Gear tips:
- Spend until it hurts on a helmet. Your brain won't grow back.
- Spend as much as possible on gloves. If you're like most people, you'll be screwed without the use of your hands for a few weeks if you go down.
- Other gear is less critical, but an absolute minimum for me would be kevlar reinforced jeans and some manner of torso armor. If you have the bucks, going far beyond that is a good idea.
Bike tips:
- If you have anywhere remotely close that you can ride off-road, buy a dirt bike. Going splat in the dirt hurts quite a lot less than on pavement, and riding off road will build confidence and experience much faster than on the street in my experience. People who start on dirt generally keep their skin and other bits attached on the street with greater ease. Plus, you can always supermoto it.
Riding tips:
- Assume everyone in a car is trying to kill you at all times, and ride as such.
- Always mirror check at lights and intersections. Getting rear ended sucks. Always have an escape route you can rapidly use if some bluehair comes blasting up behind you with no intention of stopping.
- Always slow down a bit while nearing intersections, and plan an escape route incase some dumbass runs a red. Same deal with riding in the right lane near any kind of entrance or exit to a mall or area frequented by morons.
- Loud pipes and loud horns save lives. Likely yours.
- Most importantly: Have fun! And remember that chicks dig motorcycles.
