Richard.Howe said:
I'm working through the decision process on the purchase of a new Suzuki V-Strom 1000 for my commute (will save over $300 a month in gas!).
Great bike, for those lucky enough to have grown a long inseam.
Sole means of transport for me is a Kawasaki Concours.
Does anyone here carry while riding, and how?
Yep. OWB under a Joe Rocket Ballistic in summer and good old fashioned leather jacket in winter. Not been extremely happy with my holster to date, started a thread over in the accessories section, and got some very good info there. Am deciding which way to go now as far as a carry rig.
Have you found there to be any other special carry issues while riding a bike?
Err...don't go down?
Seriously, I think one must understand that carrying while riding ONLY means that you will have your piece with you when you arrive where you are going. It is NOT going to help you when some road raged SUV cager decides he just doesn't LIKE motorcyclists. I think you should also be aware that while the general public is MUCH more accepting of motorcyclists now than they were when I first started riding (I think in the second year of Harley production), that if John Q. Public sees you straddling that high seat on the V-Strom, and your jacket rides up and he sees your gun, not only have you just "flashed", you've hurt the image of CCW holders AND motorcyclists both.
Lastly and least important -- while I know everybody has an opinion on bikes, fact-based or not -- those who have actual experience, chime in on the risks of motorcycle ownership.
Rich
Ownership is not a risk. Riding is a risk.
One I assume fully, even embrace. There is no car I've ever driven that allows me to feel as free as I do, or as connected to the world I'm moving through, as a bike does. Used to ride around 50K a year on UJMs, cruisers, and crotch rockets, and churn up a bit of dust off road. After the third heart attack, that slowed down considerably. I now ride what my whippersnapper YZ racing youngun' used to refer to as my "old man's bike". (I say "used to" because he rode pillion with me not long after I got it, and realized that full fairing or not, a hundred ponies still speak). It ain't the ZX-9R, but then again, I just don't feel like contorting myself anymore (and the ZX was a couch of a crotch rocket).
Although, I do find myself from time to time eyeing the ZX-10R with bad intent. (Que up the Jethro Tull, please) 164 hp in a less than four hundred pound package is pretty awesome. But back to the risk thing...not a good idea even if you are of sound heart....alas.
EDITED after reading a bit futher:
Sorry, I assumed you had some riding experience under your belt. These guys have all made some excellent points about entry level bikes. Very good sense points from protective gear to bikes to start out on. One of the most economical models to own I've ever had from a maitainence/tire standpoint was a '95 Honda Nighthawk. Plenty of go to keep you happy for more than a little while, excellent gas milage, less expensive longer milage tires, no valve checking/adjustments (self adjusting tensioners) and not so powerful as to be an
undue menace to yourself. And the goodest part is the fact that you can normally find them with low milage and previously installed Windstar or Memphis Fats shields for under three grand. THAT'S economy. <sigh> Won't be too long though, as Honda stopped making the trusty 750 four.