I've never ridden a motorcycle before, but I am looking at possibly getting one sometime in the near future to save money on gas, and keep miles off my truck. Any advice on what type of bike to be looking at for a first time rider? I like sport bikes better, but I have heard that they are much more difficult to handle, because they are designed to turn, not go straight. Any thoughts on that, plus engine size-what is the minimum cc's that is acceptable?

 

Sort of depends on you. What kind of riding do you want to do, local to work, road trips, dirt biking. Your size, not to be blunt but I have seen bikers who rode wheels that should only have been ridden by 14 year olds no more than 80 pounds.

My first bike when I was 10 and wanted a minibike was a Honda Dream 350 because I was too large for a lawn mower engine to run for long. Rode my way through many different makes and models.

If you are looking for a daily ride my advice is to find someone with around a 550 who would teach you the basics and let you ride to get the feel and see if it is comfortable to handle.

 

For a first time rider a nice comfy say 550 or 600 cc Cruiser is a good choice. They're easier to handle, aren't as quick on the power as a sport bike, and generally have a lower center of gravity making it easier to ride and more forgiving. Sizing is important though depending on your height and weight. If you goto a couple dealerships, the guys there are normally very knowledgeable and happy to get you on something you'll enjoy.

 

It's going to depend on how big a person you are (inseam matters), where you are located and the kind of riding you do. Smaller is better for a first time rider and from what you have said I don't think a snappy 600 rocket is what you want.

I highly recommend taking a Motorcycle safety course and finding some friends that are willing to show you the ins and outs of owning a bike and won't scare you silly.

I often find that those who want to ride just to save gas have a hard time adjusting to a bike. Why do I say that? Because you are giving up the comfort of a car. Riding a bike means buying the gear that may save your life (helmet, jackets, warm and cold, gloves, etc), raingear (you will have to ride in the rain), and luggage for some. I find too many people that buy a bike thinking they are going to save gas and it doesn't take long before it's only used on nice weekends. There is a difference between wanting to ride and having to ride. And if you have to ride you won't be riding very long. There are very few days that I don't want to ride.

My 2 cents.

 

Once you decide on the type, buy the biggest, most powerful bike you can possibly afford. Trust me, after a while you'll wish you had if you didn't. One more piece of advice...don't ever stop respecting the bike. When you do, you die. Good luck!

 

Depends on what you want out of the bike, twin or a multi-4 cylinder.
I'm old school with 9 bikes, 500 & 600 cc Thumpers, 750 boxer BMW, 850 vertical twin Norton's and 900cc boxer BMW's. None of the "Joe racer" type, only sport is the R90s BMW.
You want a tour bike to be able to cover long distances in comfort or a bent over "Joe racer" a short distance rider?
Size depends on how big you are not just your experience on bike size in cc's.
I would guess 90% of new bike riders step up to a larger bike within a year, buy the larger bike first you'll be happier.
To use it as a commute vehicle scares me in this day and age as I live in the San Francisco bay area. My bikes are for pleasure and trips to the mountains away from traffic.
Not wanting to sound bad here but what good is a bike with 40 plus mpg if your been in a wreck, crippled or killed riding in heavy commuter traffic?
With 40 years on the street the last 25 I have stopped commuting for personal safety as traffic became heavy and "Cagers" don't give a damn / didn't see you. BMW's are so quiet cars will turn into your lane.

Back to bikes:
I would look at the Yamaha 1,100 twins, again think big vs trading off.
Get good training not from some lane splitting "Joe rocket" your chances of surviving on the street will be much higher.
Ride like everyone's out to get you, didn't see or heard you.
Ride safe and enjoy as riding scooters (motorcycles) are addictive.

 

Been a long time since I rode, but I did put in some decent miles commuting(Los Angeles/OC) and going to customer sites as far away as 100 miles and a couple 300 mile trips on my yammihopper 650 turbo. Still have it, might get it back on the road. Or my kid will probably grab it.

Yeah get a bike that is 1) big enough for you to sit comfortably on and touch the ground with both feet flat and relaxed 2) Not so heavy you can't pick it up if you drop it. This will happen just parked and other times. 3) Is comfortable for long rides if you plan any. 4) Wear protective gear and pretend EVERYONE IS OUT TO KILL YOU. In Connecticut(I assume your home state) you might consider 5) Water cooled with HEATER VENTS, some bikes have heaters.

Get enough power to haul your buns on the freeway AND get out of the way in an emergency. I would say minimum 400 and 650 to 750 is probably decent. Be careful, I think the 750 class is the most popular for racing so there are a lot of crotch rockets which aren't comfortable for long drives and can get away from you if you don't pay attention. A fast bike is not bad, once you get to know it, but the first month or two are full of surprises, like me dodging 5 foot tall clay pots falling off a truck on a freeway in my first week of driving.

1st month or two drive very conservatively and watch everybody ahead, behind, beside, a couple lanes over and especially watch the idiot coming up on you at a traffic light. Keep the bike in gear and be ready to move if that idiot comes up too fast and has a surprised look on his face. People can look right at you and NOT SEE you, so be aware, all the time.

Don't split lanes, even if it is legal. I have seen too many guys get creamed when some yo yo pulls in front of them. Where ya gonna go huh? 40mph in stopped traffic with wall to wall cars??!! You will hit something sooner or later if you split lanes in bad conditions.

Most bikes don't get that great mileage but I guess it is better than a truck. It does take some determination and gear to be more than a fair weather biker, I am guessing CT is a fair weather biker state.

Riding a bike doesn't save much since your maintenance and tires eat up quite a bit of the gas savings. Don't know modern tires, but I ate up $300 worth of tires every 4 to 5000 miles. Parts on bikes are EXPENSIVE, especially once they go out of production. I once figured out that I would have to drive something like 15,000 miles a year to break even back when gas was something like $1.50. Might be easier now but still a lot of miles for commuting.

Be espeically careful on any roads with steel (bridges, grates, drain gutters, expansion strips, railroad tracks etc) Especially if it has rained, man steel is slippery. When stopping for gas at a station watch for oil and puddles, that is how I laid my bike down the one and only time, knock on wood if I get it on the street again.

I would be nervous driving in a crowded city now. I have had three rearend accidents in the past 2 years, all the other guy's fault but no consolation. If I had been on a bike, 1 would have squashed me dead, the other two would have turned me into hood ornaments.

It is the other guy who usually gets the experienced biker. It is the hot shot ricky racers who get themselves. Watch watch watch, and drive defensively, you no longer have a tank protecting you.

Lots of tips expereinced riders can give you so find some to ride with.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

Good post, and well worth the $0.02 I've already had to scrape frost off the seat and mirrors a few times this year.

Another point to consider is what kind of riding you'll be doing. My friends and I like to go for 100 - 200+ mile rides on weekends and a small bike wouldn't hold up for long. I bought my first bike about 10 months ago, a KLR 650; I was going to get a 250 for commuting purposes but my friends talked me into the 650 because it was the same price plus a couple hundred, and I'm glad they did. I can only imagine I'd have sold or traded the 250 in the first month. I'm sorta wanting a 1200 now but the 650 will probably have to do for this year.

Whatever size you're thinking of getting, get one size bigger, you'll be glad you did.

BTW, I talked to a fairly small girl that was riding one of those offshore 650 CC cruisers and she complained that it was gutless.

 

i'm new to bikes to i went with an old honda xl 250 street legal but you can also go out on the weekend and hit trails best of bolth worlds.

 

What ever you do start on the smaller side. Starting small will keep you from being overwhelmed by a bike that could have too much power. Back when I raced motocross all of my friends that started on smaller bike eventually became faster because they had to learn to "Ride" to become faster as apposed to just turning the throttle. By the way I think that sport bikes are much safer than cruisers because if and when you have to make a quick correction the bike is far more capable. If you get a mid 90's 600 it will have a little less than 100hp and will be pretty cheap depending on miles. Just remember that the throttle turns both ways. Don't be like the guy on Pinks who jumped on a new liter bike, went full throttle and it spit him off. By the way sport bikes ARE designed to go in a straight line in addition to acceleration, braking AND turning.

 

thanks for the advice, some good stuff here. I am having a friend of mine teach me to ride sometime this week, so I can see if I feel comfortable etc. His bike is a honda 750cc , not a crotch rocket. I am 21 now, about to graduate college, so I figure now is the time I will be most willing to drive through the rain, etc. I have a motorcycle dealership near to my house in CT, so if this week goes well, I'll stop in there and see what they have to say, and price some bikes. Is it worth buying a brand new bike rather than an older one because of parts availability? I enjoy fixing things and am pretty decent, but if the parts are more expensive than a new bike, that wouldn't make much sense. I would likely look for a slightly used bike at a dealer if it is worth the money to get something really reliable.

 

that was hilarious when he dumped that bike on pinks
bet he felt like a real a$$

 

A KLR 650. Most interesting since that is my current ride. 2006 KLR and it ain't stock!

The downside to the KLR is the inseam issue. But you can get the lowering links and my neighbor bought an A17 that came with the lower links and he is very happy with it. Mine has the raising links and she is even better now.

The downside to buying a bigger bike to learn on is that you need to just expect dropping it at least once. It might be in a parking lot, or a low speed dump. There are very few riders that haven't dumped a bike and those that haven't, will. If your legs are long enough a KLR is a great machine to learn on or just take off and ride around the world.

 

Yes the guy on pinks felt bad about it and said so. Especially since it wasn't his bike! As far as buying new vs. used, there is nothing wrong with buying new but I personally don't think it is worth it. My bike is a 97 CBR 900RR with 41K miles and is plenty fast and have had no repairs, just maintenance. Of course it is nowhere near as fast as the new liter bikes but around town it doesn't matter. As has been stated by others here it really is a good idea to take a riding course so you can start off doing it right and save a lot of time.

 

Just my thoughts but, I'd go with a yamaha-yzf-650.

It's a very good handling and well powered starter bike. The entire body only cost $1200. You'll want to pay attention to parts prices, particularly the body. You'll get a little comfortable and then you'll bust the tail cone and skin up the sides laying it over. So when yor ready to get more power and a nicer bike it won't cost an arm and a leg to repair and trade or sell.

Best part- that bike out the door-$7,800, very affordable and reliable.