First vehicle: car vs motorcycle

[Throckmorton]

Buy a car. I don't think new drivers should even be considering bikes!!

 

[RiDE]

Onizuka rode a motorcycle...

 

[JCH13]

Car. They have heaters and AC, and sometimes a back seat.

If you bought a bike you'd also have to shell out some more money to get decent safety gear. For what it's worth friends of mine typically spent more on gear than their first bike. I can't imagine what the insurance would be on a motorcycle as your primary vehicle, especially being a young driver...

To be honest I enjoy driving my $2k 1990 Miata just as much as my 2009 MS3, and they can be had for $1500 or less in okay shape. I get ~30MPG combined in it, with little interstate driving, and insurance is like $125/6months. Also, you can go have some fun autocrossing :thumbsup:

Though do not get anything unless you can afford to pay for insurance, maintainence, and fuel. Think carefully about this.

 

[Greenman]

Riding a bike is also physically demanding. You don't just sit on it and steer, you use your body to initiate lean, you grip the tank with your legs under braking, you support your upper body with your arms and wrists (even moreso under braking) and if you carry a backpack, you carry that weight on your shoulders/back. If you haven't ridden much or at all, 5 days of commuting will leave you sore and tired. You will adjust to this over time but at first you'll be wondering why you did this.

That paragraph only applies to sport bikes. Cruiser, standard, or touring bike is an entirely different matter. You sit up straight, with little or no weight on your arms, you never even attempt to grip the tank with your legs, stopping pressure is applied to the pegs and bars through your arm's and legs. Anything you need to carry goes in a saddle bag or is strapped to the luggage rack.
The trick, as always, is to get the right bike for your needs.

A scooter is something else to look into, a lot of them come with bags or a trunk, they only need gas a couple times a year, tires are cheap, and insurance is near free. They're also a kick to ride. If I had to give up my V-Rod, a scooter is what I'd own.

 

[JulesMaximus]

That paragraph only applies to sport bikes. Cruiser, standard, or touring bike is an entirely different matter. You sit up straight, with little or no weight on your arms, you never even attempt to grip the tank with your legs, stopping pressure is applied to the pegs and bars through your arm's and legs. Anything you need to carry goes in a saddle bag or is strapped to the luggage rack.
The trick, as always, is to get the right bike for your needs.

A scooter is something else to look into, a lot of them come with bags or a trunk, they only need gas a couple times a year, tires are cheap, and insurance is near free. They're also a kick to ride. If I had to give up my V-Rod, a scooter is what I'd own.

You realize this thread is almost a year old?

And I don't care if you're on a vrod or a sport bike. It is way more physically and mentally demanding than driving a car.

 

[roguerower]

wow...didn't even see i was taking part in a dead thread

 

[Greenman]

You realize this thread is almost a year old?

And I don't care if you're on a vrod or a sport bike. It is way more physically and mentally demanding than driving a car.

No, as a matter of fact, I didn't notice how old this thread is. Though it doesn't alter your point or mine.

I'd agree that it's more mentally demanding, physically I don't find it much different than a car unless it's very hot or cold. Riding in 100+ temps rings me out.
I did a 500 mile weekend two weeks back, it was a a day at the beach, I could easily do 300 miles a day for a week. One of these days I'm going to try a thousand mile "Iron Butt" ride. That's where you separate the wheat from the chafe.