School me on Motorcycles (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

tommckenna6

tommckenna6

Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Threads
30
Messages
132
Location
Colorado
Website
www.tomkatinterests.com
I just took a riders course this past weekend and got on a motorcycle for the first time. Completed the course and got my license yesterday. I loved being on a bike!

What is a good starter cruiser bike?

I've been told maybe a used Honda Rebel or Shadow?

Not looking to spend a lot of money.
 
tommckenna6 said:
What is a good starter cruiser bike?

I've been told maybe a used Honda Rebel or Shadow?

Not looking to spend a lot of money.
Click to expand...


There is also a Kawi Vulcan 500 in the starter level cruiser class.
 
tommckenna6 said:
How about Buell?
Click to expand...

The Blaster was built for the starter Buell crowd.

1. it's not a cruiser. It's nothing like a cruiser. If you want a sportbike, there are a lot of choices that don't have problems with parts randomly falling off.

B. The rest of the Buell line up is more hardcore than you want on a beginner bike. There are again tons of cheap crotch rockets everywhere that are much better build for a much cheaper price.

III. If you want a Harley you will not get one reliable and cheap. It just ain't done. Doesn't matter if it has the bar and shield, the buell logo. It costs money to be part of the "lifestyle"

I'm all for a middle ground starter bike recommendation. Something under 600ccs in a four or 750 in a twin will be old pretty quickly. You can't sell 'em for squat. Much over 600 in a sport bike or over 1000 in a cruiser will be a lot of bike. I think it's better to get to the point where you can ride 80% of the bike before you move up. You start with a ZX1400 and you'll never be as good a rider and you have a great chance of ending up dead.
 
tommckenna6 said:
I just took a riders course this past weekend and got on a motorcycle for the first time. Completed the course and got my license yesterday. I loved being on a bike!

What is a good starter cruiser bike?

I've been told maybe a used Honda Rebel or Shadow?

Not looking to spend a lot of money.
Click to expand...


Seating position,

Engine arrangement...

Make...

Lots of things to consider here. Personally I think you should start on a thumper. They are the most simple design, and most often get the best range. They also develop the power at a lower RPM, which is where you will be spending most your time, seeings how yer new...

Just don't expect it to be a crotch rocket and you'll be alright. The upright seating position is best IMO and you'll have the least amount of weight on you wrists...It'll be like comfortably sitting up in a chair.

Get a cruiser if you want to be lazy and have an ill handling bike that makes emergency maneuvers fell like they'll never end...

Cruisers are the most comfortable, but what you can do with the bike is limited...actually, the only thing they do good is cruise..

My thumper can do it all...cruise, tour, keep up with anything in the twisties...gets 70mpg doing it, reliable as...well, that's enough.

I'd ask myself how I wanted to sit, how much power I wanted and what I want the bike to do.


Air cooled Vs. liquid...

Air cooleds have a lower compression ratio, and have a lot less power...

So a "250" is NOT a "250" is not a "250". An air cooled 250 has about half of what a liquid does...now throw on a heavy bike and that's a recipe for suck, if you ask me...
 
Last edited:
Aprilia, it only exsist to kill rice bikes and Ducati. And it does, very well.

Ninja is a great bike to start on, last forever and very simple.

Sportser 1200 Custom is my dream bike. But the Aprilias keep me happy in my younger years.
 
The Yamaha Virago lineup has a few good smaller displacement models. I put 80k miles on an 1100 Virago commuting to work when I lived in CA. The only problem I ever had with it in all that time was the starter went out. I've got a 1600 Road Star now. Best bike I've ever owned and I've had quite a few.
 
Pcola Denali said:
Aprilia, it only exsist to kill rice bikes and Ducati. And it does, very well.

Ninja is a great bike to start on, last forever and very simple.

Sportser 1200 Custom is my dream bike. But the Aprilias keep me happy in my younger years.
Click to expand...

Looking at your list of cars and trucks I could see why you aspire to a Harley Davidson.

What an incredible amount of heartache and pain in one garage.
 
Gumby said:
Looking at your list of cars and trucks I could see why you aspire to a Harley Davidson.

What an incredible amount of heartache and pain in one garage.
Click to expand...

Well said... Same goes for the Italian eurotrash, having owned several, I admit the last duck I bought has been a real jem, reliable, fun and easy to maintain.

YOUR FIRST BIKE SHOULD BE A U.J.M. aka universal japanese motorcycle. I agree with others who have mentioned the SV 650. the Ninja 650s are great as well. This is a fantastic entry or re-entry bike without being completely under powered. Power, braking, handling are all pretty good. It's not a sportbike and not a cruiser. I used mine for commuting, and traveling as well as for fun. I put 20k on mine and loved every mile, frankly I can't believe I sold it off to buy a Ducati. Terrible mistake.

If your looking for ultra cheap, easy to work on, go look for a honda bike. Remember this though... Tires, plug wires and other hard parts can add up very quickly. I've dropped over 300 bucks on cheap tires before. Plug wires and ignition parts can also run up a bill. Rebuilding and tuning carbs will also cost a pile if you have the work done by someone else. For that reason alone I tell 1st timers looking for a bargain bike to avoid 4cylinders due to carbs and tuning. Rotors can also be expensive, find a decent twin if possible, dual sports are also great if not thrashed.

The cool thing is most bikes are fairly easy to work on with a minimal amount of tools needed. The systems are simple and easy to get to most of the time, unlike a Mazda or Toyota car or truck.

Just watch how much you need to Put into it before you buy it. Stuff is going so cheaply now, I've seen some great motorcycles for sale this year. I find it better to buy a better used bike for a little more than the bargain that needs new tires and well the carbs probably need cleaned up... and well the front brakes need checked.
 
I dissagree with you guys.

There is no bike that's not a good starter bike if you have been taught properly how to ride and learned clutch control. All power can be reigned in by just pulling in the clutch...so get what you will want to keep instead of starting small and trading up.

My first bike was a 900cc cbr which was slow...and within a few months after I threw a rod I went liter and never looked back. Have never dropped a bike...had an accident....etc in 10 yrs of riding slow, fast, twisties, highway...etc. Just learn to ride, use common sense and get what you want.
 
Pcola Denali said:
Aprilia, it only exsist to kill rice bikes and Ducati. And it does, very well.

Ninja is a great bike to start on, last forever and very simple.

Sportser 1200 Custom is my dream bike. But the Aprilias keep me happy in my younger years.
Click to expand...

What Aprilia will kill any newer japanese liter bike?:p
 
As a beginner I would purchase a dual sport and spend the next few months getting comfortable with riding off the tarmac. Learn the dynamics of a bike and how to control it. A rider safety course is just gets you moving. The tarmac is a crazy place if you live in any size city and can take you by surprise very quickly. When riding on the tarmac you need to be aware of whats going on 360° around you at all times. One thing I worry about is getting rear ended. You can out brake just about ever cage of there. But you dont want to run yellow lights but you need to make sure you can stop without worring about the guy behind you . As a beginner I would stay as far from a crotch rocket as you can. Acceleration is unbelievable and even a experienced rider can find himself in trouble very quickly. And it not fun getting on the binders hard at a 100.
 
x2 on starting in the dirt. My first bike was a DRZ400s. Lil big for a rookie dirtbiker...but I soon got tired of picking it up and learned to keep it on its wheels!
After 7 years of mostly dirt I finally moved out of the city and got a 1997 ST1100 Sport Touring bike. I love it!! A cross between a crotch rocket and a goldwing!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom