I want to buy a street bike.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

So I got on the bike today. Was a lot of fun, drove around in circles and the like, haha. Basically just rode around in the "friction zone" and in first gear.

Really happy for you Justin......it's been fun watching you progress. And you've been doing it (imo) "The right way", good on ya.

My problem is the damn bike never goes into neutral when the engine is on. I have to kill the engine every time to get it into neutral. I'll be in first and I come to a stop, and I am supposed to put it into neutral, so I tap up, then when I go to check (going into the friction zone), I just pull away, AKA I am still in gear.

Ya, sometimes they forget to install a neutral......
Seriously though, an elusive neutral is a huge annoyance, I definitely feel your pain!

I'm driving around in a 2007 CBR125 by the way. They have a ton of motocross bikes, some cruisers, and maybe 3 CBR's. The CBR is nice because there is no choke or anything so starting it is a breeze. But that effing gearbox is pissing me off!

I definitely recommend trying out as many bikes (seating positions....) as possible. Balance and control is different on all of them, and (imo) having that experience helps you grow as a rider. Plus, you'll probably be able to find "the most appropriate" bike for your test. Seriously, don't use the one you like the most, use the one that's easiest to control (neutral....!).

Going back tomorrow 30 minutes earlier so I can practice some more before the lessons start.

Great plan.......get as much saddle time as you can. Nobody ever got too much experience!

I kept letting go of the clutch without giving it any gas in first and "stall".

This NEVER happens to experienced riders.......

A couple of the guys in my group seem to have had some practice already.

Ask if they have any pointers? The only thing I really regret from my training is that I didn't make an effort to meet others. Now that I have a group of fellow riders (and realize that it's awesome), I realize that class was a great place to meet people.

Ah well, tomorrow I go and look at the R6 I am really interested in. Hopefully it is in good condition, has all the paper work, and has no "surprises" because if I don't find anything wrong and the paperwork is all good, then I'll be getting it.

Last piece of advice.....there is ALWAYS another bike. Making some compromises is fine, but don't be afraid to walk away if you aren't entirely sure! Good Luck!!!

[Tron_fdc]

Feathering the clutch takes practise, and I would suggest you get a lot of it as stalling the bike on a road test is an automatic fail IIRC. If you can't find 1st, you're in trouble on your hill start.

I did my road test last year, and a few things that he pointed out:

- I was in the wrong gear when I was turning left at a turn signal, going from a complete stop (I was in 2nd). I didn't stall, but he could tell bu the amount of gas I was giving it that I wasn't in 1st
- I was taking too long to change lanes, and being too cautious
- I wasn't taking up the entire lane when I was turning right from a stop. He wanted me to prevent cars from creeping up on the right hand side of my bike
- I was going too slow in a 70 zone. This one I argued pretty hard, as I took my road test in heavy sleet snow, while wearing snowboard gear. It was ######ed.....and I didn't feel safe going over 60. I could barely see, let alone feel my hands.
- he docked my 5 points for not clearing an intersection on a yellow. Said I should have cleared it, then pulled over to the side of the road and waited for him to go through on the next light.

I would suggest reading what the automatic fails are (not yielding to pedestrians, etc) and make sure you don't do them. Other than that, if you're confident on your bike you'll be fine. The test wasn't all that hard.

[burnin_vernon]

I failed an otherwise flawless first road test by not using the lane on a two-way turning lane. I thought if there was no traffic at all you didn't have to use them. Wrong. Automatic fail.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

When you're missing neutral, is the bike shifting up to second, or sticking in first? Some bikes are easier to get into neutral by dropping down from second. It should have a neutral light on the instrument cluster (it's usually a bright green light), look for that before letting the clutch out.

Yeah, the stalling is the downside of smaller displacement bikes. No torque, so you gotta giver a little bit. Good in a way, teaches you good technique and keeps you from being sloppy. I've been riding a Bandit 1200 & 1250 for five years, and then bought a F800R a few months ago. I stall it every now and then (eg. this morning) because I'm not used to having to give it the throttle when taking off.

Not sure if it is going into second or just staying in first, it is staying in a gear though. It has the neutral light but my instructor covered it up so I have to learn without it, which is fine. I'll try shifting up to second then tapping it into neutral, see if that helps. From the sound of the engine I think it is staying in first, but I'll find out today when I go back. I'll go early and just fool around and try and find neutral.

[Josh]

Justin, my experience with honda gearboxes (I own three honda bikes) is they are setup like this:

6
5
4
3
2
N (this is halfway up to 2)
1

I've found its always easiest to shift to 1 and they tap the shifter halfway up to get to N.

[3 Justin 3]

Went and looked at the r6 today. Pretty good condition, has a couple dings in the tank but I dont mind. Re-negotiated the price and I got him down to $3500. For a 2004 R6, with 28000 km on, it's a pretty smoking deal. Need to check insurance rates but it looks like I am going to get it.

Who does everyone use for insurance? The guy who rode the R6 paid $1100/yr for it. I went online and with no collision and no comprehensive from Pimmum(?) it costs $483/yr, with collision and comprehensive, $1600/yr! With comprehensive, no collision, was $883/yr. Tomorrow I'm going to phone around to everyone I know and see who has the best price/coverage. If all goes well and I can find a good rate, then I'm going to go with the R6.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Glad to hear that you like the bike.

As for insurance, here's my advice.

1. Get at least $2 Million in liability. Unlike automobiles, liability is the "Cheap" part of motorcycle insurance, and there's no need to skimp. Injuries from a motorcycle accident are (imo) far more likely to have a lifelong impact than those in a car. And if you ever have a passenger.......

2. The bike is only worth $3500.....I wouldn't bother with collision. You're going to pay $7-800 for a year of coverage, money that is probably much better spent on maintenance items (quality tires, frequent oil changes, the upcoming major service). A mechanical failure is FAR more likely than a claimed collision.....heck, mechanical failure is probably a pretty likely cause of collisions!

3. I'd also consider skipping the comprehensive coverage. A $3500 bike can't really be vandalized too much (at least not enough to make a claim), although theft is still a possibility. Depending upon where/how you park your bike, theft is probably a minor concern.

For insurance companies.......Primmum (TD Bank) is frequently noted as an excellent bike insurer. I've been with them for several years, despite shopping my policy every season. Kanetix is also a solid player in the space, and you'll see solid pricing/service from them.

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by WilsonFourTwo

Primmum (TD Bank) is frequently noted as an excellent bike insurer.

Not sure if that a new branding of TD Meloche Monnex, but when I was in Calgary I insured my bike through them, and got really good rates. If it is a different company, they're worth checking into as well.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

Not sure if that a new branding of TD Meloche Monnex, but when I was in Calgary I insured my bike through them, and got really good rates. If it is a different company, they're worth checking into as well.

That's the one. The Home/Auto is through Meloche Monnex, but the Motorcycle/ATV is through Primmum. Same company.....same forms....same everything (other than name, obviously!).

I'll suggest them again.....good service and excellent rates.

[fundmark19]

Be aware of TD. My friends triumph was backed over by the guy next door on july 1st took them untill october to finally declare it a write off and cut him the cheque. He lost out on his whole riding season because of bad customer service he recieved. Luckily weather sucked last summer.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

Be aware of TD. My friends triumph was backed over by the guy next door on july 1st took them untill october to finally declare it a write off and cut him the cheque. He lost out on his whole riding season because of bad customer service he recieved. Luckily weather sucked last summer.

I've had to make 5 different claims, both home and auto, through TD Meloche Monnex. (None of them were my fault).

The auto claims went great. I had one house claim that was getting dragged out. I called and asked for a new adjuster. I got a cheque in 4 days.

If your buddy got on the phone and yelled between July and October then he'd have had his cheque.

[3 Justin 3]

Thanks for the input, everyone is sooooo helpful and it really makes everything a lot easier. Going to give a few of them a call now.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

I've had to make 5 different claims, both home and auto, through TD Meloche Monnex. (None of them were my fault).

The auto claims went great. I had one house claim that was getting dragged out. I called and asked for a new adjuster. I got a cheque in 4 days.

If your buddy got on the phone and yelled between July and October then he'd have had his cheque.

He got on the phone and yelled everyday. The problem was TD only seems to have one adjuster for assessing damage for bikes. His bike went to blackfoot they said the damage to TD, TD said fix it then blackfoot said more damage to the frame then TD sat and waited for 3 months to figure out if they would fix it or write it off. This was after they had told blackfoot and my buddy to order the replacement parts. In the end he got good value for what he paid for the bike but his bike was very rare and he had to settle for a vulcan since he couldn't find another triumph legend tt

[3 Justin 3]

Well you couldn't wipe the smile off my face right now. Just finished buying my first bike. Going to get it insured and registered tomorrow before 1pm, then go to work, work a grueling 2 hour shift, and then I get to pick it up at 3pm.

This has been an awesome week, and tomorrow will be the cherry on the top.

Then next week is my driving test, and 2 days later I turn 21.

For insurance I am going with The Insurance Guys, based out of Edmonton. They gave me the best rate by far (and they called me too! and I almost didn't pick up!) With Comprehensive (theft, fire, etc.) it is $590/yr I believe. Which isn't too bad.

I'll take pictures of the bike tomorrow and post them up.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Good for you Justin! Well Done!

Sounds like you did really well with the insurance hunt as well.....$600 for an R6 and new driver......one heckuva good rate!

[fundmark19]

I thought you couldn't register and insure a bike untill you have your actual licence? If you can I should really register my virago instead of piggy backing my buddies

[3 Justin 3]

Just insured, registered and drove my bike for the first time.

F*** Yeah. I took pictures with my iPhone that I'll upload later. What a bike!

I'll be cruising at 40, look behind me and there is people behind because I am not doing 50, use a little throttle and now I am at 74. hehe. Shame on me I know, speeding. I need to learn to control it lol. Can't wait for tomorrow when I can actually get on the road with my dad and drive around.

[3 Justin 3]

Oh yes.




I'll be posting pictures all summer, follow me on twitter for updates.

[TRIX]

awesome!

now just rid of that huge cannon!

looks good, we'll have to try to get that CP ride organized this year sometime

cheers

[Josh]

looks good, we'll have to try to get that CP ride organized this year sometime

cheers

Sounds like a good excuse for me to take a ride up to Calgary...