FRS/BRZ vs. motorcycle?

[helloimgil]

Like everyone else here has said - 2 different animals with bikes being the 10x wilder and riskier one.

The good
- I've always loved riding my bike because for me, it's the closest thing to flying. Love the freedom I feel
- You're mostly in control. I know there are situations where you may not be and will be at the mercy of other drivers but the majority of the time I control what situations I choose to be in. That escalade to the right is swerving? No problem I'll just get away. When I'm on my bike my attention is increased a thousand fold compared to driving. You need to be aware of everything that's going on around you since any little thing will be enough to kill you. Having to process large amounts of information quickly is stimulating to me.
- Canyons. Dangerous but oh so fun.
- Community. The motorcycle community is generally very cool.

The bad.
- 99% of riders will drop their bike.
- Bad drivers. You have to be even more aware of these drivers on the road. In you car they may cause a fender bender on your car. On your bike .....
- Temptation. Plenty of times I have made really really stupid decisions on my bike wether it be speed on the highway racing or splitting lanes. There have been times where I see a little small window where I can lane split and I'll do it just to see I can do it. Afterwards I'm thinking what the fuck did I do that for? The risk vs reward was just not worth it.

My biggest advice to you is to resist the temptation to speed or make bad decisions early on as you start to really learn all the circumstances that go with street riding.

Have fun. Be safe. And get good gear.

[Razz]

Originally Posted by Grateful Dave

It is a valid point and I'm not offended. I have many friends who ride street bikes Harleys, BMWs, and crotch rockets. I'm just sayin' riding a motorcycle in the streets with a lot of cars is like riding through a war zone.
Be aware, good luck and God bless you.
I'm going to be having fun in my FRS!

There's a secret to riding in California.

Stay off the local streets as much as you can.

When they're city blocks drive slow, tale your time.

Freeway is safe. Don't violate the 35mph rule when white lining.

Orange County has allot of wide friendly streets and allot of them are semi country.

[sho220]

Originally Posted by Dark_Angle

U mad

You 12 years old?

[86fanatic]

Hey guys just a quick update. So I went ahead and got a Honda CBR250R off craigslist last month. Pre-dropped but I also dropped it again parking because I misjudged the kick stand stability. Very happy I didn't buy a bigger more expensive bike.

Anyway it's amazing the fun factor packed into this little package - all in a machine which only costs a couple grand and will have basically zero depreciation. I think I have been officially spoiled away from performance cars forever. It's true what they say, you drive a car, but you really ride a motorcycle - it's all you. Jumping back in a car just feels so isolated and boring, and I've driven some pretty fast cars in my time. The excitement factor is off the scales and this thing is one of the slowest motorcycles you can buy (still beats nearly anything off the line). The regular fuel powered 70 MPG is nice too!

Maybe the novelty will wear off eventually, especially because a motorcycle is no where near as practical (or as safe) as a car, but for a recreational performance exciting vehicle in my opinion it can't be beat. Fully recommend people to take the MSF course even if you have no plans to buy, you will have fun and at the very least you will learn a new skill.

Here's a few pictures, scratches and all.

[Dark_Angle]

Congrats. Looks good

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by 86fanatic

Hey guys just a quick update. So I went ahead and got a Honda CBR250R off craigslist last month. Pre-dropped but I also dropped it again parking because I misjudged the kick stand stability. Very happy I didn't buy a bigger more expensive bike.

Anyway it's amazing the fun factor packed into this little package - all in a machine which only costs a couple grand and will have basically zero depreciation. I think I have been officially spoiled away from performance cars forever. It's true what they say, you drive a car, but you really ride a motorcycle - it's all you. Jumping back in a car just feels so isolated and boring, and I've driven some pretty fast cars in my time. The excitement factor is off the scales and this thing is one of the slowest motorcycles you can buy (still beats nearly anything off the line). The regular fuel powered 70 MPG is nice too!

Maybe the novelty will wear off eventually, especially because a motorcycle is no where near as practical (or as safe) as a car, but for a recreational performance exciting vehicle in my opinion it can't be beat. Fully recommend people to take the MSF course even if you have no plans to buy, you will have fun and at the very least you will learn a new skill.

Here's a few pictures, scratches and all.

Congrats! Where is the damage? Normally the mirrors, front turn signals, foot pegs and bar ends usually take the hit but they look ok.

This is why I'll always have a passion for motorcycles regardless of how dangerous it can be. I have a 500K just in case so I won't leave the loved ones in disarray. When I see the cars at the track and SCCA, it looks fun in all but it's a walk in the park compared to riding a moto.

Only those who ride will understand what I'm talking about and the rest are on the outside looking in.

Just wait till you get more seat time. There are track days and demo days that are even more fun than just riding alone.

There is a track about 3hrs from my area called Grange and KTM used to have demo days on their SuperMotos! Bring your gear and for $125 and you get to ride any of their motos for the whole day. It has been years since I've gone but it was so much fun!!

Not my vid but a sweet vid of the track.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNxPBmJJPIc"]SuperMoto Grange Race Track GoPro HD 2 28 2010 - YouTube[/ame]

[Razz]

Be safe and don't speed too much on the streets

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by 86fanatic

Hey guys just a quick update. So I went ahead and got a Honda CBR250R off craigslist last month. Pre-dropped but I also dropped it again parking because I misjudged the kick stand stability. Very happy I didn't buy a bigger more expensive bike.....

Great bike! I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Sold my Honda 919 to help pay for the FR-S, so I'm bikeless this summer. I've actually thought about getting a 250R to "tied me over" until I buy a Goldwing next year.

[NYNOMAD]

Nice bike! I have three right now - 1987 gsxr 750, dyna wide glide and a r1100rt.

I know the BRZ is a new toy. But havent been on the bikes since I bought the BRZ 3 weeks ago.

Need to get back out on a bike!

[86fanatic]

Originally Posted by RRnold

Congrats! Where is the damage? Normally the mirrors, front turn signals, foot pegs and bar ends usually take the hit but they look ok.

This is why I'll always have a passion for motorcycles regardless of how dangerous it can be. I have a 500K just in case so I won't leave the loved ones in disarray. When I see the cars at the track and SCCA, it looks fun in all but it's a walk in the park compared to riding a moto.

Only those who ride will understand what I'm talking about and the rest are on the outside looking in.

Just wait till you get more seat time. There are track days and demo days that are even more fun than just riding alone.

There is a track about 3hrs from my area called Grange and KTM used to have demo days on their SuperMotos! Bring your gear and for $125 and you get to ride any of their motos for the whole day. It has been years since I've gone but it was so much fun!!

Not my vid but a sweet vid of the track.

The muffler heat shield is all dented/scratched up - I actually uploaded 4 pictures but somehow one of the pictures was lost where it was really obvious. The great thing about the CBR250R is each fairing piece is only like 10$ online so it's not a huge deal if it does get scratched up. Perfect learner bike and actually might work pretty well as a full time commuter down the line too.

I would love to hit a track day in this thing. Just picked up twist of the wrist 2 and when he talks about double apex turns and perfecting your line it just makes me want to get it to a track.

I'll keep my eye out for demo rides. I know Ducati was doing one for the 848 streetfighter but it was street test drives and I was a little intimated about taking that out for a spin, a little higher tax bracket then the 250

[delsol97]

Originally Posted by old greg

It's apples and oranges, but if you like oranges go for it. Don't bother with a brand new 250, buy used. And with the Kawasakis there's nothing about the newer version that makes it any better than the old ones. And with the old ones, they've been unchanged since forever ago. Pick up an early/mid 2000's ex250 for ~$2K, ride it for a year and sell it for exactly as much as you paid for it. By then you'll know if motorcycling is right for you, and you won't be flushing away any money on depreciation either way.

I beg to differ, the current 250s at least look modern. The ex250s are out of the late 80s.

Night and day difference for a little more money

[delsol97]

To the original poster, even a slow bike is more fun than the fastest of cars for a lot less money...

You'll understand once you start to ride.

[vividracing]

Originally Posted by powertrip

Bikes are fun. But you WILL go down. Buy used and wear gear. I ended up giving up riding after a friend was critically injured and wont go back. But they are really fun while I rode for ~3 years.

I just had my 1st actual accident a few weeks ago. I've also dropped 2 bikes. One when I was like 11, and another when I was like 16. I haven't dropped either of mine though lol.

-Don't get a 600cc supersport for your 1st bike. Start with a 250 Ninja or CBR if you want supersport looks. The resale value on those bikes is great. The SV650 is an awesome bike too. Or if you're into older bikes, you can get a bigger engine. My '79 XS650 is plenty fast for me, but not nearly as fast as my friends 09 CBR600RR.

-Always wear your gear. I was wearing a t-shirt when I went down and got really lucky that I didn't get tore up. I just lost a thumb-size chunk of tissue from my elbow (about as deep as the thumb, too)

I would NOT recommend a bike as your only transportation. I literally did not buy a full gallon of milk, water, tea, etc for about a year because I couldn't carry that much on my bike. I had to go grocery shopping every day. I had to pretty much give up photography as a hobby. In the summer, I sweat everywhere I went. In the winter, I froze. But, my commutes were fun. Every day. Even when people in cars almost killed me and I was sweating in 115* weather, I had fun.

[mechaghost]

Always buy your first bike used so you don't cry over the scratches when you lay your bike down. Plus you really don't know what you want in a bike until you start riding it for at least 1 season.

Oh and always wear proper gear!