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| First Motorcycle Pages: Getting Started | Choosing a Bike | Selecting Gear | Cost of Ownership | Wind & Rain | Theresa Wallach | |
| Kawasaki KLR650: Index | Maintenance | Chain Lube | Chain Tension | Oil Change | One Year Review | |
| Stories and Maps: Ride America 2005 | American Southwest 2005 | |
| Picture Sets: Arkansas - Texas | Austin | Chicago | New Mexico - Arizona | Santa Fe | Thorndale | |
| About Paul: Bio | Chicago Guide | Taxi Driving | |
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Choosing a MotorcycleDisplacement: The Wrong "Place" to Start "Buy a 250cc bike," goes the old saw. It's not bad advice. And it's certainly better advice than, "Buy whatever you want." But I would suggest that you don't fixate on displacement. Why? In this context, "displacement" is an indication of how much
air and
fuel a combustion
engine is able to "take in" during one of its cycles.
Abbreviated as "cc," the cubic centimeter is a metric unit 1/1000 of a
liter in volume. Varying engine displacements, being statements
that describe volume,
are analagous to the measuring cups used in cooking:
even as there are one cup, two cup and half-cup measures, so too there
are 500cc, 1000cc and 250cc motorcycle engines. But not all motorcycle engines are equally good at turning
their "measuring cup" of fuel and air into useable power; not all
engines are equally efficient. Now, the *mechanical* factors that tend to proportionally increase the difficulty and risk of motorcycle operation are:
Summary : There is no "magic number" of "cc's" that will guarantee success or failure, harm or safety. You learn to ride because you obtain instruction and then you practice. Period. It really doesn't matter what you practice on -- provided that you survive the practice. BUT you are most likely to survive your initial practice by: (1) riding a low-horsepower, low-weight motorcycle that fits your body; (2) wearing appropriate gear; and (3) practicing in a controlled environment -- such as a parking lot -- prior to hitting the street. Horsepower, abbreviated as "hp," is analagous to the metric unit "watt," i.e., it is a measure of power, either produced or consumed. Most manufacturers will provide [read: boast about] the horsepower rating of a motorcycle's engine at a given engine speed. Engine speed is indicated in revolutions per minute; "revolutions per minute" is commonly abbreviated as "rpm." Example: 40hp @ 6000rpm is a very conscise way of writing, "This engine produces 40 horsepower when it turns at 6000 revolutions per minute." Different engines produce usable power while turning at different speeds, e.g., the single-cylinder engines in the large displacement [650cc] dual-sport motorcycles tend to peak in power delivery at about the same point [6000rpm] where engines such as the paralell-twin in Kawasaki's Ninja EX250 begin to deliver power efficiently. Those dramatic differences in engine speed make for a much different riding experience. Turning the motorcycle's throttle tends to increase engine speed and available power. Throttle management is a critical skill -- to be learned through instruction and practice. Accidental application of the throttle figures prominently in many severe and/or fatal crashes involving new riders. If you make a mistake, how much power do you want provide that mistake? More is not always better. Especially for the new rider, "big horsepower" tends to be a
liability:
get rigid, get indelicate, and you're rocketing off in a bad way. Too,
as horsepower increases you'll find: (a) parts [chain, tires, etc] wear
faster, (b) insurance is more costly, (c) your ability to deal with a
low-traction environment is reduced, etc. [Motorcycle Horsepower
Ratings from Motorcyclist Magazine.] Summary : Ceteris parabus, learning to ride on a motorcycle with less than 50hp will minimize the liability to which one is exposed. There isn't any reason to begin one's career on a 100hp motorcycle. Suzuki's [500cc] GS500 and Kawasaki's [650cc] KLR650 are both powered by engines that produce roughly 40hp. I, and many other motorcyclists, have ridden the KLR650 across the United States: Canada to Mexico; Atlantic to Pacific. Others have crossed continents with 20hp machines. What do you really need? But for operation in extremely windy conditions, I struggle to imagine a circumstance in which a heavy motorcycle is an asset to its rider. More often than not, when weight counts -- it counts against you. There are two important factors to consider: (1) heavy vehicles tend to be be more difficult to maneuver than light vehicles; and (2) the consequences for failing to maneuver a heavy vehicle properly are greater than the consequences for failing to maneuver a light vehicle properly. In Newtonian physics, force equals mass multiplied by acceleration: f=ma. When a motorcycle "tips" its mass begins to accelerate towards the Earth's surface according to gravity. The larger the mass of the motorcycle, the larger the force required to "right" the motorcycle after it tips. Physically handling motorcycles is a regular part of the riding and ownership experience. A loss of balance at low speed, or while standing still, might be easily managed on a 300 pound motorcycle -- and impossible to manage on a 900 pound motorcycle. Summary :
Learning to ride on a motorcycle that weighs less than 500 pounds will
minimize the liability to which one is exposed. There isn't any reason
to begin one's career on an 800 or 900 pound motorcycle. Suzuki's
[500cc] GS500 and Kawasaki's [650cc] KLR650 each weigh roughly 400
pounds -- including their fluids. Note: Manufacturers typically indicate the "dry" weight of
their product, i.e. the motorcycle's weight WITHOUT its necesarry
liquid contents
such as fuel, oil, coolant, etc. Ergonomics: Tall Riders and Short Riders Your motorcycle needs to fit your body. You need to feel comfortable as you manipulate your motorcycle's controls; you need to be able to support your motorcycle at rest. And so in every purchase a rider needs to consider his or her: (1) height; (2) weight; (3) arm and leg length; (4) preferred seating position; and (5) riding style. Of course, when choosing a first motorcycle you can't really "know" what style of riding you enjoy. But that's ok. Because you can tell rather quickly and easily if a bike "feels" right just by putting your butt in the saddle and your hands on the controls. Having written that, it might be a very good idea to visit a dealership at which you are able to sit on many makes and models -- even if you have no intention of buying a motorcycle from that dealership. There are people in the motorcycle business who will make this process more difficult than it needs to be. But you simply cannot allow yourself to be patronized because of your gender, age, inexperience or any other factor. Somehow, someway, you've go to "try on" a few different models. You might need to visit several dealerships, garages or private parties who have motorcycles for sale. Don't be rushed into buying anything. After taking a motorcycle safety course, after visiting the sellers, after reading books, magazines and web pages in advance of a purchase, it should be apparent that motorcycles tend to be designed to perform a specific task, or to perform in a specific environment, e.g., there are "touring bikes" and there are "dirt bikes" that look very different from one another. While motorcycles are marketed in various categories -- sport, touring, standard, dual-purpose, cruiser -- any street-legal machine in good running condition will make a fine first motorcycle -- provided that it fits you, it isn't too heavy, and its engine doesn't produce too many horsepower. Good First Motorcycles :
Good Second Motorcycles -- And Suggestions for Larger,
Heavier
and Older Riders :
On any one of the above listed motorcycles, a 5 foot 100 pound rider will move very much more quickly than will a 6.5 foot 300 pound rider -- novice or otherwise. And so it is important not only to consider the factors of horsepower and weight individually, but also to consider the relationship between the horsepower produced by a motorcycle's engine and the combined mass of the motorcycle and its rider. Three off-site articles on choosing a first motorcycle: Aprilia
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This is a document that reflects its author's personal experience. The information presented on this page is not a substitute for any factory manual, or professional service. Go to the MSF, the SMF and the AMA; they want to help you. Read the Hurt Report. Do your own research; formulate a hypothesis; test it. Read the material linked from this site. Take responsibility. Ride to be alive.
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