New Rider, and my First bike is... The B King!

Well, I finally did it. After years of lusting after this bike, I finally had my dream come true. I am the proud owner of a gently used B King. Since I'm a new rider, and have had ZERO experience on a motorcycle (so long as you don't count the little time I spent on a 250 3 years ago for the endorsement class), any tips from you guys would be greatly appreciated. Riding, cleaning, caring, maintainence.... all that is strange and foreign, so please... be gentle. Also, anyone know where I can get a copy of the owners manual? PDF would be fine. I have no clue what all the buttons do, and it be nice to at least set the clock to the right time! I have sooo many questions, and have been waiting to ask them here. Thx in advance
Snake Eyes

you picked a hell of a bike for your first. nothing like jumping in the deep end of the pool. just take it easy, learn the bike, and what it can do, and what NOT to do. good luck with it, and welcome to the board.
p.s. to set the clock. hole the "adj" and 'sel" buttons at the same time. the hour will flash first, use the "adj" button to set it, then just push the "sel" again, and the mins will flash, and do the same thing.

Respect the beast..... 

here is the service manual for you.....

http://www.hugh308.com/bking/bking.pdf

Welcome to the forum and congrats.
I suggest you get with a fellow bkinger cz it sounds like this really is something new to you.
Where you located at?

Welcome to the forum , like said hell of a first bike ,

Last edited by davehutch on Mon 28 Oct 2013 - 7:54; edited 1 time in total

Spend a week in B mode first to get used to it especially as you're heading into cold weather season

Hi there and welcome  

Dang... I remember the moment I left my FZ6 Fazer after 4 seasons and jumped on the beast - that was hell of a shock. Twice as many cc and twice as much power not to mention riddiculous torque in comparison to FZ6.

I can only imagine do you feel about the King with a little bit of experience you had with 250cc.

Please, be careful and gentle with the throttle and downshifts. Starting your journey with bikes from this one is like a recipe for madness.  

Welcome,
You may want to start out in b-mode. You have joined a great forum. lots a good people on here.  

I'll be the one to say it. In all honesty, this is not a bike for beginners. Not trying to bring you down, but I'd recommend keeping the king but buying a decent 600 level bike for cheap to learn some more on.

hi and welcome snake Eyes from rainy chorley   Have fun but respect the Beast

Hi Snake Eyes and  
The great thing about this bike is that it's easy to ride slowly/gently due to its great torque and flexibility. It will pull from 30mph in 6th gear, you won't need more than 4000 rpm at first until you get more confident. Enjoy!

I CANNOT IMAGINE having a B-King as a first bike. That's insane. I've gotta ask the obvious question, why?  

texas-ss-tornado wrote:

I CANNOT IMAGINE having a B-King as a first bike.  That's insane.  I've gotta ask the obvious question, why?   

why not  
but yes, you're right, it is too much:affraid: 

  

 

Congrats but be aware that this bike wont forgive any mistakes you do,ride safely mate.

Where are you located?
You need to keep this bike in B Mode for a long, long time.
You will want to reach out for some other BKing riders that are close to you.
You need to ride with some riders that care about your well being.
This is probably NOT the best bike for a first bike and will likely eat your azz up for lunch if you ever let your gaurd down while riding on it.
Please be careful.
If you haven't already, then please reconsider this decision to have a BKing for your first bike.

Dude is not even responding. He might ve figured that out by now

New riders are waaaay more likely to hurt them selves
from the strong brakes and front end lock ups than using
A instead of B mode.

Don't skimp your riding gear ,medical and income insurance is good too if you get laid up for a while
cheers Mark c

not a good starter bike....but like said earlier, you can just mope around on it till you adjust.....which will take a while....when you start feeling brave is when this bike is going to hurt you bigtime....this bike will jerk your wrist out of their sockets...lol..

Thanks alot for all the responses!
To address some of your questions and concerns... First, I live in Florida, in the United States. I know this is a big bike, and it is a Beast. As to why I have it as my first bike... A few reasons, and in no particular order.
I fell in love with the look when I first saw pics of it from the Tokyo auto show back in '01. Imagine my disappointment when I found out it was just a concept vehicle. Always wanted a bike, but nothing ever moved me enough to pursue it. The B King did. When I found out it went into production, the first thing I did was get my endorsement. After a couple of failed financial attempts, I finally was able to get one. I can't afford to do like many and buy a starter bike, and this IS my dream bike, so when the opportunity finally came, I jumped on it. (no pun intended).
It is dangerous as a first bike if you don't have a healthy respect for its power, and I get that. As a new rider, I definitely don't lose focus when I ride her, and since I have no experience when it comes to riding, I find it safer. Don't get me wrong, it's very easy to make mistakes, but I don't have to worry about me trying to push any boundaries with her. Experienced riders tend to see what a bike can do and push it thru its paces, and I am perfectly content to keep it at the speed limit, and keep it at low RPM's. I don't feel the urge to see how fast I can take a tight turn or get reckless. I take it as safely as I can. Remember, this is my baby, and I don't want to get hurt, or get a scratch on her!
My main vehicle has become unreliable, and I needed transportation I can count on. I'm tired of living a mundane life where I'm shackled by my primary vehicle, not wanting to go anywhere more than a 45 minute radius in fear of breaking down and being stranded, but I can't afford a new car. This is a great way to build up my credit so in the future I can do just that. In the near future, If I wanna take a long weekend and head to Miami, or down to the Keys, I can do that. I'll finally be able to take that long overdue vacation.
When I first got the bike, I knew about the A/B mode, but had no clue about which mode was which, and when I finally looked it up, I got to using it. (didn't help that I didn't know after that that it doesn't remain in B mode). I am now up to feeling comfy riding in A mode. I haven't been able to tell much of a difference, but I don't know if thats because I don't get way up there in the RPM's. I did find the service manual online in pdf format, but I'm looking for the owners manual. I'm guessing that's where I'll find the information on the rest of the buttons and their functions, plus other things, like adjusting the ride for a better fit. I've noticed a dial on the clutch and I think on the front brake levers, and I'm curious as to how all that works. BTW, thanks for the tip on setting up the clock!).
These are just a few reasons as to WHY, but one of the biggest and unexpected so far is that I have now ventured into a whole new realm of people. Amazing how total strangers have an instant connection now that I'm on 2 wheels just like them. I haven't ventured out much on her yet, but the little experiences I've had so far lead me to believe that I've just joined the ranks of a great community.
For the record, this is the FIRST time in my life that a dream has come true. So, if I ever come across Michelle Rodriguez, you can be damn sure that I'm gonna ask her out! Cuz, stranger things have happened. Hell, I have a Suzuki B King!!!  
BTW, I hope that I can find someone near me that has a B King also; it would be great to ride with someone, but it seems that apparently they are rare around here. One guy I met at the local bike shop said he has never even seen one at any of the local meetups, and he's gone to them for years. He knew right away what the bike was, but admitted that he'd never seen one in real life.
Thanks all for all the replies... I look forward to reading more, and learning more.

Makes sense to me !

Sounds like you are using your head. Nothing wrong with a king for a first bike long as you respect the bike. You will love this bike, and the more you ride it the more you will like it.

Welcome to the King Forum and to King ownership.

You're doing the right things so no probs there and I am sure you will ride safe.

Enjoy the bike and its rarity - people will wonder what the hell it is.

The dials on the levers adjust how close the lever is to the handlebars

Don't worry about B mode. Its the right hand that will control how brutal it can be - or not as the case may be.

There is an owners location map on the forum somewhere so you can find another local owner. Go to "Home" and "Search" and you'll find it. Same for other questions. Its easy to find the solution to virtually any query on this forum.

Keep doing as you are and you'll have a whole lot of fun!