Question for Motorcycle Owners

[ArunSenior04]

Im at the point iin my life where im going through my mid-life crisis and feel the need to rejuvinate my youth. lol jk.

I currently live at home, and commute nearly 80 miles a day to attend college. I have seriously been thinking about picking up a small bike for the daily commute. Ive been really eyeing the Ninja 250R. I really like the mpg, and how its a good beginner bike.

Basically, I was wondering what I should expect. I wouldnt be purchasing the bike til next spring, as I still need to get my license before the summer is out. Itll be used, and my budget will be around $2-2.5K for the bike alone. From what I understand, its easy to spend nearly another $1K for gear.

If someone could give me a break down, that would be great.

[jayupark]

try to get a used SV-650. You'll apperciate the extra umph and it's a great bike to learn on that you won't outgrow too fast. Also, it's a great bike for the highway. You do not want a bike that is too light for highway!

[2loud2k2xd]

try to get a used SV-650. You'll apperciate the extra umph and it's a great bike to learn on that you won't outgrow too fast. Also, it's a great bike for the highway. You do not want a bike that is too light for highway!

+1

a ninja 250 will be too small and way under powered (IMO). i mean, you will get killer mpg and cheap starter bike as well as cheap insurance. but you will be bored with it in a month. on my liter bike, i still get 35+mpg and this is with mods and flogging it alot.

[BobMs_wht2k2]

nIGHTHAWK 750 is a fantastic bike to grow into. It has enough power and performance t keep tou entertained for a long time. As a matter of fact I started teaching the wife on it. Plus I'm getting 45+mpg.

[rckozma]

If you are looking for a used bike anyways, look at a 600 or 750. Like jayupark said the Suzuki SV-650 is a good beginners bike, so are the Katana's. Gear is like everything else, you can spend as little or as much as you want. You can get a Bell helmet at Wal-Mart for $80 or you can buy a Shoei for $600, both are good helmets and will work, just one has more features and comfort. Before you buy your bike though, I will highly recommend (like I do in everyone of these type of threads) to find and take a MSF course.

[BobMs_wht2k2]

^ Wife has been wanting to take the Abate Course. HJopefully I can get her involved more!

[Gman]

Like they said above, look for some thing bigger then a 250 if you do any highway riding at all.

Which Bike to get depends on what style you like. If you like the sport style, but don't want to spend the money, the Ninja 500 or Suzuki GS500 are great starters. The SV650 or Bandit 600 are a good middle of the road naked. The Nighthawk 750 is great standard style, and can be found real cheap. But my favorate bike for a beginer that who won't get bored with is a 94-04 Honda Magna 750. The Magna is more of a cruiser style, but is a high reving V4 with enough power spank most Vtwin cruisers.

Ninja 500
http://www.ninjaguide.com/gallery/albums/mikecronis/Ninja500Midpan.sized.jpg

GS500
http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/2004/2004-suz-g5-02-3.jpg

SV650
http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/2004/2004-suz-SV650-A-3.jpg

bandit 600
http://www.fyldesuperbikes.co.uk/images/suzuki_motorcycles/suzuki_bandit600.jpg

Nighthawk 750
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/submittedphotos/1993HondaNighthawk750-RichR-B.jpg

Magna
http://www.andrewnet.net/magna_yellow.jpg

[rckozma]

FYI, if you get the SV-650S it comes with upper fairings and the lower fairings can be bought for about $400 to make it look like a sport bike. The SV-650 is the naked version of the SV-650S. Like everyone has said, the 250 you will just our grow before you even learn to ride.

[evan938]

just be like FF and get a huffy 10 speed...no gas bill at all!

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Yeah. . . I'll mention that to my wife as she pedals with a full back pack 32 miles one way. I'm sure that'll go over REAL well.

Of course, it's all our fault too that we can't ride a bicycle, shame on us for not working close to each other and cramping ourselves into a cookie cutter house in a chitty neighborhood. SHame on me.

[ArunSenior04]

lol damn. Those are some great recomendations. Ill definately have to check some of those out. I like the sport bike look. Im not trying to get some super bike tho. I just want something that gets great gas mileage, for my commutes.

So you guys are recommend staying away from the 250 for commuting? I guess that makes plenty sense.

[2loud2k2xd]

yeah, i would deffinately stay away from a 250. unless its for your girl to learn and ride on. 500/600/750's will deffiantely have enough power and capabilities to keep you happy for a while. but you will catch the bug in no time and want to upgrade to a bigger bike. it happened to me after 4000 miles and once i rode my friends 2004 Yamaha R1. then i immediately put my old 600 up for sale.

aslo, sportbikes hold their resale value tremendously. they dont loose money hardly.

as mentioned above, if youve never ridden a bike before, or have occasionally, DEFFINATELY!!!! enroll in the MSF course. it will teach you alot of what you need to know to survive out there with the "one the phone, van driving, not paying attention to, soccer moms". and deffiantely BUY GEAR!!!!!!!!! any lid (helmet) thats SNELL?DOT approved. i bought my hjc cs-12 at my local cycle shop for 105.00 out the door. next is a jacket. mash/textile/leather is the only thing you should wear. these normally come with "armor" already in the jacket. then pants. jeans WILL NOT hold up in a accident. they will cause more damage than not wearing jeans. they melt in a slide and adhere to your skin. i have a pair of textile pants i always wear when i get on my bike. boots, leather boots that cover the ankle. these will save the ankle bone from being exposed in the event of a crash. gloves, need gloves. they will help save your palms when/if you go down. plus thay add some protection from bugs or rocks that fly at you while riding.

i wear a 2pc textile (ballistic nylon) suit when ever i ride with my crew. other wise, i wear my mesh jacket, pants, gloves, and lid at all times.

[rckozma]

That or if you do like the jean look these are very affordable.

http://www.compacc.com/prod.cfm/cid/9001000/pid/16577

And my helmet ran me almost $300, now you can get the same one for about $175. Also a good riding jacket is really not that expensive when you go with textile's, leather on the other hand is a tad more.

[Cypher]

you guys are really making me want a bike hah

[mbv2001]

bikes are so cool. my ex roommate has a 04 R6 as his first bike and loves it and glad he didnt get bike with less HP.just be safe alot of bikers got killed this weekend while riding. one crash was in Easton md 2 got killed and another close to us in MD dont remember where.

[rckozma]

Well rule of thumb is to ride like everyone is out to kill you, because they usually are, it is too easy to use the excuse "I didn't see him" instead of doing what they should be doing, which is watching where they are going.

I try to avoid everyone and always yeild the right of way, better to let it be and live another day rather than be right but laying on a slab.

Just to let you know what is out there, I found a 2000 GSXR600 in the area for $1800. You can find some deals out there, just make sure you look over the bike thoroughly. Check on cycletrader.com for deals in your area.

[Silentwolf]

You can still watch where your going and have stupids on bikes. Nothing against you guys, but a lot of riders out there giving u a bad rap just like Ricers with import crowd.

[rckozma]

You can still watch where your going and have stupids on bikes. Nothing against you guys, but a lot of riders out there giving u a bad rap just like Ricers with import crowd.


You are correct, there are a lot of riders that give us a bad rap. Especially here in Florida (you should know since you are from here) where the state does not even require you to insure the bike. You can get a used bike to $1000 and not have to get it insured. But most accidents involve some sort of a 'cage' where the driver did not see the bike.

[2loud2k2xd]

http://forums.13x.com/forumdisplay.php?f=56
check this site out. its a WERA race site (circuit racing) tons of used gear for sale. and nothing with buying used gear. as long as it hasnt been down, or if it has been down, the seams havent split.

im also selling my joe rocket ballistic nylon 360* zippered 2 piece suit with new knee pucks. it has FULL CE armor, (back protector, shoulders, elbows, chest, lower back, butt, hips, shin, knees) and has a ton of vent zipper openings for those hot days. i wear this when im out riding with my crew hitting the twisties rather fast. the color is red and white. looks like the red power ranger. never been down. size id a 46us. im 6/1 and 175lbs. will fit anyone from 5'10-6'3 and 165-200lbs. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/2loud2k2xd/mybike007.jpg looking for 300.00 shipped

i also have a joe rocket perforated leather black jacket. also size 46us. has ce armor in shoulders, elbows, lower back, zip out liner for summer use. never been down. sizes fit the same as the above suit. looking for 125.00 shipped http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/2loud2k2xd/leatherjacket010.jpg

ok, im done. all this talk about bikes, im outa here. time to go riding.