PhilokaRider
New Member
Hello guys.
I just want to give an update.
1st I want to thank everyone who took time out to to respond to this thread every single one of you made an enormous impact on the decision, I have now taken. So I think we have all established at this point that I am an brand new rider who has fallen head over heels for the S10, and like any love relationship it starts off with a stupid mistake and mine was thinking I could start on the S10 to learn riding. I can call it stupid now because I have read and re-read all the advice you guys have shared and luckily sense finally hit home(not to suggest that anyone who was saying I can do it was wrong or was giving bad advice) just that it would have been a very painful and expensive learning curve. Also I can admit I was being a tad bit foolish because I hadn't actually sat on a S10 and felt the weight and height because the ones i saw were on the internet and rather far from where I stay.
So last week Saturday I decide to go shopping for gear (gloves and riding pants) and also go and see a Honda NC750x i was looking at(deep down i wanted to see it and hate it and justify why I have to get the S10) . I get to the dealership and its sold, at this point I am happy because it was very close to the S10 in price and it was starting to appear like the S10 is going to be the only available bike I can get in my price range. Anyway i look around this place and they are a car dealership with a few bikes and one of the bikes they had was a KTM Super Adventure, I looked at it and scoffed "hideous and massive" . so i left and went on my way to buy the gear. As i walk to my car I see that right next door is a bike shop that is not online so I didn't know it was there prior to coming to this car dealership, so though eh why not, as i walk towards the door, i couldn't believe my eyes, right there in the corner, not one but two Teneres, they had a blue 2012 S10 and a blue XT660Z. It felt a bit surreal, so for the 1st time i looked and touched and felt and I knew that I bloody well love this bike, so much so that I am gonna earn it. I am gonna wait learn how to ride, save some money and get it when I can ride it out of the dealer/sellers garage I am not bringing that home on a trailer and spending months being scared of it. so that moment confirmed a few things for me, when i am ready for it I will get it, also there appears to be a lot of bike shops in South Africa that don't have a great online presence and as such their showrooms have gems and I will get the S10 a year from now no need to pressure myself because of the great deal I am seeing online. So I walked away feeling very good and relieved also because I had most certainly avoided making a mistake I was gonna regret. So I went to a few bikeshops and saw a few other bikes and I think I have settled on a Vstrom 650 as a good starter that would prep me for my S10. Its not small, its not light it carries its weight high it has power I will need to respect as a beginner but not so little that it will bore me in a few months and i feel the as a transition to a S10 it a good bike to get.
long story short I am getting a vstrom 650 and I am super excited and relieved to know that I can relax when the time is right I will get the bike of my dreams and I can do it when I am ready to ride it too.
So again thank you to everyone, not just to those who were saying I should start smaller but to everyone because I have come to learn an important lesson about motorbikes, it is very hard to be sensible when dealing with motorbikes and these are beautiful machines and I cant wait to finally get on one and get on the road safely so I can enjoy many many years of riding.
I just want to give an update.
1st I want to thank everyone who took time out to to respond to this thread every single one of you made an enormous impact on the decision, I have now taken. So I think we have all established at this point that I am an brand new rider who has fallen head over heels for the S10, and like any love relationship it starts off with a stupid mistake and mine was thinking I could start on the S10 to learn riding. I can call it stupid now because I have read and re-read all the advice you guys have shared and luckily sense finally hit home(not to suggest that anyone who was saying I can do it was wrong or was giving bad advice) just that it would have been a very painful and expensive learning curve. Also I can admit I was being a tad bit foolish because I hadn't actually sat on a S10 and felt the weight and height because the ones i saw were on the internet and rather far from where I stay.
So last week Saturday I decide to go shopping for gear (gloves and riding pants) and also go and see a Honda NC750x i was looking at(deep down i wanted to see it and hate it and justify why I have to get the S10) . I get to the dealership and its sold, at this point I am happy because it was very close to the S10 in price and it was starting to appear like the S10 is going to be the only available bike I can get in my price range. Anyway i look around this place and they are a car dealership with a few bikes and one of the bikes they had was a KTM Super Adventure, I looked at it and scoffed "hideous and massive" . so i left and went on my way to buy the gear. As i walk to my car I see that right next door is a bike shop that is not online so I didn't know it was there prior to coming to this car dealership, so though eh why not, as i walk towards the door, i couldn't believe my eyes, right there in the corner, not one but two Teneres, they had a blue 2012 S10 and a blue XT660Z. It felt a bit surreal, so for the 1st time i looked and touched and felt and I knew that I bloody well love this bike, so much so that I am gonna earn it. I am gonna wait learn how to ride, save some money and get it when I can ride it out of the dealer/sellers garage I am not bringing that home on a trailer and spending months being scared of it. so that moment confirmed a few things for me, when i am ready for it I will get it, also there appears to be a lot of bike shops in South Africa that don't have a great online presence and as such their showrooms have gems and I will get the S10 a year from now no need to pressure myself because of the great deal I am seeing online. So I walked away feeling very good and relieved also because I had most certainly avoided making a mistake I was gonna regret. So I went to a few bikeshops and saw a few other bikes and I think I have settled on a Vstrom 650 as a good starter that would prep me for my S10. Its not small, its not light it carries its weight high it has power I will need to respect as a beginner but not so little that it will bore me in a few months and i feel the as a transition to a S10 it a good bike to get.
long story short I am getting a vstrom 650 and I am super excited and relieved to know that I can relax when the time is right I will get the bike of my dreams and I can do it when I am ready to ride it too.
So again thank you to everyone, not just to those who were saying I should start smaller but to everyone because I have come to learn an important lesson about motorbikes, it is very hard to be sensible when dealing with motorbikes and these are beautiful machines and I cant wait to finally get on one and get on the road safely so I can enjoy many many years of riding.