Looking to buy a bike. I know nothing about bikes.

[Jngrbrdman]

This isn’t exactly a car purchase question. I am in the market for a bike. I’m not a very experienced rider and I’m not looking for something to win races with. I just want a nice looking, nice sounding and nice riding bike. I’ve been looking heavily into the Honda Shadow Spirit 750. Any of you bike owners out there have an opinion on that? I know zip about motorcycles and don’t know if a 750 is too much bike or not. I don’t even know what the bikes I’ve ridden are called so I couldn’t tell you how large they are. I’ve been riding since I was a kid but I’ve never owned a bike and probably haven’t put more than 30 miles on a bike in any given year. I just would like something to enjoy the nice weather with in the summer. Any thoughts? I think it’s a really nice looking bike. Its not really that much either. I have seen used ones for less than 4 grand all over the web. That is a doable price.

[BIGkev1001]

I really want one of these in blue

[2wheelsx2]

Anthony, I have been riding for about 8 years, and have over 100,000 km on bikes. I have toured to California, and up to Northern BC. I have had 4 bikes, all standards or sport bikes, until I got a BMW. I currently have that and a Kawasaki sport bike for the track. My personal opinion?

Don't get a cruiser, unless you are only going to do nothing but Sunday rides down the boulevard.

Pros:
Looks
Sound
Image

Cons:
Poor brakes
Poor power
Power ergonomics for trips of any length
Power maneuverability

For my money, I would go out there and get an older VFR. Comfortable, semi-sporty position. Indestructible. Sport tourers are where it's at.

If you really want a cruiser, the older Virago's from Yamaha are a good buy, and so are older Magnas. The Magnas make the best power out of the lot, because they have a V4 engine.

You say you have been riding for years. Did you originally take a course? If not, a refresher could be very valuable. And don't even think about the bike until you budget in proper gear. Good helmet, gloves, proper jacket and boots. I have fallen twice, both times with full gear, including leather pants. No damage whatsoever to me. Some of my friends who didn't listen to me were not so lucky.

Feel free to propagate this thread, PM or email me if you are interested in an in-depth discussion. I am always keen to bring more riders into the fold.

[Jngrbrdman]

I am so glad that you saw this thread. I was hoping you would. I’m defiantly going to pick your brain on this as I get deeper into my searching. I’m defiantly planning on taking a refresher course just so I can actually ask some questions about the bike to someone who can see what I’m pointing to and things like that. I need to decide what I want out of a bike.
I’m pretty sure it would just be a local cruiser kind of bike. I don’t plan on taking any long road trips. The furthest I can envision riding on it would be maybe 60 or 70 miles in either direction. With that kind of limited and mostly city riding, do you think this is a style of bike that would work? I’m not really into the racing bike styling and I’m defiantly not looking for some kind of touring bike. Basically I’m just looking for something to get more practice on that looks good until I graduate to a bigger bike.
What size should an inexperienced light weight like me look for? Is a 750 a good size or is it too small or too big?

[2wheelsx2]

Are you kidding?!! I see "bike" in the subject line, I am all over it!!! :P

A 750 sportbike would be way too much for an inexperienced rider. However, a 750 cruiser should be all right. Having said that, you have to take two things into consideration.

Weight - A 750 is a rather heavy bike, and could be a bit of a bear in slow speed maneuvers. For a mature riding who is not driven by testosterone, slow speed tipovers are the norm

Beginner tipovers - a heavier, more costly bike will be easier to drop and costlier to fix than a lighter bike. I can tell you, or instance that there are "standards" like the Suzuki Bandit 600 which are light and powerful, and excellent for beginners.

If you have a local bikeshow you can go to, you can sit on a bunch and see what fits you and what you like. The CycleWorld International Bike Shows are great for that.

See if there is one close to you:

Bike Show

[bretfraz]

That reminds me....

Whatever happened to the Honda V65 Magna and the Yamaha V Max. I loved those two muscle bikes.

Besides a Hog they're about the only two I'd consider owning. Do they ever hit the market as used bikes or were they all crashed and stolen?

[geekysteve]

I don't subscribe to the "smaller displacement" theory for new riders - I've been riding dirt bikes (started with a KX80) since 1983ish; street bikes since about 1990ish. My first street bike was a Hurricane 1000, and I've had liter bikes ever since (YZF1000, R1, CBR900, etc).

I've only been without a bike for the past 2 years or so (travel too much to justify keeping one around)....

Anyway, I'd say that your bike choice should be based upon a few things:

1) What style of bike do you like?
a) Cruiser
b) Cafe/retro
c) Sport
d) Touring
e) Dual Purpose
f) Harley-style


2) What will you use your bike for?
a) Sunday rides/Boulevard cruising (short trips)
b) Sport riding
c) Track days/spirited riding
d) Touring; longer rides
e) Passenger on board often


3) What's your budget?
a) < $3,000
b) $3,000 - $5,000
c) $5,000 - $7,000
d) $7,000 - $10,000
e) > $10,000


4) What's your size?
a) < 5'8"
b) 5'8" - 6'0"
c) > 6'0"


2wheels hit the nail on the head with the cruiser being a little tiring to ride for any amount of distance; you'll take a beating from wind (cruisers usually have no/small windshields), and the outstretched riding position gets a little tiring as well.

Sport bikes/Sport touring bikes are great for just about any type of riding except for around town riding; the fairings are designed so that the wind helps support some of the load that's placed on your wrists/frontal body. I rode my YZF1000 from DC to Madison in a single day (930 miles) without much drama.

Dual purpose bikes are fun if you have off-road environments available to you, but for the most part, I don't enjoy them too much.

Oh, before I end this rambling post....back to the displacement thing - people who are new riders buy a smaller bike because they think it's more safe. Therein lies the problem - at first, they're deathly afraid of the throttle and treat it like it's canned nuculear explosives.

Then, as they get used to the bike, they start to flog it a bit more and that's when they end up in trouble - they think "well, this is only a tiny little 600cc; I can handle it!" and with that, they come in to a corner too hot, lock up the rear brake and go for a little slide-slide.

With a larger displacement bike, you're more apt to respect the throttle for a longer period of time, and are less likely to become over confident and cocky. Just my own personal theory, which I developed from watching many friends crash their new 600's while other friends kept riding their new 1000's.

The Suzuki Bandit or even the SV650 (I know, lower displacement, but this is an exception) might be great first bikes.

Whatever your choice, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

[Redcar GUY]

I am not going to preach to anyone, Please just be safe. I dont care if it is a R1 or a gold wing. I lost 2 people close to me in the last year due to bikes, I would hate to lose any of my friends here on Autopia to one also........

[cvcaelen]

22 years on a bike,driving 250days a year
forgot how many Kilometers
only hit the ground once, standing still

riding a Yamaha Diversion XJ600S (Called Seca in the States)
fast & strong enough to get me anywhere (bought it in '94 and still as happy with it as the first day )

What I'm trying to say is : it don't has to be big & fast to enjoy motorbike riding.

Christiaan

[2wheelsx2]

Bretfraz - the V65 still has one of the best engines ever built, but have long cease production. There are no modern equivalents. The V-Max is on its last year I think. With muscle cruisers being the new hot thing, I think Yamaha is going to come out with a bigger, badder V-Max replacement next year.

Geeky - all good points. The only reason, I recommend 600's are a lack of torque. Anyone who takes a proper bike course should be able to step out on a liter bike - providing the use good judgement with the throttle hand. A liter bike spins up the rear tire much easier, and also has frightening acceleration, whereas a 600 will not bite the rider as hard should there be a ham-fisted throttle maneuver. Of course, nothing is going to save you no matter how small the bike is, if you go WFO everywhere.

Case in point, I was at Laguna Seca at a CLASS with my 65 HP K75S in November. I was in the A group chasing some R6's. Exiting turn 5, I was trying to use the torque of the triple to catch up, and grabbed a handful, and spun up the rear really badly. Bike goes sideways, handlebars almost tear out of my hands. I thought this was it, I am going to be seeing the sky! Luckily, numerous track course caused my (extremely slow) reflexes to kick in, and I didn't chop the throttle, rode out the slide and saved it. Whew!

[Jngrbrdman]

I really appreciate the input you guys are giving me. Its helping a lot. I defiantly want to get to some kind of bike show to check these out.
I don’t know too much about what I want other than I know its only going to be for short trips and puttering around town so I want to get a cruiser style. I need to figure out what “power” equals on a bike. I know what 200 HP feels like in a car but I’m just stupid about what kind of power is appropriate for a bike and how to tell if its underpowered or over powered. 200 HP is fine for a car unless it’s a V8. An inexperienced car person may not know that the car is running on 3 or 4 cylinders. They just might think that is the way the car is meant to run.
I really like these other bikes I’m discovering. The Magna is a good-looking bike. Not a whole lot different than the Shadow really. I think this style of bike is a fun one to be able to play around with and customize.
Thanks for your tips guys. I’m all ears until the spring. I’ll keep my eyes open for bike shows. The only large massing of bikes that I’ve seen were at Harley shops. My father-in-law is a Harley fanatic. I need to find a show where more makes are represented.

[paco]

Ducati's are nice Very linear acceleration rather than flat as in some of the Suzuki/Yamaha bikes. Granted, I am by no means an experienced rider so my opinion doesn't mean diddly squat

As I'm giving my GF an engagment ring in the next couple of months, I want something in return ... I'm trying to convince her a bike would be a nice choice

Not working so far