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I am looking for my first bike. I will be the first to admit I am not very mechanically inclined so I want somethig reliable. I am leaning towards a Rebel or Virago 250, but a little extra power would be great...just normally more expensive. I still want a safe beginner bike though.

Could you tell me more about a 1979 Honda CB750K Motorcycle? It is in absolute pristine shape, but it is an older model could I end up way over my head? I was planning on spending 2400, but I found this one for 1300...
Spending that extra thousand on maintenance...could I end up with a motorcycle as reliable as an 03 Rebel or so?

It does have 20,000 miles and the one problem is that the seller claims the carbs need adjustment so that it idles properly and one does not have to play with the throttle as much.

I like it because of how good of acondition it is in and it is just a very cool old school looking bike.

I had a '79 CB750 for a year. It was a good bike, but in the end needed more help than I could afford. They're cool bikes, but you have to remember that it is 29 years old, and will likely need more maintenance than a newer bike.

It is a heavy bike for a beginner, but I managed.

I have an '82 CB750F with less miles but still, a 26 year old bike. Mine is in pretty nice shape as well. If it's well taken care of, it should be a good motorcycle to own. IF not, they can nickel and dime you to death.
As for it being your first bike, I just posted recently about my experience:
viewtopic.php?t=29625

monkey

depends on the shape it's in, how it was treated and how well you turn a wrench. If you can do your own work then $800 in parts will make it just as reliable if not more than the first day it left the showroom floor

whoa...I read your other posts. Good thing I asked about it...I was under the impression a cb750 was a bike equivalent to a vstar 650, a bit faster than a vulcan 500, shadow 600...but no?
Of course, I respoect your decision, but I do want something a bit smaller and slower...so this aint what i want, right? I did not know this cb750 was a whole nother animal?

It is however, the best looking motorcycle I have seen in the used market. I will own one, one day

Monkey wrote:whoa...I read your other posts. Good thing I asked about it...I was under the impression a cb750 was a bike equivalent to a vstar 650, a bit faster than a vulcan 500, shadow 600...but no?
Of course, I respoect your decision, but I do want something a bit smaller and slower...so this aint what i want, right? I did not know this cb750 was a whole nother animal?

It is however, the best looking motorcycle I have seen in the used market. I will own one, one day

No, it is different. The "K" is a standard bike with over 70hp while the Shadow 600 for example is a ~40hp cruiser. Can't take it literally CC vs. CC.
I did not ask you if you are taking the motorcycle course as it is a very important detail. I personally cannot imagine getting on anything over 250cc
(if that) w/o the course.

Yes, I finished the MSF course and did well on both parts last week. I already got my license.
I might just be a more conservative person than you so I'd was originally leaning towards a slower bike....but it is such a sweet looking bike.

You are right I was doing cc v. cc.

Monkey wrote:Yes, I finished the MSF course and did well on both parts last week. I already got my license.
I might just be a more conservative person than you so I'd was originally leaning towards a slower bike....but it is such a sweet looking bike.

You are right I was doing cc v. cc.

So, in that case what's your preference for your first bike? What did you ride during the course? Sounds like you're leaning towards the cruisers so why not look for something like a slightly older Shadow in nice shape? The bike market should be more buyer friendly now then it was when I was buying mine. As long as you don't want a Ninja 250 as those are hot items! $2400 should get you a fairly good bike, either buy a $2400 bike or a cheaper bike plus some maintenance.

My preference is standard or cruiser. You're really helpful by the way. I learned on a Honda Rebel and I've no problem with that for a little while, but some ppl say you can outgrow a rebel fairly quickly and also that the rebel is not quite enough bike to handle passengers.

Those who think so (not all, plenty do think the rebel is just fine for that) usually go on to suggest those other 500-750 cruisers as good options...but they don't look nearly as sweet as your bike or this one

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/mcy/776399703.html[/img]

^ That's a good one. Nighthawks are neat bikes as they are shaft driven so less maintenance then the chain. Power and weight hover around the same mark as my CB.
One thing everybody agrees on when it comes to Honda CB 4bangers, they are bullet proof if maintained. That's the trick with old machines in general though, finding the one that has been taken care of. It was also one of deciding factors when I got mine, it was clean, well kept and had a mature owner which even had some history on the bike going back to 1991 with the original manual and such.