My First Time

There's a first time for everything. Buying a used motorcycle on Craigslist was an interesting first for me. Thankfully with a little help from friends and some patience, I successfully purchased my beginner bike, a Suzuki DRZ 400SM.

This review is retrospective since I owned a Suzuki DRZ 400SM about 2 years ago, but I thought I would go ahead and write what I remember.

After riding on the back of a motorcycle for about a year, I was enticed by the idea of getting in the driver's seat. Did I need a motorcycle? No. Was it practical to have a car and motorcycle? Probably not. Did my desire to ride take over my rational thinking? Of course.

I signed up for a Motorcycle Safety Course in Austin, and in 2 short days I had learned the basics of motorcycles, riding, safety, and received my license after a written exam and short driving test. The Motorcycle Safety Course was a terrific introduction to riding, I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning. You also take the test for your motorcycle license during the course and receive a discount on your motorcycle insurance once completing the course, so win-win.

After the course, I was ready to buy a bike. I obsessed over bike options for 2-3 months before finally taking the plunge though. I combed through Ebay and Craigslist's offerings and found the Suzuki DRZ on Craigslist.

The Suzuki DRZ 400SM was my very first bike, and like any first relationship, I learned a lot about what I liked and disliked. I picked this bike based on the input of experienced riders, riders that knew what they liked and what they thought would be easy for a new rider to handle. They told me to focus on weight, height, engine size, practicality and price.

On paper, this bike checked all the boxes. It was light at about 320 lbs, fit me as a tall rider, had a manageable engine size of 398cc, was street legal and could easily take me around town. At $3,000, it was a seemingly perfect pick.

I reached out and the seller seemed normal enough; he was friendly, upfront about bike specifics and wanted to meet in daylight (run the other way if someone messages you wanting money without you first seeing the bike, wants you to come alone to meet them or just sounds like a creep). We met him in a public parking lot and my boyfriend inspected and test drove the bike. I was lucky enough to have a Ducati mechanic and motorcycle enthusiast as a boyfriend, making the purchase process easier. The seller had a clean title in hand and I was ready to buy.

I purchased the bike and quickly realized how unbelievably nervous I was about my first ride. However, I geared up and took the bike and my boyfriend to an empty parking lot. I got on the bike and tested the signals, adjusted my mirrors, found my horn, lights, brakes and got comfortable with the bike before taking off.

Then I started him up. He was a hooligan of a bike, he even sounded like it! I shifted into first gear and practiced my control in the friction zone, giving a little gas while backing off the clutch. I definitely let the clutch out too fast and had the engine die multiple times before finding the sweet spot.

After familiarizing myself with the bike, I worked on straights and turns in first and second gear, then sharper turns, abrupt stops, and even added some obstacles into the mix. After getting the hang of it, I was having the best time speeding around the light posts. False confidence kicked in as I rode up next to my boyfriend, stopped and squealed, “This is so fun!". In my moment of excitement, I forgot to put my feet down and tipped over.

I was having such a good time going, I forgot what you were supposed to do when you finally stopped.

Lesson learned. You must slow down, down shift and put your feet on the ground when stopping. After wiggling out from under the bike, I picked it up and checked out the damage. I had a small scrape on the handlebar and had to readjust the mirror, but luckily that was all.

Fast forward 9 months. I was riding the motorcycle through downtown Austin about once a week and using it primarily for the prime parking.

As excited as I was about motorcycles, the Suzuki deterred me from riding. It felt like I was constantly going to tip over or have the tires fly out from under me. It was jumpy and lacked a presence on the road next to bigger vehicles. It was like a half broken horse, you rode it and had moments of promise followed by moments of panic.

That’s when I learned that you should ride what you like and what is comfortable. Unfortunately with motorcycles, you have to ride enough of them to know what works for you. It's like trying on a gorgeous pair of heels; the heels feel perfectly fine while walking around the store, but then you take them out for dinner and you realize they are made by Satan himself.