New Rider, New to forums

[shanedman]

Hello everyone.
I am a new rider and new to these forums. I came here looking for like minded people, per the suggestion of a coworker/rider.
I just learned to ride as of 8-1-12, so dont hold it against me too much.
I bought a used 2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250 in order to learn and hone my skills.
I hope to upgrade to a bigger bike in the near future, but for now i am enjoying the one i have.
I have had the urge to learn to ride for years and i finally had the time and money to follow through so i did, and i think i am hooked on bikes now!

[TWTourist]

to the addiction.

[WoodButcher]

Good choice on the starter bike and welcome to the site.

[jbaviator]

I just learned to ride this month, too. I just need to find some experience folks to ride with and learn from.

[Tourmeister]

Welcome to the forum!

You picked an excellent first bike. Don't be in too big a hurry to get a "big" bike. You'd be amazed at the number of experienced riders that end up going back to and enjoying the "little" bikes!

I highly recommend buy and reading several times a copy of

Twist of the Wrist Vol. 1 and 2

Twist of the Wrist Vol. 1 and 2

by Keith Code. His focus is racing, but the stuff he talks about TOTALLY applies to the street. The second good book is

Proficient Motorcycling

Proficient Motorcycling

by David Hough. This is a great book that covers things from a street riding perspective, covering common hazzards and how to deal with them as well as proactive strategies for keeping out of trouble. All of them make fantastic bathroom books They both cover a lot of stuff about riding that is counter intuitive for a new rider and they both saved my bacon several times!

[chaissos]

Dang, Tourmeister beat me to it. I was going to suggest not being in too big of a hurry to get a "big" bike, too. It depends on the riding you want to do, really. If you get into long distance, or touring, you'll want to change. If you get into off-road, you may want a second bike (not a replacement). For most "around town" riders, what you have now is plenty, light and fun to flick around. A couple hours isn't a big deal, so you can play with some of the bigger toys.
In any event, !

[Gravel Guy]

Howdy from Thorndale!

[sharkey]

Originally Posted by shanedman

Hello everyone.
I am a new rider and new to these forums. I came here looking for like minded people, per the suggestion of a coworker/rider.
I just learned to ride as of 8-1-12, so dont hold it against me too much.
I bought a used 2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250 in order to learn and hone my skills.
I hope to upgrade to a bigger bike in the near future, but for now i am enjoying the one i have.
I have had the urge to learn to ride for years and i finally had the time and money to follow through so i did, and i think i am hooked on bikes now!

Good bike to start on. Did you take the MSF class? You'll hone your skills soon enough in Austin traffic.

[GHT]

Great choice in bikes!!! Have fun, be safe and remember ATGATT!!

[shanedman]

Originally Posted by sharkey

Good bike to start on. Did you take the MSF class? You'll hone your skills soon enough in Austin traffic.

I did take the MSF class. I had figured i better start by learning the "right" way before i go buy a bike and just start trying to put around... and i think it was the correct decision for me. I previously had ZERO experience, so i was learning EVERYTHING from scratch. The one thing that helped me is that i already knew how to drive a manual transmission.

[shanedman]

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. I am glad to be part of the brotherhood now.

[shanedman]

Originally Posted by jbaviator

I just learned to ride this month, too. I just need to find some experience folks to ride with and learn from.

I know quite a few people from work that ride too, but they all seem to have different work schedules.
I would love to find a group of guys to ride with once in a while. I have heard it is super fun to ride in groups.

[Keith]

EXCELLENT first bike! Congrats on getting the most important decision right the first time! Welcome to the forum!

[whoa]

Like minded people ... people who love bikes and riding. You've come to the right place.

What part of town are you? Since traffic can be challenging, a great area to become familiar with your bike is east of Austin and north of Manor. A fairly agricultural area, nice bending county roads, and usually calm traffic makes a good area to build some time.

When I was flying, I'd read an article called "I Learned about Flying from That". I've found this forum just as good about pointing out gotchas to be aware of. So you've found an excellent forum for doing some reading from very experienced riders as well.

Welcome to the sickness.

[shanedman]

Originally Posted by whoa

Like minded people ... people who love bikes and riding. You've come to the right place.

What part of town are you? Since traffic can be challenging, a great area to become familiar with your bike is east of Austin and north of Manor. A fairly agricultural area, nice bending county roads, and usually calm traffic makes a good area to build some time.

When I was flying, I'd read an article called "I Learned about Flying from That". I've found this forum just as good about pointing out gotchas to be aware of. So you've found an excellent forum for doing some reading from very experienced riders as well.

Welcome to the sickness.

I am in the north end of Austin... Wells Branch & Pflugerville area.
And i welcome ANY/ALL tips from those of you who are well experienced riders.

[Sov]

I haven't read the Keith Code book(s), but the "Twist the Throttle 2" DVD is a good watch. It can be kinda silly in places, but the information is really helpful. I think the "MSF Guide to Motorcycling Excellence" is a good read as well.

[ekms377]

Welcome.....and be careful out there.

[Thrasherg]

Welcome to the club, and don't forget, you can NEVER look too far ahead.. As a new rider you will naturally have many thing to think about, but don't let you vision come to close to the front of the bike, keep looking a long way down the road for the obstacles and other vehicles that are not paying attention like they should.. Nice choice of starter bike, quick enough for the freeway and light enough for a beginner to gain a lot of confidence (plus insurance cost is probably quite acceptable). I hope you can find a few people to ride with, but remember to ride at your pace, when you ride at other people's speeds, that's when things start to go wrong..

Gary

[shanedman]

One question that i had come up...

Is it better to put the higher octane gas in my tank?
or does it matter if i were to put the cheapo-regular gas in my tank?

i dont think it would matter money-wise due to it only costing about $15 give or take to fill from empty, but i am just wondering as far as performance i guess.

The money saved in gas mileage was always one of the reasons i wanted to get into riding...

[Gravel Guy]

Originally Posted by shanedman

One question that i had come up...

Is it better to put the higher octane gas in my tank?
or does it matter if i were to put the cheapo-regular gas in my tank?

i dont think it would matter money-wise due to it only costing about $15 give or take to fill from empty, but i am just wondering as far as performance i guess.

The money saved in gas mileage was always one of the reasons i wanted to get into riding...

A lifelong mechanic friend of mine told me this....use whatever fuel octane rating the owner manual says to use; unless you have a super-hopped-up hotrod that can actually be able to utilize the better fuel you're just wasting your money. The worst thing you can do with your bike is to let is sit, especially with the ethanol in the gas nowadays....so use that bike!