Excited New Rider

Hey everyone,

I'm a soon to be new rider. I've signed up for the Basic Rider Class next month. I'm so excited to start this new adventure in my life. My question like most if not all new bikers is about my upcoming first bike purchase. I'm 6'4" 200lbs. All legs, very short torso. My heart wants a Harley or a Triumph. They are what my gpa had. I know 1st bikes usually get bought and sold with pretty quick turnaround but i'd like any advice u guys have about models that would be right for me. I won't be heartbroken if u steer me to another make either. I guess i just want the perfect bike that will resell easy once i'm more experienced.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your forum!

Welcome to the forum and good luck on your journey. I would suggest you hit the dealers and sit on some bikes. You're gonna want leg room and likely need something with forward pegs.

I'd hate to try and be specific. But I think you get the idea.

Welcome. Forward pegs would definteky help (although floor boards w/ highway pegs work for me). There's a lot of variables involved in choosing a first bike. For me, cost was a biggie at the time (which pretty much knocked the Harley's and Triumph's out of the picture). If you are on a budget, you might want to look at used Japanese cruisers (the "Harley knockoffs"); these will probably fit your size.

Fortunately i have a little money to spend. I sold my car a month ago and have "sharing" with my wife, been saving for a bike for quite awhile, and unfortunately (becuz my gpa passed) i received a small small inheritance. Which is the reason for the purchase. Always wanted to ride, but with the money my gpa left, it's pushed me over the top. I just feel hooked on Harley so i'm 95% sure that's the route i'd like to go. Friends have told me not to go smaller than a softail, becuz the Sportster and Dyna models will feel cramped. But a big bike to start????? Recipe for disaster???

W/ your size, a big Harley would definitely fit, but they do take some getting used to ( I hesitate suggesting them as a first bike because it may really be a recipe for disaster). I am not a big Softail fan because of the engine (the counterbalanced engines on the Softails aren't as fast as the other Harley familes), but w/in the Softail family you might want to look at the Fat Boys, Softail Deluxe, or Cross Bones. The smaller Touring bikes include the RoadKings and Street Glide. A lot of this depends upon what type of riding you are planning to do and such (long rides vs. bar hopping, etc.). Optimally, it would be nice if you could catch a demo ride thing (they do it at Bike Week in Daytona and some other rallies - call your local dealer and ask them about it).

Ricky your right, the demo ride would be best. that way you get the feel for the bike frist before you buy. Your a big person and ride feel of the bike means alot. I know guys that their frist bike was the only bike for them, we are all in the same boat on our bikes, we have to make them fit us. Im a small guy but I ride a full dresser and love it. Its what fits me and my life at this time. I ride a lot and my wife rides with me. Get the bike you feel the best on, you will find out it will work out for you/ Good luck and be safe out there and its your bike look for you. Remember your the one thats got your hands on the handle bars. Go slow take your time, we do benfit runs for the ones that dont, and we dont like it

Guys I REALLY appreciate the advice. I'm a pretty calm non-risk taking guy by nature so i wont be rushing to push past my bike skills until i feel extremely confident. I have an extremely calm and quiet neighborhood with a big parking lot across the street from it so i'll be spending alot of time there.
I'll also call the local Harley dealer and get any info on demo rides. When finding the bike i want, if at the dealer can i take it out for a test if it's used? With new bikes i'm under the impression that i can only sit on them in the showroom.... right?
Last question, what things do i need to look for when sitting on the bikes? Other than the obvious comfort in my rear end... The riding that i'll be doing once i'm a little more experienced will be weekend rides to the lake (1 hour 40 min) and weekend restaurant/bar hoppin' around my town. NOthing too long haul for the time being...i'll go 2-up with the wife as skill level allows.

I seem to get a good feel for the bike by standing over it and keeping it balanced with my inner thighs. That's a pretty low center of gravity too and you can feel the weight and balance somewhat.

Also, keep in mind that most folks replace a bunch of parts on whatever new Harley they buy to make it fit them (I am of the opinion that Harley actually puts some fairly cheap parts on the new bikes because they know folks are going to replace them anyway - grips, levers, pegs, etc.). On my RoadKing I have replaced a bunch of the control parts w/ extended reach controls.

The Dealerships generally won't let you test ride the new bikes (thus the factory demo rides); I don;t know about the used bikes.

There is also a Dyna you should look at called the Fat Bob (it's basically the Dyna version of a Softail Fat Boy).

Good luck and take it easy until you get used to whatever you get - motorcycles can be very unforgiving of mistakes.

How timely for you; it looks like Harley is going to start demo rides at participating dealers. I just received an email about something they are calling "The Harley-Davidson® Super Ride" (http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Super_Ride/Super_Ride.jsp?locale=en_US&hbx_camp_id=hdredirect&urlvar=superride&camp_id=16&source_cd=Email_0040209_SuperRide). H-D should be paying me for this :).