Need advice on a first bike, Looking at HD and Triumph..

[Wicks72]

Greetings
I am trying to decide between the sportster 883 or the Triumph America.
I will be taking the MSC in the spring, then will ride most of the summer.
Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I am 5'6" with a 29" inseam

[Johnj]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Have you sat on either bike yet? Good luck.

[sapaul]

Sorry Mate, you just don't get to pick the bike, the bike picks you.

You have to sit on them or even better get a test ride, you will know straight away which one is for you. Both good bikes by the way.

[Wicks72]

Thank you,
I have sat on the Harley but I still need to sit on the Triumph.
Can anyone suggest another cruiser that would be good to learn on?
Thank you again for your input

[havegunjoe]

Thank you,
I have sat on the Harley but I still need to sit on the Triumph.
Can anyone suggest another cruiser that would be good to learn on?
Thank you again for your input

650 Yamaha VStar is a good reliable cruiser priced right.

[sapaul]

I still get blown away that there are dealers over there that will not allow test rides.

We would never buy a bike here that we have not ridden, or the demo version of.

[dirt dobber]

i agree, we can test drive auto & trucks But, not motorcycles. i didn't ask thou. if i had rode a sportster i probley wouldn't have bought it. comming off a tmax (scooter) i was use to beening able to idenify what was behind me. (way behind).plus wind.

[HYPERR]

I still get blown away that there are dealers over there that will not allow test rides.

We would never buy a bike here that we have not ridden, or the demo version of.

Probably two main reasons this is so in the US.

1. US is the land of the frivolous lawsuits

2. The licensing system is such a joke in the US that a baby chimpanzee could probably pass the US motorcyle test on the first try. I'm sure if one has a motorcyle license in South Africa, England, Japan, etc, they truly know how to ride; not so in the US....not even freaking close.

People dumping bikes on test drive here is pretty common. I have heard it firsthand from my local dealers.

[agraebner]

In a way it makes sense for what I see near me. People would total them in the first week of a demo. The more likely reason is I believe it would cost them sales of the bikes with hype behind them. If the guy walking in to buy the newest fastest sport bike got to see what they were getting they would pick something different. I am not trashing them in anyway I love sport bikes. I am talking about peoples misguided reasoning or lack thereof. This is evident in watching a salesman at any dealer near me. Its amazing the amount of 600 and 1000 sport bikes sold to people who are not licensed. I watched a dealer sell a gsxr100 to a person who admittedly never rode before. The salesman told him it was fine to learn on and it was better to just get the bike you wanted rather than a smaller one then have to trade up and loose money. According to the the salesman he also needed the 1000 to keep up with his friends. I would like to see the results of a REAL study to see why people bought a bike and what reasons they picked a certain bike. By the commercial world and the popular crowd my Nighthawk is uninspiring, boring, dull, doesn't handle right is underpowered............. But I can comfortably spend days on it for 12-15 hrs a day and enjoy it not just suffer through it. I also look at the things manufacturers would change if they wanted to sell a bike you could demo. The seat on my shadow was the perfect example. If I would have had the time to ride it for 15 miles before I bought it the seat would have been replaced with aftermarket as part of the sales deal. Of all the things that I was told before I bought a bike, and the questions I asked, the most important one was never brought up. What are your plans for riding? How and where will you ride? will you be commuting? touring?? riding just for fun on a weekend?? riding two up?? These things should narrow what type of bike you are looking at. Riding is much more fun if you are not trying to hammer the square peg through the round hole......

[ranger l]

Have you considered a Suzuki Savage/Boulevard (650, single)?
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... ardS40.htm

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