Hello everyone.
I'm a newbie here, and a newbie to riding for that matter. I'm signed up to take my MSF course in a of couple weeks (a couple of weeks too long, I might add) and have been doing some preliminary bike shopping for my first set of wheels without a cage. I've done my share of reading forums and talking to friends and I'm finding there are as many opinions as there are riders. I've sat on a bunch of bikes so far (can't actually try any of them since I don't have my motorcycle endorsement yet), but when I sat on the Raider, I'm pretty certain that the heavens opened and the choir of angels sang! The styling, the geometry, and riding position-- I loved it all!
I have concerns about having 113ci underneath "the jewels" on a first two-wheeler though. I should note that I'm about 5'11" but I'm a pretty big ol' boy so it would take a little juice to get me moving up a hill anyway. 113ci though? Am I just asking for trouble? I really hate the idea of buying a beginner bike only to turn around and have to buy a new one in six months like some folks suggest. I was brought up to "buy once and buy right" so buying a starter bike knowing I'll be looking to trade up soon thereafter is completely counter to how I was raised. On the other hand, I kinda like being alive... After explaining my situation to the dealer who seemed very knowledgeable, took a lot of time with me to go over various bikes, and never once pressured me to buy, he indicated that the Raider is very well balanced and easy to control. He didn't seem to think my lack of experience would be a problem as long as I was willing to take my time and learn slowly, and as long as I was mild-mannered and respectful of the power that this bike brings to the table. I have some friends that seem to think I'd be fine on it, though none of them ride a Raider specifically.
So I put it to you, the experts in what seems to be the largest gathering of Raider riders I've found on the web so far-- Assuming all goes well in my MSF course, is the Raider too much bike for a new rider?
I'm a newbie here, and a newbie to riding for that matter. I'm signed up to take my MSF course in a of couple weeks (a couple of weeks too long, I might add) and have been doing some preliminary bike shopping for my first set of wheels without a cage. I've done my share of reading forums and talking to friends and I'm finding there are as many opinions as there are riders. I've sat on a bunch of bikes so far (can't actually try any of them since I don't have my motorcycle endorsement yet), but when I sat on the Raider, I'm pretty certain that the heavens opened and the choir of angels sang! The styling, the geometry, and riding position-- I loved it all!
I have concerns about having 113ci underneath "the jewels" on a first two-wheeler though. I should note that I'm about 5'11" but I'm a pretty big ol' boy so it would take a little juice to get me moving up a hill anyway. 113ci though? Am I just asking for trouble? I really hate the idea of buying a beginner bike only to turn around and have to buy a new one in six months like some folks suggest. I was brought up to "buy once and buy right" so buying a starter bike knowing I'll be looking to trade up soon thereafter is completely counter to how I was raised. On the other hand, I kinda like being alive... After explaining my situation to the dealer who seemed very knowledgeable, took a lot of time with me to go over various bikes, and never once pressured me to buy, he indicated that the Raider is very well balanced and easy to control. He didn't seem to think my lack of experience would be a problem as long as I was willing to take my time and learn slowly, and as long as I was mild-mannered and respectful of the power that this bike brings to the table. I have some friends that seem to think I'd be fine on it, though none of them ride a Raider specifically.
So I put it to you, the experts in what seems to be the largest gathering of Raider riders I've found on the web so far-- Assuming all goes well in my MSF course, is the Raider too much bike for a new rider?