Help! First-time Harley buyer
- Thread starter Richard Hester
- Start date
The4opps1
Junior Member
The advice given to you by forum members is right on, IMO. The motorcycle safety course is a mandatory. From there, it depends on how good you are on a motorcycle, and how much money you have to spend. Although there are always exceptions, most of the time, a new "anything" isn't always a great investment, and some things depreciate 20% or more when you take them out of the dealers lot. Whatever you decide, good luck.
lorne
Senior Member
I learned to ride motorized 2-wheelers on a Rupp Sprint minibike w/5hp pull motor...then upgraded to dirt bike from there. Whenever I did go down - not much to hurt/damage, but my pride...
your well covered on this forum with great advice. one thing i have found over the years is if you do not feel comfortable. DON'T DO IT, there is too much that can go wrong. it is not a bad thing to buy a smaller bike and get use to the feel of it before your go bigger. as a matter of fact it is a good thing and smart thing to do. i had been riding my softail for about 2 years when i bought my roadking, i did NOT feel comfortable when i first got on it. so i went to a parking lot and road it around for a while getting use to the feel of the bike. i did that and road around the neighborhood for 3 hours before i felt comfortable enough to get out and enjoy it properly. one day at the office there was a brand new HD, i waited after work to see who it was. when the person came out i knew them and mentioned that i didn't know they were into bikes. "yea always wanted one" was the answer, that was last year. now it is for sale with less than 300miles, they got scared and now need to get rid of the bike.
i will always encourage people to get involved with riding, i will also stress that it is very important not to just jump in with out experience. at our age there is there is tens of thousands of years experience here on the forum, glad you made the thread so you can tap into the experience here.
Best of luck to you on finding the right ride for you
wow think that is the most i have typed here :small3d011::small3d011:ever...:small3d011::small3d011:
being safe is the most important part of all of this. that is why most of us are so old (but Jack is older)
Please consider this. My first bike was a Honda 350 Scrambler. I never rode a motorcycle before and had a buddy ride it home for me! After a week of practice I had that little bike down pat for the most part. What took years to get a handle on was all of the road nuances. Situational riding, if you will. After two years I bought a 1975 AMF Sportster. It was pure heaven for me. I loved that bike. I now ride an Ultra Classic. It weighs over 900 lbs. and it is a handful. It's my baby and I respect it. You are just starting out so get the basic skills down pat and then when you feel comfortable set your sights on the bike that is going to do it for you. You'll know it when you see it. Don't settle for something that you will regret afterwards. Be certain that the bike you bought is the one that you have always wanted. Then, when you ride with your head in the wind, and the sun in your face, you will know the joy that we live to ride for.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Iceman24
Well-Known Member
And, with motorcycles, the hardest part is starting + stopping. You either stall during take-off, or panic stop & tip over. Main thing is to remember which side is throttle & which brake to NOT grab hard (front). Definitely take the MSF BRC - best thing for new riders vs. us old geezers who were born w/bars in hands. I did get a few MSF courses in over the years so you can teach an old dog some new tricks.
I'll second this! I have made all of the above mistakes at one time or another. I had read many times in this forum about grabbing the front brake hard while going slow into a turn. Then one day, during a panic stop ( I couldn't see around the hedges that were blocking my view at an intersection), the bike just plopped right over. Try as I might I can't hold up a 900 plus pound bike! I tried, and I thought that I had broken my ankle in doing so! It was sore for three months. Funny, it took that painful lesson for "doubting Thomas" me, to never, ever do that again!
Last edited:
I couldn't agree more with what everyone else has already said, take a year or so on a cheaper:bigsmiley12: bike. After you fill comfortable with the feel then move up to a bigger more expensive bike.
Don't want to confuse the issue, but my experience has been different from most of the guys posting here. I rode in high school, then went without a bike for 40 years. I always wanted a Harley and finally figured at 60 I better just do it. I took the MSF course--it is excellent--and got my motorcycle endorsement and started looking at Sportsters. But then a salesman showed me a used, low mileage, Heritage Classic. I test rode it and I knew it was what I had always envisioned myself riding. It was even the right color so I bought it. Yes, I had to practice and do a lot of riding around the neighborhood before taking out in traffic, but I'm Soooooo glad I bought it.
Iceman, Horizonchaser and others have given very sound advice. Having been an MSF instructor many years ago, I have seen many different types of riders at skill levels/experience levels that would amaze you, I've seen wheelies that did not damage either novice rider or machine, to low side crashes where rider did face plant (1/2 helmet) road rash and dislocated a finger. You do not want to do either on your new machine without plenty of miles "in your rear view" as aptly put. The key is learn with others and practice-practice-practice, if you stick with it a new Harley will become a best friend in short order.