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In addition to tire pressure you may also want to make sure you adjust the suspension to what the manual recommends for your weight too. Most bike's come preset at around 150-175 (at least from what I have seen on new bikes).

do not get a rebel..they are great bikes but it will struggle at highway speeds with you on it, especially once you have ridden for a while and want a passenger(forget about it)..get a good 600-800 size motor..youll be able to drive around on it for a long time and not outgrow it quickly and it will have more than enough power to carry you and your gear on long trips or you and a companion..and remember its not the size of an engine that gets people into trouble its people wanting to do to much to fast with a new bike.take it slow and learn your bike and its power and limits. Like everybody else said, you want to make sure you can hold the bike up and that your nice and flat footed and it feels comfortable to you.
Of course thats jsut one opinion amongst many and you know they say about opinions..haha
best advice is to get something that appeals to you..if you like the way it looks and feels..all the other challenges can be overcome with time and patience and training

-john-

Sevulturus wrote:650 pulled me an the ex combine weight of about 240lbs (is being nice to her) at highway with no problems.

Sev likes the fluffy girls!

Yeah, that's it... because the two of us together weighed between 240 and 250... The ground shook when we walked past!

listen to Dragonhawk. when i started looking at bikes, i was dead-set on 600cc sport bikes because those were fast and sexy... after calming down, takign the MSF, reading DHawk's site, and sitting on as many bikes as i could. i bought a Ninja 250R and I love it. I am 6'2" 240lbs and it pulls me up hills as well at any 6 cylinder car would. i have not topped it out because im still breakign in the brand new motor but it is not hard to get to 65mph and theres still gears to wind out. also 70+mpg gas mileage. personally i think its a comfortable ride position and seat too although not everyone agrees with me. If anyone tells you a 250cc is too small, find out if they have ever owned one, or have only ridden one in 2nd gear at the MSF, most people like to hate on the little bikes to make themselves feel better about paying 2-3+ times as much for bikes that arent THAT much better. if its your first bike you arent going to be disapointed.

with that said. i have no experience with the 250cc cruisers and i am told that they are not as comfortabe on interstates and other higher speed places. so maybe someone else can chime in about those.

whatever you do. good luck and ride safe.

HandsomeRyan wrote:with that said. i have no experience with the 250cc cruisers and i am told that they are not as comfortabe on interstates and other higher speed places. so maybe someone else can chime in about those.

whatever you do. good luck and ride safe.

I'm a new potential rider too (my MSF is next weekend) but in my research on crusiers (thats what I'm looking at) and researching one of the sites on this thread, I 600-800cc cruiser would be in the range of the 250cc sport bike but with more torque. Here's a list from the California Bike Nights site that listed some good beginner rides:

Honda Shadow Sabre: 1099cc, 50hp
Suzuki Boulevard M50: 805cc, 56hp
Honda Shadow VLX: 650cc, 40hp

As he states on that site, cc's do not equal horsepower. Some others, if you are looking used are the Suzuki Marauder 800, S50, Intruder800, C50 and Volusia 800. I believe all of these appear to be in the 50-60 hp range.

Im a fat dude... have an Aprilia scarabeo 250 (scooter) it got me around pretty well topped out highway at 90... Bought a Nighthawk 750... Sweet bike and more then enough power for me (standard) one of the best learning bikes out there...

Just bought a Shadow spirit 750... Had my wife on it today Im about 280 she is 160 or so... Got comfortably up to 75 on the highway... Although I will definitely have to go bigger next season..

Get yourself a Suzuki Boulevard C90. Perfect to controll and great perfermance for the beginner. Just have to handle the dry weight.

Hey, I'm 6'2" and 300. My first bike is the one in my sig, the Volusia 800... Trust me, it's got plenty of pull to power me and another around town or on the highway. I've taken three different people now, ranging from 115 to 150 on the back and been just fine cruising at 75-80 MPH. The 150 guy was also riding when I had full gear on, he had a jacket and helmet, we both had our backpacks from school, altogether, it was probably pushing 490-500 lbs and it was just fine...
Wrider

zenman wrote:I'm 260 lbs and 5'11" (don't know my inseam). What would be a good starter bike for me? Would it make a difference?

I'm 5'10 and 230. Depending on where alot of your weight is locatioed a sport bike may be out of the question no matter what size sport bike. I can ride a Suzuki SV 650 but it is not comfortable even in the first few minutes due to the bending over or stuped position.

That leaves you with Dual purpose (on and off road bikes), Crusiers and Touring. I've never ridden a touring bike and they seem to all have over 1000 cc engines which is way to big of a engine for someone new (like a Honda Goldwing) and they take more attention since if you dump it, you'll never get it off the ground on your own. Unless your really buff and skilled.

The 250's engines are fine for only around town but that's it. If you want to get on the highway you need at least 500 cc's min. It's also still managable for new riders.

So my 2 cents is go with a cruiser with at least 500 cc's but not over 750 and at least 5 gears. Warning Honda has a shadow 600 (cc's) that has only 4 gears and stuggles with anyone to be on the highway due to gearing, not the power or size of rider. Otherwise nice bike.