Jolt Country

For various reasons, I've begun to have an itch to learn to ride and wanted everyones feedback if it is a skill worth having?

Sure, why not.

However, I would recommend going on Liveleak, search for "motorcycle" and then watch those videos for three hours before making your final decision.

I've enjoyed it.

Thousands of people are moving to Denver and there's never a place to park any more. It's been great having a motorcycle and meeting friends out and knowing that I'll find SOME place to maneuver and put the bike.

I don't have much desire to go on the highway with it or even go particularly fast. You may find it the ultimate way to cheat death! Cheat!

...

... Death! And if so I will live vicariously through you.

Why not? They're cheap to own, maintain, and operate. Insurance on my last one was $100/year. As long as you live in a place where you can enjoy it more often than not, I find them enjoyable and affordable. I got my first one in 3rd grade, and have been riding ever since then. My kid has a 250 in the garage and will be going to driving school for it next weekend.

One spanner in the works though, most of the new models require a functioning Uvulopalatopharyngoplast. So long as you've never had a Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, you should be fine to ride.

Otherwise, well, don't click this link: http://www.liveleak.com/motorcycles/uvu ... oplast.php

When I lived in California circa 1986, I was a bookkeeper for a woman who ran a tax preparation office. Her husband, Glynn, who drove a tractor-trailer for Ralph's Grocery Company, also rode a motorcycle, and in one case had a bad spill. He walked away from that accident with minor injuries, mostly some scrapes treated with disinfectant, and his clothes were mostly okay, except his leather leg protections were badly worn and frayed from the slide, and he had to replace his badly crushed steel toe shoes.

His legs and toes were undamaged.

If you have a large yard or field near by, I'd recommend getting a used "dirt bike" to learn on. A big one like a XR 350 to get used to the weight, braking, (or popping wheelies heh-heh)

Today's the last day of my kid's driving class. Friday was 3 hours of classroom time. Yesterday, they pushed them around, got on and off them, and rode around in loops and circles doing 5-10 miles per hour. I just left there today and they are doing laps at 40 miles per hour. Mason said the only annoying thing about the bikes in class is that none of them have side mirrors because they've been dropped so many times that they're all broken.

Mason is old enough to get a motorcycle license? How old is he??

Random factoid, in Oregon if you complete an "accredited course" that involves classroom and road time, all you need to do is pass the knowledge test at the DMV for your motorcycle / class C license.

One less thing to worry about.

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Mason is old enough to get a motorcycle license? How old is he??

14. That's him in the black leather jacket, next to the lady in the turquoise shirt.



Motorcycle laws are all over the map, literally. In Oklahoma, you can get one at 14, although certain rules apply. Here you're limited to a 250cc, required to wear a helmet, can't drive on the interstate, and have limited hours (6am-9pm or something like that).

We bought Mason a Suzuki 250 from the neighbor (their kid turned 16 and got a car). It has around 2,000 miles on it and still looks new.

Normally to get a motorcycle license here you have to take both a written and driving test (on a bike), however the class Mason took was with ODOT and takes the place of the driving test. Mason's planning on taking his written test this week and getting his license. After that it's still considered a permit until he's had 50 hours of riding time with someone "within visual sight" following him around. My dad took me to get my motorcycle license when I was 14 and is excited about Mason getting his as well.

RetroRomper wrote:in Oregon... complete an "accredited course" ... pass the knowledge test ... for your motorcycle / class C license.

One less thing to worry about.

Motorcycles are different. If you only apply for a motorcycle license, you get a Class M license. But if you get any other class of license, you are converted to that class of license with a motorcycle (Class M) endorsement. Now if you upgrade a passenger or small truck license (Class C, passenger vehicles with 7 or fewer passengers including the driver or other vehicles weighing under 26,001 pounds) to a bus license (class B) you just have a class B which includes C. However for some licenses you can get equipment endorsements such as hazardous materials or air brakes.

So it's interesting that a motorcycle license is never issued unless it is the only license you have.

^^ Disregard everything Tdarcos said.

Mason got his motorcycle license on Monday. To get it, he had to pass a driving test and two written tests -- a motorcycle-specific test, and the normal driving test.

The study guides for both tests were available online for free. He spent maybe 4 hours studying and passed both tests with 100%.

Flack wrote:^^ Disregard everything Tdarcos said.

Can we just have this automatically pre-pended to every post that gets posted on this BBS?

Mason broke his collarbone in June which set things back a week, but he has since healed, completed his 30 days of supervised riding, and had the permit restriction removed from his license. He has also survived two weeks of supervised riding with my dad, one of the best motorcycle riders I know.

Since this thread was originally posted, my 14YO (who had never ridden a motorcycle before) took a class, learned how to ride, got his permit, and now has his license.

I said that to say this -- if he can do it, Retro, then you can, too!

My so got his first flat tire over the weekend. I came home from work and noticed that his rear tire was low. I sent the boy outside to take a look at it and he proudly returned with a rusty nail in hand.

After discussing with him why we do not remove our finger from a hole in the dam, we threw the bike up on my trailer this morning. During my lunch break we're going to run it over to the local motorcycle shop to get the tube and tire replaced and/or patched. Any bets on a total price?

This video should clear up any doubts about what motorcycle ownership means.

I'd go with this.

[youtube][/youtube]

Note to self (and others): two wheels on the ground are better than one.

I love it when they do wheelies, but I really love it when they go hurling themselves off out of the frame of the camera.

I tried posting the video using the instructed format of


[youtube][/youtube]


And it did not work. What did I do wrong?