So I think I might buy a bike

[TheyCallMeDale]

I really want to buy a motorcycle for next summer. The rediculous fun factor and incredible mpg are what have gotten me hooked. Any suggestions for a bike? I need something thats big enough that Im not going to be scared shitless on. I was thinking around 700-750 cc's. Any suggestions?

[Rob]

first bike? dont go higher than 600, any mature rider will tell you to start out smaller than that. big enough not to be scared on? sure you dont have that backwards? contrary to popular belief, its not that great of an idea to start riding on the brand new gee-whiz bikes that dealers love selling to kids who have no clue what they are doing. those make for the more graphic 'accident' threads on bike forums.

I'd personally start on a Ninja 250 or older (ie before 95) 600, and that's only after I'd completed the MSF course (www.msf-usa.org)

check the 'new rider' forums at www.sportbikes.net

[Ryan Stewart]

I'd personally start on a Ninja 250

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Something with enough torque to be fun but not hideously fast. its fast enough to beat many cars though. Its also very light so its easy to maneuver and pickup if you put it on the ground.

If you wreck a 750 just remember that your bruised ass (if you are lucky) has to pick up a 400lb bike or else you walk home.

[Rob]

I personally learned to ride on a Suzuki SV650S. Great bike, and easy to ride, but still required strict obedience. The reason that so many people suggest to start out on the ninja is that rookies can be sort of sloppy on it and not kill themselves, unlike the new Race replicas with 120hp...

[boom-monkey]

I plan on taking the safe rider coarse here locally and picking up an sv650 within the next year. I've heard from many that is is a good bike to start with and as you progress it will progress with you.

[Mike 91 318ic]

I've had dirt bikes since I was 8, my first street bike was a 95 Ninja zx600. I think that a 600cc bike is the max for a beginner. I now ride my brother inlaws cbr954rr which is a blast but you must have a lot of skill before riding a beast like that.

M

[Charlie]

Ninja 250, Seca II, and Ninja Ex500.

All 3 are good choices for a beginner without much two wheel experience. Cheap to get into, cheap to maintain, relatively lightweight and not enough power to get you into serious amounts of trouble. I plan on one of those 3 next spring.

-Charlie

[TheyCallMeDale]

ok one im not some kid who wants to go fast

two, ive riden bikes on the highway before and theres no way I'm going to drop a couple g's on a bike that Im just going to get tossed around on every time a big rig goes by. Its not worth the investment.

A 600 sounds like a decent bike. What are the recomendations there?

[Bokes]

if i ever get a bike it'll be something cheapass, and slow. but i dont think i'll be getting a bike for another 10-15 years atleast because i'm poor.

i agree with everyone else, start on a 250 or something.

[el_4ever]

gs500 or cb500

[sidewaysdave]

things that can go wrong on a bike will. well more than likely if you ride like some of my friends.........check out there website. its pretty cool www.triadriders.com if you get a bike have fun, but be safe...

[atmh]

I would suggest what has already been suggested: Ninja 250 or SV650, definatly not brand new, preferably already layed down.

I have been riding dirt bikes for 10+ years and street for 3 1/2

I layed my street bike down 8 months after I started riding street, on the eve of thanksgiving (it wasnt snowy or anything, I was just inexperienced)

The second time I layed a street bike down was about 1 year ago, it was a 2000 Suzuki Bandit 1200S. That thing could loft the front wheel in first gear by just going full throttle. It was my friends bike and he was letting me ride it for a day. well I got on the throttle hard out of a stop sign, the front came up (as was expected) but I was running out of room, so I shut it down. When the front end made contact with the ground it tank slapped and by the time I got it under control I was practically off the road. I setup a line through a gully. Dirt bike experience told me I could ride this 500+lb bike through soft ground at 30+ mph...well I dont remember if I was on the brakes or not (No skid marks on the pavement) but either way, the thing just PLOWED into the dirt instead of rolling. I technically totaled the bike and owed the guy $1,200 even after insurance. I got REALLY lucky because it didnt go on my record.
Anyway, that bike is SICK now because all the damage I did to it was to the tail section, the guy bought the bike back from the insurance company for $500 and totally tricked it out. All plastic/chrome is either anodized aluminum or powder coated black. He also took the fairing off and put a single round headlight on. It is a burgundy/black bike now that looks like a real hooligan bike.
which brings me to my 3rd street crash (and last to date)
within the past year or so I have been taking a pretty strong interest in stunting. The only street bike I have ever owned is a 1980 Yamaha SR250 (Great starter bike, tops at 80 and it is screaming.) Well I have spent the last year learning how to wheelie it and now I can hold wheelies for pretty long if things are working right. I would say at least 1/2 mile for some of my longest (remember I am on a 250, I dont shift them, and it tops at probably 30mph in the gear I use to wheelie the most (3rd or 2nd)) anywho so I am pretty experienced now, at least on that bike. Well I still went down, and I wasnt even messing around. I was just pulling out of a parking lot at night time and I leaned down to square the corner off and the whole thing just went right out from under me. It was ridiculous.

So I am in the market for an SV650 now because I want something faster and I hear they are fun for beginners and experienced riders alike. I actually wish I bought a bike before a snowmobile (1997 Polaris SPX Ultra SE...BAD beginner sled, 130hp), but you know how that goes. My friend bought a 2002 Honda CBR600f4i this year and I have ridden it. the rules he had were: No wheelies, no stoppies, no going faster than 100mph. Even with those rules the thing was INSANE. I have ridden enough to not be afraid to go full throttle on that bike, but when I opened it up fully for the first time, it blew me away. I would NOT recommend a bike like that to a beginner. I don't even think it would be a good idea for me to own it, and I have ridden a lot. The issue is that it is so easy to go fast on it that you are bound to get in trouble. Speed limits seem about 15mph too slow. Also when I wasnt even going as hard and as fast as the thing could, it was incredibly easy to lose other cars on the road. Basically I now know why those guys run from the police: it isnt hard, I could have done it after being on the bike for 30 minutes.

So I am kinda long winded. But I know what messing up can do, and I hope my experience helps you decide what to do. If your a responsible and safe driver, then get the sv650. If you know your a speed demon (I LOVE speeding) then get a ninja 250. Both are fast, but your going to have a lot more fun at a lot less cost on a ninja 250 (they corner and brake really good I hear)

Oh yeah, I am 19 1/2 years old. I realize I am still young and dont have much street experience, but I have experience first hand what making bad descisions can do.

Best advice I can give you as far as riding goes: the bike can turn better than it can brake, and you almost always want to ride through things (I have first hand experience here too, where I made it through a corner on my old cruiser and an R6 did not. It almost took me down, it did take him down)

[OreoGaborio]

1 - take MSF course

2 - get a bike... nothing bigger than the sv650.

3 - spend another grand or more riding gear
(i've spent close to 1500 bucks on protecting myself from the pavment & it's worth every penny... and yes, you can do it for much less... i treated myself to a 2-piece leather race suit, race boots, race gloves & an expensive helmet that should be arriving in less than a week :D)

4 - go to the track & tear shit up :twisted:

if you've got some good self control, already have the MSF course under your belt & have some biking experience, a mid 90's 600 is PLENTY. I personally went w/ a 2000 zx6r as my frist bike, but i'm an exception... i'm crazy 8)

the Ninja 500 will please you nicely, same goes for the sv650... but the sv is the ONLY bike that's bigger than 600cc's that i'd reccomend as a first bike. if you're gonna go w/ a 600cc supersport, get something NO LATER than 2000... the 600cc bikes of today are putting out the same HP nubmers as 1000cc bikes of 10-15 years ago.

i suppose you could get an EARLY 90's 750, but they're HEAVY... and heavy is NOT beginner friendly. the toughest thing to learn when you're starting out is control at slow speeds... something that's heavy is not easy to control at less than 5mph.

[bmwannabe]

my cousin is 18, and he has an R6 as his 1st bike. All i can say is the thing is nuts. Oh and imagine this, he works at a small airport with a 3/4 mile paved runway..... you can only guess what him and his friends do in their freetime...

[TheyCallMeDale]

[quote="OreoGaborio"]
if you've got some good self control, already have the MSF course under your belt & have some biking experience, a mid 90's 600 is PLENTY. I personally went w/ a 2000 zx6r as my frist bike, but i'm an exception... i'm crazy 8)

/quote]

this is me right here. Ive riden dirt bikes since I could fit on one and I took the MSF course last August. Im not expert dont get me wrong but I know my limitations. I still need to get the fund and that will probably be the biggest influence as to which bike I choose to get.