Crustyxpunk |
If you have never really ridden motorcycles before I would start with something a lot smaller. I have known too many people who want to start riding and get a sport bike. Then they wreck the bike because it too much power for them, get hurt and never ride again. If you really want a sport bike, Buell XB9's are great bikes you you could get a 600cc Jap bike. Just be careful and take things slow and you will be ok. Just remember that as long as you are afraid of your bike you are ok, but when you get over confident and lose that fear is when you get hurt. | ||
| Rodrob |
If you want to ride sport bikes, get a used Ninja 250, or a Honda CBR250R, or even a Buell Blast. Then take the money you save and go immediately to superbikeschool.com and sigh up for the level 1 & 2, 2-day workshop. Then go ride for a couple of weeks and then sign up for the Level 3 & 4 workshop. When you are done with those, you will be able to out ride most guys on much bigger bikes, on your 250, and you will have the training to adjust your riding to any bike you want. How you ride the bike is far more important than the bike you ride. Be smart and you will have a ball. (Message edited by Rodrob on September 19, 2011) | ||
| Duphuckincati |
Yes the Buell 1125 will be way way way too much machine to ideally start out on for many reasons. Please read this link for a start.. http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthrea d.php?t=371429 Work your way up. You'll have a much longer and better motorcycle experience. | ||
| Dannybuell |
Lighter bikes are easier to move around and learn on. I started on a mini bike, Honda 90 on dirt paths, 305 honda street, 450 honda, 650 yamaha, 500 honda, s1, and my cr. Street? A ninja 250 until you feel like you can completely dominate it, then step up to ninja 650 or air cooled buell. When you feel like you can completely dominate a ninja 650 or air cooled Buell (80-100hp) get an 1125 (120-140hp). Each step can take months or years to master. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
And here's some news from this weekend in our area, starting with a 19 year old on a sportbike who did not have the judgement or skill to keep the bike on his side of the road. This is not to scare you off riding, but related to this is the fact that a new rider does not have any reason to be on any of the many fast sportbikes out there, 600's included, along with the 1125. And anyone who says it's a fine idea is wrong. http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/sep/18/possibly-fa tal-motorcycle-crash-on-33-downs-six/ | ||
| D_adams |
Just my personal opinion, but I think everyone should start out on a small dirt bike and crash it hard a couple of times out in the woods where there aren't any cars. Learn to ride there, then MAYBE graduate up to street bikes. Full gear is a must. If you can't afford it (the gear), you probably shouldn't be riding anyway. Another thing to look at is, if you crash, can you really afford the downtime for healing up and miss work? I can't either. Again, full gear to minimize the damage if you do go down. It's not going to stop you from getting killed, but sliding on pavement sucks. Been there, done that and got unbelievably lucky every time. You've probably heard the saying, "you get whatcha pay for" and it's true. Cheap gear is usually just that, cheap. To answer the question, yes, the 1125 is waaaaaay too much bike for a beginner. Start out on a little dirt bike, 125cc or less, preferably a 4-stroke. | ||
| Dannybuell |
D_Adams advice is better than mine... | ||
| Nuts4mc |
have you ridden dirt bikes? do you know how to use the front brake?...and what happens when you lock it up? do you know what happens when you lock up the rear brake? (although on a 1125 the rear brake is lacking) (either on a dirt bike, street bike or a bicycle) -in your neighborhood...your riding season is short - the roads get "dirty" with traction ice melting "stuff" (you're gonna go down, hopefully in a slow "low side" with plenty of room to slide to a stop) ...the 1125 can do a 1/4mile in 10 sec.-it accelerates! - 60MPH = 88 feet per second so... 120 mph ( a speed easily attained on the bike)appox 180 ft per sec...or the length of a football field in less than 3 seconds! If you do buy one - you must adjust your visual horizon to one much higher than the "outlook" you have when driving a car...take a training class, buy gear, and try and find a track day to learn the bike's potential as it is much higher than yours ( or mine!)- if you have a friend that rides ( in the same area) and has ridden for a long time to help coach you - you should speak with him before you buy - good luck | ||
| Orman1649 |
If you are a responsible adult and have some self control you will be fine. My first bike was a 98 S1W and all the training I had was the local MSF class. I sold the S1W after putting about 5k miles on it and now have a CR that I have put about 8k miles on without incident Take it slow and easy. Ride it around the block before you take it out in town. Get 100% comfortable & confident with it on surface streets before you take it on the interstate. Go easy on the throttle and don't be a jackass trying to show off for people or you will get hurt and possibly die. | ||
| S21125r |
D Adams is spot on. To add to D's comments I would say a nice little dual sport would be perfect beginner bike. You can practice in the dirt where it will be cheaper and safer after a fall, and will give you the opportunity to put some street miles on after you learn the basic of keeping the bike upright and in control. Once on the street full time you'll have a whole new set of challenges ahead of you like pot holes, semi tires, cagers, etc that will use up all of your available mental capacity in a panic situation. Also spot on with regard to gear. You'll thank us WHEN (see what I did there?) you have your first get off. One step below paranoid is about right. | ||
| Hildstrom |
If you haven't already, definitely take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Beginning Rider's Course. It is worth every penny for the knowledge and experience. In 2008, after the course and way too late in life, my wife and I started out with a very used 1994 Yamaha FZR600. We both survived unscathed and I learned a lot about working on bikes. However, I had a few too-close calls when I was fooling around. The rush of power above 7k RPM can be a handful for inexperienced riders. You can easily get into trouble on the average 600, which has less power and torque than the 1125. Push your limits gradually no matter what you get. Lack of restraint, precise throttle control, or situational awareness will get you in trouble in a hurry. | ||
| Sprintst |
The kid I bought the bike from was a pretty new rider and sold it because it was too much bike scared the crap out of his dad too, who was a life long harley rider at 30 mph if you open the throttle 1/2" and keep it there you will flip the bike over backwards at 30 mph if you pull the front brake lever with a decent amount of force with 2 fingers you will flip the bike over forward (Message edited by sprintst on September 19, 2011) | ||
| Court |
That's damn good advice. . . .
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| 01_turbowolf |
I'm one of the very few that bought the 1125 as my first ever motorcycle, i rode a friends dads 400 hawk twice in rush hour interstate traffic after i got my license through the msf course before i bought it. i believe some kind of experience on any small cc bike is a must before owning this bike, it really depends what you are comfortable with and if you really have the capability to not push it past your experience level and take it slow. im not gonna say dont do it because i did it and im glad i didn't go buy a smaller bike to start with. i think the most important part of riding a bike like this is not going past your limits and knowing where your limits really are. | ||
| Musclecargod |
The 1125R was my first sport bike, coming from an ironhead, before that dirtbikes. That said, on the test drive I damn near flipped over the front end at the first stop sign. Is the bike way to much for you, in the end only you can answer that. If you treat it with some restraint you may even walk away  For the first few months I don't think I ever used more than 50% throttle. Just remember these bikes are violently powerful... | ||
| Motorhead102482 |
Buy a cheap bike that's cruiser or 600 or less sportbike, that's already beat up. Ride it until you get bored with it. Then buy what you really want. I rode an 82 750 Yamaha Virago for two years until i couldn't take it anymore. Then i bought a used GSXR 600. Then I bought this bike. Now I'm happy. | ||
| Froggy |
I agree on the buy something cheap front. Assuming you have a parking lot mishap or destroy the bike, you will be out a lot less financially. If you end up not liking riding and end up abandoning it, you will have less money tied up in the bike then too. A Blast is a great bike. Cheap, costs nothing to run and insure, light, decent handling and brakes, crashes well, and you can easily resell it down the road for around what you bought it for. | ||
| Dktechguy112 |
Take the MSF course. Then if you want a cool looking first bike, get a used sporty. My first bike was an 05 harley sportster 883. 39 HP, it had Vance and Hines straight shots, was slow as hell, but it kept me out of trouble. bought it for $2500(salvage), painted it($1k) and put 20k miles on it, did a couple oil changes and one set of tires and I sold it for what I paid for it. | ||
| D_adams |
Btw, the statement from earlier was from personal experience. I really did start out on a little dirt bike, pretty sure it was a little 100 yamaha enduro. I thrashed it for a week until I got a feel for it and still managed to crash it 2 or 3 times. I came from riding BMX, so crashing wasn't really that scary, except for the fact that I was moving at probably 3x the speed. From there, I moved on to other dirt bikes, then finally after maybe 4 years up to a street bike. I had it all of 6 days before it got dumped, right in front of a cop. Lady in a car cut me off in a 4-way intersection and I went down very hard. 2 weeks later, same thing, only it was a 3-way stop and the guy just flat out blew through the stop sign and t-boned me. That one landed me in the local hospital. Since then, maybe 4 or 5 more slides (rain, too fast for the corner) or crashes (rear ended 2x so far) on the street and way too many to count in the dirt. I have a very healthy respect for cagers and what they can do to you when you're on a bike. I ride both defensively and aggressively. I'm always looking for that moron out there on their cell phone or texting and I invariably ride faster than most traffic, just because I don't like having people tailgate me. My wife hates me riding a bike, but I still don't want to give it up for the safety of a car. She's bought me almost all of my gear over the years with NO questions asked except "what size or color do you want?" and I think I've got several thousand $$ worth of gear. | ||
| Glide |
This is one of those questions with out right answer. Most riders start out on a small underpowered bike and after a short period of time are very unhappy with it. If you jump right in with a high powered bike your chances of getting hurt go way up. My choice would be a 500 Ninja and take all the training you can get. This bike would be able to do some novice class track days and still allow you to learn to ride with out having to deal with extreme power. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
The other aspect of starting out riding is the fact that if you are used to driving a car, you will need an ENTIRELY new perspective on dealing with other road users, as you may have already gathered from other comments here. Most people are fairly relaxed when they get behind the wheel (myself included) but getting behind the handlebars demands that you are on full alert at many different levels, including the condition of the pavement and road surface to a degree that no one bothers with in a car. (you still with us Jsizzle?) | ||
| Dennis_c |
D_adams +1 |
