hmmm what to do?

I put a refundable deposit down on a bike today. It's a 2012 Wr250R with 450 miles on it. It's mint and has a graves exhaust, a programmer, after market skid plate, hand guards, and an aftermarket tail light assembly. $4,900 asking price which I think is a great price.

I'm debating on what to do. I've never ridden a bike before. I've always wanted a WRR for years. But if I ever got seriously injured it could jeopardize my career as an airline pilot. Plus I live in a city without a garage so I would have to keep it an hour away at my parents house. I only have two friends that have bikes (both cruisers) and neither ride too often.

Decisions decisions! Any suggestions?

Take the motorcycle safety course, they will teach you how to stay alive out there. Any shop will be able to refer you to the course in your area. Leaving a bike outside is something I wouldn't do, mine fits in the den

Get that bad boy, take the safety course, and grab life by the handlebars!   

Have you ever heard of people getting "seriously injured" when driving a car?
What about when walking down stairs? Taking a shower? Diving into a swimming pool?

Take a comprehensive motorcycle safety course.

All of us have a great deal to lose if "seriously injured".

I too would not recommend storing the bike outside though. Great way to have it stolen.

Honestly, you may want to pass on getting this bike if you're THAT scared, and considering you don't have a good place to keep it.....

Maybe a few years from now, when you have a place with a garage, and AFTER you've taken a training class or three, you can start looking for a bike.

After a safety course you could always rent a motorcycle for a day and see what you think.   

If your parents live in a less congested area, that would be a great place to practice your new riding skills on the weekends or whenever your off time is. That is, after you have taken an MSF course to learn the proper basics. The WR is a good learning bike, very forgiving, as long as you are not vertically challenged.

There is some very good riding in western Pa.

I'm going for it. Two friends in the city offered to let me store the bike in their garages!

skysurfer2010 wrote:

I'm going for it. Two friends in the city offered to let me store the bike in their garages!

Hell Ya    practice somewhere there is no traffic like an abandoned parking lot or some desolate area until the controls are 2nd nature.

Just signed for it! When I walked in there was another customer trying to put a deposit on it in case I backed out. Sorry bud!

Picking it up Monday. I have to figure out what ramp I'm buying for my pickup. The parts guy has me worried since he said it's not that easy to get into the bed of a truck.

BTW- look at my join date. Only took me 4 years to finally pull the trigger!

Congrats! A fine looking bike. My only advice would be to gear up. The longer I ride the better gear I buy.

look in the mirror how big is the smile

skysurfer2010 wrote:

But if I ever got seriously injured it could jeopardize my career as an airline pilot.

Or you could just get killed dead.  In which case... no worries about your career.

I have money that says my wife's happiness is more important than your career - any career.  Got kids?  Got a wife?  There's things more important than careers, including careers that have signing up for unlimited liability as part of them.

I see you've pulled the trigger on the bike.  That aside, everyone has to decide what level of risk is acceptable to them, no matter what we're talking here.  I have many, many jumps wearing more weight in equipment than what I weigh, in pitch dark, 800' AGL, in a sky filled with hundreds of other jumpers around me, above me, and below me, into a DZ I can't even see until I hit.  I'm comfortable with that.  On the other hand, you would have to pay me lots and lots and lots of money before I would even consider BASE jumping even once.  Same basic activity, but one has a set of risks I'm comfortable with being able to manage, the second one I'm not.

Risk has a lot to do with if it can be managed or not.  Lots of ways to manage risk on motorcycles.

Take motorcyle riding/safety courses.  Gotta be some around you there somewhere.  They'll teach you how to survive and thrive.  After your done, don't be too proud to go back every once in a while for a tune up course, 'cause chances are you'll get sloppy.  Most of us do.

Wear safety gear.  Good safety gear.  Particularly helmets; don't buy the cheapest one you can find... be picky, make sure it gives you great vision.  Buy a bright neon green, neon yellow, bright something dual sport jacket.  I love my Tourmaster Transitions; happens to be banana yellow.  No, not very cool for riding down to Starbucks nor very fashionable, but it it helps those in cars and trucks around you notice you while they're texting while drinking their double latte, so much the better.  

And once you've bought it, wear it.  All the time; lots of guys get hurt/killed on just a short little trip to the corner store - I nearly got stuffed into the curb the other day by a neighbor while running to the corner store maybe 500 yards from the house.  He shortcut the corner; I saw him do it and managed to get hard on the binders and then tuck deep inside on the corner, so it was all good.  But I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have; I should have seen it coming sooner, and as it was I very nearly low sided the bike getting inside his turning radius while turning myself.  However, I had my jacket and pants on with the helmet, even for that short trip, so most likely outcome would have been bike damage, not me donating skin to asphalt.

Ride like everybody in a four wheeled vehicle around you is trying to kill you - some of them maybe are.  Intersections in particular.  I don't care if the light is green, I have no intention of being dead right because somebody left turned me.  Always watch for the left turners on intersections and approaching vehicles.

I would think anyone with the safety mentality of a commercial pilot should be well set up for avoiding most of the hazards of motorcycling.  Bring that same zero tolerance for overlooked hazards and safety practices into motorcycling, and you should be safer than most of the rest of us out there.

Take the steps to manage the risk, and then have tons of fun.

I test rode that bike before I took the stock '13 they had at DHY =]

Those knobblies he has on there are pretty serious for off road

And to improve safety always read the road and compensate for the ball rolling down the road as the children will be near it and not looking at you and the car reversing out of his driveway he also is not looking for you a good car driver is a biker because he looks twice ...but most of all enjoy

Martin- what did you think of the power compared to a stock bike? How were the tires on the road? They looked like the stock tires so I didn't even notice them.

Jäger- No wife. No kids. So yes, my career is the top priority to me.

The tires on your bike are much more dirt oriented, wont last as long on street, and,you cant lean as far over.

Power wise i havent gone full throttle on mine yet, still breaking it in.

Yours was healthy feeling though.

skysurfer2010 wrote:

Jäger- No wife. No kids. So yes, my career is the top priority to me.

The point was, having a career priority, whether commercial pilot or Starbucks barista, is not one single iota different than every single other thinking rider out there.  Just about every one of us has something we need to consider when we manage the risk of riding our bikes.  There's nothing new to considering the potential impacts of an injury, whether riding a bike, playing hockey, or whatever.  I know a couple of paratroopers who lost their careers after serious joint injuries playing hockey... no different, career gone.

You make a personal decision whether to proceed or not, and then you use your head, training, equipment, etc to manage the risk.

Just take it easy, wear good gear and a great helmet, ease into the throttle, don't wheelie, and keep your eyes open. You'll be fine. Welcome to the joys of motorcycling!

Well I picked it up today! After today I have zero regrets. Definitely excited I made the purchase!

When I picked it up my salesman said they lowered it. Honestly, I don't know if they did or not. It felt exactly the same to me. I was still up on the balls of my feet just like the previous day. I'll definitely be looking into getting a lowering link after I check to see if it's been lowered as much as possible stock.

I drove it to my friends place in the back of my pickup. He's an experienced rider both dirt and street and also did a stint as a motocop. He gave me a crash course (no pun intended!) and encouraged me to try it out in an open field next to his house. I gave in and I donned the gear and took her for a spin. I'm really glad I did (yes I know some are going to scold me for trying her out) but I never went above 2nd gear and I was just trying to get the feel for the clutch. It gave me a respect for the bike and I'm looking forward to taking a riders course to gain some confidence before I bring it on a road.

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm really glad I finally went through with it. And oh yeah... my friend absolutely loved the bike! He said he's going to kill me since most likely him and his son are both going to want one now. He's currently a cruiser guy and his son has a crotch rocket and dirt bikes. It was also funny watching him mount this bike since he's only 5'7"! He came back with a huge smile, though!

If you have a book with the bike (owners manual) read the part about the suspension adjustments, its pretty easy to soften up the front forks and rear shock, so when you sit on it she will squat down, I have a 34 inch inseam and I did mine and she is just right, and I didnt notice much difference off road, I went from a 800lb harley bagger to this and I am having way more fun now, cheer`s

I prefer buyer boner to buyers remorse. Enjoy and don't look back.

All right!

Consider taking a dirt riding course or an adventure riding course.  I didn't do that until I had been riding 8 years.  (I started at 43 and no regrets other than starting too late).

The dirt riding course will get you comfortable with sliding the rear tire and handling the bike in ways you won't learn at the basic motorcycle course (take that too to get your license).

Dirt riding is a lot of fun.  Most of my riding is gravel roads and farm to market roads.  Less traffic there = a safer environment than city traffic.

Ditto on all the gear recommendations.  Motoport in California makes fantastic Kevlar Mesh riding gear.  Mine is about 5 years old and will probably outlast me.

I'd also recommend the book "Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well" by David Hough.  This is excellent for a new (or old) rider.

Congratulations on your purchase, and I wish you safe and joyful riding.

Joe