A Beginner's Bike

[67gtonut 847]

IMHO

With the power band of a cruiser .... You would fine with anything under 1000cc and i would not go below 500cc

 

With a standard or sport bike i would start with a 250 or 500 depending on your commute but really would not go over a 650 to start with...

 

If you end up wanting a standard or sportbike a used Ninja 250 or 500 is a great choice.... They will lose almost no value when sell it to upgrade...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk excuse the spelling

[RobertJames 14]

Believe it or not, the loud pipes saves lives saying is a bit of a myth. The sound in front of your bike is no where near the sound along side or as you are passing. So he may just attributed you as general traffic noise.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from John's iPad 2 via Tapatalk HD

Typos courtesy Apple...

 

The only thing that loud pipes do is piss off your neighbors. Laugh all you want but I ride looking like this.

 

 

If you're laughing at me, you can see me. With that being said, read up on Brittany Morrow. I ride ATGATT mostly because of reading her story.

 

I will respectfully disagree with the majority of posters here, a cruiser is not the best choice for a first motorcycle. When asked by new or fututre riders, I recomend a 250-500cc Ninja or a small, light dualsport. They are lightweight, easy to pick up when you drop it, reliable as a hammer, and much more fun to rail the twisties. For a more upright seating position I recomend a Honda Nighthawk. All the previous applies. When you are ready to move up, you will not lose money on any of the above choices when you sell.

 

Remember too, it's much more fun to ride a slow bike fast.

[bzer1 15]

I'm a real fan of Dual Sport bikes. I've been riding for almost 40 years, and have had all types of bikes. The easiest to ride and control have been dual sport bikes. For a beginner they have smooth power but not too much, and a good center of gravity, with a more upright riding position making control a little easier for the unseasoned rider. Not so great for long highway hauls though, but to get used to riding especially on local roads they are a blast. I happen to like Husqvarna, but all manufacturers have at least 1 DS model. http://husqvarna-motorcyclesna.com/product.php?pid=56&cid=21

[RobertJames 14]

I'm a real fan of Dual Sport bikes. I've been riding for almost 40 years, and have had all types of bikes. The easiest to ride and control have been dual sport bikes. For a beginner they have smooth power but not too much, and a good center of gravity, with a more upright riding position making control a little easier for the unseasoned rider. Not so great for long highway hauls though, but to get used to riding especially on local roads they are a blast. I happen to like Husqvarna, but all manufacturers have at least 1 DS model. http://husqvarna-mot...p?pid=56&cid=21

 

And mistakes on dirt hurt a little bit less than on asphalt.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

The only thing that loud pipes do is piss off your neighbors. Laugh all you want but I ride looking like this.

 

 

If you're laughing at me, you can see me. With that being said, read up on Brittany Morrow. I ride ATGATT mostly because of reading her story.

 

 

BMW makes great bikes.

[xtreme327 0]

IMO even a 650cc can be to little a bike. My first bike was a 650 Yamaha V-Star. Open highway that bike didn't like 65mph. I moved up to a Suzuki Intruder 800cc. That bike was perfect all around, had enough power for passing. I'm 6' 200lbs and the 650 just didnt cut it for me. Now I've stepped up to a perfect size bike. 2012 FXDWG

Remember, most new riders get addicted fast. If thats the case for you, in a few weeks you will hate a 250cc. 800cc or even a 1200 sportster would work fine. You can take it easy on those and when you're ready you can "crack" that throttle.

Oh and most used bikes dont hold a good resale value like a HD does

Good Luck, ride safe

[Dan 177]

Two other points:

 

Great to have a friend that already rides to go riding with.

 

Make sure you invest in "real" (i.e. not faux style mall crap) motorcycle protective gear. There are tons of options out there regarding styling that would suit anyone. Personally I like the Joe Rocket line of stuff. You will want boots, gloves, jacket, and of course full face helmet at a minimum. Pants are also good to have, I prefer Draggin Jeans, which look like regular jeans on the outside, but have abrasion resistant kevlar pads sewn throughout the interior.

 

Many people skimp or skip on boots and gloves. The sad fact is , they are very prone to damage, complex to fix, and you most likely need/use them everyday for work and play. Protect them well with real motorcycle protective gear. If you ever do go down, your body will instinctively put out your hands first in order to brace your fall in order to protect your head. You will want something that can stand up to that.

[Old School 611]

I think you'll regret buying a 250 crusier in short time. Take a look at the Honda Nighthawk 750. It is a standard and will be very comfortable for long trips. They are relatively cheap used, reliable and are pretty simple to work on for maintenance. You should be able to get better than 200 miles out of a tank. These bikes are not superpowered to get you in trouble but have more than enough power to keep you entertained. Not to mention the fact that I think the Nighthawk 750 is a great looking bike.

 

Make sure you budget for the appropriate safety gear. Wear all the gear, all the time.

 

+1 on the Hight Hawk. As is they will do with less than $1000 in suspension mods they are super!

 

Look, look, look... These bikes are getting harder to find. Pluss side linier power, upright seating believe it or not hydralic valves.

 

Very low maintenance.

[oneshot 45]

Been riding for about 32 years ,anytime someone says im thinking of getting a bike,I tell them they should move out of NJ first or any other densely populated area . Its one of the most dangerous things you can do on the roads of NJ. However if they are "dead set" on doing it, take the course! If you are going to buy a bike try to get something that will suit you for a couple of years like most have said here. My first bike was a KZ 650 ,after that it was harleys . When you ride ,assume that no one sees you and or they dont care. Be safe ,good luck. Its the closest thing to flying without leaving the ground!

[bhunted 887]

You know what? Like Frank said about opinions and there are a lot of them here. So, do this. Buy WTF you want. Sit on it, test it, fondle it and if you can put both feet on the ground standing still, you are good to go. There is no easy answer here.

Good luck and ride safe!

[GeorgeHM 5]

Just add another stinky opinion. When I started riding I was brand spanking new. My friends who rode told me to get something in the 500 to 750 cc range. The idea is that once you get good on something less then a 500cc you might get bored. I started riding back in 1990. MY first bike was an 84 Honda Nighthawk 650. I loved it, for my size it had great power without being way to fast to handle. I also agree take a rider course. It will help with giving you a better understand of motorcycle riding. Last bit of advice is on a bike you don't exist so ride like to have to survive a death race every time. I have found town driving more unsafe then highways. my first accident and many near hits were there. Even my uncle who has been riding for at least 30 years got taken down by someone not looking coming into a traffic light intersection.

 

So stay safe and let us see pictures of what you get.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

Take a riders course, and go from there. We had a guy in the course drop out after 1 hour being on a bike because he couldn't balance it, so also make sure you can ride a bicycle. He said he rode one for the first time a week prior, and struggled on it, def.not how you want to start off a 300 dollar class. I learned on a BIG suzuiki 250, it weighed about 50lbs less then my cbr600rrr. It is a small bike in comparison to other cruisers, but for a 250, it was pretty heavy. I enjoyed the hell out of the class, it even down poured for a couple hours during the class and i still enjoyed it, although it was like 90 degrees out.

 

The course will help you not only learn how to ride, and control the bike, but it will help you understand your own capabilities. After taking the course and walking in a shop to sit on bikes is 100000X different then going to one before. You have so many bikes to choose from, don't limit yourself right off that bat. Go to a shop and just sit on every bike you can find, You will be surprised how your body size will determine the overall quality of the bike you buy. I'm very comfortable on my bike, even after riding for a couple hours, while others may find it hard just to sit on.

 

Some one brought up the dual-sport. Which is an excellent idea.

 

Remember, there is no such thing as a beginner bike. Just a beginner rider. Buy what you want and ride it like a beginner. Buy a 250 and ride it like a d-bag and get yourself hurt. Bigger bikes or high performance bikes just have more room for error, slam the brakes too hard, twist the throttle to much. I had a couple times i hit some hard bumps and felt the bike jerk because i inherently twisted the throttle, but i wasn't in low enough gear for it to matter.

 

And i can't stress gear enough, it's $ but ask yourself, is your life, leg or limb, worth what you pay? Don't be fooled by people riding around in t-shirts and shorts, A textile jacket, typical boots and protective gloves can eliminate many injuries associated with riding. And contrary popular belief jeans don't do all that much.

[NJKen 23]

Agreed....I have a set of V&H's long shots on my bike. Is the bike louder than stock.....10x louder.....but so many drivers are distracted. You need to ride defensive 110% of the time. I can't tell you home many times I get cut in front of, cut off, almost side swipe because people don't look when changing lanes, etc.

 

People say "motorcycles are so dangerous"...yes....because people in cars don't look where they are going!!!!!

I have a set of Rinehart true duals on my bike wirh custom tuned packing and I can say it does make a diference. Not a huge difference though. The nice part is that you can scare the crap out of someone by dropping a gear of two and laying on the throttle hard. That is more efective than a light or horn on the highway.

As long as I stay out of the throttle the bike isnt that loud wich is good cuz I do leavem y house at some wierd times of the day and night and I like my neighbors.

Ken

[Hooligan 0]

Thought this was a fun "beginner bike" video to share. The lowly 250 Ninja gets passed in the straights, but eats the big bikes' lunch in the curves.

 

[hd2000fxdl 422]

I have a set of Rinehart true duals on my bike wirh custom tuned packing and I can say it does make a diference. Not a huge difference though. The nice part is that you can scare the crap out of someone by dropping a gear of two and laying on the throttle hard. That is more efective than a light or horn on the highway.

As long as I stay out of the throttle the bike isnt that loud wich is good cuz I do leavem y house at some wierd times of the day and night and I like my neighbors.

Ken

 

Ken, What bike, I might have missed that?

 

I do know probably the best pipe are a 2 into 1 for performance on HD's overall and I do know a lot of people who either just open up the pipes for "Sound" or switch over to True Duals and while they may gain Horsepower at WOT, they loose what we actually feel on HD's and thats torque. Not saying that's what you did, just bringing it up just in case you don't have that optimum mix for correct intake flow vs. exhaust back pressure. Now if it's not a HD, forget what I said, while I do know a thing or 2 about HD's I really know nothing about other bikes and what works with what.