What is the best first bike for a novice driver, a girl or an adult? Obviously there is no specific model but we can give you some tips for choosing.
For beginners, the choice could even become a concern, especially with adulthood. In fact, we have no doubts about young drivers, who often grow up and take their license with the right racing car already in mind.
There comes a time or an age when there are many factors that determine the choices and others that make the heart beat faster in front of an engine with two wheels. For me it was one Triumph street twins flaming red, but as you know from my previous article, I was over 40 when I got my driving license. But let's analyze together what to look for in one first motorcycle.
Belly and freedom
Yes, butterflies in the belly, emotions, dreams, all those factors that drive you crazy for a motorcycle or a particular model, because the bike is passion, adrenaline, visceral pleasure, desire for freedom. And the latter must be the first keystone: be free to choose what you want and do not let yourself be influenced by the know-it-all of the day and / or by the neighborhood phenomenon.
It is better to always ask your trusted dealer or look for one who is also available to let you try the bike you want to buy: the first, even if in terror, is never forgotten!
Saddle and ergonomics
Touch well, because insecurity is the first pitfall and being able to put your feet on the ground is essential. Beyond the model, the displacement, the type of motorbike, putting your feet on the ground allows you to feel safe when maneuvering from a standstill, when reversing, at stops.
Imagine not touching well when you stop, just an inclination too much and almost certainly you will not be able to keep the bike in balance, also because of the weight or the reduced lever that you can exercise with just your feet.
The driving position must be relaxed and safe, in order to give you confidence, control and make you feel the masters of the vehicle and not the other way around. Try more bikes, both for the saddle height and for the position and angle between legs, torso and arms, as well as for the width of the handlebars.
Engine and performance
Just as you don't have to be frightened by the high displacements, so they shouldn't be underestimated. Having a motorcycle from high displacement, if it is what makes your heart beat, it does not mean taking something dangerous.
Certainly heavier but, apart from the more brutal models such as the hyper naked and the racing ones, by now most engines are always well manageable and the torque of the high displacements is what makes you have fun and pushes you more when needed, as in the overtaking.
Comfort and protection
Don't be afraid to fit a windshield in winter, or a larger one, or a more comfortable saddle or protezioni more. Mistakes are often made when we feel more insecure, when we travel badly or uncomfortable.
For this reason it is always better to be sheltered from the wind, to be seated on a comfortable saddle that does not give backache or sitting discomfort and equipping the bike with those bumpers that protect the bike in the event of a fall (one less worry) and which are often excellent anchoring points for auxiliary lights. Seeing each other better at night also helps a lot.
Personal safety
As you well know, on motorcycles you are exposed not only to your own mistakes but also to those of others. For this reason, never forget and underestimate them accessories as a helmet, clothing and protections.
Helmet: always choose a certified, branded and possibly one integral o openable, in order to have the whole face protected. There are many brands, more or less cheap, but the important thing is to always know where they come from and who they are marketed from.
Leatherwear: the eye also wants its part but the skin wants certification. Always wear jacket, pants, gloves e stivali, preferably certified and with protections on shoulders, elbows, knees, knuckles and joints of the foot.
Protections: here you can choose whether to wear a back protector that absorbs shocks wearing it under jackets or a air bag which is activated in the event of a fall protecting your chest and back, which must however be worn externally.
And now go back to looking for the bike that makes you dream, let us know which one you got and how you are!
