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2 wheels + motor

D

DarrelSPowers

Senior member
Okay, so I'm a city kid, 22 years old, never owned a car, rode bikes everywhere my whole life. Right now I'm doing HVAC design work, making some decent money, and I'll be finishing up my ME degree next may, so as a little graduation present to myself, I've been seriously considering spending $5-7K on a used bike. I've rode like 50-100cc scooters around the city before, but never anything highway worthy.

Any suggestions as to what I should be looking for in a starter bike? One of my friends has an 05 600CBR, and the undertail exhaust is really sweet looking, but I was hoping the folks of anandtech could lay down some additional biking wisdom...
 
Yea, don't get on the road until you've taken some classes and rode someones bike on private property.

I'm tired of the giant mass of people jumping on bikes that have no business. For example the people that don't know how to stay in either the left or right part of the lane, preferrably the left.

Don't start on a crotch rocket or you will be more than likely to be another idiot driving out of your league. Get a small cruiser, iirc the Suzuki vulcan came in a 650cc. Upgrade after you learn, or after you accept that your life is at risk everyday, especially in city traffic.
 
Originally posted by: mooseracing
Yea, don't get on the road until you've taken some classes and rode someones bike on private property.

I'm tired of the giant mass of people jumping on bikes that have no business. For example the people that don't know how to stay in either the left or right part of the lane, preferrably the left.

Don't start on a crotch rocket or you will be more than likely to be another idiot driving out of your league. Get a small cruiser, iirc the Suzuki vulcan came in a 650cc. Upgrade after you learn, or after you accept that your life is at risk everyday, especially in city traffic.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the danger of city traffic is something I'm all too aware of... been doored/ran of the road multiple times over the last few years, and I couldnt imagine how bad my injuries would have been if I was going the 10ish miles an hour faster I'd be going on a motorcycle...

I live in mass, so the classes weren't even a question, as they lower your insurance, and you can use them to get your licence without having to take a road test.

Another thing is everyone says get a cruiser and not a crotch rocket. Personally, I feel like my first time out on a bike I'll be scared shitless regardless of what type of seat I'm on... what makes street bike so much more dangerous?
 
You mean you've ridden bicycless all your life or motorcycles?

You should take the motorcycle safety whatever class. The one I took assumes you don't know how to ride and they teach it to you from the beginning. You should wear a helmet and gear that's appropriate for riding a motorcycle. You shouldn't be an idiot. You should be aware that people just don't see you, they're going to pull out in front of you, they're going to merge into you, they're going to hit you from behind, etc. I'm not sure what city you're talking about, but if you listen to the Los Angeles freeway reports, you'll know that they're scraping motorcycles off the highways and other cars a few times a week.


You like the CBR600RR, huh? You like that undertail? It's sweet, huh? I got my 2007 of a guy for $7K in February.

Please don't buy one.


I went out to Diamond Bar last weekend to check out what's left of this guy's bike and buy some parts from him. He got himself a 2008 CBR600RR Grafitti, put 1500 miles on it, and then he T-boned an SUV on a residential road. That bike is trashed, the dude was wearing gym shorts and a t-shirt, so he's messed up, he didn't have full coverage so he's only getting $6K back on what he claims is $16K worth of bike + upgrades (the number seems inflated, insurance says it's at partially his fault). I rode up the road that he wrecked on. You could fit at least 4 cars across and it's pure residential. I'm now sure how fast he was going that he couldn't avoid hitting an SUV even if it was sideways. He's in his early 20s, and he can't straighten his arms anymore.


Anyway, people on this forum will tell you to get a Ninja 250. It can be had for $2K to $3K used and then you can probably sell it for about what you bought it for when you get skilled enough to upgrade. I'm kind of a big guy; I had a 400cc cruiser when I was in high school. After many years, I started out again with a three year old SV650S (maybe 75hp and great gas mileage) that I picked up for $4K. I sold the bike and got the CBR when I was ready.

Be careful and good luck.
 
Rump - the human powered two wheel machines are what I'm used to, and I've got more than enough scars from oblivious drivers to realize the danger of "donorcycles" as my friend's dad calls them (PR for local hospital). But, as an experienced motorcyclist, you clearly live with the danger, but do you think it's worth it? Honestly part of my newfound desire for a motorcycle is because I just finished reading Hunter S Thompson's hells angels book, and even he sent himself over a railing on his triumph. I probably should have mentioned it before, but I'm a skinny guy... 6-1 and a few pounds under 150.

Your story about the guy who t-boned the SUV feels like a situation that I "never" would end up in, and the risk factors of motorcycling appear to exponentially increase with the rider's stupidity and lack of respect for the machine's power. But yeah, after sitting on my buddy's cbr, and realizing the amount of power sitting under my ass, it was such a rush that I couldn't imagine actually riding one of those things on an open road... guess I caught the fever or something haha.

But yeah, I'll definetly start checking out 250cc bikes, especially if they don't depreciate all that much in value... like the CBR (friend paid $13000 in 05, still paying it off, and you can buy one now for around 6K haha)
 
Kawasaki Ninja 250 r. my brother just bought one. Excellent, excellent reviews, and a great beginners bike. Easy to handle, and loads of fun.
 
Your friend paid too much for his CBR600. You can look up what the bike costs new in Los Angeles "out the door" here This year's CBR600RR should be less than $10K.

Buying your first bike used is a very good idea. It'll hurt less if/when you drop it or wreck it.

I love my bike. It's great fun. I love taking it apart. I love riding it. I love looking at it. I'm defensive when I ride, I look both ways when my light turns green, I'm waiting for someone to merge into me, cut me off, slam on their brakes for no reason, and I'm waiting for my accident to come. Despite this, I'm very happy to ride the bike every day.

I have an assload of life insurance. My wife will be rich if I bite it. 😀

Good luck and be safe.
 
Get a cruiser. Everybody makes them, and they're all pretty good.

Lots of people eat it on sport bikes because they simply go to damn fast. 160mph is common, along with 9 second quarters and 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds. Those machines will hurt you because you can go from safe and sane cruising to out of control speed run in less than 5 seconds. And even something as simple as going around a corner can put down if you twist the throttle just a bit to far on the way out.

With all of that said, bikes are fun, the thrill of 100hp pulling you up to speed is like nothing else.
 
Sportbikes have a higher fatality rate because people get comfortable and ride them too fast. Also, someone with something to prove is more likely to buy a sportbike to engage in peenwaving. The flipside is that a cruiser actually is far less capable of avoiding an accident at any speed, they don't handle as well, don't slow down as fast, don't accelerate as fast, don't change lanes as fast, are a bear in parking lots until you get used to slipping a clutch for low speed maneuvering, etc...

There is a reason a lot of motorcyclists will point you to a Ninja 250, because it is light, easy to ride, economical, and can be found used. I also like old UJM's, like a 75-82 Hawk 400 or similar. Beauty there is you pick it up for 500 clams and when you upgrade you sell it for 500 clams.

No trick to it though, getting stupid on a cruiser makes you dead just as fast as on a sportbike. The statistical difference has nothing to do with the controllabilty of the bikes and everything to do with the average age of the riders. Take the MSF course, wear your gear, and don't break the law and you will likely be fine on most any machine.
 
Originally posted by: lghost
Sportbikes have a higher fatality rate because people get comfortable and ride them too fast. Also, someone with something to prove is more likely to buy a sportbike to engage in peenwaving. The flipside is that a cruiser actually is far less capable of avoiding an accident at any speed, they don't handle as well, don't slow down as fast, don't accelerate as fast, don't change lanes as fast, are a bear in parking lots until you get used to slipping a clutch for low speed maneuvering, etc...

There is a reason a lot of motorcyclists will point you to a Ninja 250, because it is light, easy to ride, economical, and can be found used. I also like old UJM's, like a 75-82 Hawk 400 or similar. Beauty there is you pick it up for 500 clams and when you upgrade you sell it for 500 clams.

No trick to it though, getting stupid on a cruiser makes you dead just as fast as on a sportbike. The statistical difference has nothing to do with the controllabilty of the bikes and everything to do with the average age of the riders. Take the MSF course, wear your gear, and don't break the law and you will likely be fine on most any machine.
Click to expand...

You just haven't been looking at the right cruiser. They are a bit heavy, but they move plenty fast and are fairly nimble.
Check out this vid, it's a guy on a Goldwing thats nothing short of awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nrMQ3QwyPo
 
Originally posted by: DarrelSPowers
Okay, so I'm a city kid, 22 years old, never owned a car, rode bikes everywhere my whole life. Right now I'm doing HVAC design work, making some decent money, and I'll be finishing up my ME degree next may, so as a little graduation present to myself, I've been seriously considering spending $5-7K on a used bike. I've rode like 50-100cc scooters around the city before, but never anything highway worthy.

Any suggestions as to what I should be looking for in a starter bike? One of my friends has an 05 600CBR, and the undertail exhaust is really sweet looking, but I was hoping the folks of anandtech could lay down some additional biking wisdom...
Click to expand...

Ninja 250. Next.

 
OP you will be prone to do more stupid stuff on a Crotch rocket, trust us wise ones. I have a bad habit of pushing the limit of my skills when I first get something. Examples, first car when I was 16 had over 400hp, too many close calls. First street bike, over 100hp...I use to do too many stupid things, until I got a rear flat tire at 60mph. I was going lock to lock to keep the bike up, I thought I was going to eat the pavement in my shorts.

I replay that scenario all the time while going down the highway at 70mph. It's probably the only reason I have only done 140 some odd mph once. The more you ride the more you will see how close you are to life and death everyday. It's one of the main reasons I don't wear leathers, if i get in a wreck on my bike I know the chances are slim to none, if I am alive and have road rash oh well. Not to mention I would look like I just got out of a jacuzzi, I would be soaking wet and my body would be a prune.

Any temps above 60F I don't wear a coat, just jeans and shirt as after that temp I start to sweat just in the pants. I want to enjoy my riding time, if I was paranoid enough to wear full leathers I would need a roll cage, 5 point harness, and helmet it my car.



Originally posted by: lghost
The flipside is that a cruiser actually is far less capable of avoiding an accident at any speed, they don't handle as well, don't slow down as fast, don't accelerate as fast, don't change lanes as fast, are a bear in parking lots until you get used to slipping a clutch for low speed maneuvering, etc...
Click to expand...



You are grouping way too many cruisers into a single group. MY '79 Yama XS1100 is considered a cruiser and I can do circles around most people in any parking lot or road when it comes to turning and not burnign the clutch up

And the don't acell is fast is bs, I can run an 11 sec 1/4 mile, stock 79 technology. I can keeps paces with most new 600 crotch rockets as we both have a little over 100hp.

It is around 580lbs and I can stop just as fast as most later bikes.


Are you going to say a V-Max is the same way as well. Lets look at the new model coming out 180-200 hp, but it can't accel to get out of it's own way right?

 
A lot of good suggestions here wrt cruiser bikes. I'd stay away from the crotch rockets though. However, you say you are familiar with scooters, but nothing highway-worthy. You might want to check out something similar as you are already familiar with the way a scooter operates. I'd suggest a Piaggo MP3, Honda Silverwing, or Vespa GT250. Those should be all the power you would need on the highway. If you want something with more power, I'd suggest a few of the Scaraebo models. They operate like scooters, but really should be considered an "automatic motorcycle" with respects to their design and power level.
 
Originally posted by: mooseracing
OP you will be prone to do more stupid stuff on a Crotch rocket, trust us wise ones. I have a bad habit of pushing the limit of my skills when I first get something. Examples, first car when I was 16 had over 400hp, too many close calls. First street bike, over 100hp...I use to do too many stupid things, until I got a rear flat tire at 60mph. I was going lock to lock to keep the bike up, I thought I was going to eat the pavement in my shorts.

I replay that scenario all the time while going down the highway at 70mph. It's probably the only reason I have only done 140 some odd mph once. The more you ride the more you will see how close you are to life and death everyday. It's one of the main reasons I don't wear leathers, if i get in a wreck on my bike I know the chances are slim to none, if I am alive and have road rash oh well. Not to mention I would look like I just got out of a jacuzzi, I would be soaking wet and my body would be a prune.

Any temps above 60F I don't wear a coat, just jeans and shirt as after that temp I start to sweat just in the pants. I want to enjoy my riding time, if I was paranoid enough to wear full leathers I would need a roll cage, 5 point harness, and helmet it my car.



Originally posted by: lghost
The flipside is that a cruiser actually is far less capable of avoiding an accident at any speed, they don't handle as well, don't slow down as fast, don't accelerate as fast, don't change lanes as fast, are a bear in parking lots until you get used to slipping a clutch for low speed maneuvering, etc...
Click to expand...



You are grouping way too many cruisers into a single group. MY '79 Yama XS1100 is considered a cruiser and I can do circles around most people in any parking lot or road when it comes to turning and not burnign the clutch up

And the don't acell is fast is bs, I can run an 11 sec 1/4 mile, stock 79 technology. I can keeps paces with most new 600 crotch rockets as we both have a little over 100hp.

It is around 580lbs and I can stop just as fast as most later bikes.


Are you going to say a V-Max is the same way as well. Lets look at the new model coming out 180-200 hp, but it can't accel to get out of it's own way right?
Click to expand...

The V-Max is almost in it's own class. Over the top in every respect. I'd love to take one for a spin, but they are to bazaar looking to own.
 
how about a good dualsport like a suzuki drz400s? more than enough power to cruise around and learn on, and can hit the trails too. i just bought an xt225 for $700. it's a bit small, but for the price i couldn't pass on it.
 
I picked up my first bike last summer, a 75 honda cb550.

I'd recommend cruiser or sport bike based on your style, but find something used and affordable that is not super-mega fast. Keep up on the maintenance and mechanicals, take the MSF class, get good gear and wear it every ride. That means a full face helmet, good boots, gloves, a jacket with pads, and pants.

I'm still a hypocrite though, as I don't have my pants yet, I still wear just jeans or slacks which offer as much protection as shorts.
 
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