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I Need Advice on Buying my First Used Motorcycle? |
This will be my first bike and I just want something cheap I can learn to ride on. I've looked at a few websites but there doesn't seem to be much of a market in my area. I'm 5'9" and about a 145 lbs. I'm looking for a simple dual sport, standard, or street bike without a lot of power somewhere in the 180cc to 250cc range. Any ideas will be helpful Thanks. If this is your first bike you are making a wise choice with starting used and starting small. First time bikers tend to make lots of mistakes, and the smaller the bike the easier time you will have with it. Also, when (not if) you drop your bike you will kick yourself over it less if it is used and not brand new. So recommendations: Honda Rebel 250 cc Yamaha Virago 250 cc Honda Nighthawk 250 cc Would all make excellent beginner bikes and if you find it used cost you from $1500 to maybe $2500 for a 1 - 3 year old motorcycle. I would recommend you ride it for a minimum of 3 months and maybe up to 6 months. A 250 is really quite peppy if you are just driving it around town; but not very powerful on the freeway. I had a Virago that I just traded in, it would go up to 75 mph if that helps you on the power/speed estimates. When you are looking for a motorcycle, you will also see a Kawasaki Eliminator 125 cc. This bike is very sluggish and tops out around 60 - 65 mph. If this is all you can find you might try it, but because it is so small you will find it harder to sell when you are ready to move up. If you cannot find a used motorcycle for sale in the classifieds try your local motorcycle dealers. You might not see one for sale in their display area, but ask them because these small bikes are always getting traded in for bigger. don't buy used!! you will only get someone elses headache. been there done that. I have had plenty of good luck with used bikes. I would suggest that you look at the Kawasaki Ninja 600 from 1995-2007. The older models will be less of the devil on you meaning that they will not be too quick off the line (if the model you buy is stock), and light enough for you to feel comforitable. whatever you get DO NOT GO LOWER THAN A 600!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you do, you will regret it within a week! anything smaller will bore you quickly and the only thing more dangerous to a motorcycle other than a drunk driver is a board mind! Good luck, Barbo Riding for over 10 years. Raced GSXR 600 class, own several bikes, want one? If you dont mind kickstarting your bike the KLR250 is a good first time bike. It certainly meets your "without alot of power" requirement, but it is also liquid cooled for added reliability, and can be used offroad within reason, it is a dualsport, not an enduro. Ith your light weight a 250 is really enough bike for you around town but I still would not trust it on the interstate just because of the lack of topend power. The Ninja 250 bends this rule a bit, and would probably be able to haul me up to atleast 80 and I am 250 pounds. if I could encourage you to atleast step up to a 500cc machine I would though. With the added displacement they turn quite a bit less RPM and will probably be more reliable in the long run with only slight losses in MPG. If you to step up to a larger machine I would try to find a Kawasaki 454LTD. it is a cruiser style bike that I learned on and in the two years I owned it put close to 30K miles on it. The only thing that went wrong with the bike was that one of the ignition coils quit fireing. So if you get a 250 and are just using it aroudn town either a KLR250 or a rebel250 if you need to stretch your legs an cover some miles with a 250 the Ninja and if you want to step up to a larger more comfortable machine either the 454LTD or the model that replaced it the Vulcan 500. perfect bike for you....http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/suzuki-dr... Barbo is a douchebag, and most likely can't even ride a 600cc to its limit anyway. Yes, you want a used bike, and yes, it should be UNDER 600cc. Your small dual sport idea seems OK, but you'll have problems with standover height at 5'9". You should perhaps try a small naked bike first? Take an MSF course, which will run around $200, and get FULL gear, which will run at least $500. If you can't handle that level of initial investment, then you're not ready for the responsibility of riding a motorcycle and will just end up wadding yourself up around a tree somewhere. You want your first bike, not your last. Do things right and you'll ride a long time; follow barbo's advice and you'll be fed through a tube for a long time. |
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