49 yr old newbie lurker: is it too late to start ?

Casual street riding takes very little in the way of physical condition.

My concern would be more of the opposite: superior physical condition won't save the crash if poor technique is used. A weak and flabby guy can countersteer through a sharp turn at high speed. A strong muscular guy CAN'T body english lean his way through that same turn if he doesn't know to countersteer.

I'm older than OP and younger than you, and due to cancer am not as strong as I used to be. As a result I take it easy off-road and don't ride off-road as far or fast or as many hours (minutes now) as I used to. Instead I ride more street (pavement). And dirt roads (which I don't consider to be off-ROAD just off-pavement).

one of those super motards is just the trick for a boy like you. Big enough to get you there and small and nimble enough not to get you into too much trouble. And it will keep passengers away until you get some more experience.

I say go for it. I started in my late 30's after restoring a little Honda C70 (72cc!). After a few years I bought a used F650 GS and love it. I'm not sure about a 250 sized bike, but I like that my 650 has enough power that it gives me the option of getting positioned in traffic where I want to be very quickly.

I'm 59. educated, work in a professional healthcare environment, have one bad knee and an artificial right hip (13 years on the hip). I raced MX back in my 20s, but stopped after my kids were born. After almost 30 years, I just bought a KTM 450 EXC and am back in the dirt and my primary riding partner is also my age, has his PhD, and runs hi own bio-tech business. I'm also a Corvette enthusiast and my wife and I ride Harleys. My point is that it's never too late and life is to be enjoyed. Just do it! Use good judgement, but it's a blast! Zuti

You're over thinking it. It's never too late (unless you simply cannot walk). As mentioned, start on a smaller displacement bike. If you are one of the lucky ones with a fat wallet, you should be able to find a course full of just about every aspect of riding you want to know . Put time into it, don't ride over your skill level (finding one's level may be tricky at first), and HAVE FUN. If possible, do some riding on the dirt too. Once again, have fun

I was 51 when I got back in. I grew up on dirt bikes in the 70's, but had been out of the game for over thirty years. Picked up an '09 GS last year and could not be happier with it. It is my daily commuter, my vacation ride, a long distance cruiser and generally my day-off stress relief.

A couple things... Ditto what everyone else is saying as far as training. Soak up every drop of information you can find. I have put just under 4,500 miles on the bike in the last month on everything from long days on the interstate to gravel roads. Next Saturday I will spend the day with the Edmond Police Department and their "Survival Skills" training because there is always something new to learn or some skill to polish.

Don't skimp on the gear and use "All the gear, All the time." (ATGATT) You are fifty. You have got money and resources. Spend them where they can make a difference.

Above all, check any sense of a "Bad Ass" attitude at the door. Road rage? Aggressive driving habits? A ticket out of here in a bag. Every car on the road IS trying to kill you. It is your responsibility to stay the hell out of the way. Right or wrong it is a simple physics equation and you will lose to the teenage girl as she texts and drives.

Do the research. Get the gear and the training. Enjoy it. I sure do.

+1 and print this one as a continual reminder as you progress.

Also riding is not like a degree that you finish and that's it, but rather more like a career where you refine your craft over time this applies to the dirt or street, or chasing miles or points. Going through some riding "classes" is good but only gives your a license to learn. Keep perspective and enjoy the fun of gaining experience over time and take the type A energy to relect on the good and bad and decisions that you make along the way. Sounds like a perfect time to join a great new adventure of motorcycling. By the way, your mountian biking experience will apply in many ways especially in the dirt.

Best of luck!

It's never too late unless you can't physically get on/off the bike, and even then, just put a hack on it.

Don't teach yourself to ride -- take the MSF and then get lots and lots of practice. Read lots of books and learn learn learn!

Don't push yourself to improve too quickly on a bike or you will end up in a ditch. Learn your limits safely and stay well within them at all times. Get good gear and wear it every time you ride.

Back when my Dad had his m/c shop he sold a guy his first bike (he had never even SAT on a bike before) at the ripe old age of 72. The bike he chose was a R 75/6. This was before MSF course's and such, so my Dad taught the guy how to ride. My pop had a lot of patience & had taught many, including his punk kid, how to ride and stay alive while doing so.
He rode to Alaska from N.J. the second year he was riding, and rode out to the west coast something like 3 or 4 times before he checked out at the age of 76. His wife told my Dad that her husband lamented that fact that he hadn't taken up motorcycling sooner, but that his last 4 years were the most enjoyable years of his life.

Bottom line..................if you want to ride, get the fuck out there and DO IT! Time stands still for no one and every day you sit around worrying about all the "what-if's", is one less day you have to ride.

If you want, stop by my place here in the beautiful Northern NJ highlands and we can BS about it! I'm easy to find.

Chris

pardon the interuption .......Okie Preacher, I took that course a month ago, good course, good people!!

When we ride, we never stop learning to ride!!

Someone said you are overthinking all this. I would say you are thinking smart. Take a MSF basic course, find a bike with great engine guards, and practice, practice, practice, in a parking lot. When you take to the streets, try to do so in a manner that will avoid traffic, and learn how to stay alive. Gradually move in to the traffic thing. This should be done over months, not days.
Take an advanced rider course and never stop learning.

A word of caution for your A personality, LOSE IT. It will get you in trouble or worse, if you tangle with anything on a motorcycle you will lose. No question about it. You arent a high profile racer, so settle it down.

The benifit of all this is relaxation, and stress relief that only MC riders and dogs in cars can imagine. The personality trait will let you want to learn, just learn to control it first.

I took the basic riders course because a friend wanted someone to go with him. At the time I had managed to stay alive for 19 years and put lots of miles under my belt. I had no idea how much I didn't know. What an experience. Advanced course was fantastic too, and I take one of those every few years, and coach a bit.

I hope you have a great experience with motorcycling, just be smart about it and use all the corney stuff they try to teach in the riding courses. It works and is tought to you for a reason. Always remember that your best equipment is between yuor ears and don't forget to use it.

Cheers.

This is so true!
Of the people I know personally that crashed badly and gave up riding, all were new riders on big bikes with no dirt riding history.

Some really nasty shit happened to these people.
They all had much bigger bikes then I would ride after 35 years of street and dirt riding.

Dude... Start now and in another 13 years, you'll be my age.

No... It's never too late.
There's some great advice in the preceding posts.
Start small and light.
Nothing builds confidence like feeling like you're actually in control.
That feeling will come easier and more realistically on small and light.
Take the MSF course, ride your own rides and cut yourself lots of
slack along the way.

And remember it's supposed to be fun.

I started at 48, I'm now 55. Age isn't the issue.

Some impressively perceptive things have been said in this thread about type A overachievers and motorcycling; heed them. The deer that lands in front of your motorcycle faster than any possible human reaction time isn't impressed with your commitment to improving your riding technique. Some things just can't be controlled - the world of motorcycling has a lot of these things. Accept this going in, otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy thinking about it.

+42

I started at 38 having never been on any sort of motorcycle in my life.

What I find funny is that six years into the motorcycle thing, I am finding my interest fading a little now and have been thinking of getting a 911 as a new toy at some point. Maybe even selling the bikes to help finance the Porsche - the thought being a sports car may fit into my lifestyle a bit better (certain things I do just aren't motorcycle friendly) and therefore get more use from it, etc.

Good luck.

Well, I'm 26 and started only in October or November of last year, though in that time I've put slightly north of 10k miles on my bikes.

My method of learning by just dipping my toes into everything (figure-8s, neighborhood streets, main streets, rural highways, urban freeways) for a few weeks before jumping to the next level really helped with my confidence on the bike. It was nice to have a comfort zone in which I could easily drop back to, which I did a lot of when getting introduced to the freeway.

My main bit of advice, though, is to take advantage of a track day when you feel pretty comfortable on the street. There's just no other way to safely learn what a bike is capable of and what you are capable of, which can come in handy whenever that "oh shit" moment happens in the real world. Don't worry about getting run over by some riding ace at 160 mph, as there are always beginner groups that are welcoming to even the slowest of riders.

Friend of mine started riding last year, he is 47. He was on about it for ages, should he or shouldn't he buy a motorcycle. Year ago he bought a Tiger 1050, which i thought bit of an overkill, due to the fact that i think he had 150 something, when he was young and since those days, he's only had couple of ride's on friend's bike's. He has ridden the Triumph thousand's km's, absolutely love's it, he reckoned he should have done it years ago, his wife wasnt too happy about it though. You are 49, which is young in my book. As to which bike you should start on, i wont go into it, as it's a real hornet's nest. I started on a small dirt bike nearly 50 years ago, because that's all there was available to me, i was 13. If you have the means, the variety of motorcycles on for sale, is mind bogling to say the least. Is it a 250 trailie or a Tiger 1050, as my mate's first bike was or something else, it's your choice, it's a great way of life, maybe the best there is, dont miss out

Your bicycle experience will quickly lend you competence in riding a motorcycle, enough to allow you to safely complete a guided ride in Alaska. You do not need much more than an MSF course and seat time to make a guided ride, but you will be missing out on the fun if you don't take your time to learn if you enjoy the time riding takes you away from everything else.

To initially learn, and to practice (a life long experience), riding a motorcycle with a competitive personally... buy a smaller bike and learn to be humble. A DRZ400s or other mid-size dual sport would be the largest I could recommend: anything smaller may end up forcing you to take unnecessary risks, and anything larger will take you into unnecessary risks you may not be able to immediately manage (and for solo riding it is great to keep in a stable of bikes).

Take a MSF course, and then a track day course (not a track day to ride with novices, but a track school).

You have MT bike experience that should translate well to dirt bike riding. When you feel good I recommend you borrow a bike and challenge the young riders to a dirt MX track day in the 125cc class. You should quickly learn an appreciation for youth and flexibility, and the limitations of wisdom gained from age. As those young riders fly the flat tops and doubles with ease, think about the challenge within yourself and not about leading the pack.

The epic rides are not about speed, or degree of difficulty, and not a competition, the experience is more of an unexpected quality.

I am 50 and been riding since I was about 9. I think that it is always best to start out on small dirt bikes and work your way up. However, most people dont do that unless they start young so my advice is to take the rider course, but good gear that allows you to ride year round and in all weather conditions and park your car for a year. If you last you will probably be ok. After a couple of close calls you will either hang it up or be in love with it. Just remember Mr type A that even when you are in the right on a motorcycle you still come out on the very short end of the stick when the bike goes down. Dont push yourself to fast and always, always look before you leap.