motorcycles?!
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 284
Likes: 0
From: Alamogordo, New Mexico
Go with a smaller "beginer" bike. The Nightster is a sweet bike indeed, but I would rather learn to ride a $2,000 bike than a $10,000 bike. Won't hurt so much when the inevitable drop occurs. You can always upgrade! My son is looking at learning to ride too. He is looking at small cruiser, while I am looking at a bigger one 
It'll be a hoot to ride with him for sure. Riding is a blast. You will love it. Take the MSF course, know your limits, be safe, and have fun!
Rich
It'll be a hoot to ride with him for sure. Riding is a blast. You will love it. Take the MSF course, know your limits, be safe, and have fun!Rich
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,703
Likes: 4
From: Harrisburg, NE
Originally Posted by Octane
There really arent any "bad" cruisers on the market. They are all good bikes.
Me personally, Id go with a Harely or a Victory. Both are great brands and are American-made.
Have you considered a Buell? Buell is kind of a sporty bike, but its definetely not a crotchrocket. Buell's trademark is great handling and they do a lot to centralize the mass of the bike (they run their exhaust under the middle of the bike as opposed to hanging it off the back like everyone else does). Also, Buell's are designed and made in American and use Harley engines (although they are tweak a little for more performance).
Im looking at getting a Buell Blast in a couple years as my first bike. The way that the winters are going I need to look at getting out of snowmobiling and getting into a summer hobby. A motorcycle seems a lot more practical than an ATV, boat or dirtbike because I could use it for transportation and save both miles on my truck and fuel cost (the Blast that Im looking at gets 80 mpg and the other Buells get 75 mpg). A roadbike seems like it would provide me with a lot of the things I love about snowmobiling, but would be a practical everyday vehicle, so it would be a lot easier to justify spending the money on that than on other toys.
Me personally, Id go with a Harely or a Victory. Both are great brands and are American-made.
Have you considered a Buell? Buell is kind of a sporty bike, but its definetely not a crotchrocket. Buell's trademark is great handling and they do a lot to centralize the mass of the bike (they run their exhaust under the middle of the bike as opposed to hanging it off the back like everyone else does). Also, Buell's are designed and made in American and use Harley engines (although they are tweak a little for more performance).
Im looking at getting a Buell Blast in a couple years as my first bike. The way that the winters are going I need to look at getting out of snowmobiling and getting into a summer hobby. A motorcycle seems a lot more practical than an ATV, boat or dirtbike because I could use it for transportation and save both miles on my truck and fuel cost (the Blast that Im looking at gets 80 mpg and the other Buells get 75 mpg). A roadbike seems like it would provide me with a lot of the things I love about snowmobiling, but would be a practical everyday vehicle, so it would be a lot easier to justify spending the money on that than on other toys.
also the blast panels are built with the color in them, so scrapes and scratches can supposably be buffed out. and the turn signals are flexible.. so even if you do lay it down, its not supposed to be that bad of a recovery. thier engine is basically a sportsters engine with the rear cylinder lopped off. and are suppossed to be dead reliable. and if the 500cc single gets too lazy for you, a cam and exhaust aren't that hard and have reported to really wake it up. i have seen them as low as 2400 in my area.
i wonder if you could fit the entire sportster engine into one. or at least use an 883>1200 big bore cylinder on it...
Super Moderator
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 25,479
Likes: 742
From: Isanti, MN
I think a Suzuki S40 would be a good balance between a small cruiser and a middleweight. The S40 is a 650CC single cylinder, and only weighs 380 lbs, which is about halfway between a honda rebel and any 750-800 CC cruiser.
Light enough that you won't have a tough time learning on it, but with enough motor to keep you entertained for longer than a month.
Light enough that you won't have a tough time learning on it, but with enough motor to keep you entertained for longer than a month.
Butt-Head
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 9,462
Likes: 2,942
From: Reed Point, MT
Originally Posted by Matts72
You really can't go wrong with an older japanese bike, I started out with a Honda CX500 and sold it after a year for more than I paid
Senior User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 495
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I got back in the saddle after being caged for 20 years.
I didn't like the current genre of cruisers as the seating position just wasn't comfortable. All my weight was on my tail bone and really didn't offer a change in seating position.
A "pocket rocket" wasn't my style either.
I wound up with a Suzuki V-Strom. It's light weight, nimble, plenty of pep, great fuel economy and a very comfortable riding position.
It has a great aftermarket so you can adjust ride hieght to where you want it.
The only compromise I made was it's a chain drive and I would have preferred a shaft drive.
I didn't like the current genre of cruisers as the seating position just wasn't comfortable. All my weight was on my tail bone and really didn't offer a change in seating position.
A "pocket rocket" wasn't my style either.
I wound up with a Suzuki V-Strom. It's light weight, nimble, plenty of pep, great fuel economy and a very comfortable riding position.
It has a great aftermarket so you can adjust ride hieght to where you want it.
The only compromise I made was it's a chain drive and I would have preferred a shaft drive.
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Hotshot
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 12,358
Likes: 4,393
From: SW VA
My dad bought a V-Strom 1000 in May '06. Now, it has 20,000 trouble-free miles on it. Yes...he likes to ride...A LOT! I put about 4K on it myself. 4 rear tires, 2 fronts, chain and sprockets, and a bunch of oil.
I think the V-Strom 650 would be a great beginners bike. A co-worker of my dad's is a beginner and he bought one this spring and loves it.
I think the V-Strom 650 would be a great beginners bike. A co-worker of my dad's is a beginner and he bought one this spring and loves it.