What size bike do you recommend to start on....

[Nibblet99]

Ok, answer the poll, then post your reasons for the choice.
One post each, and no debating / arguments


I'll start....

I believe new riders should start out on small bikes, because they are the only ones you will frequently be able to ride at their limits (on the road). And I feel this is important towards speedily learning full control of your bike ready for emergency situations in any conditions.

[DivideOverflow]

I dont like the way you have those set up personally your definition of small bike is not the same as mine....but I voted small bikes anyway. Even if you outgrow it, the experience of learning how to ride is worth it, and it is much easier to learn on a smaller bike.

I would say up to 500cc for beginners... Just look at the buell blast! it barely has more horsepower than my alphasport 250(34 to 30)!. I would definitely not consider the blast a medium bike either.. they are tiny. I would say up to 500ccs, and up to about 500 lbs (probably less in most cases).

Also, if you are talking cruisers, 600cc is not a large bike. The 650's, and 750 cruisers are definitely medium bikes. So the definition of your limits is poor in my opinion.

[Joe Mc]

I voted medium, even though I consider my 400 hawk to be a small bike.

It has been the perfect to learn on. It's dead reliable, light, manuverable and doesn't have too much power.

However, now that I am used to it and my skills have developed I can rev the hell out of it in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and not be doing triple the speed limit. It pulls pretty strong from 6,000 rpm to 11,000.

[cb360]

Without any other parameters set, I picked small as well. Especially when considering 'all riders'. I'd pick different bikes for different folks.

For instance, my wife. She picked an '01 Rebel this spring. She's put about 1000 trouble-free miles this summer and she loves it. I have a '74 cb360 - a small bike by anyone's estimation. She's rode it in the parking lot but she won't touch it on the road. In spite of her excellent record with the Rebel thus far, she's just scared of the extra power of the 360. And despite being 5'7" she can't flatfoot it. She LOVES her Rebel but still fells like anything else is too much at this point.


Now if you have a 6'2" husky dude who rode dirt bikes as a kid and who's into performance somewhat, I'd pick a 500cc cruiser or standard as a first bike. Not that they couldn't learn and have a great time on the Rebel, just that the bike feels really, really small on a large person. I'm only 5'7" and I ride her bike occasionally and I love it. Granted we live in the city and that's a great city bike, I'd probably tire of it quicker if I had to ride it on the HWY a lot.

[flynrider]

I went for medium, though a lot depends on the rider and the type of riding they want to do. I started on a 400 twin that was light enough to allow me to learn how to manuever a bike, without the hassle of trying to keep 5 or 6 hundred pounds of metal in line. It had also had plenty of power for long highway trips, which is something I see lacking in some of the smaller "learner" bikes these days.

[Gilfy650a]

I chose medium as well, as most people will want to ride with their friends, and if the only way to a friends house is on the expressway, they will have a little bit of "get out of the way" power so they arent as vulnerable.

[dr_bar]

I chose medium only because I didn't like the way the choices were set up. A medium sportsbike is a lot different than a medium cruiser, or standard.

[ZooTech]

Your displacement choices for the given sizes would have been fine if this was still 1975. Nowadays a 600cc bike hardly qualifies as "large". Even my 1600cc Vulcan is considered semi-large in a world of cruisers approaching (or surpassing) two liters.

[isnowbrd]

It is possible that not everyone is from North America, where bigger must be better and there's an SUV for every man woman and infant.

Keep in mind, there is an entire world outside the country you live in.

EDIT: I realize I didn't specify that my post was not directed at any specific one person.

I apologize.

[ZooTech]

It is possible that not everyone is from North America, where bigger must be better and there's an SUV for every man woman and infant.

Keep in mind, there is an entire world outside the country you live in.

Show me where I said "bigger must be better". Bikes range from 250cc (if we're not counting the Eliminator 125...which I never would) to 2300cc in size. That's a range of 2050cc's from smallest to largest. To say all bikes 600cc and up are "large" would be to deam over 68% of the bikes on the road as "large". A better scale would be:

250-750cc = small
750cc-1300cc = medium
1300cc-2300cc = large

And, incidentally, since when do Americans need to apologize for doing things different than the rest of the world? We have a much higher standard of living here, so it's only natural that we like extravagant things. Then again, you can just keep your head shamefully buried in the sand if you so desire.