No Test Ride?

Grober,

With all due respect to Furious Blue, I disagree. I never waste money on something I don't want and first bike or not I believe in getting what you want. There's nothing worse than buying a motorcycle that you will have to turn around and sell before you can get the bike you really wanted. Moreover, this bike is extremely new rider friendly and there's no reason to believe that just because you are learning to ride that you will lay the bike down, fall or otherwise crash and mess up the bike.

Grober, do yourself a favor and take a rider saftey course before you buy any bike. You'll learn an amazing amount of information and gain the confidence you need to be on the road and safe. Also, to actually answer one of your questions: it is fairly common practice to not allow test rides with bikes. Some of the bigger (or better selling) dealers have been fortunate enough to get demo bikes and if there is one near you then go take a test. If you don't have a full motorcycle endorsement, though, you can forget it. Most places I've been will never let you ride without it.

Good luck. You'll know it when you are ready to buy.

By me saying fist bike I didnt mean the first bike i had ever ridden. I have grown up on mororcycles. I rode, raced and jumped dirt bikes since i was five, im now 25, and my dad has had motorcycles since i was young that i have put a few thousand miles on. he currently has a heritage softail that he no longer rides that i am "keeping running" for him. so needless to say I may not have more experiance than many of you on motorcycles, but i know how to ride. this will be the first bike that i will be pulling the money out of my pocket. having ridden on afew different motorcycles i know that a ride around the block says everything. there have have been many motorcycles that i thought i liked and after a test ride i realized they were not for me. i do not think that getting a starter bike that i will keep for a year or 2 and then want to trade in is a good idea. Thats like throwing money away.

I may just have to suck it up and drive few hours to take a test ride. From what i read on here it will be worth it. Thanks for all the input.

As for the motorcyle saftey course, it is a joke. I took my motorcycle test at the dmv with a guy that was twice my age and had take the safty course. After seeing him trying to do a figure eight, i would not let the guy ride a bicycle on public roads. the dmv passed him though.

Grober

If you've raced dirt bikes since you were a kid, you're probably a way better motorcycle rider than I am and I should be taking lessons from you

I wouldn't poo-poo a Motorcycle Safety Course though. I had a look at the Course material for the intro class a while back and despite having ridden street motorcycles for many years, there were valuable things that I learned about by reading the course book. The course wouldn't do you or I too much as far as the mechanics of controlling a bike, but what they pointed out about awareness and defensive techniques particular to motorcycle riding on the street are things that I still keep in mind today, many times over..
Just a thought..

If you've been riding around on a Softail and like it, IMHO you'll probably like the Fury. It's similar to a Softail but lower, longer, lighter and with a distinct exhaust note (it doesn't try to sound like a Harley, but has its own nice sound).

Grober,

I too rode since I was able to hold my little trail 70 up on my own. Grew up on them. Now 34, I hadn't ridden a street bike since I was 20... Had a license but moved and didn't keep it (you had to pay like $5 and I didn't think I'd be riding again... stupid I know.. but good because: )

Anyhow, decided to get a bike again.. realized I didn't have my license... Wife wanted to try to learn how to ride... so what the heck, we made a weekend out of it and took the beginner's safety course...

Obviously, it was quite simple for me to do, Still, even though I rode for many years with a license, I had some bad habits and some 'dirt' habits that don't really transfer well to the street. (watching where you're aiming instead of where you're going for example.) Honestly, while it was a bit boring, and not cheap, I'd do it all over again... I feel safer now than I ever did before on a bike.

And the guy you saw, he was never ever ever on a bike before. The course let him learn the basics... But if you saw him at the DMV doing the thing there, he failed the course or was practicing. Beginners that have never ridden before obviously have difficulty with a slow lean like that. Hell, with my MS, even I have trouble doing a u-turn without putting my feet down. Balance isn't all what it used to be. But anyhow, I agree with blue, don't diss the MSC just because a few people that took it look like goofs. Some of the classes do just pass people (and they should be shut down). But if you get a good instructor, you can learn a ton. And once I can schedule an expert course, I'm going back again. (they keep scheduling it on bad days for me).

As for buying a lesser bike, honestly, I agree with that one. I rode for years. Then quit... Bought a 750 just to remember and, if I drop it, it's only a few grand... Plus it's lighter and easier for my weak body to handle. Now I've got another 5k miles under my butt and I'm ready for more bike. I thought the same as you that it would just be a waste... but if I had had the slower-responding (even though it's still very quick), longer rake of the fury out of the gate, I would have dropped it at least gently a few times by now. Just from stupid little things that I forgot about (now remember well that I'm riding again, on the street, nearly full time). But if you have the money, more power to ya. But still, something like the Aero or Spirit 750's are CAKE to resell. Often for even money even. I've had offers on my Aero that even could make me a touch of profit. But I'm planning to give it to the wife when I 'move up'. That is if she can get comfortable behind the bar. She's good enough to pass, but has no real experience so she's nervous on the road. Nervous is never good, especially on 2 wheels as you know. But we'll deal with that when we come to it. Now if I can just afford my Fury...