I am crazy, just bought a brand new bike
 

All these threads about motorcycles prompted me to start my own thread :)

I've been into motorsports for a while now and have done many autocrosses and track schools. Motorcycles have always interested me, but I never got the guts to give them a try.... until now.......

My only prior experience before buying a full on motorcycle was a 50cc moped I rode around town for almost 3 years. I originally wanted to buy a 250cc bike to learn on, but jumped right to a 800cc BMW F800ST after the Kawasaki dealership pissed me off.

http://www.1337haxor.com/f800st.JPG

I've managed to stay safe and I haven't pushed the bike to it's full limits yet. People have told me that power can be dangerous for a newbie, but I think power can be a safety feature too. I've had to pass cars to get out of their blind spots quick and accelerate onto traffic. As long as I keep the revs under 5k, I feel the bike is very tame and newbie friendly. This bike also has ABS and awesome brakes. I haven't locked up the front wheel in a panic yet, and hope ABS never has to kick in as I try to leave tons of braking space. I got the low seat and low frame option so I can put both feet flat on the ground.

The only thing I might say is bad for a beginner on this bike would be the weight. At around 420lb dry, it is kind of heavy. Unfortunately, on my first day at a gas station, I stalled it and dropped the bike. Luckily I had my side cases on. Only damage was a scratch on the side case.

I plan on attending the MSF classes this week and I got a good book called "Proficient Motorcycling" by David Hough. I look forward to my insurance premium dropping (surprisingly reasonable right now) once I complete the MSF class and get my license.

I've only had the bike for 10 days and put 400 miles on her already :eek:
I'm looking forward to many more years of fun out of this thing :thumbsup:

Congrats on the awesome bike, I am really jealous. I think that is a great choice for a bike, and one that is not so run-of-the-mill, which is always cool. I think it's great that you are doing your due diligence to learn about riding and seem to have a healthy respect for the inherent dangers of biking. Have fun and ride safe.

What a seriously awesome bike.

that looks expensive...??? and cool!

That's a sweet fucking bike!!

I don't ride, but that's a really cool bike.

Congrats! Post more pics of it.

That's a damn nice bike you got. What other bikes did you look at? I see you went to the Kawi dealership for the 250 (did they even have any you could look at? Every place I've heard is sold out with a long waiting list) or the SV650 (the other standard n00b bike).

Congrats on the sweet purchase.

I started on a 600cc Yamaha, and kept it under 6k rpm for the first 1000 miles or so. The first time I actually let her rip up into the 12k-15k rpm range was like I had hit the afterburners button or something... the thing just took off (and brought a big smile to my face). Good to see you invested in the proper safety gear and are going to take a course to help ease into the experience. Congrats!

Awesome bike dude!

thats really nice!

ride safe!

I used to know a guy who had a bike just like that. It was a beautiful ride.

He dropped it two weeks after buying it, without the benefit of anything on the bike to break the fall. Scratched the hell out of the poor thing.

Don't be like that guy.

Nice bike...congratulations on the purchase. I test drove the KTM 990 Adventure, Suzuki Vstrom 650, and BMW F650GS and F800ST before going with an XR650L. I found the ST to be very, very smooth and powerful - too much (85HP!!) for me just starting out on the street. The grey matte finish looks awesome in person. I was surprised how reasonable these bikes are to finance (KTM aside), plus the resale on BMWs is among the best in the business. What options did you get?

the more I live in downtown Seattle, the more sense it seems to make to own a motorbike or something. However, I don't feel like getting another license. so poopies.

Wow, gorgeous bike. Good luck with it.

Sorry, gotta go internet bike shopping now ;)

This isn't racist at all: you look like a ninja.

Welcome to the brotherhood (is that too inappropriate in the modern age), I wouldn't exactly consider your bike good for beginners but stay safe, be careful, and don't upset her (the bike) and she'll take good care of you :D

Everytime I see a BMW logo I can't help but think "too expensive", don't think I'll ever own or dream of owning a BMW for that reason.

given the price of petrol a bike isn´t crazy at all....

but a motorbike is :)

I just had to,
yours
ZB