[Kylekuu]

Hey guys,

So I'm looking at bikes right now, looking at cruisers and sport bikes. Spending range is under 8k, new bikes only and no crazy cc's so mostly 800 and below. What are some the the things i should be looking for? I'm new to bikes, with knowledge of some mechanic stuff. What do you guys recommend for new riders? Longevity comments are also recommended, i think if i get a cruiser i'll probably keep it for good (for the most part)

Kyle

[imported_mega]

how's your back? I had a triumph daytona, that thing was painful to ride more than 15 minutes

I sold it after a copule years, the daily murder attempts by all the bad drivers here finally got to me. I'm on dualsports now (honda xr400), so I can explore the less traveled backroads (almost never have to deal with cars on them)

[mmm def]

i can tell you don't get a supersport for your first bike. They are fast and they look cool and are reasonably priced..but make it your 2nd bike if you really want one. I started on a Yamaha FZ6 and once I got comfortable moved onto a CBR600RR. I am still a newer rider, the CBR scares me..

[StatenEye]

Originally Posted by imported_mega

how's your back? I had a triumph daytona, that thing was painful to ride more than 15 minutes

I sold it after a copule years, the daily murder attempts by all the bad drivers here finally got to me. I'm on dualsports now (honda xr400), so I can explore the less traveled backroads (almost never have to deal with cars on them)

Smart man, family member of mine was tboned by a young lady talking on her cell. Needless to say he cannot ride any longer. Be careful man.

[Spec 1]

Tip #1: Buy used. Most everyone drops their first bike and it is a bummer scratching up your new ride. Your 2nd bike is good to buy new, after you've got the hang of everything.

In addition, bikes depreciate quickly. There will be many 1yr old bikes with 500 miles on them for a few thousand less than MSRP, which will broaden your options.

Tip #2: For that price, go Japanese. Honda has some nice rides, as well as Yamaha or Kawasaki. Any of these bikes will have fantastic relaibility.

Tip #3: Figure out what kind of riding you want to do. A cruiser vs standard vs sport tourer will give you completely different rides. Base your bike choices on what you imagine yourself doing ideally.

Tip #4: If you go sport, stay at 600cc or below, or 650cc for a Vtwin engine. If you go cruiser, go 1100cc or below. Sportbikes are like lightweight rides compared to heavy cruiser frames.

[anthony @ eas]

An SV650 is probably the best beginner bike. Super reliable, comfortable, quick, easy to mod, easy to race, cheap to drop.

[yowhuddupb]

CBR 600RR. Comfy daily bike that handles very well and has good amount of power for street and track. The 07+ 600rr comes with the steering dampener which is a great plus for beginners. I don't want to be biased but overall, its a great beginner bike, track bike and long term bike.

[Spec 1]

Originally Posted by yowhuddupb

CBR 600RR. Comfy daily bike that handles very well and has good amount of power for street and track. The 07+ 600rr comes with the steering dampener which is a great plus for beginners. I don't want to be biased but overall, its a great beginner bike, track bike and long term bike.

WRONG. OP, please don't take this guy's "advice". A CBR600RR or any 600cc supersport is NOT a beginners bike at all. It is an mid/advanced riders bike with a very high learning curve. You will end up like a doofus riding it at 4-6k RPM with a twitchy throttle you can't control and possibly loop the bike (there's another thread NOW about a guy looping his new sportbike, his first motorcycle). Sure, many guys survive with 600cc supersports as their first bike, but just as many crash severely and die or injur themselves for life. The ones who don't are usually handicapped because they can't use their bikes appropriately because they're fighting off the power of the engine vs figuring out how to corner correctly. We call these guys "Squids".

And yow, steering dampners on those bikes aren't "a great plus for beginners", they're really a necessity if a newb is unwise enough to hop on one as their first ride. Try taking a bike like mine out and wrapping the throttle on exit without a dampner and you could have yourself a tankslapper, lose control and crash. This is another reason why these bikes are not designed to be "beginner" bikes.

[flyinb501]

You're not going to loop out a CBR 600...

[imported_mega]

600's do wheelies very nicely, all the modern 600's are over 100hp now

[gonzo]

I'm not, I'm not, I'm not. But I want, I want, I want.

[Spec 1]

Originally Posted by flyinb501

You're not going to loop out a CBR 600...

You can loop the newer ones in 1st & 2nd gear, fyi. I see it happen each and every riding season. In fact, I destroyed my stock exhaust on a 12 oclock with my 636cc. Whoops. heh.

Gonzo, nice ride. Those "new school, old school" Ducati's are hot.

[anthony @ eas]

I've seen someone loop a 2006 CBR600

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by Spec 1

You can loop the newer ones in 1st & 2nd gear, fyi. I see it happen each and every riding season. In fact, I destroyed my stock exhaust on a 12 oclock with my 636cc. Whoops. heh.

Gonzo, nice ride. Those "new school, old school" Ducati's are hot.

I watched a show on HD Theater, or HD Net, on the making of Ducatis. Loved the hands on work in production/which you pay for.

OP: I think they are around $4500.

Perhaps the standout in the 500cc class, at least from the perspective of the first time buyer, is the Buell Blast. The Blast was designed as a sport-standard specifically for the adult entry level buyer. It has an ohv 492cc single cylinder motor designed to be as maintenance free as possible. The transmission is a rugged five-speed. In fact, the whole motorcycle is designed to be as maintenance free as possible. Valves never need adjusting, there is a single 40mm CV carburetor, the choke is automatic, the final drive belt never needs adjusting, the 16" cast alloy wheels run sticky tubeless tires, and so on.

Everything about this motorcycle is designed to be fun and unintimidating, including the price. Included for the reasonable price are disc brakes front and rear with two piston calipers, optional seat heights of 25.5 inches or 27.5 inches, a dry weight of only 360 pounds, and a 2.8 gallon gas tank (sufficient since the mileage approaches 70 miles/gallon). The primary load bearing frame member is a rectangular steel backbone, which also carries the oil supply for the dry sump engine. Suspension is by conventional telescopic front forks and a rear mono-shock.

The Blast's reported top speed is 95 mph. Stability is good, and the handling is quick and razor sharp. As delivered, the Blast is so quiet and smooth that it almost does not seem like the big single that it is. However, a Vance & Hines replacement header/muffler, coupled with a low restriction air filter and a re-jetted carb, will fix that.

[flyinb501]

Originally Posted by Spec 1

You can loop the newer ones in 1st & 2nd gear, fyi. I see it happen each and every riding season. In fact, I destroyed my stock exhaust on a 12 oclock with my 636cc. Whoops. heh.

Gonzo, nice ride. Those "new school, old school" Ducati's are hot.

I just think you'd have to be a pretty awful rider to allow that to happen unless you were messing around. Seeing as though there is not much low end power on those 600s. I know they rip up top and they are perfectly capable of pulling the front end up in 1st and 2nd gear.

[Kylekuu]

Awesome info, never looked into Buells and that price is definitely not bad at all. Definitely something else to look at when i start shopping around

Originally Posted by gonzo

I watched a show on HD Theater, or HD Net, on the making of Ducatis. Loved the hands on work in production/which you pay for.

OP: I think they are around $4500.

Perhaps the standout in the 500cc class, at least from the perspective of the first time buyer, is the Buell Blast. The Blast was designed as a sport-standard specifically for the adult entry level buyer. It has an ohv 492cc single cylinder motor designed to be as maintenance free as possible. The transmission is a rugged five-speed. In fact, the whole motorcycle is designed to be as maintenance free as possible. Valves never need adjusting, there is a single 40mm CV carburetor, the choke is automatic, the final drive belt never needs adjusting, the 16" cast alloy wheels run sticky tubeless tires, and so on.

Everything about this motorcycle is designed to be fun and unintimidating, including the price. Included for the reasonable price are disc brakes front and rear with two piston calipers, optional seat heights of 25.5 inches or 27.5 inches, a dry weight of only 360 pounds, and a 2.8 gallon gas tank (sufficient since the mileage approaches 70 miles/gallon). The primary load bearing frame member is a rectangular steel backbone, which also carries the oil supply for the dry sump engine. Suspension is by conventional telescopic front forks and a rear mono-shock.

The Blast's reported top speed is 95 mph. Stability is good, and the handling is quick and razor sharp. As delivered, the Blast is so quiet and smooth that it almost does not seem like the big single that it is. However, a Vance & Hines replacement header/muffler, coupled with a low restriction air filter and a re-jetted carb, will fix that.

[blacknbean]

used low hp bike is your best first bike. yes, you could get a new supersports bike, but you wont learn as quickly or as well for fear of the throttle. with a low hp bike u can misshift and whack the throttle open and still be ok. also plan on a couple drops so definately buy used.

[Spec 1]

Originally Posted by flyinb501

I just think you'd have to be a pretty awful rider to allow that to happen unless you were messing around. Seeing as though there is not much low end power on those 600s. I know they rip up top and they are perfectly capable of pulling the front end up in 1st and 2nd gear.

Doesn't have much to do with being an aweful rider, perse, just inexperience and not enough respect for the machine. Ripping the throttle open at 4k and ripping the throttle open at 9k can have dramatically different effects. All it really takes is chopping the throttle at the wrong time and getting a bit more "jolt" then expected when reapplying to send you hurdling towards the back of your seat, and if you dont have great throttle control you can easily rip it open and be facing sky before you know what happened. What it boild down to is all it takes is once, and show me one guy on a crotch rocket who hasn't ripped open the throttle at some point. That's just looping it, not to mention losing the tire in a corner, or hitting a corner going too fast, etc. Easier to avoid target fixation (big killer) on a 498cc Buell Blast than on a 599cc Suzuki GSX-R.

Hah... I've seen some crazy stuff happen in my 6 years of street riding (5 years of it I've been involved with groups and met a gang of new guys).

[mtla4]

Let's see. Don't be a squid. Don't buy a bike to look cool.
A lot of guy buy 600cc bike and pose around. They usually buy bikes and ride them to the restaurant or at the club. Go buy an SV650...I used to borrow my friends SV and lend him my Gixxer 1000. It's a fun bike.
Or better go buy a DRZ-400 it's a fun bike in the city.
To be honest it's more difficult to drive a 600cc properly then a 1000 cc. Trust me I had both.