Keep in mind I am talking about street riding ability. If you want to talk about racing caliber of riding skill then thats a whole other animal, but it still does not come with a milage requirement. It is measured in HOURS of track time and lap times.

 

ide better get sum popcorn: LOL

 

Mileage is a measure of experience. You need experience and skill. I set my requirements high to allow for the people who ride a lot of highway miles. Without skill all the experience in the world counts for nothing. Without experience skill is likely to make you over confident and lead you into stupid errors, especially in traffic.

Track time counts for very little on the road. Advanced courses can cut the experience requirement by half - but just attending them means nothing if you don't work to riding to the standard you've been shown. Most graduates of advanced courses still wouldn't pass an IAM test because they don't practise what they've been taught.

A lot of younger riders are probably better than me now in some respects - I've broken too many bones and can't move around the way I used to - but not many are safer, and not many will actually turn in shorter journey times.

I think the level of defensiveness in your posts shows that you don't really believe them yourself.

Rob

 

no defensiveness at all - I just get tired of stuck up ****** who talk big (ok maybe a little defensive of my peers, don't take kindly to people joining up and insulting fellow riders without having any true idea of their skill set or riding habits)

by your own admission rider ability veries drasticly and has just as much bearing on skill as experience. Thats the point I've been trying to get you to admit - that broad blanket statements of 4 years 40,000 miles really are meaningless by themselves. you can easily have someone complete your requirements and still be a complete ham as far as riding goes because they simple don't care to improve.

there are a lot of riders that have been riding for 20+ years and then take an advanced riders course and learn something new. Just the same there are riders that have only been riding for 2 years and have been through all the riders courses and ride conservatively. (and of course there is the minority of riders known as squids who skill or no skill ride with total disregard and make everyone look bad)

If you have as much experience as you claim then you of all people know this is true and shouldn't be making statements like that.


edit - I just ealized why you have such high milage expectations of people, 400-500 miles a day is not common for much of any bike around here.

 

just wanted to specify also that being a "SAFE" rider is primarily a combination of situational awareness and good judgement.

There are many who I would call "escape artists" . not a safe rider, but they have had enough skill to stay upgright in the situations they've gotten themselves into.

There are also many (see it a lot in the Harley crowd) who are not really "safe" riders either. They are just relaxed/conservative riders who don't get themselves into trouble, but are most likely not aware enough to avoid a situation that another driver/pedestrian/animal might put them into.

 

uh win what?

 

[/threadjack]

what the heck was this thead about? oh yes good beginner bikes. which of course the "best" beginner bike will depend on the rider. any bike with less than ~60 hp has the potential to be a good beginner bike, rider with good throttle control and self restraint/maturity can get away with starting with more.

 

i just started riding this summer. I started on a ninja 500. i would recommend it for sure.
but i think an R6 would be good to. way more expensive though.

 

Everyone should get a busa...and don't wear any gear. It will make you a better rider in the long run.

 

yup and just ride with a thong on at w.o.t