Yet another "new biker - what to buy thread" ..

[harisund]

Brief background, I am 26, have ridden a couple 125CC bikes back in India (where there are more 2-wheelers on the road), am looking for an entry level bike to get me to & back from work (4.5 miles from home - peak hour traffic ensures no one goes more than 45-50 mph), have a garage at home and and closed bike parking at work as well. I have taken the MSF beginner class here, and have gotten myself a motorcycle endorsement on my license as well.

After having done some research, I have gone around and test-ridden a few of the suggested bikes ... GZ250 / V Star 250/ rebel .. cbr250 / ninja 250 etc .. honestly they don't seem that much different ... (And I think I will go with a cruiser now than a sport bike )

Has anyone reviewed the "Tha Misfit" from Cleveland Cycle Works? Just curious .. because it seems like a decent bike for what I am looking for, but I am unable to find any information on it in in this forum (or just about anywhere else for that matter) ..

Also, I saw a nice ad on Craigslist for a 2007 V Star 650 Classic .. I kind of liked that as well, especially the heel / toe shifter (somehow I prefer those, since I am uncomfortable getting my toes under the pedal to lift it 'up') and the floor boards ...

Any suggestions on what would be a reliable choice?

[Wrider]

Never heard of "Tha Misfit", so can't help you there, but chances are because it's so uncommon, replacement parts will be impossible to find.

As for the V-Star 650, I'll let Blues2Cruise chime in on it. I'll preface her post by saying I like it and it can move my rather large behind around reliably and without a problem.

[HYPERR]

Cleveland Cycle Works is yet another dispicable attempt by the Chinese to deceive the unsuspecting public into parting with their hard earned money for their total piece of dodo products. The Chinese will go out of their way to mislead the public such as using just initials for company names, using Japanese sounding names, western sounding names, etc in their eternal quest to disguise the country of origin.

There is an obvious reason why they have to do this.

[HYPERR]

Never heard of "Tha Misfit"

Considering the horrific quality control and fit & finish of Chinese products, this may be the first "honest" attempt ever by them in naming this bike.

[BobK]

"The Misfit"? Here you go: http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~surette/goodman.html

[Wrider]

Lol ok... Didn't have time to look for it, and well now I'm glad I didn't! I can only handle so many badly manufactured parts put together in an even worse manner before I start wanting to go to war on Chinese motorcycle manufacturers!

[MmeMagpie]

Hondas are notoriously hard to kill.

As far as shifting goes, I like a boot with a sturdy, low profile toe - makes it easy to slip it under the shifter. I like my Doc Martens for that. The little muscle on your shin that does the work will develop in time. It's just not pleasant for the first couple of weeks

[blues2cruise]

I rode my 650 Vstar for 50,000km over highways and mountains loaded for travelling....You won't have any problems keeping up to traffic and it can pass when needed. It also can enter freeways and pick up the speed to keep up with the flow of traffic.

The only shortcoming....extremely long steep mountain roads where you don't have an opportunity to get the speed up before going uphill. For example...tourist season and getting stuck behind a motor home going through the mountains. Motor homes are notoriously slow....and when you finally get to a passing lane....well....the 650 can be a bit sluggish to get up to the highway speed...other than that....650 is a great choice.

[harisund]

Anybody has any suggestions / opinions on the Boulevard S40?

Even though I won't be doing a lot of interstate driving, once I get the hang of it I would like to occasionally hit the interstate, if anything just within the city limits .. and occasionally take my wife along for the ride as well .. so I am kind of against a 250cc and was wondering if a slightly bigger help would work

[Flesher]

The S40, albeit a 650 (single cylinder) is a physically very small motorcycle. I don't think it is suitable as a two up machine, unless you and the passenger are pretty tiny in stature.