Why are people telling motorcycle newcomers they'll soon grow out of it and recommend heavier bikes? (ride, moped)

[Marodil85]

I think it is just irresponsible to recommend that a newcomer should buy a heavy motorcycle. The falls are enormous. You need to gradually grow into it. I first had a 50cc scooter, then a 125cc motorcycle. I love 125cc - 400cc bikes, and I never grew out of them; they are easy to handle. Btw, I never had an accident or a fall.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by Marodil85

I think it is just irresponsible to recommend that a newcomer should buy a heavy motorcycle. The falls are enormous. You need to gradually grow into it. I first had a 50cc scooter, then a 125cc motorcycle. I love 125cc - 400cc bikes, and I never grew out of them; they are easy to handle. Btw, I never had an accident or a fall.

2 types of riders............

Those that have fallen or those that are going to!

[Marodil85]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

2 types of riders............

Those that have fallen or those that are going to!

No, type 3 is the one who never falls.

[NORTY FLATZ]

There are Countries that have "Tiered" licensing. (Even some States are doing this.)

I fully agree that a new rider will learn a lot quicker, on a motorcycle they are not afraid of. (Science has actually proven this.)

I'm in a State that allows a new rider to go buy a Hayabusa right from my class. Seen it happen. Clearly, the student isn't ready for such performance. Only thing I can do is recommend a small, lightweight, easy to maneuver first motorcycle.

I tell new riders~
"This is only your 1st motorcycle. This IS NOT you last motorcycle. Use this first motorcycle to learn and perfect the skills you learned in class. Throughout your riding career, you'll learn things all the time. I know I still do. I've been riding regularly since 1971."

Then, I finish it with, "We have a small group that caters to new riders. We ride every weekend, to places that have minimal traffic and rarely freeways, come ride with us, sometime!"

And finally..."Motorcycling, the more you know, the better it becomes."

[Jewel City Joe]

A few years ago I was at a Mall where one end of it was literally empty of businesses. In the rear parking lot
(an area with about two acres) there were a couple of 40 ft long shipping containers with "Motorcycle School
& Training" lettered on them.

It was early on a Saturday morning and there were about 15 young women sitting on these 50cc scooters.
They looked like mopeds but didn't have pedals and were single speed automatic (centrifugal clutch) capable of about 30 mph. The young women were quick studies in these and riding them around a loop laid out with orange pylons. Their next step would be to learn to operate lite bikes of 100 cc with 4 speed manual transmissions. They would start out only in first gear and ride them like they did the scooters around the loop until they were ready to learn to shift gears.

Shifting gears training was done on a straight path and limited to first and second gear. They would ride to one end and return the same way. So at the outer end they would demonstrate they could find neutral
and shove the bike while balancing on it to the starting line and await the signal to return. Then they would
put the bike into first gear and start off and shift into second. Once they demonstrated proficiency they could attempt third or even fourth gear.

In successive weeks there was a 250 cc bike and a 500 cc. They would take turns on these each in turn
riding it a little and getting a feel for it.

I spoke with one of the instructors and learned that this was a small business that they started for the weekends only. They taught Drivers Ed at a large consolidated High School where their students had
small cars with auto transmissions, a mid size pickup truck, a Dump Truck (donated by the State Highway dept), a small motor cycle, and an old school bus. He said part of their week end classes was a DVD the instructors provided the students to take home and view. These tutorials had been filmed using GoPro helet cams and were a simulation where the students would feel like they were riding along side the instructor.
The instructor would give tips and advice in this simulated ride. In this manner the students could gain experience safely so that they would have a better chance for their first riding season without peril.
He even explained that they had a big dog to run out to the bikes to simulate that experience. Dogs
tend to be a blind side accident for a lot of riders.

The 50cc trainer bikes looked much like this. Some call these moped's but without pedals many localities/states do not recognize them as mopeds. But the instructors felt that most of the
principles of a motorcycle could be taught starting with these. The ones they used were blue
and built by Suzuki I believe.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

For a first bike, I tell people, used, cheap, not too big or heavy. A new rider doesn't know what part of the sport is going to attract them. Will you want to do long trips and spend a weekend or week touring on it? Go out and hit twisty canyon roads? Hand out with friends and go on day rides on a cruiser? Hit some dirt roads on an ADV bike? You don't know what direction you'll want to go-so get something you can ride for a year, learn on and figure out what is important to you. Don't try to anticipate what you'll like or buy too big a bike so you don't "outgrow" it. And something that you won't cry too hard when you drop it that first year.

I recommend 300-500cc bikes for starter bikes. One of the high-points of motorcycling is the social aspect-riding with others. I want to see riders on something that is small/light enough to be safe to learn on, but still comfortable at 70-75 for riding with others-especially on hills. Some of the 250 class bikes (or even larger cruisers) will be falling behind on hills. 300 Versys, 390 KTM Duke, 400 Ninja or CB500X are good choices, and all are new enough to (I believe) all have ABS. For solo riding or a patient friend, the 250s are fine and available cheaply. But you'll be thrashing them pretty hard to try to maintain a highway speed going up hill.