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So I called the only place in town offering MSF courses right now, it's through one of the local dealerships - was quoted $299.00 for the two day beginners, plus the price of a helmet comes out to about $400 total
Fuck. That.
I know for a fact that the community college has the course for $50.00 but they're not doing it until next spring. Guess I'll wait.
it quickly pays for itself with the insurance savings. insurance companies give you a big break for completing an accredited MSF course. which is good for life. do it.
yeah mine was $350. it's gonna cost you money too to do your road test so honestly in the end, you're dropping bread to be able to ride.
i pay $70 a year to keep my bike insured. believe me it's worth it. these guys will teach you more than you can imagine for riding-wise and mentally. i know in NY they're trying to make it mandatory to get a license here.
also, don't know if i've ever posted a picture of my ride but this is my daily
so beautiful! do you commute to work on her? ever have any problems? I've been thinking about getting a late 70s cb550 or cb750 but I'm scared of ending up on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere (I spend a lot of time in the middle of nowhere on my bike).
Would love to hear your experiences as a vintage bike owner (good and/or bad). Most of the articles I read online are heavily biased one way or the other.
haha thanks man! appreciate it. i ride 2-3 days to work a week and to be honest, other than one small electrical freak-out where everything seemed to stop working because a couple connections came loose, the thing has been nothing but a dream for me. it runs really well and i've gone on 250 mile trips on it and never had an issue other than physically cracking a whole muffler in half.
as all i know are older bikes (my father is the owner of 3), they're easy to work on, fun to hang out around, parts aren't expensive, and they're just a blast...that being said they are 40 year old behemoth assholes and do sometimes decide that they don't want to be your friend. old brits will do this. triumphs, BSA's...i have friends who ride them and they're fun as fuck and shake you to high heavens but usually something catastrophic happens after you've planned your 150 mile camping trip with your friends. that being said, all these old bikes need attention, granted any bike you ride should deserve the attention every time you get on it.
if you want to get into it, do your research. find a good year of the bike you're looking for. A 550, I'd say a 75 or 78. A 750, anything with a single overhead cam is not only more reliable but more sought after, pretty much '77 and earlier. don't buy one from some guy purely because it's cheap. buy from an original owner with paperwork and make sure it's running. i bought mine not running and missing a bunch of parts and i lucked out hard when i finally got it fired up. honestly, i wouldn't pay more than $2000 for a running one of either a 750 or a 550, in pristine condition. anyone asking for more is A) probably too stubborn to barter with you and B) knows the right idiot will one day stumble along and fork over the cash without batting an eye.
so yes. i've heard hell stories. but i've also heard amazing ones. i have nothing but awesome memories on mine so far. one of my buddies has a 550 and the gaskets leak like hell and he's doing a full change out as we speak. one of my buddies has an old yamaha that the exhaust falls off of every other time he rides it. but they're fun as all hell to ride, they sound amazing, they get a lot of attention, and you get a lot of satisfaction and knowledge after a few months of wrenching on these bad boys. i say go for it. if you need help finding one shoot me a message and where you're located and i'll do my best to shoot you a couple local craigslist ad's that seem like worthy bikes for the challenge (this goes for anyone interested).
Topic: Motorcycles (Read 56080 times)