I don't know about that, my wife is always right, I just smile and nod. :laughing:Yeh never admit the wife is right, you’ll never hear the end of it
Nice Z. When I got mine, I was looking for the one with the green frame, but the all black looks so good!
I am the only one with a Z in my area. I got a steal on mine. Kid had purchased it and wished he bought a cruiser. Had 300 miles on it when I traded him my Victory Vegas 8 ball with 20k on it straight up, lol.
This is timely. I've never ridden a motorcycle buy my wife owned a Kawasaki store for years and loves to ride. I've toyed with the idea of learning because she loves it so much but have never followed through on it. I've found a Harley learn-to-ride class that I could do, as well as one for a Can-Am. I've looked a 3-wheelers (Can-Am) from time to time because they seem easier to ride to me and more maneuverable than 3-wheelers with 2 rear wheels. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on 2 wheels vs 3.
Great advice. I grew up riding dirt bikes and dual sports, so when I got my first cruiser I just got the same CC as my old dual sport - a Yamaha 650. It was way underpowered for my tastes. I mean, it could do 55 on the highway well enough, but there wasn’t a whole lot left for passing gear.
If you’ve never ridden a bike, take a class. They’re very helpful to learn some basics like balance, shifting gears, and lane placements.
Without question, I'll take a class, probably both of them.
I’ve ridden both on demo days, and don’t think you could go wrong with either. Couple things that can help make a decision: do you want larger displacement? Okay with 5 speeds, or do you want 6? Which is more comfortable for you to sit on?
I was originally hesitant to go with a larger bike too, but someone with more experience than me at the time gave a pretty good analogy. Just because you have a whole chocolate cake, doesn’t mean you have to eat the whole thing at once.
I’d second the advice to go for the largest bike your comfortable with, and by comfortable I mean by the one you can manually move around and reach the ground with your feet on. Too many people are intimidated by the higher powered bikes but then find themselves realising that by going for a smaller one to start with they soon outgrow it with their confidence.
As has been said just because the power is there doesn’t mean you have to use it, just ride at the pace you’re comfortable with.
Find a school that will put you through your test on their bikes then once you have your licence go and test ride the ones you fancy to see if they suit you. Too many people buy bikes based on looks having never ridden them only to find they aren’t suited.
I’d also suggest taking some advanced riding tuition once you’ve passed your test to give you extra confidence and to improve your positioning and awareness. It really makes a difference to your riding and often an advanced qualification will get you an insurance discount too.
Im an advanced rider examiner and motorbike cop and have seen how quickly riders gain confidence and outgrow smaller bikes but the most important thing is to buy what you are comfortable and confident on.
Good luck in your bike hunting
Take a class if you can and buy good gear. You can get descent gear at a good price. If you had to save a little money you can on gear but one place I wouldn’t is the helmet. That being said, biggest advice I can give you is ride by yourself for a while before putting anyone on the back of the bike. I used to be my command’s motorcycle safety officer and saw a lot of things that could have been prevented. That being one of them. It’s just some safety advice but I love bikes, but you have to respect them. You will never be able to outride the bike. So much fun and best of luck on getting your first bike.
Nice to be able to sit on them, and even better that you got to fire it up!
Enjoy the class and good luck on your choice
