I know next to nothing about motorcycles, but having ridden one over the weekend, I now know that I want one very, very badly.  Particularly, this one:

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp15 … boston.jpg

I snapped that shot when I was in Boston last year, and fell in love with its aesthetics design.  It's a Suzuki SV650, and research shows that it's one of the better models of the Suzuki line of middle-weight bikes.  It's considered "the best first bike ever, and lauded by many other mags as a great budget bike."

I still need to get my license, and I know there's a sharp learning curve ahead.  If I'm ambitious enough to actually go through with this, it looks like what I would need to do is buy the bike once I gain my learner's permit, and begin training on it for the road test.  I need my own bike for the test anyway.

Anyone else own or ride motorcycles?  Got any advice for a beginner who's about to start out?

All I can say is that I cannot imagine you on a motorcycle. Didin't you at one point have the Mazda 3?

You know, I came pretty close to getting that RX that I wanted . . .

I can.

I've always wanted to try riding a motorcycle but I can barely drive my car as it is (stupid city driving). One step at a time.

I became quite put off to the idea of ever getting on a motorcycle after a friend of mine in high school was killed in an accident.  Rear ended a truck and the gas tank on the cycle exploded.  Way too dangerous for my liking.  :\

An aspiring nurse who now desires to drive a motorcycle...ambitious indeed.

I failed my motorbike test last year. But I first got on a bike on a monday and did the test on the thursday so I cut myself a bit of slack there. A 250cc Honda of some sort.

Do you imply that a person who has a car can't have a bike as well? :)

Still have the M3, yeah, which is a little over a year old at this point.  I'll always need a car, so the bike will likely be more of a side recreational thing.  Wonder what my insurance premiums are going to look like?  I'm bound to go for complete coverage on the bike anyway.

I was looking at the Suzuki Hayabusa, too, which looks like serious shit.  It'd probably be a bit too much for me at this early stage, but maybe something to look forward to in the years to come.

Jay, you planning on taking the test again?

Motorcycles are very fun, but I haven't been on one for 18 years. I was in Colorado, in a field, and ran into some metal wire. It somehow wrapped around my ankle and the back tire. Luckily, I let go of the gas before it popped my foot off. I decided there are other, less dangerous ways, to have fun.

yes like canal skimming in an ultralight airplane...  *sigh* ive been on the ground a full four years now...

Yep, definitely but it will be at least six months from now as things are just too full on. My plan is to get a motorbike license and do a trip around Arizona sometime. Live my own road movie. Just to totally get away from everything. I want to eat in truck stops, start fights in small bars and maybe (depending on if I get there) have to knife some guy in Mexico.

You could call a couple of places for an estimate.  Maybe your current insurer can give you an estimate.
That looks like a sporty motorcycle you want, so that may raise your premium.

Do you have some place to park a motorcycle?

Man, make me dream.....

Good question.  My place has no garage, so on my own, the best I'd be able to do is buy one of those specialized tarps, and leave it covered in front of my street.  What I'm more likely to do, though, especially for those extended periods of time, is to keep it in storage in my parents' garage.  It's always empty anyway, and they live just three miles away from me.  It'll just be a little extra commute to drive over there, leave the car, and take the bike - and then vice versa. 

They flipped when I told them I wanted to get a bike.  Understandably, they don't approve at all.

you guys are discussing hobbies with the wind blowing in your hair, and the rest of us are dealing with -20 windchills...  okay,, im jealous...

Just a bit of an update on my journey toward bikehood. 

As a sort of birthday gift to myself, I finally went ahead and took the written test today. You're now looking at an official holder of a Class M permit.  ;)

Congratulations!

i like the fantastic color on the red truck behind the motorcycle... i wonder how many spraycans it took them to do the whole thing...

Congratulations, Angela the Biker Dudette.  If you don't ever own a motorcycle, at least you can operate one.  You could always rent one for that occasional ride out of town.

Well this thread is 3 years old, but I'll figuratively toss my hat in the ring.

I'd want a Triumph Bonneville, probably the T100 model.

Classic British styling, still looks timeless.
Just the right mix of rebel and style.

I'm not a big fan of retro designs, but the aesthetics on the Bonnevilles do look nice.  I was able to test-ride both a 2008 T100 and an '09 Thruxton 900 earlier this year.  The 865cc engine is a little more power than what I'm used to, and the vintage seating and handle bar positions were seriously offputting at first, but they still maneuvered reasonably well.  I don't see them as good long-distance bikes, but then, that's to be expected of the Bonnies.

I wouldn't want a long distance "cruiser" as that market was only invented because the USA is just too damn huge for it's own good.

I'm way too cautious to want to ride a motorcycle but as a kid, I was obsessed with them. After my brother got one about seven years back, I saw how fun but inherently dangerous they could be (taking about "racing" bikes, not necessarily the hawgs). Luckilly, he was never hurt on one but needless to say I was glad when he got over the phase of having one and eventually sold it.

Motorcycles are great but I see them as so much more dangerous than cars especially because you're so much more exposed to all the dangers of vehicular travel and temptations that come along with it not to mention racers do absolutely death's door/arrogant moves on them whenever I'm on the road with them.

I second the notion of less dangerous, more ways to have fun than a motorcycle.

But Angela, that's a nice bike...