Total Motorcycle Community Forums

The time has come to sell my car and I cannot bear the thought of not having some form of transportation always at disposal. Luckily, I've always wanted a bike so now is the time.


I have been reading up a LOT on a good bike for someone new to motorcycles. I've ridden motocross a few summers, but never a motorcycle. I'm signed up for a MSF course in a month and want to have the bike for after I complete it. I would love a tone down sport bike, maybe a naked bike... One issue I have is I would like to be able to ride it from lower CT up to boston every once in a while, so it needs to be able to handle highway speed for a few hours (i.e. a small engined crotch rocket will not suffice.)

So far I've been looking at:
-buell blast
-suzuki bandit 600
-suzuki sv-650
-yamaha seca II
-suzuki gs550f
-triumph bonneville
-triumph speed triple


as you can see I would like a sport-touring bike or something along those lines, but I don't want too much displacement because I simply do not want the ability to go 150mph on a first bike.

do the bikes on that list make sense? please give me some insight on them and recommendations on other motorcycles that would fit my needs.

thanks!


edit:
also, I'm not very tall, 5'6", weighing only 150... i'm not as worried about the weight of the bike as not being able to rest my feet on the ground at a stoplight so please take that into account

Kawasaki EX250 and EX500 should be on that list.

...as should the BMW F650 series if you are including triumphs...

Right off the bat scratch the Speed Triple. It is a great bike but not for a beginner. This bike is a beast.

I would probably scratch the Blast for different reasons. If you are a very small person you may fit. And not enough umph to do highway miles. Although my wife rode a thumper from Ohio to North Carolina and back by a very twisted route. 6 states.

All three Suzukis could be in the hunt. The Bandit probably better for travelling.

If you can find a clean Seca it would work.

The Bonnie is a very nice bike but maybe a little questionable for your purpose.

A clean Honda Nighthawk would also work.

That being said, even a 250 Ninja would work for you. There are people who put a lot of miles on them. Also the 500.

The F650 will also cover miles. Just maybe not at the pace you want. Do a lot of your trip off-slab and it will be fine.

would a ninja 250 be suitable for long highway stints? crusing at 70-80mph for 2-3 hours?

and i forgot to add onto my first message that while i love the triple speed it's just too much bike for me


anything else I should be looking at? i'm definantly buying this used...
maybe an ex500, or a cb400?


revised list:
-honda nighthawk (750)
-suzuki bandit (600)
-yamaha seca II

...how fast do you plan to go? All of the bikes listed will all cruise along at 80MPH all day long, and will go quite a bit faster if you want. Personally, I don't like riding much above 80MPH for long distances because keeping an eye out for cop cars stops being fun and starts being a chore.

F650 has a top speed of 113MPH according to BMW. EX250 tops out at 105. I don't know any sane people that recommend road trips at above 100MPH, especially not on the east coast.

EX250 will cruise at 70-80 for about 2.5 hours... maybe 3... then you need to refuel it in order to do another 2.5 hours. At 65MPH it'll go a fair amount further. It gets really good mileage, but only at slower speeds like 55MPH. I usually ride 70-80 on interstates that allow it (I'm west coast and that's traffic speed), and get about 55MPG.

70-80mph is exactly what i'm looking for in cruising speed. I can't remember which, but there were a few bikes I looked at that were for beginners that weren't suitable for that at all..

Yep... sadly the Ninja 250 is the only small bike imported to the US that is suitable for standard highway speeds. The others are geared wrong at least (and they have less HP too). Most top out at about 75, which is pretty useless. The EX250 is plenty good at cruising the highway though.

The EX500/GS500 type bikes are probably a little easier to use for what you want simply because it is much easier to find luggage mounting hardware and the like. There are almost no aftermarket parts for the EX250, which is just insane considering that there are a lot of them on the road and many riders (like me) want to add luggage and the like. But them's the breaks.

I really like the GS500e naked (which they stopped selling in the US in 2004) too. There are a lot of older Japanese bikes that would fit the bill nicely. The problem is, since there are no current models sold they are hard to "try on" to see how well they fit... so you can't really make a list of every Yamaha XJ/S that would work, or the Hondas that would fit. You are pretty much stuck looking for any bike in your price range and probably going out to sit on a few bikes that don't match your frame.

In the end it all comes down to what you are comfortable sitting on.

in adition to what ^he^ said, the 250 will cruise at considerably faster than 80 mph. [trust me ] the 250 is more comfortable for tall people because the tank ridges. i am 6'2 240# and i couldnt do the ex500 because the tank design but i love my 250. i am planning a trip from east tn to middle VA next month (about 3 hours) and maybe the atlantic coast in the fall (about 6-7 hours). it has a standard riding position but with room to "tuck" if the wind pressing at your chest bother you. ask anyone on this sight who owns one (me, karatechick, Dieziege who you already met, i think there are at least 10 more floating around here) if this bike is suitable for highway riding and they will all say yes. the bike gets no respect from new riders (who dont own one) but most seasoned veterans who have ridden on/with one can vouch that its a sweet little bike. and with all the money you save buying a $3500 bike instead of a $12,000 bike you can afford a nice aerostich suit* and some hard luggage for it too!

BEWARE- the sales guy at the bike store doesnt want to sell you the little bike because his comission is not as good as on a bike with a bigger sticker pice. i was told this was a "girl bike" and i'd be bored in a week. needless to say i do not shop at that dealer anymore and bought my bike elsewhere.

also remember:
-good gas mileage
-same bike in production since 1987 so all the "bugs" are worked out
-dependable (see above)
-not completey bad looking (except that headlight)
-price!
-resale (go look for a used one, i dare you to find a bike that depreciates less if you do decide to get rid of it)
-beginner friendly (wont kill you if you dump the clutch or other n00b mistakes)


i guess you can see i like the bike and highly recomend it to others. definatly go sit on some bikes and see what feels right but dont count out the ex250 because its stats aret the most impressive.

*man i want one SOOOO bad.

-buell blast - will be cramped for anyone over 5'8" or so and very vibey
-suzuki bandit 600 - excellent highway manners but too touchy for a new rider
-suzuki sv-650 - excellent highway manners, engine is less touchy than the bandit, about the absolute limit for a new rider
-yamaha seca II - if you can find one in good shape this would be a good choice
-suzuki gs500f - excellent choice, quite comfy, will do highway speeds with ease and has a big gas tank
-triumph bonneville - not a bad choice, only go for one of the newer ones, 70s bonnies are for those who like wrenching on their bikes
-triumph speed triple - this thing is a monster, not beginner friendly in any way

Heres a few others that would also work well

Kawasaki Ninja 500R - considered to be one of the best bikes around for a new rider
Kawasaki Ninja 250R - another excellent choice but it might not be the most comfortable at highway speeds.
Kawasaki KLR 650 - if your willing to ride something that looks like a dirtbike this bike would be a great choice, you can even take it off road.
Honda nighthawk 250/750 - the 250 is a good bike to learn on but is not well suited for highway travel, the 750 is an excellent bike to rack up highway miles on and quite forgiving despite its 67hp.

It seems like you want a sportbike or a standard, but pretty much any cruiser will also do just fine on the highway.

Go with the Ninja 250. My rebel will cruise at 75mph all day so it shouldn't be a problem for the ninja. The ninja is a bit faster too. I'm thinking of adding one to my stable as soon as I get the chance.