Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I would like to get a motorcycle, any recommendations?

Perfect, the Ninjas in those sizes are about perfect. I didn't read all the posts and don't know your size/weight, but those Ninjas are the typically crotch rocket type bike and should do you well as a beginner bike. Good choice.

I'm commuting on a bike again, when it's warm enough, this time it's a Honda Nighthawk 650.
Too old to be attractive to thieves ,I hope.
Shaft drive ,hydraulic lifters,cheap on Craig's list.

No 340boy, my comments were only as addressed. I actually remember a Sportster in my youth that successfully tempted me into the sin of covetousness.. Hope I have recovered. Godspeed.

Make sure you are a organ donor.

Get one that has a warning beeper when your turn signal is on.








That way, it gets you accustomed to the machines in the ICU.................

That's funny

Lightsoutsix,
Take the beginner course first. Minnesota supplies the bikes.
After you take the course you can make an informed decision.
Michigan Scott gave you really good advice.
Start small and trade up as needed.
Big bike that you are not comfortable on will get you in big trouble fast. You can be dead or crippled for the rest of your life if you make a mistake or someone else does, and you can't avoid them!

In 2008 more US Marines were killed on crotch rockets than were killed in combat!
whelennut

Get something with a "standard" riding position. Make sure you can get your feet on the ground when seated, the tall bikes are for later when you get more experience.

The downside to Bonneville is the scarcity of parts and higher maintenance costs. A dealer valve adjustment is $400, due at 12,000. In Denver, most of the parts are are dear, and not always available. I have found substitutes for brakes and levers from Honda and Yamaha. Mine is an 04 Black. It does go in any weather including snow. You don't "meet yourself" around every bend. And apparently now most if not all of the "British" bikes are made in Thailand, so you are still getting a bike from the Pacific rim.

Remember, you don't get any "free" accidents. You can figure on being laid up or worse; the saying is "not if, but when".

My brother had a 250 Ninja, it took forever to break it in at under 5000 rpm which equalled around 35 mph. But it is a good tight non oil burning engine now. This year they went to bucket shim cams, which are more expensive to adjust, and left off the center stand.

A v-strom has the advantage of lots of parts and fire road capabilities, and a fairing.

Here's a good starter bike......

Always wear a lid....

Another reason to wear good leathers....


Goin down at speed...

LightsOut

I think you're on the right track. I had never ridden a motorcycle and took the MSF class this year (at age forty). The savings on my insurance premium paid for the class and the knowledge gained is invaluable. I look at "continuing education" as part of the cost of ownership of a motorcycle and intend to take more MSF courses.

I like Bristoe's advice on the Bonneville. I bought a Triumph Scrambler and have no regrets. Either are great first bikes that you'll never outgrow. Also be sure to check out the Adventure Rider forums: www.advrider.com/forums/. It's like the 'Fire, but for motorcycle nuts. Great info there.

Motorcycles are too [bleep] dangerous for me to recommend them to anyone who I wouldn't want to see dead in the street!

The 1 and only time that I dumped my Kawasaki 750H2 was on my girlfriend's driveway at less than 5 mph. Her father has sealed it and with a little rain on it, it was slick as owl $hit! Not only are there a gazillion road hazards, ranging from pot holes to armadillos to owl $hit slick driveways, but there are old people and young people and all kinds of people who will never see you when they turn in front of you.

Spend your $$ on a used BMW or Saab convertible and drive around with the top down! Nearly as fast and exponentially safer.

Jeff

I browsed through most of the replies and I can't believe no one asked what kind of riding you want to do. It must be that all the responders assumed that you would ride like they do. Cruisers, sport bikes, standards, touring bikes, dual purpose, etc. all have their places and most can do multiple duties to a point. There is a reason why there are so many different kinds of bikes and you will be best served by the type most suited to your main type of riding. With that said, it is better to start small and work up as you gain experience.

Jerry

I don't think a guy should buy his first street bike based on what he wants to do, but what he can do. I think a first street bike should have the power to get out of situation, put you in an upright seating position and after you burn a bunch of miles on it you should buy the bike you want. There's a reason (other than just finances) that some of the motorcycle classes for beginners use certain types of bikes and it's not based on the type of riding a guy wants to end up with.

My next bike is likely to be a BMW F800GS but I wouldn't recommend it as a first bike for most people.

I started with motor scooters in high school. Lost my left shoulder joint to a crash in 1962 that also broke my right wrist and pushed my index finger up into the palm of my hand. Broke that shoulder again when thrown off a horse because my shoulder prevented me from holding on. Took three surgeries to get it back together, it's been locked up for 47 years now.

Switched to a Honda 350 about 1968. Rode that thing from Woodside to Santa Barbara California to work the horse show. Only dumped it once missing a deer - just broke a couple of ribs. Rode that thing everywhere, even went tent camping with it.

Switched to a Honda 450, rode that sucker from Redwood City to Sunnyvale, California commuting on U.S. 101 every day for three years. Put 20k miles on it, always kept the shiny side up.

Bought a Honda 750 and rode that as a commute vehicle for four years. Traded it in on a Honda Gold Wing. What a bike! Crashed it on a city street into the side of a car. Knocked me out colder than a cucumber. My Bell Magnum helmet saved me, but they kept me overnight for observation. Got it repaired and rode it for a couple of years and finally traded it on a Honda Civic. That was the end of the motorcycles - it just hurt too much falling off.

In my job as a Park Ranger, I picked up grievously wounded or dying motorcyclists nearly every weekend in the summer. Some made it to the hospital by helicopter, some didn't. We buried one lady's ashes in our memorial garden when she died outside the park entrance after hitting a fir tree. Rice rockets claimed nearly a victim every week on the Santa Cruz Mountain roads. One young fellow hit a pickup head-on at 90 mph - his brains were knocked out from under his helmet. Another had his intestines scooped out by the windshield when he hit another motorcycle head-on. The other guy had compound fractures of his left leg, but survived. even one of my Rangers dropped his bike breaking his collar bone and suffered a concussion. Each Monday I'd see another flower pile memorial to a fallen biker on the way to work.

My suggestion - don't buy a motorcycle. Get a nice 3/4 ton crew cab diesel truck like I did, just crank up the music and sip hot coffee, watch the kamikaze bikers fly by.

Thanks for all the advice. I will definitely take the MSF course before actually buying a motorcycle. Safety is the number one priority if I do this- I spent over a year in Iraq and I know I'm not bulletproof. I'm told that a helmet and good set of riding clothes will go about $1,000...is that about right?

I'm not really sure what kind of riding I want to do, of course a standard appeals to me in that sense. I currently drive a Corolla with 126 hp, so almost any motorcycle can out-accelerate that and most can smoke it. I don't care to accelerate 3-4 times faster than my car can. I can go shoot my '06 or something when I want a heavy helping of testosterone.

A 1000 dollars should do it, I would think.
Helmet(full-face would be best), Jacket, good gloves, in that order- would be best.
You may even want to look into riding pants(leather) if you can swing it! Foot protection is also important, but a good pair of hiking boots(that come well above the ankle) will work just fine.

Enjoy your motorcycle, You will like it lots.

You could ask this guy where he got his safety equipment.

Triumph Bonneville
Honda Shadow Spirit
Yamaha V Star Classic or Custom
Suzuki Boulevard S50
Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD
Moto Guzzi V7 Classic
BMW G650 GS (a one-lunger you have to ride to believe)
Harley Davidson Sportster 883

Well, I betcha he didn't buy it from Carl's in Boise!