San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

SV 650 is a good bike to look at for a first bike. Light and flickable, easy to learn to ride and some room to grow into. I'd say its more about your physical size and what you want in a bike.

As to equipment, Helmet (full not just a brain bucket), leather jacket with shoulder and elbow armor, gloves jeans and ankle covering shoes. Shoes should also be leather and steel toe is good too. Most of these items can be bought on CL for a lot less than new, usually less than half.
Josh

I wear a helmet always, b/c it is the law.

But riders should keep in mind that a helmet will really only protect the outside of your head. The brain injury damage happens when your brain hits the inside of your skull when an impact occurs. It can surprisingly happen at slow speed. The force of the impact will cause it to happen and that helmet will do little to prevent your brain from hitting your skull.

So don't be lulled into thinking you are safe w/a helmet and especially don't take risks thinking your are protected.

I firmly second this advice.

This is the link for the safety classes you want. I recently signed up.

http://www.ca-msp.org/

Related to motorcycles, does anyone know if the cash for clunkers program will allow for the credit to be used on motorcycles?

I'm 185lbs.

Patb

I hear you about the 300-350 but those are harder to find new and I don't want to mess with an older bike even though I'm contemplating a beater. If I find a 500 I will be happy with that. I should have specified 600 give or take.

THE most important tip anyone could EVER give a new motorcyclist is....... learn COUNTER-STEERING.

Motorcycles steer opposite of the way one might think. To turn left you actually push the bars RIGHT!.........That's right, you just read that correctly.

I rode streetbikes for 10 years before learning how my bikes were actually turning. The uneducated rider thinks that bikes turn by leaning. When they lean, what they are subconsciously doing is counter-steering the bike without realizing it. The leaning is just contorting their body in a way that helps to facilitate the REAL steering action that's taking place, which is the counter-steering.

Don't take MY word for it. Do a simple google search on counter-steering and you will quickly learn that what I'm saying is not only correct, but could possibly save your life some day.

Murf2222

SV 650 is not the best first bike, too much torque. Also, it's too "sporty" meaning that your body is reclined forward - you get used to it eventually, but it's just not very comfortable and your muscles will ache after 20 miles on the bike. I have Ninja 650R in my garage, it's better in both aspects.

Your height is more important than your weight. It is important for the beginner to be able to put both heels on the ground when the bike is stopped. 600+ cc sport bikes almost universally have high seats that make flat-footing impossible for a short person. If you're under 5'8", I'd strongly recommend a smaller bike.

As for the comfort I'm all for that. I'm not concerned with strength as I am in shape.

Like I said, you won't be particularly comfortable on a street bike like the SV ... and you can see that for yourself if you just go to Fun Bike Center, sit on the bike, and try to push it around.

One of the scarier experiences of my life was riding my SV from the dealership in Kearny Mesa to UTC. And I had 5000 miles of experience on a smaller bike. I'm 5'6" too. Made it without crashing, fortunately. I can't imagine doing that without any experience at all. Later I had to find a motorcycle parts place and learn to replace the brake lever. Turns out that it's real easy to drop a 450 lb bike if you can't flat-foot it. And when you drop it, it often falls on the right side, hits the pavement with the brake lever, and breaks off a little ball on its tip. Fortunately, the lever was easy to replace and cost something like $15. I ended up replacing it at least three times in two years I had the bike.

You could get a light cruiser while you're learning, something like Honda Shadow. It will be more comfortable and you won't have to worry about dropping it, or getting thrown off the bike by an accidental jerk of your palm.

My husband took this course

www.dmvtestbike.com

He lets you rent a smaller bike to take the DMV test and/or you can take a one on one saftey class from him. My husband spent 3 hours with him one on one and it really helped him. He learned how to lay down the bike and the teacher recommended great safety equipment.
It is a great place to start!

I am 5'9' and my 440 was marginally too tall

The comments regarding being able to reach the ground with both feet flat is 100% true. I lowered my last bike with an adjustable lowering link and the difference was night and day. I'm 5'6 also and find it funny that so many people are as short as I am.

As to the seating position on the SV, are you sure you aren't confusing it with the SV650S? True neither has a cruiser seating position, but I thought that the SV650 had a rather standard seat position, as opposed to any of the more rice rocket oriented bikes.

I've only owned two bikes my Seca II and my current BMW 1150R.

Josh

Kawasaki Ninja 250: Perfect for your stature, very comfortable to ride, extremely light, and no serious vices.

Don't laugh, it's not a toy. My '01 was my daily driver (no cage for several years) and it does fine on the freeway, in the mountains (Palomar is fun), and everywhere else. 0-60 in 5.5 seconds ought to keep you entertained for a while.

The previous model "Ninjette" is a great bike. I haven't looked closely at the current model (new in '08 or '09), but by all accounts it's a worthy update.

I also own a really big and fast bike ('96 Triumph Trophy 1200), but the 250 is more fun.

Do be aware that you will get hurt on a motorcycle at some point, same as riding a bicycle. Statistics say that you're most vulnerable in your first six to ten months, but it can happen any time. I had my arm bolted back together 20-odd years ago after a nasty wreck, and my knee still kind of bends sideways. I also dumped my 250 at about 10mph and jammed my toe a few years ago when a bicycle jumped out of nowhere. That toe still hurts, but I'm not 19 years old anymore.

I don't want to scare you out of riding--far from it--but you need to understand that it's a risky way to get around. It's also great fun.

Awww what am I listening to you all for?! I'm gonna go out and get an 1100. I'll be fine;)

Both have tallish seat heights, if memory serves. The bars are lower and the pegs are set a little further back on the "S" for a more "sport" oriented riding position.

I'd pretty much call it mandatory that newer riders stick to a seat height that allows them to get the balls of both feet on the ground without stretching.

With more experience, the need goes away. I once saw a very petite woman, no more than 5'2", very expertly handling a KLR650 (very tall dual sport bike, for those that don't know). She had to slide halfway off the seat to get a tippy toe on the ground, but often as not she just balanced the thing while slowly creeping forward.

Almost forgot. How much should I budget for the gear?

You should have told us you were a Marine!

Just go to the nearest Suzuki dealer and say "Hayabusa".

Helmet: $200-300 You will have a "Shoei Head" (kinda round) or an "Arai Head" (kinda pointy). Don't get a cheap helmet, please.

Jacket: I suggest two, one for winter and one for summer. My perforated leather summer jacket was $280 or so, and my synthetic textile jacket was $200-250, IIRC. Both are armored.

Pants: Can vary, but I just wore jeans knowing from experience that shorts provide almost as much protection (i.e. none).

Gloves: $50+. Get gauntlet style leather, as tough as possible in the palms since that's the first thing you will put on the asphalt to break your fall. I once went through 3 layers of calfskin when I went down at 20-25mph.

Boots: Your choice. I only bothered on long trips since they are more comfortable.

If you're really serious, get an Aerostich one or two piece suit. ($500+?)

Matt, you're getting the kind of advice you're paying for here. Forget this bullshit of not buying a used helmet, or only buying Snell certified, or buying a pissant 250cc circus bike.

Go take the motorcycle safety course. You'll ride their cheesy girlie bikes there, and learn some technique. Start looking at used bikes on CL, and used equipment. It's pretty easy to buy stuff that was bought new by someone who THOUGHT they wanted to ride until they scared themselves out of it. If you don't do it now, start riding a bicycle again. The balance and steering are the same.

More important than height is inseam. I'm a shortlegged rider 29", and I've rolled in the dirt with my BMW K bike more than once. It weighs over 750lbs. Picking it up is all technique. If I were you, I'd go for that shadow. In six months, you'll be sick of that pokey underpowered 650.

READ PROFICIENT MOTORCYCLING by david hough, the bible on safe riding.

there is much clearly retarded advice here.

650 sport bikes are NOT beginner bikes.

you DONT buy used helmets.

read that book, then read it 3 or 4 more times. take the MSF course. DONT get a 600 sport bike. riding slow bikes can be fun and it's definitely the way to start. there are whole websites devoted to very very experienced motorcyclists riding "underpowered" bikes and having a totla blast, and actually outiding poor riders on 'superbikes" in twisties. (that is, a great rider on a nighthawk 250 may very well beat some dorkus on a 600 cc superbikeon hairy back roads, hard as it is to believe. if you havea nice 250-500 cc non -superbike, you can still always have fun with it, save gas, use it for errands, and sell it. people always want entry level bikes with forgiving throttles and even a 250 cc bike will seem REALLY fast at the beginning. keep in mind, 40 years ago, 250-500cc cc was a BIG bike. funny but true. course, people we'rent as obese back then.

ther eis no "safe" way to lay down a bike. a bike ALWAYS stops slower with rubber on the ground. read Hough.

the BESt suit is an AEROSTICH full body zip-up job. read AEROSTICH.COM website for lots of fun general info on bikes and life.

get a small bike and learn yoour way around. buy it used and you'll be able to sell it for around what you paid, or maybe even mroe if u boght right.

bikes are fun. im a scaredycat but i ride motorbikes and have NEVER had an accident in 7 years. maybe i oughta quit while ahead...you can drastically lower the odds of accidents.

Good post, scaredycat, but why do you think a 250 is "slow"? Mustang GT owners get a woody just thinking about their cars' 5.2 second 0-60. That's just a touch quicker than my Ninja 250.

And Casca ... the bike is supposed to stay rubber side down; I dunno why you emphasize the ease of picking it up. Maybe you broke your sidestand and just park it on its side? Kind of a shame to tear up such a nice bike. Oh, and my limey bike will smoke your tubby Kraut Kruiser (same power and torque, almost 250 lbs. lighter, do the math) ... but my 250 is twice as fun once you get off the superslab. I don't think it would be much fun herding a bovine 750 lb. top heavy K bike (K1200LT, I assume? LT = Light Truck) up the south side of Palomar, but to each their own.

I respect SC's opinion, but... I'm not afraid of wearing a used helmet, that I've inspected. There's a difference between used, and thrashed. I passed on a nice looking $100 Arai just this weekend because there was a divot in the back.

As for the size of bikes, inevitably in SoCal you'll be highway riding with the SUV's and monster trucks. You need a bike with weight and power to handle that experience.

Everyone should read Hough before they even begin to ride. I own and love my Aerostich, but prefer the twopiece.

Never buy used helmets..

They are right, you can buy a ex500 (500 ninja) and sell it for the same if not more than what you bought it for if you are picky and find a deal.

Take the course, it will introduce you to breaking, leaning etc. again, and make you feel more comfortable on the bike.

Wear your gear, which includes boots. I had a 15mph getoff where I was coming around the corner and a car pulled out and I grabbed too much front brake while leaning, my front tire washed out and I slid with the bike on my leg.. my boots were rashed like crazy becuase the bike was on it, and I had a raspberry on my knee.. the biggest thing damaged was my ego.. if I wasn't wearing boots it would of been nasty. You have a lot of small bones in your foot, so foot injuries are hard to overcome.

I also had a getoff while speeding around in the twisties (I used to ride beyond my abilities) and was able to keep my bike up and brake but ended up going off the road and hitting the ditch, I fell on my shoulder, hands, etc.. and came out of that one too, even though I was sliding across gravel, with just some slightly ripped up jeans, a rashed helmet and the shoulder of my jacket was rashed (jacket had armor in it), that was it..

gear makes a huge difference.

btw: the sv650 naked sits upright, and is a nice bike, the sv650s is the one that bends you over..

I know I'm getting old because I want a cruiser also.. ;)

ok, I agree, a 250 isn't "slow", just slower than other bikes that are scary fast and considered "normal" nowadays. hell, if you get on a vespa 150 and you haven't been riding a while, i guarantee you you will think it's a rocket! it is better to master what you have, than try to bite off too much. There are chat groups for beginner motorcyslists where people go over all this stuff endlessly. it terrifies me to see the vast majority of riders in t-shirts, no gloves, jeans. any slip-up is a disaster. I'm not supercautious on a bike, but I am super-alert and well-covered with gear. i expect to fall, but don't.

ok, maybe reaosnable minds can differ on the used helmet thing. I personally would never buy a used helmet because i've been told there can be minor damage to the internal shell from small drops that may not register on the outer shell. i don't know if it's true, but since it can compromise its ability, i dont want to find out. i think it's worth buying new to not have that risk. also, you can buy cheap motorcycle helmets that have top safety ratings. much of what you pay for is comfort features and style. I'd ratherhave NEW

Mine was in fact sv650s, and I know that sv650 has a slightly different handlebar design, but I didn't think that it translated into a different posture.

Also, even the tiny windshield on the s is better at highway speeds than to windshield at all.

I often wonder why people don't learn or advocate learning to ride in the dirt first. And if you want to become a better street rider, learn how to ride well in the dirt too.