Total Motorcycle Community Forums

it is pretty tough to come up with the "ideal" bike for each person, but i would say weight and hp should be looked at really closely. on top of that, you have to look at what the rake/trail numbers are as well. add into that the style the person wants and it becomes almost impossible.

i tend to recommend the 500-750cc cruisers as starters for cruiser people of weight greater than 180lbs because they "should" be able to handle them. and suggest moving up in a year or so once they hone their low speed skills.

the 1300 gets higher praise from many folks over say the 1100 shadows so my next bike will probably be the 1300 instead of the 1800 or the 11. that said it probably won't be until next year and that will be 4.5 years on my 750 shadow not due to a lack of cash or anything like that. I personally don't think i really need the 1300 yet since i still have trouble doing some low speed stuff on the 750.

some may outgrow a 750 in 3 months if they practice and have good skills, or it might take a couple years, or you might find the 750 to be perfect and keep it until you can hand it down to a friend/relative.

but by all means let me know how the 1300 handled Bubba, i've heard nothing but good about it

BubbaGump wrote:Dragonhawks link to his New Rider's Guide is excellent. It lists the VTX 1300 as a good beginner bike based on HP. So from what has been posted, weight should also factor in........

Yeah. I keep on thinking I should remove it as a beginner bike because of the weight-factor.

The horsepower of a VTX1300 isn't too nutty for a beginner. Only 60HP. That's about the limit of what a beginner should attempt, I think. But the weight? It may be too much for a beginner. I may need to reevaluate some of my personal opinions on those things and rewrite my page ... Hmmm.

OK - so I went on four test rides today, but before I did that, I re-read everyone's posts to keep in mind what everyone has said and make note of things I noticed in relation to what was said AFTER I was done. Here is what my experience was. Keep in mind I haven't ridden in almost 20 years, but I did take the MSF course and purchased $1100 worth of gear to make sure I was well prepared ahead of time:

Honda Shadow 750: Very nice, light bike. The 750 handled well, was responsive with smooth acceleration and very easy to maneouver. Keeping in mind that I will be doing a lot of highway riding, I found that while the 750 was a great bike, it wasn't the bike for me.

Vulcan 900LT: I test rode this bike in the late morning. The wind had picked up, so I was glad to have a windshield. The Vulcan 900 seemed somewhat underpowered. I was expecting that it would have more power and be more responsive than the Shadow 750. In my opinion, it wasn't. The Vulcan 900 is actually a great beginner bike for someone who has ZERO riding experience. It's very forgiving.

Honda VTX 1300: Promising myself that whatever my decision was - it would be based on logic, not emotion, I mounted the 1300 with a bit of apprehension. To say I was more than mildly suprised was an understatement. The 1300 has a lot of low end power, is highly responsive and shifts beautifully. Keeping in mind that I wanted to be sure I could handle a larger bike at low speed - I took it to a large, open parking lot where I did low speed turns, u-turns and emergency braking. The clutch is smooth and the weight on this bike, despite its 670lb load, is well distributed making it very easy to handle. I had no problems at low (<6mph) speeds.

Vulcan 1500 Classic: This bike was originally the bike I wanted. I liked the look, the sound, everything about it. I was hooked. However, as soon as I mounted it I knew it wasn't the bike for me. The gastank is so wide I felt I was trying to straddle a piano. Regardless, I took it out at highway speeds to see how it handled and how I felt. Immediately the vibration on the left floorboard made my foot go numb. After a short highway ride - I took it to a lot for low speed maneouvers - just like all the others. As soon as I started, I knew I wouldn't be trying emergency braking for fear of dumping the bike. It felt very top heavy and slow to respond. Basically, I felt this bike was beyond both my skill and comfort level, so after a few low speed turns I took it back to the dealer.

So after having re-read everyone's posts again, I feel that the best bike for ME is the VTX 1300. It had a lot of power, but not once did I feel that I wasn't in complete control. The weight distribution, smooth clutching and acceleration and excellent braking capabilities put it ahead of the rest, even though its $2K more than the 1500. I'm glad this post came up prior to me taking the test rides otherwise I wouldn't have ridden the 750 or 900, but doing so confirmed that I can handle a larger bike. Regardless, it was well worth taking the time to make the comparision. Now that I have made my decision, I will be signing up for an advanced course. That will come to over $2K worth of gear and training for a $15K machine. A wise investment if it helps keep the shiny side up.

Hope this helps and thanks for everyone's input!

glad you found the bike for you and happy bike day!

BubbaGump, thanks for sharing your thoughts on those different bikes. You have no idea how helpful that is in making a decision.

In fact, almost everyone who has posted here has been very helpful.

Gator wrote:BubbaGump, thanks for sharing your thoughts on those different bikes. You have no idea how helpful that is in making a decision.

In fact, almost everyone who has posted here has been very helpful.

Anytime - glad it helped. If anything, test ride if you can - this should help more than anything anyone can say. Remember, the biggest influence in your safety isn't horsepower, weight or torque - its attitude.

I honestly think people should look at torque more than horsepower in many cases, I'm not sure why people always discuss HP over torque when considering bikes for new riders.

bok wrote:it is pretty tough to come up with the "ideal" bike for each person, but i would say weight and hp should be looked at really closely. on top of that, you have to look at what the rake/trail numbers are as well. add into that the style the person wants and it becomes almost impossible.

i tend to recommend the 500-750cc cruisers as starters for cruiser people of weight greater than 180lbs because they "should" be able to handle them. and suggest moving up in a year or so once they hone their low speed skills.

the 1300 gets higher praise from many folks over say the 1100 shadows so my next bike will probably be the 1300 instead of the 1800 or the 11. that said it probably won't be until next year and that will be 4.5 years on my 750 shadow not due to a lack of cash or anything like that. I personally don't think i really need the 1300 yet since i still have trouble doing some low speed stuff on the 750.

some may outgrow a 750 in 3 months if they practice and have good skills, or it might take a couple years, or you might find the 750 to be perfect and keep it until you can hand it down to a friend/relative.

but by all means let me know how the 1300 handled Bubba, i've heard nothing but good about it

bok wrote:it is pretty tough to come up with the "ideal" bike for each person, but i would say weight and hp should be looked at really closely. on top of that, you have to look at what the rake/trail numbers are as well. add into that the style the person wants and it becomes almost impossible.

earwig wrote:I honestly think people should look at torque more than horsepower in many cases,

Thinking about it more, weight, horsepower, torque, rake/trail, seat height, and center of gravity all strike me as factors (Good points, bok & earwig). Does anyone know, is there some kind of objective “center of gravity” number that can be used to compare bikes?

BubbaGump – excellent comparative review, thanks. How did you find a dealer so accommodating for test rides?

jstark47 wrote:BubbaGump – excellent comparative review, thanks. How did you find a dealer so accommodating for test rides?

Us Canadians are always accomodating. Actually I spoke w. a few guys I know who ride bikes and went to a couple of places to see what they offered. If I got good service kickin tires then I stayed, if not I walked. I did a lot of research prior to walking in, so I had my facts straight.

earwig wrote:I honestly think people should look at torque more than horsepower in many cases, I'm not sure why people always discuss HP over torque when considering bikes for new riders.

I agree with you.

However, if a person has never operated anything with a manual transmission, I think the concepts of torque, horsepower and RPMs are very difficult to understand. After all, with an automatic transmission, all of those things are done for the driver. They don't need to think about any of it or learn how it works. It just happens all by itself.

If you have driven stick-shift cars or ridden motorcycles, it becomes a lot easier to grasp these concepts.

The challenge in my mind is - how do you simplify these concepts into things that beginners can understand when they have only driven things with automatic transmissions?

I try not to get into TOO much detail. Because if a person has not driven a stick-shift, all the details of torque and horsepower and powerbands will be lost on them.