Total Motorcycle Community Forums

So before everyone freaks out I'm not really custom building my first bike. I'm hoping to get into an MSF course this fall or winter and have a small (250-500cc) used bike by spring time which I will ride for commuting, burning time, etc etc to learn and hone my skills. In other words, I'll be buying whatever is available for the right price. Most of what's around here are 250 and 300 ninjas, Honda CB/cbr's and Suzuki gw's.

Now before I continue I know very little about motorcycles aside from watching videos and reading as much as I can. Also I've ridden a dirt bikes with friends a few times and took a dual sport on the beach when I was stationed in Alaska.

The reason I want to build a bike is to really make it mine, know everything about it and know how to fix anything that breaks, to become more aquatinted with the mechanics of internal combustion engines and transmissions, and finally, I have this strange idea of what I really like that simply put, no bike company makes.

I'm looking at a few platforms to use as my building blocks and I'd like to know what everyone thinks as far as reliablility, freak accidents that may have effected certain models and the access to OEM parts due to the number of bikes still on the road today as well as aftermarket products still being made today.

The models are:
Yamaha xs650
Honda cx500
Kawasaki kz650 or 440
Honda CB 450-700

I'm open to more opinions but these are the bikes that I've found most available in my area.

Hello Dawson and welcome to the forum. I'd buy a running 250 Ninja to ride while you look for a bike to build. Did you see the Nighthawk Daryl Dixon (The Walking Dead) was riding at the end of Season 5?

I have seen the bike you speak of. The cafe racer/bar hopper bikes are what I like but I have a little twist I want to put into it and the 80's cycles are perfect for what I want to build, just have to decide which one to use.

Anyways, I live in Seattle and everything is worth it's weight in gold, plus your arm, leg, kidney, and first born child so browsing through craigslist you find a lot of bikes that have been dropped, a lot, haven't been well cared for and cost more than what they're worth. Occasionally you'll see a bike that pops up where someone bought it last year and is looking for some tuition money and you get a good deal, I just have to keep my eye out for those because they go fast. Either way, for the learning bike I'll be grabbing whatever is the best deal I can find once I have my permit.