Thinking about getting a bike.

[man5]

I am thinking of getting a decent motorcycle to start off with. I never driven a motorcycle before. But I know how to ride a bicycle, like everybody else. I have driven a car before but I don't have a G2 license and I don't really feel like getting it, as I wasn't really interested in cars. Motorcycles on the other hand is what I'm really interested in.

I am in College. My limit is $3000. Although I prefer to keep it around $2000, as it's my first bike. Plus the gear cost and insurance, gas, it can add up to quite a lot. Then again, it's still much cheeper than getting a car. Don't really want a sports bike. I rather not crouch forward when driving. I'm 6' around 170 lbs.

So what would you recommend? What would be the best place to buy it? If the used one is cheeper, than I don't mind getting that. Since I live in Ottawa, Ontario, what seasons would be the best to ride it in? Summer and fall would work. And maybe part of the spring when it's not raining. Am I corrent?

[jaskc78]

There's actually a lot of good starter bikes other than sport bikes out there. Probably more of them in Canada than what I could name here in the US. Best advice I can give you, though, would be to go sit on every bike you can find. See what you like, what you don't like, what's comfortable, etc. That way you'll know what kind of bike you want to look for to spend your money on. If you know anyone that rides, ask them what their thoughts are about any bike you're considering or post on here and ask. Search the internet for information on reliability, maintenance costs, etc.

I'll let someone else talk about the weather. I live in Tucson so it's actually rare that I don't ride. As far as the bike goes, though, just do your homework and you'll have a much more enjoyable ownership experience because you'll end up with a bike you'll want to keep, not just a bike you thought you wanted right when you bought it.

[Lion_Lady]

I am thinking of getting a decent motorcycle to start off with. I never driven a motorcycle before. But I know how to ride a bicycle, like everybody else. I have driven a car before but I don't have a G2 license and I don't really feel like getting it, as I wasn't really interested in cars. Motorcycles on the other hand is what I'm really interested in . . .

So what would you recommend? . . .

I strongly recommend you take a basic motorcycling course before spending money anywhere else. (You don't give your location. If you're in the US, check here for a class near you: http://www.msf-usa.org. You want the Basic Motorcycling Course) Motorcycling is not something you can safely just "do." Besides that, some folks discover they truly are not cut out to ride. Better to find this out BEFORE you spend $3,000 on a bike.

If you don't want to take the course, then you DEFINITELY need to buy full protective gear, you'll need it. Motorcycles can actually cost more to maintain than a car. For a single male, the insurance is going be VERY spendy. Tires need to be replaced about every 5,000 - 10,000 miles at $150 each. Parts are expensive. Maintenance is needed more often and is expensive.

P

[storysunfolding]

I echo Lion Lady on taking a beginning motorcycle course.

As to your first bike, it's not very realistic to think it will replace a car even if you've got a dedicated sidecar rig. Between the weather, especially the cold and rain, the exposure and the lack of storage- there are many cons to going just Motorcycle.

However, I find the Honda Shadow 750 to be a great start if you like cruisers. You can find quite a few of them used, insurance is cheaper on a cruiser, it has get up and go, it's fuel efficient, the quality is inherent to a honda, and with it's shaft drive there's a lot less maintenance. Really other than your oil change, and tire maintenance, it's not any harder to keep up than a car.

Do realize that motorcycles go through tires 6-25x faster than a car. Cruisers typically err towards the 6x since the sport crowd are the ones that seem to be ok with dropping $400 for tires that only last 2,000 miles. However, it is good to know so you can budget.

Anyway, class first, then make sure you have enough after getting to bike to get enough motorcycle specific gear.

[Superfly3176]

I don't understand you don't have a car lisence because you aren't interested, but you want to get a motorcycle even though you live in Canada and surely can't ride all year long. Am I missing something?

[Gummiente]

I don't understand you don't have a car lisence because you aren't interested, but you want to get a motorcycle even though you live in Canada and surely can't ride all year long. Am I missing something?

Ride in the good weather, take the bus in the bad weather... makes perfect sense to me. Ottawa isn't that far north and it is not uncommon to have a riding season from April to November there.

[HYPERR]

I don't understand you don't have a car lisence because you aren't interested, but you want to get a motorcycle even though you live in Canada and surely can't ride all year long. Am I missing something?

Ride in the good weather, take the bus in the bad weather... makes perfect sense to me. Ottawa isn't that far north and it is not uncommon to have a riding season from April to November there.

+1

And not all of Canada is the Great Frozen North. Everybody should have realized that after the Winter Olympics.

[man5]

I'm searching around. I may not get a bike this summer. But I'll keep looking till I find a good deal. And of course, I'm going to take the safety course before I even sit on the Motorcycle. Besides buying, I'm worried about the insurance. I hear that young people have more insurance and even more if no experience riding it. Although insurance could depend on many other factors. But I hope mine won't be like $1000-2000 a year.

[kawigirl]

Well, I don't know about Ottawa, but prices for buses are rising here in Toronto.
To be honest, I think you should get both motorcycle and car licenses. It's not bad to have the car license just so that you have something to fall back on. Riding the bus isn't always as convenient. And definitely take a rider safety course.

As for which motorcycle..well I rode one while doing the course, a Vulcan and I thought it went pretty well and sat upright and wasn't sporty.

[sunshine229]

I could get along just fine without a car. I walk or take transit everwhere and it's not too inconvenient. Really, it's all up to what you're used to.

Getting a bike for bombing around the city is a fun idea! Definitely check on the insurance costs and take a safety course. Insurance is probably a lot less for an older smaller bike so look out for some low-cost options that come out of the '80s or '90s.