Question:
Hey guys, just wondering if anyone here was a biker, as in one who rides motorcycles. I personally don't, but in a short time, I may be considering getting a bike as my sole form of transportation. Maybe.
Yes, I know they are dangerous, I understand that. I plan on taking the MSF basic course, then in six months the advanced riders course. Helmet isn't even an option, always on, all the time. The bikes I'm considering right now are the:
Kawasaki Ninja 250r - Sport bike, light on the sport, wallet, and gas consumption. Great starter bike, boring 15 year old looks, real fun to ride.
Honda Rebel 250 - Cruiser, light on gas and wallet. Cool looking enough for me, better for highway miles.
Just wondering if yall had any thoughts on this recent development of mine. Reason I will be switching: I'm tired of using up gas, even in my fuel efficient Corolla, and I might be out of the Corolla soon anyways (payments catching up to me, but not unreasonable, just can't justify). Any body have any thoughts on why a bike wouldn't be good as main transportation?
- Rich

Answer:
I haven't got a bike, but the lad does... that is, he's getting his new Fazer in a week (the last one got wrapped around a friends tail-pipe, and was a write-off). He also notes that the Rebel 250 (apparently 250's in genaral) are so light that they're a mess on the highway; they get blown all over the place, and if there's any wind, god help you.
If you're going to be on the highway, a 500cc is a far more stable bet; check out the Ninja GPZ 500. And, since you're in California, once you've finished with the MSF course, you may want to avail yourself Keith Code's Superbike driving school. Motorists in general are indifferent and fatheaded when it comes to something as small as a motorbike, and also, unlike in Denmark and some other European countries those huge motor lorries can be in either lane, and are a scary menace.
Wear good gear, and best luck

Answer:
Originally Posted by mysteriousmongoose I haven't got a bike, but the lad does... that is, he's getting his new Fazer in a week (the last one got wrapped around a friends tail-pipe, and was a write-off). He also notes that the Rebel 250 (apparently 250's in genaral) are so light that they're a mess on the highway; they get blown all over the place, and if there's any wind, god help you.
If you're going to be on the highway, a 500cc is a far more stable bet; check out the Ninja GPZ 500. And, since you're in California, once you've finished with the MSF course, you may want to avail yourself Keith Code's Superbike driving school. Motorists in general are indifferent and fatheaded when it comes to something as small as a motorbike, and also, unlike in Denmark and some other European countries those huge motor lorries can be in either lane, and are a scary menace.
Wear good gear, and best luck I used to ride a motor bike — and agree that a 250 is a bit light now. Get at least a 500 (which is what I used to ride).

Answer:
I have owned and been around bikes all my life. Husband has a Kawasaki Meanstreak 1600, Son has a Kawasaki Ninja 650, friend just sold his Ducati 999S and hoping to get a Victory Vegas Jackpot. Bikes have become so popular now in California that this is what you see, bikes and SUV's. So if anyone is worried about the SUV's eating up all the gas, it's balanced out by the bikes.

Answer:
Hi, Rich. I ride a motorcycle (Kawasaki W650) in San Diego as my main means of transportation. I do not own a car (but have owned cars in the past). I also get places by walking and riding a bicycle. I occasionally rent a car if I really need it.
Here are some of the little things that you will need to deal with:
- laundry
- groceries
- temperature - riding in temperatures much below about 55 F, especially on the highway, is not comfortable unless you are wearing some serious gear
- do you ever (want to) drive friends/family anywhere?
- do you feel comfortable asking people for rides during the times that the motorcycle is not appropriate/practical?
As far as size, Americans tend toward believing that bigger is always better. Houses, trucks, motorcycles, etc. Most Americans who respond to this will say go for big bikes; I'm guessing most Asians and Europeans will say small is fine. You can get twice the gas mileage on a 250 than you can on bigger bikes. I really like my bike, but I occasionally wonder whether I should get rid of it for a smaller, not a bigger one. If you will be doing regular (every day or two) riding on the highway, then you might want bigger, anywhere from a 400 to a 600, but if it's only occasional, then I would say smaller is fine. Another current model to consider is the Buell Blast. If you're considering used bikes, there are many others to choose from.
It sounds like TDDanae could be a great source of info about bikes. But IMHO her post is an exaggeration - in certain areas motorcycles are more popular than they are in others, but it is just not the case that there are as many bikes on the road as SUV's. Not even close. Also, motorcycles are more efficient than almost all cars and SUVs, including hybrids, but... they still use gas! Which means they don't balance anything out. Now if they PRODUCED gas as they went along... Personally, I'm waiting for the electric motorcycle.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Answer:
There are electric motorcycles, but, you're still using electricity which took either coal or nuclear energy to produce, and it'd be a lot harder to fill up if you need to make a small road trip... Still thinking about the Rebel, the Ninja's pretty much out though.
- Rich

Answer:
Wow! Don't you just love it when someone comes along behind you and discounts what you have said.
What I should have said is the part of California where I live which is not San Diego. Were you driving around with me this weekend tinfoiled? I am not exagerating at all. And if you consider the difference in gas savings of a motorcycle versus an SUV, there is a considerable difference. Never the less, I have never been to KS, but around here if you are going to use a motorcycle for your only transpartion, it better be of a fair size for various reasons. Anyway, I am probably not a good souce of information for I also have an SUV, a car, and several dirt bikes and I don't know what the conditions are like in KS. I was merely trying to be nice and add to the post. Excuse me if I miss something. Sorry I'm not perfect.

Answer:
I ride a Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja. Besides a classic motorscooter, it's my only means of motorized transportation (sold the car recently). I've been riding motorcycles for about twelve years. Before that, I messed about with mopeds for several years.
I think a 250 is a good choice if you have no riding experience at all. The Rebel you mentioned is about as close to a moped as you can get in terms of power and handling. The 250 Ninja is much more fun to ride, while still a good beginners' choice. Make no mistake about the fuel consumption of the Ninja though: it's a high-revving bike, so you get relatively low mileage.
I don't know what the "MSF basic course" means in terms of riding skills, so I can't advise you any further. Bikes like the Honda CB 500 or the Kawasaki ER500 come to mind (very forgiving and versatile, easy to handle), but with the added power and weight, they do require a little more experience than a standard, single cylinder or twin 250.

Answer:
Hey Rich,

I'm a long time motorcyclist, but I've never been on a street bike smaller than 400cc. My first street bike was a Kawasaki KZ400, which I considered a pretty small bike, but it did ok on the highway. I ride a Triumph Tiger 900 now. In terms of gas mileage, my Tiger gets about 40 - 45 mpg around town. A lot of bikes will be in this range, unless you are looking at some of the big engines (1200 & up). Otherwise, gas mileage will not be a big issue.

I would have to agree with some of the past posts in terms checking out some larger bikes as well. See if you can test ride some bikes in the 400-600cc range. They will generally be more stable on the road and have a much more versatile power range. If you are really just interested in basic around-town commuting and gas mileage,you might as well go with a scooter. Yamaha makes some pretty decent ones, from what I understand, and the Vespas are actually considered "cool" in some circles. But if you want a real motorcycle, 400 cc would be the minimum IMHO. Feel free to PM me if I can be of any help.

Answer:
I'm sorry TDDanae - my intention wasn't to attack you; it's hard to believe there's a place with that many motorcycles and that few SUVs. Sounds kinda like heaven to me!
To go back to Rich's question about using a motorcycle as his sole means of transportation, citing gas usage as a main reason, here is a fuel economy website that I used back when I was bike shopping:
http://totalmotorcycle.com/Motorcycl...uide/index.htm
The 250's you mentioned (and scooters) get a good 25 MPG more than the 500's and the 600's (which get mileage in the 40's like Drzed's bike and my bike), with the exception of the Buell Blast, which is a 500 and more efficient than its peers. I was wrong about smaller bikes getting TWICE the mileage of bigger ones, unless you're comparing them to huge bikes or high performance bikes, but if you're looking to save gas, I think you'll agree 25 MPG is a significant difference.