help for a first time motorcycles buyer?

  • Thread starter Thread starter syf2241
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syf2241

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I am a new rider in the process of getting my licenses and doing the safety training coarse. basically I was hoping to get some opinions on what to buy for a starter bike, my main problem is I am unsure weather to start out small in the the 250 range or something a little bigger in like the 500 or 600s.

I am mainly concerned cause I don't wanna waste money on something that I would end up upgrading and I don't wanna buy something to powerful and heavy since there are bound to me some mishaps along the way of learning.

What was your first bike? any advise or suggestions would really help
 
The Vulcan 500 is a suitable first bike that's powerful without being heavy, sits low, handles well and will take you cross country if you want.

My first bike was a Honda CB350. Currently I own a VLX 600cc Honda Shadow. Its a great cruiser but has a four speed transmission (rather than five speed) and has forward controls.

If your age restricts you to 250cc then look at the Yamaha 250 and the Kymco Venox.
 
I am glad to see that you are taking riding seriously from the get go (doing the MC saftey class and all). There is nothing wrong with a 250cc bike as a starter bike. Talk to your MC saftey teacher and ask him/her what some of the starter bikes that they would recommend. I started off with dirtbikes from 100cc, 125, 175 enduro (miss that bike still) 250, then went to street bikes later from 450,550,750,800,900,1000,1100 all in that order also.

The most important thing is to get a bike that you fit on, not one that is to big. You can always get a bigger bike and sell/trade in your old one (everyone and their grandmother wants a bike nowadays, you will have no problem selling a 250 when you feel your abilities as a rider have gotten better and you can handle more of a bike!!).

I worked with a guy that had a Honda 550 Super Sport and he loved that bike, he looked to big for it but said it was the only bike he was comfortable on. He rebuilt that bike every third winter and when he stopped riding he had clocked over a million miles on it !! He is now in his senior years and cant ride anymore due to hand damage. But he has literally millions of memories from his riding days.

No matter what saftey first, fun second.

Good luck finding your first bike and dont just buy the first one you look at (common problem) take your time, dont act excited and just focus on the bike and how comfortable you are on it.
 
I feel that this depends on your riding experience and your future bike preference. If you find that you like the experience of the solitude of the open road, 250cc's will never be enough.
My first bike was a 1976 Yamaha DT 175 enduro.
 
Find out if your state has different types of motorcycle licenses. For example, I live in Illinois and they have these classifications:

* Class L is any motor driven cycle with less than 150 cc displacement
* Class M is any motorcycle with 150 cc or greater displacement

The Class M license allows me to drive any motorcycle license.

I suggest you get a small bike that is big enough to get a license that will work for any bike. The test will definitely be easier on a smaller bike.
 
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