Hello Guys,

I am going to migrate to California shortly. I am a 25 yr old with 8 years of riding experience starting off with a 100CC and currently using a CBR250R.

I have mainly driven in India (obstacles include, random drunk people walking on the highway, dogs running at you when u r at 60MPH, erratic car drivers who make life really dangerous, most hideous potholes), pushed the bikes to their limits and stayed safe. I want to continue pursuing my passion for biking in the States. I am faced with the following two advices whenever this comes up:

1) Its not safe to drive bikes at all in USA and specially on the Highways.
2) Bikes attract higher insurance and "cop harassment" in USA.

I plan to graduate to a CBR600RR after the MSF course I am hearing so much about on the forum. Now would some one tell me:

1) Is there any merit to the above accusations?
2) What is the best place to get a CBR600RR? (I heard about Craigslist, just wanted to double check).

Thanks in advance for your advice guys!

 

Hi and welcome!

Riding in the states, in particular California, is as safe or safer than any where else. The police target jerks. If the jerk is on a bike, he's a target.

There are millions of riders in this country. If what you heard was true, nobody would do it.
Our motorcycle culture is alive and well.

Buy the bike wherever you can find the best deal on the best bike.

Where in California are you coming to?

 

Welcome to CBRF. From what I've seen of India - it's much safer to drive and ride in the USA. We do have our gripes and complaints about cars and trucks here - but I don't know anywhere in the world that's immune to that. Overall, as far as motorcycling goes, motorcycling in the USA is relatively safe compared to some other parts of the world.

Road fatalities per 100,000 vehicles
India - 100.0
USA - 15.0

Road fatalities per 100,000 persons
India - 18.9
USA - 10.4





Sportbikes do attract some harassment from the police here - that's true. But I've found that if you give respect - you'll get respect when it comes to the police. It's not that bad.


CL is the best place to buy motorcycles - as long as you know what you're looking at. If you don't know anything about bikes - stick to buying from a dealership unless you have a friend come with you. Also, you need to understand the titling process too. You can get scammed on CL, but as long as you know what you're looking at - it's by far the best bang-for-your-buck.

You can also try ebay. You can search locally, and California has a LOT of motorcycles.

I hope you continue to ride when you get states side, and you get the 600rr. It's a great bike.

 

Welcome to the fourm . Well my personal belief is California is very dangerous to ride especially the metropolitan areas . Ride like a fighter pilot scan front to sides to rear looking for bogies. Ride scared you will crash ride confident you will be ok . Ride squid you will not live . Basic rules . Step out of line you got wacked everybody knows the rules lol

 

hi and welcome

 

Welcome to the CBR Forum,

Riding in ANY city is dangerous. YOU have to be totally aware and make it safe - ride defensively and wear all the safety gear and you'll be good to go. Good luck whatever your choice.

Be safe out there.

Cheers, SB

 

Welcome to cbrf. Riding is as safe as the person on the bike. Obviously there are dangers everywhere, which is why we are more aware of our surroundings when we ride.
As for police harassment, well, as stated previous cops love jerks. Don't act like a jerk and you will be fine. Good luck on your transfer and be safe

 

Sarat, Conrice just about said it all... I'll just add that, honestly, your "default" riding mode ANYWHERE in the world should be to expect everyone around you to make the dumbest possible moves, and when compared to road conditions in India, I'm not saying let down your guard, but I AM saying that you're probably "fully-trained" in this way, and ready to rock U.S. roads!

When are you coming?

 

Thanks for all your advice Guys! I was actually travelling these past couple of days. Met some interesting people on the flights around the world

@74Demon - I am working out of MountainView
@JNSRacing- I am in Cali man! I have been told the M1 bike test consists of a the biker going around a super tight circle, looking forward to that :P

 

Also guys, now that I am here and super sure I can handle it. Any pro tips on how to go about getting an M1? I would like to try out a bike before I go give the test and there seems to be no way to go about doing that.

Like "no driving a motorcycle with out an M1"