Need help for advice on first bike and new rider!!!

[MikeB]

Dead battery means almost NOTHING, all it takes is 30 day of storage to kill a brand new battery. Pretty much the same thing for the fuel. Neither of these should be used to determine condition.

A dead battery can be charged with a $5 charger from Harbor Freight, and fresh gas is $3.00/gal.

The only way to determine condition is to ride it, and this one is not rideable. Well, OK, if you have a Magic 8 Ball that never fails....

[TheBusDriver707]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Appreciate it. Totally understand how "non economical" a project car or bike is. My current Corvette gets 7MPG in town...ouch! Hence going for the bike. I figured the $500 was a bit too much, and after digging through plenty of project cars with"needs some tlc and brake work/carb cleaning/etc", I know what those could mean haha. That bike was just a general idea of what I was looking for in terms of style and price range. Like I said, I would probably be able to go up to $750 for a good one.

I am also not against saving more. I would like a bike asap, but am not going to buy one that isn't a good deal. I have a little bit of self control!

vzshadow, figured I wouldn't be able to get a Triumph for a while, but it is ok. Wasn't sure if there were any other ones out there that looked like them, still learning all the names for the styles and models and stuff. I do like how the VLX 600 looks. Any ballpark price ranges for them?

Also, let us say I have $1000 for a bike, any new suggestions?
Thanks again!!!!

[MikeB]

7 mpg with your 'Vette? Yikes! I probably get twice that in town with my '94 convertible, and of course on the highway it's a veritable high-mileage gas-sipper approaching 30 mpg (which surprises a lot of non-owners).

But as to your expanded budget: if I had only a grand to spend but I still wanted something full-sized and with a reputation for bulletproof simplicity and reliability I'd look for a early 90s-vintage Kawasaki KLR650. The KLR is not a hot-rod, but is reliable as a anvil and will take you a lot of places. And since the design has not changed for 67 years there are parts and farkles available everywhere.

[CrazyDave]

Originally Posted by TheBusDriver707

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Appreciate it. Totally understand how "non economical" a project car or bike is. My current Corvette gets 7MPG in town...ouch! Hence going for the bike. I figured the $500 was a bit too much, and after digging through plenty of project cars with"needs some tlc and brake work/carb cleaning/etc", I know what those could mean haha. That bike was just a general idea of what I was looking for in terms of style and price range. Like I said, I would probably be able to go up to $750 for a good one.

I am also not against saving more. I would like a bike asap, but am not going to buy one that isn't a good deal. I have a little bit of self control!

vzshadow, figured I wouldn't be able to get a Triumph for a while, but it is ok. Wasn't sure if there were any other ones out there that looked like them, still learning all the names for the styles and models and stuff. I do like how the VLX 600 looks. Any ballpark price ranges for them?

Also, let us say I have $1000 for a bike, any new suggestions?
Thanks again!!!!

Personally if you can swing the monthlies I'd take the grand and buy a new or near entry level model. The frustration of trying to get your feet wet will only be compounded by having to constantly wrench something

[TheBusDriver707]

Originally Posted by MikeB

7 mpg with your 'Vette? Yikes! I probably get twice that in town with my '94 convertible, and of course on the highway it's a veritable high-mileage gas-sipper approaching 30 mpg (which surprises a lot of non-owners).

But as to your expanded budget: if I had only a grand to spend but I still wanted something full-sized and with a reputation for bulletproof simplicity and reliability I'd look for a early 90s-vintage Kawasaki KLR650. The KLR is not a hot-rod, but is reliable as a anvil and will take you a lot of places. And since the design has not changed for 67 years there are parts and farkles available everywhere.

Pretty nasty! I live in Eugene, OR, and all the damn hippies here in their Prius's and Subaru's constantly going under 25 kills my in town MPG. Back in Cali where everyone drives like a bat outta hell I get a solid 13 in town. I get better on the highway on my commutes back to the bay area, probably 17mpg. Not bad. But hey, worth every damn penny!

As for the bike, I will look into it! Thanks.

CrazyDave, thanks for the advice, but I do actually really enjoy mechanical work and figuring out how stuff works. Sometimes when the scrape all the skin off my knuckles figuring out how said stuff works I think otherwise, but I love the satisfaction of figuring it out eventually.

[shadowmaker07]

You can have mine for 3 grand. It faired well after THE SCHOOL BUS HIT IT.........

Originally Posted by TheBusDriver707

Hello all,
Name is Josh, live and go to school in Oregon. Going to be taking the weekend class they offer there in January to get my motorcycle license, and am looking for a bike now. New to the bike world, so I figured joining a forum would be the best way to get these questions answered. My question is basically, what advice do you guys have on a bike I should be looking for/advice in general/gear to purchase? Here is some information that will probably help.

I have little experience with bikes. But, I restored a Corvette with my dad when I was 17(now 21), and then a Mustang with him and my brother. I love cars and am mechanically inclined. While I am not a mechanic, I do like working with my hands, and have a pretty good idea of what I am doing. I have been looking for bikes on CL that need some TLC and work, as not only will I understand them better if I work on them, I can also save money, which leads to...

I don't have a huge budget. College kid. Thinking at about $500, $750 max if I find a nice one. Obviously don't want new, as I know this will be laid down/get a bit beat up possibly/probably sell it within a year. Just something to start me into the motorcycle world. However, I would prefer I get something I keep for a while. I have an old muscle car that goes damn fast, and while the bike will be a new world, I have a pretty good feeling I won't sell it to get one with a bigger engine.

The actual bike itself. I am a pretty big guy. About 6'1, 260lbs, size 16 feet, big hands, huge freaking head. Besides finding clothes that fit, I feel the 250cc and smaller engine bikes recommended for first time buyers would be a bit small. I was looking at 500cc engine bikes. I also don't want something that will look like a clown trike with me on it. The kind I have narrowed it down to is what I guess is called a "standard" look. I really don't like crotch rockets or that little ones. I really like how the brand new Triumph Americas, Bonneville, and Thunderbird. The ones I like that are reasonably in my price range are early 1980's Honda's. MY buddy had a 1984 Magna that I liked the looks of, and I found a 1981 CB750C Honda on CL for $500 bucks that needed some TLC that I liked. It also looked like it would fit a girl on the back fairly well.

Anyway, not sure if you guys need more info, but ask away! I don't really plan on highway trips or anything or needing bag room. Look forward to talking to you all.

J

[harpomatic]

You can definitely start riding for around $1000, especially if you like mechanical work, some good deals are out there for a handy guy like you. My first bike was a $1000 rebel, did not need anything in 5 years of constant riding, it was a 22 year old bike then, and made a honda believer out of me.

[Coolride]

If you could swing $1200-1500, you might find a 1000-1200cc bike, that way after all the wrenching, you won't have to sell it anytime soon. I went thru all that myself.

[TheBusDriver707]

Originally Posted by harpomatic

You can definitely start riding for around $1000, especially if you like mechanical work, some good deals are out there for a handy guy like you. My first bike was a $1000 rebel, did not need anything in 5 years of constant riding, it was a 22 year old bike then, and made a honda believer out of me.

That's what I kinda of figured. I do like the Rebels, but 250cc and when I actually sat on one it looked and felt way tiny!


As for finding a 1000cc or 1200cc, that would probably be too much for my first bike.

[GadgetBandit]

Originally Posted by TheBusDriver707

That's what I kinda of figured. I do like the Rebels, but 250cc and when I actually sat on one it looked and felt way tiny!

I keep one for running errands in town. Hard to beat 70mpg in the city.

GadgetBandit