Motorcycle information

K

kr1

Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
1,343
After many years away from motorcycles I have been thinking of getting one. I was never an owner of one and didn't ever have a license. I use to drive my friends bikes, whatever was available and almost always a Japanese bike. I am 50 now, so I must obey the rules. I am going to get a license but I don't know anything about the current state of motorcycles. I would like some suggestions on what to purchase. When I was riding 30 years ago almost all the Japanese bikes were all speed with few amenities. Most european bikes were more comfortable and lots less vibration made more for touring. I don't know what to look at for a bike now. I do know I am not interested in straight pipes or Harleys. I want as low a profile as possible. I was also wondering what kinds of safety options or improvements there might be now. Lights, crash bars, design improvements, etc. I am looking more for a touring type of bike. I don't want to be hunched over especially if I decide to take a long trip. I am not a big guy, about 5'7" and getting lighter. :D I am losing weight. I should eventually weight around 160lbs so I don't thnk I need a real large bike. One thing I have noticed is that the bikes seem to be much lighter and the engines are much small in size for the amount of horsepower that they deliver now. I would never of considered driving anything over 750 back then because I wasn't comfortable on it. I weighed 155 back then. I don't think I need anything probably over 500cc now, but these are some of the things I was hoping some of you more experienced guys could tell me. Any directions to look in would be appreciated.

Thanks,
KR
 
AFAIK most touring bikes are in the 1100 range and higher. Off hand I can't think of any road bike that is less than 750.

Saying that, Honda makes some good touring and sport touring bikes.

About safety features, ABS, high intensity headlights are two that I can think off off the bat.

Chad
 
KR1, please look at Triumph Bonnevilles. It might be right up your alley.

As for touring, I just got did 3200 miles in 7 days on one.

Whatever you get, welcome back.
 
You are going to get a thousand good answers. All with some experience behind them.

I vote for a recent used Ducati ST-2. It has everything you asked for and the nice torquey feel of a powerful twin. You may even LIKE the sound of a louder exhaust.... eventually.

Don't limit your perceived safety with displacement. The bike only goes as fast as you wish it to. At 50, I suspect you have a little more self-preservation left.... :D

Coop
 
I just got back into biking also after a few decade hiatus. Go... take a safety class. Most will substitute for the "on-bike" portion of the MC endorsement test. More importantly, it teaches good safety skills- even to seasoned riders.

My budget constrained me to look used and I picked up an inexpensive Honda v-twin 650 sport-cruiser. Older but still looks good and reliable as heck. If you are planning much interstate travel, consider something large(r.) It's not necessarily that they go fast but that they have the power to trundle along at lower RPMs with minimal vibration.My bike is great around town but after doing a 600 round trip this past weekend (mostly interstate) I feel a little beat up. It cruised along at 75-85 the whole way but I was wishing for a bigger, heavier bike - less effected by semi-blast and a more relaxed push down the road.

Have fun! If you've got the money for a new bike, you'll find lots of great options out there.




(Way back when my bike was new...)

01.jpg
02.jpg
 
HARLEY DAVIDSON!!!!!! Sorry just had to get it out of my system, A buddy of mine had a suzuki Boulevard and loved it. It's a little bigger {800cc} than what you had in mind but a really stable easy to ride bike, shaft drive,fuel injected and the price wasn't bad. The triumphs are also doing pretty well. Now if your really adventurous you need to look at a Royal Enfield, made in India, basically a copy of a triumph. neat but very basic and you better be handy with tools. Good luck and welcome back to scooter world and be very careful because cars never paid attention to scoots and now with cellphones they Really don't. good luck,ahgar
Oh and HARLEY HARLEY HARLEY..........
 
Suzuki SV650. 650cc's v-twin. Either standard or sport bike seating (s model). This is a WONDERFUL bike, that i would recomend to anyone the v-twin is forgiving with it's engine brake you dont have the high rev's a 4cyl will have and if you put a nice exhaust on it ( i had a jardine full) it will make a rumble you will dream about.

I bought mine with 10k miles on it for $3,200.00 sold it with 13k miles on it for $2,600.00. I only sold it because i was not riding it enough.

Billyp
 
+1 for P_M's advice, take a motorcycle training course as the first step, it will give you the confidence to adequately evaluate any bike you may be interested in. It WILL save your life, maybe not today, but the day will come, and you will know !

A lot of friends have bought bikes, then taken the safety course, and suddenly with the new confidence they gained from the course, weren't satisfied with the bike they had chosen... just sell it at a lose and find something more suitable:rolleyes:

By the same token, I've seen individuals take the course and later show up on bikes they had never considered riding before taking the riders course.

Rule #1 is to stay alive, everything else is secondary.

I recommend ABATE for rider training, but I'm biased ;)
 
Go for the MSF, it will save your a$$! It has saved mine many times.

That being said, you are probably going to need a smaller bike because of your height, not because you should limit the power. When I saw you wanted a touring bike, I was going to suggest a BMW, but after seeing that you are 5'7" you would likely have a very hard time at stops. I'm 6'0" and I can just flat-foot a BMW K1200GT. As I recall, the R1200RT is about the same, maybe a bit shorter at the seat.

Long story short, find the bike that fits you best and worry about engine size last. I love my V-Star 1100, but if I knew how much I was going to do to make it comfy for any trips longer than a few miles I might have selected a different bike.
 
Take a look at the Kawasaki Vulcans. I bought a new 800 classic in 2000 and it has been a great bike. It's a good cruiser around town with enough power and wieght for longer road trips. If I were going to be doing a lot of long trips I would have opted for the larger 1500 model but the 800 has been perfect for me. At about 650 pounds it is agile and fun to ride on the winding back roads. The bike has been absolutely trouble-free with routine maintenance as was my previous Kawasaki that I rode for 20 years.

They replaced the 800 with a 900 and added some nice features. They have a nice lower cruiser profile. These are v-twins but considerably smoother than a Harley and quite a bit cheaper. You can get the 900 Vulcan for around 9k new. The only complaint I had with mine was the factory seat was uncomfortable. I ordered a custom saddle from Mustang Seats for around $300 and that made it the ride I have ever owned.

My Vulcan when it was new in 2000 with the factory seat.
vulcan1.jpg


After I added the saddle seat and saddle bags
vulcan3.jpg
 
Thanks a lot for all the suggestions. I hadn't considered a training course but that is a great idea and I will do that. Hadn't even crossed my mind but it is a great idea. I have plenty of time and am looking at the Ducati and BMW 800 as well as a few others. I really apprecitate all your guys suggestions and looked at them all. :thumbup:

Thanks a lot,
KR
 
Here's a great blend of tourer/grocery getter/cruiser/sportbike. It is comfortable and quiet.

Honda ST1300

2006ST1300.jpg
 
I was in the same situation a year ago ... but 10 years older and 60-70 lbs heavier. So, I took the beginner MSF course and bought a Kawasaki Super Sherpa (250cc single), street lagal trail bike to re-learn how to ride. Now, I'm looking to upgrade (planned) to either a Suzuki V-Strom (650 twinn, as above) or a BMW GS 650 single. My needs are: light weight, upright position, capable of light touring.
His.jpg
 
Redleg and Paddling_Man have good points.

The single cylinder BMWs are a bit expensive new, but used ones are reasonable.

A good used CX series from Honda is a nice bike also. I did a short weekend trip on an old SilverWing and found it OK (not as powerful as a GoldWing, but not as heavy either).

As most of the smaller displacement twins don't usually sell well, the SV650 being an exception, usually used ones can be found for a good price.

If you feel going exotic, look at an older MotoGuzzi or BMW. The 850cc models are laid back and seem to run forever.

I recommend the rider safey course, also. Especially as state liscensing seems to be getting to be more slowspeed riding intensive.
 
I have a Vn800B as well, not a bad bike I set it up to be more of a around town bike, If I was to ride on big trips I would get a bigger bike.


DSC05139.jpg
 
Lots of good advice here, especially that a bigger/heavier bike will be much more comfortable on long trips. With that said, you may want to think about getting something used and smaller (lots of good deals to be found) to get started on and then moving up once you are comfortable.

Like you, I am "inseam challenged" but I am very comfortable riding my Yamaha FJR 1300 (THE perfect sport-touring bike BTW). I would not recommend it as a "Welcome back to riding" bike. Chances are that it might take you a while to work up to longer rides anyway, so I would suggest getting something you're comfortable on now as it will make learning much easier. Also, many people find a slight forward tilt to be more comfortable than fully upright- especially for long rides, and especially if you have back problems- ask me how I know!

Welcome back! Be careful & have fun!
 
I have a Honda 919 and I love it but it might be sportier than you want and it's lack of a windshield (fairing) makes it not a great tourer although it can lope along at 80mph in 6th.

My vote would be for one of the new Triumphs like the Scrambler which would be my next bike if I did not have the 919. It is a great back road and commuter bike with classic style and modern convience.(I sound like an ad man.)

A used Vucan or other metric cruiser make great used bikes. They are rarely ridden and have no resale value but are well made.
 
I wouldn't recommend an FJR1300 either. It is a torque monster of a bike, and is uncomfortable to some, due the engine heat absorbed by the rider. Of course, it is available with an electric transmission and does without a clutch lever. Here's what they look like with an inexperienced rider.

picture220gm3.jpg
 
No one should get a huge heavy motorcycle to learn on. I don't care if it's a guy with more money then common sense, a BMW K-1200 LT or a Yammi FJ-1300 will eat your lunch. One new rider bought the BMW which the dealer delivered to his house and dropped it 3 times before he got to the end of his driveway. Those Yammi FJ's are sweet rides but, again they are too much for new riders or returning riders.

I got a Kawasaki KLX-250S and love it. It's a nimble little thing that does ~75MPG.
 
I think it would be more appropriate to say that any motorcycle can/will eat your lunch if you don't treat it with a great deal of respect. A big bike will get you in trouble faster, and have less room for compromise, but even a comparatively small bike will out-accelerate most cars if you twist the throttle more than intended. My bargain-bike Seca II could match a Dodge Viper up to 60mph.

Some of the advice I've read has been towards bigger touring bikes, but I think it's important to find out what kind of touring KR1 is looking at. What kind of distance? Solo, or with a passenger? Camping out or staying in hotels? I found my Seca II (600cc, 53ish hp) worked well for the 250-300 mile day trips I would sometimes take from Pensacola to Birmingham, and would haul me and a similar-sized (160lbish) passenger around town just fine, including stints on the interstate. Were I doing longer journeys (cross country, say), and packing everything I needed to camp, or taking a passenger along, I would probably go for a heavier bike.

In the realm of heavier bikes, I've looked at some pages on the '95-96 BMW R850R, and it seems like it would be a good bike, but there's none on Cycle Trader (it was relatively rare), and you can get several R1100R bikes for less than $4000. Or, if you want to do more touring, you could get the R1100RT and have the nice windshield and such.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top