Why You Shouldn’t Buy a New Bike First
Originally posted to the Usenet group rec.moto, I found this to be a quite enlightening post
A Newbie’s First Shot at Motorcycling
Part 1 ‘Reasearch’ I moved to CA from upstate NY in June, and decided I’d rather have a motorcycle than a car when I found out it didn’t snow here. I’ve wanted one for some time, but they make more sense here than in NY where you can’t ride them a good portion of the year. I went out to the local bookstores and purchased every motorcycle magazine I could find, and “The Complete Idiots Guide to Motorcycling” (which I heartilly recomend to newbies). After I finished reading these, I went to the library and looked through about two years of back issues of Motorcycle Magazine and Cycle World. I also read almost everything on www.motorcycle.com, as well as many of the R.M.R reviews, and started reading rec.moto and ba.moto (as I live in Berkeley). I signed up for the MSF course (which I’m taking in December), and found a local biker to give me lessons on his 200cc Honda. I originally started looking at Ducati Monstors and the BMW R1200C, but after being underwhelmed by the salesman at Munroe and deciding agains the Beemer based on price, I started looking at used bikes. I decided a GS500E or Seca II would work well, but wasn’t able to find one I wanted. At this point I started looking at new “starter” bikes.
My favorite amoung these was the Buell Blast, but when I took it for a test ride (Buell is great about test rides) I found that I didn’t fit very well. I’m 6′4, and the Blast just felt too small to be comfortable for longer trips. I ended up looking at the Buell M2 Cyclone, the next bike in their line. I posted to the group asking about the viability of this bike for beginers, and got answers in both directions, although I must say the consesus seemed to be that I should start with something small and cheap. I read every review I could find on the M2. Eventually I decided that while starting small seemed like sound advice, the Buell seemed like everything I wanted in a motorcycle (comfortable for 2 up, not too bike, fast but not too fast, naked, comfortable for long trips), and I decided to go for it. Scott and Angel at Dudley Perkins Harley Davidson Buell were wonderful, and I heartilly recomend their shop.
Getting the Bike:
I’m 20 and don’t have much credit, so I needed to have a co-sign for the loan. All of my familly is still on the east coast, so we had to Fedex bunchs of papers back and forth so that my father could co-sign for me. Angel was great about this whole process, very patcient, and even extended the rebate for me. I ended up getting my M2 for $6500 plus nuisance charges, tax, etc… Decided to get a set of Vanson two peice leathers, an alarm, a tach kit, and a set of locks for the bike. I bought the locks and alarm for the bike because don’t have a garage and have to park it outside in South Berkeley, which is not the best neigborhood. I really wasn’t sure about the leathers, and I still feel quite pretentious and poseresque in new Vanson Leathers on my first bike, but in the end I decided that I should have good protection while I was learning, as this seems to be the time I’m most likely to go down. I also thought that not buying protective gear like the Vansons because of what people might think of me would be just about as stupid as buying then in the hopes that people would think I was cool. I was able to finance the leathers along with the bike, which also helped.
Taking Delivery:
After weeks of shipping papers across the country, I got the bike Yesterday. After over a month of waiting I finally got the bike… while I was dog sick. I picked the bike up at the dealer, and went to work, simply because I didn’t want to call up and say “Oh, I just got my new motorcycle. And oh yeah, I’m sick ::coughcough::. As soon as I got there they told me to go home. I did, and spent the rest of the day in bed. I have to say, I’d been tempted to call in sick the day I got my bike, but I haden’t planned to actually spend it in _bed_.
The Next Day (today): I woke up before my alarm went off, I was so excited to ride. I was still a bit sick, but not enough to stop me from trying out my new bike. I got ready, put on my gear, and took off. I got on 80W to go into SF, and enjoyed useing the carpool bypass to avoid the toll. I went over the Bay Bridge, and was careful not to take the bike over 50 mph, as it only had about 17 miles on it, and was still very much breaking in. I actually managed to find a parking spot, got off, had coffee with a friend, and then took the bike back out. I got about 30 yards before the bike cut out. It took me about 5 minutes sitting at the side of the road before I remembered to turn the fuel petcock (sp?) back on. I decided that I would ride down to Scuderia West to pick up some no-fog stuff for my visor, and then find some less crowded roads to practice on. I took Montgomery down to Market, and was on my way. This is when I started having problems.
Oops:
I ended up in the left lane of Market, where the Muni rails are. I decided I didn’t want to be here, so I signaled and started checking to my sides to try and change lanes. Unfortuantly, while I was checking for a spot to slip into, my front tire sliped into one of the Muni rail grooves. I had no idea how to handle this, and it seriously threw my bike off. At this point I had some sort of problem with the throttle. I’d love to belive that it got stuck somehow, but in reality I think that having my front tire caught caused me to grab the bars too tight, and the fact that the bars were wobbling caused me to open the throttle too far. I was either unable to close the throttle, or unable to think fast enough to properly access the situation, probably the later. I ended up unstable, with the throttle much to far open. I went into the side of a Muni bus, which bent my rear brake lever into the bike, and bent my front break lever into the throttle grip, possible helping it stay opened. The bike went down, and I slid with it for a bit, untill I noticed it was going under an _second_ Muni bus ahead of me, when I let go.
This all happened very quickly, of course, and at only around 20 miles per hour, thank goodness. I’m not sure how accurate this is, but it’s the best I could figure it out. I ended up in the middle of Market street, my bike had slid a bit under the bus, but those are so high off the ground that the bike never actually touched this bus. I walked over to the bike, killed the engine (first smart thing I’d done so far) and yanked it up off the ground with one hand, something I’d never be able to do without the adreniline in my body at the time. I had three Muni buses around me, and a great many Muni personel.
Things I’ve Learned From This Fuckup: I should _Not_ have: Been riding in SF (I don’t have nearly enough experiance yet). Been riding in the left lane on Market, especially without knowing how to deal with the Muni Rails. Grabbed the bars hard when I got scared.
I _Should_ have: Pulled in the clutch when I noticed any problem with the throttle. Used Howard or some less crowded road rather than Market. Used the rear brake (I don’t know if I did or not). Been more aware of the placement of the rails. Practiced more on less crowded roads.
Things I did right: I wasn’t going very fast I was wearing a Shoei helmet, the Vanson jacket and a pair of Carbon-Kevlar reinforced Buell race gloves. The jacket and gloves I’d almost decided against as poserish overkill saved me a great deal of injury. I remembered to kill the engine when I got back to the bike (hey, it’s something). Uh, I managed not to ram the Muni bus head on. I guess that’s a good thing.
Damage report. Me: Small scuff on the jacket. Rip on the front right pocket on my Draggin’ Jeans I’ve got a sore hip under the ripped pocket. This is the last time I’m leaving my keys in my pocket while riding. I have a sore rib. It’s probably just a bruise, but if it keeps hurting I’ll probably go to the hospital this weekend. I really doubt it’s broken. Anyone know how to tell?
Bike: I cracked the big ugly Buell Airbox right open. I bent the front and rear break levers. I scratched the exhaust header pipes a tiny bit, but they should be ok. Chipped the tank paint. Poped the front tank mount out. Broke the shift leaver off. Broke the right rear turn signal off. Left controls and mirror bent down. Right controls and mirror bent up. Left passenger footpeg broken off. Various scratches, etc…
On further inspection: Buell says that having the front tank mount pop out often indicates a compressed frame. This could be very expensive. If I’m lucky, it was the tank that compressed, and I only need a new tank. Otherwise, I’ll need a new frame ($1000 plus $2000 labor). Plus all the other stuff.
Basically, the bus took out the right side, and the ground took out the left.
I have insurance, of course, but being 20 and male is bad enough, without having a totaled bike on my insurance.
Basically, I’m very lucky in that I’m pretty definately ok, I didn’t get hit by any of the buses or cars on Market, and my saftey gear has all paid for itself. I’m definatly thankful for that.
On the other hand, I’d had the bike for about 20 hours, and had put 19 miles on it. I won’t have it back for a couple weeks, minimum, after waiting weeks to get it.
Sum total, I guess I got off fairly light, and it was a pretty good first accident. It’s given me some very solid respect for the machine and the potential dangers of motorcycling that were only ideas before. I decided I wanted to be safe about biking from the begining, but it’s the difference between knowing a stove is hot and having been burned.
Any comments are welcome. If you find a way that I’ve screwed up that I didn’t notice, please don’t spare my feelings and tell me. The only way I can be constructive about this is to treat it as a learning experiance. And it’s an expensive one, so I’d like to learn as much as possible. Any other advice on getting my bike back on the road or anything else would be great.
On a positive note, of all the stuff I broke in the accident, the PalmPilot in my left jean pocket came out unscathed. Even if I’m a fairly lousy motorcyclist, I can still be a competent geek.
Also, thank you all for your help. Rec.moto and ba.moto helped me find a bike, choose a helmet, choose leathers, and all sorts of other invaluable information (as well as something to do when I’m bored at work) Thanks to all of you.
Reed Kennedy ‘00 Buell M2 Cyclone, 23 miles, in the shop.
Un-paid advertisements: People who helped me through this process: Motorcycle Online, rec.moto, ba.moto, Angel and Scott of Dudley Perkins Buell of SF, CA, Vanson, Shoei, Draggin’ Jeans.