Finally have a bike! Woo!
 

Hey how are you guys! I just got my bike and I'm beyond happy to have it as it's my first motorcycle! If y'all have any tips or such for me, I'd love to hear them!

Welcome Sailor. Glad to have you come aboard. 1st off, congrats on the bike. Treat it well and it will serve you well. Sounds like you may be a newbie to riding or at least have some experience. Two things that are a must for folks who are short on experience are a motorcycle riding course and my favorite, Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough. A riding instructor will point out any bad habits you may develop and the book will reaffirm everything he teaches you plus delve into a lot of info not in the course. It is a great read even for old timers too. I read my copy and was amazed at what I didn't know. I later took a riding course and gained the skills I never had over many decades of shear luck on bikes.

Welcome to the family & congrats!!! Safe travels. :)

Congrats on your bike. Hope you have as much fun as all of us have experienced. What type of bike did you get? Best advice is take a riding course which will help you learn the ins and outs of safe motorcycle riding. Also, ATGATT (all the gear all the time). Ride safe and have fun and if you have issues with your bike, just sign into this site.

I got a 2005 gz250 and she's gorgeous! I've already taken a safety course and plan to read that book!! Luckily my dad rode a lot so I got his old jacket and I made sure to get an ECE rated helmet in addition to the DOT rating! Thanks for everything! If I have any questions, I'll be sure to ask yall!

Welcome to the forum. Your bike is from the same year as mine! :)

Tips: 1) if it still has the original tires, do swap them out sooner rather than later.
2) download the owners manual and do as it says, for many years of riding fun.

Ditto on the tires. Anything over 5 years old is not good. Rubber gets dried out and hardens. It is especially a liability during wet weather. The date of manufacture is on the tire side wall and is listed in weeks and years. Ex, 5114 would be 51 th week of 2014.