New hobby (hopefully) | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

New hobby (hopefully)

Mad Mike said:
Call another broker. A ninja 300 classifies as sport touring bike which is typically cheaper to insure than a naked standard.

There are no late model super sports sold in Canada under 600cc.

You might consider an enduro, Suzuki DR200, Yamaha XT (or TW). They are very easy to ride, are a bit more tolerant to the occasional tip over. Zipping around trails or dirt roads at moderate speeds is a valuable learning experience and really helps riders become ‘one’ with a motorcycle.
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Pretty sure there is a ‘sport bike’ classification that falls between the two.
 
otwo_91 said:
To the OP

I too just recently started riding! I started in April but I can tell you I am having an absolute blast. Ill share some of my personal experiences to help you.

I started with a 2011 Honda CBR125R which is what I am presently riding. I am 6 foot on the dot and usually around 170 lbs. It fits me great and its so much fun on local drives around Mississauga. I started to get acquainted with riding within about 10-11 times being on the bike and although the 125 is great, I do wish I went with a 300-400.

The 125 with me on it can go up to and sustain 115 km/h. The acceleration is not as abysmal as people will make it out to be, but its no great. The problem non the less is that its not heavy enough to handle high winds on the highway. Essentially, I cant really take it on the highway with out being on high alert because the wind just feels like its in control. If I had a bigger bike, I would ride it to see my family in Hamilton, but for now, I can only ride the 125 anywhere other than a highway, I do ride it to work every time I can.

If you are sure that you will not be needing to go on highways this season AND your not heavier than 190-200 lbs. the 125 is a good choice imo for local roads. some 125's are bigger than others. for an instance, my 2011 cbr125r looks considerably bigger than a 2007 model which I had checked out prior to getting my 2011.

As for insurance, the lower the CC's likely means lower insurance. I am no expert in this field. I will say, I get a full tank of 92 octane fuel for my bike for $12. and its good for about 400 km's. Its really good for gas, compared to a car. So I like to take it to work when the weather is nice, and honestly, the money I am saving on fuel, offsets the insurance cost for me as a new rider.

I use fortnine which is a Canadian company out of Montreal. I dont know if their prices are the best compared to local shops but I have not been disappointed otherwise.

As for the schools, the training is so important imo and I went for the one closest to me with the nearest dates.

Perhaps, if I were to go back in time, I may consider having started on a Yamaha sport bike around 400 cc's. But at the same time, if this is going to be a life long endeavor for me, I appreciate that I will always know what a 125CC was like compared to all the bikes ill ride one day.

I am keeping the 125 for this season, but ill be looking for a 400 CC starting next April.

I have not yet dropped my bike. But I did make a lot of mistakes, all of which had absoloutely no consequences because I was riding a very forgiving 125! So start with a used bike, You will make mistakes, you will possibly damage it or wear out some parts while you learn, at least, you wont be doing that to a brand new bike for which you will likely be much more emotionally attached.
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This is awesome. Will definitely keep this in mind when I go bike shopping. Definitely not looking at a new bike to start off with.
 
Didi said:
When you call for a quote also ask them about quotes for more powerful bikes down the road. I.e. if you go with like a cbr125r see how your rates might be if you deicide to upgrade to a cbr500r or cbr650r in a year or two. Before I bought my first bike I did this and found out I'd have to wait at least 3-5 years before I saw any real drops in insurance to warrant upgrading so it made sense for me to get a newer, slightly more powerful beginner bike (cbr500r) that would last me longer than a season or two. Also before you buy the bike I highly recommending doing the rider training course since you'll get a chance to try all the different types of bikes making it easier to choose a bike that fits your needs.
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Yeah I was planning on doing that just to have an idea for now and also for future upgradability.
 
I'm new to riding, so take what I say as a grain of salt, when I asked around thinking of buying a bike I was told not to get anything smaller than a 600, only because it will keep you from wanting a new bike for awhile, your fast enough to not be left in the dust and not holding other riders up, but also not to fast to kill yourself, mine is a 650 and I am very comfortable with it, I have a 2018 Z650 abs Kawasaki, the insurance is not to bad after I took the MTO course.

As far as gear, I bought mine a little here and a little there, a good online store I found for my jacket was leatherup.ca, my helmets I always went to Royal distributing in Barry (also Guelph), My kids both got helmets there, girlfriend got her helmet from Bartz in Mississauga he has nice stuff also. Hope this helps and enjoy the season and stay safe!
 
Jaysea said:
I'm new to riding, so take what I say as a grain of salt, when I asked around thinking of buying a bike I was told not to get anything smaller than a 600, only because it will keep you from wanting a new bike for awhile, your fast enough to not be left in the dust and not holding other riders up, but also not to fast to kill yourself, mine is a 650 and I am very comfortable with it, I have a 2018 Z650 abs Kawasaki, the insurance is not to bad after I took the MTO course.

As far as gear, I bought mine a little here and a little there, a good online store I found for my jacket was leatherup.ca, my helmets I always went to Royal distributing in Barry (also Guelph), My kids both got helmets there, girlfriend got her helmet from Bartz in Mississauga he has nice stuff also. Hope this helps and enjoy the season and stay safe!
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Thanks for the suggestions. Will definitely check em out for the gear
 
Hi! Welcome to the forum.

While you do your course with rti, mtohp, or learning curves, they will have a bunch of motorcycles for you to try and familiarize. Not a bad idea to make the call post that.

Any 300 to 500 cc motorcycle and you shouldn't go wrong. All the best!
 
Never too late to get into this hobby!

Got my M2 end of last year and have been riding my new Yamaha MT-03 for over 1 month (not many used around). Spent over 40 hours practicing in a parking lot nearby. Absolutely love it, highlight of everyday life!

At this point, if you can get in any course, you should go for it. Due to lockdown every school is backlogged. I doubt riding schools still take in more students. In the course you will get a chance to try different bikes. I tried Honda CBR125R and CG150, and also Suzuki TU250X there. I considered Honda CB300R, Honda REBEL 300 and 500, then one instructor told me about Yamaha MT-03 (321cc parallel-twin). I sat on it in the showroom. Loved it. Bought it. I love the sportsbike but I don't think I can handle it for longer period of time so I chose a standard bike (which has less aggressive seating position). And I got great insurance rate with this bike. Well I did bundle with my car/house insurance.

Gear-wise I love GP Bike. They are on the other side of GTA but I drove there quite a few times. The staff there are amazing and you could also order online. I wear all my gears with armor all the time (shoulders, back, albows, knees) still need to buy hip armor.... As the weather getting warmer, I start doing my ride in early mornings during weekends. Cooler.

Watch Youtube about drills that you could do. Slow speed drills help a lot! Interesting fact from the book Proficient Motorcycling: the accident rate is highest (over 30%) for the beginners 0-6 months and riders with 2-3 years experience. I would like to beat the odds and be safe :)
 
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