Beginner’s Guide to Motorcycling
Oct 7th, 2008 by Leo
Although most of the articles here can be relevant to new riders, here are some specifically new-rider focused articles from CityBikerBlog to get you started:
- So You’re Thinking of Getting a Motorcycle
- What Makes a Good Starter Bike?
- How to Buy a Used Motorcycle (on Craigslist)
- How to Park Your Motorcycle on the Streets of NY
- Tips for New Riders (avoiding some common mistakes) – new!
- Body Positions: Finding the Right Position
- Riding Tips: Taking a Passenger
See any good resources for new bikers online from another site? Cool. Post a comment with a link! Cheers!
Hello,
I am new to the blog and I love it !! One thing I couldn’t on the site is a recommendation for good motorcycle apparel store in NYC or neighboring regions. I usually use online stores but the hassle of shipping it and then finding that the jacket looks way different from the website and the fit being either too small or too large and then sending it back is too much. So good recommendations are always welcome. If this is a fact you would rather not put in a blog, please feel free to email me too. Thanks
– Pete O’Neill
Hey Peter,
Each of the Motorcycle dealerships around NY have a gear dept. so CycleTherapy on East 127 is probably the biggest one (not completely sure).
Also CamRod in midtown on 11th Ave.
Right outside Manhattan there are places in Queens like NY Yamaha-Honda. Ducati (they’ll have Dainese and RevIT gear), BMW (has mainly branded gear, but all the BMW logos are designed so that they can be removed), and Harley Davidson (in Queens near the NY Yamaha) also have some non-branded gear.
The big downside to these places are there’s a hefty markup (expect to pay around MSRP or up to 2x as much as you’d pay online) for non sale items. Also, they tend to have really small inventories…usually just a wall of gear in a room full of bikes. But on the plus side, they’re convenient, and will carry the more popular brands (for their customer base).
If you can drive an hour out of the city there’s a Cycle Gear in Edison NJ off the Jersey Turnpike. They’re basically the Toys R Us of motorcycle gear. Their prices are a lot closer to what you’d find online, and (the stores I’ve been to) have a good selection of the popular brands. If you have an afternoon to spare, that might be the best bet around NYC. Although, watch out for that Jersey traffic.
Hope that helps!
Leo