New member from Richmond Hill | GTAMotorcycle.com

New member from Richmond Hill

dragonrider

dragonrider

Well-known member
Hello everybody. My name is Sidney. So glad to find out there is such a forum in GTA area. I have only prior scooter experience. Never ridden a true motorcycle before. Planning to take the safety course early spring and put my hands on a bike very soon.
Just a quick question. It seems people recommend Ninja250 as a beginner bike. However I will probably not buy a supersport later on. More into dual-sport and travel long distance with occasional off-road. In this case, will Ninja250 is still a good beginner bike or I should get something else. Since I am new here, I am not sure if I should post the question here or another more appropriate place. Please let me know. Thanks a lot and can't wait to start riding!

Best regards,
Sidney
 
Welcome to the forums, Sidney! Congrats on deciding to get a bike :D

I don't know too much about dual-sports, but I'm sure you'll get a few recommendations from other members who do. Best of luck with your licensing and have fun at the safety course
 
Welcome Dragonrider! I'm in Richmond Hill as well. I was in the same boat (minus the scooter experience) before this year. I love the 1980s standard Honda bikes, and ended up picking up a 1980 Honda CX500 Deluxe for a song. It's a great bike, nice upright riding position, easy to work on, and lots of aftermarket support. I was looking for a Nighthawk, but ended up coming across the CX and couldn't resist.

If I had more money to start with, and wanted a newer bike, I probably would have bought a Suzuki SV650, GS500, or a Kawasaki Ninja 500. All good "beginner" style bikes with larger displacement (good for longer rides and highway) with upright position - and I've sat on each one - very comfortable.
 
Welcome!

Go straight to dual sport. They are the easiest bikes to ride IMO - just get the right tires for the purpose you'll be using it. What's your budget?

My 4th and current bike is a DR650 and I wish it were my first - very confidence-inspiring and easy to ride. On the street I feel a lot safer with the extra torque down low as opposed to the 250s and doing highway is a non-issue.
 
Thanks for the info guys. My budget is about 5-6k for my first bike and used (figured I would drop it a few times as beginner). I was looking at Suzuki DL650. Sat on one in the dealership but it seems a little big as first bike even though I am 6'. I guess it is skill and confidence issue. I will look into KLR650 but it looks a bit un-pretty:D
 
I'm also new to the forum and new to the Richmond Hill area. After owning a sporting bike and making the switch to dual sport bikes, I won't go back. A totally different riding experience and your bike can get you way more places.

My suggestion would be as a starter bike, get something cheap to get you started and build confidence with off-road riding. Thereafter, you can spend some $ on a specific bike. I'm all for the DR650, one of the best & value bike you can get today. An aftermarket seat and tank would be the 1st 2 mods + there are tons more that can be done. Don't get me started. We have 2 of them.

Let me know if you need more help.
Daryll
 
Check out the BMW adventure bikes as well, like the F800GS etc. They are the least ugly of the genre (although none of these bikes are going to win any beauty contests).
 
BlackBeast said:
I'm also new to the forum and new to the Richmond Hill area. After owning a sporting bike and making the switch to dual sport bikes, I won't go back. A totally different riding experience and your bike can get you way more places.

My suggestion would be as a starter bike, get something cheap to get you started and build confidence with off-road riding. Thereafter, you can spend some $ on a specific bike. I'm all for the DR650, one of the best & value bike you can get today. An aftermarket seat and tank would be the 1st 2 mods + there are tons more that can be done. Don't get me started. We have 2 of them.

Let me know if you need more help.
Daryll
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Hey Daryll, fellow Richmond Hill DR rider here! What tires have you tried for the DR? Any favourites?
 
Welcome.
You will find lots of advice here.
 
Is DL650 dual sport? I basically want a street biased bike with some trail capability. I plan to take the course early next spring. Hopefully will find something by then.
 
dragonrider said:
Is DL650 dual sport? I basically want a street biased bike with some trail capability. I plan to take the course early next spring. Hopefully will find something by then.
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DL650 also known as the V-Strom (or "wee-strom", because it's smaller than its bigger 1 Litre big brother). It's listed as a sport-touring bike. If you check out http://www.stromtrooper.com/ you can get a pretty good read about the capabilities of these bikes (a quick search showed that people DO off-road with them). I think that it's based on the same set-up as the SV650 (but don't quote me). Most people don't like how they look, but I think it's a great bike, and most of them (if you buy used) will come with hard luggage for long trips.

I'd agree with the comment about getting a cheaper bike to learn on (you're pretty much guaranteed to drop it), but if the OP has experience with dirt bikes and scooters, then he's likely not the same brand of new rider as someone like me who's never rode anything with two wheels other than my bicycle.

Now - how many Richmond Hill riders do we have here? I smell a group ride!
 
soto said:
Hey Daryll, fellow Richmond Hill DR rider here! What tires have you tried for the DR? Any favourites?
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On our trip we used various tires (what we could find); however left Canada with a set of Avon Gripsters on each bike. Fantastic wearing tire. I got something like 13K km on my rear before having to switch them out and I was heavily loaded as well. Right now have a set of TKC 80's which we used for our Africa portion of our trip. Will definitely put another set of Gripsters on in the spring.
Daryll
 
dragonrider said:
Is DL650 dual sport? I basically want a street biased bike with some trail capability. I plan to take the course early next spring. Hopefully will find something by then.
Click to expand...

The DL650 is another great value for money bike. Great for paved conditions and the occasional fire road. You will battle on single track trails as it is very top heavy and if you don't invest in some good protection, you will have to replace some expensive plastic. It comes down to the type of riding that you see yourself doing.
 
dragonrider said:
Is DL650 dual sport? I basically want a street biased bike with some trail capability. I plan to take the course early next spring. Hopefully will find something by then.
Click to expand...

Welcome. I live at Major Mack and Yonge st by the Steer-Inn.
 
Welcome!!
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