To be honest, they all weigh pretty much the same one you get going. The question to you is will it feel intimidating to you? Have you taken a riders course? Have to highly recommend doing that as a first step.
Something to think about. Riding a motorcycle won't save you one red cent. What do I mean by that? Do the math:
Cost of bike.
Annual registration.
Insurance.
Have you seen the price of bike tires? They don't last that long either.
And lastly, when on a bike you'll tend to stretch a ten mile trip out to a thirty mile trip. It's just the nature of the beast.
Buy a bike because you want one and you think it'll be fun.
My .02 cents anyway. Let us know what you decide on.
I do want one because I think it'll be fun. Most definitely. And I've always wanted to ride. I have not taken a riders course, but I definitely will. My wife and I talked about this. She wants to learn as well. (She likes the shadow phantom, and the rebel 500 caught her eye) One other idea I've had was to buy her bike first. As it will be smaller than what I'm shopping for and less intimidating, I believe learning to trust the lean, down-shifting, and accelerating out of a turn and such would be a bit more accessible. However we go about this, we definitely want to set ourselves up to ride confidently and safely, and we'll take every course we can.
I disagree with the idea that adding a bike to my modes of travel lineup won't save me
some money. I say that knowing full well you are probably right because I do not have any experience here. I'm referring to cost of operating/maintenance. Let me explain.
Yes, there's a considerable cost to entry. The more I drive my car... the more I spend keeping it on the road. For starters I own our vehicles. We're currently not paying any car notes, which is really really nice. I haven't shopped for insurance yet. I couldn't even ballpark what that the difference on my insurance will be. Replacing the tires on my car costs about a grand. They last about 2-3 years. I should change them more frequently, but I can get away with that on a car, not a bike. Oil changes cost me about 20-30 depending on the cost of oil and I do them myself - roughly every 3-4 months. Maybe even more frequently. I spend a hundred dollars a month on gas at a minimum. Double all these figures to account for my wife's car. Adding a bike will not change the cost of anything I already pay, but it will change the frequency. If I only rode to work on nice days (or when I don't have plans to run errands), i could only drive my car once or twice a week. I would kind of have to for any of this to be true. If I do 6 oil changes a year instead of 8, I save almost 60 dollars. I know fuel efficiency and range will very from bike to bike... but for an example, I have a buddy at work with an Indian Springfield. Absolutely beautiful bike. He daily drives it and fills his tank every other week. That's roughly 10 bucks a week - whereas 10 bucks in my Scion will last me 2 days. Tops. Gas and Oil prices alone are my main argument really for "savings". Tires? I don't know how long they last on a bike. I did check out prices for the bikes I am looking at. I prefer the look of white walls on spoked wheels - a new set is a touch under 400 on revzilla. Unless I'm replacing them more than twice in a year there's some room to save still. Also of note - I'm a DIYer. I will spend even MORE buying the tools to handle our maintenance. But again, paying a tech generally costs quite a bit. While buying in is expensive... I joined this forum to give myself as much information as I can find to ensure my initial purchases are wise ones. I'd like to avoid financing a Rebel 250, outgrowing it and rolling the debt over to a "proper" bike.
I will grant you my savings are minimal. And again, I'm well aware I could be completely wrong. but that is how I see it.
Also, we could just forget all that, because - like you suggested, I'm interested because I think it'll be fun. Fun costs money.
I am a bit blessed on registration. I'm a disabled veteran and Texas gives rebates. Considering a move to Arizona (another of my incentives to buy a bike) where I won't pay anything at all to register my vehicles. May or may not happen, work related.
I didn't really get sticker shock until I added up the cost of a full set of starter riding gear. I lost a family member and a good friend to bike accidents, so I am gearing up for all out war with the road. Always always always, wear a helmet at LEAST. Please. The family member was riding at night and didn't see a median. The friend had been drinking and nobody witnessed the accident. I believe gear would have saved their lives. That said, gear or not - I told myself I'd never ride at night. I don't drink and drive and my friend was an absolute idiot for trying.
