Backstory to why I’m here: I’ve ridden pillion behind my Dad every so often since I was quite young, and always enjoyed it, but never ridden myself. But now, I’m thinking I’d quite like to get into it, and just a couple of conversations have got bikes on my mind.
I was chatting with Dad about his bike, then a friend turned up with a Royal Enfield Classic 350, and in chatting with him he said he’s maybe thinking of upgrading, so I could get what I think would probably be the perfect bike for me (at least early on). Then the first of my highschool friends announced he’s getting married, I said to another friend that that means it’s time for an early mid-life crisis, and without knowing I’d already been thinking about it, he joked ‘time to buy a motorbike’.
And I’m trying to be more active on Lemmy than I was on The Predecessor, so figured I’d ask for advice here. I’m thinking I’ll put off getting the Royal Enfield, as long as my friend is happy not selling right away, and just getting something relatively cheap and disposable, so I can practise maneuvering in parking lots or quiet streets without being too concerned about dropping the bike, then get the Royal Enfield when I’m more confident and riding around town. Is that sensible, or should I skip a step and just go straight to the bike I actually want?
Also, any general advice that isn’t immediately obvious? I’m in Australia and have yet to go to the learner’s course, so anything I should do to be ready for that or things to keep in mind when starting riding would be grand.
It probably goes without saying but wear your gear! I live in a hot and humid climate and I’d still rather sweat than bleed. You’re learning so you will be on the ground at some point. Having asphalt scrubbed out of road rash is the best case scenario there.
Be aware that people will not see you. They will turn into you, they will pull out in front of you, and they will change lanes into the lane you are occupying. Its the nature of the beast. It also means you must be hyper vigilant to make up for it.
All that being said, I’ve ridden for 20+ years and don’t plan on stopping any time soon. I always found it calming to go for a ride to clear my head. I wouldn’t trade it for anything even after having been hit by multiple cars.
Yep, I’ve heard someone mention All the Gear, All the Time, and plan to stick to that. It wasn’t said so explicitly, but that’s also pretty much what I did with Dad. Having looked at some motorcycle youtube, I suspect what Dad had/has isn’t exactly top-of-the-line, but we both wore all of it whenever we went out. Having said that, do you have any specific recommendations for hot-weather (or otherwise) gear that’s safe (as much as you can be), and not too expensive?
Check out FortNine on Youtube, they have a lot of gear guides focused on many scenarios and budgets, e.g.
Yeah, I’ve been watching a fair few of his videos recently. Hadn’t seen that one though, so thanks for the link.
Gear - absolutely agree. Don’t cheap out. If you can’t afford it, then you can afford to wait.
I think that RE 350 would be perfectly fine to use as your starter bike. It’s the bike you want that’s not going to push your beginner skills into dangerous territory. Keep in mind that as you start riding more and making riding buddies, your tastes may change and you may prefer a different style of bike. This might take years, months, or even weeks lol. You’ll just get the itch one day to want to upgrade or change it up.
I’d also recommend holding off practicing or practicing too much on whatever bike you end up with until you’ve done a beginner course - those fundamentals may save you from self injury or bike damage…as well getting you set up with good habits.
Finally, expect to make mistakes as you go. Try to make each and every one something to learn from and try not to feel too bad about yourself as they happen. I’ve made embarrassing mistakes soooo many times. But one thing I’ve discovered is that the riding community in general is amazing - full of very helpful, adventure-loving, and spirited individuals and many will help you along the way. Happy riding!
Yeah, I get the changing tastes. I suppose that’s why my friend wants to switch it up, and get a fair bit more power. And my concern with getting the 350 isn’t that it would be dangerous, but that I’d be too cautious and unwilling to take it out and practice slow maneuvers where I might drop it, and get it damaged. Which would either lead to me not developing control of the bike well enough and getting in worse situations where the worst case isn’t just dropping the bike, or just not getting out riding as much as I would like, and being less comfortable when I do. I might be overthinking that and once I’m on it I’m fine, but it would be the single most valuable, and most beautiful, thing I own, and I feel like I might beat myself up a bit if one of the mistakes I make ends up with the bike being scratched, dented or otherwise damaged.
As for the riding course, in Australia you get the learner’s permit at a two-day course, which includes parking-lot and on-road riding. Is that not what happens elsewhere, or do you not think that’s enough to get to practising myself? The place I’m going to do the test doesn’t seem to have any courses meant for before you have a bit of experience on your L’s other than a 1.5hr taster to see if you want to go to the course. I’ll probably do at least one of their extra courses, but I thought they were meant for after you’ve had at least a month or two of riding experience.
And are any of those mistakes you’ve made ones I could learn from you telling me? I’ll definitely end up making different mistakes, but it might be nice to have a few things to avoid before I make them.
Hello from a fellow Aussie. You sound like a very sensible person and I dig your approach. The RE350 is a modest choice and I see that as a good thing.
There are multiple ways to approach what you’re trying to do. Ask 10 people and you’ll get 12 different answers.
I’m an advocate for learning early and starting out with something manageable that you don’t worry about when you do drop it.
At the end, it all depends on what you really want to do on 2 wheels. Commuting? Riding on a rare occasion and looking good? Modding? Pretending to be Toby Price on dirt?..
You location and personal circumstances will add to that as each state has different licensing requirements and rego costs. The viability of options also changes depending on whether you live in the country or or in the big smoke.
The trend that I’m seeing with licensing is that it is getting harder every year to get licensed. The sooner you get licenced the easier it will be. Going Green on the human level, your ability to learn a new skill os usually better when you’re younger. Keep in mind that once you do get a licence it’s best to keep on it. Sadly a lot of fatalities happen to riders that return after long pauses.
What would I do? I’d get a good condition and manageable cheap bike. IMHO the CB125E amd CB125F are Australia’s best learner bikes. They’re just quick for most traffic and as tough as a coffin nail. They’re also cheap as chips, which is why they’re very popular with riding schools.
They’ve also cheap, so you don’t worry when you drop one of them. A lot of what I believe in is said well by RCR in his Ninja 250 video. While a low power bike like that requires more skill to keep up with big bikes on semi twisties (Putty road near Sydney), everything else is easier on something like that. Because they’re light, they’re more forgiving when manoeuvring in tight spaces (city traffic and dirt trails). The power is enough to keep up in most urban settings (why they’re a favourite amongst delivery riders), but they’re slow enough that you can learn how to use all the power. Because they’re light and don’t have mad power, they’re more forgiving in corners too. That allows you to experiment and but more importantly learn. You get more feedback from road surface on a smaller bike. All that can make you a great rider.
Do practice. The particularly emergency stops, slow riding (the floor is lava) and manouvres. Going on dirt trails is am excellent way to get you skills up. The CB125’s are also total mountain goats! Theres a guy that takes his on sime insane trails and posts all over Facebook with many adv riders thinking he’s got some mad talent / bravery. Even the bike makes that easy, that’s why the Taliban use similar bikes to haul (stuff) around on goat paths.
If something breaks, they’re very easy to fix, so you get to learn maintenance without it costing a fortune.
You’ll find of the most talented and experienced riders on small cc machines. Look at the Postie bike community and you’ll find tons of people that have some crazy mileages under their belt and ride in almost all conditions. To a good extent, that’s because they can, which is partly attributed to the ease of riding something as light as a postie.
In terms of gear, again, it all depends. If you just putter around on a 125 on some local roads, them a full MotoGP leather race suit is overkill. Get good gear that you’re comfortable with. At minimum a mesh jacket, a comfortable helmet, gloves and shoes that will give you padding in a fall and won’t slide off as soon as you hit the ground (no sneakers). I’m wearing high ankle steel caps that I can keep wearing when I step off as my bike is my everything mode of transport and I don’t want to carry separate shoes on it just to go on a walk or into the shops. That way it’s not a chore to get on and you don’t skimp on protection for a quit trip to the shops. A friend of mine broke his ankle despite owning great riding boots that were too uncomfortable for walking, so he skipped on them on a ride to the shops after which he decided to go a bit of a squiz after.
You can move onto the RE as the gentleman’s/ gentle-ladies bike and putter around in style to join rides like tue Distinguished gentleman’s ride,… You’ll also have built up more muscle memory that prevents you from making mistakes like: forgetting to put the stand down when you park it in your driveway.
Most importantly have fun, Australia is one of the best places to ride (at least most of the country is), with good weather amd moderately slow traffic. We also have a good amount of trails of that’s something that interests you.
You can just go straight for the RE 350. Nothing serious or scary about it. Do your learners first before getting on the RE tho.
Yeah, I’m definitely not the type of person to ride before I’ve got a license to. But my concern for getting the RE isn’t safety - whatever I get if I don’t go straight to it would probably be similarly safe or otherwise - but rather that I would be worried about damaging the bike, and have to choose between practising control of the bike and almost certainly dropping it at some point, or not doing that and not having good enough skills when I actually need them.
I’ll share my recent experience with this: I’ve always wanted to ride a motorcycle, but up until this year, I’ve never been able to fully trust myself that I wouldn’t do something stupid with it.
After some self-reflection and review of how I drive my car (No distractions, fully focused on the road and other drivers, no accidents), I decided to treat myself for my birthday (oh shit, I’m 35) and take a Motorcycle Safety Course. The experience was challenging and a lot of fun, and I decided to buy my affordable dream bike instead of going for a beater and upgrading later. I bought a 650cc Kawasaki and all the safety gear before even taking the dmv riding test, and I spent the next week in a nearby (empty) parking lot practicing the low speed maneuvers taught in the safety course and went on to pass my riding test and get licensed.
I love to ride my motorcycle, but it is so disconcerting to realize just how absolutely invisible you are to every other person on the road. High beams during daylight hours helps a little bit, but holy shit other drivers are stupid. Every time I think about how hot/humid it is and consider skipping my armor, I think about 2 weeks ago when I was making a protected left turn and a stopped vehicle with a red light decided to proceed through the intersection while I was still in it. All the gear, all the time.
TL;DR: go for it. It’s a great bike. It’ll get you where you want to go safely, comfortably, and cheaply, but not very quickly.
I’m also a new rider, started in late May and my first bike is the RE Classic 350. I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation beginner course in mid-May. It wasn’t on my short list, but I think the Classic 350 was the right choice for me for a road bike.
The price of the bike is low and it gets good mileage. It has enough power for most streets and delivers that power in a predictable and manageable way. The bike seems heavy on a spec sheet, but when you’re in the saddle it’s very manageable; I haven’t had any trouble doing the exercises from my learner course on this bike or riding on the streets. I live in the northeast USA so the roads are pretty rough, but the suspension is good enough that I can barely feel it. The seat, foot pegs, and bars are in a comfy position so I don’t feel sore or tired. Mine came with a low rider seat and I can comfortably flat-foot my bike with leg space to spare; I’m 5’9" with a 31 inch in-seam.
Honestly, the most important things for me though may seem vain, but they’re important as a new rider. It’s a handsome bike and it sounds good too without being loud enough to bother neighbors or other motorists. When I go into my garage I get giddy seeing my bike there. When I go out I get comments about how sick the bike looks. It makes me really happy to ride it. It’s a bike that rewards me for riding it in a lot of ways, and that encouragement keeps me coming back even when I’m a little anxious as a new rider.
Get trained up and get the bike. Make sure you include your gear in your budget; a lot of beginners seem to blow all their money on the bike and then buy the worst helmet and no other PPE. Seen some of my former motorcycle classmates riding their much more expensive bikes with no gear and it freaks me out a little.
I’ve been riding a few years and am now on a Himalayan. I don’t particularly care that it won’t do 170kph. It gets me where I want to go comfortably. While I have friends who like to ride fast, I’m happy with pootling along at the speed limit. I tend to do long days, and I still get there. :)
Totally do the ATGATT thing. Also, get as much training as you can. I try to get some training or coaching every year. The better the rider you are, the less chance you have of crashing.
Have fun on the 350. They’re a beautiful bike and sound awesome.
