Beginner Biker - Cruiser Advice
Discussion
aeropilot said:
Which is precisely why many people buy them and enjoy riding them. Not everyone wants to ride everywhere at stupid speeds.
It must be a bit of a worry with some Harleys though, as you don't even need to be going fast or leaning that much for chrome to start grinding. That must be expensive, or does it only grind in places you can't see, and therefore can give less of a f
k about?TLandCruiser said:
crusty said:
Could you be any more gay?
Yes he could, he could be a Rossi wannabe dressed up like a power ranger.
OP, go for it! If you want a Harley, then get a Harley. Just bear in mind that low/no speed drops do happen. Any heavy motorbike should feel more stable than a push bike.
Mastodon2 said:
aeropilot said:
Which is precisely why many people buy them and enjoy riding them. Not everyone wants to ride everywhere at stupid speeds.
It must be a bit of a worry with some Harleys though, as you don't even need to be going fast or leaning that much for chrome to start grinding. That must be expensive, or does it only grind in places you can't see, and therefore can give less of a fk about?
aeropilot said:
Mastodon2 said:
aeropilot said:
Which is precisely why many people buy them and enjoy riding them. Not everyone wants to ride everywhere at stupid speeds.
It must be a bit of a worry with some Harleys though, as you don't even need to be going fast or leaning that much for chrome to start grinding. That must be expensive, or does it only grind in places you can't see, and therefore can give less of a fk about?TLandCruiser said:
crusty said:
Could you be any more gay?
Yes he could, he could be a Rossi wannabe dressed up like a power ranger.
there is a kid up the road with some moped done up in Rossi livery. Someone posted on our local facebook group taking the piss and his Mum posted a load of vitriol back - could there be anything more gay and embarrasing?My first bike was 270kg and I've ridden a couple of Harleys. Yeah they're heavy but you get used to it quickly, weight was never a problem for me and I'm about the same size as the OP. Also most of the bigger-engined Harleys are quite quick so ignore anything to the contrary. Go for it, bikes don't drop bikes, people do
Mastodon2 said:
aeropilot said:
Which is precisely why many people buy them and enjoy riding them. Not everyone wants to ride everywhere at stupid speeds.
It must be a bit of a worry with some Harleys though, as you don't even need to be going fast or leaning that much for chrome to start grinding. That must be expensive, or does it only grind in places you can't see, and therefore can give less of a fk about?But to the average owner out for a Sunday ride at near legal speeds you wouldn't notice....you scrape your boots before any part of the bike touches down. As per most other bikes, there are "hero bolts" or "bank angle sensors" on the bottom of the footpegs which go down first
Its bit like jumping out of a Caterham and into a Range Rover...you dont expect the latter to corner the same so you ride accordingly...
I have a Harley V-Rod which comes out of the box with 30 something degrees of available lean angle...thanks to factory exhaust and peg design. Change pegs, exhaust, upgrade suspension (all the usual Harley tax mods) and you can get 40deg+ and use all of the rear tyre without scraping ....so all a bit of a non issue really in real world riding
For the OP; just pass your test, get as much experience as you can on ANY bike for a while (or get a 125 now) then get the bike you want ....it does not have to be a Harley, there is a huge choice of bikes out there. Sure cruisers are heavy but the weight is low down and central. I would say a 260kg adventure bike with 32" seat height would be more a challenge for a novice rider...a 300kg cruiser with low seat/weight are heavy to push about but fine once moving
I probably wouldn't buy the pride n joy £15K bling Harley to start with though...im of the school that says do a few thousand miles on something smaller/cheaper/older first ....I wrote off 2 bikes and pranged another in my first 5 years/30K miles on the road but that was before the days of CBT/DAS let alone admitting that some advanced training might be worth it
mrmaggit said:
bogie, you and me think alike. That's what I said to Snapper7, fully expecting a tale of woe within a couple of months, but he's kept the black bits downwards so good on him.
I think age helps ...learning to ride on a non performance orientated machine when you are older and have been driving a few years...usually you have a better attitude and good feel for dangerWhen you are 19, have only ridden bikes and start getting on faster machinery, you feel invincible, dont see the dangers and the road is your own personal racetrack ...at least thats what I was like at 19 ...wouldnt change it though, learnt loads and had so much fun
Hooli said:
aeropilot said:
Mastodon2 said:
aeropilot said:
Which is precisely why many people buy them and enjoy riding them. Not everyone wants to ride everywhere at stupid speeds.
It must be a bit of a worry with some Harleys though, as you don't even need to be going fast or leaning that much for chrome to start grinding. That must be expensive, or does it only grind in places you can't see, and therefore can give less of a fk about?
Mines pretty much all blacked out now.
Do your CBT and if you enjoy it your DAS, its worth it for teh experience.
Having done that and tried out the Trainig Schools 600 during the DAS try a few others to see what you like.
Certain dealers are better than others about test rides, Riders in Bristol have offered to let my wife try any of the lower end Harleys when she passes her test, and let me take one out on the first time of looking less than a year after I passed my test,(Fat boy and sportster), (Another big dealer in bristol wont let you test ride anything unless you have had your licence a year!). I was looking at swapping my old Bandit 600N (first bike) after riding a year and tried a few different types, eventually purchased a Honda CB1300. This suited me better as it had quite a lot of torque with a bit more lean available and yes I ground the footboards on the Harley going around a bend on the test ride and no I am not a speed fiend.
Still might try a Harley in the future, will wait and see which way the Mrs goes.
At your height I would try a Harley with forward controls as the standard pegs are quite short, great for the height restricted but a bit around your ears for the tall (I am 6'4" and Mrs is 6'). The actual weight of the Harley wasn't an issue as the centre of gravity is low and at your height getting your foot down won't be an issue.
before you catch the pegs will let you ride any
Having done that and tried out the Trainig Schools 600 during the DAS try a few others to see what you like.
Certain dealers are better than others about test rides, Riders in Bristol have offered to let my wife try any of the lower end Harleys when she passes her test, and let me take one out on the first time of looking less than a year after I passed my test,(Fat boy and sportster), (Another big dealer in bristol wont let you test ride anything unless you have had your licence a year!). I was looking at swapping my old Bandit 600N (first bike) after riding a year and tried a few different types, eventually purchased a Honda CB1300. This suited me better as it had quite a lot of torque with a bit more lean available and yes I ground the footboards on the Harley going around a bend on the test ride and no I am not a speed fiend.
Still might try a Harley in the future, will wait and see which way the Mrs goes.
At your height I would try a Harley with forward controls as the standard pegs are quite short, great for the height restricted but a bit around your ears for the tall (I am 6'4" and Mrs is 6'). The actual weight of the Harley wasn't an issue as the centre of gravity is low and at your height getting your foot down won't be an issue.
before you catch the pegs will let you ride any
Once I had passed my test I went out and bought my first bike a Honda Shadow black spirit, although quite heavy the low seat helped me feel stable. It was a great bike I eventually sold it and bought a Honda Fury again a bike with a low seat I would recommend having a few test rides to see what you feel happy with.
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