Qualify me. 3/31/2006
I posted this in a motorcycle forum I frequent. This was in response to a new rider asking about whether he was “qualified” to ride a large capacity motorcycle, and the type of motorcycle he was considering as a first bike.
“Are any of us “qualified” to ride a big bike? Most of us in the forum have a piece of plastic which says we do.
However, as in any piece of machinery used on the road, respect is demanded, and must be given. Riding a motorcycle is more of a state of mind, and attitude, rather than a qualification. If you ride bikes with the wrong attitude, i.e. hot headed, quick tempered, full speed everywhere, then you will become a statistic very quickly.
A 500/600 cc bike, for those of us with many years of experience, represents the best compromise between long distance riding, canyon strafing, and daily commutting. It’s comfortable enough to be ridden long distances. It has enough power to not lag behind too badly during spirited riding, and it’s light enough to be manageable in city traffic.
A serious alternative to consider is a ZZR-250, if you can find one in good condition. This particular bike gives away nothing to larger bikes, except straight line speed, with the caveat that you have to look after it. But then, we always look after our bikes in the forum, don’t we? I have been riding a ZZR-250 for the last 3 weeks, and am well pleased with it. It has surprised me in terms of its performance and capability.
Stay away from anything above 750 cc, until you have a couple of years riding experience, since, as you say, you have no experience riding at all. Enrol in a driving school, in the forum we recommend M——-, his phone number is available upon request.
Modern motorcycles have very scary performance envelopes. They should not be taken lightly. Any sports motorcycle above 500cc sold today has more performance than most riders can handle.
Welcome to to wonderful world of motorcycles.
I’m hoping you’re going to catch the bug, hard.“
Some purported words of wisdom, from a supposedly older and wiser rider, i.e. me. For many of my readers, I know that you started in motorcycling much the same way I did. One day, very magically, we became curious about motorcycles. Like when girls (I’m not being sexist, just that 98% of the bikers I know are guys) stopped being whiny, irritating creatures who always wanted to tag along, to being whiny irritating creatures who grew interesting protuberences on their chest and didn’t want to give you the time of day. And somehow, somewhere, we knew someone with a motorcycle, who was willing to let us have a go on it.
And I know I caught the bug, hard.
But am I “qualified” to ride a superbike? Legally, in the eyes of the road transports departments of various countries, I am. I have licenses that allow me to run on various racetracks in various countries. Am I qualified?
My honest answer would be, no. Biking is a constant learning experience for me. The developments in technology for engines, frames, suspension, tyres, and motorcycle accessories like riding gear and helmets mean that I am learning something new every day. I try to stay abreast of things by zipping through various web pages, and magazine articles. But there is no substitute for the real thing.
Unfortunately, most of us will not get the chance to ride every machine released from every major manufacturer every year. Or test and try out every helmet, glove, jacket and boot that is released. That would be close to impossible, unless you’re Alan Cathcart. So we rely on word of mouth, recommendations, magazines and trade articles, and the internet.
This young man is new to motorcycles. He is aware that there are different motorcycles out there, with different degrees of performance. As opposed to various young men who rock into the forum and say that they want to buy a 1300 c.c. Suzuki and slam a turbo on it so that they can do 300 km/h wheelies. This particular young man is approaching the sport that we know and love with a healthy respect. He has an idea of what he wants, what he needs, and what he’s going to do with it. He has parents who are supportive. He is doing is his research.
He could do worse. He could have ended up in a speed freak forum, and gotten influenced the wrong way. Instead, he chose to ask a question, in a particular place, and much to his delight, it got answered. There was a little sarcasm involved though, since I’m the resident noob eater. But all in all, I think we have a new recruit. Who is qualified.
Welcome.