Entry Level Motorcycle Thread

[SpatiallyAware]

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/1714639110.html


Those are decent starter bikes?

edit: FWIW, I've ridden a 250CC 2-stroke dirt bike, and a CBR600. While I could handle the 600, I'd do something retarded on it, being 18 and all.

It looks like a decent deal.. FWIW you can buy GS500s for $1500 or less all day long. The cheapest I bought one for was like $500 or so, it needed a stator and overall cleaned up. I put 40k+ miles on it and sold it for $1000



Also you might want to take an experienced rider with you to check out the bike. There are lots of totally ragged out bikes with botched wiring fixes and stuff.

 

[Kabob]

GS500 = perfect starter bike.

 

[Kabob]

Also you might want to take an experienced rider with you to check out the bike. There are lots of totally ragged out bikes with botched wiring fixes and stuff.

A big +1. When I recovered my stolen SV they had done some crazy wiring on it. Thankfully my buddy works in a MC shop and fixed all of the wiring for me...I wouldn't have sold it without doing that though.

 

[Landstandr]

Just another recommendation for a GS500 (naked version). I'm a re-entry rider after a couple years without riding. I've had 4 other bikes - largest being a V-Strom 1000. The GS500 is plenty entertaining to me and is so easy to ride due to its relatively low weight. Picked mine up (a 2000) for under $1250 - it's a little ratty but that saves you from caring too much. Don't buy an expensive faired bike for your first, let someone else take the risk and depreciation. It's your first bike, not your last.

 

[jlee]

Working on a bike is, imo, easier since many riders do their own stuff. With most 'starter' bikes (GS/Ninja 500, SV to an extent) there are forums where you can figure out how to deal with almost anything.

My personal favorite starter bike is a GS500. They're tons of fun in the mtns, easy to work on and maintain (learn to adjust valves, etc..). They also drop better (less plastics)

Example of just how helpful forums can be (that's my bike).

 

[Greenman]

One of the first things they'll teach you in an MSF course is that it's a bad idea to start out on a 600cc sportbike. There's a reason that MSF courses use 250cc bikes for their beginner riding classes.

ZV

I thought they used 250's cause they were cheap. When I took the course the bikes we used were in bad shape, dropped time after time, missing lights, dents, huge frame scuffs, I almost felt sorry for the poor things.
The first day was 5 or 6 hours on those tired little 250's. Getting on my brand new V-Rod to ride home was like going from a 63 VW bug to a Rolls Royce, I still smile just thinking about it. The next day I asked the instructor if I could use my own bike, he said "hell no". Probably for the best though, there is no way on earth I'd have ever been able to do the figure eights in that box on my D, it has roughly the same turning radius as a battleship.

 

[zylander]

Sorry, but even after finishing an MSF class you're still a beginner rider. Even the full weekend course doesn't magically give a person riding experience to catapult them out of the beginner category.

Never said it did.

You've managed to list exactly the reasons why a beginner should not have a 600cc sportbike (a very unforgiving machine), but have somehow also managed to convince yourself that those reasons don't actually apply to people when they're outside of the heavily-controlled class conditions. The inherent unpredictability of real-world riding makes it more important that riders stick to 500cc or less if they are getting sportbikes when compared to the MSF class conditions.



As has already been pointed out, the class is not a substitute for experience. You have apparently missed this link in its entirety. I have never met a rider who didn't make a mistake every now and then, especially during the first three years to five years of riding.

A 600cc sportbike isn't going to tolerate mistakes well at all. Hit a pothole and accidentally twist the throttle? Been nice knowing you. Panic and grab too much front brake? I wish you luck my friend. Encounter tramlining for the first time at 70 mph on the freeway with a sportbike's inherent twitchiness? Here's hoping that you recover.

You might as well suggest that a person who did well on his driving test just go right out and get a 427 Cobra for their first car. I don't care how well a person has done on basic driving or riding tests or classes, a racing machine that is only just barely made street legal is a bad idea for a first vehicle. It doesn't matter how much a person might think he's better than most.

An interesting statistic is that 90% of drivers believe they have "above average" driving ability while also believing that 60% of the other drivers have less skill. Notice how those two percentages don't even come close to adding up. Almost everyone overestimates their own abilities.

And, as I said, if you ask the people who are actually running the MSF course, they will tell you that buying a 600cc sportbike for a first bike is a bad idea.

Not everyone is the same and not everyone should start out on a 600cc sportbike. Not everyone learns at the same speed and not everyone will make the same mistakes. I know people who immediately started out on a 600cc sportbike and they are amazing riders. I also know people who immediately started out on a 600cc sportbike and it was the worst idea they ever had; dropped the bike left and right, crashed because too much gas in turn, crashed because locked up brakes, ect. They went out thinking they could do everything and ended up crashing left and right because the bike was too much for them. Is starting out on a 600cc sportbike great advice to give to anyone? No, but to blatantly say that no one should ever start on a 600cc is wrong.

 

[StageLeft]

Make sure it's a Honda.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Not everyone is the same and not everyone should start out on a 600cc sportbike. Not everyone learns at the same speed and not everyone will make the same mistakes. I know people who immediately started out on a 600cc sportbike and they are amazing riders. I also know people who immediately started out on a 600cc sportbike and it was the worst idea they ever had; dropped the bike left and right, crashed because too much gas in turn, crashed because locked up brakes, ect. They went out thinking they could do everything and ended up crashing left and right because the bike was too much for them. Is starting out on a 600cc sportbike great advice to give to anyone? No, but to blatantly say that no one should ever start on a 600cc is wrong.

Still wrong.

It is absolutely correct to say that no-one should ever start on a 600cc sportbike.

It would be wrong to say that no-one can ever start on a 600cc sportbike, but that's not even close to what I've said.

The bottom line is that starting on a 600cc sportbike is risky and, frankly foolish. The fact that a minority of riders have managed to start out with one doesn't magically make it a good idea and believing that you have done well in the MSF class doesn't mean you actually have done well in the MSF class (the reason that I pointed out those statistics about how 90% of people think they're "above average" was to illustrate that almost everyone overestimates how good they are). Even those who have actually done well in an MSF class aren't at the same skill level as an experienced rider (as you have admitted) which means that even legitimately doing well in an MSF class doesn't guarantee that a person can handle a 600cc sportbike.

It is simply irresponsible to recommend that anyone start out on a 600cc sportbike. Doing so advocates that they take on significant additional risks and is the equivalent of putting a new driver in a 427 Cobra. I'm sure that a few will manage, but it's a horribly stupid idea.

A 600cc sportbike is a race machine that has been given the bare minimum of modification to make it street-legal. It's not the right machine for a beginner regardless of whether a few people do manage not to screw it up royally and no amount of your "well, if you're a good enough beginner" will change that fact. You're still a novice rider yourself. I wouldn't take driving advice from an 18-year-old (two years of experience, just like you have) and I would caution anyone about taking advice about bikes from a person with only two years of riding experience.

In a nutshell: Just because some people manage to make a stupid idea work doesn't stop the idea from being stupid.

ZV

 

[Creig]

If you're looking for an all-around reliable bike to start out on that you can pick up cheaply, you might want to look into a Honda CX500. It's an older bike ('78-'82), but it was technologically superior when it was released. It's a 500cc V-twin, liquid cooled, shaft driven with four valves per cylinder. This is the bike that the GL500 SilverWing was made from.

I had a CX500 years ago and it seemed to fit me pretty well, and I'm 6' 2". You can easily find lower mileage examples in good condition for less than $1,000 on Craigslist. The SilverWing, which is basically a CX500 with a Hondaline fairing, saddlebags and removable trunk section, usually goes for a bit more. But if you're patient (and lucky) you can find a nice SilverWing for the same price as a regular naked CX500.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CX_series

They have a surprisingly large fan base and online user groups:

http://choppercharles.com/cs/forums/7/ShowForum.aspx


The downside? They are slightly top-heavy and I'm not sure they would be well-suited to shorter individuals. And there are basically three areas of concern that are well known on these bikes. The mechanical water pump seal, the stator and the cam chain all seem to go at around 40,000 miles. If you're mechanically inclined, these three items can be replaced by a home mechanic. The CX500/GL500 forum group is very helpful and willing to answer any question regarding these bikes.

But on the plus side, these bikes are known for being easy to repair and for their reliability. Some owners have put over 100,000 miles on them.

Might be worth looking into.

 

[Kabob]

It is absolutely correct to say that no-one should ever start on a 600cc sportbike.

It would be wrong to say that no-one can ever start on a 600cc sportbike, but that's not even close to what I've said.

A big +1.

Can it be done? Yes.
Should it be done? No.
Will you be a faster rider for starting small and building your fundamentals? Probably.