koji52 wrote:It must be a dealer to dealer thing. Prior to my vrod purchase I was in the dealerships looking at the XRs...sales guy was always telling me, bring your bike in and take it out for a test ride. Maybe the fact that I have a bike already shows that I have some experience. I never took him up on it because i knew that I'd be riding home with the XR after the test ride.
I think you're onto something there. I'll bet dealerships in general are much more likely to offer you a test ride if you ride up rather than drive up.
Gummiente wrote:
Velocity wrote:I was thinking more of two cylinder engines
Ain't ever gonna happen with Harley. The Sportster is and always will be what they consider to be their entry level bike. That's why they took on the Buell lineup, all the work was done for them. It was a lot cheaper that way rather than designing something from the gound up by themselves.
And I can certainly understand that as a marketing strategy. Part of how well that works depends on how strongly buyers feel that they have to have a Harley, of course. They've left a gap in their product line that other manufacturers may fill, as long as customers are open to considering buying something other than a Harley.
I really think dealers should have demo days more often...bikes practically sell themselves so the more people you get to hop in the saddle the better for the moco.
2008 HD VRSC-DX Night Rod Special
2008 Buell 1125R
That the Blast is out of the running with the CBR 125 and the Ninja 250 takes the spot as the front runner for my first bike.
I have my M2 whic in Ontario the only driving restriction is a zero blood alcohol level. However looking on some website some dealers take the M2 and some don't. I figured the Demo days would be the best chance at getting on a bike for a test drive. Seeing pulling up in the mini van screams newb. Kind of like riding your bicycle to a car dealer and asking to test trive a car. You have a much easier time pulling in with a car of some sort.
The two harley dealerships the models they have listed for a test drive at any time have a 1000 plus cc engine size which I would really like to stay away from until I get some miles underneath my six.
The japanese manufactures have no models listed however the one power house dealer has new rider days every other month where they provide a bike for you some in lot training and take you on a short road tour with experienced riders.
My recommendation would be a bike below 50hp and 450 lbs. Riding down to Florida in comfort would be a stretch on any beginner bike, though it depends on your tolerance. Buy a used beginner bike for cheap, ride it for a year, sell it for what you paid for it, then buy whatever you want.
The CBR125 is great for around town, but may be inadequate for the 401. Though I've read some riders do it. The Ninja 250 is a high recommendation from many sources, as is other 250cc cruisers. If you are tall the GS500, the Ninja 500 or the Vulcan 500 have better pickup, and are still recommended beginner bikes. You may keep a 500 longer than a 250, but might learn a little slower. Test sit all of them. If you are near Scarborough, go to Cycle World Superstore on Sheppard. They have almost all these bikes in one area.
I've test ridden the Sportster 883 Low and found it to have great low end acceleration, too much for a beginner. Great brakes, again a little much for a beginner. I do not recommend it for a beginner. They are also $7k CAD new. Many, many are now for sale, some in the $4k range.
Another option if you are tall is the Kawi KLR 650 dual sport single, still less than 50hp and 450 lb. Very popular. The Suzuki S40 is a single cylinder 650, very beginner friendly. Many used ones around. Suzuki has the TU250, which looks like a standard motorcycle, though I don't know if it is available in Canada.
I've only heard good things about the Vulcan 500. I've test sat it and don't really like the forward controls, but have heard many riders like them.
You'll learn slower on a bigger bike. Small bikes are more nimble, easier to handle, harder to drop, easier to save or pick up, better on gas. Once you do a year or two, then get whatever you want. Whatever you do, check out insurance before you purchase. A 24yo guy on another forum in the GTA financed an '09 Ninja 250R only to find out his cheapest insurance will be $1,600/yr.
The bike I took and passed my test on was a Yamaha TW200 which I sat just nice flat footed on with a 30 inch inseam. Don't know what year or the actual seat hight was but It hauled me around without issues.
Florida Trip I would like to happen but best thing would to be like mentioned get a little starter bike for a year or two then trade it in and get a bigger bike for the Touring I want to do.
Yeah insurance coulde be an issue I always check before I go filling out papers. Sporters 1200 was 1300 and the CBR 125 was 700 but those quotes were before I gotten my safety course finished hopefully it'll be a bit cheaper.
Was considering the Buell Blast but the 2010 model according to their website is nothing but a crushed up cube of metal. Hopefully the Ninja isn't too much as it seems to be about right price wise and recommendation wise.
It's your first bike and really you could change your bike style. You never know. Some swear they want a cruiser, buy, then within a couple of months, switch.
Go used, go cheap, learn to ride, do some maintenance, drop it, scratch it, have fun, save your money. Just don't get something too large or fast for your experience. Your second bike can be whatever, but now you've gained enough experience to decide how large (or small), style, and make. Experience counts.
Velocity wrote:You might even wind up as one of those people who own more than one bike, each for a different kind of riding.
Not that there's anything wrong with that...
I could see that happening quite easily to tell you the truth.
How do you tell a good used bike? How many Km's is too much or something to look at that a newb might be able to tell if its a good buy or not?
My first one will most likely come from a dealer either way just to have some reassurance on the purchase. As I'm more of a computer guy then a mechanic.
Velocity wrote:You might even wind up as one of those people who own more than one bike, each for a different kind of riding.
Not that there's anything wrong with that...
I could see that happening quite easily to tell you the truth.
How do you tell a good used bike? How many Km's is too much or something to look at that a newb might be able to tell if its a good buy or not?
My first one will most likely come from a dealer either way just to have some reassurance on the purchase. As I'm more of a computer guy then a mechanic.
I've wondered the same thing. I was looking at an older Kawasaki Vulcan 500 not so long ago that had 46,000 miles on it. I asked a motorcycle mechanic I know, and he told me that 46,000 is a lot of miles on a two cylinder bike.
I came across several good sites on things to keep in mind when looking at used bikes. Some of the suggestions probably border on overkill, but there were a lot of easy good things to look for too:
Mike 