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Motorcycle firsties

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Flowsion
Posts: 1461 - Karma: 11
Okay, I've staved-off motored transport for long enough. i was totally into biking, but my road bike can only get me so far. i've determined that maybe it's time to start looking for a good, cheap motorcycle. obviously, a used bike is the preferred option here. i have about $400 i'm willing to drop on a bike. might not sound like much, but i live in Milwaukee, and this is a very motorcycle friendly town with a fair amount of cheap bikes for sale. i've heard i can find a good older bike locally at the rate of about $1 per cc of engine displacement. that means ideally, i score a 400cc bike.


my questions:

i'm about 5'10" and 150lbs. what is the minimum engine size i should stay above if i were to do mostly city riding, but possibly some longer highway rides?

what models of older bikes do you NSers find to be more reliable and/or cheap and easy to work on?

any bikes i should avoid?

any input is appreciated. since i'm going to be hitting up swap meets and craigslist ads, i'm not sure exactly what my options may be. i just need some help knowing when to jump on a deal. figured maybe my fellow NSers could offer some help. haven't searchbarred, but it's summer. what else do you have to do?

Jul 28 2010 12:05AM
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charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 370
old honda dude, theyre sick
Jul 28 2010 12:10AM
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DJ_Pauly_D
Posts: 1043 - Karma: 42
Yeah.. you should check out honda shadows... pretty reliable my uncle has one
Jul 28 2010 12:16AM
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Flowsion
Posts: 1461 - Karma: 11
i know hondas are pretty awesome and reliable. any suggestions if a honda somehow doesn't end up in the running?
Jul 28 2010 12:18AM
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TheFlyingHonky
Posts: 339 - Karma: 13
old honda or yamaha probably around the 650 range
Jul 28 2010 12:37AM
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Charlie_Kelly
Posts: 11954 - Karma: 12,298
Like everyone said Honda's are super reliable bikes (better than suzuki and kawasaki IMO)and yeah anything above 500cc should suit you well
Jul 28 2010 12:49AM
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tomahawk
Posts: 2006 - Karma: 53
maybe a dual sport?
Jul 28 2010 1:34AM
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A-Style**
Posts: 1831 - Karma: 81
I have no idea how much these will cost in Milwaukee, but older Kawasaki Ninja's are great bikes and so easy to learn on. I got an old (like a 1990) Ninja 500 when i turned 16, rode it for a year, then sold it for more than i bought. They're reliable, quick, light, powerful, fun, and cheap. Check into it
Jul 28 2010 1:40AM
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Thenowhereman42
Posts: 5682 - Karma: 65
Get a 250cc so you won't kill yourself. Just look around for bikes and sit on them. One should feel right. You are going to drop it and fuck it up anyway, so don't worry about anything else. Just get one that is comfortable for you and as cheap as possible and please don't buy over a 400cc.
Jul 28 2010 2:11AM
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A-Style**
Posts: 1831 - Karma: 81
A 500cc would be fine, especially if it's an older bike.
Jul 28 2010 2:13AM
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Thenowhereman42
Posts: 5682 - Karma: 65
He's 5'10 150 and I assume has no experience with a bike, there really is no reason not to just buy a 250 Honda Rebel or something. I'm 6'2 200lb and I can ride (some) 250's just fine. I wouldn't really recommend anyone buy over 400cc for their first bike unless they have a lot of experience. My boss recently bought a 600cc Gixxer (or 650 or whatever those come in) for his first bike, and it was way too much bike for him to handle.
Jul 28 2010 2:19AM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
Just be sure to check the mileage so that its not too terribly high. Make sure the bike runs fine (carb tunes and rebuilds are extremely expensive if done by a shop). Oh and don't buy a bike if theres rust in the gas tank.


Any of the older 1980s and 1970s bikes will fit you fine. As far as displacement goes, dont go above 650cc. All you gotta do is just find a bike that fits you well and one where you can handle the weight. Engine size really doesnt matter until you act stupid and potentially maim or kill yourself.
Jul 28 2010 7:42AM
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aquinn
Posts: 824 - Karma: 217
my dad put 120k on his honda 400. they are good bikes
Jul 28 2010 7:51AM
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PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
Got a ninja 250 in late 05, it now has 11,000 miles and still going strong. Started right up at the beginning of this season with no problems. Just go for a 250 or 500, the bike is much lighter and easier to turn and push around if you have to. I love my 250 and it's plenty fast, it'll easily run right up to 100 mph and that's fine as long as your not on a highway. I've never had any major work done to it and nothing has broken or blown up. plus the 250 gets like 50 miles to the gallon or so maybe even better, in a city it would be a great bike. Nobody can even tell it's a 250, I've had a dozen people ask me if it was a 500 ninja. It's a lot of fun trust me, and if it's your first bike it will be plenty fast for you.

Take it from me, I'm one of those idiots who bought an old 80s 750 and dumped it on the highway within 3 months. There is a reason other countries use a graduated cc license system.
Jul 28 2010 9:15AM
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PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
oh I'm 5'8" and 140 or so and it fits just fine.
Jul 28 2010 9:16AM
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DockEllis
Posts: 1131 - Karma: 1,745
hell yeah, dual sports are sick
Jul 28 2010 9:20AM
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masterhatin
Posts: 630 - Karma: 53
Get a Kawasaki KLR 650 most bullet proof bike out there, great dual sport as well, and you could probably find one real cheap.
Jul 28 2010 1:27PM
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Flowsion
Posts: 1461 - Karma: 11
If it helps anything, I have some experience. I have ridden mopeds, so I knew how to use the clutch and whatnot. I rode my first bike last week, which was my coworker's new Yamaha R1 literbike (1000cc). he was comfortable with me riding it because I'm a fast learner and I tend to figure things out pretty quick. it was a lotta bike, and kinda jumpy at first but i got the hang of it after a few minutes. power isn't necessarily a bad thing. i can handle them, but i know they will prob be out of my price range.

Also, anybody know a ballpark price of what it would cost to get a carb cleaned and set? a lot of bikes I see on craigslist are apparently in working order, but the carbs need cleaning. A good 60-75% of bikes on CL had dying batteries and gunked carbs. battery doesn't worry me much, the carb does. otherwise, is it something i could do myself with a some simple tools/cleaners and a few nifty google searches over the course of a weekend?

thanks guys, appreciate the input. keep it coming if you have suggestions. i'll get around to some +K for ya
Jul 28 2010 3:04PM
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Keyjibbs
Posts: 1542 - Karma: 96
Ya honestly it's not a bad thing to have more power, it can actually get you out of bad situations. With that said I highly suggest taking a motorcycle training course. It may seem stupid or pointless but honestly you'll learn to be a better rider. You'll learn a lot of important techniques and riding skills that could save your life. You also may get a discount on your insurance. As far as cleaning carbs go, they'll probably run you $200+ depending on the shop. You can rebuild them yourself for much cheaper but you need to know what your doing or you could mess up your bike. I'd definitely look around for awhile and try to find a bike that has been taken care of. Because if you buy a cheap bike and it needs fixing up it'll probably cost you more to fix than buying a good condition bike in the first place.
Jul 28 2010 3:15PM
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Ronnie.
Posts: 60 - Karma: 9
a  honda or a yamaha they are the most reliable
Jul 28 2010 3:17PM
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masterhatin
Posts: 630 - Karma: 53
ive been ridin bikes since i was about 6 (13 years) and i thought i knew it all. i was looking into gettin my motorcycle license, so i took the class, thought it be a breeze cause i know everything. i was wong, i learned so much. i would advise taking the class, well worth $$$
Jul 28 2010 5:13PM
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E.R
Posts: 45 - Karma: 44
I bought a 700cc 1984 honda sabre last year for 500 bucks. Ive been riding it for a year without any trouble. It was my first bike and was a little big at first but now is just fine. I would definitely recommend getting a honda. Im 5'11" 160 by the way.
Jul 28 2010 5:24PM
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yuck
Posts: 8384 - Karma: 2,090
i would seek help on a motorcycle forum / review site... you will probably get a lot more advice there
Jul 28 2010 5:36PM
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