Pros + Cons/The Right Time? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Pros + Cons/The Right Time?

NinjaNams

NinjaNams

Active member
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Hey everyone,

I am turning 15 in December and it has been a dream of mine for many years to get my motorcycle license/a bike. My parents are very on and off with the idea and although one day they agree, the next they find some negative aspect and try to talk me out of it. Now I am looking for some veteran advice (although all advice is greatly appreciated)!

The question I am asking is what do you all feel is a proper age to get a motorcycle? and if so than why do you think so?

The second part of the question is referring to the everyday talk that I have with them while trying to persuade them into letting me get one. I am wondering what you guys think are pro's and con's of having a motorcycle? Please add your honest opinion because I'd love to hear what you all have to say.

So far the list me and my parents have compiled is:

Pros:

- Good on gas
- Offers more freedom
- Cheap
- Versatile
- Safe and good if used properly/proper gear is worn

Cons:

- Unsafe to some extent
- Expensive insurance
- takes a lot of practice to get comfortable at higher speeds

A little back ground: I do have a job and will be paying for the license/bike/moto course and insurance. I plan on getting a Ninja 250 and using it for my everyday commute (10 minute ride down side roads to high school/ a ten minute ride down sideroads to work). I live in Newmarket and will spend the next 2 years riding here.

The layout that I gave them to initially get on board was that once I graduate university I would love to move to australia, and if that doesn't happen than I will move to the city no matter what. I say that It is better for me to get it now and have 2 years of practice on side roads/Newmarket main roads (aren't very busy) so when I move to the city I will be prepared, because they know that once I move out I will buy a bike.

Sorry if that was a lot to read but give me your input and let me know what you think!
 
proper age is up to you, legal age is 16

good on gas? compare a motorcycle fuel economy to a honda civic
cheap? if you do your own work it can save you money, but not necessarily make it cheap
safe? there's always an inherit risk
 
matthew said:
proper age is up to you, legal age is 16

good on gas? compare a motorcycle fuel economy to a honda civic
cheap? if you do your own work it can save you money, but not necessarily make it cheap
safe? there's always an inherit risk
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When I said proper age I meant what age was reccomended, I wanted to know if anybody else on the forum started at the age of 16 and how it went for them.
 
NinjaNams said:
When I said proper age I meant what age was reccomended, I wanted to know if anybody else on the forum started at the age of 16 and how it went for them.
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Lol...it depends...took me a long time to get one. I read about bikes, gear, the people, the manufacturers , the technology, the different types of bikes, racing, BUDGET etc

A lot of planning went into it.

HOWEVER,

At your age, All I wanted was a manual tranny sports car and I did get a job and instead of paying for tuition, I spent it on a BRAND NEW (10 year old!) Prelude...

choosing wisely from an early age helps....
 
It all depends on your financial situation. I started to ride in Canada after my1st year of university. I got a sweet internship that enabled me to set aside some money for motorcycling. My advice is to save for school and try not to get into debt.
 
proper age is the age that you can be responsible enough. The idea of a bike is great, with graduated lisencing, it gets you independence sooner.

insurance will hurt on a bike or a car... find the smallest displacement possible and nothing that insurance would consider a sport bike. I once heard the best option for a young kid was to find the vehicle that they would associate with an old person, or the most uncool vehicle and that will be the cheapest insurance.

you may even want to consider a scooter initially
 
Your brain is still developing, you have no business riding on the street here now.
Go to school, start your career, move out, then worry about bikes.
Take up dirt bike riding or visit a track day and go from there.
Find out how much insurance will cost you.
 
It's more like this:

Pros:
- fun

Cons:
- vulnerable

I would think it would probably be a little wiser to get some experience driving a car in traffic first, to develop some intuition etc.
 
sid_for_speed said:
Lol...it depends...took me a long time to get one. I read about bikes, gear, the people, the manufacturers , the technology, the different types of bikes, racing, BUDGET etc

A lot of planning went into it.

HOWEVER,

At your age, All I wanted was a manual tranny sports car and I did get a job and instead of paying for tuition, I spent it on a BRAND NEW (10 year old!) Prelude...

choosing wisely from an early age helps....
Click to expand...
I have been spending the last 5-6 months just researching everything there is to know, I have already looked into insurance and have started putting money aside in a separate account. I have been working for the last 3ish months and have so far saved up around $2100, given I still have 6 months to save. I understand that putting money aside for school is a good idea, which is why I have also been putting half of each pay check away for tuition (my parents agreed to pay for res). I would like to think at this point that I am some what already thinking more so towards my future than most others my age (who all spend money on alcohol, concerts and clothing). I don't want to get a G license just yet seeing as buying a nice car will be much more expensive and i'll still be dying to get a bike. I'm definitely don't want to wait until I start my career to get a bike, because in 2 years when I am going to uni I need a means of transportation for the commute and I can't think of a better way than a bike. I was looking into more street-ish bikes like a suzuki tu250x that would hopefully lower the cost of insurance as well.
 
what about winter???

Do you not like cars?? Every kid I knew your age had a desire to get a beater car just so that their insurance record would start off early and clean( It's irrelavant that many,including myself,didn't make it! :p)
 
This thread will end as soon as you get your first insurance quote. Unless you're very well off (or are willing to work 40 hours a week to JUST pay your insurance) - you just will NOT be able to do it in a country like Canada.
 
e90 said:
This thread will end as soon as you get your first insurance quote. Unless you're very well off (or are willing to work 40 hours a week to JUST pay your insurance) - you just will NOT be able to do it in a country like Canada.
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I can start by saying that I am definitely not very well off, but I don't mind working hard. I was thinking that If I went under my dads motorcycle insurance as a secondary it would lower the cost? after I have owned the license for a year will the insurance price not drop significantly?
 
ViperZ said:
If you're so keen on learning bikes, I'd suggest going and riding enduro / off-road. Fun and probably more safe than street.
This is not far from Newmarket: http://www.cmts.org/horseshoeRidingAdventures.aspx

And yeah, for everyday life, if you can afford it, just get a car. It will at least start your insurance 'experience'.
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That does look quite interesting actually and I may take a day trip up to try it out, Thanks for the link! the thing is though that I want a daily commuter, Even if it means using a old beater bike. I realize that getting a car will start me off but once I get out of uni I don't plan on owning a car (Moving to Australia - my cousin lives there) and so I can motorcycle all year. I would hate to make my parents spend the money on driving school for me to only use it for a short time (They agreed that if I payed for everything motorcycle wise, they would pay for everything car wise, except for an actual car).
 
NinjaNams said:
That does look quite interesting actually and I may take a day trip up to try it out, Thanks for the link! the thing is though that I want a daily commuter, Even if it means using a old beater bike. I realize that getting a car will start me off but once I get out of uni I don't plan on owning a car (Moving to Australia - my cousin lives there) and so I can motorcycle all year. I would hate to make my parents spend the money on driving school for me to only use it for a short time (They agreed that if I payed for everything motorcycle wise, they would pay for everything car wise, except for an actual car).
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Learning to drive is about learning how to deal with other vehicles on the road. 95 percent of the stuff you'd learn in driving school applies to motorcycling.
 
koma said:
Learning to drive is about learning how to deal with other vehicles on the road. 95 percent of the stuff you'd learn in driving school applies to motorcycling.
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Well said. Learning to drive in Toronto was stressful, I can't even imagine learning all that AND being on a bike. I got my G1 when I was 16, G2 after 8 months to the day and I've been driving since then. Started riding at 19
 
Insurance, on a Ninja 250, shouldn't be that bad. My suggestion is you take the following steps:

Get your M1 then M2 as soon as possible. Take your M2 through RTI or something similar.

Wait a year or two (to save up funds and for insurance to drop, they calculate the rate based on how long you've held your license. Some companies start on M1, some on M2).

Go have fun!

My gf is 21 and is paying around $800 a year for her Ninja 250, she only has a G1/M2 license (yep, she got her bike license before her car license). With regards to motorcycles being cheaper than cars, they can be but probably won't be. Motorcycles are maintenance heavy. We also don't have "100,000 km" tires. Your parent's mechanic might do bike work for cheap, but will **** it up bad (learned this the hard way after some on GTAM warned me).

Motorcycling is a time intensive passion with a HUGE learning curve compared to commuting cars. Sometimes I regret how much money I spend on the bike...until I get on and ride, then I smile and all the regret goes away :)

With regards to your age: there is no such thing as a proper age. You can be the most humble and modest 16 year old that knows there is a time and place to go warp 9 but there will be a bunch of news paper reports saying "21 year old moron in an X5 t-bones so and so".

Financial wise: everyone's going to tell you your schooling should come first and I'd suggest the same. But if you can afford a motorcycle on the side, then do it! Don't put motorcycling ahead of your future though; the more money you can make later, the more you can spend on the bike later. School, however, does not automatically mean you'll make lots of money. Some of us have learned this the hard way.
 
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油井緋色;2044736 said:
Insurance, on a Ninja 250, shouldn't be that bad. My suggestion is you take the following steps:

Get your M1 then M2 as soon as possible. Take your M2 through RTI or something similar.

Wait a year or two (to save up funds and for insurance to drop, they calculate the rate based on how long you've held your license. Some companies start on M1, some on M2).

Go have fun!

My gf is 21 and is paying around $800 a year for her Ninja 250, she only has a G1/M2 license (yep, she got her bike license before her car license). With regards to motorcycles being cheaper than cars, they can be but probably won't be. Motorcycles are maintenance heavy. We also don't have "100,000 km" tires. Your parent's mechanic might do bike work for cheap, but will **** it up bad (learned this the hard way after some on GTAM warned me).

Motorcycling is a time intensive passion with a HUGE learning curve compared to commuting cars. Sometimes I regret how much money I spend on the bike...until I get on and ride, then I smile and all the regret goes away :)

With regards to your age: there is no such thing as a proper age. You can be the most humble and modest 16 year old that knows there is a time and place to go warp 9 but there will be a bunch of news paper reports saying "21 year old moron in an X5 t-bones so and so".

Financial wise: everyone's going to tell you your schooling should come first and I'd suggest the same. But if you can afford a motorcycle on the side, then do it! Don't put motorcycling ahead of your future though; the more money you can make later, the more you can spend on the bike later. School, however, does not automatically mean you'll make lots of money. Some of us have learned this the hard way.
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I Want to say thank you for taking the time to write that, and for being so clear about it. That honestly answered every question I had and is definitely going to help me make a better decision, i'll go for my M1 and G1 when I turn 16 in december, than wait until summer to take my riding test, giving me a few months to drive. Once I get my M2 i'll just hold that for a whole year until i am 17 (turning 18 because late birthday) and will practically have my full G, than i'll buy my first bike and get insurance. Thanks again!
 
NinjaNams said:
I Want to say thank you for taking the time to write that, and for being so clear about it. That honestly answered every question I had and is definitely going to help me make a better decision, i'll go for my M1 and G1 when I turn 16 in december, than wait until summer to take my riding test, giving me a few months to drive. Once I get my M2 i'll just hold that for a whole year until i am 17 (turning 18 because late birthday) and will practically have my full G, than i'll buy my first bike and get insurance. Thanks again!
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remember your m1 only lasts for 3 months. unless you can guarantee all the snow will be gone and you can get your m2 in feb/march wait to go for that test. i would strongly recommend learning to drive before getting on a bike in traffic. it was mentioned before that the majority of what you learn in driving school will apply to motorcycles. the m1 course however will only teach you how to ride in an empty parking lot.
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