Motorcycle enthusiests?
 

I've noticed in a number of threads that a lot of you ride in some capacity or another. I'm finally convincing myself into getting one for this spring. I'm thinking of picking up something along the lines of a 70's Honda CB or a 60's BSA if i can find one for a reasonable price (i'm cheap). Harley's are a bit out of my price range, definitely for a starter, so my plan was to go with some smaller older models to get my feet wet.


I'm curious as to what all of you are riding? Or if you have any advice, as I am pretty green to it all but have been wanting to do this for years, just finally going to do it up.

I would start off by learning to spell enthusiasts, then buy a dirt bike and learn to ride where there are no cars to bother you.

had a sportser then went to a shadow. people think i'm crazy until they have ridden both too haha. harley is great, but you pay for the name, and honestly the honda is a tighter bike control wise imo

what baddog said, i did actually. rode a honda 250 dirt bike for a while then went and got the big cruiser. take a class, get used to it. you just need confidence, cause you will almost crash often and 99% of the times its not your fault

my bad on the spelling, sorry guys.

also the 70s honda cb sounds sick, i'm a fan of cafe racers

http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/3490/isd9.jpg

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/8445/mwlk.jpg

I've got a 2006 Road King. I've always enjoyed this model Harley because you can ride without a fairing/windshield. Also no woman I've ever met is capable of not bring chick-stuff on even a short ride so the saddlebags are always used. Nice on grocery and liquor runs too.

This time of year I would suggest making stupid low offers then walking away, maybe you can find someone needing to sell.

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Oops, if you have never ridden take Baddogs advise. Make your mistakes off the pavement. You will do something stupid, you will crash. Do it off-road. Dress to protect, wear a helmet.

was thinking i was doing that by staying in the 550-750cc range? I guess not? too heavy?

I'm not a high speed kinda guy anyway, would mostly for getting around town.

This first then you can get set up street tires for a Motard setup.

http://www.crf450x.net/wp-content/up...09_crf450x.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...x/DSCN2827.jpg

here ya go http://www.ebay.com/sch/Motorcycles-/6024/i.html

I would go for this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BSA-1970-BSA...US_motorcycles

at that price i'd buy it tonight if it wasn't on the other side of the continent hehe, closer to 5k+ around these parts unfortunately.

although i have seen some better deals on 250cc around so maybe that would be a better move. I hear you all on the dirt bike thing but I'm in the city and wouldn't get as much use of it, will consider though.

You're cheap but you want to buy a vintage Japanese or British bike?

Guess you havent priced parts for those.

70s Honda CBs and 60s BSAs are becoming collector's items, I don't think I'd want to use one for learning since damage from dumping it could drastically lower the value.

And you ARE going to dump it at some time while learning. :winkwink:

Starting off road isn't a bad idea, dirt hurts a bit less than pavement... a bit.

Just remember you need to be able to ride on the street in traffic as well to develop the sharpened situational awareness that will keep you alive, so something with on/off road capabilities would be a good idea.

Rule #1
When you are on a bike you become invisible to people in cars, ride accordingly.

Rule #2
See Rule #1

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...ses-30330.html


My Wide-Glide at Whale Rock Reservoir near Cayucos, that's the ocean just past the dam in the distance.
http://i.imgur.com/ERJ79Jx.jpg

Suzuki SV650 is an excellent bike to learn on. You can actually keep it an enjoy it after you learn. And you just may really like the v-twin engine and sporty handling.

take the most extensive motorcycle training course available to you. find one that provides bikes and is for absolute rookies who have never ever ridden.

think twice about getting a vintage bike as your first bike, not only will you be riding 45 year old technology, you will also be learning how to work on that bike on the side of the road. i learned the hard way a classic bike is not the best choice for a first bike.

and if you are older and go the dirt bike/dirt route, i'd be very careful to keep my confidence in check on the dirt. it's very easy to get over confident on a dirt bike, that usually results in a dislocated shoulder, broken clutch lever and a smooshed gear shifter. :)

break a leg! :winkwink:

Yeah, my excitement has clouded my judgement some safe to say. I see cb's available everywhere for parts and bikes so figured i'd be safe there, bsa's are obviously a different story.

As I've said, I'm pretty green with all this still so I appreciate the advice.

What I did when I was getting back into riding after a 30 year break was:

1. I bought a Honda Rebel 250. I bought mine new but from looking at Craigslist I know they can be had, in good shape, for anywhere from 1000-2500. That was in July. That little bike was small for me (I am 6'4 and weigh around 225) but it could handle the highway at 80mph.

2. I rode that for 2 or 3 months and then I went ahead and bought my Harley (Soft Tail Heritage Classic). That was in October.

3. I rode the Harley all winter and garaged the Honda.

4. In the spring I sold the Honda for about $500 less then I paid for it.

I also agree with everyone telling you to take a riding course. There is a good one near me that has 3 or 4 different flavors of bikes ranging from 250s to 550s or so that you can use while taking the course. Good way to get a handle on what size bike you really want and by taking the course you get a substantial discount on insurance.

just my :2 cents:

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That is an awesome bike.

Invisible, check. I'm a cyclist and those training runs are deadly without this mentality so I can imagine the increase in speeds will make that more prevalent. Sounds like i should probably go with a banger to start either way heh

oh, i should have mentioned I'll be taking a course for sure. My mom is an insurance broker and would hunt me down if I didn't. She is small but fierce.. hehe

My thoughts with the older models were that they are said to be easier to work on, which was part of my mind set for aiming for them--Is that an incorrect assumption? I'd hate to dump one because of rookie mistakes too so you may have talked me out of that idea for now.

Again, appreciate all the advice here. Thanks.

I am not sure where in Canada you are but unless it is Vancouver you probably can't ride much during the winter (my apologies if I got that wrong).

What might be fun, depending on how mechanically inclined you are, is to get a project bike and fix it up during the winter so you have it to ride in the spring. Building a bike is a great way to learn everything about them and the experience comes in handy for those side of the road repairs.

I consider older bikes easier to work on because, just like cars, there are less electronics involved. Also moct older bikes are air cooled and not water cooled so less pieces involved. But with that said, with the proper tools and knowledge it may well be that newer bikes are easier to diagnose and repair.

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This sounds like a good plan since you live in the city, I don't know what part of Canada you live in but I found this in about 20 seconds just as an example

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rd...087229081.html

Don't forget that depending on the laws in your area you will most likely have to take a driving skills test to get your license and believe me a small bike makes that MUCH easier to pass.

I let my bike license lapse some years ago and had to take the retarded California skills test on my Harley which has a bit of front end rake which makes it a real pig at low speeds, they kept telling me I was going too fast during the test :1orglaugh

This thread got me looking a project bikes again. Thanks a lot for that, my wife will hate you forever.

Just found this one on CL listed for $450. http://kansascity.craigslist.org/mcy/4195718721.html

http://www.madspiders.com/projectbike.jpg


Yeah, I had not ridden for 30 years or so and I brought the Rebel home, went and took the test the next morning. Flunked the fucker but got to see what all they needed me to do. Went back that afternoon and passed it.

The slow speed maneuvers are what nailed me.

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novice mechanic but I am patient and learn fast so that helps. Already checking out forums to learn where I can.

I'm in windsor, which is the southern most city in canada but winter is still write off so will be working on my mechanical skills for the winter one way or another. I wouldn't mind grabbing a fixer upper for that purpose, i just don't want to get something too over my head to start is all. If i grab something I'll let you know.

Laws aren't too bad here for bikes, we have graduated licencing, which is normally stupid, but you just take a brief written test an eye test and you are clear for the road as long as you have insurance and don't ride at night. You have to wait 60 days to do the obstacles.

The older Honda CB750 OHC motor are a bit of a bitch to work on, if you wanna go the Cafe Racer route look into Kawasaki KZ1000, KZ750, KZ550, or Suzuki GS1000, GS750 or GS550, these would make a great Cafe Racer project, I have owned all of the above when they came out in the 70-80's.

If you want the Honda 750 go for a 1979 and later.

Damn... you a big girl!

The first thing to do is ask yourself what type of riding you want to do If you intend to do long rides thats a BIG consideration. You said you have ridden off road so I assume you know at least the basics.

Get a bike that you are comfortable riding for the amount of time you intend to ride.

Second Take a riding class...plain and simple.

Real fucking ugly too. So ugly I'm oogly :thumbsup

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I'm a Bmw fan, when it comes to confort and long rides there are not many bikes that can offer what Bmw does.
Just sold my F 650, and want to upgrade in the spring with something bigger, either 1200 GS or 1150 GS, haven't decided yet.
If you just starting riding bikes, count in the equipment next to the bike price. It's very important, thus don't leave it aside and by equipment I don't mean just a helmet.
Drive safe and have dry roads!

I'm a big KTM fan. I had a Ducati Multistrada and WAS going to get a monster but the frame is too small. So now I'm gunning for a SuperDuke. Most of my riding would be city/urban commuting so something upright with wide bars is best. KTM do some awesome entry level SuperMotard style bikes like the Duke 390 http://www.ktm.com/gb/naked-bike/390...l#.Upb9asRDvNU

I picked this up yesterday, only done 100km so far, it's one hell of a bike, a lot of fun!

http://www.fusiongraphics.co.uk/bikes/821.jpg

And i've had this one for 3 years, i'm a ducati fan!

http://www.fusiongraphics.co.uk/bikes/848.jpg

As far your dilemma, i'd start of on something reliable with modern abs etc, kawasaki er6's or versys, something like that, plenty of power but forgiving for a beginner, and very reasonable prices

For me these are two of the most desirable bikes out there. VERY nice Dude :thumbsup

oogly oogly oogly oogly UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU:pimp

I have a friend who races on dirt tracks, and has for probably more years than i've been alive, has a good size collection of bikes but tells me his 80's bmw (the model escapes me) is his daily rider and that he's never needed an upgrade from that ever.

I used the bmw for soft off road rides but pushed to extreme too. I love the mud and also riding on mountain paths or forests.
This is probably the safest way to ride and envolves a lot of fun and gives you satisfaction when you get with the "cow" in places that are hard to reach by foot.
The reason for the upgrade is that I've changed countries, no mountains here, so less fun :)).

I did a lot of dirt biking when I was a kid. I never got more interested than that, though. My brother went on to get a Harley like my Dad. I got a convertible instead.