Hello,
I recently spent two months in SE Asia and got my first 'real' experience with motorbikes. I say 'real' because I did minimal dirt biking as a kid and have rented scooters a few times while in Florida. In Thailand I got about 300-400km experience on a Honda Wave 125i which felt like a scooter/motor bike hybrid because my feet were on pegs versus a platform. The bike was semi automatic which meant shifting through its four gears with my left foot, but there was no clutch.
I absolutely loved getting around the city and driving through the twisty and turny mountains on the bike, and now want to buy a bike now that I'm back in Toronto. I have a few questions I was hoping the group could help out with:
1) While riding the Wave I got up to almost 100km/h but felt a bit freaked out and uncomfortable and didn't last very long at that speed (felt a bit more comfortable around 80km/h or so but still a bit scared). Most of my riding was done between 50-70 and I absolutely loved it! I think it was a combination of me not know the limits of the bike and that I wasn't wearing proper gear (I know, I know - dumb, but when in Rome: Thailand isn't exactly known for its safety reputation). I just remember looking down at the tires and thinking it felt a bit like I was on a bicycle and it doesn't seem right to be going this fast. Would a CBR125 have the same feeling at a higher speed? Or does my fear stem from a lack of experience? It I get a bike in Toronto, I definitely want to drive on roads that are 80km/h and maybe even some occasional 400 series driving as well (and likely to have my girlfriend as a passenger sometimes as well). Am I better off looking at something like a CBR250 as a first bike?
2) Shifting - as mentioned, the bike I rode in Thailand was a semi automatic and I really loved the control I got through shifting. I found it so fun to shift through the gears as I ripped through the mountains. How steep is the learning curve to go to full manual with the clutch? I drove a manual car when I was 16-20 (now 28) so I have an understanding of how to shift a car, but is any of that skill useful when talking about a bike you shift with your foot and clutch with your hand?
3) City traffic - the one thing I loved about Thailand was that on my bike, it was perfectly acceptable to drive between cars and on the shoulder to cut to the front of traffic. It seemed like getting through heavy traffic in the city was so much faster and one if the big appeals to me of buying a bike for Toronto (I hate driving my car through the city because of how slow traffic is). Obviously you can't drive up on the sidewalk like the maniacs in Thailand, but what exactly are the written and unwritten rules of riding a bike through the city of Toronto? Is it actually any quicker than getting around in a car?
Thanks for any input!
I recently spent two months in SE Asia and got my first 'real' experience with motorbikes. I say 'real' because I did minimal dirt biking as a kid and have rented scooters a few times while in Florida. In Thailand I got about 300-400km experience on a Honda Wave 125i which felt like a scooter/motor bike hybrid because my feet were on pegs versus a platform. The bike was semi automatic which meant shifting through its four gears with my left foot, but there was no clutch.
I absolutely loved getting around the city and driving through the twisty and turny mountains on the bike, and now want to buy a bike now that I'm back in Toronto. I have a few questions I was hoping the group could help out with:
1) While riding the Wave I got up to almost 100km/h but felt a bit freaked out and uncomfortable and didn't last very long at that speed (felt a bit more comfortable around 80km/h or so but still a bit scared). Most of my riding was done between 50-70 and I absolutely loved it! I think it was a combination of me not know the limits of the bike and that I wasn't wearing proper gear (I know, I know - dumb, but when in Rome: Thailand isn't exactly known for its safety reputation). I just remember looking down at the tires and thinking it felt a bit like I was on a bicycle and it doesn't seem right to be going this fast. Would a CBR125 have the same feeling at a higher speed? Or does my fear stem from a lack of experience? It I get a bike in Toronto, I definitely want to drive on roads that are 80km/h and maybe even some occasional 400 series driving as well (and likely to have my girlfriend as a passenger sometimes as well). Am I better off looking at something like a CBR250 as a first bike?
2) Shifting - as mentioned, the bike I rode in Thailand was a semi automatic and I really loved the control I got through shifting. I found it so fun to shift through the gears as I ripped through the mountains. How steep is the learning curve to go to full manual with the clutch? I drove a manual car when I was 16-20 (now 28) so I have an understanding of how to shift a car, but is any of that skill useful when talking about a bike you shift with your foot and clutch with your hand?
3) City traffic - the one thing I loved about Thailand was that on my bike, it was perfectly acceptable to drive between cars and on the shoulder to cut to the front of traffic. It seemed like getting through heavy traffic in the city was so much faster and one if the big appeals to me of buying a bike for Toronto (I hate driving my car through the city because of how slow traffic is). Obviously you can't drive up on the sidewalk like the maniacs in Thailand, but what exactly are the written and unwritten rules of riding a bike through the city of Toronto? Is it actually any quicker than getting around in a car?
Thanks for any input!
