which bike to buy...

Hello once again, this is my second post and I already feel welcome here. Thank you for all the great replies in my previous one about buying a v65. But now I have come to realize that maybe the v65 is not my best bet. I am mainly going to be using my bike for touring, and for one person a v65 might be alright, but I am going to be touring with my girlfriend, and that might not be too great of an idea. I am planning on doing a major trip in the summer of 2010, but until then it will be relatively light riding. I want something with power and speed, but yet comfortable enough to tour with. I have been considering some of the sport touring bikes, but that idea seems too much of a joke....you can't really have both in one machine it would seem to me (correct me if I am wrong). But like I said I am looking for power and speed...acceleration more so than actual max throttle speed. I have been looking at goldwings, and other tour bikes....I was considering getting a goldwing 1100 with the supercharger by randak's but not sure yet. Please help me in this decision as I am brand new to the sport. Thanks-JC

 

I am pretty sure that isn't a good starter bike! How "brand new" to motorcycling are you? What riding experience do you have?

 

Well, I have taken a BRC course and I have also taken my riders test. I have my license, yet I have never owned a bike. My neighbour says she will let me use her Harleys after I have my own bike and some practice under my belt. I was at first going to buy something along the lines of 600cc to 750cc, but I figured since I am going to be touring in the future I might as well get a touring bike now and save myself the money. Let me know your opinions. Thanks- JC

 

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Please consider yourself corrected as there are MANY great sport tourning bikes out there in my opinion. Which one is "THE ONE" for you may vary from person to person but many great choices exist.

This list should give you a wide array of choices in the ST market and these bikes will fly:

VFR
XX Blackbird
Kawi C14 Concours
BMW K1200S
BMW K1200RS/GT
Honda ST1300
Yamaha FJR1300

If you need to tour faster than capable on these machines, you're not likely to see much on your ride.
:closed_2:

 

PS : If you are interested in speed and acceleration, how the fuck is your neighbors Harley going to help you out? They're junk.

 

Thanks for the information. More members will offer opinions, I'm sure, but mine is that buying a supercharged Goldwing would be a colossal mistake. This is not a bike to learn on. It is heavy, powerful, heavy, expensive, heavy, difficult to control at parking lot speeds, and heavy. I appreciate that you want to end up with a touring bike, but you would be much better off learning to ride on lighter, maneuverable, cheaper pre-owned machine. There are lots of them out there.

That's my 2 cents.

EDIT: I agree with Matt's opinion that sport tourers are great. I could ride big mileage daily on my 2004 VFR and still have fun in the curves. I would add the Ducati ST3 and Ducati Multistrada to his list.

But none of these bikes are great starter bikes, IMHO.

 

I have been away from riding for some time am just getting back into it so take this for what it is worth. Buying a bike like the Goldwing or a high horsepower bike with no real world experience is asking for a disaster (unless moneyand your health are no issue). You will probably make a few mistakes as a beginner that are the same mistakes that everyone else made with their first bikes if they are truly honest.

My suggestion would be to buy a used cruiser style bike in the 600cc-700cc range and ride the heck out of it. You can pick a bike like this up for a fair price and should be able to get most of your money back when you upgrade. It would be a shame to buy the bike of your dreams and have the bike lay down on you when you ride through a small patch of gravel that is deeper than it looks (speaking from experience) or something like that. Also make sure that you ride the bike before you buy it and be honest with yourself. I rode a Honda 929 RR that had a ton of racing parts and had the engine completely setup for racing. After the ride I walked away knowing that it was WAY too much bike for me with my experience. IMO this is nothing to be embarassed about, just a fact that shouldn't be ignored.

I don't have near the experience that most of the others on this sight have so hopefully others will chime in. My 2 cents.

 

2010?? sorry Loco, but it's getting harder and harder to take anything you're saying/asking seriously.

 

Second that one...

You have plenty of time to get some experience under your belt before your trip...2010?!?!?!

I've seen too many people get their motorcycle license/ endorsement and go balls out with they're first bike....
And you know what happens- Crashed bike, and in some cases they're not around to ride anymore if you know what I mean!

Be honest with your self....just because you passed your test doesnt mean you know how to ride a bike.

I personally wouldnt even suggest something in the 750cc range to you.
Buy a 500cc - 600cc bike and ride the hell out of it.
Do this and you'll probably be ready for the upgrade before your trip.....
say maybe spring of 2010?

And even so, after 1.5 years of riding experience you really think you'll be ready for something 1000cc + ....probably not

Lastly, remember its one thing to get in over your head with a bike....
but its entirely different when your playing with someone else life too when your doing 2up riding.

My 2 Cts...

 

500 - 750cc. Listen to the good advice you're getting here. 2010 is a long way off and is lots of time to save your hard earned $$ for that highway machine. For now you need a bike you can handle confidently and correctly.

 

Thanks for the info, I have been going around asking some of my older friends at the motorcycle swap meets here in the Twin Cities, and they have been telling me the same thing. I am pretty much set on getting a larger bike, but definitely after owning a smaller bike first say 600cc. If I were to choose a smaller 600 cc bike, would it matter more if it was a sport bike or a cruiser, if in the end I am looking to move on to Touring. I guess the question here is which style of bike would prepare me the most for my future touring days. Thanks for the info. One more question to shoot by as well. If I want to prepare myself to be accompanied by a passenger, what would be the best way besides just getting accustomed to the road with a bike? Pardon me for my stupidity, but I am essentially a "nub" to this past time, and looking for all the help I can get on this topic. -JC

 

Start out with a standard or a cruiser. They are much easier to learn on. Also you'll need to become a VERY good rider before attempting a passenger especially if the passenger is not experenced.
Also,NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVERborrow a motorcycle,unless you have the cash in hand to buy it. I hope I wasn't unclear on how I feel about loaning bikes
Remember, this is your LIFE you're talking about!! Bike wrecks HURT...BAD!! Choose a bike that is a little on the small/light side, then when you've mastered that one, sell it then move up. Shortcuts don't pay off when it comes to motorcycles.

 

If you've had a little riding experience try a SV650 or SV650S to make your mistakes on. An SV is a fun, forgiving and chuckably light bike to build roadcraft yet still allows room to grow into, another suggestion would be to try the newer Kawasaki ER6n and compare the two.

The higher quality VFR will still be waiting when you're ready to do longer distances. :smile:

 

I started out with a Ninja 500. It was a fun bike to learn on. It's light, has enough power to start out with, and you can ride it on the Interstate when you are ready. I bought a very clean used one for $3000, rode it for 8 months, then sold it for the same amount. A good used SV650 would also be a good choice. Like everyone else said, start small, you can always upgrade.

Action

 

Motorcyling is the next best thing to piloting an airplane. I figure you'll love your first bike. My first road bike was a brand new Honda S90. It probably would have dyno'd at about 14 horsepower - maybe. It was a total blast!

A used 500 or even a 250 is a good starter bike. Kawasaki and Suzuki make the most popular models A SV650 might be fine, too - they have quite a bit more power, but it is a V-twin and the power isn't unmanageable for a newbie. You can buy one of these for $2500 to $3500, learn to ride it, and sell it for about what you paid for it. DO NOT BUY A 600 cc INLINE-4 SPORTBIKE AS YOUR FIRST BIKE! They make too much power for a new rider and will let you get in trouble pretty quick.

Don't scrimp on gear! You need a helmet, armored jacket, pants, gloves, and boots that cover your ankles I prefer leather but you can find great textile motorcycling clothing. You can buy the clothes and boots used on eBay or Craig's List, but never buy a used helmet. Buy it from a motorcycle shop and ask the salesman to help you find one that fits. You don't need to spend a ton of money on this stuff, but you need it when you need it - and that could be any time you swing a leg over your bike.

Buy a book on motorcycling skills and technique. I like Proficient Motorcycling by Hough. There is a lot of solid advice in the book about slow speed maneuvering, cornering, dealing with obstacles, and a lot more. Practice throttle control and starting/stopping in a parking lot before you hit the road. DON'T RIDE WITH A PASSENGER UNTIL YOU CAN CONTROL THE BIKE IN ALL SITUATIONS! Oh, and when you're ready to carry your girlfriend on the back, make sure she has all the gear I mentioned above.

Have fun!

 

Thanks a ton. I have already purchased all of my riding gear this summer, which includes everything you mentioned. I am definitely going to look into the sv650. -JC

 

I owned a 1990 NT650 Honda Hawk once upon a time when I lived in Maui. Great bike. I considered it too small a bike for me even at the time, but I was on an island that you can drive all the way around in a day if you try. I would recommend that bike to any new rider to learn on... V-twin 650, nimble, good power (for its size), and still a very 'sporty' bike.

MY 2 cents...

 

I'll vouch for the SV650, it's a great bike. Cheap to get into and it's fast enough to be fun. When I got back into racing, I got one and had a blast, and that's after racing superbikes. If you get the standard version, get a small windshield, some panniers and do some short trips to get used to being in the saddle for a while.

 

yep..find a sv650..big enough you wont be needing to trade it in in 2 months like the little bikes, and it will do anything you want..otherwise, go Back to that v65..better yet, any older cb750/900 would be even beter as just as reliable, cheap, big enough for 2 and great to learn on..On second thought, avoid the v65 as they eat the cams outa them, common knowledge..
have fun!
good luck!!