Beginners Bikes
When I started riding motorcycles the licensing regime was simple. As I already had a car licence, I simply answered five oral questions an was issued with a Provisional Licence, which restricted me to 250cc and 35mph. It was valid for six weeks, and renewable. So after a few weeks of riding a borrowed Honda 90 (an under-rated bike now sadly rare) and a Suzuki 80, I bought a Rabbit scooter on which I learnt to do very slow figure-eight turns in the mistaken belief that this would be part of the test for my full licence. It was worth doing, but I'm a bit less gullible these days. Getting the licence was easy, but the scooter itself... Let's just say that the word "rabbit" arouses the same antipathy in me as it does in the Bishop of Wellington (who used to be a stock agent in Central Otago), albeit for different reasons. Then, unlike now, choice of a first bike was more limited, based on which geriatric British bike I could afford. In my case it was a Triumph Tiger Cub, a 200cc single-cylinder machine with a lovely sound and feel, remarkable economy and a poor electrical system.
Licensing these days is much more complicated, and rightly so, because traffic has increased exponentially in the intervening decades, while drivers have become collectively overconfident and cars have acquired more in-car distractions. In this egocentric age in which motorists' perceptions of safety are mostly limited to their own protection from injury motorcyclists need to do the thinking for others who may regard antilock brakes and traction control as substitutes for careful driving. Learning to ride at the same time is easier and safer on a bike which is easy to ride, and comfortable.
The government here is preparing to change the range of motorcycles available to beginners by replacing the arbitrary 250cc limit with a gazetted list of approved machines, based mainly on power-to-weight ratio. This follows the example set by European countries and some Australian states in allowing beginners to ride bikes of up to 650cc provided that their maximum power is restricted. This can be achieved on older bikes by fitting special carburetor slides, and on newer ones by doing something clever with the engine management computer. This makes a huge range of bikes available to learners.
Learning to do something is inevitably accompanied by mistakes. I have trained enough apprentices to know that he who makes no mistakes is not trying hard enough. On a bike, you will get it wrong from time to time. You will fumble gear changes. You will misread traffic or the surface of the road, and frighten yourself. It is likely that you will fall off the bike, or even, God forbid, collide with someone. So, ask yourself, do you really need a new bike to learn on? Something shiny on which the first scratch will cause you anguish? Used bikes have a lot to recommend them. If you're young and paying for it yourself, it might be your only choice. You could do a lot worse than buying a used trailbike, especially a simple old air-cooled one, even a two-stroke. Trailbikes are comfortable, agile and rugged, they're light and designed in the knowledge that they will be dropped frequently. If you don't intend to ride a long way at night, think about a trailbike. Six-volt lighting and a small tank are its main drawbacks. If you are restricted to 250cc or less and would rather not have a trailbike, look for something softly tuned and easy and undemanding to ride. The definitive learner bike is the Suzuki GN250, which has been in production for more than a quarter of a century, during which it has lost its points and kickstarter and gained a disc brake and cast wheels. It is reliable, economical and will probably outlive you. It is very economical. It's also the only road bike that I can pass easily on my Jawa. Can't have everything.
The quarter-litre class has a lot of choices, but only the trail bikes (especially the farm-oriented ones), the basic singles and V-twins are really learner-friendly. Honda and Hyosung make good 250cc V-twin sports bikes. If your tastes run to cruisers, avoid the parallel twins. They usually have five-digit redlines and no torque to speak of. Anyway, the cruiser style evolved around V-twin engines. No beginner should even consider (outside the racetrack) buying anything like an Aprilia RS250, Suzuki RG250, or a Yamaha RD or RZ250 They are for experienced riders only..
If the rules allow you to ride something bigger, there's a lot of choice. Look for something easy to ride, comfortable and simple. If you're not bound by power limits, be careful. You do not need a 600cc sports bike with racetrack performance and handling, and certainly not its bigger brothers. These are expert-only bikes. Public roads are dangerous places, much more so than racetracks. If your bike demands a lot of concentration to ride, you are less able to concentrate on what is around you and this is dangerous. Much against my own preferences, I'd recommend a cruiser-style bike for learners, albeit one of the smaller ones and with a v-twin engine because parallel-twin cruisers look silly. Cruiser engines are mildly tuned with a good spread of power and good straight-line stability and low seat height. Most commuter bikes are good for learners, but if you want four cylinders, I'd be inclined to set a limit of 600cc, and only the milder versions. If, like me, you lean towards less ordinary bikes, you could do worse than a BMW R65, which a dealer can easily restrict if the rules require it. If you have good mechanical understanding and skills, and you're prepared to take a risk on reliability, one of the nicest small to medium bikes I've ridden is the Triumph T100R Daytona. Light, smooth, agile and tractable, it has a glorious sound and is fast enough for normal road riding. It's the only older Britbike I'd recommend for a beginner, and you'd need to know an expert.
So, without making any really specific recommendations, the bike I'd advise a beginner to choose is something comfortable, easy to ride, light and robust enough to survive being dropped once in a while. Used is preferable to new in my opinion.
Having the bike is not the whole story, of course, and while the actual riding is outside the scope of this title, I'll leave you with a couple of tips.
When braking, look at the horizon. If you look down at the front wheel, which is natural, you will fall. Trust me; I know these things.
If you can't control your bike precisely at low speed, you won't be safe at higher speeds. Try this exercise. Start with the engine running, in neutral. Lift both feet on to the pegs, pull in the clutch, engage first gear and ride away. Practice this until it becomes easy.
