Starting big

[BLUEJEEPLAB]

Slow and easy will do it, be it a 50cc mini bike or an XS 1100. I had experience all the way up to a 750 before I got the Battle Cruiser. I still took it easy until I knew how he would behave under different conditions. I've said it before, there are Old Bikers and Bold Bikers, but there are No Old Bold Bikers.

Just a note on the Slow and Easy process. My first experience was on a neighbor's CT-70 Mini Trail. I grabbed a handful of throttle and did a wheelie right into a huge blue spruce. Thank God they are soft!!!

[eroellig]

The sum total of my riding is from the motorcycle safety classes. So why do I have an XS11 in my garage? Like StreetRat78, I'm not small (6'2" and 220lbs) and the XS >>FITS<< me. Slow & Easy is my plan also.... PLUS I've already developed a sense of mortality



Eric

[newrider]

1979 xs1100 i picked up last month is my first bike to own or ride, I'm 25 and had never been near or on a bike before, but eventhough its been in the 30s and 40s since i got her, i've ridden between 50-100 miles everyday....i love it.....nothing beats that feeling, and i get more confident with each mile, haven't topped her out yet, but i've seen the triple digits, and i want more....i know she has it to give, just waiting for warmer weather.

[e.z.nightrider]

First bike was an XS400 Special, bought it new in May of '79. Traded it in on an XS750-2D in Sept of '79. Sold it in '82.
Bought the 305 in '88 for something to ride. Wanted something bigger and found the 650 in 2000. All the time looking for a good XS1100 which found in Sept 2004.

Now with that said the one thing I've done each time I've changed bikes or brought them out in the spring is spend at least the better part of the day doing MSF skill pratice in a local parking lot. Just to get reaquanted with the envelope of the machine and my skills. It helps me greatly in risk management in real world riding just knowing what my limitations are before I get into situations.

[Paulio]

Interesting thread.

I started with a 49cc back in 1980 and worked through pretty much any form of motor cycle including sports bikes.

The XS is easily the biggest i've had for weight and displacement and although it is damn quick it is also, dare i say, a little pondorous in the handling and transmission departments which seems to encourage the rider to plan ahead a little and tend not to get into the "oh ****ters" quite so frequently.

I think provided you are prepared to take things easy and repect the machinery it's probably a safer bet than a 250 crotch rocket for a novice.

Age is the greatest steadying influence, at 16 throwing the 'ped down the road was a weekly experience and i can remember following the damn thing down the road in a shower of sparks like it was yesterday, while now at nearing 3x that age i just know i wouldn't bounce quite as well