Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hello everyone. I want to thank you in advance for any help you offer. I have been looking around for a motorcycle for a while now in anticipation of taking the MSF course, which I took this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed. I have a little riding experience, but not a whole lot. Since the course, I have had to really shift views as far as what I was looking for in a bike. I was eyeing a few honda rebels that I had seen on craigslist in my area, but after riding one this weekend, I don't think it is really a smart choice for me with the vast amount of low-end bikes out there. I'm about 6'2", 220 lbs, and have about a 35" inseam. I hate the feel of being cramped up and felt like a gorilla on a rebel, and I know bigger people have ridden them.

I could care less what the bike looks like, bottom line is I want to be comfortable, and I would like to buy something that my wife could ride on the back of when I feel ready. I am lucky to have the advantage of being on a military base with a basic motorcycle course set up to use at any time, so no matter what I get, it will see nothing but that parking lot until I feel more comfortable on it than I did with the bike I used during the course.

That all being said, I am looking for more of a standard or cruiser style bike, but riding the ninja 250's during the BRC felt pretty good. I think this bike is a bit much, but the price is alluring as well as the comfort on it, http://montana.craigslist.org/mcy/737873505.html . Being stationed in Montana sorta sucks, as there isn't really a plethora of used bikes around. If anyone has any thoughts or directions for me to look in, please let me know. Like I said, I am mainly concerned with comfort, being on the motorcycle for a while, and eventually carrying a passenger. I don't like going fast, and thats the truth, so I am not looking for something that's gonna rocket me down the highway. On the same note though, I don't want something that's going to bog down with me and my wife on it, perhaps making it unsafe. Once again, I appreciate all your help, and I realize I am a bit wordy.

Thanks!!!

Welcome to this forum. I, too, am a newbie. My husband used to ride years ago and just started up again. He's 5'11" and 300+ lbs. except he has short legs. He got a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 which fits him well. Sure the seat is lower than most, but it is comfy for him, easy to handle and the price wasn't too bad. We have a Ninja 250 which he rides once in a while and I tease him cause to me he looks like a giant on a little kids bike. I have a Blvd C40 which I like and the others in that series are pretty awesome. But then, I'm new so what do I really know. I just know when I rode the Ninja, I felt kinda cramped and had a difficult time with my feet behind me. I felt a lot more comfy with my feet out front or straight down. I'd suggest that you go to a few dealerships in your neighborhood and sit on them until you find the 'right' one. It may be a good time to buy, cause I know there's dealerships up here that are trying to get rid of their 06 and 07 models. Good luck and be safe.

With a 35" inseam, I think the Rebel is going to feel like a toy after not much time at all. I have a 32" inseam and after 6 months on one it felt small; after a year it was really small, and by the time I sold it, it did indeed feel like a toy.

Fun toy, but still...

That Kaw you posted is really way too much bike for your first. Seriously, it's a bike you build up to, and it would suck for a passenger.

You like cruisers, look to something like a Vulcan 750-800 (used, they don't make them any more), Honda Shadow Spirit, Suzuki C50...they're a little heavier and have more power than the typical first bike, but you might not have a choice. And even then you *might* need to put forward controls on whatever you get.

Also look at the Triumphs...a Bonneville might work for you. I know several people who started off on one and did just fine. Scrambler would probably fit you fine, and it's not too far outside the realm of reasonable (at 900cc, it's still a better choice than that Kaw...bigger engine but fewer ponies.)

If you're looking for used, patience will be a plus. Check craigslist often, cycletrader, and your base lemon lot. I frequently see really good bikes at the Travis AFB lemon lot. Deploying and PCSing airmen sometimes have to sell quickly.

What's your budget and intended use for the motorcycle?

You're bigger than average and for whatever reason, most "beginner" bikes tend to be small. If you aren't concerned with sexy looks or big power, I'd take a look at the the big dual-purpose bikes, like the Kawasaki KLR 650 or the Honda XR650L. These are rugged workhorses, easy going, cheap to buy and run and should be pretty beginner friendly if you're comfortable with the size. And you can take them off road if you need to.

If you want something a little more street-oriented, the Ninja 250 has served thousands, if hundreds of thousands, of beginner bikers well. I wouldn't be too intimidated by the Kawi and Suzuki 650 cc twins and fours. Theses are designed for new or returning riders. The Versys especially well set up for putting on miles and should offer decent comfort for your wife on the back.

On the cruiser side of things the Japanese 750-1300 cc cruisers are durable, easy going and can be found at good prices and should have lots of room for you and your wife.

There are Harley dealerships everywhere, you might take a look at the Harley website to see if any excite you. The Buell Blast is a great first bike, but I'm 5'9" and its too small for me. The SPortster 883 or 1200 even is pretty well bulletproof and can be found used cheap after people trade it in for the bigger bikes. Apparently Harley guys tend to look down on SPortsters, but its quicker and more agile than the bigger harleys. I think of the Sportsters as Mustangs and the big twins more like Cadillacs, but I digress.

You don't seem like a guy interested in the european bikes, so I won't even go there.

Good luck and have fun shopping.

Thanks for such quick responses. My guess was that the bike I posted would be a bit much, but I figured I would give something as a reference. I have one question, because while you guys have said that the ZR-7 was too much at 740cc's, you mentioned others in this range and above. I'm assuming this is due to 2 vs. 4 cyl, as well as the bike's own weight making being factored into the handling? Time is something I do have... sort of. I'm really in no rush to buy anything, but the summer out here in Montana is short, but the fall season is decent. As for the use of the bike, it would be mostly around town at first, but next summer or at the very earliest this fall it would be more highway riding. I'm in Great Falls, so the closest destinations outside of the city are at least 50 miles one way, on roads that are fairly straight (remember, Montana didn't have speed limits until recently, so most people that have lived here a while take corners at about 80 in vehicles... scares the crap out of me to see it). I'll definitely look into what has been mentioned. My price range is rather flexible, but I'd rather hold off for a cheaper bike that isn't perfect to come along than spend more on one that is perfect tomorrow. I think that makes sense... Thanks again!!

Oh yeah, I had a flash thought to go look at the lemon lot, but hadn't remembered to go look until you mentioned it. Thanks!

-Bill

Found these locally through cycletrader (hadn't looked there or heard of it until today). Would you say these are decent prices? Not sure how to put a value on something older like this. I have found comparable ones in other places, and they seem about right. I assume this is what you were sort of suggesting though???

http://www.cycletrader.com/find/listing ... W-93162293

http://www.cycletrader.com/find/listing ... 0-93084885

I suppose my next question would be this... what sort of maintenance would be necessary on these, or any bike with that many miles? I'm mechanically inclined, but also realize that cost of labor out west here is cheap compared to the rest of the country. Thanks!!

-Bill

I don't know anything about keeping 20 year old bikes running so I won't comment on that. As long as the tires, suspensions, and brakes on those two bikes are in good shape they are probably fine for you.

sandblastedskin wrote:I have one question, because while you guys have said that the ZR-7 was too much at 740cc's, you mentioned others in this range and above. I'm assuming this is due to 2 vs. 4 cyl, as well as the bike's own weight making being factored into the handling?

There are a wide variety of engine configurations and states of tune in motorcycles. Horsepower is a better guide to performance than displacement. This is a pretty conservative forum in terms of bike recommendations, gear, etc. and I don't think anybody would argue with me that 50 horsepower is plenty for a beginner. With modern supsension/brakes/liability laws a lot of bikes are really easy to use and 70-75 horsepower shouldn't be too much for a beginner in the sense that anything stupid you do with 75 hp you would probably do with 50.

I don't know anything about the ZR-7, but 4 cylinders from Kawasaki tend to be tuned for high-rpm power which requires throttle discipline new riders just haven't developed yet.

Here's your engine lesson for the day:
You know the old saying, "there's no replacement for displacement?" Well, RPMs work pretty good. All the accoutrements of modern Japanese sporting engines (multiple valves, multiple cylinders, over square pistons, multiple overhead cams) are there to minimize the amount of mass spinning and going back and forth so that you can spin and engine reliably up to over 15,000 rpm and get there from idle pretty quickly. In a four-cylinder engine you get two power strokes per rotation of the crank and so at 15,000 rpm you get 30,000 controlled explosions per mintute (500 per second!) driving the rear wheel. Thus 600 cc sportbikes make as much power as a 1600 cc Honda Civic. Pretty impressive stuff.

Is all that necessary? Maybe if 600cc is all you can fit in the chassis you want. The chassis dimensions are what make sport bikes as agile and light as they are. A lot of the "standard" style inline fours are tuned to breath best at lower rpms relative to the sportbikes and don't rev so high and tend to be more linear in power delivery. The Honda 599 and Suzuki GSX650F are good examples of this. I've heard the 599 can be a good starter bike but it puts out i think close to 100 hp.

So I4's are good at making big power out of a small space because they can rev and, though I didn't go into it, because they have a lot of valve surface area. What are the alternatives? Triples, twins and singles. Triumph and Benelli make triples, but none of them are beginner friendly. Twins have a lot going for them. They come in different flavors: parallel, v's, L's, and boxers. The difference between them is the angle between the cylinders and arrangement of crankpins. A bike desingers choice comes down to inherent balance, packaging considerations, and manufacturing cost. Twins are good at making fewer but bigger explosions in a given time relative to a I4 of similar displacement. Twins have bigger parts and usually worse balance than an I4 so can't rev them as much, but you usually don't need to because each rev puts down more torque. Without the need to rev, you see a variety of valve-trains on twins. Harleys use OHV's to make room for the most displacement possible in their frames. Harleys v-twins make big booms at low rpms but really can't handle lots of revs because of reciprocating mass and inherent unbalance, but they don't really need to. The Suzuki SV650 is a solid choice for a twin first bike and revs respectably because of its modern valve train but is flexible at the same time.

Singles are compact, light, and simple. For the same displacement, a single will make even bigger compustion events than a twin but won't be able to rev as high because of the bigger components. Dual purpose bikes tend to be singles because singles leave room for lots of suspension travel and their power delivery is traction-friendly in the dirt. The older BMW F650's and new G650s are singles and make great first bikes. KTM makes some fun street singles.