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Want to purchase a used bike for the wife and me to ride around together on Sunday afternoons. I live in Florida and want something powerful enough to carry both of us yet not so expensive that we have to take out a second mortgage on the house. I was thinking somewhere around $5,000 to $7,000. This will be our first bike so I don't want to put a lot into it until I'm sure we will like riding.

What's a good used bike to look for?

Thanks

as most people here, i would say buy a used bike for your first. im glad i did as the insurance is cheaper and if you drop it, well its better than dropping a brand new bike. i have an 800 marauder and have no problem with the girlfriend on the back with highway driving and what not. sit on a few at some local dealers and check the classifieds. take some lessons or the MSF course if possible FIRST and foremost i would say. that way, at least if you buy used or private, youll be able to test ride the bike(if the owner is cool) unlike where dealers dont let you. good luck. by the way, you never said if you meant a cruiser or a sportbike.

nyrblue is quite right , ya know . The Suzuki Marauders, or Intruders and even the V-Star 650's will get you where ya want to go without a large outlay of cash and ya will look good doing it too .
Kind regards, Wizzard
Of course this is a presumption that you are interested in Cruisers and not sport bikes .

There's an infinite number of bikes you could get in that price range - especially in the used market. What's your riding experience? Do you have any?

No riding experience. Starting completely from scratch. I've checked into the motorcycle riding class offered here in town which I plan to take.

My interest is in the cruisers. I've been looking at the Honda Shadow Spirit 1100, but I don't know if that's big enough.

I'm also checking out some others (Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki). Just trying to determine what is best for what I want to do.

What do you all think?

My small piece of advice is...

Don't go big for your first bike, especially since you plan on riding two up. Give yourself plenty of practice on a smaller bike, solo, before you take the precious cargo with you on the pillion. Wizzard has mention a few possibilities that are very suitable for both beginners and two up riding. Good luck on your course and your purchase...

My advice is that "Starter bike" and "2 Up" do not belong in the same sentence.

The 'pilot' of a motorcycle is responsible for the safety of the pillion (passenger) through his/her handling of the motorcycle. Therefore, you MUST be the master of the machine on its own, before you ever consider taking a passenger along.

Take the MSF FIRST...(Encourage your wife to take the MSF as well). Get several hundred miles of solo riding under your belt THEN enlist a seasoned rider as your first pillion (they won't be surprised at any of the movements made by you or the mc) as you learn how differently your machine handles with additional weight.

Then you can start to take your wife on board safely.

Good luck!

P

My dad's 2005 Suzuki C50 is perfect for two-up, and he paid less than $7,000 brand new. The chassis is darn near the same size as the C90, but for a lot less money.

Lion_Lady wrote:My advice is that "Starter bike" and "2 Up" do not belong in the same sentence.

I wholeheartedly concur with this statement . I had no idea you had never ridden before .
Regards, Wizzard
Remember this isn't like buying a Camaro and going cruising .

I agree with the others - first of all it seems to me that you are talking about casual 2-up day rides - for that an 1100 cc motor on a cruiser will certainly be adequate and you can probably accomplish the same with a smaller displacement motor. It depends on so many things. How big are you and your wife? How far are you going? Are you taking gear as well? Mostly though, it's a personal thing on what you find attractive and comfortable. There will be people who tell you that you need 1500ccs for two up cruising. And some folks feel that they do. Hell, I've taken my wife all over town on the back of my cb360 this summer. We ride two up all the time. Granted, we aren't cruising the freeway for three hours but the bottom line is that you can ride two-up on small bikes and folks do it all the time so there really isn't a 'minimum' size.

Sorry to get off-track. There are a lot of ways to get into this hobby or activity or whatever it is. But my recommendation for all newbies is that you take the safety course, get some decent safety gear, practice for at least a couple months on a bike that is toward the smaller/less expensive end of the scale to get your legs under you. Then and only then you'll be able to make a much more informed decision about what bike you really want and be able to safely take a passenger. NOTE - I do not think it is impossible to get a 1500cc cruiser as a first bike and start riding passengers. But my OPINION is that it isn't a good idea and that is not what I'd recommend to a good friend if I was sitting with him face-to-face down at the pub. I know too many people who's first experiences with motorcycles led them to having an accident and never getting on another one. It is my OPINION that this would have far less frequently if folks took a safety class and worked their way up to bigger and faster bikes. Your Mileage May Vary.