Had been out of motorcycles for a few years and was a little nervous when I started back. Bought an 83 Yamaha 650 Maxim for $800 and learned to reride on it. If I dropped it, it wouldn't be that big of sick feeling in my gut. Sold it 6 months later after 6K miles for $900, bought an 97 750 Virago. Kept it for a year and 12K miles and traded it for a 96 1200 sporty. Rode it 4 years and 45K plus miles and traded it for a Street Bob.
You can find a good learner bike reasonable if you feel you need it. Someone is always selling one and someone is always looking for one. You will feel better if you drop an $800 Honda than a $10,000 sporty.

 

Gidday, welcome to the HDForums from New Zealand, enjoy!!!! [sm=welcomesign.gif]

 

I want a 1200 Sportster. I think the problem with me getting a starter bike is the money. I'll probably get my Sportster through a dealer, and have monthly payments to pay it off. With the starter bike I'd need to find a private seller that means having all the cash, which would be a problem.

 

Welcome to the forum from Maryland

 

 

Hello and welcome from Columbia, MO
I got what i wanted out of the gate and don't regret it.
Got the cash, buy something smaller to gain some experience at a lighter weight for 6 months but that's about all the time you'll want to spend with it before you'll want to upgrade. The courses are a really good idea to keep you from hurting yourself.

 

I am of the opinion that a 1200 sportster is a great all around bike. If you take the class, you should be able to learn on it - just take your time and be careful - and dress the part.

 

Well, I'm not the long term voice of experience here, but I'll throw in my 2 cents. I took the MSF course just shy of a month ago to get the feel for riding. We used 250cc Honda Nighthawks in the class that weigh a bit over 300lbs. My goal afterward was to get a cruiser, which of course was going to add about a minimum of 200lbs to what I had ridden in the course. I talked to a few people, some of whom thought the extra weight might make my initial riding more difficult, and some who thought starting with a heavier bike was not a big deal. In the grand scheme of things, I wanted a cruiser and ultimately wanted to ramp up on the type of ride I planned to stick with.

So, I started out looking at various cruisers of various brands, mostly in the small engine range figuring that smaller meant lighter, which was not always the case. Long story short, I had settled on wanting to get an 883C before thinking about it a bit and deciding that moving up to the 1200C would be the best way to go. I now have a motorcycle that is the style I want to ride, I'm having a blast riding it, and I know that it is enough motorcycle to last me for quite a while with some additions over time. I havn't gone nuts in the learning process such as heading right out to a road with tight turns busting along at 60mph. As a matter of fact, I've generally not gone higher than 50 so far. It would certainly be a bummer to drop the bike because I got a little too cocky, so I'm riding within what I feel is my comfort zone with where I feel my abilities are right now.

While the bike did feel heavy my first day out, it certainly does not feel too heavy now. I'm getting more comfortable with 90 degree turns and traffic as I ride around my general area every day or night. Basically, I feel like I made the right choice for me and feel like I have a motorcycle that will last me a while. I don't want to say it's a choice that would work for everyone, but I can say it's a choice that has worked (so far) for at least one person. Oh, I should add that I've had the bike for just under 2 weeks, so as I mentioned above, this opinion is based on very limited experience.

I will admit, however, that I'm looking at the classifieds to see if I can find a half decent dual purpose bike for a good price that I can use to practice riding on dirt, gravel, or wet surfaces since I would hate to drop the Sportster if I accidentally ran across road conditions I didn't expect.

Oh, I just noticed the previous post recommending you "dress the part". I ride with a full face helmet and a vented, armored jacket on at all times, along with ankle high boots. I can say that it helps to enjoy the ride a lot more if you feel some amount of safety while riding. Again, just personal experience. One more recommendation I would make is to read the book "Proficient Motorcycling". It has some excellent information in there about why motorcycles behave the way they do, and it has great advice on things to look out for when riding.

 

Thanks everyone, this is all great info!

 

Lots of good advice here. I'll especially have to look for the book "Proficient Motorcycling".

I didn't take the first (beg) class only because I couldn't wait two weeks before I started riding (classes were booked). Since I've had about 25 years of experience on motorcycles in general, I just studied up on Tx motorcycle laws, did a lot of research on tips for riding (lane positions, etc) and took the test w/out any classes (oh yeah, and practiced on my actual bike around the hood).

I ended up passing both the written and driven with flying colors. I figured I would skip the beginning class (your opinion may vary!) and after a month or two take the advanced class. Either way, HAVE FUN and BE SAFE!