Need a good beginner bike! Need some advice?

B

Buster Brown

New member
I think a sport bike capable of 150mph is too much power for a beginner, but there is nothing wrong with a single or twin of up to 650cc. A sport bike, standard or dual sport bike will work fine. It really depends on what you can find and your budget.

There is something to be said for starting on a bike that is either disposable or hard to damage in a low speed biff. That is one reason I like dual sports for beginners. Your height also argues for a big DS bike. The spread-out ergonomics of a KLR650, DR650 or XR650L are well suited to your frame. At the same time, the most popular dual sports are mildly tuned, tractable and easy to ride.

You can gain riding skill fairly quickly by riding off-road, where you can learn to ride on loose surfaces without damaging your bike or yourself, and without having to mix it up in traffic.
 
At 6'4" I can imagine a 250 feels a little cramped. 8^)

When people say 600-650cc is 'too big' they mean one of two things. (1) That this is too much power for a newbie or (2) that the bike is physically too big and heavy for you to handle.

But at your size, I would say neither of these are true. A 650 is certainly fast enough for you to get into trouble, but let's assume you're grown-up enough to not use every single horsepower every second. It's not like you won't be able to control it! As for size and weight, I don't think a 650 is too big to learn on. Your height gives you good leverage for holding the bike up.

As for power, I think your bother's blowing smoke. Even a 250 can accelerate faster than most cars, up to about 60 mph.

500-650 is just about right, and of course you should sit on the bike to see how it fits you, because most are made for smaller people.

My usual suggestion is that you want something used to start out on, maybe 5-10 years old--old enough to be depreciated, new enough that you can still get parts. You're going to be hard on your first bike. You're going to abuse the clutch, and you might drop it once or twice before you get the hang of it. If you buy an older bike, after 6 months or a year you can sell it for about what you paid for it, and by then you'll have a better idea of what you really want.

Among 600cc bikes, I suspect you'd find the super-sport bikes a little on the tiny side--Honda CBR, Suzuki GSX-R, Yamaha R6. And you want to stay away from these anyway because they are serious single-purpose machines, not for beginners. Honda 599 is good, Suzuki GS500 or SV650, etc. Something more general purpose.

If you're like me, you're going to want to go for long rides on the weekends, so you want something comfortable to sit on for a long time.
 
I think a sport bike capable of 150mph is too much power for a beginner, but there is nothing wrong with a single or twin of up to 650cc. A sport bike, standard or dual sport bike will work fine. It really depends on what you can find and your budget.

There is something to be said for starting on a bike that is either disposable or hard to damage in a low speed biff. That is one reason I like dual sports for beginners. Your height also argues for a big DS bike. The spread-out ergonomics of a KLR650, DR650 or XR650L are well suited to your frame. At the same time, the most popular dual sports are mildly tuned, tractable and easy to ride.

You can gain riding skill fairly quickly by riding off-road, where you can learn to ride on loose surfaces without damaging your bike or yourself, and without having to mix it up in traffic.
 
Alright so heres the deal, I'm nearly 6'4 and I'm concerned with the size and comfort when picking a bike. Everyone says the Ninja 250 or any other 250-400 bike is awesome for a beginner. Well I went to go sit on some bikes and get a feel and theres no way I'll be getting a 250, it's incredibly small for me and it's really uncomfortable, same deal with the 400's and even some 600's feel a little on the tiny side. I'm leaning toward a 600-650 simply because I can actually fit on it a little better. I'm fully aware that a 600cc is too much power for a beginner, atleast thats what everyone says. But even my brother (a veteran motorcycle rider) says anything 500cc and lower can actually be dangerous simply because they aren't powerful enough, especially for highway use. But yeah it's up in the air, i'm just looking for tips and advice on a starter bike. Many thanks
and no my brother isn't trying to convince me to get a powerful bike, he just says in certain situations the lack of power in a 250 can be dangerous.
 
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