Picking a first bike
- Thread starter CaptCrash
- Start date
YOUNGTHRILL
Well-known member
gsxr 1000..all around fun
YellowBastard
Well-known member
+1 GSXR 1000. The busa is just too big to start on.
jumph4x
Do more, bitch less.
Definitely agree.
NTron3000
When in doubt...
Unless it's got turbo.
YellowBastard
Well-known member
How would the turbo make it a smaller bike? Your not making sense bro.
get one of these.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...t+motorbike&hspart=visicom&hsimp=yhs-lavasoft
NOT.
something under 400cc.
think small, easy to handle.
and used so when you drop it, your are not out a grand. (more). for repairs.
or have loan payments, big insurance payments and no bike to ride.
drop more cash into your gear than the cost of your "first" bike.
no you do not want the baddest or fastest bike out there.
you want reliability first, (so you can get out and ride).
comfort second, (so you will ride).
low cost, (got to be able to afford it). AKA: no freaking loans to buy it. :wow
do not even think about looks. they mean nothing...except to a poser.
get a couple friends (real ones) to ride with, you will find them here on barf. other web sits...maybe, or at stopping points along the rd.
do not ride there ride, ride yours. do not try to over do your ability, it hurts.
best way to describe it is you have five dollars to ride.
this is bike+you+rd+weather+traffic+etc= safe ride. can only spend so much to be safe. over spend you get hurt.
so first bike should be a smaller easy to handle, comfortable and used bike.
and get FULL insurance.(ya gona cost). got medical? not obama careless. :wow
http://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...t+motorbike&hspart=visicom&hsimp=yhs-lavasoft
NOT.
something under 400cc.
think small, easy to handle.
and used so when you drop it, your are not out a grand. (more). for repairs.
or have loan payments, big insurance payments and no bike to ride.
drop more cash into your gear than the cost of your "first" bike.
no you do not want the baddest or fastest bike out there.
you want reliability first, (so you can get out and ride).
comfort second, (so you will ride).
low cost, (got to be able to afford it). AKA: no freaking loans to buy it. :wow
do not even think about looks. they mean nothing...except to a poser.
get a couple friends (real ones) to ride with, you will find them here on barf. other web sits...maybe, or at stopping points along the rd.
do not ride there ride, ride yours. do not try to over do your ability, it hurts.
best way to describe it is you have five dollars to ride.
this is bike+you+rd+weather+traffic+etc= safe ride. can only spend so much to be safe. over spend you get hurt.
so first bike should be a smaller easy to handle, comfortable and used bike.
and get FULL insurance.(ya gona cost). got medical? not obama careless. :wow
Last edited:
NTron3000
When in doubt...
Didn't say anything about smaller. Turbo would just give it more appropriate immediate power to get a newb out of any trouble we all know they are likely to get into with a heavier bike like the busa. Plus it would teach them proper throttle control and safe riding technique having to manage that much power.
danate
#hot4beks
Turbo makes it easier for noobs to wheelie for safety.
jumph4x
Do more, bitch less.
q f t
NTron3000
When in doubt...
This
CaptCrash
Dazed and Confused
It's a real world issue. Ideally every new rider would start on a 125cc bike with a great big notification to the world that they are rookies...like a big "L" on their bike! And there would be horsepower restrictions! Wait a second...that's how the Red Coats do it! We fought a war so that anyone with a pulse can purchase and ride any bike!
In the real world you work with disadvantages like:
1. Not a lot of 125s and 250s out there to buy. It's not a segment of the market that is pushed in the US. Most 125s an 250s in the US are called "step through scooters"--an honest to God motorcycle in that size is hard to find.
2. Most folks looking to ride have egos. Yes. It's true. That's a big part of why the small displacement segment of the market is pretty darn narrow. Nobody wants to start on a "baby" motorcycle even if old dudes like me find them to be a hoot.
So what do you do? In a perfect world everybody starts on a bike you can stall with both feet on the ground and then pick up and carry away. That is never, ever going to happen. Blame Paul Revere and George Washington but in the states we don't roll that way and likely (you never know) we never will.
Rather than lecturing and going down a "safety fascist" course wannabe riders have to be reasoned with. A Honda Shadow is putting down 35 ponies. As is a Suzuki DR400. One's heavy, one's light. I'd pick the light one--except I can't pick for everyone they have to pick for themselves. Ninja 250s and 300s are around but picking up one on the cheap may be a challenge--I feel they and the CBR250 are extraordinarily wonderful first bikes. The issue is purchase cost and repair cost. (Besides what many man wants to learn on the "Baby Ninja"--a term of endearment that also works against the bike).
The real issue is that it's your first bike but newbs often treat it like the last. They want the dream and they want it now, hence the cornucopia of "Dude racks his Gixx 1K leaving dealer!" or "Dude wads his new Harley--on the ride home!" videos on YouTube.
If you stake out the extreme safety high ground (English style) then you end up alienating the moderate. Hey, there's always a kid with more money than brains who'll buy the new 1K 165hp bike, you're not reaching him. BUT you can reach out and get that willing to listen moderate segment. For me? The weight of a 650-750 v-twin is an issue but the horsepower balances things out. You could get to a bike that's 200lbs heavier and with 50 or more horses--but that doubles up the problem by making throttle mistakes more punishing.
It's a balancing act. Me? Buy used. Cheap. Light. Something that you can bend and not get bent about. Watch out for mad horsepower but be more wary of mad horsepower accentuated by big weight or hyper-reactive geometry. You're going to be entering a high risk environment so you best do it on a low risk ride or a ride you don't mind getting dinged up.
YellowBastard
Well-known member
I started on a 250, and my second bike was also a 250. So it's not like you can't start on a small bike. Issues for me:
- The 250s aren't really that much cheaper. If I can buy a used 250 for $2000 and a used 600rr for $3500, buying the small bike feels like being cheated. Insurance is 10x as high and repairs too? Newbies don't know about that.
- There's no support network for newbie riders to help them buy bikes. I went to several dealerships, and none would let me (as a newbie rider) test ride even their used, beat up 250s. Buying blind felt stupid, too. So you have to turn to Craigslist. Only when I made moto friends and got some experience did I even have the chance to learn about what kind of bike to buy and how.
- The 250s aren't really that much cheaper. If I can buy a used 250 for $2000 and a used 600rr for $3500, buying the small bike feels like being cheated. Insurance is 10x as high and repairs too? Newbies don't know about that.
- There's no support network for newbie riders to help them buy bikes. I went to several dealerships, and none would let me (as a newbie rider) test ride even their used, beat up 250s. Buying blind felt stupid, too. So you have to turn to Craigslist. Only when I made moto friends and got some experience did I even have the chance to learn about what kind of bike to buy and how.
CaptCrash
Dazed and Confused
Excellent point. Dealers don't seem to be really interested in any part of the small displacement market.
ROL
Well-known member
I also started on a 250 that I bought solely because it was similar to what I had ridden in the MSF course, my only motorcycling experience ever. I had no moto friends, and no advice on what to buy. I bought it on craigslist.
I am 5'4", which was another influence on what my first bike turned out to be - something very, very low. If I hadn't been limited by my height, I may have been tempted by something with a bigger engine, thinking I could handle it just because I could flat-foot it.
I almost think this should be an optional part of the MSF course - advice on how to buy your first bike. Maybe liability gets in the way here?
YellowBastard
Well-known member
Sounds good to me. They could even do a newbie-bike rental program, with bikes that've been dropped a hundred times, and it doesn't matter that you WILL drop it.
Sometimes, good guy previous owner does the right thing. When hunting for my very first motorcycle, I called up a guy selling an older ZX-6R and asked him if it was a suitable beginner bike. He was like "You're kidding, right? This thing is a fucking rocket. Get a 250."
Sometimes, good guy previous owner does the right thing. When hunting for my very first motorcycle, I called up a guy selling an older ZX-6R and asked him if it was a suitable beginner bike. He was like "You're kidding, right? This thing is a fucking rocket. Get a 250."
clutchslip
Not as fast as I look.
I agree. I liked most of it, but I don't think a heavy bike with poor body position is where anyone should ride.
I am of a different time. I started on 50cc two-strokes. And I did a lot of dirt riding for several years. Therefore, a 250cc four-stroke seems like enough to start, to me. It's freeway legal, and you probably won't get killed with the number one mistake in motorcycling: throttle control.
jdan007
SQUACTOPUS!
I think it depends on the rider a lot as well, some people are just plain old more talented at riding than others. That doesn't mean go get a supersport but it does mean that grabbing an SV as first bike or another 650 twin is perfectly reasonable to do and you'll be just fine if you're careful at first before going into serious traffic situations or high speeds.
That said if you want to go ride and be a better rider and go racing and be a good racer and show off with your skills vs. some big powerful bike, get a 250 because you'll learn so much more that way, they are so much cheaper to track and insure and so much easier to maintain. After about 30-50 track days on a 250 if you're really serious about practicing and getting better (means good diet, drills, exercise too) by then you'll be ready to rip on a supersport on the track and be able to be pretty competitive or at least have the skills from practice to learn from the fast riders and pick up what they are doing to be fast on a 600 on whatever track it is i.e. not worry anymore about how you are braking/shifting/body position, but focusing on lines, deep braking, early on throttle and racing while in a lot of traffic on the track.
That said if you want to go ride and be a better rider and go racing and be a good racer and show off with your skills vs. some big powerful bike, get a 250 because you'll learn so much more that way, they are so much cheaper to track and insure and so much easier to maintain. After about 30-50 track days on a 250 if you're really serious about practicing and getting better (means good diet, drills, exercise too) by then you'll be ready to rip on a supersport on the track and be able to be pretty competitive or at least have the skills from practice to learn from the fast riders and pick up what they are doing to be fast on a 600 on whatever track it is i.e. not worry anymore about how you are braking/shifting/body position, but focusing on lines, deep braking, early on throttle and racing while in a lot of traffic on the track.