I alluded to taking a MSF Basic Rider’s Course in my last post. I passed! It means a trip down to the DSCC (Georgia’s DMV) to get my licence endorsed.
Whoopee!
It means another quandary. What kind of bike?
In the good old days, say 1990, I’d get a small 125cc bike to learn on. The trouble is, they don’t sell them in the US any longer. The smallest (real) bikes are 250cc. (Honda makes one that is a 125cc, but it’s tiny.)
There’s another problem. Motorcycle technology has advanced, but not all bikes share in the advances.
- ABS (antilock brakes). These are much safer and more effective than standard brakes. Most small bikes don’t have them. Those that do are “sport bikes.”
- Choke vs. Fuel injection. You can still buy a new motorcycle with a manual choke and good old fashioned carburetor.
- Wire Wheels vs. Solid Wheels. Wire wheels look neat, exactly what a motorcycle “should” have. They need to be tuned or “trued.” Not an inexpensive process.
The small “standard” bikes, like the Kawasaki Tu250x or Honda Rebel, are what I imagined riding. None of them have ABS.
The sport bikes, like the Ninja 300 ABS or Honda CBR300 ABS, look like racing bikes (they aren’t). They use modern technology.
Decisions.
Addendum: The issue has been studied and the evidence is indisputable, even in multiple nations. A sport bike it is.
R. Harrison, Creative Enterprises 