pont Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 In summary, I advocate riding for a year or two with half the power of a the FJ09 Tracer.Shhhhh. You can't tell people that. Not in the USA, anyways. If you tell them "a year or two", they'll write you off as overly conservative and go buy a 1000cc Race Replica. That's why I tell them 6 months or even 3 months. What you tell a new rider doesn't actually matter past the point where you convince them to get a reasonable first bike or not. If you convince them to ride a reasonable bike *at all*, they're going to ride it until they feel they've outgrown it, which really has nothing to do with how long they thought they would ride it when they bought it. Maybe they thought they'd ride it for 6 months and they end up thinking they've outgrown it in 2 weeks. Maybe they thought they'd ride it for a month and they end up keeping it for 10 years and realizing that a Ninja 250 is a whole lot of fun. I really wish we had tiered licensing here, but we don't. Convincing new riders in the US to start on a reasonable bike is the biggest hurdle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leedavis Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 In summary, I advocate riding for a year or two with half the power of a the FJ09 Tracer.Shhhhh. You can't tell people that. Not in the USA, anyways. If you tell them "a year or two", they'll write you off as overly conservative and go buy a 1000cc Race Replica. The rule of thumb for experience that I recommend for new riders to become at least reasonably competent before purchasing a more powerful bike is 5000 miles. It's up to them how fast it happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Shhhhh. You can't tell people that. Not in the USA, anyways. If you tell them "a year or two", they'll write you off as overly conservative and go buy a 1000cc Race Replica. The rule of thumb for experience that I recommend for new riders to become at least reasonably competent before purchasing a more powerful bike is 5000 miles. It's up to them how fast it happens.Just curious of your opinion, would you say about 5k-6k miles on primarily a 45 year old CB450 be ok before an FJ? About 1k of those were on a rented Harley Ultra Limited. Almost all the miles on my 450 were solo and almost all the miles on the Harley were with my wife on the back. We took a long weekend trip to northern Michigan to see her brother on the Harley. Mostly slab riding on that trip with a little bit of twisties while we up there. Her brother lives in the boonies, on a gravel road in the hills. Didn't have to spend more than 100 yards on gravel but couldn't avoid the twisties if you wanted to. Why would you though? When I returned the Harley, they came out to inspect it. The guy said it looked fine except it was dirty. He gave me a look like how dare you let a Harley get dirty! I just said, it just shows it was loved. lol The 450 is just too small to be comfortable 2 up. We have maybe 10 total miles 2 up on the 450. Other bikes I've ridden in small amounts are my brothers GL1200 Goldwing, a friends 80's Honda Shadow and a 5 mile test ride on each the 2014 v strom 650 and 2009 versys. I'm debating between the FJ and a 650 v strom. I've never been on a bike as fast as the FJ. I think I'll be ok making the jump but wouldn't mind hearing from some more experienced riders first. I really, really liked the sportier / livelier ride of the versys but my wife was very uncomfortable on the back of it in the showroom. There were huge grins after that test ride though. I enjoyed the v strom but it wasn't as grin inducing as the versys. I'm guessing the FJ will be even sportier than the versys with the added comfort for my wife that originally pushed me towards the v strom. She has sat on the FJ and says it's more comfortable than the v strom, but not enough to justify the cost in her mind just for the added comfort. The ride on the Harley showed me I definitely don't want a 700-800 lb bike. The only time I've dropped a bike is with my 450. It was a gentle drop. I pulled into a parking spot and my pants got caught on the fuel shutoff and I couldn't put my foot down. No real damage to the bike. I have highway bars on it and soft bags. Those took what little impact there was. I plan to buy a bike sometime in march so I have to finalize my decision soon. Any opinions from experienced riders on if it's too big of a jump for me would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 the autocorrect on the site is cute BTW. I didn't type heavypieceofshet. Aparently Cruisin doesn't like other brands mentioned similar to some unnamed forum. HD, the largest american motorcycle brand there is. We'll see how much of that gets autocorrected... :eyeroll: Just for kicks, I'm curious what all the other brands autocorrect to so I'm going to list a few I know in no particular order below. Suzuki KTM BMW Harley Harley Davidson Ducati Husqvarna Triumph Honda Kawasaki Aprilla Moto Guzzi Boss Hoss Victory Zero Electric Buell Cleveland CycleWerks Yamaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjer Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Owning mostly Yamahas I do own a HD. I would like to see HD autocorrect to Hardley Ableson. That is what my Grandfather called his in 1917 and what I call mine today. fjer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Owning mostly Yamahas I do own a HD. I would like to see HD autocorrect to Hardley Ableson. That is what my Grandfather called his in 1917 and what I call mine today. fjerI'd feel much more comfortable with that. Seems weird the first rule of the site is to keep cussing to a minimum but the site autocorrects HD to heavypieceofshet.... That e really makes it better I guess. Ok. Stepping off my soap box. I spend way too much time up there. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b12ty Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 K.L.R. ? shetbox EDIT: yep, still there...lol! Ty '05 Bandit 1200s ( Blue and White ) Bandit pic 2015 FJ-09 ( RED ) FJ-09 pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooder Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 My first bike was a DR200, rode that a few months and went to an F800 GS. From 18 to 85 horsepower in one jump, from a nice sedate tall featherweight to a topheavy parallel twin. I don't think I heard the engine on my beemer for the first month that I had it, all I heard was that little voice in my head screeching at me. After a while, I noticed it wasn't screeching in terror any longer, but joy. That's a fine line. Drop it? Yup, first night I had it out, I dropped that brandy new shiny beemer in the middle of an uphill stop at a four corner intersection, with all the locals in the corner store parking lot watching me. Know what? a clutch lever for a GS runs around two hundred bucks, could have been worse if some of those bavarian plastic pieces had broke. I still miss the sound of that little thumper too, you never forget your first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiritwalker2222 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Sounds like some people here really struggled with their first bike. I say get a bike that fits you. At 6'3" most bikes will be too small for you. Heck I think the fj09 is too small for you(I'm 6'4"). I'd love to have a 250 sport bike, but me riding that bike is like some people trying to ride a pw50. It's just too small. With that said dual sports like a drz fit taller people better, but suck on the highway. If you get the fj09, you want won't regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db5304 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Sounds like some people here really struggled with their first bike. I say get a bike that fits you. At 6'3" most bikes will be too small for you. Heck I think the fj09 is too small for you(I'm 6'4"). I'd love to have a 250 sport bike, but me riding that bike is like some people trying to ride a pw50. It's just too small. With that said dual sports like a drz fit taller people better, but suck on the highway. If you get the fj09, you want won't regret it. Please don't take this first time posters advice with any real face value. Saying the fj is too small and to get a dual sport because henis 6'3? A drz650 seat height is only 1 1/2 inches higher where a 250 is 4 1/2. Regardless however this is a terrible first bike and I wouldn't doubt OP would likely regret it. I went through 2 used bikes before deciding on a new fj and am glad I did. I laid down my second which was an fz6r in a corner with gravel and am glad it wasn't a brand new bike. Doesn't mean everyone will but I usually try to be careful and always wear gear. This was my first ride in my second season and I was over confident after being off all winter. I think the tame 600 of the fz6r is a lot for a beginner let alone thus bike. All around bad idea, don't learn the hard way you will be happy just riding if you start on a more reasonable bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I know the original post is old but I have a better feel for this now that I own an FJ and hope I can help a lurker in the future. While I don't think anyone should learn on a brand new bike, I do have to say, this is the easiest bike I've ever ridden. There's a ton of power though. People don't realize how much 115 hp is on a bike. I told one person it had 115hp and he was like, oh just a little bike to tool around town. He was shocked it could get to 60 in about 3 seconds. I do like the suggestion of 5,000 miles however long that takes you, 2 weeks or 2 years. It's not a matter of if you will drop a bike, it's when. I'd hate to see that one drop being a brand new bike. Best suggestion I can give a beginner is always keep learning and always respect the bike and the road. Treat every curve like it's covered in gravel. And don't be too macho to wear gear. You just look like an idiot without it. Test drive several different types of bikes. When I first started looking at bikes before I had my permit, I thought I wanted a Honda Stateline, Fury or VTX1300 cruiser. Now after testing several different types of bikes I realize that would an awful fit for me and I would have hated it. After 5000 miles and several bikes you get a much better feeling for what is going to work best for you. It may very well be a cruiser for you and you would have hated the FJ. It would be a shame to find that out after dropping $10k-$11k on a new bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pont Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I'm going to have to violate my policy of being moderate and reasonable, even when I don't feel that way. THIS IS A HORRIBLE FIRST BIKE. It's too expensive for a first bike. Save your $$$ and spend more on gear. Tipping this bike over is way too expensive for a first bike. The relatively high center-of-gravity means you *ARE* going to tip this bike over, if it's your first bike. It's got way too much power for a first bike. The power comes on way too fast for a first bike. The throttle response is twitchy, and let's be honest, you're not going to just leave it in B mode. THIS IS A DAMN AWESOME SECOND BIKE. Earn it by proving yourself on a more reasonable first bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trench Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 This is an easy bike to ride on a number of levels, but the power to weight ratio is dangerous for someone new to riding. It is a high riding bike for most people so you need to be a confident in your balance and momentum. The speed may be the real issue here as this is the cause of the most serious accidents. This bike is so comfortable and balanced that speed is invisible. This is a recipe for an bad situation for a raw beginner. With that said, this may is an incredible bike for everyone else that wants the best value in 2015. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mavi Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 My first bike was a Suzuki GSXR-750 never had any problems with it. Only the lack of comfort was a issue after a while. When you drive with cousion and aren't afraid to drop it just ride what you like imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webphisher Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 This was my first bike. Been keeping it in std and haven't any issues with control yet. Haven't touched A or B yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.