Talk Some Sense Into Me (Or Encouage Me, Your Choice)- Newbie On A 1200 + 1000 Mile Inaugural Ride?

[Switchblade]

Wow, that's a lot of change in a short time. I don't think the weight of the 1200 is as big an issue for a big guy like you as some others here. What is an issue is riding it for the first time on a multi day trip covering both in town and interstate or rural traffic and road conditions by yourself. I trust that you are serious when you say you can control your right wrist but there is no way you understand how much quicker that new 1200 is (particularly the manual trans model) than any car you have driven and how much more powerful the front brakes are. The consequences of a rookie mistake on a bike this powerful are much more serious than they would be in a car and if you are far from home by yourself that much more complicated. When asked by younger guys about buying a motorcycle I just say there are two kinds of riders, those who have fallen off and those who will eventually fall off. I speak from first hand experience.

My best advice is if you buy a VFR 1200 or any other bike out of town as a first time rider, rent a truck or trailer and bring it home that way. Don't attempt a multi day or multi hundred mile trip on your first street ride by yourself. When you get it home, if possible, ride it for short stints on rural low traffic roads at first and find a ride partner with experience. After you get some street experience and smarts then take that 1000 mile ride.

+1

[Guest]

Wow, so many good points to consider, I can't possibly respond to everyone. Thank you all for your thoughts and for not instantly writing me off.

At this point, you've helped me to refine my thought/buying process quite a bit. Though not everyone agrees, I think I could successfully handle a 1200, but it is a huge jump from where I'm at and that shouldn't be taken lightly. I respect the value of refining my "craft" before jumping into something like a 1200, so I think I will take kevinmacdonald up on his offer of the used CB750 and go from there. It does seem inevitable that there will be some sort of low-speed or stationary incident early on, much better to do it on a bike like that.

HOWEVER, I am still smitten by that beautiful blue beast and I can't promise I won't buy one and leave it in the garage (mostly) until I'm more skilled. I might have to ride it to divorce court, though. As for the inaugural long ride home, that does sound like a bad idea the more I think about it. Unless I can find one within a couple hundred miles, I will look into the truck/trailer option.

Thanks again for all your insights, I look forward to many miles on two wheels.

[Dedofnite]

See? Not stupid!!!

[lshark]

can you ride a bicycle without falling off ???

[DaveVXR8]

You should go with what your heart is telling you, and I'm sure it's saying, I want the VFR1200 so much, but I shouldn't...

[Gyice]

It is interesting that you want to jump on a 1200 and go for a quick 1000 mile spin (its nice still being in the immortal phase of life).The guys (and ladies not sure Canadian have to be inclusive) are quite correct in that being a major jump in power and weight. I have driven lots of Dirt and Street iron and there is a total change (if you wish to live) between one driving style and another you will be far better off with a smaller street bike to make mistakes on first taking a learners, and jumping on a 1200 is relatively the same thing as being lucky enough to win the job of Sheriff of "Dodge" and then some dummy hands you a six shooter and says "Hickok" is at the end of the street point the pointy end at him. the only 1200 that can grow with you is the "DCT" keep it in D until after the trip is over otherwise shrink the Gonads just a touch buy and 800 or the SV650 enjoy a little road rash, like the rest of us have, get up dust yourself off and then buy the 1200 or what ever in 2 to 3 years.

[Dutchy]

Slightly

My niece,

yes this one.....

Turned 21, is studying in Germany and will go for her MC licence exam on the 19th this month. She passed her theoretical exam so now "it is just" the actual riding test.

5 days later she plans to ride her -yet to be bought- CBF600 or Versys with sidecases&topcase to Bolgona, Italy where she will study for a year. Classes will be in Italian but she reckon a month living there prior will be ok to understand the professors. and she takes a language course...

And oh yes, she plans to avoid motorways (that would be a 1000+ km one way)..... even crossing the Alps.

So make that 1,500km. Her licence will be an "A2" so that restricts her to 46.6BHP version... so the ZZR is out

Apart from mc classes, she has ZIPPO experience and has not seen a hairpin or gutted road in her 2 month MC life.

Never ridden in the rain......

But hey, she's 21 and dead set (ooops...) on doing things her way. No matter what her brother and my brother (both experience riders) or I say. Offered to ride with her but you can guess the response....

And no, she does not have a plan B to get to Bologna because she will not fail her test.

[marriedman]

Yowza! That is one hot...

My niece,

nevermind...

Seriously though, she is going to make some excited memories. Hope she has safe travels and a good time!

[TNRabbit]

Hope she learns some lessons that do not kill her....

...and to the OP, I think that CB750 sounds like an excellent option.

[carlgustav]

Turned 21, is studying in Germany and will go for her MC licence exam on the 19th this month. She passed her theoretical exam

Wait, what, there's theory to this riding crap ... who knew ...

Damn, I keep getting older but the girls just stay the same age ...

ACE

[Guest]

My niece,

yes this one.....

There's always somebody trying to push the boundaries a little farther... I look like a damn responsible adult by comparison.

[checksix]

When you're 21, everything is possible and nothing can foreseeably go wrong. And that's exactly the way things should be viewed at that age. She'll have a wonderful time.

[VFR4Lee]

Buying the used 750 and thinking on the bigger bike seems a good idea.

Theoretically you could do just fine with a 1200 as first bike.

Of course, in theory there is no difference between theory and practice.

In practice, there is.

[smoothsailin]

+1

For what it's worth, I had more than a decade of off-road riding experience before I purchased my first street motorcycle: a mid-sized (but large for me) '82 Yamaha Vision (water-cooled, shaft-driven 550cc V-twin).

At the time I was 25, a newlywed and had assumed my years of off-road experience would make the transition over to riding a considerably heavier machine on the street a piece of cake. However, it didn't take long before I realized that after years of riding on the dirt my reflex was to nail the rear brake hard the 1st time danger appeared unexpectedly.

Lesson one learned (thankfully w/o incident): When riding on the street the front brake provides 80%+ of the total stopping power. Also don't forget that even with ABS, the rear brake alone won't save your bacon in an emergency....although a 5th or 6th generation VFR equipped with linked brakes will do more in this regard.

The next morning after riding my new Yamaha home from the dealership, I decided to take it to work. After proudly riding into a parking space, in full view of my boss I proceeded to drop my new Yamaha on top of myself and the asphalt when trying to put it on the centerstand for the 1st time I was standing on an oily patch and my feet slipped out from under me. Lesson two learned: while all that may be needed to put a 150 lb dirtbike on the stand is "grab and pull", a 450+ lb streetbike requires more strength and technique along with better balance.

Thankfully my unfaired Yamaha only suffered a bent clutch lever, cracked turn signal lens and a few minor (but still heart-braking) scratches after I dropped her that first (but not the last) time. My guess would be that a similar low-speed drop involving a new VFR1200 could easily result in cosmetic damage totaling well over a thousand $$. I'll also mention that I only paid $1.6k for my '82 Yamaha as a brand-new leftover w/zero miles in '84.

I see scores of sufficiently-powerful, clean motorcycles with relatively low mileage listed for sale on craigslist daily for less than $3k. My advice is to pick one up and at least wait until the divorce is finalized before you consider dropping the coin on a new VFR1200. Also, have you researched the difference in insurance premiums for a new 1200cc sport bike compared to a 2nd-hand, mid-sized standard, cruiser or scooter? If not, you probably should.

[wrestler]

Good luck in your choosing, SuperslabRider,

Let me share my experience. I began with a 5th gen VFR. Never rode a day in my life. The guy at the dealership took me for a ride on my own bike after I had taken the MSF. It took me a bit to get use to the weight and just plain riding. I bought it at 60yrs old. One year and the Advanced MSF later I treated myself to the Honda Hoot in Knoxville, about 200 miles from ATL. It was a great shake down ride. 4th year of ownership, 2010, I made my epic ride to Ottawa and back, 3012 miles, a trip not without drama. Check my topic, My Epic Ride in August 2010.

In August 2011 I had an opportunity to acquire my present 6th gen. I wouldn't have anything else. I have now ridden about 21000 miles. I have learned much. Dropped the bike once, seriously, twice more, in a minor way. As is often said there are two types of cyclists, those who have fallen and those who will. If you don't want to mess up your 1200, don't buy it yet.

I say all this to say you shouldn't feel reticent to get a VFR, just know you need to give yourself time to develop before going hog wild with speed, technical roads, and distance. Seat time is everything. Get a group of trusted buddies who can give you confidence and encouragement and go have a hell of a lot of fun.

[smergy]

From your thread title and the responses, it sounds like you're not really looking for anyone to talk sense into you. Just a few to validate your thesis, so you can have a warm fuzzy feeling. This thread the same as the "I'm a big guy, I need a 600" threads that popup frequently on other forums. I'm 6'3, and started on a ninja 500. Did it look ridiculous? yes. Was it too little power? no. Point is it's not the bike, or weight, being able to "handle it", or "riding carefully" as so many think.

As you've guessed, I'm a naysayer, mainly because there is no reset button in life. Motorcycling is inherently risky, but managing that risk is how you improve your probability of survival. Can you start on a 1200? yes. Will you survive? probably. Confidence is control. Control comes from experience, practice and knowing the limits.

How hard can you brake when that woman on a cell phone pulls out in-front of you? Do you know what to do if the rear starts to slip on some gravel/oil? What about mid-corner? What if its a decreasing radius corner you did not expect? Can you adjust? Do you need to think about the response or do you have enough training to simply react? Do you simply lock up and target fixate?

I'll say what I say to all riders. Regardless of what bike you buy, do yourself a favor and invest in you're own skill. You take this with you no matter what bike you own. Go to track school. Not to race or to satisfy your speed demon, but to learn proper control in a controlled environment where emergency assistance is available. From twist of the wrist, as one guy says, most people don't have N years of experience, they have 1 year of experience N times. I guarantee you will learn more in 1 day at the track than an entire year on the street.

[zedXmick]

There are so many great mid sized used bikes out on the market today you can't go wrong,pick up one that YOU like. (the lighter weight the better) Bye ALL the gear...Helmet,jacket,PANTS,gloves,boots.....WEAR all the gear,ON every ride. Cages WILL NOT even notice you....

Get out and ride.....at least get 20,000 road miles with your beginner bike....you need time and mileage to develop that RIDER 6th sense.....best of luck. ride,enjoy,learn on every ride....repeat

Welcome to the addiction. :)

[lshark]

could you drive a Ferrari to the store and back without getting a ticket ???

[Rice]

I'd stick with a well used 800cc or thereabouts.

Drop a brand new 1200 and you'll be sorry.

Drop a used 800, pick it up and keep going, extra scratch notwithstanding.

You Will Drop It.

[f3racer]

buy and old bike. if you drop it you wont be pissed, like you would be on a nice bike. some people say ride it for a couple months. i say ride it until you can personnaly surpass the motorcycles capability. once that small bike makes you a humble person you can buy something bigger. that means you definately learned something. it doesnt matter if you look like a monkey humping a football. its better than looking wrapped up like a mummy, or worse.

you seem like a responsible person but motorcycles do something to people. i have watched buddies who own kias and drive like mr safety at his best, then buy their 1st bike and turn into a monster. i traded my cbr1000rr for my vfr, and it wasnt for less performance if that tells you anything. a good rider on a vfr1200 will wipe the floor with a mediocre rider on a literbike, but that means it can get you into trouble.

yes every bike can get you into some trouble, but making sure you get one that will be more forgiving when you get all ham fisted will be best.

good luck

[EhViffer]

There is no one "right" answer to your question only opinions and the outcome from your choice. My wife and I got a motorcycle licence three years ago. When I was 52 and she 47. My first bike was a 2010 1200 DCT and she traded in her BMW F800 ST after two weeks and bought a 2012 1200 DCT after driving mine. Less than a month after getting a licence we drove across Canada from Toronto to Alberta. Year two we drove from Toronto to Vancouver. Year three I am writing this note to you from Calgary, having left Toronto last week as we head south to see Yellowstone Park, Sturgis, Deadwood and Mount Rushmore before we head home. For us the bikes were a great choice we don't regret and opened up a world of open road adventure. Ride well.