RE: Bike Du Jour !!!!

[Bruce McCurdy <bmccurdy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As much as I love my Sprint and agree with those who say it is a very
forgiving bike, I'm going to side with those who suggest that your first
bike be a little smaller, a little lighter, and running with less
horsepower.  You don't need 100+ horses under you when you're learning
the fine arts of clutch and throttle control.

I started with a Honda Nighthawk 750 when I began riding again back in
'91.  Also a very forgiving ride with low maintenance costs, cheaper
repairs for the inevitable dump (and you will dump, prepare for it).
After two years I wanted some more juice and traded up for a Honda
CB1000.  Similar horses and torque to the Sprint, but heavier and hard
to flick in the twisties.  Still, it was a great bike and I rode it all
up and down the West Coast between '94 and '99.  I replaced it only when
it was crushed under an SUV who backed over it (driver was wasted,
naturally).

In addition to my own mounts, I have been fortunate to have ridden all
kinds of machines these last eight years, Honda CBR900RR, Honda VTR1000
Superhawk, Ducati 996, Triumph Trident 900, Yamaha Radian 600, Honda
GL1500 Goldwing, Yamaha Seca 600, Honda CB900 Super Four, even a Honda
CB250.

With these by way of comparison, the ST (and the VFR, for that matter)
are both awesome machines with tremendous all-round capabilities.  By
that I mean they can both be ridden very hard and perform amazingly well
at all kinds of tasks.  I commute to work every day on mine.  But that
much performance is an accident waiting to happen for a newer rider.  A
little too much throttle, or too much brake, and you and the bike are
sliding along the road.  The margin for error is just too narrow.

I'd pick any bike on your list of suggestions except for the YZF (and
maybe the Ninja).  Same reasons as above.  The MSF course gets my
heartiest approval.  I've taken both the basic and advanced courses and
have put two friends through the program as a gift.  Two others in my
group of friends have also taken the basic course and we all agree that
it's agreat way to start.  Here's a thought, ask your instructor for
his/her recommendations.  This experienced rider will have the chance to
evaluate your skill level in person.  None of us have any idea what kind
of skills you have.  Could be that you're a natural and could put us all
to shame from Day One.  So don't take our word for it, get a *qualified*
opinion (with apologies to all the good and well-meaning folks, like
myself, who've happily offered you our thoughts).

Final thought.  Motorcycling is more than a mode of transportation, it's
a Way of Life, even a religion to some of us.  Welcome to the club and
Hallelujah, brother!

*****************
Bruce McCurdy
'99 Sprint ST
Black is *Beauty*ful!

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