The Perfect Vehicle for the City - /RideApart

WES SILER: As long as I've lived in LA, I've wanted to do this. I've wanted to come and ride motorcycles in the LA river. And that's what we're doing today on learner bikes. On 250's and a 400. Welcome to Rideapart. All right, so we've set out to assemble three really solid first motorcycles. The whole idea here is either three of these would be a great first motorcycle. We've got the stylish version. And the stylish super affordable version in the Cleveland's. We've got Miss Practical, sorry, Miss Congeniality in the CBR. And we've got the hooligan in the DRZ. Oh, no way, dudes. Yeah. WES SILER: So for the last like hour or so of riding, we've gone through the Hollywood Hills, we did that. Every bump that I was going over there was this weird clunk from the front end. I was like, are the head brakes bearing loose? I checked those. I figured maybe the clocks were loose, the headlight was loose, something was clunking. I'd never thought it would be the actual front brake caliper. But as you can see, one of the two bolts that retains it has come out. And it's just loose here. And the only thing holding it up is literally the brake line and this little clip here, as I let that out, it just wants to fall out. And the last couple miles, as I was braking, there was this weird vibration, this weird sounds. And as I would come to a stop it would go like that. I'd hear this clunk. JAMIE ROBINSON: Nearest hardware store. GRANT RAY: Somebody get their iPhone. JAMIE ROBINSON: We're going to fix this. This is not the end of our day. It's not a good start to the day but it's not going to be the end. GRANT RAY: Oh, hell, it's right up the street. We're in luck. JAMIE ROBINSON: Is there an ACE Hardware close by? GRANT RAY: Down the street. JAMIE ROBINSON: Oh, yes. Look at that. You couldn't have broken down in a better place. It doesn't cost too much but saves lives. One size fits many. Oh dear. I'm glad you're riding it. Could be worse. Could be me. GRANT RAY: Yeah. JAMIE ROBINSON: The best bit of what I've seen today is on these little bikes and just-- we've gone past people on big motorcycles and they still are unable to go where we could go. GRANT RAY: And we've passed everybody. No one has passed us today. GRANT RAY: No, no. GRANT RAY: Even that R1 this morning that was like, I pulled up next to him on the Cleveland and he was like [BLEEP] that dude. WES SILER: Yeah! GRANT RAY: You pulled up on your CBR and he was like, oh, hey dude. Hey. WES SILER: Yeah! GRANT RAY: You still passed him. JAMIE ROBINSON: It's true. JAMIE ROBINSON: And just following the Cleveland through traffic, that thing is so narrow. It's so brilliant to see it just zipping through small little gaps. And it does that effortlessly, really, doesn't it. It doesn't-- it's not hard work to go between those gaps. WES SILER: The lightness and the immediacy that the lightness brings makes it really easy to get through traffic. GRANT RAY: Yeah, yeah. JAMIE ROBINSON: Absolutely. And the brakes don't seem so bad. I mean, you stopped pretty quick. WES SILER: Well, I've got brakes now. So that helps. JAMIE ROBINSON: You had a moment there. WES SILER: The brakes aren't terrible. They just-- it's not as fully realized of a product as the CBR is. JAMIE ROBINSON: I've been pretty impressed with the CBR 250 though. If I was a 17, 18 year old kid that would be just like the perfect motorcycle. WES SILER: It's a fantastic bike. That, literally, is the most complete motorcycle on the market right now. Which is saying a lot for $4,200. Right? $1,000 more than the Cleveland, but you get a lot more motorcycle. Problem is the styling. This looks like a sports bike. It's called a CBR. That Cleveland looks like a [INAUDIBLE] racer. That's a nice looking classic style motorcycle. This thing looks like a 1990s Spanish teenager would ride. JAMIE ROBINSON: But that's what they've tried to do. I think they've tried to make this small 250 look like the Fireblade in just a hope that it will attract that audience but-- WES SILER: It's an international product. They make it in Thailand. They sell them in huge volumes in Southeast Asia. It's sort of a niche product in America. And the American teenager, that's not designed for them. That's not a design that resonates with the American market, unfortunately. GRANT RAY: It wasn't meant for the American market. WES SILER: It wasn't designed for the American market but it's stuck here. And it's meant to appeal to new riders and the problem is, it's a fantastic motorcycle, no reservations, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful bike. Looks like it's hurt. I have to say riding around on the Cleveland today, I wasn't jealous of Jamie on the CBR. You looked comfortable and confident and everything like that. I was working hard, and it looked like you were having fun. GRANT RAY: Yeah WES SILER: Everywhere we went I was like, man, I wish I was on the DRZ. GRANT RAY: There's a reason why I grabbed the keys this morning. Actually, the way it handles, the way it delivers power, the way you can move through traffic. I can stand up and I can actually look over cars if I need to. And if I need to charge a corner really hard it's got 17 inch wheels. I can, obviously, do that no problem. So it's just constantly moving. If you need to jump a curb, by all means, it's not going to have any problem doing that. JAMIE ROBINSON: It kind of encourages you to do those things. GRANT RAY: The problem with the DRZ 400 is it really can make you do things you're not supposed to be doing. Because it's still a dirt bike, it just a 17 inch rims on it with street tires, which means all the things that a dirt bike can do, it still does very, very well. And those things aren't really legal on regular streets. JAMIE ROBINSON: It has been-- it's amazing to see it though. Just to see all these motorcycles, but especially the Supermoto, that bike is just so much fun, isn't it. It's just-- WES SILER: Everywhere you go it's just a blast. GRANT RAY: Yes. WES SILER: It's a blast. JAMIE ROBINSON: And you sat bolt upright so, to be honest with you-- GRANT RAY: I'm not uncomfortable at all. JAMIE ROBINSON: The law enforcement were all looking at me because I'm on a bike with a [INAUDIBLE] and it's gleaming. If you were just starting out motorcycling right now these would be two really great options that would-- minus the DRZ probably you need a little bit of experience to ride. GRANT RAY: It depends. If you're a bigger guy then it's going to work really, really well. That's going to be-- WES SILER: I would start with the Cleveland. Get to the point where I could absolutely rag that Cleveland, right? Where I was just running out of power everywhere and then sell it and move up to a DRZ. Learn how to rag this 400 and then move up to a larger motorcycle. And then you'll actually be a good rider at that point. GRANT RAY: Yeah. WES SILER: You won't be one of these guys we see around town with a mohawk on his helmet. GRANT RAY: Oh, I love those guys. They're just quaint.