Buying my FIRST Bike Ever Today!!!

[Grayson]

Have never driven a bike - must drive it home from the shop I am  meeting the guy!  Will have to go about 5 miles - any suggestions...a Little SCARED???

[biometrics]

Congrats on your purchase... and my advice is to have an experienced driver take it home for you, or if you are meeting the guy, have him come the last 5 miles to your place...... If you decide yoou can't resist driving it home yourself, at least have someone with a car follow you to provide you some extra insurance from the other menacing vehicles on the road...

Take the MSF course before you ride the first time.  Especially a bike as powerful as a nighthawk.  Please Keep us posted on your progress...

[gammer]

Welcome to the forum Grayson  

Good luck getting it home. Take your time.
I too would try to find someone with experience to drive it home for you. Or maybe a friend with a trailer could deliver it. It might be better to pay someone to trailer, then risk driving it with no experience.

[cmyers]

Welcome to the forum Grayson 

Good luck getting it home. Take your time.
I too would try to find someone with experience to drive it home for you. Or maybe a friend with a trailer could deliver it. It might be better to pay someone to trailer, then risk driving it with no experience.

+1

at least go grab to the library and get the MSF book, it will give you a rudimentary understanding of the basics. If you have to ride it, plan to spend 30min to an hour practicing in a parking lot before attempting to pull into traffic.

[Ol School]

Man be careful driveing it home yourself ...I wouldn`t advise it myself ...
If its a 550 or larger NightHawk ...there is more power there than you might think .
alot of bad can happen 5 miles from home on a new bike with a new ridder .
it will take you some time just to get use to the brakes ...the front brake will put a newbie on the ground quick .
Take the course before you hit the streets ! buy some gear ..and think like a jet fighter pilot while ridding .
the Night Hawks will fit nicely in the back of a PU truck ..all you need is 2 tie down straps .
Everyone drops their first bike at least once !   let it be in a parking lot !
be safe do it right ...and you are fixing to have more fun than you ever thought you could have with your clothes on !  

[HandsomeSteve]

Congratulations!  You're in for a lot of enjoyment.

I would just reiterate what others have said about having it delivered or have a friend ride it home for you.  I've trained some new riders and everyone seems to have problems dropping the clutch when they first start out.  Plus gear changes, brakes, throttle. 

Whatever you decide, Good luck and have fun!

[drdubb]

+1 on the advice. I rode a 350 as a teen, but the nighthawk was my first bike in 35 years .Scared the beejeezus out of me the first time I rode. I did things like ride around the block. Kept expanding in bits as my confidence came back and experience was gained.

Do the MSF course. They probably have it at a local Community college for a reasonable price.

[Tryvelcro]

to addiction.

What everyone else said... see if you can find someone else (like the p.o.) to bring it home for you.  It doesn't take much for things to go horribly wrong, especially if you've never been on a bike before.  We want you to be around for a while.

And +1 to taking the MSF - invaluable information.  Do you have gear?  More than just a helmet? 

[drdubb]

I took the MSF course after riding for a year (this time around) and it was helpful. However, the newbies were dropping bikes all over the place in my class. Get someone to get the bike to your house or rent a trailer/truck. Saving a few bucks is not worth the risks.

[ricdiculous]

I took the MSF course before I even attempted to ride my first bike.  I figured I'd rather drop theirs than drop mine.

U-haul rents MC trailers here in Richmond for $15 a day if you drop it off the same place you pick it up.  Heck, that's cheaper than you could replace the mirrors for if you dropped it.

If you must ride it home, wear a helmet, boots, and thick denim or heavy material pants, and a heavy jacket.  Good luck, man!

[bajakirch]

Welcome to a great forum, and to the affliction.

Now that the niceties are out of the way, I'l come right out and say it -- it would be foolish to ride a brand-new bike anywhere on the road without some training. Besides the danger to yourself and your new bike, what about the danger to pedestrians and other vehicles? It's not worth it just to get the bike home, when there are many other options available.

My recommendation is to find an experienced -- licensed -- rider, pay him/her $20 to deliver it for you. It's some of the wisest money you'll ever spend.

[Hawks_Nest]

If I were you, I wouldn't do it even if the bike is 500 ft away. Ask PO to deliver the bike with nominal fee. You can give him a ride back.

[Hangster]

You need to learn all the controls and how they function in a parking lot NOT on the road , there are too many things going on at the same time that can hurt you ...have the PO ride it home for you and take it slow from there (MSF MSF MSF)
 

[Bumblebee]

(MSF crashgear MSF crashgear MSF crashgear)

Fixed that for you.

While waiting for the MSF class, visit the local motorcycle shop and get some decent crash gear (among the other gear, a full face helmet is essential and jeans offer no protection whatsoever)

Suggestion for zero experience and getting it home: Previous owner taking it to your house. Trailer. Back of a truck. Other experienced rider. Or puttering along on the sidewalk in 1st gear after half an hour in the parking lot figuring things out (don't run over the kids playing in the yard though).
You do not want to be on the road until you're not fighting the motorcycle for who's in control of what's happening. It's essential that you take the motorcycle for a ride, not the other way around.

[fishball]

Hi Grayson and welcome to the group!  Like all have stated MSF and good gear.  Enjoy.

[roadrunner]

  to the forum!  Please take the advice of others and have an experienced rider deliver the bike.  Reminds me of when I picked up my first NH in 1998 (a used 92 from the Honda dealer).  I asked if I could putt around in the back 40 and the dealer said no because they didn't own the property.  He also told me of a recent new owner who accelerated out of the dealership and crashed against the curb on the opposite side of the road.  Needless to say, I was a bit nervous as it had been about 15 years.  And to top it off, I picked it up at rush hour (not a good idea).  Be careful!!

[drdubb]

OK what happened? Did Grayson get the bike home?

[Walter]

Have never driven a bike - must drive it home from the shop I am  meeting the guy!  Will have to go about 5 miles - any suggestions...a Little SCARED???

trying not to be an ass but you wouldn't be getting a bike then

[Bumblebee]

trying not to be an ass but you wouldn't be getting a bike then

Why not? If you're not at least a little scared every time you ride, you're not at a proficiency level that will keep you safe.

Cut him a little break. He's just short on experience and unlike a lot of people out there, he's asking for advice..and doing the asking before getting in over his head.  

[Walter]

trying not to be an ass but you wouldn't be getting a bike then

Why not? If you're not at least a little scared every time you ride, you're not at a proficiency level that will keep you safe.

Cut him a little break. He's just short on experience and unlike a lot of people out there, he's asking for advice..and doing the asking before getting in over his head. 

being scared and being alert are 2 different things. Like I said wish him well hope he got someone else to drive bike home and he sticks with the riding and overcomes his fear

[Tryvelcro]

trying not to be an ass but you wouldn't be getting a bike then

You failed.  A little fear keeps you honest.

And I still hate your avatar.

[HawkFuzz]

Velcro, you are full of truth tonight.  And I agree I'm not a big fan of the avatar.  It's like one of those smells that is annoying like a skunk.

The fear good because then you ride like you want to live not like you are wanting to go down like the guy on a bike that has more power than the rider has smarts.

[drdubb]

Folks, lets remember one of the beauties of this forum - we are generally positive and supportive of each other. Many folks have commented on how this forum is so much better than others b/c of our attitudes.

I have to admit that I think Grayson did a smart thing by asking. Having not ridden before, he doesn't know what he doesn't know.

All of us have encouraged him to do the safe things.

Obviously, some of our lady (and men)  members may be offended by the Avatar. I know that my lovely wife would not be pleased.

I agree with Bumble Bee, a little fear is a good thing.

[HandsomeSteve]

Eagerly waiting for Grayson's update!

No news = good news??

Bueller?....................

[Hawks_Nest]

Hmm, ominously silent. There are few possibilities.

1. He pulled the trigger despite all our cautious warnings. Ouch!!!

2. PO delivered the bike and he can't take his eyes off the bike or refuse to dismount since last night.

3. Still waiting for an answer he wants to hear