Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hello everyone,
I've been lurking around on the forums for a while just reading and I thought it was about time I registered and presented myself!
Anyway, I'm Johan and I'm from the northern parts of Sweden, however, since two years back now I've been living and working in Italy - Milan to be specific!

Either way, reason I'm here is that I've been dying to get into riding (again) and getting me a propper bike.
I used to drive light motorcycles back when I was 16-17 and now I'm looking in to getting me a real bike!

Now here is my dilemma, I'm not really sure in what end to start!
What bike should I get seeing as I'm quite new to it all? Should I go for buying a new one? Should I get a used one?
Some have told me that a harley perhaps isn't the best way to start, but then again, It's always been a dream of mine to own one and I just love the classic harley look!

Now I was hoping maybe you could help me out by giving me some suggestions?
Just to give you guys an idea of what I'm looking at, I just love the new Dyna Wide Glide 2010 it's absolutely beautiful!
So something quite big with that classic/chopper look is what I'm aiming for.

Price wise I'm reasonably flexible, I could afford getting me a new bike such as one of the lower price ranged harleys, but at the same time I wouldn't mind getting me a cheap used one either if I feel it's right for me!

So bring on all your recommendations, thoughts and suggestions!

Ciao,
Johan

Get something used and cheap to "relearn" those long ago skills. Take a motorcycle safety course before going new bike shopping.

In the US, folks in the 40-50 year old age bracket are the single fastest growing category of MOTORCYCLE FATALITIES. Many of whom are 'returning riders' such as yourself who can finally afford the dream bike they've always wanted... but fail to adjust for better brakes/handling in newer machines, and deteriorated reflexes and skills in themselves.

Not to mention bigger/faster car traffic on roadways.

P

Just throwing this out there, but regardless of experience level, would a large cruiser be appropriate for the occasional narrow streets and congested traffic of Milan? A lot of us envy the sheer variety of bikes you have access to in Europe, many of which might be more appropriate (and fun) on curvy European roads and relatively compact cities. But as always, YMMV.

It's a moot point for now I guess, since as Lion Lady said, used and cheap (and preferably small and light) is a good way to go, at least while you're reacquiring the skills you'll need to survive in modern traffic conditions.

You are perfectly right when it comes to the traffic conditions, it's not optimal for a new rider that's for sure but I wouldn't dash out in rush hour before I feel comfortable with it!
Now here's something I'd like to put out there, I'm a rather big guy, 6'7 tall and roughly 215lbs (200cm tall and around 95kg) now as you may imagine I don't look good on just any bike and in fact most smaller bikes are reall uncomfortable for me!
This, apart from harleys looking amazing, is one of the reasons why im looking to get a bigger chopper/cruiser type bike.

I've been thinking about getting something used, cheap, as well Lion_Lady but due to my size I would probably have to look at a somewhat bigger bike either way (Speaking of which, what's your thoughts about a Honda Shadow 750?).
Also as previously mentioned the inner city traffic here can be quite nasty during rush hour and I don't think I would even have the nerves to throw myself out there in my situation, not yet, not in a good long time.

Personally I'm hoping to just cruise around close to home for starters when there's no real traffic and maybe take the bike for some spins outside of town where there is even less traffic! at very least for starters!