Considering Getting a Bike. Suggestions?

[Tokuhara]

Howdy Playground!

I've always been a bike fan, specifically of the classic military-modified bobbers. I plan on saving the necessary money to buy a used motorcycle that is my style. The issue is that I live near Chicago, IL, thus leaving nearly 6 months of non-motorcycle weather. Any ideas that will make life less-annoying for a to-be bike owner?

Also, I have a special preference for "American-Made" bikes, like Harley Davidson. Are there any suggestions for an easy to ride bike for someone who has never ridden a motorcycle?

[H Birchgrove]

I haven't ride a motorcycle myself but I learned from the "behind-the-scenes" of Wold Hogs* that it's easier to learn to ride a heavy bike if you first learn to drive a light bike. Accidents are also less severe when occured while driving a light bike (which benefitted the actors).

Speaking of safety, I note on the Internetz that BMW (well, Bertone for BMW) has stopped producing the BMW C1 enclosed scooter. A pity, I thought the concept was sound.

*What? It has Dr Cox John C. McGinley in it. :smalltongue:

[Zeb The Troll]

I probably didn't make the soundest decision, but I don't like the look of the smaller bikes. I learned by taking HD's beginner Rider's Edge course, which supplies the bikes you'll learn and road test on. Then I bought a Sportster 883C for the bigger tank and forward controls. :smallcool: Eventually, when the money is there and I have a garage to park it in, I want a full dresser though.

[Tokuhara]

I probably didn't make the soundest decision, but I don't like the look of the smaller bikes. I learned by taking HD's beginner Rider's Edge course, which supplies the bikes you'll learn and road test on. Then I bought a Sportster 883C for the bigger tank and forward controls. :smallcool: Eventually, when the money is there and I have a garage to park it in, I want a full dresser though.

How do I get into that class??? Seriously, that would make my life so much easier than sitting through Driver's Ed again for **** I already know.

And on a design note: I love the Sportster model, especially when made into a Classic '40's-Style Bobber with Ape Hangers. I also plan (after riding for a year) giving it a custom paint job with something called Ghost Flames (where the flames only appear at a certain angle)

[Zeb The Troll]

How do I get into that class??? Seriously, that would make my life so much easier than sitting through Driver's Ed again for **** I already know.It's as easy as having the money to pay for it. Where I live, the county offers a similar course for free, but you have to provide your own bike and there's a waiting list as long as my arm making it so one might not even get into the course in a given year.

Here's a link (http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Content/Pages/learn-to-ride/learn-to-ride.html) to their page on it. The downfall is that it costs $300. (This includes a 10% discount on gear you buy at the store to fill in whatever gaps you have for the course, though it does mean you'd have to buy branded HD stuff which can be a bit more expensive. Saved me $80 though.) But it's four days long and, at least in my area, is accepted by the state as a legal riding course and it includes the state written test and the proctored road test for your license right there on the course where you've been practicing and on the bikes you've been using to learn. You'll want to see if that's also the case in your area, of course.

I highly recommend it, though. Both of my instructors had more than 20 years riding experience, were easy going and patient, and were not in the least dull to listen to. An interesting note, they'll even teach you to use a clutch if you've never used one. My daughter and I were actually kind of bored for that part of the class because we both already knew the mechanics of clutching and just needed to adapt that skill to hand and foot controls instead of pedals and a shifter, but the majority of the class had never used a clutch before and we all passed the test on Sunday.

We had one guy in class that signed up for it in case he failed at the county one, which he did not. He decided that since he'd already spent the money on it, he might as well attend since it was too late for a refund. He said that he learned some things that the county course didn't teach him and he felt more comfortable riding afterwards.

On a style note, I've never been a fan of the ape hangers. Admittedly, I've never ridden a bike that had them, but they look horribly uncomfortable to hang on to for any amount of time and it looks like it'd make the bike harder to control. The ghost flame sounds wicked, though. :smallcool: