Is my first bike too small for me?

[earwig]

Hello, I finally bought a motorcycle and got my license... I have never ridden a bike before and now I am on it every day (at least when it's not raining). I can't believe I waited until I was 29 to finally buy one. Anyhow, I ended up getting a Honda Shadow Spirit 750. Many people told me to go with something bigger from the start because I would "outgrow" the 750 very fast and want to get rid of it in a year or so. Basically I am asking for opinions on this subject... What was your first bike and if you have been riding for a while do you still ride something around the 750cc size or smaller? I guess I should mention I am 5'11 and weigh 215lbs.

I am afraid I made a bad decision and should have bought something larger.

Thanks!

Chuck

[Toyuzu]

Chuck, you did fine. In fact, we recommend starting out on something even smaller, but the cruisers aren't tuned as hot as the sportbikes, so you're probably okay there.

My first bike was a Honda CX 500. I guarantee it's slower than your shadow, and I rode it almost every day for a full year. It accelerated faster than most cars on the road, and would cruise all day long at free-way speeds. I don't think you have anything to worry about with your shadow.

[Gilfy650a]

I have a 85 nighthawk 650 and it has gobs of power, more than i could use i think. anyway i have a pretty good feeling that i'm not gonna outgrow it anytime soon...

So a 750 is kinda big for a starter bike i think, but hey if you respect it you should be ok. Good luck man and take the MSF course asap dont procrastinate like me.

[TheReaper]

I'm just starting out as well and I'm on an FZ6. Since I've wanted a true sportbike for eons I know I'll outgrow this and eventually end up with a 1000, but right now my 600 is plenty for me. It's got plenty of power and I'm still in the break in period. I wouldn't worry about it to much. Besides, unless you're track riding is there really going to be a time when you need gobs of power?

[earwig]

Thanks, I signed up for the course but they didn't have any openings for almost 3 months and I couldn't wait that long. My brother brought me to a parking lot one day and I practiced for about 30 minutes. I found a person that lets you practice on a scooter for about 15 minutes, then she lets you borrow the scooter and take the test... so thats what I did to get my license. Now I am driving to work every day on my bike and in just 3 days I put about 200 miles on the bike joyriding. I am debating on cancelling the class because it's $225 and maybe I am feeling over-confident but I have already been on the highway and I feel like I can control the bike w/ no problem. I don't stall, haven't dropped it (yet) and I can take off on inclines etc. Many people tell me to take the class anyway so I probably will.

[earwig]

I'm just starting out as well and I'm on an FZ6. Since I've wanted a true sportbike for eons I know I'll outgrow this and eventually end up with a 1000, but right now my 600 is plenty for me. It's got plenty of power and I'm still in the break in period. I wouldn't worry about it to much. Besides, unless you're track riding is there really going to be a time when you need gobs of power?

Thanks for the reply. It's not really the power I'm concerned with, it's the weight. I am told that heavier bikes hold the road a lot better especially on highways when big tractor trailers fly by.

[honda599]

Hey Chuck

Sounds like an okay size to start as long as you don't plan on riding two up. Many riders start off with the 750 only to be disappointed when they take their girlfriend or wife for a ride then the engine doesn't have enough power.....but for solo I think it's sufficient. For two up travelling all the makers are coming out with 1100cc, 1500cc, 1800cc etc

[allawybiker]

Hi earwig, I think you made the right decision. The Shadow Spirit 750 is about 500lb dry, an already heavy bike and will do just fine on the highway. It is also the right size/weight cruiser as a starter bike.
Do NOT cancel the class, it is well worth the money. You will be more confident after taking it and you'll learn proper handling techniques. In my class, we had three riders that had been riding for a while (probably illegally) and thought they were really good; they had the most trouble as it was really tough to unlearn bad habits that were self-taught...
Enjoy the ride and only consider upgrading after a year or so.
Congratulation on the bike and good luck on the class!

[iwannadie]

hey allawybiker, i really Really like the m50, do you have any opinions, likes, dislikes about it? i started out on an 01 marauder 800 and loved it. i was really wanting to get the m50 but they didnt have then for sale yet when i had bought my 'new' bike. the sales guy i talked to recently(1 month ago) told me they didnt get them in yet and said 'suzuki has canceled that line there will not be any 800 class bike new or otherwise'. i think he was just confused by the new branding, but i thought it was funny he flat out said theres no such thing and never will be when ive seen people posting pics that owned them

but anyways im still thinking about getting one maybe next year or so. just wondering what they are actually like beyond the limited pics ive seen. do you have any more pics of yours you could post, id really like to see some more detail of them.

Hi earwig, I think you made the right decision. The Shadow Spirit 750 is about 500lb dry, an already heavy bike and will do just fine on the highway. It is also the right size/weight cruiser as a starter bike.
Do NOT cancel the class, it is well worth the money. You will be more confident after taking it and you'll learn proper handling techniques. In my class, we had three riders that had been riding for a while (probably illegally) and thought they were really good; they had the most trouble as it was really tough to unlearn bad habits that were self-taught...
Enjoy the ride and only consider upgrading after a year or so.
Congratulation on the bike and good luck on the class!

[Sev]

Many people told me to go with something bigger from the start because I would "outgrow" the 750 very fast and want to get rid of it in a year or so.

I want to know who these "many people" are. I want to know what they ride, and what they started out on.
I also want to know how well they ride, what kind of evasive manouvers they can pull, and how well they emergency brake. It's easy to say start big, but does that REALLY make sense?

Besides if you stop and compare horsepower to dry weight of most cruisers you'll realize that you only gain a very little bit for the extra weight you're putting on. Plus you need to lug all that extra metal around. Not easy when you're learning.