Total Motorcycle Community Forums

We rode Buells during my RCP. Cute bikes, but I wouldn't buy one. Choppy throttle, clunky transmission, and oh-my-god vibrations. Maybe they smooth out once you get 'em above 3rd, but...

I honestly think that, for a new bike for a new rider, I would want something a little smoother and refined. You want to be concentrating on developing your skills as a rider, not fighting with your bike. Of course, alternatively, we (and MSF courses all over the place) do manage to teach new students on Buells every day.

Get a Kymco Venox i'm 6'1 200lbs and I can ride it fine a rebel is small as "poo poo".

slim

Thats a nice looking bike, but with a 250 engine, and weighing a lot more than some of the other 250's, does it have enough punch for highway riding? There also isn't a dealer within 2+ hours of me.

Looking at all the standard/cruiser style 250's out there, how much variation is there in terms of actual performance/acceleration? Are the faster bikes simply lighter? Some of my friends are telling me I am better off looking at something in the 400-600 range to start out. What is the line between a light bike, average weight and a heavy bike?

There are a bunch of brands I've come across on here that I had never heard of before. How do you find the less known brands if they aren't someplace where you would just run across them? Magazines? Thanks again to everyone for all your input.

You might be able to rent one..........
However every now and then the HD dealers have FREE trial rides
call your local dealers or look online and see if any of them are having a open house and will be offering bike rides.
I took the class years ago and they used Buells, didn't care for the price but I liked the bike.

I took the BRC at a Harley dealer (Riders Edge) and used the 500cc Blast.

I got a used 2002 and rode it until my wife took the class and then took the Blast. I put 1,600 miles on it in a few months.

Very easy bike to ride, and hauled my fat butt up above 85MPH one time.
(I dropped it the first time I rode it - never rode a motorcycle before - cost me $12 to put it right.)

Don't be afraid of the stories, most can be traced back to 2 guys, but the stories are duplicated everywhere, so it seems like there are a lot of issues.

Go to badweatherbikers.com and check out the Thumper threads.

My very first ride (before the class):



My wife's now:


All dolled up:

Thanks for the positives. Its a great looking bike.

My daughter bought a Buell Blast on Father's day. It took her a little while to get use to the vibration and the clutch as it is different from the Rebel she learned on. She loves the way it have power to take off from a start. She likes riding it and does almost daily. She is short legged and could not fine anything besides the blast that she can be flat footed on.