motorcycle buying question for a newbie :)

[cdoasis]

Alright, I'm a complete newbie when it comes to motorcycles. So just humor me through my dumb questions.

I've never ridden a motorcycle, but lately I've been wanting to get one. Not to hot rod it around or drive like a "stupid youngin'", hehe. But just for fun anyway.
I've rode pedal bikes my whole life, actually I rode mine everyday from when I was 14 to 17. I'm 19 now. So I think I have pretty good balance. I also drive a stick shift Ford, so I understand how shifting and working a clutch works and stuff.

I've seen some Hondas and Suzukis from the 70's go for pretty cheap on ebay. But since I'm not too knowledgable on them, I have no idea what to go for. I live in a pretty rural area, and most of the time I'll probably be riding the bike on a dirt road, maybe even off road if it's a dirt bike. So I've been looking at cruisers and dirt bikes.

My budget is about, $800 I'd say. I've seen plently of older Hondas and Suzkukis for that amount on ebay, so if that's a good choice, I'd buy one of them. There's also an older Yamaha dirt bike being sold locally for $800.
So does anyone have any suggestions for a certain brand, model, type of engine, etc, for me? I'm a pretty small person, I know that kind of affects the decision.

[d2mini]

Before you do anything, take the MSF class (add $200 to your budget).
That will give you a better idea of what you want/don't want in a bike.

I am a cyclist. 31yo and I still commute to work a couple days a week on my mountain bike and i have a road racer for the weekends. About the only thing that helped me when learning to ride a motorcycle recently was the balance when you start to move in a straight line from a stop. And I also understood the countersteering concept. But that's about all you can expect to carry over from bicycling.

[cdoasis]

Yeah, I think I understand countersteering, just like shifting your body to the other side, I did it on my mountain bike when I reached high speeds and I see it done on motorcycles.
I would take the MSF class, but I don't really know if there is one in my area, I basically live in the middle nowhere. Since I won't be riding it to work or anything, and just on dirt roads, I think I'll be fine for now anyway. If I decide I want to drive the bike farther or go to work with it, then I'll take the class.
What kind of bike should I be looking for though? Since I know very little about bike styles and engines and things I would look for in a first bike.

[stock28]

If you really want to learn to ride, take the class even if you have to travel to it. It is nothing like riding a bike. Countersteering is not just like shifting your body. The class will give you the chance to ride several kinds of bikes and will anwer those questions for you.

[iwannadie]

counter steerings the weirest thing. its better to not under stand it and just know how to do it for some people.

lets say your going straight and the road is curving to your left. then for explanation purpose lets say your riding with only your right hand on the bars. to make the turn in the road youll actually pull the right handle bar towards you making the tire point to the right. while the tire is pointing to the right(slightly) you will begin to learn towards the left and be going left while you pull the right bar towards you.

of all my years riding a pedel bike i didnt ever deal with counter steering on it. another way to get the feel for it is. sit on your bike have someone stand in front of you with their feet on both sides of the tire(holding the bike up). put your feet up on the pegs(pedels) and ever so gently apply preasure to the right bar pulling it towards you. you should feel the tire point the oppesite direction of the turn and the bike wanting to lean. or even the oppesite i think they like to teach it the other way. you would press the left bar away from you making the tire point right while you lean and turn left.

sorry to be confusing i just woke up actually... and if anyone has a better explanation or even if mine is wrong chime in

Yeah, I think I understand countersteering, just like shifting your body to the other side, I did it on my mountain bike when I reached high speeds and I see it done on motorcycles.
I would take the MSF class, but I don't really know if there is one in my area, I basically live in the middle nowhere. Since I won't be riding it to work or anything, and just on dirt roads, I think I'll be fine for now anyway. If I decide I want to drive the bike farther or go to work with it, then I'll take the class.
What kind of bike should I be looking for though? Since I know very little about bike styles and engines and things I would look for in a first bike.

[cdoasis]

Hmm, maybe I don't understand counter steering I guess. I know what you mean by your explanation though.
I honestly don't think I'll be riding with a license to be honest though, I seriously live in the middle of no where. Plus I really don't have the money for anything else but a bike, well.. a cheap one. I'll take the course if I get the money soon, but I have alot of bills first, and I'd like to get a bike first... I promise I won't go hot rod it and crash it.

...so any recommendations?

[cdoasis]

I'm just not really sure whether I want a cruiser or a dirt bike, I guess I don't really know the pros and cons of each (except that one goes off road and one doesn't, haha). Don't know what brands are good or not, too.

[Sev]

cruisers are not fun on gravel/sand/dust. If you're going to be playing on that...

[cdoasis]

Thanks. I didn't really know how cruisers work on dirt roads. Not necessarily rough roads, but just dirt. I'll look into dirt bikes then.

[iwannadie]

try looking for a 'dual sport' they handle dirt and also regular roads well. i see alot of people riding dirt bikes here on the street and they seem to do ok, but they dont seem very suited for street riding

Thanks. I didn't really know how cruisers work on dirt roads. Not necessarily rough roads, but just dirt. I'll look into dirt bikes then.