Should I get a motorcycle?

[Stumbo]

If you died while riding, you'll be dead. If you get hurt and can't play, you'll be dead inside.

PS. My wife and I love bikes like you. Unfortunately, her brother was killed on his chopper in 1981 when he was 21 so we won't be getting any bikes soon.

 

[58kites]

If I was starting from scratch, I'd be looking at one of these bad boys. Yep, The Fonz had something similar!

Yup, love it!!!
Exactly, exactly what I think is a cool bike.

 

[Joe Nerve]

@Joe Nerve - get your MSF course and then get yourself to a place that has an EagleRider rental place - many large US cities have 'em. Try out different Harley, metric cruiser, sport-tourers, adventure or scrambler bikes. See what feels right to you.

I agree with a few others - going straight for the Harley in a congested urban area is not the best idea for no other reason than poopy handling. Looking cool and satisfying an itch is not a good trade-off for learning the handling skills you'd need for a Harley. You need something that can get you out of a jam in a hurry and a Harley is not that. Don't believe any of this crap of "had to lay 'er down". That's code for unskilled riding. And, ATGATT.

I have a pretty nimble dual sport/enduro type bike (F800GS) and when I ride my newish to me V-Star 1300 (cruiser), it always feels like I'm at a disadvantage until I'm on the open road. And that's with years and hundred of thousands of miles on road and dirt (but I've always ridden dirt oriented/dual sport bikes).

If I was starting from scratch, I'd be looking at one of these bad boys. Yep, The Fonz had something similar!

What is that?

 

[DirtDog]

What is that?

Ducati Scrambler.

 

[Mike 257]

My friend Rick got his leg torn off in a motorcycle accident over 20 years ago and has a prostetic from the knee down, he still rides.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

hmm, if we're sharing anecdotes, a friend of my parents, Larry, lost both his legs in a bike accident
He is also impotent now & smoked himself into a shadow of his former self.
His wife has stood by him the whole time though, to her credit.

They must be lonely though, because once he got all strung out, or whatever you call it, we just stopped visiting them.
It was heartbreaking, because he used to be sharp as a tack.

 

[farace]

I'm picturing one of these parking in Little Italy:

Or you can do like I did, and crash your '65 Vespa 150. That was no fun at all. Bike went one way, I went another. I found I could fly, for a short distance. Until the mailbox got in the way.

I have a bent Vespa for sale, by the way. It still runs.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Once I was walking home from work in Bangkok & my boss came up beside me on a red Vespa & offered me a ride.
He drove that thing like a lunatic & I vowed never to ride with him again.
We did get to happy hour fast that evening though!

BTW, he wasn't riding a Vespa because he's poor, he just loved it.

 

[58kites]

Ducati Scrambler.

Loved the old Triumph Scrambler when I was a kid.
My brother raced Flat Track and TT in the 60's with a BSA 650.
Stripped down Triumph and BSA 500's and 650's are pretty cool.
But that Ducati is super cool.

 

[TOOL460002]

My friends that ride have all been hit or had to ditch at some point. And some of them are actually careful. I'd say no.

 

[capnjim]

Did I forget to mention that if I do this it's gotta be a Harley?

That's a shame. You will ride it once or twice, and it will always be an effort in the city, and it will be a bit scary as well.....it will end up collecting dust.
I love my DR as I ride it every day, and even use it to go grocery shopping.

 

[hondo4life]

Buy a track bike. Do some track days and get into some racing. It is safer than riding on public roads.

 

[kopio]

Did I forget to mention that if I do this it's gotta be a Harley?

Don't limit yourself! I know I posted a picture of my Harley...but there are a lot of excellent bikes out there. I was honestly torn between a Harley or a BMW. I got a Harley because I knew it would limit me. I'm a very advanced rider and I really like to push the limit if my abilities...I can't get anywhere near the limit on a Harley! They are low tech, big and not very refined.

Honestly if I were in NY like you, I'd find a nice middleweight extremely maneuverable bike. The last thing I'd want to be on would be a boat of a Harley.

All that being said....I do love my bike!

 

[hondo4life]

I once had a Harley. It scraped the pegs at every turn. So slow and shakey. Parts randomly fell off. The battery died often and it couldn't be push started because it needed the battery to power the computer and fuel pump. I traded it for a Suzuki.

 

[lfmn16]

Don't believe the Harley whiners. They aren't a sport bike, but they are fine around the city. It's more rider error than a problem with the bike. And I'm not a Harley snob. I've owned BMWs, Hondas, Yamahas and that's a Kawasaki below.

My brother and I rode our bikes from DC to Hyder Alaska and back this summer. 8,000 miles in 18 days, it was a blast.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

They're fine as long as you don't need to stop fast

 

[GIBrat51]

Ever heard of ABS brakes? Or Brembo brakes? Like Corvettes, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and European bikes use? Harleys all have ABS brakes, and the new ones all use Brembos (the calipers just don't say so). They stop just as fast as any other bike of similar weight...

 

[Cropduster]

It depends on whether or not you're lazy...

It works like this, you want to ride, ok, go take the course, see if you enjoy it, lets say you do, and you'r bitten by the bug, that's cool, so you go buy a bike, do not go and buy an expensive bike like a Scrambler (they're not expensive in the grand scheme of things to buy, but to crash? yep, expensive to fix! So you have a good reliable 2nd hand bike to ride and learn on, just because you've done your test doesn't mean you know how to ride you know, you will gain experience everytime you ride. Got good gear? this is where it can get expensive, buy quality gear that fits, if it's not comfortable you will be distracted and less likely to put it on, so make sure you're comfortable, a good fitting helmet is more important than the fancy paint job, and a comfortable jacket and gloves are worth more than any fancy bling you want for the bike.

Now, are you lazy? If you think you want to ride but can't be bothered putting the right gear on before you go cause you're just going to the shops then stop your plans to ride a bike, it's not for you. Falling off sucks, i've done it plenty, it's embarrassing and it can get expensive, but falling off in jeans and a t-shirt? that can end with money woes and a hit to the ego being the least of your problems. Don't want to wear the gear? don't ride, unless you think skin grafts and external fixators are cool that is.

It's worth remembering that at 50 mph you travel 20 metres per second, and physics doesn't care whether it's your bare skin on the pavement or your rolling tyre, you're not going to stop in one second either so imagine your soft skin being dragged 20metres per second until you scrub off speed or hit something, gonna wear gear?

My Dad told me that life too short to learn enough from our own experience, we need to learn from others, when it comes to riding bikes there has never been a truer word spoken, sure it's romantic to think you're the Fonz but it wears off pretty quickly when you're an hour from home in a rain storm, i really enjoy riding, been doing it a long time, and i've spent my time in hospital from some pretty serious injuries, i'm lucky to be here frankly, and that's no exaggeration, and i wouldn't talk anyone out of experiencing it, but know what you're getting into and what's required to at least lessen the odds of being hurt, treat everyone on the road with suspicion, don't commit to anything at an intersection until you're sure of what everyone else is doing first, and at the end of the day being in the right legally is cold comfort when you're in a cast or worse, so stay calm and watch everyone and wait for them to do what you see they want to do. Oh, and stay out of drivers blindspots.
This is my bike, for inspiration....

Good luck!

 

[Snakeman1066]

Joe,

There are rider courses you can take in New York

Example: Motorcycle Driving School Brooklyn NY |Spring Creek NY Motorcycle Driving Course | Ride MSS

take it from a rider of over 30 years...start out small and work your way up to a bigger bike...no sense in jumping on a 1300 CC bike when a 500 will get the job done.

don't listen to the Harley bashers...they went through a bad period where the bikes were sub-par but the newer bikes are great

last year they even introduced an Urban street bike that is 500 CC that comes in at around $6,000

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but quite honestly if your not getting on any highways and riding in Urban sprawl...I would buy one of these to start out on! 45 mph and 114 mpg at about 2,000 new

or something like this:

but honestly there are a ton of nice bikes out there from every maker on the planet...the only way your going to be able to judge what is right for you is to take the class and ride as many things as you can...

I am personally not a big fan of crotch rockets (or anything in that style of motorcycle) for me they are uncomfortable to ride and I hate the look...but your mileage may vary

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here is my current ride for inspiration...It's a stock Honda and was less than $10,000 out the door new!

I say go for it! you only live once

 

[T_Bone_TL]

What is that?

I assume you are asking about:

All The Gear All The Time (ATGATT) or "if you're not dressed for sliding on asphalt, don't ride at all"

Heading across the country? Suit up. Going to the grocery store to get a quart of milk - suit up. You never know when things will go sideways, so don't pick and choose whether you are protected in case they do...