22y/o looking to get into riding!

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KaizerK2

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Long story short I have always wanted to ride a motorcycle, I'm a huge gear head and have loved cars, motorcycles, and airplanes since I could remember. I finally put my foot down and made up my mind that this is the year I want to start riding. I'm looking around for a few motorcycles and got a few quotes from insurance brokers which were not so pleasing.

Needless to say I have been severely demotivated after hearing what I would be paying yearly. I understand enough to know my insurance will be high till I hit 25 and maybe still remain high even after that. I get its a pay to play system but I just can't justify paying twice the cost of the motorcycle on yearly insurance just to ride on weekends.

So in my mind I suppose my best bet would be to just get a track bike and stick to the tracks for the next few years. My question is does anyone know of a track in Southern Ontario that allows motorcycles? What hurdles would I have to jump to be able to go on the tracks every weekend and crank a few laps? and would paying for track days work out to the same $$$ as insurance or would it be cheaper? Also please feel free to let me know if I'm in over my head thinking tracking a bike would be cheaper.
 
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KaizerK2 said:
Long story short I have always wanted to ride a motorcycle, I'm a huge gear head and have loved cars, motorcycles, and airplanes since I could remember. I recently finally put my foot down and made up my mind that this is the year I want to start riding. I looking around for a few motorcycles and got a few quotes from insurance brokers which were not so pleasing.

Needless to say I have been severely demotivated after hearing what I would be paying yearly. I understand enough to know my insurance will be high till I hit 25 and maybe still remain high even after that. I get its a pay to play system but I just can't justify paying twice the cost of the motorcycle on yearly insurance just to ride on weekends.

So in my mind I suppose my best bet would be to just get a track bike and stick to the tracks for the next few years. My question is does anyone know of a track in Southern Ontario that allows motorcycles? What hurdles would I have to jump to be able to go on the tracks every weekend and crank a few laps? and would paying for track days work out to the same $$$ as insurance or would be cheaper? Also please feel free to let me know if I'm in over my head thinking tracking a bike would be cheaper.
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Track days could be $250+event/day/weekend
Most tracks have motorcycle specific events throughout the riding season

However, going directly from a motorcycle course (to get your license) to jumping on the track is a pretty intimidating feat. Not impossible but perhaps not the best idea.

My advice would be to buy something older and cheaper to maintain and likewise reap the benefit of lower insurance. Use this time to gain confidence and skill. Make no mistake, riding is a skill and you only get better at it with time in the seat. I would suggest a Honda CBR250R or Honda Grom. These bikes are highway legal, but not necessarily the best tool for that job. They will be forgiving, easy to keep on the road and cheap cheap cheap to insure.

After 1 'full' riding season, i see no reason not to get into the track. I would highly suggest an intro to race course, they will teach you the fundamentals and let you whip around a circuit on their bikes/gear if you wish.

Finally, welcome to GTAM!
 
Track days could be $250+event/day/weekend
Most tracks have motorcycle specific events throughout the riding season

However, going directly from a motorcycle course (to get your license) to jumping on the track is a pretty intimidating feat. Not impossible but perhaps not the best idea.

My advice would be to buy something older and cheaper to maintain and likewise reap the benefit of lower insurance. Use this time to gain confidence and skill. Make no mistake, riding is a skill and you only get better at it with time in the seat. I would suggest a Honda CBR250R or Honda Grom. These bikes are highway legal, but not necessarily the best tool for that job. They will be forgiving, easy to keep on the road and cheap cheap cheap to insure.

After 1 'full' riding season, i see no reason not to get into the track. I would highly suggest an intro to race course, they will teach you the fundamentals and let you whip around a circuit on their bikes/gear if you wish.
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I just want to start by saying I really appreciate your help and time providing me with this information!

I did not know track days could be upwards of $250+, that's absolutely bonkers!! The specific events thing is huge bummer also, pretty much prevent you from just dropping by and cranking out a few laps.

I was snooping around other posts on here and heard one guy say he was able to get significantly cheaper insurance on a motorcycle that was 15 years or older. How true is that and does it vary person to person I don't have a problem with older bikes and can do the maintenance just fine so I will definitely look into that! I called a handful of insurance brokers to get a quote on a brand new 2021 Aprilia Tuono and boy did they hit me with a quote that made me jump. I figured I would be doing myself a favour by buying a new bike with safety features like TC and ABS but I suppose not. My question is if I were to get an older bike say like a 02' or 04' would it matter what CC the bike is? Would a 300cc be cheaper compared to a 600cc? Also do insurance companies care if a bike has 2 cylinder or 4? Since it does make a huge difference in power output.

I do have my safety endorsement course scheduled for my M2 in the next coming months with a place near by that can accommodate with a variety of motorcycles. I'm not necessarily new to bikes, I have rode motorcycles in the past such as dirtbikes, e-bikes, pitbikes, mopeds, scooters and touring bikes. None of which were performance machines by any standard and most were rode in a different country with different laws and regulations. I understand its a huge jump going from riding a bike that's barely capable of hitting 100kph to a bike that can go from 0-100 in less than 5 seconds. This is the reason why I decided to enroll in the safety course and the benefit is the school I enrolled with has a CBR300R I can learn on.

Finally, I just wanted to say thank you so much for the warm welcome! I will surely look for an older motorcycle and pull some quotes from insurance!
 
Welcome to GTAM.

What bike(s) have you been looking at and getting quotes for.

All the odds are against you. Your age, license history (or lack thereof) , the way insurance works and the bike you are trying to insure.

It is not impossible but difficult to manage.
The only thing you have control over right now is the bike you get. You can't get older instantly nor can you gain 5 years of riding experience with 3 years of insurance history.

There is nothing wrong with a lower CC bike and nothing wrong with a bike that is a few years old.

Post up your interested bikes and I'm sure you will get feedback whether they are a good choice or not. There are lots of insurance friendly bikes.
Some are not so obvious, especially if you haven't been into motorcycling for long.
 
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Since you say you have experience riding motorcycles, check out sv650, fz07, r7 etc. Insurance is lower on those from what I know.

You can find good used r3, ninja 400 as a track only bike, if you are interested only in tracking the bike. The expenses are towing the bike to the track, parts, maintenance, and fixing the bike up if you drop it. Racer5 and Fast are good schools to do intro course on track riding, I'd highly recommend.

PS: Tuonos are great bikes but make for a terrible first bike. I'd suggest shortlisting a couple of bikes in the 300-600 category (minus supersport bikes) and get quotes for all of those to get some clarity on insurance rates.

Good luck!
 
Welcome to GTAM.

What bike(s) have you been looking at and getting quotes for.

All the odds are against you. Your age, license history (or lack thereof) , the way insurance works and the bike you are trying to insure.

It is not impossible but difficult to manage.
The only thing you have control over right now is the bike you get. You can't get older instantly nor can you gain 5 years of riding experience with 3 years of insurance history.

There is nothing wring with a lower CC bike and nothing wrong with a bike that is a few years old.

Post up your interested bikes and I'm sure you will get feedback whether they are a good choice or not. There are lots of insurance friendly bikes.
Some are not so obvious, especially if you haven't been into motorcycling for long.
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Glad to be apart of GTAM thank you for the welcome!!

I only incurred to insurance regarding a brand new 2021 Aprilia Tuono. Other than that I was looking at used SV650, Mt-03, KTM duke 390, and Yamaha FZR400. Any other motorcycles you would recommend?

Ya I figured, I have tried to keep my driving record as clean as possible and have only incurred one speeding ticket for going 95 on a posted 80. Though I suppose that will also factor into my insurance and cause it go higher. I am willing to pay at most $400/monthly but currently I got quoted $700 by Echelon which is way out of my reach and more than half the price of the Tuono.

Only reason I really wanted to get into riding here was for tracking and casual street riding since I live in a rural town, but after hearing what Evoex had to say regarding track day pricing, that to will not be an option I could pursue any longer. So I don't suppose it would hurt getting getting a lower CC bike since I would be bound to only street riding. I do have all my gear, and was planning on buying a full-blown tracksuit but surely that won't happen anytime soon.

Now If push comes to shove I will settle with a 250cc something along the lines of a 09' Ninja 250R or a Z250, but I really have my heart set out for a bike between the range of 300cc-600cc and preferably a 2 cylinder. I don't really have a knack to buy a sport bike and would much rather prefer a naked bike for street riding. Though my knowledge for older motorcycles is limited, so I don't really know what to get if I was looking before 2010 models. Thanks for your time and advice it is much appreciate!
 
Yamaha FZ6 is very insurance friendly. (At least in my experience)
 
voyageur said:
Since you say you have experience riding motorcycles, check out sv650, fz07, r7 etc. Insurance is lower on those from what I know.

You can find good used r3, ninja 400 as a track only bike, if you are interested only in tracking the bike. The expenses are towing the bike to the track, parts, maintenance, and fixing the bike up if you drop it. Racer5 and Fast are good schools to do intro course on track riding, I'd highly recommend.

PS: Tuonos are great bikes but make for a terrible first bike. I'd suggest shortlisting a couple of bikes in the 300-600 category (minus supersport bikes) and get quotes for all of those to get some clarity on insurance rates.

Good luck!
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I am really considering a SV650 since I hear a lot of good things about the insurance being cheap so I will inquire with my broker by the end of the week. I wasn't too keen on the R7 since I heard a few folks say they got quoted 5-6k yearly, but I will for sure take a look at the FZ-07!

I have no issues with buying a track only bike and was really considering that option since I can already accommodate for towing, maintenance and fixing the bike. Only thing that deters me now is what Evoex said regarding track day prices, those prices will leave a huge dent in my vault! I will look into the Racer5 and Fast school, will definitely help me improve my skill as a overall rider. Much thanks for pointing me in their direction!

Ya I sorta agree that the Tuono isn't necessarily the best beginner option, I just have a dumb founded love with German and Italian vehicles no matter how much headache they give me when I work on them, though I hate working on German made aircraft engines.

Thanks for all the help and guidance!
 
oioioi said:
Yamaha FZ6 is very insurance friendly. (At least in my experience)
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They're pretty decent in terms of insurance... @bigpoppa doesn't like them :p You won't get the nod from the GTAM baller club.
KaizerK2 said:
Ya I sorta agree that the Tuono isn't necessarily the best beginner option, I just have a dumb founded love with German and Italian vehicles no matter how much headache they give me when I work on them, though I hate working on German made aircraft engines.

Thanks for all the help and guidance!
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You'll get there after a few years. Age is one of the factors and it's not on your side right now but with a few years of experience under your belt, you'll get somewhat manageable quotes. My suggestion would be to get something cheap and enjoy it for a couple of years as you build your riding history.

KTM rc390 is a pretty fun bike too. I still have memories from one I rode many years ago :)
 
KaizerK2 said:
Other than that I was looking at used SV650, Mt-03, KTM duke 390
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cbr300r/500r are good options as well. Ninja 300's are nice too.

Cant go wrong with an sv650 either.

Im not a fan of the fz6, just a bad bike in general.

Tuonos are difficult to insure for experienced riders, probably impossible for newer riders.
 
KaizerK2 said:
Now If push comes to shove I will settle with a 250cc something along the lines of a 09' Ninja 250R or a Z250, but I really have my heart set out for a bike between the range of 300cc-600cc and preferably a 2 cylinder. I don't really have a knack to buy a sport bike and would much rather prefer a naked bike for street riding. Though my knowledge for older motorcycles is limited, so I don't really know what to get if I was looking before 2010 models. Thanks for your time and advice it is much appreciate!
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I'll have a well loved 2011 Ducati Monster 796 w/ABS for sale soon, if that turns your crank at all.
Insurance is a constant mystery and completely random, so check first.
 
Wind Shear said:
I'll have a well loved 2011 Ducati Monster 796 w/ABS for sale soon, if that turns your crank at all.
Insurance is a constant mystery and completely random, so check first.
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suppose not the worst bike for a 22 year old new rider 🤷‍♂️
 
Welcome, you have been given great advice from very experienced riders.
It's a great hobby to have, wait until you start doing it.
Good luck!
 
To give you an idea of what insurance costs for each bike, you can go to the TD web site and get an online quote. Then you can play around with the model and see what it does to the quote. Just make sure your personal info is correct, otherwise the quote is useless. I've found their online quoting system to put out the same number as when I speak to their call center.
 
You can't quite drop in any time you like, but there are multiple trackdays in Southern Ontario every week of the season:

Motorcycle Track Days in Ontario, Quebec and Canada

Listing of motorcycle track days and lapping days in Ontario, Quebec, and Canada
www.motorcycletrackdays.ca

There are a couple of track-oriented schools:
Quite a few tracks:
  • Shannonville
  • Grand Bend
  • TMP/Cayuga
  • CTMP/Mosport (the big GP track isn't a great beginner track, but the small DDT track is really good. Expensive)
  • Calabogie (most expensive, not a great track for beginners)
And a bunch of organizers:
I'm probably forgetting a few.

There are some kart tracks that do frequent mini-bike days which are quite cheap, and to be honest they're the best place to build riding skill. @Amazon can probably point you in the right direction for those.

In general, a cheap ratty old small bike can teach you a lot, both on the track and on the street. Track riding can't really be seriously considered rationally from a financial perspective. But weigh the cost of something like a $2500 Ninja 250 and a single set of tires ($400) per season on the track, versus whatever you'd pay in street insurance between now and when the rates drop when you turn 25.
 
Your cheapest insurance bikes are cruisers up to 650cc and little sport touring bikes and enduros up to 300cc.

Get a 10 year old bike for $2500, I’ll bet you’ll be closer to $3000/year. My kids room mate started last year on a small kawi cruiser, he’s paying under $3000 from echelon, no collision (collision isn’t worth it on a low cost bike - make one claim and your insurance could jump more than the value of the bike).

Welcome!
 
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