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Hi all I just passed my Gearing Up riders training course at Durham College in Whitby Ontario this past weekend and now I have my M2 license. I decided to take the course after reading all the suggestions on this forum on what a good idea taking a training course was.

Boy it has to be the best decesion since deciding to learn to ride motorcycles. I had a smile on my face the whole weekend (well execpt when I was taking the final road test I felt a little and during the first couple of hours of the course.

However Randy, Mike, John and the rest of the crew were great. Went from being a total newb too feeling comfortable and having the time of my life.

I am looking for a good starter bike and have been consdiering the following bikes.



Which bike should I choose?

Suzuki GS500F

http://moto.suzuki.ca/Product%20Lines/C ... S500F.aspx

Kawasakie Ninja 250

http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/ninja-250r:1156

Honda CBR 125

http://www.honda.ca/MCPE/Motorcycle/Mod ... l=CBR125R9

Honda Shadow 750

http://www.honda.ca/MCPE/Motorcycle/Mod ... el=VT750C8

Harley Davidson Iron 883

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Cont ... del/xl883n

If anyone has any suggestions for a starter bike then the ones listed let me know.

Or if anyone has pros and cons for these bikes having ridden them that would be most helpful.

Sit on all of the ones you have listed plus a few more just for fun. You've taken the course so you have some idea of what you did and didn't like about the bikes you learned on.

There is no right first bike (although there is probably a lot of wrong first bikes) but none on your list are out of range.

See which one speaks to you and feels good. Happy shopping!

Interesting range of bikes there, with three closer to sportbike style and two more cruiser or standard style.

Also quite an engine range from 125cc to 883 cc.

I think a lot of your choice will depend on what your preferred riding position is, and then which of those bikes fit your frame.

If this is to be your first bike, keep in mind that it does not have to be your ultimate bike.

What kind of riding do you anticipate doing?

i've got a ninja 250 and love it. if you're planning to do in-town riding almost exclusively, it's a great bike.

it's not terribly comfortable on longer rides and it revs really high to hit highway speeds, but it's a great bike for in town. i'm getting 50-60mpg on mine with just city riding and it handles great. it's also very light, which can be good and bad. good because you can really throw it around in the corners and it won't fight you when you need to change lanes quick or turn a little sharp. bad because it gets blown around quite a bit by the wind, but i got used to that pretty quick and sometimes don't even realize it until i'm looking slightly sideways at the road in front of me to compensate.

it really is a fun bike and i'm hoping i can keep it even though i'm getting another bike later this week. it'd be nice if i can sell it to a friend so i can still ride it from time to time if i want to, especially for the experienced rider's course.

Velocity wrote:Interesting range of bikes there, with three closer to sportbike style and two more cruiser or standard style.

Also quite an engine range from 125cc to 883 cc.

I think a lot of your choice will depend on what your preferred riding position is, and then which of those bikes fit your frame.

If this is to be your first bike, keep in mind that it does not have to be your ultimate bike.

What kind of riding do you anticipate doing?

Eventually I want to go on two big tours. One to New York (Nathans Hot Dogs Then down the coast to Key West. Second would be Route 66 then up the pacific Coast. These are the two rides my Dad and I were planning on going on before he died this year.

Intially I'll be doing in town only. I live in a small town of about 15k people. Then when I feel comfortable enough I'm taking night classes at a nearby college which is about 40km away. The road I take to get there has a speed limit of 80km. The other place I would go is to my Grandparents which is again on an 80km speed limit road about 35km away.

So for first bike I want one that will be good for in town and that could make the two trips I mentioned to neigbouring towns of 35 and 40km away at 80km per hour speed limit. Whether a sport bike or a standard/cruiser it really doesn't matter much to me. My Dad would have been Harley or nothing. But for me it will be most likely whatever one just feels right when I sit on it and can do 50km max trips at speeds of up to 80km/h. Seeing I don't think it would be wise to go on the big tours until I have a couple of riding seasons under my belt.

For the larger tours to Key West and the Route 66 I will go with a cruiser of some type. My dad always drove a Harley Low Rider.

The range of bikes are the ones that fit my budget for montly payments and insurnace. The Honda CBR 125 being the low end at 2999 and 500 per year for full insurance coverage and the Sporters being on the high end at 10 grand and 1300 per year for insurance.

Being a fan of the sportster, I would put my thumbs up to the Iron. I haven't ridden any of the other bikes so I can't attest to their qualities (i've heard good things about them all)...

You may want to consider another model of the Iron. The Iron has been in high demand since there is a relatively low supply of them in the U.S. That means bargaining room might be a bit shallow. Have you looked at possibly buying a used 883l or c? I think you'd be able to talk the price down on one of those. Otherwise, go used. There are a TON of used sportsters out there for sale on the cheap.

sounds like you need a cruser for long comfy rides, I suggest the Honda 750

csspostal wrote:

Velocity wrote:Interesting range of bikes there, with three closer to sportbike style and two more cruiser or standard style.

Also quite an engine range from 125cc to 883 cc.

I think a lot of your choice will depend on what your preferred riding position is, and then which of those bikes fit your frame.

If this is to be your first bike, keep in mind that it does not have to be your ultimate bike.

What kind of riding do you anticipate doing?

Eventually I want to go on two big tours. One to New York (Nathans Hot Dogs Then down the coast to Key West. Second would be Route 66 then up the pacific Coast. These are the two rides my Dad and I were planning on going on before he died this year.

Intially I'll be doing in town only. I live in a small town of about 15k people. Then when I feel comfortable enough I'm taking night classes at a nearby college which is about 40km away. The road I take to get there has a speed limit of 80km. The other place I would go is to my Grandparents which is again on an 80km speed limit road about 35km away.

So for first bike I want one that will be good for in town and that could make the two trips I mentioned to neigbouring towns of 35 and 40km away at 80km per hour speed limit. Whether a sport bike or a standard/cruiser it really doesn't matter much to me. My Dad would have been Harley or nothing. But for me it will be most likely whatever one just feels right when I sit on it and can do 50km max trips at speeds of up to 80km/h. Seeing I don't think it would be wise to go on the big tours until I have a couple of riding seasons under my belt.

For the larger tours to Key West and the Route 66 I will go with a cruiser of some type. My dad always drove a Harley Low Rider.

The range of bikes are the ones that fit my budget for montly payments and insurnace. The Honda CBR 125 being the low end at 2999 and 500 per year for full insurance coverage and the Sporters being on the high end at 10 grand and 1300 per year for insurance.

It shows that you've put some thought into this, and that is good.

I guess my general recommendation would be to buy used, and buy the bike that is best suited for your short to medium term needs. Buy the bike that you can learn on, and that feels comfortable to you. Of course, when you're buying used, the marketplace will shape your decision to a degree by what is available.

Your thought of doing some touring down the line is appealing, but you don't necessarily need to buy that bike now.

I wonder if the Honda CBR125 would be 'enough bike' for the kind of riding you're contemplating? I'm thinking it might be marginal for speeds of 80kph, from what I'm reading:

http://cars.uk.msn.com/Motorbikes/Bikes ... id=1120496

Have you thought about the Suzuki GS500 (it's like the GS500F without the extra fairings)?

http://moto.suzuki.ca/Product%20Lines/C ... y=standard

Another bike that I have looked seriously at is the Kawasaki Vulcan 500:

http://www.kawasaki.ca/model/vulcan-500-ltd:1128

It's considered to be a reasonable bike to learn on, and yet one that is easily capable of highway speeds.

+1 Velocity and try and keep this in mind, your first bike doesn't have to be your last. You can always upgrade...unless your credit rating is around 400 or so...

from the sounds of your description of riding needs for the near-term, the ninja 250 would do just fine. i'm 240 lbs and regularly spend a couple hours on my bike doing upwards of 50-60mph (almost 100km/h) with no problem. it gets pretty wound out around 75-80mph (freeway speeds here in Arizona), so shouldn't have a problem with your 80 km/h speeds at all.

as for the Vulcan 500, i have a friend that rides one and when i mentioned to him that it was one i was thinking of for a small upgrade and to get into the cruiser market, he advised against it. it's the same engine as the ninja 500 (which is a darn good engine) with the exception of the cam. they swapped the cam to get more cruiser-like behavior out of it and apparently that cam makes all the difference in the world. he said he doesn't like it. i don't remember exactly all his reasons for not liking it, but there were a few. i'd suggest a test ride on that one before you commit, at least.