Yesterday I put up a post asking for people's experience and opinion. So far, 17 (!) people left their thoughts.
The Internet sure is a neat place
Having read everyone's ideas, I'm reminded of when I was starting to shoot. As a POMM (Prisoner Of Mother Massachusetts), I would go shooting at blogshoots and ranges where I could rent different guns. I shot a lot of different types before I moved to Georgia and bought one. By then I knew what I wanted.
It seems that it wouldn't hurt to do the same thing with bikes - ride a bunch and see what I like. Have to figure out how to do that.
But thank you to everyone who left their thoughts. This is an awesome community.
Not just for you - I've gotten a lot of good ideas too, and I'm not even looking for a new bike.
ReplyDeleteI have zero experience with the bigger bikes like you're looking for.
ReplyDeleteI previously owned two Kawasaki 500's (fast, but shit for handling!) and two Yamaha's, and RD-350 and an RD-400.
Great little bikes that drove beautifully.
After seeing a few of my friends go down hard, I "outgrew" my motorcycle phase....
The best advice I can give is the same advice I give everyone who wants to ride: "Let the bike choose you".
ReplyDeleteTest-ride as many different models as you can. Including sub-models in the same line (different engine sizes on the Suzuki Boulevard, different models of the HD Dyna, etc). Wait for that little voice inside you to say "Hmm... I could get to like this..."
Don't buy one that "feels perfect" out of the gate. It may "feel perfect" on day 1, but you may tire of it before day 240.
Wait for that voice to say "Hmm.. I could get to like this..."
By the same token, don't buy one that has the best reviews, the best user community, or that others say "I love it". It's fine for THEM: it won't be fine for you. (You discovered this about one bike already.)
"I could get to like this..." should be your guide. That little guy in your brain will tell you when the initial weirdness is just an *imagined* thing and not a *real* thing.
You'll find the "perfect" bike in time.
I have treated bikes just like guns, put as many in a new persons hands a possible, they will figure out what they like. I purchased my fourth about 18 months ago and it is the first one that I have not wanted to change dramatically in that time. I think I found "my" bike. Now just to find my wifes, poor woman keeps getting hand me downs.
ReplyDelete