new to motorcycles looking for advice

[Luciferella]

I'm about to take the rider's edge class on a buell. i have never rode on or driven a motorcycle, any advice at not sucking terrible? i'm 5'4" and so far the only comfortable bike is the buell blast, any others out there for shorties? how does the blast handle? enjoyable to ride?
[confused]
-linds

[2Evil4U]

My wife loves hers. She took the class and got her endorsement about 3 months ago. Just follow the instructor's direction and you'll be fine. My wife could barely ride a bicycle and she's doing very well on the Blast now. (BTW, she's 5'2.)

Other-bike-wise, the Ninja 250 is also a decent learner's bike.

[mrdozer2you]

The 250's just dont have the power, and in my opinion are almost dangerous for street use. The blast will be fine for an around the towner. You will probably fit on an SCG as well. Good luck!, i'm sure you'll do fine :)

[ezblast]

Ride her like you stole her![cool]

[Luciferella]

lol! thanks for the advice guys

[His_and_Her_Buells]

You can't go wrong with the Blast as a first bike. It is very low maintenance and you won't quickly outgrow it like other beginner bikes (250 rebel, 250 ninja, etc).

[Darkwulfe]

A 250 is a great bike to learn on. You can buy most of them for very cheap. They are light weight and easy to handle. Plus they don't have much power which is GOOD for a beginer. We bought a 2005 Ninja 250 for my wife a few years ago to learn on. We got it used with 400 miles on it for $2400.00. It was the perfect bike to learn on as she could touch the ground, it was light enough for her to be able to handle easy, and the low torque helped her to not become intimitaded that the bike was going to jump out of her hands. We sold it last fall for $2000 when she decided she wanted something bigger. She even laid it down once so it had minor damage. We only lost $400, which is'nt bad for a couple thousand miles of use and one minor crash.

A 250 will keep up with anytrhing out there as long as you ride with people who don't need to show off by leaving you in the dust when accelerating. It will cruise just fine at highway speeds. Brand new riders who go out and buy a 1000 cc + bike for their first one are just asking for it.

On a second note the Buell blast seems like a great first bike also, but I have never ridden on one. I advise you go to every brand shop you can and at least sit on every bike that interests you. Then if you got an endorsement take a few out for a test ride. If the shop won't let you ride anything, go somewhere else. To me it's just like a car. I am not going to buy a bike without riding it first.

[jeridwdshc]

Unlike car dealerships where they can sit in the car with you most places wont let you take a bike out unless your a very experienced rider, since they cant be on the bike with you at the same time.

[Luciferella]

okay a few more questions :) isn't a buell blast 492cc engine similar to a 250cc because it's a one cylinder engine? just kinda what it seemed like after reading a few things. also i've read a few places buell blasts older than 2002 had lots of problems like oil leaking??? any validation to this and why?

"I advise you go to every brand shop you can and at least sit on every bike that interests you."

yeah i think i've sat on just about everything out there at this point and have accepted the fact that i have to resign to owning a "girl bike" lol. nothing like falling off of big harley in the middle of a show room cause you're husband thought it'd be cute to see you on a huge bike. :) i'm glad i did cause the bikes i liked initially i hated the second i sat on them. the ninja was about the only other one that felt comfortable. seems as though buells are better quality. thanks for all the replies and advice :)

[Darkwulfe]

I won't buy a bike without riding it first, but thats my personal opinion. I understand the liability involved in test rides, but that is why Harley makes you sign a waiver. If a certain dealer does not normally allow test rides, just pay attention for the demo days. Just about every brand has a "demo" truck that goes from dealership to dealership with demo bikes for a week or two.

Just don't buy a bike just because it looks cool, especially when riding is new to you. Try lots of them out and get lots of seat time. Start small with somthing cheap with a low displacement and low seat hieght, then work your way up. Spend the time finding out exactly what you want before you put $10000-$20000 down on a bike that you may find out later its not right you.

And look into taking a MSF endorsed beginners class. I know the majority of the Harley dealers use Buell Blasts for the class. You would get a chance to practice in a controlled environment and get a free ride on a Buell.

[Luciferella]

lol... yep my class starts aug 9th, no test rides cause i don't have my endorsement yet. i don't really care what my bike looks like, i jsut want to not die and have fun that would be the main goal lol. i'm curious about the buell blast cause i know someone selling a '01 blast but dont' know if they're worth buying. just trying to get people opinions about info i've read up on different bikes cause there is nothing worse then have some jackass of a male salesmen act like you're dumb ass that would obviously not know anything about what you're buying.

[Darkwulfe]

Heh, ya I can't stand most salesman. As for the Blast I have never ridden it, only sat on it. It looks like a great starter bike though.

My wife is taking the class this weekend and they are riding Blasts. She says she likes the Blast and that it is fun to ride. But she said she liked her Ninja 250 better. She will begin riding her Lightning XB12S when she gets out of the class this week

[ezblast]

The Blast will outlast the Ninja if both are taken to their performance edge regularly, and you have to wring the Ninja out to keep up with the Blast normally - their power not really kicking in till 8500 - the Blast trains better for super bikes for myriad different reasons - one being a common complaint - narrow friction zone - which super bikes have.

[His_and_Her_Buells]

My wifes 2000 Blast has never had a leaking issue, but maybe we were lucky. As for your first bike I would say buy used because you are probably going to replace it and there's no reason to take a big hit on depriciation. The Blasts 500 cc engine is better suited for beginners IMO because once you get more comfortable and ready for a little more acceleration and excitement the power is down low and not at 8k RPM and above which can be a little unnerving for a newbie.

[Luciferella]

yay!!! today was my first day of class. it will be intresting. me and my husband are the youngest by a lot lol. thanks for the posts, wish me luck...12hrs of work then a 3hr class :(

[midlifecrisis]

My understanding is the Blast has twice the torque of the Ninja 250, also it's half a sportster engine so it's a 50 yr old hydraulic (never needs attention) valve adjuster powerplant with all the bugs long gone. Also, forgive my lack of forum ej-e-be-cation, but what does lol mean?

[Luciferella]

right now anything low maintenance is good. i seem to be hearing that the ninja 250 is a slug and kinda not that great of a bike. lol = laugh out loud, yeah i think they should hand out internet dictionaries with every internet connection. i've played an online game for 2yrs now and there is an abbr. for everything. most sentences end up looking like a scrambled mess of letters and if not letters someone has thought of some way to arrange characters in to facial expressions. thx for the info :)

[LeFox]

Also, forgive my lack of forum ej-e-be-cation, but what does lol mean?

it's all part of your "situation" re-education, midlife :D

[Luciferella]

yay!!!!! i finished my class today and passed the tests. it was sooooooooooo much fun and i love the blast it's perfect for my height and weight wise is very comfortable. Can't wait to get one :)

[LeFox]

congratz [up]

[BuellPastor]

Congrats! Send pics when you get one and be safe!

[XBear9S]

Congrats Luciferella!

Be safe.
Take your time.
Wear your gear.
Assume your invisible,
b/c @ 5'4",
you pretty much are!

That's INVISIBLE,
not INVINCIBLE!
(lmao rotf)

Good luck!
Robtk!42 a.k.a. "Specialk!"


"I never, ever ignore the speed limit. If my speedometer says the speed limit is 140, I won't go a mile over that. To do so would be reckless and irresponsible."
--"Buellzebub" Bessonette

[Luciferella]

thanks guys. this was definitely one of the coolest experiences for me. a year ago i thought i'd never be able to do anything like this, i had/have a lot of health problems someone told me to accept it. but being stuck in a bed really wasn't my thing. so i told that dr to f' off and found someone to fix the problem. today meant so much to me. thanks for the advice, and congrats hopefully i can pick a bike up soon we'll see what i can find (hmmm a black blast with pink flames). hmmm now to save for that sky diving class lol.