Where to start?

well firs off im a real newbie, i never even sat on a bike.im kinda tall im 6'3 170  so with that said. where do i start?

like is there a school where i can learn how to ride?

and the famous one  Can any body tell me what to start out on.( i see that 600 bikes is a bad place to start)and is there one that is the perfect blend of comfort and performance?

whats some good brands of helmet and ridin gear. ( Your startin to see how new i am ....huh.)  


and another qustion
How come they dont sell the ZZR600 in cali?

thanks to all that will reply and hopefully we can chat and you can keep me on the straight and narrow so i can become as good as you guys


ps give it to me with all honesty.
Peace Vertz21  

Start here with the MSF Safety course...you should be able to find course locations close to you from this site.  It's a must for new riders.  The course is about 70% to 30% riding to classroom work.

http://www.msf-usa.org/

What bike is comfortable is really a personal choice.  As far as bikes go, the truthful answer is that a Ninja 250R, SV650, and Ninja 500 are all good starter bikes.  But I could be considered a hypocrite as I started on an '07 R6.

As far as gear, I wear a Scorpion EXO full face helmet and it's Snell/DOT approved.  It's comfortable, well vented and the price is right (about $180).  Of course, if you have deep pockets, you can't go wrong with an Arai or Shoei helmet.  Joe Rocket, Icon, and Alpinestars are just a few of solid brand names out there for other gear.

Start with MSF Course and them move on to bikes.  Take it one step at a time.  In the meantime, go through the "New Riders" section of this forum and start reading the threads.  Many people before you have asked similar questions as well as other questions that you may be wondering about.  It's a good resource.

Welcome to the early stages of the riding community!    

man i have see you answer other people. your great. but the 250 wont be to small?  

I've never been on a Ninja 250 myself, so I can't give you a from experience answer.  However, I have come across several riding veterans that own one and they have nothing but great things to say about it.  When I can afford it, I'm thinking of buying one for myself.

At the very least, it's a great starter bike and from what I understand, they hold their value very well.  So, if you started on one of those and wanted something a little bigger, you wouldn't have too much trouble selling it for around the price you paid for it.  There is plenty of good advice on these forums with good starter bikes.  Check out Cycle World forums as well for good info.  

When looking for a bike, read lots of info and sit on a lot of bikes.  Even 600cc super sports are possible to start on, it just has to be done with much more caution because they are much more demanding bikes.  Go with what you're comfortable with.  Just please don't get a 1000cc RR!    

I have been riding for 3 years but when I bought my bike I didn't even know how to ride it home... the dealer had to deliver it to me. It was a Ninja 250 and it sat for 2 weeks while I took the MSF course. Best decision I ever made. I had never even ridden a 4wheeler before. I just sold my 250 and am moving up to a 600. But trust me when you are learning, performance is the last thing you need to be worried about! I have never been down in my 3 yrs and for that I am greatful. That bike was awesome to learn on.. and the best thing about the 2008 is that they are all new and look better than the zx6 in my opinion... You will know when you are ready for something bigger. My 250 sold in a flash so don't sweat it. I think it is better to start out at the very bottom and work your way up and have no or few accidents. Don't worry about what everyone else rides and what their skill level is... just worry about you and honing your own skills.

As far as gear.. I am a girl and gear is a lot harder to come by but I have a Scorpion Helmet (fiberglass is the safest), a leather ICON jacket, Joe Rocket gloves and am in the market for a textile jacket and some pants and boots of some kind. I think gear is mostly a personal preference thing really. But I have been happy with the performance of all my gear so far...  
~Lyns

What's up vertz21, definetly check the MSF basic rider course and while your waiting for that read through the rider skills series. By the time i got into the course i had been riding for i think about 3 weeks and i strongly believe if i hadn't read those articles and advice from this forum i would have been down by now but knock on wood i havn't so far despite being a little stuburn and starting on an 02'R6 and NO i don't recommend it.

As far as gear i don't believe you have to buy the most expensive ones out there i have an Arai helment which was over $500 new (i got it used) and is a great helment the most comfortable i own but i mostly wear an HJC AC-12 i recently bought (hate to sound a bit girly but it matches my bike and jacket better) which i feel safe in, everything i read seemed to show the HJC helments were just as safe as the more expensive helments such as Arai or Shoei, and i have an Alpinestars stunt2 airflow jacket which i really like keeps me cool while providing protection (ce approved shouler and elbow armor)and i also wear gloves with some decent padding and knuckle armor, shoes are next on my list hard to find anything that looks casual thats worth the cost when you can spend the same amount and get somthing with decent protection i'll probably get alpinstars s-mx2 a low cut riding boot.

excuse the rambling
anyway best of luck on begining the journey to motorcycling, get ready to be addicted!!  

just wanted to add that the best thing about the MSF course was practicing on the little 250's they had. As far as knowledge goes i was way overprepared thanks to the stuff on this site i.e. the rider skills series.  

man,    yall didn't disappoint me. i got a lot on my plate so i guess i need to take step one. and if you think of any thing else let me know.

oh yeah ill be back with way more questions. so dont go to far