New Rider, Good FIRST Bike?

[Reticent]

Hello, im a new rider with basically no expierence, even though ive crashed a couple of times in some motorcycle safty courses hehe. Anyways, im looking for a good beginner cruiser. Ive established some rapport through Suzuki so I was looking at the Suzuki VL 250 Intruder. Its a 250 CC engine, not very powerful so I cant kill myself and its dryweight is around 315lbs which is light enough if I had to load it onto the back of my truck or in a trailor. I just want to know has anyone had any personal expierence with this bike? I also want to know if there are any good USED motorcyle shops online. I could afford a new bike but I dont want to crash a new bike id rather total a used one.

Thanks for any input.

[SuperRookie]

Heres a concept...Try to NOT crash. Do you 'expect' to crash??? Pilots don't expect to crash...why should you??

[Dragonhawk]

You should read the page I created for beginners like yourself. Here:
www.CaliforniaBikeNights.com/learn

It has tons of advice on good bikes to start with and how to go through the whole process of getting your motorcycle liscense.

There are tons of links there too which can guide you in all your research.

I'll copy and paste and few for you here. You say you want tips on where to find used bikes? Okay...

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/buyersguide.htm
http://www.recycler.com
http://www.cycletrader.com
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/mcy/

[Kal]

Welcome to TMW

Its a 250 CC engine, not very powerful so I cant kill myself

So you know where I am coming from I am one of the start small advocates here. I believe lower bhp/torque bikes are more forgiving of silly errors and 'learning experiences'

That said I want to underline the following.

A bike isnt safe because it has a small engine - it's safe because of the way it is ridden. You, as the rider, are the single most important piece of safety equipment on any bike.

Dress for the crash yes, be prepared for a crash yes too - but keep in your mind a crash is not inevitable and ride to avoid them.

If you are going to go the dealer route, especially with a secondhand machine I would strongly suggest you avoid an online dealer and instead go with a dealer in your area. I would have concerns that dealer support would not be there when required and that I had no comeback if I bought a lemon.

[MotoF150]

You know how to find out what bikes are the good bikes? Study and read the newspaper classified bikes for sale and the good bikes are the ones you never see for sale in the classified. People only sell bikes they don't want or like, they are selling these bikes cause they hate it and no dealer will give them a good trade in price on another new bike they want. A good example is what you see a lot in classified is Harley 883 and 1200 Sportsters, cause everybody that owns one hates it and they spend 5 days a week fixing it for 2 hours of riding.

[Sev]

You know how to find out what bikes are the good bikes? Study and read the newspaper classified bikes for sale and the good bikes are the ones you never see for sale in the classified. People only sell bikes they don't want or like, they are selling these bikes cause they hate it and no dealer will give them a good trade in price on another new bike they want. A good example is what you see a lot in classified is Harley 883 and 1200 Sportsters, cause everybody that owns one hates it and they spend 5 days a week fixing it for 2 hours of riding.

You make me sad...


And laugh at the same time.

[DivideOverflow]

Yeah, can we ban MotoF150 from giving newcomers advice? I'd hate to see someone actually take him seriously.

On topic: That is a very good first bike. It will be great for around town and get 65ish mpg on average.

It should get up to 70mph without any trouble, and 80mph maximum. When I had my 250cc cruiser, I stuck mostly to roads with 55mph speed limits (where everyone went 65) and I was just fine. Just don't expect to pass anyone in a hurry when going 65+mph.

The light weight and easy throttle/clutch control is ideal for a beginner. It should inspire confidence and get you acquainted with motorcycling very well.

[Kal]

You know how to find out what bikes are the good bikes? Study and read the newspaper classified bikes for sale and the good bikes are the ones you never see for sale in the classified. People only sell bikes they don't want or like, they are selling these bikes cause they hate it and no dealer will give them a good trade in price on another new bike they want. A good example is what you see a lot in classified is Harley 883 and 1200 Sportsters, cause everybody that owns one hates it and they spend 5 days a week fixing it for 2 hours of riding.

I'm fairly sure that I am not alone in wanting to ride more than one bike in what remains of my life... So unless I win the Lottery and buy another house to be my garage I certainly will be selling bikes on.

Besides bikes are individual taste thing. Sev wasn't overly comfortable riding the Savage and when he bought a new bike went for something very different, whereas a friend of mine and Jules has been riding a Savage for pretty much the last decade.

By the same token I can think of a whole clubhouse of guys not too far from here that wouldn't ride anything not manufactered by Harley-Davidson.

If I followed your advice I'd never buy an R1 or CBR - bikes which are readily available secondhand here.

[MotoF150]

Tell Me?? Tell Me??? What is the biggest reason people wanta sell their bikes for? Tell me why are most of the bikes for sale in the classified adds are Harleys?

[WheelieGrip]

Stopped riding... Getting something bigger... Looking for some cash, for lots of reasons...Such as... Weddings, Kids, House, Fun?