i'm looking to buy a motorcycle

[skife]

i'm looking to buy a motorcycle.

everyone says a 250 ninja is a great beginner bike, i think i'll get bored with it quick.

i started riding at 8 years old on a honda 50 trail bike, then raced motocross from 10-15 or so on a KX60 then a YZ80, after the 80 i rode a yz125 for a few years on trails and stuff. So i've got a decent amount of expierence riding 2 wheelers.


any idea on what i should be looking for?

i want something going to be fun and not overly expensive.

this would be my first road bike.

[MANN]

How big are you? I would only suggest a 250 if you are less than 5'10, and less than 175. If you are any larger you are better off tring to find a older 600. I personally would look for a CBR F3 (preferably the 97 or 98).

250s are great. I had one from 15-17 years old, and loved it. I out grew it fast tho. I looked like a monkey humping a football by the time I got rid of it.

Regardless of what you get try to remember that you are going to lay it down. You dont want to put too much accessories/money in it until you lay it down.

[skife]

i don't think i'm going to lay it down, and i really don't want a 250, i've got a feeling i'd get bored with a 250 in about a week.

[kosmo]

Sv650

[trevorjk]

600, a tad to much power when you first get on it. just dont crack open the throttle till your comfortable. that way you wont out grow it any time soon

[MANN]

i don't think i'm going to lay it down, and i really don't want a 250, i've got a feeling i'd get bored with a 250 in about a week.

I am no professional rider. I have rode sport bikes since I was 15 (am 24 now) minus the little time that the state of TN had my license (about 6 mo). The first rule to riding is to expect to lay every bike that you own down at least once. It may not be bad, but it will happen. Parking lot, garage, backroad, or interstate. Pick your poison because it will happen.

You are right about getting bored. a 250 ninja will top out at about 110 stock iirc. You can tweek a few things and get 120. A 600 cc bike you will easily get 150ish (you will get bored with it too).

[Steelrat]

I'm in the same boat, looking for a first bike myself. I'm 6'3" and 250 lbs, so a 250 just isnt' going to fit. I tried, too damn small.

Based upon my size and the sytle of riding I'm going to be doing, I'm taking a serious look at Triumph Scramblers.

For you, maybe look at a Suzuki SV 650, just like Kosmo said. Maybe a bit too much for a beginners bike, but pretty conventional, and has a great V-twin.

What style are you looking for, standard, cruiser, or crotch rocket?

[Hilltop Customs]

IMO get a used, scratched up, fuel injected 600cc. You have had experience with bikes...a 250 will get boring VERY quick and you just plain wont be able to keep up with other riders. I say get a scratched up one, because then when you lay it down....no problem. With the money you save from a pretty bike go get yourself some gear.....and more importantly WEAR IT. After awhile with the bike you can either resell...or buy some nice minty plastics for it(ebay is your friend, $500-800 full color pre drilled firberglass fairings)

Larger that 600 is a waste....my friend with a busa always talks crap about how fast his bike is, but then I just tell him how slow he is in the corners (oh and he bought the busa new from the showroom, and laid it down 3 times in 6 months......and it wasnt even his first bike)

[slade]

I'd second what people are saying about the 250. you could buy one used and then sell it at what you bought it for, but you'd probably be better off getting a better bike to start with. I started off on a '72 BMW cruiser and then moved to a 97 GSXR 600, and I would say that the 600 wasn't powerful enough that starting off with it would have been a bad idea. you just have to go light on the throttle. in some ways it would have been a better idea, because the brakes on a sportsbike are really good. I would say start off with an older 600 inline 4, or a newer bike with a V engine. I would recommend what i had, a 97 GSXR 600, an older CBR, or basically any older 600 jap bike, or an SV650s.

[slade]

actually, I change my mind. get a ducati 1098S. EXCELLENT starting bike.

[Steelrat]

Also, check your insurance rates. All these recommendations for Honda CBRs and Suzuki GSXs, but you will get RAPED on insurance. Unless you absolutely need supersport ability, then go for it.

[trevorjk]

Also, check your insurance rates. All these recommendations for Honda CBRs and Suzuki GSXs, but you will get RAPED on insurance. Unless you absolutely need supersport ability, then go for it.

a yamaha yzf600 has good insurance premiums compared to other 600cc bikes.

actually look for bikes that are 599cc like the yzf600. i beleive every jap company has a 599 model. as 600 is the cut for higher insurance rates

[slade]

Also, check your insurance rates. All these recommendations for Honda CBRs and Suzuki GSXs, but you will get RAPED on insurance. Unless you absolutely need supersport ability, then go for it.

oh yeah, good point. how old are you? you should always check insurance costs before buying the vehicle. I was going to buy a 2000 GSXR 750 here in california until i checked insurance prices and was quoted at $2000 and $1000/year (i'm 19), and one company just turned me down and said that they won't insure that bike in california to anyone under 25 (the same company that insured my 1997 gsxr 600 in massachusetts ) strangely in massachusetts when i got the bike insured, they just looked at the 600 CC engine and didn't glance at the fact that it was a sportsbike, and i pay around $300/year for insurance.

so get some quotes before you actually buy anything. you could (and should) be able to get a sportsbike without getting raped by insurance companies, but if you get something without the "sport" or "racing" title appended to it, like the SV650, your insurance will probably be lower.

[Bear_Claw]

I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST not getting a 600cc 4 banger as a first bike.

I think the most power full bike i could see being a decent starter is either a SV650 or a Ninja 650. Both are 650cc twins making around 70hp.

There is an old saying that says "Its more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow".

I myself started on a 650cc Cruiser with a whopping 35hp (2hp more than a 250cc ninja) and i weigh 290lbs. And to be honest i rode that bike HARD for 2 years and as hard as i thought i pushed that bike i was no were NEAR able to ride it to the bikes ability.

I now own a 650cc V-Strom (same engine as a SV650cc) makes around 70hp (60hp at the wheel i had it dyno'd). And now i am even farther from being able to out ride the bike BUT i think i am ALOT closer than id be if i started on this bike.

I recently took a lets say FUN ride with a bunch of guys also riding V-Stroms of both engine capacities the 650cc (like mine) and 1000cc bikes. All of us were riding pretty quick and throttles on all the bikes saw wide open very very often. Even though i had a huge power dissadvantage i was able to keep up and even pass many of the larger cc bikes just by being able to leave corners faster just by properly setting up for the corners and accelerating through. The larger bikes could easily out accelerate in the straight areas but then again what fun is going staight .

Personally if i started all over I would probly opt to start on either a Kawasaki 500cc Ninja or Suzuki GS500F. AS for now i am happy enuff on my 650cc V-Strom its got plenty of pep to get my fat butt from 0-loose your license in NO TIME, and has enuff all round performance to keep me learning for a long time to come.

[Hilltop Customs]

IDK where people get these crazy 2k+ insurance rates from? Stick with 600s, much lower insurance rates. 01 gixxer 600 @ 19 with 1 totalled vehicle under my belt and MANY tickets.... ~800 full coverage and less than 300 for liability(that was 4 years ago, and my first bike).


Going from dirt to road is 2 different worlds, BUT you are already familure with the control placements and used to being on 2 wheels.....which is a huge advantage. Consider going to a track day soon after you get your bike, it will make riding fast on the street seem like a joke.