Inquiring about a first bike? Read this...

[OneJoeZee]

I'll let you know, Chris.

Yes, first bike. I'm looking at EX500, GS500, or an SV650.

Did you buy something else since that issue with your 954?

[Ckanderson]

04 r1.

and an sv650 from what i've been told by TONS of people is a great first bike if you have a little experiance (dirt bike or quad)

[OneJoeZee]

If I can find a better deal on an SV than the GS, I'd probably go with it. I don't really want to spend that much for the first one just in case I don't really like riding.

I only have a small amount of dirtbike experience. I'll probably still to the GS or EX for simplicity and low price.

[AdamSupra]

browser1029: WOW.... that was actually a great write up. Thanks for the info.

[IggySupra]

Ok so my buddy is selling this 01 r6...15k miles and hasnt driven it in years... hes selling it for 3k..and im considering learning because gas is prety sxpensive.. so do u guys think its a good idea or what??01 R6 w/15k miles for $3000...

[OneJoeZee]

No.

[Arhi]

Started on an 03 GSXR 750, ended up on an 07 GSXR 1000, had two accidents in my riding time. Wasn't my fault, both times hit by a drunk driver. Both bikes are totalled now.

[GotToyota?]

I'm considering getting a first bike. Something to get me to work/school and back. I was looking at the 2008 Lifan 200B, which I've read pretty good reviews on. Apparently it can get up to 100MPG, doesn't seem like a speed demon, but it seems like a great first bike. Here is a link to one I found from Cycle Trader:

http://www.cycletrader.com/find/list...200-B-87478741

Very cheap for a brand new bike, and seems to be getting great reviews.

EDIT: I've also found a Ninja EX250 that I've seen some people rave about, looks great for the price.

http://www.cycletrader.com/find/list...NJA-R-89289000

-Matt

[Topher E]

any motorcycle is going to seem faster than a car. Id say go with the 250. Dont budget for 3k tho. I worked my budget around my gear. I think I have maby 2500 into it? two jackets two helmuts(long story) boots and gloves. One thing I would suggest is MSF! take that and go from there.

[WallysWorld118]

Finding a Buell Blast or any great beginner bike for a reasonable price is near impossible in hawaii. I have been searching craigslist and cant find much under $2000, and with the lack of dealers here (sucks being STUCK here on an island!!!) all the beginner bikes are snatched up so fast!!! Found only 1 Buell Blast for 2350, but that puts me way out of budget (trying to keep things under $2500 with gear included). Just hope I find one by next year, with the commute that I have I could easily save $200 a month in gas by picking up one of these.

[Killuminatti]

Great thread, thank you very much. I am a new rider who is about to buy my first bike.

I am currently looking at getting a motard or a naked bike but I cannot decide on whether I want the added creature comforts of the SV650 or the dual purpose capable DRZ 400SM. My brothers have dirt bikes so that would be an added bonus, my commute is only 12 mi round trip, and I think a motard would be much more fun to ride at lower speeds than the SV.

But.. that little ass seat hurts and DRZ will not be nearlky as comfortable.

[makenzie71]

Supraman137...wow I can't believe that 136 people thought "supraman" would be original...anyway...it's NEVER a good idea to buy a bike to save money on gas. Never, never, never, never, never.

Take me for example. I have a 25 mile commute. That's 300 miles a week (I work on saturdays occasionally). My BMW averages 26mpg during the week. With gas being 3.71 the last time I filled her up, that amounts to about $43 a week in gas.

MY CX500 averages 51mpg on the same commute. This amounts to about $22 a week in gas. Sounds like killer savings, right? Wrong. Bike + car = you spend more money, no exceptions.

You may get better gas mileage but it will take you years to offset the money saved in fuel if you even ever can. People who buy to save gas completely forget about the fact that you have to insure the bike, you have to maintain the bike, that the bike still uses gas, you have to register and tag the bike...all the while, unless you give up cars all together, you still have to have your car registered and tagged and insured etc.

The only valid reason for buying a bike is because you want to. You say "I want a bike". No pansy ass empty excuses for why it's a good idea...you want a bike, that's a good enough idea.

Also, no R6 will ever make a good beginner's bike. $3000 isn't all that good for an R6 that's be left to sit for years, anyway. Start on a beginner's bike...check out craigslist...you can get one for hundreds of dollars, not thousands.

[supralvr88]

I've been called an idiot on this topic, but... My first bike experience was off road. The very first bike I ever touched was a KDX420. I spent a good amount of time repairing it before I rode it. Then I just hopped on one day and took off. It took me a good while to feel comfortbale on it, and when I did get cumfy I got cocky. I started pushing it little by little, more an dmore every time I rode. Eventually I figured out it wouldn't launch very hard but it would rocked from mid range all the wya up. I found that out by it jumpin up on me when I got on it too hard one day. Ended up laying it down in the field behind my house. No damage to m e or bike, but I was pale as can be! It took me a good while on that before I even got the nerve to ride on a streetbike. the next bike I drove on a regular basis was a 02 Harley Softtail. (I know not the typical bike of chpice on here so far), but it brings a whole new level of riding into focus. It's completely diufferent in almost every area from what I was used to before. (I drove a few of the more popular style ikes inbetween but not regularly). Recently I bought a Ninja ZX12R. I was deployed when I found the bike. I'm still deployed, and no longer have the bike. I made a decent profit off of it, but I came to my senses and realised that it was just too much of a bike for what I wanted. The bike was beautiful in every way, and cheap! Got it for under 5K it was an 02 with 8K on it.

Just my experience with bikes in a short spill. I wish I would have started out on something smaller and got mroe of a feel for it, but then again living where I'm at (or around any military base) a bike of any kind is not a good idea unless you are experienced. I'll get another bike again someday, but I guarantee that it will not be a bigger bike. Until then I still got my Caddy and Supra that will suffice me perfectly. Justv thought I'd share with you guys. My only advice is start small and please atleast sit on the bike and get a feel for it before you buy it. Never buy for looks alone, and be sure to check insurance on the bike as well. Some may not look like they will be costly, but you'd be suprised. My ZX12R was less for insurance than a R6. (Go figure)

The advice on here is top notch and id would have helped me out greatly if I had found it sooner.

[2damaxsupra]

i am looking forward to buy a 08 cbr125r. but i have no riding experience. would that be a good choice ?

[makenzie71]

Hmmmm...that's a toughie. Where/how do you intend to ride it? The 125R has two places, in my opinion:

Crowded cities.
Racetracks.

The bike will not be suitable for 70mph freeway speeds and it's so light that you're actually at risk of being overcome by passing semi drafts and such. They're great tight-quarters commuters. It would be stupendous to learn on, but it's limitations may keeps life with you short, and those are the kinds of bikes you wish you hadn't sold years later.

How exactly do you plan to get one, though?

[ANORXIC'51]

Excellent thread as I've really been entertaining the thought of learning to ride. I have no experience whatsoever to speak of, so will most definitely be looking towards a Ninja 250 to learn on.

Still trying to settle my fears from Level 1: absolutely terrified of bikes and the alarming amount of surrounding inattentive auto drivers to the point where I vow to stick with cars for the rest of my life...to more of a Level 2: Slightly less than absolutely terrified, but still functionally thinking of learning and actually going through with it.

One question I have is, for those of you that have stepped up in size, ie: 250->600, 600->liter+, etc...

How did you personally feel/know it was time to try a larger displacement bike?

I have no real friends to speak of, and most of the people I know off of our local forums are in the cities. I would have about a 35-40mi interstate commute just to go see them/hang out/ride with them. So most of my learning would be in parking lots, offered riding courses at a Harley dealer the next town over (12 miles south), and in-city driving (2 college town with mostly farm-county roads surrounding the outskirts of town), interstate is 8 miles away.

Been reading A LOT lately on beginning and the safety aspects of riding...and I honestly feel like there is so much to learn and experience, that I could enjoy my entire riding life on a 250. Well, maybe not the entire lifespan, but the way I go about things, I could see myself going 3+ years before considering stepping up to a 500/600cc if I kept finding things to improve on while learning.

I'd like to think that one NEVER stops learning when riding.

How did you know it was time to move on to bigger/ more capable bike?

One guy(sis-in-law's boyfriend) keeps trying to talk me into getting an R6 as a first. Not taking the bait, though. I have no one to impress by starting on a 600cc+ and am only 5'11"/165-ish...so I'm not a giant in need of a bigger bike, either.

I'm guessing it would be akin to having a Supra at BPU and then taking it to a medium-sized single.

Except the car has 4 wheels and a body around you.

Thanks for any input as there are some very knowledgeable people in this sub-let. Holding off on joining bike forums. Purely lurking, searching, and reading at this point.

Christian

[ANORXIC'51]

Well, I've decided that I'm going to do this, and do it the 'right' way. The only hobbies I truly have ever had are cars and playing basketball. Suprisingly, my wife seems all for it. "ANYTHING to keep you out of another old Porsche".

I lol'd. Or maybe she has a million dollar life insurance policy on me, and is planning to egg me onto a turbo Busa to 'seal the deal'.....hmmm.



Since the end of summer is closing in on us here in Minnesota, I think I have come up with a plan of attack. I'm shutting down the persuit of actually buying a bike for this season. Focusing on getting my permit and attending an MSF course or 2 before the snow/salt hits the roads.

Figure I'll spend most of the winter gathering quality gear. With as little that is being spent on the bike itself, that will open up a great selection of choices for the best gear I can afford. Then come spring, after ironing out details for insurance and actual licence endorsement (that'll be a Class A- CDL with Haz-Mat, Tanker, Combination Trailer, and Motorcycle endorsements ), most likely will attend one more basic riders' safety course as a refresher before buying. I'm hoping to grab a late-'09 250R for a 'nicer than MSRP' price (banking on the dealerships actually having some in stock and wanting to move them to aquire space for thier '10 models. If not, there is always eBay/Cycletrader/etc to get a barely used/dropped one.

I still think about starting with a 500cc or one of the other recommended beginner bikes...and I guess we'll see when the time actually comes to buy a bike. But, for now, I'm aiming to start with the lowman on the Sportbike totem pole.

I'm still intrigued by people with absolutely no experience that start out on various SS bikes and make it out alright.

I KNOW I wouldn't be that lucky and am honestly ok with starting out on a baby Ninja. Can't find a single bad review on the '08-'09s and pretty much everyone enjoys it for what it is and gives it credit towards preparing them for the next step in bike class.

I'm excited.

Christian

[MK3Brent]

Very informative thread, I especially liked the article about 600cc bikes.

I too am doing my research about getting into the hobby/sport. It's been a dream of mine to ride bikes one day, and I am fortunate enough at my age now to be able to afford one.

I have a couple legality questions that hopefully someone will be able to fill:

1. Would it be legal to purchase a 250cc bike without registering or insuring it, and ride on a closed parking lot while getting a feel for it? (Or would this be out of the question.)

2. I was never given a very clear answer to this, however I suppose it will be different for most riders. I am 6'2" weighing 160 lbs. and my arms and legs are long... Would a 2008 Ninja 250R pose a balance issue with my size?

The experienced riders tell me that I would be uncomfortable on these bikes, however I'm drawn to them because I feel I'd have more control over a lighter/smaller frame motorcycle.

Thoughts?

I appreciate it.

[OneJoeZee]

There are riders your size and bigger riding 250s, Brent.

I'm 5'11" and am quite comfortable on mine.

You won't really know until you sit on one though and find out. Depends a lot on how long your legs are, your torso, arms, stuff like that. Height and weight alone is hard to go by. Everybody's a little different and even people that have the same dimensions still prefer different seat, bar, peg positions.

[OneJoeZee]

Also, in before the "don't waste your time with a 250" posts

[MK3Brent]

Thanks, Joe. I actually thought about PM'ing you about this earlier.
I may actually purchase a 2000 Yamaha R6 that requires rebuilding for mechanical experience. Then do what was posted earlier about switching between the two when I feel the 250 no longer satisfies me.

To be honest, I'm concerned the 250R will require significant amount of throttle and RPM to cruise at say 60-65mph commuting. Is this exaggerated? (Based on numerous reviews.)

I'd like the response of a small engine with the power of the 600 in this case. (Beginner)

(This is what prompted my question about being able to ride in a parking-lot with no license or permit... simply to get a feel for the bike on my schedule.)

[OneJoeZee]

It'll hold freeway speed fine. I've done a fair share of commuting.

Nothing wrong with it.


If you know you're gonna have a lot of highway commuting in your schedule, consider the 650R or an SV650 too.

Those are good first bikes too with some more umph. All my riding is pretty local so the 250 really does serve me fine and I don't have a need to ride fast on the freeway anyway so I can enjoy doing 60-65 and not have a problem.

It will cruise well at 75-80 too if you want it too. It's getting up there in the RPMs at that speed but that can be easily changed with a sprocket swap. I haven't touched mine since I don't have a need or want to change the gearing but people that have geared it a little longer have been satisfied with the change in regards to freeway duty. There's nothing wrong with spinning it at 8-9k cruising speed but it does make some antsy which is understandable and help the MPG factor.

[MK3Brent]

Perfect, thanks for the input.
I'll be checking out some bikes this weekend to see how they all fit.

But may hold out for a used bike.
I'm in no rush, which is probably the best approach.

If I get a chance, I'd like to ride the 600cc bike too for comparison.

[makenzie71]

Brent, first, be leary of the 600's. A lot fo the modern 600 SS are putting down well over 100hp, which is nothing a new rider needs to be around...and don't let anyone tell you it's all about self control. You can have Jedi-like self control, but you will never be in full control of your machine...whether it's the spiffy new 198hp S1000RR or a 18hp 125 Eliminator.

Now, for the best bike suggestion, we need to know mainly where you intend to ride? How much is high speed highway commuting? Dense traffic around-town bustle? Do you have a girl for the pillion seat? Is she fat? Etc, etc.

[MK3Brent]

I would never allow a passenger to ride with me on my motorcycle. I'm sorry, but whenever I see people doing this I cringe, it's just not responsible in my opinion.

The area I intend to ride is in Greenville NC, where the stop and go distances are within a mile and an average speed of 35mph. It's very hard to know who to listen to about the whole "600cc" thing. I've grown up around some of my motorcycle friends who all are telling me a 600, especially an old carburetor one will be absolutely no different in response. Then all the online articles I've researched say I'll be the statistic. Inexperienced + 600cc = casualty.

The biggest argument my one friend said was: "A 600cc is NOT going to throw you off the seat at a blip of a throttle... However something in the 1000+ MAY! You would have no problem at all with a 600."

He also tells me to stay away from the 2000 R6, as he said his first bike was a 99 R6 and it was "Heavy, and unresponsive."

The truth is, I don't care WHAT bike I get. This is something I intend to use in a parking lot for the majority of a season to get the feel for low speed maneuvering. So I'm really using COST as my deciding factor as well as mechanically interesting to work on.

The re-sale value on this bike I'm looking at today is high enough to give me further incentive. After a season or two of low speed practice and braking, I may actually sell it for something different for on street use.