new member

well, I am also a newbie. I am 35 and plan on taking the MTC next month. I have never rode before, so it will be all new to me. I will be buying a new bike soon afterwards but have some concerns. I went to look at the new Honda VTX1300 and the shadow 650. Both are nice looking bikes. After sitting on them both, I liked the feel of the VTX. My only concern is if the 1300cc too much for someone new. I dont plan on gunning the bike on take offs,but want something for me and my wife to enjoy with out pushing the limits on the engine. I also dont plan on turning around and trading for another size up.
I am open to any suggestions or comments from the experienced riders. Thanks.  

While there are newbies that find a 1300 to be just right, most are better off with something smaller the first couple of years. It depends on how quickly you take to motorcycling and all the physical skills you will have to learn from scratch.

Taking the course on a small bike, then going out and buying a big bike, is not a good way to build those skills. The first year on the bike will come a lot easier if you get something that acts more like the bike you rode in the course.

That said, there are people who have taken the course on a loaner 250, then turned around and bought a 1600cc or larger touring bike and did just fine. It all depends on how easily you pick up and excell at new physical skills. I'd advise holding off on deciding what to get until after you have been through the course. If you find the course hard, you'll want to stick with a small bike for a while and forget about carrying a passenger.

regards,
Joe  

Slowpoke offers some good advice.  I also started riding later in life, and saw that younger riders quickly picked up skills in our training course.

Just a suggestion:  start with a smaller, used bike; one that you can afford to dent and drop (yes, most of us drop the bike at least once in the early days of riding).

Then reward yourself with a larger, newer bike.  You'll be handling all that extra power with much more confidence.  

Just a suggestion:  start with a smaller, used bike; one that you can afford to dent and drop (yes, most of us drop the bike at least once in the early days of riding).

Speaking from the viewpoint of a rider with 40 years on the street, including 14 years as a motorcycle instructor, I can verify it is even normal for an experienced rider to drop a new bike. Once you get your muscles and nerves fully trained on one bike, then try to ride a different bike, it's like starting all over again. The new bike just will not feel right until you get used to it and that takes about 6 months. I dropped my new Sabre the first month I had it, being too aggressive in trying to get used to it in extreme maneuvers at less than 5mph. The only way to avoid dropping a new bike is to not try anything on it and that just takes all the fun out of having the new bike, at least for me it does. I *LIKE* showing off by dragging the footpegs in very tight and very slow parking lot maneuvering :-)

Of course, when you get into your 60's, it hurts more than I remembering it doing when I was in my 20's and got thrown off the bike.

regards,
Joe  

You are right about that Joe. I am 53 and it sure dont take much to make my old bones hurt.  

Hi,
I'm a new member on this forum I'm 22 year old,
I have great interest in bikes and cars and very keen to learn about bikes