I'm thinking about buying a motorcycle

[Dresden]

Heya everyone.

As the title reads, I've been contemplating getting a motorcycle. I'm 31 years old with a clean driving record, not a single accident on my record and very few moving violations. I genuinely consider myself a safe driver. It's something I've thought a lot about since I was a teenager, and recently the thought of getting licensed and owning a bike has been an idea that's getting harder to ignore. My father rode a bike when he was younger and can attest to the fascination with bike ownership. I feel a little compelled to preface this thread with the fact that I don't know anything about the mechanical aspect of cars. Aside from when to get an oil change and fill the fuel.

First of all, I'm not licensed to own a bike, I don't even have a permit. Getting licensed is something I'll be doing within the next couple of weeks. I've consulted a couple of my friends about a couple of things in particular and even spoke to someone today at the local dealership. I've had my eye on two bikes:

BMW F 700 GS

Honda CB500X

So, my question is, how do these fare as beginner bikes? Both bikes have their advantages/disadvantages. There's a lot of terminology I'm not familiar with, especially classification like sport, dual sport, adventure. I'm basically looking for something I can ride around town, not habitually using it for long distances (I own a car). Which brings me to another point, I'd be storing it during our hellish New England winters. Most important, I'm not looking for a rocket on two wheels, and a dealer today told me these bikes aren't crazy-powerful. They have a nice, small engine which is good for novices. So with that in mind, I could use people's input on these two models and some general tips for someone interested in biking. Any suggestions/tips are welcome, from the licensing process, safety, to overall ownership.

Thanks!

Dresden

 

[Rurouni]

I don't know much about bikes, but usually a BMW is much more expensive than a Honda, and not only in the bike price but also overall maintenance. Since you're a novice, maybe it would be better to go with the cheaper one. Of course there is a matter of drivability. It would be best to try both.
Personally, if the price difference is big, I would choose the cheaper one as long as the maintenance cost (service and parts) is also cheaper. Anyway, good luck on the bike.

 

[Grall]

Don't kill yourself riding it. Motorcycles are very dangerous vehicles. Personally I wouldn't recommend buying one.

They're also expensive. Give your PC an upgrade instead, it is much safer!

 

[Lightman]

I was riding bikes since I was 10 years old (50cc monsters) and later when I was 15 years old I had 175cc bike. Was caught once by Police for riding on public roads without a license and it wasn't nice

Bikes are fun, but since I've got my driving license I have no urge to own a bike. Cars are my hobby and racing gives me thrills. I'm afraid if I had a bike I would be long gone!
But if you don't feel like overtaking everyone in front of you and passing obstacles millilitres away then you should be fine!

Riding bikes is fun, especially on country roads and through forests I though will stick to very fast cars as I'm not accident prone! (1.5M+ km on my account in 15 years makes me statistically involved in collision every 3 to 5 years, most of them not my fault).

 

[London Geezer]

My dad died on his motorcycle. Well technically he died off his motorcycle, but anyway, party pooper here needs to sleep.

 

[BRiT]

Being safe on motorcycles is rarely if ever about how safe you drive, its nearly in all cases how lucky you are with the idiot drivers around you. Too many idiot drivers around here for me ride. Out of the 16 friends who ride, nearly every single one baring one was forced off the rode or had to lay down their bike to avoid being in a much worse accident or even dieing. The worst accident was quite fortunate that the friend was in his full riding racing suit, so aside from wrecking the bike completely, ruining the helmet and full racing suit, having a few bruised ribs and breaking his arm, it was something he could recover from.

Its a pure adrenaline rush riding though, especially through turns once you get over going fast on the straight aways.

 

[Mariner]

I understand that some surgeons nickname for motorcyclists is, "Organ donors".

I only really know one biker and he spent several weeks in a coma after an accidentseveral years ago. Oddly enough, the accident didn't occur when he was riding his motorbike - he was knocked off his bicycle by a doddering old driver who didn't see him and didn't even know he'd hit anybody!

As has been noted, you can be the most capable biker in the world, but all it takes is a piece of careless driving by somebody in a car and you've had it.

Good luck!

 

[Lightman]

That's why bikes are great off-road. There you're mostly in control and they are great fun tackling any hills / forests / sand dunes etc.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

I understand that some surgeons nickname for motorcyclists is, "Organ donors".

As the son of one, I attest to this.
I've heard several times, straight from the mouth of several surgeons, that in their anecdotal experience the motorcycle riders are by far the largest source of healthy organs.

The worst part is that a large part of the accidents happen because car and truck drivers simply don't see them through the rear and side mirrors when changing lanes. They're accidents with no one to blame..
And even at "low speeds" like 30mil/h or 50km/h, an impact at that speed will smash most heads or backs into a pulp.

 

[Arwin]

My dad was driving at 50km/h when a car ran a red light and touched him, causing him to lose control straight into a wall. I remembered very well from when I was 4-6 years old as my mom and I saw him in the hospital and me being told he had a severe concussion and would be in the hospital for 5 weeks. Just last month my dad told me that he actually fractured his neck and was told he was extremely lucky not to have a lesion leaving him almost completely paralyzed. He also told me that when he saw me and my mom come in at the hospital and see him, that was the moment where he thought it would probably be a good idea to sell his bike ... He never got another, though he did ride one again eventually on one occasion some 30 years later.

Anyway, your mileage may and hopefully will vary. I know many people who love their bikes for sure, and not everyone gets in an accident. But boy, it does happen a lot.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I had a Yamaha 600 FZS back in 2003-2004, enjoyed it a lot, but the summer of 2004 was raining pretty much every day here and I haven't had the bike since then. I think driving a bike is safe enough. Compared to driving a car you need to or at least should pay more attention to other vehicles. Don't solely rely on traffic laws and green lights, but use them as a guide while focusing plenty on what people around you are actually doing and where they are moving. Sometimes you need to yield in situations where in a car you wouldn't. Both of those bikes in the OP looks pretty "noob" friendly BMW's windshield looks a little small for speeds over 100 kmh, but perhaps that works. BMW seems to have around 75hp vs 47hp of the Honda. That should make the performance between them quite different.

 

[Davros]

Why not get an ariel atom the fun of a bike with less death ?

 

[NRP]

Either of those bikes are fine for a beginner. The thing with bikes is, if you find you really l Iike them, you will probably outgrow your "first purchase" pretty quickly. It might be better to look for a used bike for your first one.

Do you know any friends who ride? Might be a good idea to throw a leg over their bike to see if it's for you, if you haven't already done so. Like others have said, you really have concentrate, pay attention, and anticipate the actions of others when riding because it will almost certainly be their mistake that hurts you.

Anyway, good luck! A motorcycle is about as close as you can come to the sensation of flying without leaving the ground.

 

[RobertR1]

Didn't now you ride NRP!

I used to race with AFM for a couple of years (R1/R6) but haven't ridden in ages.

As for tips to the OP, remember when you fall, you hit the ground so take extra pre caution and don't skimp out on safety gear (EVER!). I have plenty of scars and aches to show how rough this hobby can be. I strongly recommend avoiding all those. The bike is rarely the concern. The helmet wearer is always the strong or weak point of a motorcycle.

 

[orangpelupa]

ive been holding this for days..... that...

i keep reading the title as "burying a motorcycle" :/

EDIT:

btw i live on a country with too much motorcycle and... it is a dangerous vehicle. Not only dangerous for yourself but also others. At least with the way people rides it.

if you only need a motorcycle for inside city. Why not buy the cheap automatic? its muuuuch lighter than the stuff you showed on 1st post.

 

[Rurouni]

^ automatic as in scooter? Or you're thinking about underbone?
Anyway, for me, if it's for daily commute, then a scooter (like Honda PCX) would be a good choice if the road is relatively smooth.

 

[rcf]

I used to drive a motorcycle when I was a teenager. I still have the permit but don't drive bikes anymore. They are thrilling and dangerous at first, but then the thrill goes away and they become just dangerous. I was lucky to never get into an accident, but there were plenty of split-second moments when I could have died or gotten badly injured.
Get a convertible car instead.

 

[tuna]

I would kind of want an electric bike to ride on country roads and race tracks. Are there any good ones?