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Lightest bike
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 3:59 am
by 31337
So my step mom and I just passed my MSF course together
I did good in the course riding around on a little honda rebel, but I still find that I'm reeeally uncomfortable at low speeds
I always feel like I'm going to tople over
anyway
My step mom just bought her first bike, a harley sportster
she likes it but it seems too heavey for its power output, and it also seems very cumbersome to me
also when I ride it I stall it out at every stopsign because the idle is sooo low, lol
I feel I would be alot more comfortable on a lightweight bike
but I cant seem to find anything (i've looked at the ninja 250)
so my question is, how light do they come?
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 4:06 am
by Ninja Geoff
Yamaha XT225 can't be more than 250 lbs. And on the sportster, rev it up a bit (500-1000 rpm) when yah launch and ease out on the clutch, should solve all problems. The lightest bikes out there (except scooters and dirtbikes) would be the japanese dual-sports (something about the BMW dual-sport just screams heavy at me, who knows, could be near 300). Followed by the GS500F and EX500 I'd imagine, then sports and/or standards with a 600 for a motor.
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 4:38 am
by rnr262
If you're comfortable now on a littel Rebel or the Ninja 250, buy a used one, learn on it, and then the weight won't seem like such a huge deal to you.
I think my Rebel is 304 lbs. It's pretty darn light.
Congratulations on passing the MSF!!! Happy riding.
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 5:15 am
by camthepyro
The honda nighthawk 250 is under 300lb (dry weight), and you're not going to get much lighter than that. You shouldn't have much of a problem starting a heavier bike than you're used to. Trust me, I rode my 420lb nighthawk 450 for a couple of weeks before my MSF, and after I took the MSF on those tiny little bikes, mine felt like it weighed a million pounds. The point is, you'll get used to it. Lower center of gravity helps make it feel lighter, I rode my step-dads Maxim 1100, which is like 600lbs, and it felt lighter than my nighthawk, because the center of gravity was lower.
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 5:57 am
by secgeek
I agree with all of the comments... My Aprilia Scarabeo 250 (scooter) was 385 dry, my nighthawk 750 I believe is 480 and my spirt is 493.. The spirit feels lighter then even the scooter cause the seat is much lower to the ground...
Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 7:01 pm
by asiantay
My '91 250 Nighthawk is just at about 300 lbs wet, give or take about 10 lbs either way. You'll get used to smaller bikes as you learn to handle it. One precaution is that weight is not everything. My sister's Ninja 500R is about 388 lbs dry, about 20 lbs heavier than my brother's GSXR750, but the Ninja is a lot easier to handle because its slimmer. So you might wanna take into account the shape of the bike. Bikes, like us people, come in all different shapes and sizes... some more forgiving than others.
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 3:02 am
by Kim
If you like cruisers, consider a Suzuki Intruder 800 (or S50). They weigh 443 lbs. Can't complain about the power either!
Re: Lightest bike
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:46 am
by Dragonhawk
31337 wrote:I feel I would be alot more comfortable on a lightweight bike
but I cant seem to find anything (i've looked at the ninja 250)
so my question is, how light do they come?
I have a chart on this page that I built and it lists the weight of bikes:
www.CaliforniaBikeNights.com/learn
Check it out and see some weights of various motorcycles.
Congrats on passing the MSF and kudos for having the intelligence to get proper training.