Mom bought a beginner motorcycle!

[rbgnwa45]

My mom wants to learn to ride a motorcycle so she bought a 1981 Yamaha Exciter 250 for $100 from our neighbour. Besides a dent in the exhaust and gas tank it's in near-mint condition, it's oily where it needs to be and it rides decently. I got 4th up to 90km/h and 5th flat out took my 240lbs to 110km/h. I have a few questions.

The choke on the carb has three settings but when I rode it around for a minute with the choke on the middle setting the low rpm response was better. When the choke is pulled out fully it idles high and when it warms up it shuts off so obviously that's full-choke. Is it possible that the middle setting is where it's supposed to be while riding? Doesn't seem like it but thought I'd ask so I don't blow it up.

I'm not sure if I felt a wobble at 100-110km/h or if it was wind or the angle of the road. It didn't wobble heavily but there was what seemed like head-shake. I've never experience head-shake and it felt like a slight stable wobble.

How much slack should the chain have?

The starter button didn't work today until I hit it maybe 20 times and then it started fine. I kind of pushed it in different directions and it seemed to help (it doesn't move side-side). Do you think it's a loose wire? If it is, it's not very.

I told her it was slow and that it was a bad beginner bike although not for $100. If she's going to be riding it at the 80km/h speed limit, it still revs kinda high. We live in the country and it's much more suited for 60km/h city cruising. She weighs 180lbs and I think she'd be able to get it up to atleast 120km/h. I think it's rather gutless and that she would benefit from 80cc mini accelleration as long as she was carefull on the throttle.

My dad isn't a good teacher so I'll be teaching her. I don't want her to crash like my sister did the first time on my dirtbike. After one hour of clutch-gas-gear-brake instruction and in the first minute my sister forgot how to stop and she dumped my dirtbike into a fence then casually walked away with it still running on it's side. She told me she thought the brake was applied by twisting the throttle the other way :ermm:. Should I tell my mom that if she doesn't know how to stop than she should let off the gas and get on the brakes until it stalls or pull in the clutch and find neutral etc? I think she's going to be really awkward and scared (which is going to piss me off a little) because I imagine as soon as it moves she's going to be like "AHH NOO THE WHICH BUTTON IS THE BRAKE?!", with an old-lady heckle followed by an "I don't want to do this anymore". The first time I rode a dirtbike I somehow knew exactly what I was doing and it felt natural. The first time I drove a stick-shift I stalled so many times that my dad told me to stop trying. My mom has never driven stick.

What should I suggest she buy for her next bike? I'm obviously going to persuade her to buy something cool like a used Ninja 250 but she's definetly going to want a cruiser. I don't know anything about road bikes, are there older 400-500 cruisers for cheap? I'm not going to suggest something like an SV 650.

Thanks.

[slightlybent47]

If they have them in your area, the best thing you can do is enroll her in a beginner motorcycle curse. They will start them on small 250 bikes and teach her how to ride. They deal with beginner riders all the time and know how to start them off on the right foot.
Take it with her and you’ll be surprised at how much you can learn even if you’re an experienced rider.

If you want to tackle it on your own then here is what they did when I took the course.
Of course this after all the class room stuff they go over.
They made us sit on the bikes and showed us how to make sure it’s in neutral, and then they had us start them up and turn them off. They did this quite a few times.

Next they had us put them in and out of gear but not ridding yet, next they had us just start releasing the clutch just enough to feel it start to pull. While having us keep our balance with our feet and not putting your feet on the pegs yet. At this point they haven’t had us try to stop yet, we are just letting out the clutch and rolling forward in a strait line and just pulling the clutch in and rolling to a stop, while still keeping your feet on the ground.

Then they had us roll slowly forward and stop, over and over, never getting out of first gear. Once they had us rolling and stopping good they had us start the shifting going into 2nd and back to first, again we did this a bunch of times.
You can see how this is going; the key is start slow and go one step at a time.http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/sport/sport-smiley-12.gif

[Regular_Joe]

Do the right thing. Give her advice and recommend bikes she will like. Clearly for her the Ninja is a bad choice. If you don't, while you may get to use a bike you like, she will end up hating it, and ultimately giving it up.

While I may want my Mrs to rock a 400ex at a minimum, roosting dirt, and doing wheelies .... the truth is she would hate it. She is simply happy on her little 250ex just putting around all day. She has no concept of the benefits of quality suspension, could care less about speed/power, etc. In her words, the clutch is "annoying".

[hondamxer161a]

MSF Class!

Search for one in your area. Cheap, fun, and great instruction. EVERYONE can learn something at this class, as well as get your endorsement!

[CJM]

Wobble is probably a bad tire thats out of round form sitting for years. Have the tires checked at a qualified shop.

Sitting onthe bike the chain should have very little slack. Off the bike-maybe an inch or so at most.

Sounds like the starter is bad or a relay if it has one. It might be loose/corroded contacts inside the switch, take it apart and see

[rbgnwa45]

Thanks everyone.

The starter works fine now.

I want to suggest her a Ninja 250R because I figure when she wants a bigger bike she'll give it to me.

I want to get a sport bike but I don't like the goofy/non-racey looks of the non-600's.

I keep reading that a 600 is a horrible beginner bike. One person on yahooanswers said "if you twist the throttle a millimeter going around a corner the rear tire could break loose", is that true? That's too much zip for me.

I've ridden an 02 RM125 (I'm 240lbs) and it had a lot of zip but I would want a little more for the road so I don't kill the engine. I rode it on gravel so I'm not sure what to expect on pavement. I want great gas mileage and to be able to over-take on a highway at 120km/h.

I looked into the Ninja 250R and it looks like a great beginner bike. I like that it can do 100mph with a 150lbs-ish rider but how would it be with 240lbs? Compared to a newer 125 2-stroke, how fast do they accellerate? I almost never go on highways but I do want to cruise at 90km/h on most roads. I don't want a slouch. I don't know why but I love the idea of a tiny modded zinger more than a 600 or SM. Novelty maybe lol. At what RPM do you think it would hold 90km/h?

[Regular_Joe]

The Ninja 250 is about equal to a V6 Mustang in 1/4 mile performance.

Here are some speeds of bikes at redline in first:
- Ninja 250 = 35mph
- SV650 = 50mph
- 600cc SS = 70mph
- 1000cc SS = 100mph

[rbgnwa45]

70mph :huh. I guess they aren't screamy until 50mph? Do they lack torque for the city? How is the lugging speed and gas mileage? Are they linear-powered or two-stroke like?

I don't like the Ninja 500/650 & GS500 because of the casual riding positions and those kinds of bikes look like naked's with a clunky fairing.

Which bike rides & looks like a 600 SS but isn't nearly as powerful?

Kawie is coming out with a 400R for 2011, why don't they make a ZX-4R? I think a ZX-4R would be ideal for beginners that are still going to buy a SS. I'd buy one!

[backwoodsracer]

Originally posted by Regular_Joe
The Ninja 250 is about equal to a V6 Mustang in 1/4 mile performance.

Here are some speeds of bikes at redline in first:
- Ninja 250 = 35mph
- SV650 = 50mph
- 600cc SS = 70mph
- 1000cc SS = 100mph

that realy does not look correct

[rbgnwa45]

Originally posted by backwoodsracer
that realy does not look correct

It's correct, look on youtube.

[Regular_Joe]

I have owned a Ninja 250, Honda F4i, and a SV650. Out of the 3 the only one I have kept is the SV650.

It looks retarded because they are race bikes. In all honesty they are not designed for the street. They are designed for a track where under 50mph isn't even thought of. They are all geared like that. On my F4i redline in 1st is 68mph, then the next 5 gears add another 20-15 mph. The end result is a top speed around 150-160mph.

As far as power the torque curve on a 600cc SS is not linear at all. Under 5k its like riding a go-cart, 5k-8k its got nice power, over 8k its like a pissed off hornet. Now 5k in first brings you just shy of 30mph. That made it a total pain in the butt to drive in city situations. I live in town, and every ride I ever took, I couldn't get out on the back roads quick enough.

My brother bought an SV650. We swapped bikes one day and I was in love. I sold my F4i and had a new SV in the garage less than a month later. Its not as fast, the suspension isn't as good, but overall I like the drive of it 1000x better. Being a V-Twin it has a super nice flat torque curve. No more revving it 24/7 to get any power. The SV has the same torque as the F4i builds to at 8k, but has it available from 2.5k up to 10k. Under 80mph the SV is just as good as the F4i was, and that is where I do all my riding anyway ....