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Recommendations for a first motorcycle help please

post #1 of 19
7/30/08 at 4:19am
Thread Starter 
I guess I have pretty good credit because my bank just sent me an offer for a $2500 loan with a 3% fixed interest for the life of it and I was thinking I might use it to buy a motorcycle. My current car is a full size 4 door with a big v8 and with gas today I'd like to keep it parked unless I need the space or its raining. I don't need anything super powerful as I'll mostly just use it to scoot around town in and to get to my classes, but at the same time I live in Dallas so I need to be able to travel at highway speeds every now and then and not get run over. Are there any motorcycles that would fit my budget (presumably used), would be easy enough for a beginner to handle, and at the same time travel at texas highway speeds (most people hit the highway here at around 75-80 sometimes faster). I'm thinking something between 250-400cc, but I'm not really sure. I'd also like to get good fuel economy of at least 60+ mpg on the highway. Is there anything that can match this criteria and budget?
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post #2 of 19
7/30/08 at 4:39am
There was a thread very similar to this a week ago or so. I'll summarize my points from it, since I'm too lazy to search.
  • Please take the MSF course before getting a bike, to make sure you can ride at all and so you'll be a little safer as a beginner. Some people (2 or 3 in my class of 20) realized during the class that they just weren't meant to ride (at that time, maybe).
  • Practice a fair bit in safer areas before heading out into traffic - it's really not the same thing as driving a car around. Don't get into real traffic before you're comfortable and confident with the controls and behavior of your bike.
  • One of the ways in which it is not the same is that there is nothing protecting you from injury except what you're wearing. Budget a fair amount of money ($1000 is reasonable IMO) for good gear. Consider how much you'd be able to earn/get done without the use of your head or hands. "Expensive" gloves and helmets seem much more reasonable in this light. Based on my personal opinion of the importance of my hands and head to my livelihood, my helmet retails for $500 (got a much better price though) and $150 retail is about the minimum for gloves I'd trust to save my hands. I'm juuust about to pull the trigger on some that will cost me almost 3 bills, but consider how long it takes to earn that much with, or without the use of your hands. With helmets, you can do fine for $250 or 300 or so, but get one that really fits, and don't buy a used one. Don't forget boots, a decent jacket, and hopefully some overpants. For your weather, you should probably try to find some good armored mesh gear for the last two. Mid-summer is a good time to find deals on these things as the shops will be trying to clear them out. Cheap[ly made] gear is not worth the money you spend on it. There are some affordable yet functional exceptions, but in general, the good stuff costs money.
  • Realize that you will most likely need to spend some money on a few things to fix up or adapt any bike you get to your purposes. (Bags, grips, windshields, etc.)
  • Once you've taken the MSF course, see if you can wrangle a test ride on a few bikes in the size range you're looking at (no psycho liter race replicas). From that, you might get some insight as to what you like and don't like about certain bikes. Many "don't likes" can be fixed cheaply, while others mean you should pick a whole different bike or style of bike.
  • Read the ADVRider.com Face Plant forum for reality checks, and the "Perfect Line" forum there for good discussions on riding techniques and bikes in general.
I don't know much about the options in that price range and engine size range, but I'd imagine you could find a used 450-500cc Japanese enduro or commuter style bike for that much. There is a lot more to riding and living than just buying a motorcycle, so unless you're willing to dedicate some time and effort to getting educated and outfitted, I'd recommend against it.
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post #3 of 19
7/30/08 at 9:37am
Thread Starter 
Thanks J I think that I read that thread and I have done some research on gear and such so I know that the bike won't be my only expense, and I've come to the conclusion that even with the extra up front costs as well as the insurance it will still be better than the $300 a month that I'm spending on gas for my car. I plan on taking one of the riding safety classes in the next couple of weeks to see if it is something that I want to do although I suspect that it will just affirm my want for it. I wholeheartedly agree with everything that you've said as I see a lot of people around here in dallas riding without any protective equipment on (not even a helment) and think that they're just plain crazy especially with the nutjob drivers we have around here. The injury statistics for motorcycles don't surprise me since I rarely see anyone wearing full gear if any at all. I've done my research as far as costs and safety go and barring something crazy happening in the safety and riding class I am pretty deadset on getting one. What was your first bike J? was it fairly easy to learn on or do you think you should have gone with something different? If anyone else has experience with this please feel free to chime in as I'm looking for as many opinions as possible. A lot of motorcycle forums reccomend a 250cc for beginners, but I'm just not sure if it will be able to handle the highway here in dallas since there are a lot of crazy drivers I think having a little bit of extra power would counterintuitively make me safer here since it would help me get out of a sticky situation faster where as a 250 would max out at around 80mph. I don't need anything crazy but would it really be much harder for a beginner to start on something like a 350cc or so? Maybe I just need to decide after I get a feel for using one of the bikes in the riding class?
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post #4 of 19
7/30/08 at 10:46am
Honda Rebel or a Honda Shadow are both pretty good beginner bikes.
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post #5 of 19
7/30/08 at 11:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gradstudent78 View Post
Honda Rebel or a Honda Shadow are both pretty good beginner bikes.

This has a pretty good recommendation list in terms of first bikes:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiot...7426385&sr=8-1
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post #6 of 19
7/30/08 at 1:46pm
SV650 is almost the perfect beginner bike, and you should never get bored of it.

Scooting around town, I always wore at least a helmet, gloves, back protector, armored leather jacket, knee pads and boots. If you'll be riding at freeway speeds, I'd recommend armored leather pants as well.
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post #7 of 19
7/30/08 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by slycedbred View Post
What was your first bike J? was it fairly easy to learn on or do you think you should have gone with something different? If anyone else has experience with this please feel free to chime in as I'm looking for as many opinions as possible.

A lot of motorcycle forums reccomend a 250cc for beginners, but I'm just not sure if it will be able to handle the highway here in dallas since there are a lot of crazy drivers I think having a little bit of extra power would counterintuitively make me safer here since it would help me get out of a sticky situation faster where as a 250 would max out at around 80mph. I don't need anything crazy but would it really be much harder for a beginner to start on something like a 350cc or so? Maybe I just need to decide after I get a feel for using one of the bikes in the riding class?

My first bike was the BMW R90/6 which I still own, but my stepdad is storing/using for me now that I have the Duc. I think it was a pretty good first bike aside from the fact that the brakes are pretty subpar compared to modern bikes. It only weighs 440 lbs or so, has a decent amount of torque and general ride-ability, can carry 2 people and stuff, and looks awesome. However, it wouldn't be a cheap first bike. An older Honda like a CB 550 would be a better choice IMO. The SV650 would also be a good one.

I agree that you should get something with more power than a typical 250 for your first bike - the reason being not only safety (more power to get out of danger) but also just the fact that you'll outgrow the usefulness of a 250 pretty quickly. The SV650 is a good choice in part because it is a 2-cylinder 650 and thus has more useable low-end power compared to inline fours of the same size which might require pretty high revs to get moving and are a little less useful in traffic.
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post #8 of 19
7/30/08 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by slycedbred View Post
A lot of motorcycle forums reccomend a 250cc for beginners, but I'm just not sure if it will be able to handle the highway here in dallas since there are a lot of crazy drivers I think having a little bit of extra power would counterintuitively make me safer here since it would help me get out of a sticky situation faster where as a 250 would max out at around 80mph. I don't need anything crazy but would it really be much harder for a beginner to start on something like a 350cc or so? Maybe I just need to decide after I get a feel for using one of the bikes in the riding class?

All good advice- I'd recommend a 350 twin like a Honda or the like. Easy on gas, enough power for the reasonable gent and cheap to fix. My brother had a CB-350 for years and really liked it.

250's are somewhat underpowered for the highway IMO.

Edit: seems twins start at 500cc's so here's a Suzuki 400 single that may work:
Bigger singles/twins generally have more low-end torque for their displacement than fours meaning less shifting.



( Can't believe I'm recommending a riceburner )
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post #9 of 19
7/30/08 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by j View Post
My first bike was the BMW R90/6...

Far from the first bike I drove, but the first one I actually owned was a Kawasaki H2. That was the original "superbike", 2-stroke, 750cc triple.

Good suggestions so far. If you are going on the highway, make sure you get nothing smaller than a 500cc. You want to be able to accelerate away from problems, if need be.
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post #10 of 19
7/30/08 at 3:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
Far from the first bike I drove, but the first one I actually owned was a Kawasaki H2. That was the original "superbike", 2-stroke, 750cc triple.

I remember those-
Noiiiiiizzzzzzeeeeeee!!!!!!

My first "street" bike was a BSA 650 Lightning- fond memories.
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post #11 of 19
7/30/08 at 3:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by yachtie View Post
I remember those-
Noiiiiiizzzzzzeeeeeee!!!!!!

My first "street" bike was a BSA 650 Lightning- fond memories.

Don't forget the plume of blue smoke if your gas/oil mix ratio was heavy :P And noise? I had mine bored and ported with aftermarket expansion chambers. Nothing like a throttle wheelie in fifth gear though
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post #12 of 19
7/31/08 at 12:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
Nothing like a throttle wheelie in fifth gear though

I'm on the lookout for an H2, I'll own one one day...I've always wanted to wrangle with the 'widowmaker'.

I highly suggest you start with a smaller bike. No more than 500cc's and preferably a twin or single cylinder. IMO, great starter bikes include:
-Any of the older japanese standard bikes. They can be found in 250/350/400/425/450/500cc models, all of which are great. Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, reliable, easy to work on.
-250cc newer bikes, including the Rebel 250 and Ninja 250. The Ninja is a very impressive machine that will teach you how to really handle the bike and learn its limits before trying to deal with more power.
-Suzuki still puts out the GS500, so if you want the slightly bigger 500 with the tried-and-true motor and frame, I highly recommend it.

And do NOT forget to buy gear before you decide to ride!
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post #13 of 19
7/31/08 at 6:27am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the replies! I looked up the bikes yall mentioned and they look really badass, especially that sv650, but a lot of em are out of my $2500 price range since I'll still need to drop what seems to be a pretty penny on some good gear. (just to clarify I can spend $2500 maybe $3k on a bike if its something that I fall in love with and I have money set aside separately for my gear) After doing some research the ninja 250 looks pretty attractive to me. The styling isn't the newest or the greatest, but for the cost it looks pretty nice. The fuel economy of 55-75mpg is awesome and will definitely help to recoup some of its costs rather quickly compared to what I pay for gas in my bigass car. The top speed on it seems much higher at 105 mph than any of the other 250cc bikes in my price range. My only question is that even though it has a top speed of 105mph at 250cc will I still be able to accelerate quick enough to get away from a potentially hazardous situation on the highway or should I be looking at something in the 350-400cc range just to be safe?
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post #14 of 19
7/31/08 at 10:31am
Quote:
My only question is that even though it has a top speed of 105mph at 250cc will I still be able to accelerate quick enough to get away from a potentially hazardous situation on the highway or should I be looking at something in the 350-400cc range just to be safe?

I'd get a used 350 before I'd get a new 250. Look for a used CB-350 (or something like it). You can get a nice one for well under your price limit.

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post #15 of 19
8/4/08 at 5:39pm
My first bike remains my only bike (BMW K100RS) -- I recommend you start with something smaller like the 500cc machines suggested here.
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