Just starting out! | GTAMotorcycle.com

Just starting out!

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mimico_polak

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Hey everyone! I'm just starting out in the sport and am looking to book my M2 in the next few weeks here at Humber! I'm very excited as I've been looking forward to this for a while!

I don't have a bike yet but have been researching the last few weeks and currently it's a toss-up b/w a 250cc sport bike (I'm a little scared of going 500-600cc right off the bat!) or a 250-500 smaller cruiser but some comments I've read say they may be dicey on the highway past 100kph!?

Also I'm interested in renting different types of bikes to get more familiar with what's best for me and my style prior to dropping $ on a bike for myself. Does anyone have good rental recommendations? City of Toronto only has about 2-3 places that rent bikes so it's hard to find!

Thanks in advance and looking forward to seeing you guys out there!

Wojtek
 
It's not easy finding a rental. Other than finding a friend who well let you borrow theirs, most people jump right in and buy their first bike. There are lots of threads here about good first bikes. I had a Ninja 250 for three years. Though clearly not high performance, it still had enough to out-accelerate most cars and hold its own on the highway. Though the speedometer was a tad unreliable, it could cruise at 110-115 without straining. A cruiser with the same horsepower probably would be about the same. I tried a Honda 125 and was not comfortable with it on the highway. Despite a lot of debating to the contrary, 250-500 have a number of advantages: they are cheap on insurance and gas, and you actually get to use all the gears. (On my CBR600, I rarely get out of second in the city, often don't get past fourth on the highways).
 
^^ +1

It's my first riding season and riding a 250. It's perfectly fine on the highway for me (I'm 5'7, 160lbs).

When you are doing your riding course, make sure you try on as many different types of bikes as possible. Sportsbike and cruisers have different riding position. Shop for the type you feel most comfortable with.

Worth noting is my buddy has a cb200 cruiser. it has 4 gears and it tops out at 90-100. When we go on rides, he can keep up no problem on country roads, but he repeatedly avoid major highways due to the lack of passing speed just in case he needs it to get out of trouble.
 
Assuming you are under 25, 250 will be your best bet. And going to a 600+ right away isn't that bad. As long as it's not an SS. My 650R is my first bike and I'm doing just fine with it. Enough power to keep up with SS bikes but not too much to get me in trouble.

+1 on getting to use all the gears. I was riding with a ZX6R one time and he was ripping it. He was only in second and I was already at 4th gear on the highway.

I have a couple of friends who are fine on the 250 on the highway at 140kmh. Depending on your weight, it should be no problem.

STAY AWAY FROM GTAEXOTICS. I've heard nothing but bad news with these guys. I even heard they have fake Lamborghinis.
 
Hey thanks for the responses guys! Today I had my very first ride on my buddy's Virago 535 and it was awesome...it was scary and exhilirating at the same time...not sure how else to describe it! LoL I'm def going to take a look at the 250 ninja/cbr as I've heard great thing about both bikes!As for rental...gta is that bad EH? The only other source is I found a girl on kimono that is willing to rent but it's a 125 bike only.
 
rideitlikeyoustoleit said:
Assuming you are under 25, 250 will be your best bet. And going to a 600+ right away isn't that bad. As long as it's not an SS. My 650R is my first bike and I'm doing just fine with it. Enough power to keep up with SS bikes but not too much to get me in trouble.

+1 on getting to use all the gears. I was riding with a ZX6R one time and he was ripping it. He was only in second and I was already at 4th gear on the highway.

I have a couple of friends who are fine on the 250 on the highway at 140kmh. Depending on your weight, it should be no problem.

STAY AWAY FROM GTAEXOTICS. I've heard nothing but bad news with these guys. I even heard they have fake Lamborghinis.
Click to expand...

They're not fake. The engine output is limited to like 50%...
 
250 Ninjas are good starter bikes, especially if you are not that big. I see nothing wrong with a beginner going up as high as an 600cc as long as it's not a new sports bike.
 
hey guys! thank you very much for the good info here! I booked my Humber course for next weekend and am very excited!! I was surprised that they had 3 spots available for me and my friends!
Another bike that's been mentioned to me as a great beginner (albeit dicey on the 400 series) is the 125cbr...I've seen them around but they seem very small. I've seen the thread on it here and it seems fairly split about the benefits of the 125 vs the 250!
 
The CBR125 is a decent bike, but really it's a scooter. I'd go at least a 250. I've been riding an older 360cc bike which has been performance upgraded. Gets me around fine. Launches itself around traffic easily. Probably going to sell it and move up to something bigger. A lot of older Honda 360s around.
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