I honestly can't remember the last time I was this excited about something. I rode a motorcycle for the first time in my life 4 weeks ago. I took some weekend courses, practiced on an old heavy Suzuki that I kept dropping, and last week I picked out my very first bike, the R3. She is little but fierce, a perfect match for me.
I'm a new rider, and I just bought myself a brand new 2026 R3 after repeatedly dropping a much heavier hand-me-down bike. I do pretty well on smaller bikes/dirtbikes, and I really love the R3. I didn't really want to go the brand-new route, but with ridiculous used prices in my area, it just made more sense.
Obviously, I don't intend to drop my new bike, but I'm kind of nervous after dropping the heavy one a couple of times. What do you recommend to protect my frame and fairings as a new rider who may drop the bike? Are the cheap options on Amazon any good, or am I better off paying an arm and a leg to have the dealership install them for me?
I've seen a ton of discussion on Facebook about the upcoming World Record Ride that Midwest Women Riders is hosting in the US. I haven't seen it mentioned here, but I wanted to know if anyone was planning to come! It's a women's only event and will be my first motorcycle rally, and I'm so excited to meet other female riders! The event page on Facebook shows that women are riding in from all over the USA!
Not sure if I can share a link here, but if you Google Midwest Women Riders, it's the first page that pops up :)
Got home from the DMV and insurance company with my brand-new shiny legal documents. I just passed the MSF 2 weeks ago and have only had a couple of practice sessions in a parking lot since then (had to wait for the completion card to arrive in the mail to get it legal). I was so excited to take my bike around my pretty, quiet neighborhood.
I was doing great for about 20 minutes, and then this video happened. Basically, I thought the red SUV didn't see me. It looked like he stopped, then started to pull out, but stopped again when he saw me. The cross street had a stop sign, but I did not. I panicked and yanked the brake. The rest of the video is an absolute shit-show trying to get started back up. It's impossible to see the neutral light in the sun through my tinted shield.
Can't get hit by a truck if you take yourself out first, I guess. Back to the parking lots to work on stops some more. Also considering repeating the MSF since I only passed with a single demerit point left.
EDIT: I was able to locate the specific leak in the fuel line. It will need to be replaced.
I literally just got home from the DMV and insurance company. FINALLY street legal. Get home and turn on my bike. Let it run for like 2 minutes and by the time I was done gearing up, I saw it was leaking gas.
I am brand spanking new. What do I need to do first? I can't ride it to a mechanic if its leaking gas, right?
Appears to be leaking from the hose I'm pointing at in the second picture. Gonna take a wild guess and assume that's the gas line.
I currently have a 2005 Suzuki GS500F that I've been learning to ride on this spring. It's my husband's old bike, and I really like it! It fits me great and feels comfortable, I can flat-foot, and it's not too heavy (I'm 5'5", 120 lbs). I genuinely really like this bike!
However, it's 20+ years old and needs some work, but we don't want to keep putting time and money into a bike I'm only using to learn on. I want to pick out something just for myself, my very own bike, instead of a hand-me-down.
Before I started riding, I really liked the look of the Ninjas, but after riding my Suzuki and loving it so much, I'm tempted to get a new Suzuki. I definitely want the new features, like a digital speedometer (didn't realize how spoiled I got having one in my car, it's been years since I looked at the dial lol), a gas gauge, and maybe even a gear indicator.
Anyways, I'd love to hear what bikes you would recommend, Suzuki or otherwise.