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buying your first bike: POS vs pretty and new

+1 on the dual sport, i m about to pick one up for used on shitty weather days
 
Buy a POS bike.
I had an '83 Nighthawk 450 I bought for $200 as my learner bike.
I dropped it once, but I learned to ride and maintain the nasty thing. It was a great simple-minded, no fuss machine.
 
alrighty...

so i gather that the concensus is to purchase a bike that is a piece, but a reliable piece that perhaps was equivalent to someones child


everyone seems to be leaning towards either a rebel 250 or a ninja 250. i was readng up about the rebel and it said something about having really wide handlebars .. making it harder to manouver through traffic




i think im gna do that hiring of the mechanic thing. that just seems like a smart thing to do.


i can only hope that i dont end up with a dud that eats up all of my money



thank you everyone
 
250 is ridiculously small if you have any inkling of intelligence and dexterity and ability to learn things quickly and adapt. You will outgrow a 250 in two months. $1500 can get you any number of decent rides up to 500cc, and 500cc is the minimum cutoff IMHO on street displacement. Your first post was a '96 GS500..... perfect! My first street bike was 350cc (2 stroke) and I was able to do everything with it, including running a taller front sproket and cruising it to Mexico!!! 250's are for MSF courses and courier gigs downtown.
 
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really? even though im like 5'0 and 110 lb? 2 months??



my tax refund is gna be my best frienddd
 
my friend said that bikes are more readily available during the winter time as opposed to the summer time.


true/false?


should i be trying to buy one now as opposed to 2 months from now? ive got some crap i could pawn off...
 
most of the time they're cheaper, but not necessarily more readily available. if you've got to pawn stuff off to purchase a bike, either hold off on buying or make sure what you're buying needs nothing. if it needs a few odds and ends, it's worth waiting so you can afford those things to be safe. for example, if it needs tires changed, you want to be able to afford those before you ride as not to jeopardize your safety
 
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JakesKTM said:
250 is ridiculously small if you have any inkling of intelligence and dexterity and ability to learn things quickly and adapt. You will outgrow a 250 in two months. $1500 can get you any number of decent rides up to 500cc, and 500cc is the minimum cutoff IMHO on street displacement. Your first post was a '96 GS500..... perfect! My first street bike was 550cc and I was able to do everything with it, including running a taller front sproket and cruising it to Mexico!!! 250's are for MSF courses and courier gigs downtown.
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Uhh, i rode a 250 for 7 months before selling it, sold it for more than i bought it for, and still could have learned a lot more riding it...people who "outgrow" their 250's in 2 months should just go and get financed on their new R6's, they're obviously far more evolved riders. :rolleyes

Yes, they're slower than a brand new SS 600, but the engines are far simpler, there's a ton of parts and spares out there, they're cheap, they hold value very well, and more importantly, they're light, low seat height (for a 5'0 rider), and very forgiving. I pulled shit on my 250 that would have dumped my ass on any bigger bike, the 250 just shrugged it off and kept going. I think you may be confusing dirtbikes with the EX250...it's capable of over 100, does 0-60 fast enough to beat most cars off the line, and will teach you a hell of a lot more about cornering than a 500. Plus they inspire confidence in a way that a larger bike doesn't. Furthermore, you can get a very, very nice 250 for around 1500-2000$, where as you're looking at a lot more of a beater bike if you're moving up in displacement.

Go ride with Gary J for a bit, and then come back and tell me that riders "outgrow" 250's in 2 months. Saying that sells both yourself and the bike very, very short.

I rode my 250 for a lot of milage over the course of the 7 months that i owned it, and it was able to do everything well. You have to rev the engine, but once you get over that, it's not a big deal at all. Those engines will rev to 12k all day long and come back for more.

People always seem to think that when the bike doesn't scare them anymore, they've "outgrown" it, and it's time to upgrade...:rolleyes
 
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If yer afraid of outgrowing a 250 too quick... heres a thought for you. I have never seen a bike hold its value as well as a ninja 250. by the time you " outgrow" it I can all but guarantee you it will sell on craigslist within a week for what you paid for it if not a bit more. Otherwise the ex500 is almost as light, with a seat height just right for your small frame. thats my two cents.
 
Z3n said:
people who "outgrow" their 250's in 2 months should just go and get financed on their new R6's, they're obviously far more evolved riders. :rolleyes
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You skipped a whole bunch of bikes between the EX250 and R6 that are suitable beginner bikes. I never said get an R6, you did in an exaggeratted attempt to make your point about 250cc bikes which you owned for a whole 7 months??? Where did you go on your 250 in 7 months?? Did you ever ride it out of the Bay Area?? How was the experience if you did? Why did you sell it in 7 months? What do you own now?? Why do you own it?? There are hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of mild mannered mid displacement bikes for $1,500.....or less. We called them UJM's and they did everything well between 4,000 and 6,500 rpm, got good gas mileage, and were manageable by most every size rider.

And he should get what you say is a "beater." Why do you guys all have to ride fully faired fucking sport bikes to be cool? It's just more shit he's going to have to repair when he tips the thing over or lets it fall before the kickstand goes down. More shit he has to remove to actually LOOK at his engine and see how it operates. Maybe god forbid even adjust a fucking valve. How many bikes have you owned? When you get to 10, MAYBE you can have an opinion.....
 
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what is a beater

how do you get your motorcycle stolen? people just load it into a trailor and drive off? or rather, how do you protect your motorcycle?
 
JakesKTM said:

And he should get what you say is a "beater." Why do you guys all have to ride fully faired fucking sport bikes to be cool? It's just more shit he's going to have to repair when he tips the thing over or lets it fall before the kickstand goes down. More shit he has to remove to actually LOOK at his engine and see how it operates. Maybe god forbid even adjust a fucking valve. How many bikes have you owned? When you get to 10, MAYBE you can have an opinion.....
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I believe the original poster is a female

speaking of which, what the hell is onlytb4ever? only tuberculosis forever?
 
onlytb4ever said:
what is a beater
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Something you won't sweat when it tips over or low speed drops and cracks the fairing or dents the tank. Something you can leave parked on the street in the rain with the keys in it and nobody will want to steal it and you will sleep soundly.
 
Isn't there a *big* difference in power between the 250 Nighthawk and the EX250?


I know the 'hawk has a single carb with a 2-port intake (~12hp), plus drum brakes all around. What's the story with the power rating on the EX?


And FWIW, every rider is different, so telling someone they'll outgrow any given bike is very presumptuous. I know a girl that made a 3K mile trip on a VT250 Interceptor, and went out to buy another 250 (dual) when she returned.



-Q!
 
JakesKTM said:

And he should get what you say is a "beater." Why do you guys all have to ride fully faired fucking sport bikes to be cool? It's just more shit he's going to have to repair when he tips the thing over or lets it fall before the kickstand goes down. More shit he has to remove to actually LOOK at his engine and see how it operates. Maybe god forbid even adjust a fucking valve. How many bikes have you owned? When you get to 10, MAYBE you can have an opinion.....
Click to expand...



Don't tell anyone, but he's a she.... :wow :shhh
 
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