[Westy]

Get the cheapest bike you can find for your first ride. There are a lot of lessons to be learned with a motorcycle and dropping a new bike can break you hear and your wallet. And I am not talking about just crashing the bike, I dropped my first bike twice because I parked it on soft asphault and the kickstand pushed through.

 

[tacobelldhr]

dirtbike!

 

[MOTODH]

dirtbike!

got to agree here, asphalt scares me

 

[TWISTED]

I just bought a new Honda CRF 250R! :redX:

 

[tacobelldhr]

sweet man. Congrats, 06 or 05?

 

[wydopen]

damn im itching to ride....guess hotlaps on the 50 will have to do until i go home

 

[Biscuit]

I have the wrong personality for one of those machines.

That's the primary reason I've not let myself buy one yet.

I've put in a decent amount of time on various street bikes, but I don't trust myself enough to own one. I'll probably end up buying a dirtbike and a hog and just forgo the street bike scene.

You have to know yourself. And the way I like to drive cars means I should never own a street bike.

 

[bmxr]

Hey BMXr...thanks for the reply...yeah I'm actually more interested in the track aspect of riding than riding streets. To be honest I'm really intimidated street riding because in my line of work I get to see the results of some one not paying attention. If i decide to go to a track day is there an etiquette that I have to follow? You wouldn't happen to know of a website with like do's and don'ts? And considering that I'm new to riding will I expect to catch a lot of crap from more "experienced" riders?

Sorry I didn't reply sooner! Anywho...

As for reading-up before you go; pick up any or all of Keith Code's books. They usually have them at the Barnes & Nobles around here, but if not they are easy to find online. It will teach you a lot about the concepts behind what you will be trying to achieve as it pertains to smoothness, sightlines, throttle and brake control, traction management in general, etc, etc. It can be overwhelming at first, but for someone with built in "two-wheel skills" (like a mountain biker) it's not that big of a deal. Just sign up for a school and try to relax and enjoy yourself. They will tell you everything you need to know which includes: hold your line, pit entry and exit (*signaling* and traffic flow), flags (what they mean and how to react to them), hold your line, go your own pace, be smooth, hold your line, oh yeah ... and HOLD YOUR LINE. Number one mistake rookies make is changing lines to "let people by". Trust me, just hold your line and the fast guys will go past you on the inside or outside, no matter how fast you think you are. If you run erratic lines (or fail to signal a pit entry, for that matter), someone will run into you and you will become very unpopular in the pits

Note the guy on the Ducati at the end of this vid. He almost got an R-1 enema (and an ass whoopin' to boot):http://www.leanangle.us/hs.mpg

Speed comes after you are confident; never the other way around!