Hi I will be purchasing a motorcycle for the first time very soon and wanted to know what kind of gear I should be looking to get as well. Also how much I should be looking to spend. I don't want to go all 'Wild Hogs' and buy a bunch of stuff I won't really need but I don't want to get too cheap and not get something that would help with safety or make riding more enjoyable.

Everyone agrees you need a good helmet, gloves, boots and jacket. Is there anything else I should be looking for. Also should I worry about getting an armored jacket in case of an accident? With prescription glasses would a 3/4 helmet be better then a full helmet? If I ride to work in dress pants would I need to wear chaps or would it be fine w/o them for the short commute?

I welcome all input. Thanks in advance.

Im 16 getting a permit very soon, working at a summer job and when the summer is over, going to work at a local pet store or grocery store (part time because of school, so ill be getting minimum wage..) By the end of the summer, i will have about 1,300. As you can see, im looking at a ninja '08 but of course thats not set in stone because i am only 16. But I am really dedicated to have the time for it and I am trying to get the money now. My dad said he will probably put me on his insurance, but since it is a motorcycle and I am young, I'm not sure how much the insurance is... Also, I have read 10,000 people say the Ninja 250 is a really good beginner bike, so if anything i would buy a used one. How much would the used bike, insurance, equitment (helmet, etc), and locks for the bike cost in total?

Thxx a lot

My fiance and I live together. From the beginning I found out REAL quick how fast he can drink a 2-liter of soda...as if it were water! Which is fine and all but no matter how much he buys from the store (2 bottles or 5 bottles), he'll drink it within a day or two and he'd move onto mine. He has no clue how to drink in moderation.

He'll normally buy Mountain Dew, whereas I drink only Diet Dr. Pepper. I also stock up on Weight Watcher Smart One's Meals for work during the week. Either way, I'll always notice my food/soda is missing. I've talked to him about it before but the next thing I know, he'll tell me (usually right before I'm done making dinner) that he's out of soda and asks to borrow my car to go up to the store to get some. Literally, like minutes before I'm done cooking!! I'll usually give in and let him have one of my sodas just so we can both sit down and have dinner like I intended. Either way, I'll then let him go to the store after dinner with my vehicle to get soda. (He'll take my vehicle because he only owns a motorcycle and he knows I hate him driving that thing, especially without a helmet).

Anyways, it seems like the minute I give him the greenlight for one soda, he'll sneek another one in....may not be the same night but either the next day or so on. I've gotten to the point where I have to hide my food and soda! It drives me crazy that he makes 3-5 trips a week to the store just for soda!

He'll also do this with the bottled water I buy from Costco. I asked him to use the Britta filtered water pitcher when we're at home because there's no point in wasting water bottles. He listened for awhile but next thing I knew he was downing bottles of water in what seemed like two gulps!

I don't know what to do because when I bring it up to him, like I did today, he just gets mad at me. I'm just the type of person who likes to be stocked up on stuff I use, use it in moderation, and I like knowing it's there for when I want it.

As for who pays for food in the house, I do. However, we have the agreement that I do not pay for his soda, work lunches, and his snacks. This is because he pays more for the mortgage than I do and I wouldn't be able to keep up with his habits and it would drive me crazy. Trust me, I've tried and every time I turn around...everything I buy him is gone.

Either way, please help! Sitting down and talking to him doesn't seem to work.

Thanks!
By the way...I've tried hiding stuff and I can't stand that I have to do this. I get so mad every time I have to hide something or have to go out of my way to find what it was I hid. As for the frozen meals, I can't hide these because I don't want to buy a separate freezer.

Also, he will sometimes offer to replace my stuff but that's not the point, I want it there so that its there when I need it and I get so ticked off when I go to look for something and realize he's taken it and its all gone.

Long but please read: Let me start from the beginning. When I met him he was smoking weed and I didn't know about it, he was a pot head. One time i caught him doing outside of my house, how stupid can you be..and i broke it off with him that night. After that night, he promised he would change. That he really liked me, that he would change for me. So i gave him a chance. He was my first everything pretty much. My parents didn't like him because they found out that he was smoking weed outside of our house, and on top of that he would pick me up everyday after school and we would have sex in my house. At the time i was 17 turning 18, in my senior year. My sister's ex bf didn't like my ex, so he decided to tell my parents what was going on, he knew what was going on because my sister told him..i was really pissed off at the time but then i realized that it wasn't right and it was disrespectful..Anyways everyone kept telling me that i could do better..Another thing i disliked was that he smoked cigs..i hated that..I told him to quit many times, and he would tell me that he had quit and i would find the packs..it really hurt me that he kept lying to me, and then i finally made a compromise with him, to cut down the amount little by little, and now today he has stopped smoking. It got to a point that i didn't really want to kiss him because i was just disgusted by it. Another thing, his dad bought him a motorcycle, and he knew that i hated motorcycles because my dad had a real bad accident, he almst died..so we argued alot about this! He even had a motorcycle accident, a few scrapes and a weak leg, and he wasn't wearing helmet..i was very upset and told him that he is lucky that is all that happened to him, after that he kept riding his damn motorcycle, i almost broke up with him because of it. Oh he even told my mom we were having sex on prom nite because she kept calling all nite, I was humiliated, I wasn't ready to tell her this! Anyway when I met him he was taking emt courses and was failing because he wasn't studying. At the time he was working at chillis, and we barely saw each other. We would talk on the phone alot, and i really liked talking to him. I was never unfaithful to him. Then sometime while he was working at chillis he got arrested for credit card swiping. At the time i was really suspicious because he was buying alot of gifts and taking me out 2 eat, and then he finally confessed to me what he did. I was soo uspet at him. I remember him telling me something about it, but i never thought he would actually do it. So before all this had happened, he broke up with me because we were having alot of drama, with my parents not liking him and my mom threatnening to call the cops, and he couldn't take it anymore, and that i deserved better than him..and he was right. Then some time after that he starts texting me out of no where that he misses me, that he can't live without me, and this is in the middle of the night, and then one day I see him at the club with his friend, and Im with my friends dancing, and he won't take his eyes off me, later on he asks me to dance and i don't know why I say yes..and he starts telling me that he misses me again, and he tries to kiss me and I don't let him and I begin to cry and tell him that I can't do it anymore and I walk away, then after some more time as im studying in the library the messages start again, and i give in. We start seeing each other secretly, meeting in motels, and i start lying saying that I am going to the library.. and then i finally tell my parents that i am seeing him again, and my mom n dad don't like it..my dad even told me that if i ever married him that he wouldn't go to my wedding, that i could do so much better, and that he didn't want to talk to me, eventually he did start talking to me though. So when he got arrested, his dad bailed him out and he called me crying, that he was so sorry for what he put me through, that he was happy that i was in his life, that many other girls wouldn't have put up with it, and that i was the good in his life. So obviously, he got fired from chillis and he began working with his dad. He had plans to start a bussiness, he had alot of plans. Through all this i supported him because I loved him, despite everything. He changed because of me, he told me that i was the positive influence in his life, and his parents and sister told me the same. They loved me, and they were so good to me, i grew really attached to them. Then some time later he decides to go back to school, he found a good job that pays for school as long as he maintains his grades. He was very smart, but made alot of stupid mistakes. I loved how affectionate he could be with me, but there were times that he was an asshole..he had anger problems, he would flip out easily.. i am really bad with directions and he called me stupid and retarded one time, and then when i would cry later on he would tell me that he was sorry and that he didn't mean it,

There is a guy at school that is a loner. He listens to his Ipod, sits by himself at lunch, hallways, and studies by himself in the Library.

You can often at times see him at the movies alone, restaurant alone, the mall alone, Target, Best Buy ect...
And he's going to prom alone.

He rides a motorcycle and he carries his helmet to class hanging behind his backpack. He plays no sports but he good looking.

During a presentation he is a different person a more "outgoing" guy then when he was alone all by himself.

Is he a loner, freak, loser, what?

There is a guy at school that is a loner. He listens to his Ipod, sits by himself at lunch, hallways, and studies by himself in the Library. He sometimes wear glasses.

You can often at times see him at the movies alone, restaurant alone, the mall alone, Target, Best Buy ect...
And he's going to prom alone.

He rides a motorcycle and he carries his helmet to class hanging behind his backpack. He plays no sports but he good looking.

During a presentation he is a different person a more "outgoing" guy then when he was alone all by himself.

i want a good street bike to start out on, nothing too heavy or expensive, maybe one of the japanese makes? any suggestions-ooh and where can i buy a decent DOT approved helmet for the least amount of $$$?

I ride an old bike, a '79 honda cx500 custom.
Any particular brand of jacket ? I have a helmet, need gloves, jacket, maybe pants, boots...looking for specific suggestions, thx.

Ok I am new to airbrushing, and I am planning on buying my first airbrush/ spraygun. I know I need an air compressor, and I have my eye on some of those, but I need to know which air compressor is better for what I need. I will be using this on a motorcycle sized helmet, and I want the paint reservoir to hold enough paint to hold the whole thing. Which is better:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DeVILBISS-FinishLine-3-Primer-HVLP-SPRAY-GUN-1.8-&-2.2_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQimsfpZTL090616032005r34373QQimsxZ20090616QQitemZ200352748696QQsalenotsupported

http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/abdevdagr.aspx

My husband has wanted a motorcycle for the last 6-7 years and I have always said no because I don't consider them safe. Last year I finally agreed to let him purchase a motorcycle if he took a safety course and bought a good helmet and riding gear, etc. He did all this and got his motorcycle. About 2 months after he bought his bike, he was in a pretty bad crash and suffered several broken bones and a concussion...ironically, the bike didn't have a scratch on it (it landed in pile of wet leaves and he landed in someone's gravel driveway). This accident was huge reality check for me and ever since I have been petrified of losing him in a motorcycle accident. Every time he goes for a ride, I worry and pray and sometimes cry until he comes home or calls to let me know he is okay. I have begged him to get rid of the bike and he has seen how upset I get when he goes out on it, but he refuses to get rid of it. I can't take much more of this stress...it's starting to take its toll on me physically and emotionally and it is creating tension between the two of us. I feel bad asking/telling him to get rid of it because I fell like I'm being selfish making him get rid of something that he loves. On the other hand I feel like he is being selfish for not taking my feelings into consideration. I'm torn between wanting to keep him safe and wanting to make him happy. What do you think I should do?

My ex husband took our 2 1/2 year old on a 50 cc off road dirt bike, and fell off. He is ok but a little tramatized. I personally think our son is way to young to be on any kind of motorcycle. We have a court date coming up for child custody and visitation and he is endangering our son on the motorcycle and has no intention to stop. He just bought him a helmet and chest pad. So i am wondering if anyone knows any websites or any advice i can use against him in court. thanks---concerned mommy

There is a girl that lives two houses down from me in a Pink house her name is Kamila. How do I approach her and ask her to ride on the back of my motorcycle? Do you think she would like to go for a ride and also If she agrees what color helmet should I buy her? I'm thinking pink with a Unicorn sticker on the back of it I think she would like it! Also I don't own a harley do you think she would still like me and my motorcycle? (2008 Street Triple)

Hey... I'm going to get my first bike here within the next couple of months. I know that I should take that Motorcycle Class which I am going to for sure to get more knowledge than what I know now. I know the basics on how to get one going, how to shift, stuff about the clutch, brake, accelerate, and that stuff but I could learn a lot more that's for sure. But what's the order I should do it to get my license and buy the bike?

I know for a car, you need your permit first and the drivers course is optional and all that... but how is it for a bike?

Should I take the class first, pass it, go to DMV, take their test, and then if you pass that, you get your motorcylce license? Or do you have to have a certain type of drivers license before you can get your bike license? I'm pretty confused about this. I have my class G license.

So basically... what order should I do this in which will be benefital to me and the best way to go based off your all experience.

Here's what I want to do:

-take class
-pass class (shouldn't be a problem at all)
-take DMV test to get license (I also heard it's easy)
-get license
-buy all the gear including helmet and all
-buy the bike
-ride slow, safe, easy, and in a secure area until I feel more comfortable to take it to streets.

Sound good? Or need to add something, rearrange something or what? Any info you can provide will be awesome. That's all that's required right? Thanks a lot.

I am new to motorcycle riding. I bought a Ninja 250. Got helmet, a jacket, boots and gloves.. I am just a little worried about knee/shin protection. While there are good racing pants available that probably give good protection, it is very expensive and moreover, I cant afford to wear those pants wherever I go. So am looking for affordable(<30$) pads that i can wear under jean. I looked up some pads but they are mostly for off-road dirt biking. Can anyone suggest pads for sport bikes to wear on the road ?

I'm buying a motorcycle that will crack 200 mph, and I need more safety than just the standard gear...can I pray for a force field?

does god do force fields? i don't really want to wear a helmet or leather gear, i'd really rather ride in shorts, and just be protected by my force field...

For example, in Texas, you don't have to have a front brake if you bought an aftermarket frame. No blinkers needed etc.

There are some wierd laws pertaining to helmet and age etc, don't know what they are. What's going on in your state. Can't have full apes etc.

I am a 23 year old graduating college who is getting the motorcycle itch. I am aware of the 0+ estimated extra costs beyond the motorcycle itself (helmet, riding jacket, etc).

I am thinking of taking some beginner courses to see if motorcycling is for me & getting my motorcycle endorsement. If I like it so far, I will then consider buying a Sport bike. I don't want a sport bike to be an idiot and go moronically fast, only in city/highway speeds. I just have never liked cruiser bikes all that much in terms of style and how I sit on them.

From reading, the Kawasaki Ninja 250 would seem like a good choice - used of course since the preponderance of the info says I will drop it in the first year or so.

What other brands should I keep in mind at the dealer and craigslist?

or

Am I just an idiot who is bound to kill himself and should turn away before even spending a dime?

Thanks

I have a five year old who has a pw50, with training wheels, that he would like to ride. He does not yet have all of the gear for it. I have been told that the power can be turned down to not allow the bike to go over about 5mph. If this is done, and the bike is ridden on flat land only, what gear would be considered absolutely necessary? My husband tells me it is no more dangerous than a power wheels, but I am a nervous mom. He has hand-me-down helmet and goggles, pants, gloves and shoulder/chest pads. I wouldn't have a problem buying him a jersey but those boots seem awfully expensive for a five year old to outgrow within six months!

Hey all I am getting my first bike next spring. I can't wait to join the motorcycle culture. I've been saving up for 3 years and have been planning to buy a bike for 2 years now. I'm 19.

It's going to be my first huge investment! I'm buying a Kawasaki Ninja 250R in black. I will be adding a detailed red paint job (Was thinking about the traditional green but I want to be different ;) I plan on getting a black Icon motorhead jacket. Heavily armored/ perforated Alpinestar glove and boots. (In red.) I'm still deciding on what chaps to purchase. Still deciding as well on which insurance I will get. I'm assuring myself that it will be "full coverage though. However this is the sexy helmet I'll most likely buy:

http://www.agv.com/dyn_prod.php?p=S4_BLK...

Pros and Cons of it?

P.S.

This is my last motorcycle question I'm posting. I just can't wait anymore. When I get her I'll be cruising, discovering new roads each night. I don't plan to pop wheelies (maybe one or 2 =D or a stoppie, but it seems horrible for the suspension.) I'm an overly FULL time student at my college and working a part time job. Full time job in the summer. Next semester I will be taking about 20 or so credits. I took 18 this semester. I'm an honors student. I mean to brag =P. I'm just so happy of all my accomplishments. I never saw my future to turn out like this. My parents divorced when I was 3 and my mother's in debt. Someday when I get a nice stable job my loved one's won't have to work so much to make a buck. But I'll make them realize that I did to save theirs. I'll finally be a part of this huge motorcycle family and I already feel accepted. Anywayyyy, I just needed to "vent" a little bit. LOL, pun intended....
The helmet does look like it has a great venting system.

But please, what are the pros and cons of AGV's helmets, if you know of any? Thank you

Stupid, immature comments are also accepted but won't help much.

I might decide to buy a motorcycle in the near future. This is going to mean I'll very likely have to have a custom made helmet to fit my head, so does anyone know where I can get such a helmet that would fit on my head...No thanks to Hydrocephalus?

My boyfriend just bought a motorcycle and has told us that he will definitely wear a helmet on the highway but not when he's just driving around the neighborhood. To me, neighborhood streets don't seem any less likely to have careless drivers than highways, just at lower speeds. I hope you guys can give some advice about what you as motorcyclists (or doctors, or just drivers) recommend for motorcycle safety. He also thinks he heard someone say once upon a time that sometimes having a helmet on during an accident means you can break your neck (he calls it, 'an open casket'). I'd love to hear your thoughts, advice, and recommendation. I don't mind that he has the bike, but want him to be safe and careful about it (particularly since my father got a heart transplant from a young healthy man who was in a motorcycle accident). Thank you in advance!

ok so im pretty set on buying a motorcycle now. just one more question. can you give me your best estimate on how much gear costs? probably just helmet, gloves, and idk maybe a jacket... or what ever else is absolutely necessary for ridin. please and thanks!

Ok, first off let me say that I believe in having good motorcycle equipment, and I am not the type to ride around on a bike in just a T-Shirt, or crap gear. But I am also trying to be..ummm..."thrifty" in what I spend for my gear. I have found that, for whatever reason, motorcyclists seem to dump their gear--like they sold their bike and the jacket doesn't match the color on the new bike, they had a baby, bought a house, girlfriend/wife told them to stop riding, etc.--so I bought my gear second hand. But I still tried to get good quality gear. So I have a Joe Rocket "Blaster" leather armored jacket that I got for , a Joe Rocket Ballistic Mesh armored jacket for , AGV Kevlar armored gloves for , a pair of leather chaps for off of Ebay and an Arai Signet helmet (which original sold for over 0) that I got for off of craigslist. Keep in mind that all my gear is in good/excellent shape, not falling apart, and I would trust to take care of me in a crash. So don't trip on what I paid for it; if it wasn't in good shape I wouldn't buy it, and alot of people will get rid of good gear in good shape for cheap just because they don't need it.

Anyways my friend is getting into motorcycling, just got a cushy job, and asked me to go look for some gear with him. So we go looking, and we go to a fairly high end store. Now he's looking at either a 0 Alpinestar RC1 jacket or some Dainese (model I don't know) but it was 0. And he's gonna get one of these 0 Shoei helmets, and already bought a pair of 0 kevlar gloves and is thinking about the leather pants and all.

Well, this made me feel a little "insecure" on my gear, and whether I should be shelling out the dough like he is. My question is, is there added "safety" for the price when you buy an Alpinestars or Dainese jacket as opposed to when you buy a lessor priced Joe Rocket or Icon jacket? And same with the helmets? Is that Shoei gonna protect my head better than that Snell and Dot rated HJC? I am just wondering if I am being too cheap, and should really shell out for the 'top shelf' stuff, or whether the lesser brands provide adequate protection.

One more thing, I also am wondering if the leather chaps will provide enough protection in a crash or whether I should go for full on leather pants?

Opinions? Thanks.

Once upon a time there was a frog who lived in a lake all by himself. He had been given special powers by a local witch. One day he finally ventured out of the lake to get his first glimpse of the world outside. The first thing he saw was a bear chasing a rabbit and so he called out to them and asked them to stop.Then he said to them: "I am a magical frog and since you are the first two animals I have ever seen, I am going to grant you both three wishes. You will each take turns using them and you have to use them now."The bear (being greedy) went first. I would like for every bear in this forest to be female except for me." A magical sound and it was done.Then the rabbit. "I would like a helmet."
This confused both the frog and the bear, but after a magical sound there was a helmet.
It was the bear's turn again. "I would like for every bear in the neighboring forest to be female." A magical sound and it was done. The rabbit went again. "I would like a motorcycle."Both the frog and the bear wondered why the rabbit didn't just ask for a lot of money with which he could buy himself a motorcycle, but after a magical sound there was a motorcycle. The bear took his last wish. "I would like for all the bears in the world to be female except for me." A magical sound and it was done.
The rabbit then put on his helmet, started up the motorcycle, and said "I wish the bear was gay" and took off like a bat out of hell.

Close
E-mail It