I'm buying a motorcycle and I need suggestions.
 

I'm buying a motorcycle and I need suggestions. I've only ridden dirt bikes in the past but how hard can it be?

I don't really care about the price so much because I assume they will all be affordable. I'm certainly not going to buy a classic or antique.

Currently I'm leaning towards a Ducati 650 Monster or a BMW 650.

One of my concerns is that 2 months after I buy it I'll wish I had bought an 1100.

Any suggestions? Post yours.

step-up to the 1100- you'll wish you did- also checkout a harley fatboy before you buy a crotch rocket :2 cents:

I suggest life insurance.

Well, I haven't drank alchohol since October 22nd, 2005 and I never go further than a couple miles from my house anyway unless I'm on an airplane.

Yet oddly enough most accidents will also happen within that same range.

If you buy a bike would you be so kind to sign your body over to me in the event you die? I do not care about the insurance.

don't do it get a car you crash a bilke and u r fucked

Dude I would totally suggest the Ducati 650 Monster, my buddy was telling me just a couple of days ago about a BMW bike a friend of his bought. He's now selling it after 3 weeks because it is totallly not what he thought it was going to be.

I only see older dudes riding on those BMW bikes anyways, you're still young don't do it LOL!

DH

P.S. I'm eyeing up this Ducati for myself
http://www.ducati.com/bikes/my2006/d...elName=749D-06

Rick,
You only interested in a Crotch Rocket?

Ive been leaning towards a Harley as well, kind of past the 180 mph stage of my life.

The Softail Deluxe is my Harley of choice now days.

See you in Phoenix?

This is what I ride;

http://www.kakaku.com/bike/images/bi..._rocketIII.jpg

Awesome fun and great in the city and highway :thumbsup

I'm definately not leaning towards a rocket. I guess my concern with one of those big Harleys was the weight. Are they harder to ride?

i would recommend taking the motorcycle training course before you ride it, i took it and learned way more than i expected.

http://www.webinc.com/misc/todd/harley.jpgGet a hog Rick, you will love it :)

I love my fat boy!!

http://www.webinc.com/misc/todd/harley.jpg

That's a nice looking bike but it just caused Harleys to earn 2 points. Not only does it look scary, but it looks uncomfortable if you are driving around town.

Rick,

don't worry about the weight, harley's are the cadilacs of bikes... All balanced, etc. no worries... but a driver course is a good idea though :)

That's a great suggestion. I'll look into it now. Do I need my own bike to take the course?

*edit: http://www.jkminc.com/

Thats a beautiful bike. Little too much in the motor for me though. 2300 cc, right?

Amen to that :thumbsup

damn is that a v6 in a bike?

I paid like $60.00 for a drivers course at the local community college a few years ago. 1 weekend of time, they supplied like Suzuki 250's or so. Once we past the test - took the paper to the dmv and got the endorsement.. Easy as pie.

My Bro and I have had bikes our whole lives. Remember, just because you can ride and handle a Dirt Bike doesn't mean you are ready for the streets.
You should rent one or borrow a friends bike to see if you like it. Not saying you don't know how to ride but the streets have gotten crazy in the last past 20 years. People just don't care for Bikers and the traffic has made it very dangerous to ride. I am not talking you out of buying a bike, just make sure you are ready for one.

I would go with the bigger bike because yes, you will want a bigger one real quick.

I have big bikes and small bikes, small bikes are fun for the canyon and the big bikes are fun for the long drives on the highways.

Either way, have fun and be safe.

Yep 2300cc and it goes like the name suggests :winkwink: ... but still *very* managable innercity

Congrats on having the type of attitude that gets people killed :thumbsup

For someone like you, I suggest you take a motorcycle safety course before you buy a bike.

Yeah, my designer waited for a long ass time for that Rocket III to be available in the states. He went from a Legend 900 to that and loves the hell out of it.

Passed me on the freeway like I was going in reverse.

lol no, it's actually a triple ... the pistons it uses are the same spec as a dodge truck :thumbsup

NO they are not Rick, they are very well balanced. I owned numerous harleys over the years, they are a great bike. That being said I just bought this,
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products...ion= OVERVIEW
NO its not a harley, I dont ride that much anymore, so I didnt want to tie up large in a harley.

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The collective wisdom of GFY strikes again. Maybe I should get a Harley.

depends on what you want.

i have a hayabusa, and recently bought a ducati ST2 on ebay.

i would not recommend a ducati if you are new to streetbikes or not mechanically inclined.

any jap bike will be mostly reliable and there are basically 2 camps in the bike world---sportbikes and "cruisers". alot depends on the types of roads you have where you live---sportbikes are more fun on the curvy roads, cruisers better on the interstate.

you can ride safely if you have experience---take a motorcycle training course if avail, many states require a motorcycle endorsement for your license, and statistically MOST lethal accidents happen to new riders within the first 90 days of ownership.

where proper protection and a good helmet (arai, shoei, etc).

good luck.

only if u wanna spend more time fix'n it then riding it :winkwink:

I had one of these last year
http://photos.motorcycle-usa.com/03vtx1300_main2.jpg

I thought I would like the laid back style and comfortable ride but to be honest I found it completely boring. Sure it was 1300cc but that doesn't translate to instant torque and lighting fast response. If you want that kind of response and handling obviously sportbikes are your answer.

All depends on what you want Rick, I have had both and I much prefer the adrenaline rush when you open up a sportsbike on a windy road instead of the slow and loud rumble of a cruiser. As soon as I drove the cruiser off the lot I knew I had made a mistake...

Different strokes for different folks I guess :)

DH

bigger is better and heavier is better . . . get really good medical ins because you are going down, no doubt about it

Even with the new ones?

please... I have had 1 problem with my hog in a few years time. Clutch cable broke at sturgis, was a bummer but fixed quick.

Harley's are the only bike who keeps there re-sale value high... You can have a few yr. old hog and sell it for what you paid for it new or even more. I have seen this a ton of times.

My hog is valued at and insured at 30k, I added tons of chrome, SS, etc, etc

Thanks for your vote of confidence.

That's because they don't change over the years... You can look at a Harley and not know if it's a 2006 or a 1996. Sportbikes are always outdoing theirselves each year. The manufacturers are always pushing the limits, making them lighter, faster, more aerodynamic... and that reduces the retail value of the previous years much quicker.

But, I'm partial to sportbikes... I just bought this 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 last week:
http://www.extremebank.com/images/gfy/bikes3.jpg

Adam,

mabey so - I don't know much about sportbikes but do know enough about hog's that I feel good about buying 2 of them over the years. Buddy just sold his 1996 Dyna Low Rider, 25k miles, 2 months ago, got 17.5k for it, about what he paid for it :)

Lots of great rides out there, I am just partial to harley - and Rick - make sure to go talk to a local harley dealer (Certified local dealer) and mabey goto 1 of the local Hog chapter meetings, talk with some folks, etc.

Adam,

BTW, nice bike :)

Well the old biker saying Rick is

"You've either gone down or you're going down"

Seriously everybody does... You just hope when you do it's going slow and it's not too bad.

DH

What you say is pretty true. I have dropped a couple of times in the past. 1 time going about 1/2 mile an hour, stopped to park on some Gravel (Did I mention I hate gravel), and it slipped, I dropped it. Luckily I had Highway Bars (Always get hwy bars if you want / can)

it's not about you, it's about the other drivers . . . every day there are more and more angry, first generation drivers. drivers that never even sat in a car until the day they drove one off the lot . . think about it: most of usI sat in cars for 15+ years before we ever drove one, watching, listening, getting the concept down

if you think this is all about you, you're fucked before you even hit the road . . I rode bikes for almost 35 years. I've been hit by a guy backing down sunset blvd . . who in the fuck would think to look for some ass wpie to be backing down sunset at 30 mph? everybody goes down sooner or later . .

get a corvette, faster than most bikes and much more fun to drive to be honest about it . . if I would have know that I would have gotten a vette years ago . . I eat rice burners up all the time, or stay on their ass until the freak out and pull over :)

http://americanironhorse.com

:)

NAWWWWWWWW The new ones are pretty reliable, check out the superglides, they are entry level. Easy to handle. Dont let them talk you into a sportster, they are girly bikes:winkwink:

Very nice Dave, my first BIG bike was a 650 triumph Bonneville:thumbsup

Hey Rick! it's great your going to start riding, and like everyone else here I recommend The "HOG" especially the one that synapse own's :thumbsup

My first bike was a 600, and after six months I was disappointed with it. However, buying a big bike isn't for the meek.

Girly bikes with a higher center of gravity and harder to ride relative to the weight...

Anything Dyna should be a joy to ride around on without causing you too much grief.

Right on Kimmy:thumbsup
Here Rick........
http://www.harley-davidson.com/pr/mo...bmLocale=en_US

I have one of those, too... the Corvette will out run Harley's and other cruisers, but won't touch a sportbike (600 or higher). It would be a joke to attempt to race my new 1000 with my Vette.

I have never been down on a street bike (I'm knocking on wood here), and I've been riding for 18 years or so. I've had some close calls... gravel, oil, shoestring caught in my shifter as I tried to put my foot down... but never has anything but the tires or sidestand touched the ground.

But, that's another reason why I like sportbikes... they are much lighter and easier to maneuver and operate. If a 800 pound bike starts to go over... it's going. If a 350 pound bike starts to go, you can stop it.