Welcome! Heres a copy and paste I replied from a similar post. Enjoy your bike, LA has alot of roads around it.
Take the Basic Rider Course, or whatever its called these days, so you dont need to road test. Whether you do road test or not, the rider course gives you a familiarization course on how to operate a motorcycle. Alot of the range riding (not all) was boring for me, even as a new rider.
The advanced rider course IMO is a much better course to get you on the street and riding. This is were you should know basic controls of the motorcycle, but more importantly, they teach you how to think and act on the street. Alot of people finish the BRC and think they are ready for the street. Not saying it cant be done, but in either class, you are at least in a controlled environment, without traffic, learning skills that you will use every single day riding a motorcycle. For me, I had done the BRC, and a few months later bought a bike. I definitely had to build up first before getting on the street. To get around California usually involves freeways, and there was no way I was jumping straight into that. I practiced at night in quiet parts of the neighborhood, and graduated myself to downtown. After 1-2 weeks, I got on the freeway.
Get a good helmet. Make sure it fits, and even on the snug side. They break in and get loose as that happens. Even if you are in a state that doesnt require a helmet, why someone would choose to ride without one is beyond me.
Get good gloves, a jacket and boots. Alot of people skimp out on this. Ankle protection is just as important as hand protection, which is just as important as leg and body protection. Its going to get costly, but how much are replacement arms, legs, fingers and skin? You can slowly build up a decent set of gear over a few months. Dont be afraid to check craigslist and ebay. Dont be afraid of the inexpensive gear at Cycle Gear. My cheapo Sub $200 (was probably around $150) leather jacket from CG has been in a few lowsides and to this day has no holes in it. Scuffed up, but no holes. My $450+ Alpinestars jacket got a hole in it in a similar speed lowside at the racetrack. I personally will no longer wear my textile gear, but thats a personal choice. For leg protection, I wear Kevlar reinforced jeans with built in CE rated pads around the knees for everyday commuting, and leathers when I hit the canyons or racetrack. You can barely tell I am wearing riding jeans if you were to see me at work or wherever.
No matter what gear you end up with, it will do you absolutely no good if its just hanging up in your closet. Dress for the slide, not the ride. Alot of people get too caught up when they first start riding in things like "which exhaust should I get, is a PCV worth it, what do you think about these levers" or whatever. Its cool to spend money on your bike, everyone does. But I think you owe it to yourself to invest in at least a good set of gear that will get you to and from work/school/where ever safer than if you were just rocking sandals/regular shoes/shorts/whatever. If you want to, thats you, have at it! But going down sucks, I have been there before, and I dont care what anyone says, gear helps. Good quality gear helps even more.
You should read the owners manual when you get your bike. If you arent tool savy, get there! Its pretty easy working on bikes, and pretty fun as well.Can save you a few bucks here and there doing things that are pretty easy, such as oil and filter changes, coolant flush, brake fluid bleeding, brake pad replacement, etc.
Get out there, learn, learn and learn! When you think you learned enough, go find some riders and I am sure you will be humbled by how little you really know. The biking community is really fun and helpful. I am sure someone with more experience will take you on rides and teach you. Hit the canyons, get that bike leaned over, scrape a peg, or knee puck, go out and hit the race track. Its alot of fun.
Take the Basic Rider Course, or whatever its called these days, so you dont need to road test. Whether you do road test or not, the rider course gives you a familiarization course on how to operate a motorcycle. Alot of the range riding (not all) was boring for me, even as a new rider.
The advanced rider course IMO is a much better course to get you on the street and riding. This is were you should know basic controls of the motorcycle, but more importantly, they teach you how to think and act on the street. Alot of people finish the BRC and think they are ready for the street. Not saying it cant be done, but in either class, you are at least in a controlled environment, without traffic, learning skills that you will use every single day riding a motorcycle. For me, I had done the BRC, and a few months later bought a bike. I definitely had to build up first before getting on the street. To get around California usually involves freeways, and there was no way I was jumping straight into that. I practiced at night in quiet parts of the neighborhood, and graduated myself to downtown. After 1-2 weeks, I got on the freeway.
Get a good helmet. Make sure it fits, and even on the snug side. They break in and get loose as that happens. Even if you are in a state that doesnt require a helmet, why someone would choose to ride without one is beyond me.
Get good gloves, a jacket and boots. Alot of people skimp out on this. Ankle protection is just as important as hand protection, which is just as important as leg and body protection. Its going to get costly, but how much are replacement arms, legs, fingers and skin? You can slowly build up a decent set of gear over a few months. Dont be afraid to check craigslist and ebay. Dont be afraid of the inexpensive gear at Cycle Gear. My cheapo Sub $200 (was probably around $150) leather jacket from CG has been in a few lowsides and to this day has no holes in it. Scuffed up, but no holes. My $450+ Alpinestars jacket got a hole in it in a similar speed lowside at the racetrack. I personally will no longer wear my textile gear, but thats a personal choice. For leg protection, I wear Kevlar reinforced jeans with built in CE rated pads around the knees for everyday commuting, and leathers when I hit the canyons or racetrack. You can barely tell I am wearing riding jeans if you were to see me at work or wherever.
No matter what gear you end up with, it will do you absolutely no good if its just hanging up in your closet. Dress for the slide, not the ride. Alot of people get too caught up when they first start riding in things like "which exhaust should I get, is a PCV worth it, what do you think about these levers" or whatever. Its cool to spend money on your bike, everyone does. But I think you owe it to yourself to invest in at least a good set of gear that will get you to and from work/school/where ever safer than if you were just rocking sandals/regular shoes/shorts/whatever. If you want to, thats you, have at it! But going down sucks, I have been there before, and I dont care what anyone says, gear helps. Good quality gear helps even more.
You should read the owners manual when you get your bike. If you arent tool savy, get there! Its pretty easy working on bikes, and pretty fun as well.Can save you a few bucks here and there doing things that are pretty easy, such as oil and filter changes, coolant flush, brake fluid bleeding, brake pad replacement, etc.
Get out there, learn, learn and learn! When you think you learned enough, go find some riders and I am sure you will be humbled by how little you really know. The biking community is really fun and helpful. I am sure someone with more experience will take you on rides and teach you. Hit the canyons, get that bike leaned over, scrape a peg, or knee puck, go out and hit the race track. Its alot of fun.
