Motorcycles and Riding

[PityOnU]

MirageRally messaged me about this, but I figured I'd just throw this out into the public sphere as there may be other forum members here who are riders or have rode themselves in the past, maybe generate some interesting discussion.

I recently purchased a Honda Super Cub after being somewhat curious about learning to ride a motorcycle for what feels like a while. I figured I'd share here some of my thoughts and experiences so far as a very new rider.

Firstly: holy **** this hobby is expensive.

While I've heard stories of people picking up trash-tier-yet-still-functional bikes of of Craigslist for like $1K, as someone who has never owned a motorcycle before nor knows anyone who owns a motorcycle currently, going that route really wasn't an option for me. (1) I have no idea what I am doing, (2) I rent a room in a house so finding space to work on a bike is a problem of logistics/negotiation, (3) I have no idea what I am doing, (4) my inexperience will probably lead to me ****ing up whatever bike I get just out of sheer ignorance/incompetence so something like a warranty and professionals I could go to for advice would be great to have, and, most importantly, (5) I have no idea what I am doing. So I decided to purchase new.

While "the Honda tax" is apparently a thing, the Super Cub is literally the smallest and cheapest bike you can get from them, and even purchasing a 2020 model at discount, I ended up paying $4.2K out the door. Additionally, because I am a new rider who also enjoys being alive/having skin and functional extremities, I also needed to purchase a bunch of protective equipment at the same time. A decent helmet, riding jacket, gloves, and boots end up adding ~$600 to that total. And on top of that, because I'm a new rider on a new bike, I went ahead on got full coverage insurance, which added an additional ~$600. So from zero to Stay-Puft-marshmallow-man-with-a-bike set me back ~$5.4K. Living in WA also requires me to pony up an additional $100 to get a motorcycle permit and $25 to reprint my license to reflect that permit, with the same again (tests and license reprint) to occur again in 6 months to get my full endorsement.

Purely based on the cost alone, I could not recommend motorcycle ownership to anyone. Ever. Especially when you consider you are fronting that cost in order to enjoy a mode of transportation which is significantly less safe, comfortable, and convenient (in terms of hauling things) than a car. In my case, though, I've reached a point in my life where I have much more money than existing costs/responsibilities, so I can justify (or at least hum loudly to myself to block out the sound of) burning all that capital for no reason.

Second: Without an active community of bike owners around you, there is significant barrier to entry into the hobby.

This is coming from someone who lives in WA, rents a room in a house, had never ridden a motorcycle before, and does not currently know any motorcycle owners. Strange circular logic that was encountered:

1. I don't know if I like riding a motorcycle. But I don't know how to ride a motorcycle to even try it out. But I don't own a motorcycle to learn on. But I don't want to buy a motorcycle if I don't like riding it. But I don't know if I like riding a motorcycle...

2. I need to get a motorcycle permit so I can practice riding a motorcycle. But I can't get a permit without taking a riding test that proves I can ride a motorcycle. But I need to get a motorcycle permit so I can practice riding a motorcycle...

3. I'm required to take the permit test with my own motorcycle. But I can't ride my motorcycle to the test site without a permit. But I'm required to take the permit test with my own motorcycle...

etc. etc.

I managed to overcome most of the barriers through sheer stubbornness, trailers from UHaul, and willingness to sacrifice a (now significantly less) fat bank account. Again, would not recommend this to anyone. Ever.

Third: 125cc can actually work on American roads. Even the freeway. Even if you're a larger person.

In my case, I would honestly refer to the Super Cub as the Mitsubishi Mirage of motorcycles. Yeah, you're going to be pushing both yourself and the bike to your absolute limits, but 125cc is enough for your bare minimums. No, you are going to be pulling any "phat high speed pulls" outside of your local cul-de-sac, and you're just embarrassing yourself if you swap the exhaust to make your lawnmower engine any louder than the rest, but it'll do everything it needs to do for you to get from point A to point B, making 100mpg the whole way. I am able to easily cruise along at 55mph in top gear, and can hit 70mph+ with some aggressive throttle and tucking.

Lots of people seem drawn to larger bikes with similarly larger displacements because they feel the bikes with smaller engines and physically too small for them and would make them uncomfortable. I'll point out that as a 6'3" tall man with a 36" inseam, I actually manage to fit on the diminutive Super Cub without any discomfort. I have purchased an extended seat for a little bit more wiggle room, though, and I do fairly regularly find my left knee when the handle bars are at full lock, but considering my dimensions are a fairly extreme case I think the vast majority of people would be absolutely fine on a bike this size.

All that being said, I'm somewhere in the 170-180lbs range, which is way less than the average American who is my height. Chunky bois may or may not encounter issues with belly/leg space or power-to-weight ratio. Laying off the Rolling Rock and T-bone steaks for a week or two would probably benefit both your riding experience and general health if this is the case.

There's more I can write here but I think this wall of text is more than enough for now. Any other riders here? Maybe newbies looking to get into it? What are your thoughts/advice/concerns?

[Johnny Mullet]

I do mini bikes and scooters, but no motorcycles.

[Pryme]

Honda also sells imo the most desirable of the small 125's the trail model. That's the one I'd get.

I bought a new Yamaha zuma 50 in 2013 and commuted on it for two seasons. Rated at 132mpg but I'd get like 115. Not bad for being tapped wide open at all times. 42mph top speed but I liked it. I've considered a zuma 125 or stepping up to the xmax 300.

[skyblue]

I don't know if all bikes are like this, when I had a 250 Kawasaki Ninja it used to numb my hands really bad, I bought some of those end weights off the internet, but they all rely on squishing rubber in the tube and they'd eventually come out, I went to the hardware store, bought about half a meter of thread rod, some nyloc nuts and quite a few large washers, cut the threaded rod to size, stuck the threaded rod through each of the handlebars, with one washer on the inside ends and about 10 to 20 washers on the outside end, which made the hands last a bit longer. One thing that tripped me up a bit was the indicators not cancelling, I tried a few different things to make sure I switched them off, buzzers on the indicator and or a brighter light on the dash to make sure you turn them off.

[PityOnU]

Was out riding a bit yesterday. Scraped the foot pegs around one turn, almost high-sided the bike around another.

Still dialing in appropriate speeds around corners.

[Wallythacker]

MirageRally messaged me about this, but I figured I'd just throw this out into the public sphere as there may be other forum members here who are riders or have rode themselves in the past, maybe generate some interesting discussion.

I recently purchased a Honda Super Cub after being somewhat curious about learning to ride a motorcycle for what feels like a while. I figured I'd share here some of my thoughts and experiences so far as a very new rider.

Firstly: holy **** this hobby is expensive.

While I've heard stories of people picking up trash-tier-yet-still-functional bikes of of Craigslist for like $1K, as someone who has never owned a motorcycle before nor knows anyone who owns a motorcycle currently, going that route really wasn't an option for me. (1) I have no idea what I am doing, (2) I rent a room in a house so finding space to work on a bike is a problem of logistics/negotiation, (3) I have no idea what I am doing, (4) my inexperience will probably lead to me ****ing up whatever bike I get just out of sheer ignorance/incompetence so something like a warranty and professionals I could go to for advice would be great to have, and, most importantly, (5) I have no idea what I am doing. So I decided to purchase new.

While "the Honda tax" is apparently a thing, the Super Cub is literally the smallest and cheapest bike you can get from them, and even purchasing a 2020 model at discount, I ended up paying $4.2K out the door. Additionally, because I am a new rider who also enjoys being alive/having skin and functional extremities, I also needed to purchase a bunch of protective equipment at the same time. A decent helmet, riding jacket, gloves, and boots end up adding ~$600 to that total. And on top of that, because I'm a new rider on a new bike, I went ahead on got full coverage insurance, which added an additional ~$600. So from zero to Stay-Puft-marshmallow-man-with-a-bike set me back ~$5.4K. Living in WA also requires me to pony up an additional $100 to get a motorcycle permit and $25 to reprint my license to reflect that permit, with the same again (tests and license reprint) to occur again in 6 months to get my full endorsement.

Purely based on the cost alone, I could not recommend motorcycle ownership to anyone. Ever. Especially when you consider you are fronting that cost in order to enjoy a mode of transportation which is significantly less safe, comfortable, and convenient (in terms of hauling things) than a car. In my case, though, I've reached a point in my life where I have much more money than existing costs/responsibilities, so I can justify (or at least hum loudly to myself to block out the sound of) burning all that capital for no reason.

Second: Without an active community of bike owners around you, there is significant barrier to entry into the hobby.

This is coming from someone who lives in WA, rents a room in a house, had never ridden a motorcycle before, and does not currently know any motorcycle owners. Strange circular logic that was encountered:

1. I don't know if I like riding a motorcycle. But I don't know how to ride a motorcycle to even try it out. But I don't own a motorcycle to learn on. But I don't want to buy a motorcycle if I don't like riding it. But I don't know if I like riding a motorcycle...

2. I need to get a motorcycle permit so I can practice riding a motorcycle. But I can't get a permit without taking a riding test that proves I can ride a motorcycle. But I need to get a motorcycle permit so I can practice riding a motorcycle...

3. I'm required to take the permit test with my own motorcycle. But I can't ride my motorcycle to the test site without a permit. But I'm required to take the permit test with my own motorcycle...

etc. etc.

I managed to overcome most of the barriers through sheer stubbornness, trailers from UHaul, and willingness to sacrifice a (now significantly less) fat bank account. Again, would not recommend this to anyone. Ever.

Third: 125cc can actually work on American roads. Even the freeway. Even if you're a larger person.

In my case, I would honestly refer to the Super Cub as the Mitsubishi Mirage of motorcycles. Yeah, you're going to be pushing both yourself and the bike to your absolute limits, but 125cc is enough for your bare minimums. No, you are going to be pulling any "phat high speed pulls" outside of your local cul-de-sac, and you're just embarrassing yourself if you swap the exhaust to make your lawnmower engine any louder than the rest, but it'll do everything it needs to do for you to get from point A to point B, making 100mpg the whole way. I am able to easily cruise along at 55mph in top gear, and can hit 70mph+ with some aggressive throttle and tucking.

Lots of people seem drawn to larger bikes with similarly larger displacements because they feel the bikes with smaller engines and physically too small for them and would make them uncomfortable. I'll point out that as a 6'3" tall man with a 36" inseam, I actually manage to fit on the diminutive Super Cub without any discomfort. I have purchased an extended seat for a little bit more wiggle room, though, and I do fairly regularly find my left knee when the handle bars are at full lock, but considering my dimensions are a fairly extreme case I think the vast majority of people would be absolutely fine on a bike this size.

All that being said, I'm somewhere in the 170-180lbs range, which is way less than the average American who is my height. Chunky bois may or may not encounter issues with belly/leg space or power-to-weight ratio. Laying off the Rolling Rock and T-bone steaks for a week or two would probably benefit both your riding experience and general health if this is the case.

There's more I can write here but I think this wall of text is more than enough for now. Any other riders here? Maybe newbies looking to get into it? What are your thoughts/advice/concerns?

I'm the same size as you and I road a Honda CBR 125 for several years, from 2013-2016. I rode on our highways and had no trouble keeping up with traffic @120kmh (75~ mph). You need to draft now and then. I really enjoyed that bike. Plus, 125mpg was pretty wild. Getting older I now ride a 400cc Suzuki Burgman. Wow. Automatic, full featured, comfortable, 75 mpg and easily keeps up with highway traffic @80mph. Best move I've ever made two wheel wise.

[7milesout]

Getting older I now ride a 400cc Suzuki Burgman. Wow. Automatic, full featured, comfortable, 75 mpg and easily keeps up with highway traffic @80mph. Best move I've ever made two wheel wise.

Wally - I agree. Personally I think the 400 Burgman is mo' bettuh than the 650. Yeah, the 650 goes like stank. But I don't really care about that any longer. It is too much of a fat ass, and for a scooter, is a gas guzzler. The 400 is significantly lighter, and does AT LEAST 10 mpg better (probably more than that).

But next time around, I'm going for the PCX 160 I think. It tops out at 77 mph (flat - level - no wind). My Rebel 250 tops out at 72 mph under the same conditions and I've rode the Rebel up to my dad's house on the interstate through Atlanta ... so a PCX would be just a good or a bit better. Both my Rebel and the Burgman are cream puffs, but I got the hots for a 100 mpg PCX.

[PityOnU]

Wally - I agree. Personally I think the 400 Burgman is mo' bettuh than the 650. Yeah, the 650 goes like stank. But I don't really care about that any longer. It is too much of a fat ass, and for a scooter, is a gas guzzler. The 400 is significantly lighter, and does AT LEAST 10 mpg better (probably more than that).

But next time around, I'm going for the PCX 160 I think. It tops out at 77 mph (flat - level - no wind). My Rebel 250 tops out at 72 mph under the same conditions and I've rode the Rebel up to my dad's house on the interstate through Atlanta ... so a PCX would be just a good or a bit better. Both my Rebel and the Burgman are cream puffs, but I got the hots for a 100 mpg PCX.

I love my Cub, but I will be the first to admit that it is a dinosaur in terms of design. Absolutely zero storage space, semi-manual transmission, aerodynamics of a brick, and a 1 gallon gas tank.

Comparatively, the scooters they have out now are all pretty amazing - I didn't realize that most of them have automatic CVT transmissions until someone mentioned it at my motorcycle permit test. Looking at that PCX it actually has a ton of built in storage, as well. Very practical and modern vehicle.

[Mark]

I love my Cub, but I will be the first to admit that it is a dinosaur in terms of design. Absolutely zero storage space, semi-manual transmission, aerodynamics of a brick, and a 1 gallon gas tank.

Comparatively, the scooters they have out now are all pretty amazing - I didn't realize that most of them have automatic CVT transmissions until someone mentioned it at my motorcycle permit test. Looking at that PCX it actually has a ton of built in storage, as well. Very practical and modern vehicle.

Your machine may be somewhat of a dinosaur, but 30 years from now it will still run like it does today if you take good care of it. If you have any desire to own a larger cycle some day, owning/driving an automatic small cycle or moped doesn't really prepare you for a large bike.

I really like cycles in the 400-650 cc range.

For a tall guy, the Honda CB500X, Kawasaki Versys 650, or Suzuki V-Strom 650 are really nice bikes.

For a short guy, I would consider the Honda Rebel 500 & the Suzuki Boulevard S40.

The Suzuki Boulevard S40 is a single cylinder 650cc bike that would be excellent for beginners.

My first cycle was a 1977 Yamaha XS400. I bought in 1978, & it had 400 miles on it. Someone traded it at car dealership, & the car dealership wanted to get rid of it. I was 16 when I bought it. I sold it 4 years later for $700. It didn't have a battery. It was kick start only. The XS400 parallel twin was considered an upgrade from all the Honda CB360 bikes that dominated the market for a very long time before that time. I had some great times on that bike.

[7milesout]

Looking at that PCX it actually has a ton of built in storage, as well. Very practical and modern vehicle.

My Burgman has a huge underseat compartment. A trunk box added behind the rear seat. And built in pockets up around the handle bars. It's like a pickup truck compared to my Rebel.