I'm looking to buy a motorbike, opinions?

First of all, I'm a girl so I don't know much about motorbikes...I just want peoples opinions cos I've decided I wanna buy one after my boyfriend got me into them...he has an aprilia but it breaks all the time so I want a more trusty bike than that which is reliable and I wont have to repair it all the time, or get him to repair it! Any suggestions?

The best bike out there new or used for you, is the Ninja 250.
They look hot and handle awesome. Also most of their power is on the top end, that is, it won't accellerate out from under you at a stop and start which happens with the higher performance bikes.

Go to site below and read (and see) the photos and the review.

Here in a nutshell is why the bike is best.
* Most bikes in this price range are only air cooled but this bike is liquid cooled making it more reliable

*Most bikes in this range have one kick stand but this one has a middle and side stand!

*Most bikes in this range are kinda ugly and old looking but the Ninja looks great like a sport bike should look

*Gas mileage is awesome, best mileage in its class!

*Maintence is very low. I have driven freeway, roads, twisties and the dang thing goes forever

*Very comfortable seating where you don't lean straight up or lean way forward but perfect seating.

*Oil window
For girls that don't want to get dirty checking oil (or guys) you can check the oil by looking through a glass window on the side of the bike.

Now..to really make your mouth water look at the 2008 model! Oh my God it's hot looking, coincidently they put a girl on the bike in the shot. The top link below shows photos of the 2007 and later years and has the review. The bottom link shows the new 2008 Ninja.

The Ninjas come in awesome colors, black, green, blue, yellow. They have tie down straps if you want to carry stuff or like in the top photos below, you can get a magnetic tank bag.
Oh the last link shows a video of a guy driving on the freeway on the ninja 250.

My dad loves his '06 Suzuki 600 Bandit... Nice looking bike - hasn't had any problems with it so far. He's had a few Bandits before that in the past too.

I'm a fan of the bike as well but my wife wouldn't let me get one :-(

I highly recommend a triumph, I have triumph speedmaster with 790cc engine Me and my husband have travelled all the way to Faro and back on it and it is superb, comfortable and very reliable! Reasonably priced and seems to be holding reasonable value as well.
good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2start of wiv if you havent really rode a bike before get a low cc engine,it will be easier for you to control the bike!it doesnt really matter what kind of bike you get as in make,if the bikes gona break down it will!me personally id buy a suzuki or yamaha!

yamaha virago 250 . light, fun to ride ,reliable, cheap to run, look good ,enough power if your just getting started 75 - 80 mph top speed . a lot of women use these becuse they are nt heavy . good luck

size matters;

really - go to some bike shops and sit on them.
you did not say how tall you are, etc.

both feet need to be able to reach the ground and hold the bike on a small hill or slope.
when riding your knees should not be raised above your hips or you will get a sore back on a longer ride.
do you want speed, crusing, or city hopping type of riding?
The little hondas, Kaws, and Yam 350 and smaller are very good in the city, very easy to move in the traffic. Big bikes
need more room.

For most starters a Honda 200 will do anything you need, low cost, very little to fix, and very good milage.

Don't worry about being a girl, I know plenty of men who ride motorcycles and don't know anything about them.
Your age is the dominating factor, you will be limited to a 125cc on "L" plates but when you pass your test you will be restricted to 34bhp[typical 500cc restricted motorcycle] but if you are over 21 you can do the direct acess test which allows you to ride any size/power of machine when you pass.
Whatever you will need to do a C.B.T [compulsory bike training] before you get on the road. With regard to the type of bike a good guide is to use the type of machines that the CBT schools use, they only use reliable bikes. Otherwise the good old Honda CG 125 was one of the best learner bikes ever built.
Take no notice of people who tell you not to ride a motorcycle, you will have great fun, meet some decent people [and unfortunately some twats], have a cheap means of transport and never have any problem parking. And being able to ride a bike also makes you a better car driver[ and the other way round].

This is a question that has alot of potential answers, that comes from the question of: what sort of riding do you plan to do?
I would agree with the above answers that a Japanese bike is the way to go for reliability and easy repair. The more exotic bikes are great, but can be less reliability. I think they tend to be less forgiving for a learner, too. I'd say also go for a japper that has under 15k miles on it.

If you're planning to do open road riding, get nothing less than a 500 cc bike. If in the city, I would say a minimum of 250 cc will get you around as a starter. As far as the specific model, I think those bikes (Faser vs. Hornet, vs. SV, etc) are so mechanically similar that you can even go by which one has the nicer color. Have fun and ride safely.

have you passed your test yet? if so HONDA HORNET 600, all women in france ride them cos their forgiving if you make a mistake, ok? reliable to the extreme, good mph and dont drop to bits like a susuki. I myself am a kawasaki rider, so this says a lot for honda.

Start low...you could pick up a 250 honda rebel (good looking bikes) for about a grand. They are very reliable, lightweight, and fast enough for a learner.

honda they r build 2 last

883 Sportster;great handling;great price

Don't listen to RIGGS, he can't back up his OPINION with fact and has fallen for the biased, paranoid media hype. Riding a motorcycle is only as dangerous as the rider makes it, since only retards actually BELIEVE that an inanimate object has the capability of malice!

Take an MSF course and get FULL GEAR if you haven't done so already. Budget about $1000 for the gear, and if you have money left over use it for the bike. Some nice bikes for women/new/smaller riders are the Kawasaki Ninja 500 and the Suzuki GS500. The Suzi has a more upright riding position, and both have a nice, low seat height and run about $5,000 new.

Also, buy a book titled Proficient Motorcycling and read all of it three times over. Learn at your own pace- don't listen to your boyfriend telling you how to ride unless he's willing to go slow and not overwhelm you.

Remember that every single car on the road is out to get you and that you are invisible, and practice stops and swerves at increasing speeds until they are second nature; WHEN something happens, you won't have time to think. You need to have your body trained to act on reflex.

It's a steep learning curve, but practice makes perfect and you will soon be riding along and loving every minute!

To add to what has been said already. Get all the gear, take the Motorcycle safety class.
Just took the wife through the same process. One of the things that we had to look for was seat height, weight and price. One of the great starter bikes is the Kawasaki Ninja 250. Tame enough to start on, yet fast enough to not loose interest.

sorry to state the obvious but how much you looking to spend. how tall are you. what cc are you looking for, I could go on. Aprillias are good bikes and shouldn't break down that much so I assume its old and probably un loved. my suggestion is give us some more details and have a good chat with the boyfriend and i'm sure the suggestions will be more focused. good luck.

Suzuki SV650.

Good luck.

honda cbr600rr

First decide if you want a scooter or a motorcycle, big differences there. Scooters are great for tooling about town and easier on the rider, automatic transmissions so you are not constantly working the gear box and clutch. If you want high speeds the cycles go a lot faster per cc engine size, gearing is designed for it. I strongly suggest you TAKE YOUR time and educate yourself fully before you buy anything at all, it will save you time, frustration and money in the long run to be patient at first. Enjoy the ride!

Hiya hun,
What size engine bike would you want? If you are lookin for a big bike i would deffo go for either a honda or a suzuki they are two really good bikes very reliable i am also a women and i ride a cbr600f i have never had much problems with it... apart from the cam chain rattling a bit but that got sorted and now i have no worries at all with it...
Hope you get a nice one...
Take care and ride safe and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!
Wendy

Well your height has a little to do with it, most girls aren't tall enough to ride sport bikes, and if you are then you're tall enough to hurt your back leaning over on them, so I, like many answerers before me, would recomend a cruiser style bike. I would say a Yamaha Virago or a Honda Rebel would be an excellent starter bike. If you want something a little less chopper lookin or cheaper, then check out Buell Blast. Buell is a Harley company, good bikes. If you have deep pockets and like the chopper look, check out a Harley 883 low. I'd say number one recommendation would be a Honda Rebel. Great size, great price, easy bike to ride, good on insurance, great on gas, good looking, dependable bike with an excellent warranty.

well all I know is scooters so if you want something small or cheap get a Baotian qt 50 its cheap fun small and reliable and great on petrol look on ebay I have bookmarked this 1 for a mate but its a classifield ad so that mean you can buy as many as you like with the same price on it and you dont even need a account it has a home website on the page for you, but if your looking for speed and something small and easy to ride I suggest a Gilera dna you can get a 50, 125 or a 180 apart from that I dunno sry anyways goodluck. {=卢 ).

a lot depends on how tall you are as most bikes have pretty high seats i,d recommend going round to few bike shops and sit on a few to see what you feel comfortable with.
Also what do you want to do with the bike, touring sunday days out or commuting to name a few.
suzuki GSX7 750 low bike 170 mph very good reviews.
The new bmw 800 has some good reviews also.
Suzuki bandit is not a bad bike as well.

If reliability is the key factor in your purchase then avoid italian manufacturers (you can use your boyfriend's aprilia as an example), they can make them look nice but they can't make them last too long. I would advise either yamaha, suzuki or honda and get one above 250cc and you shouldn't have any problems

for weight, size looks and reliability it would have to be a honda, i had a cbr250 which was great, the right height for my legs and not soo heavy... look good too and are a good introduction to sports bikes.. you can pick them up fairly reasonable... good luck, i got pregnant (again) so had to sel it, miss it sooo much but hey, il get another one when babs is a bit older... make sure you want to learn about the bike because you need to know the basics and make sure you get some proper lessons from a qualified instructor, you might think you can ride safely but it takes training.. make sure you are willing to spend as much on your bike gear as your bike.. a decent helmet is essential and would only recommend arias.. they can be costly.. if your serious you should also get an all in one leather or gear, you will be thankful for it if you ever have a scrape, road rash is hell.. i know...... good luck x

biking is not cheap an dont listen to anybody that says different like some of the above. wot evey bike you decide to get just make your 100% with it just ask yourself wot kind of rider you want to be remember your not your boyfriend an make sure you get the bike you like not wot he likes becouse everybodys riding style is different. if nothing else spend as much as u can on a good helmet/ gloves/ an boots cos one day they might save your life sori for putting a downer on things but bikes are dangeres an if you dont respect the bike you get it will bite you back an it hurts. iv been riding for two years an iv got a zx10 its not the bike thats fast its the person riding it. good luck with wotever you buy.

Harley Davidson.883 sportster.........

get a car....they are a lot safer.

Ooh, I've always wanted a moped; or a Piaggio van; which is really just a moped inside..