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Used, picked up a Ninja 250 with low miles on it and did my damndest to ride the wheels off it the first week after my MSF course.

I went with a used, "cheap and cheerful" Honda. I didn't want to invest a lot of money because I didn't know if I'd even like riding. I also liked having a smaller bike (it's difficult to buy a decent starter bike that's new - they just don't make them like they used to) but in order to get a decent smaller bike I had to buy old.

It took me four years to outgrow the good ol' Honda!

redwing wrote:I bought new. I found the make and model used but the dealer had no idea or any reciepts about the maint. The used was about 60% of the real cost. The new bike I bought is a 2008 BMW R1200R for $15059.00. It has shields or scuff plates like on the K1200GS. I considered crash bars but liked the shields and the valve covers were well covered. I dropped the bike at sloooow speeds .... 3 mph or less ... 6 ot 7 times. The worst damage was a mirror, $70.00 to replace. The bar weight at the end of the handlebars got scratch a bit and one of the rear turning signal got knocked off but by design it just popped back on. Most every drop was when I was coming to a stop. I had forgotten about looking a head when stopping instead at the road. Once a stall when taking off. That was the first 100 miles and riden in one day. Now got 600 ... 500 without a drop so I think I must be getting better.

And this is the exact reason everyone says to go closer to 600 cc for a first bike. Sorry but I have riden over 15k miles on my bike and not dropped it once. 600 is nothing to sneeze at.

My first bike was a new Kawasaki KZ400. It wasn't too costly for me at the time as I recall. I wasn't making very much money then but the purchase was well worth it. Today I feel bikes are so well built that you can get away with buying used. I have purchased 3 bikes new and 1 used. The used bike was purchased on EBay. It arrived (was shipped from out of state) in excellent condition and was even better than described by the seller. You should have someone who knows bikes look over any used bike that you are thinking about buying. Plus it is always a good idea to research the bike on the internet. Get a general product reviews of the bike you want.

My first bike was used.

Brand new 1975 or '76 Honda CT70. It did not look new when I was finished with it......

Used.

1983 Honda Magna V30.

It was a great idea buying used, not only was it cheaper but when I did drop it on a chunky gravel rural road it was cheaper to fix.

Used, but looked at new as there was a great deal on a GSS500F that was a 2009 (but brand new). But it was just enough out of my price range, particularly considering (despite being basically unemployed), at the time I was completely unemployed lol.

I honestly feel now like I am at the point where if I drop it, it will be some stupid mistake I could make after a year of experience. I am surprised I have not dropped it, but it actually seems common not to. I could see it being a lot easier on a bigger bike, but the GS500 is so manageable weight wise and I am not in great shape but I am strong and have very strong legs... but there have been times where you throw a couple hundred more pounds on that bike, and I am sure it would have gone over.

Big advantage of used though for your first bike, for me, is you have no idea what you will like. For all I knew I was going to climb on the GS500, despise it, and instantly want a cruiser. That would have sucked if I were on a brand new one. Price of course as well in most cases.

I was afraid of used so I got a cheap $4999 Kawasaki Ninja 500R v-twin carbureted POS. I spent an extra $700 to have a Muzzy exhaust and "stage-3 fuel kit" (whatever that was) installed. Then it turned from a heavy POS to a broke down POS. After the shops couldn't fix it, I wound up selling it for $1500. Good riddance, never wanna see it again.

My first bike was used, a less than year old Yamaha 250 YDS3 250, best investment I ever made since it really taught me how to ride and get all the power and handling out of it without being too dangerous. And yes, I dropped it! Before that I had been borrowing friends old BSA C-10 250 and a BSA 125 Bantam that taught me the basics.

After riding that for over a year and some 4,000 miles, I traded up to a BSA 650 Spitfire Hornet. The Yamaha was a better bike, the BSA was more fun.