Total Motorcycle Community Forums

sorry i cant help you find a bike, but i wanted to say welcome to the forums!

Hey, Andy.

My brother in law runs a mechanic shop out of his house in Petoskey, and also buys and fixes up bikes on occasion. He actually used to be a champion motocross guy (20 years ago) til he came down on the handlebars and ruptured both kidneys...

Anyways, if you would want to call him since that is (relatively) close, PM me and I'll send you his name and number.

JC

Andy G wrote:OK so used bikes are impossible to come by here where I live. They just don't exist, and if they do they are sold right away when (if) listed in the paper.

So, I'm almost forced to buy new. I would consider ebay or cycletrader.com, but I am not comfortable buying something like a motorcycle without being able to at LEAST sit on it, if not actually ride it.

Thanks!
Andy
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

if you find a listing near you for a bike you want, just ask the seller if you can come out and look at it/sit on it and drive out there, even with these high gas prices it would probably be worth it if its a good bike and you end up getting it.


JWF

at 5399 the VLX is actually a pretty good deal

the spirit 750 is 6399 which is also a good price for what you get.

if you can find a yamaha dealer the V-Star 650 custom is 5799 which gets you a lot of bike for the money.

the virago 250 is 3499 and is supposed to be roomier than the rebel.

if you can find a suzuki dealer, the boulevard S40 is only 4399 and is considered an excellent first bike

if you can find a Kawasaki dealer the vulcan 500 can be had for 4899 and the vulcan 750 can be had for 6299

I listed cruisers because you mentioned looking at cruisers.

any of these would be good to start on and all are a pretty good deal for the price.

Have you considered a dual sport? They get decent fuel mileage and have higher seat heights. The prices are also more reasonable new I believe. *edit: Looked at the Suzuki's and they're priced around $5K+ so, maybe not as reasonable as I thought for pricing. I never really looked at them because I'm too short for most of them.*

welcome to the forums, there is a lot of good info and a lot of good ppl on here, listen to them..

also, while a new Shadow Spirit 1100 is too expensive for a first bike, i dont really see why its a really bad beginner.. the 1100cc motor only pumps out lke 54hp and does low 15's in the 1/4 mile.. its a bit heavy for a beginner bike, but not too powerful.. the ninja 500r makes about the same power and does high 12's in the 1/4 mile...

just thought i would add some input