Total Motorcycle Community Forums

im looking for a used bike somewhere in the $5-7k range thats fairly quick and looks good

I am thinking about a sport/race bike or a cruiser type bike(harley type) so what kind of bike do you recommend that is also reliable? thanks for any advice

i'm 28 yrs old and i just want some extra excitement and a new hobby

I suggest having a look in the Beginner section, lots of helpfull hints on what/how to choose your first bike.

some suggestions though, in sportier bikes - Kawasaki Ninja 250/500, Suzuki GS500, theres quite a few more.

Cruisers, Yamaha Vstar 650's, Kawasaki Vulcan 500, Honda makes quite a beginner friendly cruisers.

keep in mind the insurance on a new rider can be quite, ermmm, shocking. and dont skimp on your saftey gear.

Do you want quick compared to a car or quick compared to a bike? They are very different worlds. Most bikes can beat a porche off the line.

As a beginner it's better to take it easy and get a smaller bike to start with. As an extreme go with an m-50 (800cc cruiser... don't listen to motof150) or an sv650/ninja 650. More of the higher recommendations for a newbie but you can get them all new for under $6k otd.

It's very different that driving a car and much more dangerous. A car has airbags, seatbelts, crumple zones and lots of material seperating you from teh enviroment. In a bike you have .5-3 mm of fabric between your enviroment and your leg. While you can minimize the risk by taking a safety course, reading books and taking classes for technique, drive responsibly and most importantly wear good gear; you can still get extremely injured in an accident that would only have scratched a car.

Start small and work your way up. The big bikes are fun, but the smaller bikes are a whole lot more fun initially.

MotoF150 wrote:I'm an idiot, do not listen to me

There moto, fixed your quote... Anyway, if you're going for a sportbike, nothing over 500ccs if it's an inline 4 motor, and nothing over 650ccs if it's a twin... For a cruiser, that's my first bike in my avatar and sig, 805ccs of V-Twin fury... And I can still spank just about any modded 4, except for WRXs and EVOs. The other day I beat a 5.4 V8 Triton F150... (He was riding my O-Ring)
Wrider
PS Moto, Suzuki doesn't make an M95...

HD 883 sporties fall in that price range new if you hunt around. 5-7k for a used bike gives you pretty much any type of bike you could think of if you check out craigslist. If you're going for a sportbike, definitely check out the stickies in the new riders section. Personally, I'd say don't go by engine size - try and go by horsepower the bike puts out. Usually for a beginner bike you wanna try and stay at or under around 60 hp. Thats enough to keep you entertained for quite a while, but usually those are not bikes that will surprise you while you're learning.

well let me tell you that if you do decide to get anything like a 600CC gsxr or r6, your insurance will be over 2000 dollars per year... But if you get something like a ninja 250 or 500, your insurance will most likely stay under $1000.

austinaltezza wrote:im looking for a used bike somewhere in the $5-7k range thats fairly quick and looks good

Take the MSF (whatever that is) or a set of courses that lets you go from 125 cc bikes to 500 cc to a full license. Then go rent a bike for a day or a week. Then you'll come back saying "I like the ____ of the _____, but I want the ____ of the _____.


And you won't even be asking a question. Take some lessons.

Haha- of the ways of europeans....

The motorcycle safety course is the main source of mc license here. 15 hours long and 10-12 of it being on a 125-250 cc motorcycle. After that they cut you loose to practice in parking lots.

Very few places rent bikes, the ones that do are typically expensive

Don't mind moto, he's a paranoid schizophrenic with pencil envy.

Starting on a high performance anything is a bad idea.

The Suzuki DRZ-400SM supermoto bike is light, quick, and a great overall first bike. It won't get you any speeding tickets, but it won't leave you bored after your first year of riding imo.