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Size
Matters. . .
Choosing which motorcycle to purchase is a big decision. First you need
to ask yourself these questions:
1. What are my motorcycle riding needs? Distance riding?
Putting around town? Curve carving?
2. What kind of style do I like? The MSF foundation offers
the following categories:
a. Standard - the general purpose motorcycle. Classic upright
position. Minimal bodywork. Plain Jane gets you there. Good
for putts.
b. Cruiser - combination of style and performance. Lots of engine
types and power levels to choose from. Choppers are based upon the
cruiser style as are lots of the fancy custom bikes. Good for distance.
c. Touring - aerodynamically engineered with fairing and windshields and
offer top rider comfort for the distance. Lots of luggage capacity on
these babies. You can pack three pairs of Prada footwear if you'd like,
bring a portable office and most of your primping equipment. Bravo for
distance.
d. Sportbike - performance technology, used for competition and awesome
canyon carving. Sleek aerodynamics and keeps the rider tight to the
bike. You'll look like some kind of shero super chick on this
bike. Good for putts and definitely excellent for twists and shouts.
e. Sport-touring - cross breed between a big touring bike and a sportbike.
Transforms from a full on touring bike to a sportbike by detachable
components. Light-weight compared to the big tour chairs. Be
a shero super chick and carry all your stuff. Good for distance and
twists and shouts.
f. Dual-purpose - street legal bikes that can be ridden off-road dirt
boogieing. Excellent for NYC's gigantic, swallowing potholes.
These bikes are generally quite high off the ground.
Once you've narrowed down these two questions, then start researching on the
Web to check out the different style bikes. Purchase magazines and look on
the magazine websites to read the road tests for those particular bikes you
like. Do you want a used bike or a new
bike?
Here are the manufacturer
websites. Now seat height is a big consideration. Lots of the sport
bikes have a higher seat height for cornering. You can customize a bike
that you like to fit you. Go to customize page to learn more. But for
now, let's take a look at some bikes:
Note: for custom motorcycle builders and manufacturer info, go here.
For lots more beginner bike shopping reference info:
1. Begin Motorcycling UK - www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk
2. If you're short, don't worry, you can still ride! No such thing as
too short. Short Bikers
click here.
3. If you're buying a USED bike check out what Adam
Glass has to say about it. And check out the
Kelly Blue Book page to get the best pricing for a USED bike.
4. Go to the specific manufacturers rider chat forums to discover more
about the particular bike you may be interested in purchasing. A
comprehensive list of websites and forums will be forthcoming here.
Also go to other e-mail digests and forums and
chat with other riders to generally learn more about the purchasing experience
and suitable bikes.
And if you're into race riding go
here to talk it up.
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