New guy is really appreciating this site

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Rossxxxxx

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Hey there

I am new to the site. I am male, 58, married with two kids (15 and 10). I live in downtown Toronto.

I got my M license a long time ago through Centennial College but have not actually ridden a motorcycle since.

The last few years I have been tooling around on a Vespa. ( don't make fun of that - they are are nearly a perfect ride for those of us living downtown)

Anyway I am at a place where I want to move up to a bigger bike that I can take for long rides.

I will be retaking the basic motorcycle course ( probably through Rider) in the fall - just because I think is the smart thing to do and I am sure it will help my confidence.

Will take my time over the winter to find a bike and be ready for spring.

Best wishes

Ross
 
Welcome! A very good idea to take a course again! I'd suggest looking at Humber courses too, as they have a 'refresher' course if I remember correctly.
 
Fear the vespa rebel, the last true hooligan left on the roads. I get jealous watching them zip in and out of the city, parking on the sidewalks and looking stylish the whole time.

B******!

Welcome to the forums.
 
Welcome!!
Wheelie.gif
 
Well to be honest I am currently lusting for either a VStar 950 or Vulcan 900. The touring versions.

I love the looks of both bikes for different reasons - but the end choice will come down to which bike actually fits me better. The ergonomics will play a big factor in what I go with.

I want a bike that is easy to work with in the downtown core. But is also secure and comfortable on highways.

I have thought about the the Honda Shadow but I just keep getting drawn to the bikes above.

At this point I don't know if a 900cc+ bike is too much for my ability/ experience. But I DO have a healthy respect for motorcycles and truly believe one is perfectly capable of killing one's self on a bicycle, let alone a serious sized motorcycle.

Whatever I get I will spend the first month doing drills and practicing in a safe environment before heading out. Just like I did with my Vespa :)

Ross
 
Welcome, the Vulcan 900 is one sweet bike. 900+ cc's is not too much of a problem on cruisers, it is more the weight of these bikes.
 
SeaBreez said:
Welcome, the Vulcan 900 is one sweet bike. 900+ cc's is not too much of a problem on cruisers, it is more the weight of these bikes.
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Hi

Thanks for the perspective. I am at the very early stages of my research. I am not sure how big/ heavy I can go and still manage it without a lot of worry or hassle. Depending on what's available and of course price, I might go to an 1100 or 1300 - but that is probably the limit.

I am very open to advice and opinions on this - maybe be this should be in a different area of the forum ...
 
Rossxxxxx said:
Hi

Thanks for the perspective. I am at the very early stages of my research. I am not sure how big/ heavy I can go and still manage it without a lot of worry or hassle. Depending on what's available and of course price, I might go to an 1100 or 1300 - but that is probably the limit.

I am very open to advice and opinions on this - maybe be this should be in a different area of the forum ...
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Welcome from another "mature" new rider downtown :-)

I started by looking at cruisers, and almost bought one but it was sold the day I went to make an offer. Ended up rethinking and buying an 800cc adventure touring bike. So happy I went that route. Though it doesn't look as coool as a cruiser, it is so versatile and light (just 440 lbs wet compared to well over 600 lbs for a Vulcan 900). It rides great on the highway, but a touring windshield makes for a big difference in comfort. $200 and you can change it out in 10 minutes.

In the end, just take your time doing the "sit test" on as many different bikes as you can. You will know your bike it when you find it :-)
 
OP, I'm 38 years old and this my first year riding. (Since March) I quickly upgraded from a 250 to a Yamaha 1300 cruiser. The key is just to take things slow, and never ride beyond your abilities. A 900-950cc cruiser will be very manageable. One think to note.... The Yamaha Star 950 tourer has floor boards that scrape pretty early in a turn. It's not the end of the world, but be sure you can live with it.

If you jump to 1300cc's, I can't say enough great things about the Stryker. It's got a comfortable "fists in the wind" riding position, 40 degrees of rake on the front fork, and tonnes of badass factor.

Good luck with your decision.
 
wormburner said:
OP, I'm 38 years old and this my first year riding. (Since March) I quickly upgraded from a 250 to a Yamaha 1300 cruiser. The key is just to take things slow, and never ride beyond your abilities. A 900-950cc cruiser will be very manageable. One think to note.... The Yamaha Star 950 tourer has floor boards that scrape pretty early in a turn. It's not the end of the world, but be sure you can live with it.

If you jump to 1300cc's, I can't say enough great things about the Stryker. It's got a comfortable "fists in the wind" riding position, 40 degrees of rake on the front fork, and tonnes of badass factor.

Good luck with your decision.
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Just wanna say 'lol' about taking things slow, but of course, to each is his own. I am sure you exceeded the limits of your bike within a couple of months, felt it was underpowered and wasn't fast enough on the highway or stuff like that. Meh, heard it before. Just tell the truth that it was the itch to upgrade because you felt that you can do it.
 
Welcome!

I'm 45 myself and just started riding this year. I got the BMW F800ST which might have been a little much at the brginning but at the same time it made me take my time and ride within my limits - now? Lovin it I take it to work a couple times a week and will try to ride as late into the year as I can.
 
ViperZ said:
Just wanna say 'lol' about taking things slow, but of course, to each is his own. I am sure you exceeded the limits of your bike within a couple of months, felt it was underpowered and wasn't fast enough on the highway or stuff like that.
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Not at all. The 250 was certainly fast enough, and handled highway speeds well. However, it was small. I started to feel like a gorilla on a tricycle. Then I was offered a great price for it, so upgrade time came early. A big cruiser does take more attention, but nowhere as twitchy as a 750-1000cc sport bike. It's all relative.
 
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