Well older bikes it may not be worth it since you could just buy parts or if you total it, insurance may not give you much. Either way it will depend on where you live. I'm in a high risk area since it is also expensive for car insurance too.
Yes, but what if you get into an accident with another car/bike on the street and the accident was your fault and you damaged their car/bike as well as your own?
And let's say the car was a Porsche 911 twin turbo (around $150,000+ new) for instance, or the bike is a pricey new Ducati super sport bike?
I don't even want to get into hospital bills as well....
That's why you get high liability coverages as well as comprehensive and collision.
That's why you get high liability coverages as well as comprehensive and collision.
High liability, yes always. Comprehensive and collision .. Depends how much your bike is worth. I'd have to total my SV650 every year and a half to make collision coverage worth it, and I come out ahead if I total it less often than that
That's why I'm choosing to go the Vespa scooter route actually. There's just far too many positives for a beginner going the scooter route. Who cares if I look "puny" on one! :biggrin:
Question? Is it safe or not to have someone ride on the back of your bike? I guess it depends if the bike is big enough and the person in the back has the guts to do it as well.... I know I wouldn't allow such a thing for me.
It's about as safe as motorcycling in general... except now the bike you've hopefully mastered now has another 100lbs on it and you're not just responsible for yourself but for another person. It is like learning to ride all over again and it's not just you who needs to know how to ride, your passenger does too. And if she doesn't you have to teacher her.
Personally, I don't think anyone with less than a year and 10k mileage of experience riding should ride with a passenger. My .02.
I've ridden with my wife on the back a few times but honestly it makes me uneasy. I'm a pretty good rider but we have a son and I just can't imagine how difficult and painful it would be for him if something happened to both of us.
Yeah, bikes are not cheap to own, and race replicas are even more expensive. I'm a big fan of the parallel and V-twin sports bikes for that reason. That, and they are more practical on the street and highway, and because of a more relaxes riding position, are more comfortable to ride long distances. I have no problem at all doing 400+ miles a day on my bike for a week long tour, though slightly less when on more fun, twisty roads.
BUt yeah.. maintenance and some necessary mods.. expensive.
I just got my bike back from the shop. I had the oil changed, new headlight, brighter headlight bulbs put in, the stator rewound to put out a bit more power (I have heated grips also, so needed to get a bit more charging capacity). I also had lighter, better Racetech springs put in the forks, and the fork oil changed to fix the pogo action I was getting in the front over bumps and to get proper suspension sag for my weight. And some new EBC HH brake pads. Say goodbye to $850.
Race replicas need to run on high octane fuel. My bike, and a lot of others only needs regular. The race bikes also have more expensive tires, brakes, and require much more expensive valve inspections and adjustments. Most parallel of v-twins are much cheaper to do those on as as well. You notice I call them "race replicas", not "race bikes". That is what they are. Bikes that are well suited for the track, and are barely ridden to 25% of their capabilities on the street.
As for mods, necessary is dictated by your riding and your size/weight relationship to your bike. I like to ride in all four seasons, so I have heated grips. I like mountains, so I had a Power Commander installed to help even out fueling at altitude. I ride long distances, so I had he seat re-stuffed by a pro. The bike was sprung for someone much heavier, so I had the springs replaced with ones rated for my weight, so that that they compress properly over bad roads. I tour, so I put proper touring tires on it, and added luggage racks.
The stator and headlights were nice to have to make sure my battery stays charged at low rpms when riding around town in the winter evenings, with the grips turned on.
There's also schools like cornerspin. You ride in the dirt on dirt bikes using street tires.
http://www.cornerspin.com/main.html. some of the track guys said this helped them, others said not so much. everyone says it's a fun school though.
I'm a bit worried about learning to ride on dirt though. Dirt roads are uneven, lots of rocks and debris, jumps and dirt bikes seem to be pretty fast on the torque department from what I've read and seen. I can understand if its a mountain bicycle which is completely different....
The upright position of dirt bikes I suppose are better to learn on then a sport bikes though.
Also, wouldn't a regular MSF class where you learn on pavement be better since I am planning to ride on pavement anyway? And no I don't plan to ride on dirt since its too much of a hassle to clean up the bike and myself after riding on one. And I'm willing to bet the tires get chewed up rather quickly as well on dirt. But if you're on the street a lot anyway, then this MIGHT be somewhat of an advantage since the dirt bike tires are probably more durable....
Also, as far as taking the MSF scooter class I have firmly decided on purchasing a mountain bike or road racing bicycle first. At least I gain some exposure to riding on 2 wheels in a safer way. Because the bicycle has no engine so I can go at my own controllable speed. Its good physical exercise anyway and cost a fraction of even a scooter....
Yeah I cringe whenever I see a sportibke rider with his girlfriend on the back of the bike. Some go pretty quick too, but honestly from what I hear, the rider on the back has to somewhat "know how to lean" properly. For instance, if the rider is leaning left, then the passenger has to put his/her weight leaning toward the right? (not sure if this is correct)....
Even if I were to master a sportbike myself and I'm given the chance to ride as a passenger for ANY motorcycle I still would rather forgo the opportunity. Its too risky and you're right about extra weight on the bike affecting proper handling. That's also the reason why I brought up cars like the Subaru STi on this thread so much, as a possible "Plan B" option in case I end up not liking the MSF class. At least cars are practical, I don't have to worry about balancing something and I have years of experience driving a car anyway...
But yeah I'm giving it some thought first before actually taking the MSF scooter course. Just because I agreed with you guys on taking the MSF, doesn't mean I have to make an immediate decision right away.
I just had to say this because modern society these days, boy does everyone do everything WAY too quickly! Everyone drives too fast, walks too fast, wants all the latest gadgets too soon, etc...
That's probably also the reason I'm so attached to italian culture and italy in general actually. LIke the MV AGusta F3 development youtube vid says, "Italy thinks in centuries." Sounds good!
Again, thanks a lot to everyone who contributed to this thread. Its such an unexpected surprise to see useful information into which all my questions about riding have been answered. If I had the dough I would buy everyone a beer! Ride Safe!
Race replicas need to run on high octane fuel. My bike, and a lot of others only needs regular. The race bikes also have more expensive tires, brakes, and require much more expensive valve inspections and adjustments. Most parallel of v-twins are much cheaper to do those on as as well. You notice I call them "race replicas", not "race bikes". That is what they are. Bikes that are well suited for the track, and are barely ridden to 25% of their capabilities on the street.
As for mods, necessary is dictated by your riding and your size/weight relationship to your bike. I like to ride in all four seasons, so I have heated grips. I like mountains, so I had a Power Commander installed to help even out fueling at altitude. I ride long distances, so I had he seat re-stuffed by a pro. The bike was sprung for someone much heavier, so I had the springs replaced with ones rated for my weight, so that that they compress properly over bad roads. I tour, so I put proper touring tires on it, and added luggage racks.
The stator and headlights were nice to have to make sure my battery stays charged at low rpms when riding around town in the winter evenings, with the grips turned on.
Here is another reason you want to start small. I was riding today with a buddy. He was on his cbr600 and we were behind a prius.
We took some windy trails to a state park about 20 miles from my home. On the way back he's in front and I'm behind him. The prius is going so slow and riding the brakes. My back was hurting and I was a bit tired too. I don't think I was too alert at that point.
My buddy slams the brakes as the prius comes to a dead stop to make a right turn. I panicked and I meant to hit my both brakes but I have big boots that seem to sit on the edge of the back break. I gave it too much front brake and then some back brake and next thing I know is my bike starts going to the left, then to the right and down.
I don't know what I did but the engine stalled. I think I grabbed the clutch too while I was braking before the fishtail and then let it out without gas since I wanted to brake.
The bike is continuing to slalom like crazy. I just keep looking straight, release the back brake when I feel the bike start to straighten out.
I also ended up releasing the clutch and engine came back to life and I was able to give it gas and continue. I was freaked out after that.
My buddy in front tells me he saw smoke coming from both sides of my bike near the back tire when I started fishtailing.
I'm glad I wasn't riding his cbr today hehe. So glad I made it out fine. It's like everything went into slow motion when my engine cut and I started sliding. I was saying to myself that's it this is going to hurt. I was initially going about 47mph before all this.
I get 40mpg on my "race replica".
The additional cost of premium fuel is minimal.
Tires are cheap. Mounting cost is the same as other bikes.
Brakes are cheap and I currently have 12K on my current set.
Valve job cost is dependent on many factors. "Race bike\Replica" doesn't mean $$$$
BMW maintenance can get expensive.
Ducatis, I don't even want to go there with shop rates.
A valve job on a Buell 1125 is a damn nightmare.
I think we are going to have a lot of disagreement on this.
I really don't care when you:
1. Ignore the difference in fuel costs
2. Ignore that RR tires are softer, last for less miles, so are replaced more often and cost more
3. Ignore that any RR will cost more to do a valve inspection and adjustment than any economical standard twin
4. A set of tires and mounting on any bike can cost the same as doing the same for all four wheels of many cars
But whatever..
I thought pretty much all bikes were tuned for 91 octane fuel?
It's not required but my sv doesn't cost much to fill up and I ride in spring and summer only and fall if it's warm enough and a whole tank lasts me a month or two since I take my car to work. So I usually just put the highest octane.
Here is another reason you want to start small. I was riding today with a buddy. He was on his cbr600 and we were behind a prius.
We took some windy trails to a state park about 20 miles from my home. On the way back he's in front and I'm behind him. The prius is going so slow and riding the brakes. My back was hurting and I was a bit tired too. I don't think I was too alert at that point.
My buddy slams the brakes as the prius comes to a dead stop to make a right turn. I panicked and I meant to hit my both brakes but I have big boots that seem to sit on the edge of the back break. I gave it too much front brake and then some back brake and next thing I know is my bike starts going to the left, then to the right and down.
I don't know what I did but the engine stalled. I think I grabbed the clutch too while I was braking before the fishtail and then let it out without gas since I wanted to brake.
The bike is continuing to slalom like crazy. I just keep looking straight, release the back brake when I feel the bike start to straighten out.
I also ended up releasing the clutch and engine came back to life and I was able to give it gas and continue. I was freaked out after that.
My buddy in front tells me he saw smoke coming from both sides of my bike near the back tire when I started fishtailing.
I'm glad I wasn't riding his cbr today hehe. So glad I made it out fine. It's like everything went into slow motion when my engine cut and I started sliding. I was saying to myself that's it this is going to hurt. I was initially going about 47mph before all this.
If it's not required, the only thing it's doing is costing more. Even if it's just ten cents a tank, it's a waste.