Old Newbie

[cabhij]

Hello everyone,

After 40+ years, I decided to garner together some guts and learn to ride a motorbike (I got put off when at aged 15 in Sydney, a mate belted into me for dropping his "Yamaha IT 250"....excuse the bad memory or wrong terminology/brand/model).
I never thought I would ever be able to ride again, my confidence was sapped from the above-mentioned drop, but at 42 I found a legend of an instructor and a bloody great chap who got me up to scratch and I passed my 250cc over a year ago. Now, I want to 'upgrade' and pass my 'R' class and want to do it on my own bike (above 250cc) that I hope to buy ASAP. I guess I'm trying to politely say that I'll be asking for a lot of help and advice from you experienced riders and I hope it is not going to be a painful process for you as well as me.

My name, Steve, nickname Hij (as in fridge) and I'm driving a taxi at present but hope to get back out onto the real road into a truck job soon.
Anyway, I just wanted to say hi, and thank "Harro" (wherever he is), a chap I picked up on my taxi rounds in Vic Park a few weeks back who told me to get onto this site, so to you Harro and everyone else, hi and thank you in advance for any help and future advice I'll be after!

A really great site from what I've seen so far.......and very busy!

Thanks everybody, look forward to meeting some of you in the future.

Steve (Hij)


I apologise to the mods if this is in the wrong section

[devolved]

Howdy & welcome - there is a wealth of information here for the newbie, as well as a wealth of crap to keep you distracted.

Ride safe.

[Huggy]

G'day Steve, welcome to PSB.

You will get a surplus amount of advice regarding what bike you should get, but ultimately it comes down to what YOU want to ride.

What 250 did you ride? Have you ridden much since you got your licence?

[cabhij]

Thanks devolved and Huggy for the prompt replies.
I'm a total noob, however I don't want to buy a 250 as I remember vibrating to death when doing 100kph on the freeway on a 225 whilst learning. My instructor put me on a Honda 900 just recently and it felt so sweet by comparison, hence why I'd rather buy a larger capacity "future-proofed" bike that will see me through for a few years as opposed to getting a 250 that I'd want to sell not far down the track and well, give me extra grief etc....

Cheers
Hij

[Blazon]

Welcome steve,

I was a similar age when I got my licence. Honda 900?? sounds like a Hornet 900. Not a bad bike,
but test ride a few before deciding. I have a Triumph street triple & imho its a much better bike.

enjoy & safe riding

[cabhij]

Thanks Blazon, I'm meeting up with someone this week who will enlighten me as to exactly what it was. I'm off to bed (up at 0230), but I have a pic that I'll post up tomorrow or the day after for comment...enlightenment.
Thanks again eveyone, this site is amazing.

Steve

[fredie]

welcome our new noobie

[51 New West]

Oops

[51 New West]

Just a recommendation, given that you haven't had 12 months on a 250 to contemplate what you would like in your next bike, is don't get anything too pricey (because you will more than likely still trade up after 1 or 2 years), and get a sport tourer that you won't hate if you decide that the Street Fighter you liked the looked of is actually an uncomfortable exercise in narcisism. Whatever you get for what is essentially your first bike then do some extra rider training straight away, and a good place to start is Motorcycle advanced ride day | RAC Driving Centre | Defensive driving, 4WD, truck, forklift, towing, and motorcycle courses available. Try to avoid the temptation to get a Hayabusa for your first bike, try something like this (which is sold, but has some links to reviews about similar bikes)- Gsr600 they go plenty fast enough

And wear safety gear, no matter how hot it is. If it's too hot for a jacket, pants and gloves, then it's too hot to ride.

Or not, you're 42 after all. I wouldn't normally preach at you, but it has been a shit few days for motorcycling in WA; just feeling a little precious about it.

[cabhij]

welcome our new noobie

Cheers mate, "old" noobie I feel

[cabhij]

Just a recommendation, given that you haven't had 12 months on a 250 to contemplate what you would like in your next bike, is don't get anything too pricey (because you will more than likely still trade up after 1 or 2 years), and get a sport tourer that you won't hate if you decide that the Street Fighter you liked the looked of is actually an uncomfortable exercise in narcisism. Whatever you get for what is essentially your first bike then do some extra rider training straight away, and a good place to start is Motorcycle advanced ride day | RAC Driving Centre | Defensive driving, 4WD, truck, forklift, towing, and motorcycle courses available. Try to avoid the temptation to get a Hayabusa for your first bike, try something like this (which is sold, but has some links to reviews about similar bikes)- Gsr600 they go plenty fast enough

And wear safety gear, no matter how hot it is. If it's too hot for a jacket, pants and gloves, then it's too hot to ride.

Or not, you're 42 after all. I wouldn't normally preach at you, but it has been a shit few days for motorcycling in WA; just feeling a little precious about it.

Thank you poindexter888, that is just the sort of advice I need. I'm not a rev-head, speed freak (not saying I'll never be tempted or knocking anyone who is) but it's never been a thing I've done, so comfort comes first and foremost, including for carrying my wife occasionally. The Honda I rode was only the second bike I'd ever ridden and yet "whew", it was comfortable. The throttle wasn't to stiff although the bike has been a learning workhorse for most of its days (95ks I think).
I don't want to go over the top on price first-time up obviously, that'd be lunacy, just enough for a year or two as you say.
I will look for the pic shortly.

Now for the really embarrassing part; I know absolutely "all" about bikes mechanically. Any good links you might know of I can check out for advice on what to look for when purchasing or looking?
I'll have a look at the above link in the mean time.

Thanks to one and all,

Hij

[cabhij]

That gsr600 looked right up my alley!

The Honda I rode:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[cabhij]

duplicate

[Blazon]

these are the only pics I have from Serpentine dam;

2008 Triumph Street triple, White

Serp Dam.jpg Serp Dam2.jpg


heres a link . Its not my bike but its a better viewing angle.

Triumph Street Triple (2008) - Review - Test

2008 Triumph Street Triple | Roadcarvin

[cabhij]

Lovely bike. A mate of mine had a Bonnieville (sic?) in the mid 80s - I've loved triumphs ever since.

[51 New West]

The best all round bike I have ever ridden is -

Triumph sprint st 955 | Motorcycles & Scooters | Gumtree Western Australia
Triumph Sprint ST955 | Motorcycles & Scooters | Gumtree Quinns Rocks

A good friend has one. It's got over 100,000km on it now, he's got no intention of upgrading as he can't see any other bike doing what his does much better for what he wants. Comfortable, reliable, stable, handles brilliantly, plenty of power but a really long roll on the throttle so you won't ever accidently screw it on and screw yourself up (so should be easily manageable now and not be boring in 2 years), comfortable for pillions, stable with pillions, did I say reliable? :-) I don't own one because I prefer the look of this -

Triumph trident 900, Hinkley | Motorcycles & Scooters | Gumtree Shoalwater

My Trident stock-
Trident3.jpg

My Trident now-
Trident1.JPG

The Hornet is a good bike as well, but a little soulless. Triumph owners generally love their bikes.

[cabhij]

geez, both of those bikes are niiice and, within my $ range.

[51 New West]

Well, FWIW, I have my Trident because I LOVE the way it looks, and it is bloody nice to ride. As a riders bike though, the ST is a better proposition. The ST's come up for sale fairly often, the 900's are getting rarer

[cabhij]

What are the trident's averaging price-wise?

[51 New West]

I paid $5700 for mine 2.5 years ago, with 46000km on it. The sprag clutch is the only real mechanical issue with them (starting on weak battery), so if it's new then it's improved as well.