Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire who knows motorcycles?

Sorry but evidently you Do Not Ride Much or are just lucky otherwise you would not be making such asinine remarks. What you wrote about equipment and paying attention are all true but there is a lot more to it than that. Remarks by people like you may be albeit well meaning but in reality can get people killed who take heed in your advice! I would rather be LUCKY than good though--fortunatly when it comes to bikes I am both because I am still alive. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

had lunch and 'cycle viewing with my son at lunch today. just looking at possibilities. but to give a look into what kind of guy he is at 18, here is a link to pic of his dream bike.
i'm telling you, he is a middle-aged man in an 18-year-old body: http://www.starmotorcycles.com/star/products/modelspecs/63/0/specs.aspx

After almost getting killed on one just West of Jacksonville, Florida in 1960. I know enough to stay off of them.

Besides my dad told me that if my brother or I ever got one he'd come back from the grave to get us, I think tried to do that in the Jacksonville, FL incident.

I respect his wishes as he had a motorcycle sometime before I was thought of and according to stories I heard he lost the brakes on his and he road it through the Olympia,WA train station one afternoon trying to get it stopped.

Well, ya know my feelings on buying one for a kid.

That aside, w/out intending to preach on way or the other, allow me to address the fallacy that "motorcycles save you money".

Between insurance, tires, chains, more frequent services, riding leathers, helmet, saddlebags, gloves, winter gloves, rain gear, boots, cable lock etc etc you'll be lucky to break even with the cost of operating a small car or truck (and the mileage will be about the same). With the added inconvenience of not having a true all-weather vehicle (ya I know, I've ridden mine through violent storms, and on snow and ice too), and also the inconvenience of not being able to lock stuff up inside the vehicle.

One can ride a cycle if they want, but they shouldn't delude themselves that they'll be saving money. Plus budget in extra time in the morning to get everything packed and bungeed on, and for climbing in and out of your riding gear.

Birdwatcher

i'm think you're right, bw, on the cost for a new or newish bike. a used one that gets 70 mpg and is paid for could amortize the expenses and pay for itself over the course of a year, maybe save a little money.
i guess what you're saying is, it is sorta like handloading ... except there is no traffic.

and then there is this one:
<http://www.rvi.net/~mdhorban/hybridmotorcycle.htm>

I'd get the lad an '07 Ninja ZX-14.

It has 200 HP and will do a quarter mile in the mid 8's @ 150+mph with a few simple tweaks. Has a limiter on it that only lets you run 186 mph but that is easily disabled if you just have to break 200 mph.....

BTW, Does your son have any aversions to skin grafting? Do you have good health insurance on the young Lad??? How about a nice burial plot? Have you seen B'ham drivers???????? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

The Nighthawk has been suggested,



But keep in mind that allthough a Nighthawk is melo by today's standards you are still talking 120 mph, and more acceleration than 90% of the cars on the road today...nice dependable bike, but it too has the ability to give a kid with a little testosterone a bit of a thrill. My last bike was a Nighthawk S 700, and it had plenty of giddy up, enough to thrill me, as soon as she hit 7000 rpms, she just took off.

Where I agree a safety course is a good idea, only you know whether your boy might give in to temptation.

Paul,

You keepin them training wheels on that bike. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />





Mac

That was me that posted about being rear ended.... perhaps I could've done something different/better. FYI, it wasn't a panic stop or anything, I did see what was about to happen, was primarily trying to avoid the large fire truck going throught the red (which I succeeded at <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

Where you're wrong is thinking that if you're vigilent and defensive that you'll be able to avoid all trouble. That's "superman" type thinking. Sure, you'll increase your odds (by a lot), but you can't compensate for all the stupidity that can happen on the roads. That's why you wear the gear right?

Another example, a middle aged couple from the neighbourhood was riding double on a bike, going to a movie downtown one evening 2 summers ago. Were just cruisin' along, going straight through a stale green light, and got T-boned by a teenager in a car that just plain drove through the dead red light. No DUI, no overly excessive speed. With the buildings around, you just can't see anything around the corner until you're entering the intersection. I doubt there was much they could've done different. BTW, they were both wearing helmets and were 2 DOA's (and 2 orphaned kids).

Like I said before, I like bikes and miss mine... if it wasn't for the traffic, they'd be great.

Yep...Grin

I stopped going to funerals of biker friends as there are not too many of them left. I started riiding when I was 8 am now 53, mostly I ride dirt bikes, got into a bad habit many years ago, I know only two speeds stop and as fast as it will go. spent a lot of years hustling a flat track machine around, was never really good. But it was lots of fun. Today I ride a sport quad, wish they had these things when I was 18. I personally think any newbe on a bike needs to start small, learn how they work and learn respect for the environment a rider has to survive in. Traffic, old blind people,etc. learn to ride with out a lot of power then the power becomes easy. I have had way too many friends hop on a crotch rocket and wind up dead or worse in short order simply because they did not respect the power and the speed a motor cycle has. Kids will be kids ,get him in a riding course. The Virago is a nice ride I had one but like I said I am a dirt biker so road bikes don't stay around here too long. Good luck.

Bullwnkl.

70mpg???? I got 35 to 50 on my bikes dependent upon model. Tweaked for fuel economy they ain't.

If you can get 10,000 miles out of a rear tire you're doing good. Figure $200 including labor to replace it. Ditto for the chain if it has one. Service intervals, dependent upon model, run around 6,000 miles, again figure $200 per. Brake pads you can probably switch out yourself.

The risk of a used bike is that you don't know how the previous owners treated it, unless they have records and you believe 'em.

Motorcycles have gotten remarkably reliable overall, yet many models persist in having a remarkably unreliable component or two ('stators, electric circuitry, valves, timing chains etc etc dependent upon model...), check carefuly on the internet for this before deciding upon a model. They can get away with this on account of hardly anybody puts serious miles on 'em (I did, on all of 'em).

The cost of replacement components if needed for repair/replacement will likely induce cardiac arrest, especially if said components are OEM, which they likely will be, especially if your bike is a non-current model (case in point, a replacement little front brake disk for my KLR ~$400).

'Nother thing to bear in mind, replacement parts can be literally impossible to get for discontinued models. For a long time Japanese manufacturers would keep components in stock for up to seven years, after that you were on your own. (might be a pain if you got a great deal on that low-mileage'98 cruiser). This does not apply to bikes with cult/collector value like Harleys, Beemers, Ducatis and KZ1000's, and Honda was always better than most at keeping old parts in stock. Still, like the reliability issues with certain components, check on this carefully before buying an older bike.

Even today, if you can get 70,000 miles out of most motorcycle motors you're doing good, motorcycle motors generally putting out more power per cc than car motors, and correspondingly stressed. Some motors are famously reliable (like recent Harley motors), most ain't, at least not relative to automobiles.

I expect 200,000 miles out of a properly maintained car engine. Most motorcycle engines with 50,000 miles on them are getting pretty long in the tooth. When used as a sole source of transportation for day in day out riding, you can easily put 20,000 miles per year on a bike.

Some models require high octane gasoline despite what the manual says, that cost should be factored in too. My big 650 thumper runs best with octane booster (a $6.00 extra fuel cost every 20 gallons= an additional $0.30 per gallon)).

Plus going in:
Good helmet: $250
Good leather jacket: $500
Summer gloves: $40-$60
Winter gloves: $40-$60
Chaps (more useful than you'd think): $200
Saddlebags/luggage: $200-$500
Good rain gear: $200

Birdwatcher

I've been in vehicle accidents,where I was struck outta the blue,less ANY mistakes on my part. Was T-boned nicely at a 4-way stop,hit head on once and had a shmuck rear-end me once.

That don't count the "[bleep] happens" fender-benders and slow-motion mishaps in poor weather.

Am thinking that any of 'em woulda/mighta/coulda killed me,had I been on a bike.

I'm all for having fun,grabbing the bull by the horns and living Life fully...but I ain't never had the inkling to wish so much doom on my kids,as to buy a street bike for them.

Glad here,that my Dad loved me,a like amount......................

With all due respect, he is not nearly. He's lacking the ONE responsibility that changes my outlook on just about everything - wife and kids who depend on you to put a roof over their head and food on the table. Now he's making a decision for ONE person only and doesn't have to worry about the strain he'd put on the wife and kids should he have an accident and be unlucky enough not to die, just paralyzed from the neck down.

However, like Stick said, it aint about how responsible your son is anyway. Its the other idiots on the road, none of which you have control over. I want my life in my hands.

you guys are making it tough, as it should be. as for reyn's "dream bike," it's the style he considers cool that makes him seem kinda old. good grief, do i ever know he's an actual 18-year-old ...

I'd buy him a Sherman Tank, that should help minimize risk...

I can see why Stick isn't condoning the bike idea. After seeing pictures of he and his pards being rearended by deer I wouldn't wanna ride again either!

Paul----mine is for sale--going to build another one but this is what you need to ride with your son! I will guarantee that everyone will hear you coming on the �Flying Brick�! It has a bad habit of burning holes in the jeans right above the right ankle from the header but your boot will protect you. Just send the certified funds and come and get it.

The New Fish Bike <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />