New member here! | GTAMotorcycle.com

New member here!

gommes

gommes

Well-known member
Hi everyone,

I’ve just got my m1 and waiting for the season to join m2 course. I had motorcycle license back home country and was a daily commuter. I want to go back to those days and ride to work as long as possible in here too. It’ll be from Kitchener to Toronto though, I don’t know how feasible it’ll be. Will riding on 401 be dangerous? It’s so busy with big commercial trucks, personal trucks, huge vehicles… Avoiding highway maybe a solution, not adding so many miles to daily commute but much more stop. But at least will be more fun to take some curves on the way.

Due to long commute distance and insurance costs, I don’t want to go with either small or big engine. How about something between 500-750cc? Also for the sake of keeping myself comfortable, thinking about upright sitting position and more wind protection, does adventure-sport tourer style make sense? Suzuki vstrom 650, Kawasaki versys 650, yamaha tracer 700-900, triumph tiger 660, Honda cb500x nc750x I have started looking for.
 
Welcome aboard.

Good to take the course as it may provide an insurance reduction and should give you some useful knowledge to keep you safer on the roads. Because you have experience, you should easily clear the basic techniques of riding and can use the course to pay greater attention to all the other things a brand new rider might not grasp during their first weekend of riding.

As for riding that long on the 401... it largely depends on your times of travel. I commute from Mississauga to Toronto, but do so at 5:30am & 3pm, so it moves pretty well. At 8am & 5pm it's very slow on the 401 and sucks big time. Taking secondary roads will make it much more pleasant, but it still makes for a long commute. Since you aren't a brand new rider you should be fine on the 401 even with the big trucks, as long as you are sticking with those types of upright, middle-weight bikes you mentioned.

All those bikes are great choices and many riders here have owned them - ask questions if you are looking for specifics on any of them. Depending on your size/weight, some bikes may fit you better than others and in addition to what you already mentioned, consider luggage options, fuel range / economy and maybe some sort of a seat improvement for comfort. If price is an issue, then used VStroms, Versys and those Honda's can be found for a decent price and have a ton of aftermarket options. The Yamaha's and Triumph's are newer bikes and will be priced closer to new bike prices. I've been riding a VStrom for a long time and can vouch for it being an excellent commuting bike.

I'm sure there are others on this forum who are much more familiar with what it's like to commute from that area to Toronto and can chime in with any suggestions for different roads to make it slightly more enjoyable.

I also recall that the M1 lasts for 90 days, so get your course booked as soon as possible if you haven't already.
 
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Welcome.

and yes, to everything shane said.
 
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Welcome! Everything is relative - what did you ride before, and how was traffic in your home country compared to here?

I've commuted between Mississauga and Markham along the 401, as well as to Scarborough along the QEW/Gardiner/DVP. During rush hour with stop and go or crawling, a more upright position and lighter clutch make all the difference.

Highway safety comes down to situational awareness and being prepared for the worst that could happen at any time, but that goes for anywhere you ride. I've always considered the highway to be MUCH more safe than city streets just because there aren't any intersections where most accidents occur.
 
Not 100% but there are free parking spots downtown for motorcycle. Check out some gtam thread on parking downtown. Could save some big bucks. Any hoot, welcome to the community!
 
@shanekingsley Thank you very much! I booked the course for first group here in Kitchener for April 9th. I think I will be able to get m2 right away after the passing the course (60 days rule right)

I keep noticing a lot of crazy drivers during my commute by car everyday. I won’t have any problem by myself to ride inside those vehicles but wondering if they are really gonna see me while they are busy with cutting off. My commute time is also 5:30 am to 2:00 pm. It runs pretty well most of the time. Do you also ride 650 version of vstrom? How is it in terms of blocking the wind? I’m like 6 foot 1”. Do you think its ok for that bike?

Price is a big issue and also the likelihood of finding a used one with all useful accessories already installed with a reasonable price would be a better purchase for me at the moment.

@Relax Thank you very much! I agree with you about covering myself with defensive driving and awareness, need to be in alert all the time no matter where you ride.

@bigpoppa @justride Thank you so much!

What do you guys think about insurance cost range for the bikes I’m currently thinking? Lower or higher than standards? Also do you think these will provide best comfort and wind protection during long commutes?
 
gommes said:
@shanekingsley Thank you very much! I booked the course for first group here in Kitchener for April 9th. I think I will be able to get m2 right away after the passing the course (60 days rule right)

I keep noticing a lot of crazy drivers during my commute by car everyday. I won’t have any problem by myself to ride inside those vehicles but wondering if they are really gonna see me while they are busy with cutting off. My commute time is also 5:30 am to 2:00 pm. It runs pretty well most of the time. Do you also ride 650 version of vstrom? How is it in terms of blocking the wind? I’m like 6 foot 1”. Do you think its ok for that bike?

Price is a big issue and also the likelihood of finding a used one with all useful accessories already installed with a reasonable price would be a better purchase for me at the moment.

@Relax Thank you very much! I agree with you about covering myself with defensive driving and awareness, need to be in alert all the time no matter where you ride.

@bigpoppa @justride Thank you so much!

What do you guys think about insurance cost range for the bikes I’m currently thinking? Lower or higher than standards? Also do you think these will provide best comfort and wind protection during long commutes?
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There are always going to be crazy drivers on all the urban roads in the GTA - highways or elsewhere. As mentioned, if you want to ride on the street, you just have to accept it, ride accordingly and be observant. With your commute times, the traffic will be great as well.

Yes I also ride the DL650 and mine is a 2010 model. I find it excellent for wind protection for long highway rides or in rain, especially when I use a taller windscreen with a Madstad bracket. I also changed out the mirrors to reduce wind turbulence near the helmet area and have handguards which help as well. Some people like to put a fork brace on their VStroms to help with feeling more planted in strong winds or when cornering hard. I'm 6' tall and the bike fits me perfect. If you want to learn more about those bikes, then go take a look over at StromTrooper forum, because that site is a wealth of information about these bikes and there are sub forums for every model of VStrom.
 
Welcome to GTAM from Waterloo.
 
shanekingsley said:
There are always going to be crazy drivers on all the urban roads in the GTA - highways or elsewhere. As mentioned, if you want to ride on the street, you just have to accept it, ride accordingly and be observant. With your commute times, the traffic will be great as well.

Yes I also ride the DL650 and mine is a 2010 model. I find it excellent for wind protection for long highway rides or in rain, especially when I use a taller windscreen with a Madstad bracket. I also changed out the mirrors to reduce wind turbulence near the helmet area and have handguards which help as well. Some people like to put a fork brace on their VStroms to help with feeling more planted in strong winds or when cornering hard. I'm 6' tall and the bike fits me perfect. If you want to learn more about those bikes, then go take a look over at StromTrooper forum, because that site is a wealth of information about these bikes and there are sub forums for every model of VStrom.
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Thank you will check StromTrooper definitely. Does it also satisfies the wallet in terms of insurance?
 
gommes said:
Thank you will check StromTrooper definitely. Does it also satisfies the wallet in terms of insurance?
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That's relative to what you can afford and what you are comfortable paying. I think it''s a resonably priced bike for insurance. All of your choices shoould be pretty reasonable, but the Honda 500 will probably be the lowest, then the others relatively close to each other.
 
Welcome to the forum!

The best way to find out how expensive insurance is going to be is to call them and get a quote for all the motorcycles you're planning to get. I have an sv650 cos insurance quotes suggested that it's going to be the cheapest 600cc I can own. For this season, TD and Desjardins are pretty competitive I figure, but we also have a couple of other insurance folks on the forum. Check out the insurance section.

All the best! :)
 
voyageur said:
Welcome to the forum!

The best way to find out how expensive insurance is going to be is to call them and get a quote for all the motorcycles you're planning to get. I have an sv650 cos insurance quotes suggested that it's going to be the cheapest 600cc I can own. For this season, TD and Desjardins are pretty competitive I figure, but we also have a couple of other insurance folks on the forum. Check out the insurance section.

All the best! :)
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Thank you! Since there are not many listings on the market currently, I am gonna get whatever bargain I find with some accessories already on it. I was thinking to get the bike after receiving m2 but its very likely that I wont be able to find one. After April probably everybody will be on the market right?
 
gommes said:
Thank you! Since there are not many listings on the market currently, I am gonna get whatever bargain I find with some accessories already on it. I was thinking to get the bike after receiving m2 but its very likely that I wont be able to find one. After April probably everybody will be on the market right?
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You really should be getting some quotes on the ones you have interest in, so you can narrow down by insurance cost if there's a big difference. Last thing you want is sticker shock after you've already bought something. Too many unridden bikes have gone up for sale because of that. What's cheap for one person may not be cheap for another.
 
Relax said:
You really should be getting some quotes on the ones you have interest in, so you can narrow down by insurance cost if there's a big difference. Last thing you want is sticker shock after you've already bought something. Too many unridden bikes have gone up for sale because of that. What's cheap for one person may not be cheap for another.
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Oh ok. I didn’t think just one variable can cause shocking difference. I thought rider age, new licence, engine size(all my preferences around 600 cc), bike type would be enough to determine the cost. I’ll definitely get quote for those.
 
gommes said:
Oh ok. I didn’t think just one variable can cause shocking difference. I thought rider age, new licence, engine size(all my preferences around 600 cc), bike type would be enough to determine the cost. I’ll definitely get quote for those.
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600cc supersport will be much more expensive than a 600cc standard or cruiser.
 
gommes said:
Oh ok. I didn’t think just one variable can cause shocking difference. I thought rider age, new licence, engine size(all my preferences around 600 cc), bike type would be enough to determine the cost. I’ll definitely get quote for those.
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Yeah, but model is the variable that throws everything else out of whack. That's because the insurers assign risk based on historical claims patterns. For example, all else being equal (including replacement value), I was quoted 40% more for my 2010 RSV4 compared to my 2002 998.
 
gommes said:
Oh ok. I didn’t think just one variable can cause shocking difference. I thought rider age, new licence, engine size(all my preferences around 600 cc), bike type would be enough to determine the cost. I’ll definitely get quote for those.
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# of cylinders and body style makes all the diff...
If I start now I would buy a triple: Tracer/MT-7 or Trident/Tiger 660...
just my personal biased opinion (MT-09 convert here lol) - singles or twins just didn't do it for me for street riding :)
 
Do you think model year makes too much difference? If I need to provide that info too for a quote, it will be loads of work for a broker/agent. I don’t know if they would like to help. Because I have 4 bikes in my mind. With year combination it would make at least eight combination.
 
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