Thinking of saving for a bike .. any suggestions

[OldUser1]

btw, do NOT BUY NEW!!! you'll be wasting money on something you WILL drop & damage!!! there's two kinds of riders... those who have been down and those who WILL go down. don't go & buy a new bike unless you're ready to shed some tears WHEN you drop it (not IF)

Speaking of now buying a new bike...A local kid here in Napa got a brand new CBR when he turned 16. About 3 weeks ago he was pulled over for doing 100 in a 25 and somehow talked his way out of a ticket. Sure enough the next day he hit a car pulling out into traffic while he was doing an estimated 90mph in a 35. He was killed instantly, and now I'm sure the cop that let him off is in deep shit now.

[ColdAccord]

kencopperwheat are you trying to get him killed? yzf r6 as a first bike?! lol

get the bitch bikes. every company has a bitch bike. for the kawi's, get a 500, or a 600e (600r if the 89-96 generation (not positive of the generation years)). for suzuki get an sv650, or a katana. for yamaha, get an fzr600 or a yzf600. for honda, get a cbr600 f2, f3 if you can afford it

do NOT but an f4, or a 600rr. your bike will go down, and these bikes don't take crashes very well. I believe Computrac has a website listing bikes and their vulnerability.

im not too sure about the kawi 2nd gear shift fork problem. I'm pretty sure thats a risk in all bikes, not kawasaki specific

PLEASE take the MSF course. it gives you a 10% isurance reduction, and gives you your license, and teaches you to ride SAFELY and PROPERLY.


and dont buy a used bike. you will go down, and a new bike is a lot more expensive to fix.

[TheyCallMeDale]

hey guys thanks for all the tips

I was wondering what I should expect for milage on a decent used bike. Whats alot of miles? I was already planning on taking the msf course namely cause i dont know jack about riding a motorcycle

[ColdAccord]

it all depends on maintenance. also, expect to be doing some work if you get an older bike

15k is average, i probably wouldn't go above 30k

[OreoGaborio]

Speaking of now buying a new bike...A local kid here in Napa got a brand new CBR when he turned 16. About 3 weeks ago he was pulled over for doing 100 in a 25 and somehow talked his way out of a ticket. Sure enough the next day he hit a car pulling out into traffic while he was doing an estimated 90mph in a 35. He was killed instantly, and now I'm sure the cop that let him off is in deep shit now.

i saw pictures of the bike wedged almost vertically in the car... rumor has it the cop that stopped him & let him go was his brother... here

Pics
http://www.deathracing.com/rider_down/ (warning... has kinda disturbing pics... no blood, just metal)

Story

http://www.napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=DD8F7ACC-8D22-452E-8902-8492E2AB4FF2

Discussion

http://kawiforums.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18118

back on topic... good luck findin a bike

[Avus_325is]

I know alot of guys that have sport bikes and I myself ride on occasions. Like Pete said you will go down, just a few weeks ago a buddy of mine went down at the track on his '04 GSXr at about 110. Besides needing a new fairing set and signals, the guy literally has half an ass now. No need to jump into something in the 600 class right away. If you ride say a Katana for even 6 months, it will be huge in keeping you from going down too hard when you do get a bigger bike, plus there are always new riders coming along that will be looking for a starter bike so selling it shouldn't be a problem.

The comment about F4's not taking abuse i'd have to call B.S. on though. My buddy's is a purely stunt bike and is probably the most tattered bike i've seen. I've seen him drop it hard numerous times and each time he just picks it back up and rides off. The nice thing about an F4 is they are all fuel injected which is relatively new in bikes. A carburated bike is going to (depending on how you ride) to need the carbs taken apart cleaned reassembled and adjusted every 5k miles to run perfect, at least that's what everybody has told me in my searches for my own bike.

I would try looking on cycletrader.com for a bike too, some pretty good deals come along, but like anything, beware of scams.

[65Matt]

http://www.beginnerbikes.com/

I am looking at either a Ninja 250 or 500. They're cheap, reliable, and a great first bike.