Buying Your Second Motorcycle and why it's difficult.
If you're reading this, you've already probably bought your first motorcycle and are looking to upgrade. That, or, you're my grandma. (Yes Grandma, I'm fine and I've been taking care of my self. I love you too.) But this article is geared towards riders, not Grandma. She hates the idea of her baby riding on a motorcycle anyway. Back to the topic, so you're looking for your second motorcycle, eh? Well, it's very different then buying your first. It's harder in some respects and easier in others. Read-on.
There's pretty much no advice on the internet for newer riders looking to buy their second bike so I'm writing what I've learned on the topic.
First, let's take a quick look at a new rider purchasing their first motorcycle. Now, I'm not going to write yet another post about advice for someone interested in buying their first bike. It's been done before. And again. And again. And... you get the idea. However, I will give a brief overview of why purchasing your first motorcycle is difficult. A major reason your first motorcycle purchase is difficult is because the motorcycle industry has left the new rider behind and has become more specialized and catering to the experienced rider. Allow me to explain.
Back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, motorcycles were very different than the 2 liter La-Z-Boys or the Sound-Barrier breaking machines we have today. Bikes then had smaller engines and were mostly standard. They ranged from 70cc up to 500cc, sometimes even 600cc. When my Dad was riding at my age, a 600cc motorcycle was effin' huge! They didn't have sport bikes, supersports, touring bikes, hypermotards, etc. They had standards, the occasional cruiser, and off-road bikes. Now, you'll see herp-derps on motorcycle forums around the internet writing posts like
gixxer6969 wrote:
"u shood get at laest a 600cc 4 ur first bik ne thing smaller n ul get bored"
(That took about 4 full minutes to type out but I did it for the sake of authenticity. You're welcome.) The landscape of motorcycles has changed drastically from the Boomers to Gen Y.
2 Specific examples come to mind to properly illustrate how the motorcycle world has changed: The Harley Davidson Sportster and the Triumph Bonneville. These are both bikes that recently celebrated their 50th anneversary (2007 and 2009, respectively). The Sportster was a 1000cc, air-cooled, 45-degree V-twin. The Bonnie was a 650cc, air-cooled parllel twin. When these bikes came out, they were a couple of the baddest-ass bikes on the road; The crem de la crem for the experienced rider. These steeds weren't meant for anyone green behind the hears to swing a leg over.
Fast forward to now and most Harley guys will tell you that the Sportsters are girl bikes and that you should get at least a Softtail or a Dyna to start off with. They buy the Sportsters (in 883 or 1200 displacements) for their wives when they get tired of riding passenger on the V-twin sofa they call a Street Glide. The Bonneville is bumped up to 865cc and is marketed towards new riders or older riders who are coming back to the sport after a hiatus and don't want to get a giant cruiser or a screaming crotch-rocket. (Although, HD and Triumph make both of those too.)
For new riders, each manufacturer has 1 to a few bikes available. Popular models like the Honda Rebel, Kawasaki Ninja 250r, Ninja 500r, Honda's new CBR 250r, Suzuki GS500, etc. New riders are advised to keep it small, keep it lightweight and keep it lower on power, which I totally agree with. I'd also add to keep it cheap because, statistically, a new rider is more likely to drop or lay-down their bike than an experienced rider. I don't want to tempt fate so I won't say that I haven't dropped my Shadow VLX 600 yet.
However, these first bikes are often found to be boring and I never know anyone that keeps their first bike for a long time. My smarter friends bought small bikes, learned to ride, love it and have bought up. A few friends with more balls than brains bought your run-of-the-mill Gixxer, CBR or R6, and have either upgraded to a liter-bike or sold it to bought something more tame (or just something altogether different.)
Worst of all, the problem with buying your first bike is that you don't know what you want. You have no idea what kind of rider you are. You might have this image in your head of riding in jeans and a leather vest, portraying the stereotypical 1-percenter American Badass on your Hog but find you're more comfortable on that BMW touring bike or the retro Triumph. Rather, it could be the opposite and your neighbor's R1 you oogle at whilst getting into your car to leave for work has too racy of a position for you and you want something more relaxed.
All of this is why buying your second bike is even more important than your first bike. With your first bike, there's solid advice based on common sense. Get something smaller and lighter so it's easier to handle. Get something cheaper so that you pay less on insurance and don't ball your eyes out when (not if) you drop it, lay it down, or wreck it. With your second bike, there's practically no rules and there's no solid advice because you have all the answers.
I'll use myself as an example. I bought a middle-weight cruiser for my first bike. It's a simple 600cc liquid cooled V-twin making about 35bhp and 30-off ft-lbs of tq. The 4-speed wide-ratio transmission is solid, the bike is comfy, low, a bit small for me but fits better after swapping out handlebars, etc. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm looking to upgrade and have been looking at newish offerings from Triumph. Your first bike will teach you a lot. It will show you what you like, what you don't like, what your second bike will need to have the features you do like with out the features you don't. I want something quicker and something that handles better. I'd also prefer a more aggressive riding position. These are traits of a sport bike, not a cruiser. As for what's best for me, what I should get, etc, well, that's all answered by me after test riding as many bikes as the dealer or friends will let me ride.
You know your limits. Search around but for now, nearly everything is fair game. Don't get too confident though. While that glorified scooter you're riding now doesn't mind a mis-shift or cracking on the throttle, other bikes demand respect and will bite back if you don't give it. Evaluate what you want and don't want out of your second bike, shop around, research, sit on and even ride as many bikes as you possibly can. Asking more experienced riders for advice is good but most of your questions and concerns can only be addressed by you. I, nor can any other random person of the internet know your riding style, skill level, likes, dislikes, so it's impossible for us (as the citizens of the internet) to adequately give sound advice to recommend a particular make/model to you.
Most importantly,get something that looks cool and matches your gear get something that you're comfortable with. That means, sitting on it, riding it, looking at it, etc. Your perfect bike is out there.
There's pretty much no advice on the internet for newer riders looking to buy their second bike so I'm writing what I've learned on the topic.
First, let's take a quick look at a new rider purchasing their first motorcycle. Now, I'm not going to write yet another post about advice for someone interested in buying their first bike. It's been done before. And again. And again. And... you get the idea. However, I will give a brief overview of why purchasing your first motorcycle is difficult. A major reason your first motorcycle purchase is difficult is because the motorcycle industry has left the new rider behind and has become more specialized and catering to the experienced rider. Allow me to explain.
Back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, motorcycles were very different than the 2 liter La-Z-Boys or the Sound-Barrier breaking machines we have today. Bikes then had smaller engines and were mostly standard. They ranged from 70cc up to 500cc, sometimes even 600cc. When my Dad was riding at my age, a 600cc motorcycle was effin' huge! They didn't have sport bikes, supersports, touring bikes, hypermotards, etc. They had standards, the occasional cruiser, and off-road bikes. Now, you'll see herp-derps on motorcycle forums around the internet writing posts like
gixxer6969 wrote:
"u shood get at laest a 600cc 4 ur first bik ne thing smaller n ul get bored"
(That took about 4 full minutes to type out but I did it for the sake of authenticity. You're welcome.) The landscape of motorcycles has changed drastically from the Boomers to Gen Y.
2 Specific examples come to mind to properly illustrate how the motorcycle world has changed: The Harley Davidson Sportster and the Triumph Bonneville. These are both bikes that recently celebrated their 50th anneversary (2007 and 2009, respectively). The Sportster was a 1000cc, air-cooled, 45-degree V-twin. The Bonnie was a 650cc, air-cooled parllel twin. When these bikes came out, they were a couple of the baddest-ass bikes on the road; The crem de la crem for the experienced rider. These steeds weren't meant for anyone green behind the hears to swing a leg over.
Fast forward to now and most Harley guys will tell you that the Sportsters are girl bikes and that you should get at least a Softtail or a Dyna to start off with. They buy the Sportsters (in 883 or 1200 displacements) for their wives when they get tired of riding passenger on the V-twin sofa they call a Street Glide. The Bonneville is bumped up to 865cc and is marketed towards new riders or older riders who are coming back to the sport after a hiatus and don't want to get a giant cruiser or a screaming crotch-rocket. (Although, HD and Triumph make both of those too.)
For new riders, each manufacturer has 1 to a few bikes available. Popular models like the Honda Rebel, Kawasaki Ninja 250r, Ninja 500r, Honda's new CBR 250r, Suzuki GS500, etc. New riders are advised to keep it small, keep it lightweight and keep it lower on power, which I totally agree with. I'd also add to keep it cheap because, statistically, a new rider is more likely to drop or lay-down their bike than an experienced rider. I don't want to tempt fate so I won't say that I haven't dropped my Shadow VLX 600 yet.
However, these first bikes are often found to be boring and I never know anyone that keeps their first bike for a long time. My smarter friends bought small bikes, learned to ride, love it and have bought up. A few friends with more balls than brains bought your run-of-the-mill Gixxer, CBR or R6, and have either upgraded to a liter-bike or sold it to bought something more tame (or just something altogether different.)
Worst of all, the problem with buying your first bike is that you don't know what you want. You have no idea what kind of rider you are. You might have this image in your head of riding in jeans and a leather vest, portraying the stereotypical 1-percenter American Badass on your Hog but find you're more comfortable on that BMW touring bike or the retro Triumph. Rather, it could be the opposite and your neighbor's R1 you oogle at whilst getting into your car to leave for work has too racy of a position for you and you want something more relaxed.
All of this is why buying your second bike is even more important than your first bike. With your first bike, there's solid advice based on common sense. Get something smaller and lighter so it's easier to handle. Get something cheaper so that you pay less on insurance and don't ball your eyes out when (not if) you drop it, lay it down, or wreck it. With your second bike, there's practically no rules and there's no solid advice because you have all the answers.
I'll use myself as an example. I bought a middle-weight cruiser for my first bike. It's a simple 600cc liquid cooled V-twin making about 35bhp and 30-off ft-lbs of tq. The 4-speed wide-ratio transmission is solid, the bike is comfy, low, a bit small for me but fits better after swapping out handlebars, etc. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm looking to upgrade and have been looking at newish offerings from Triumph. Your first bike will teach you a lot. It will show you what you like, what you don't like, what your second bike will need to have the features you do like with out the features you don't. I want something quicker and something that handles better. I'd also prefer a more aggressive riding position. These are traits of a sport bike, not a cruiser. As for what's best for me, what I should get, etc, well, that's all answered by me after test riding as many bikes as the dealer or friends will let me ride.
You know your limits. Search around but for now, nearly everything is fair game. Don't get too confident though. While that glorified scooter you're riding now doesn't mind a mis-shift or cracking on the throttle, other bikes demand respect and will bite back if you don't give it. Evaluate what you want and don't want out of your second bike, shop around, research, sit on and even ride as many bikes as you possibly can. Asking more experienced riders for advice is good but most of your questions and concerns can only be addressed by you. I, nor can any other random person of the internet know your riding style, skill level, likes, dislikes, so it's impossible for us (as the citizens of the internet) to adequately give sound advice to recommend a particular make/model to you.
Most importantly,
“Your first bike will teach you a lot.” – I think this says everything. I consider the first motorcycle similar to a bicycle with training wheels. Your first motorcycle is there to help you get the hang of driving a two-wheeled vehicle. And like you said, you’ll know what you want and what you need for your next motorcycle through your first bike. Start with a small engine, and build it up from there.
ReplyDeleteMax Piedra
If you’re going to buy your second bike, you’ll probably want to take the CC’s to a higher level. While this is good if you’re starting to get bored on your current bike, remember not to go overboard. Just like the first bike, the second one should still meet your NEEDS. But this time, your needs should be clearer.
ReplyDeleteClare Westby
Nice article. "When (not if) you drop your bike," indeed. How about dropping it on the very first ride? Thankfully, right in front of my house - with nobody watching. :) I'm 37 and picked up a '94 Yamaha Seca II / XJ600S from a dealership for (truly) a good price, a few weeks ago. Had a coworker ride it home for me, got my permit, got some gear and got ready to take it around my neighborhood (a rural 1/2 mile loop......perfect!!!). Well, I should've just let off the clutch and coasted, but instead gave it just a *little* gas, and since I didn't have my sea legs yet.... it lurched.
ReplyDeleteMy riding pants had not yet arrived, so I had jeans on. I went down with it, and got a nice little knee abrasion (which is now nearly healed) and my bike got an abrasion on the edge of the front fairing, and a scratched right exhaust. Oops!
Thankfully at slow speed, and minor damage to me AND the bike (which can be fixed for $150). I rode fine after that for two afternoons, and again yesterday. Though it's a 600, it's designed to be a learner bike - slow gearing and a forgiving attitude and riding position. Just what I wanted.
Next time I could maybe see myself on a Triumph Speed Triple, Honda CB1000R, BMW R1200R or a Yamaha FZ8 or FZ-09. Yes, I like naked sport bikes........or so I think. The Seca riding position is nice, but I don't have enough hours nor miles to know for sure. You don't know until you KNOW, you know? :)
So, yeah - great article. Keep the shiny side up...