Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire who knows motorcycles?

looking for a used middle-weight cruiser for youngest son's high school graduation present (still can't believe wife suggested this). it would be his first bike. he is sensible, not a risk taker. doesn't like crotch rockets. he is about 5-7, 180 pounds, built like an oak. here are a couple of possibilities:
1) 1992 suzuki intruder 800, 25 k, adult owned, garage kept, asking price $2,500. it looks good. obviously well-cared-for.
2) 1995 yamaha virago 750, 2k (that's right, 2k), owned by very good friend, garage kept, down once lightly with minor grip rash; no price set but 'net market search shows $2,400 would be a very good price.
3) 1996 kawasaki 500 vulcan (straight up twin, not v-twin), excellent shape, 18k, $2,400.
4) 2003 kaw 500 vulcan, 2k, $2,900. (son doesn't like looks of the 500 vulcan, but he may have to get used to it).
trying to stay away from new for a first bike. any suggestions on other bikes? which one of these would you pick? i told him he can ride this one for a year or two, and if he still likes motorcyles and can afford it, he can buy his own fat boy, and i'll take the chump bike.

I have a Virago 750, so I'm partial to that bike. I think it's will serve him well.
You definitely don't want a crotch rocket for him.
The Virago 750 is a very sane ride, and tons of fun.
My 22 cents ( that's .02 with inflation <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)
Don

Suzuki GS500 is a good starter, so I hear.

I'd also suggest the Virago. At his size, he needs a sizable bike. The 750 has enough power to get him out of trouble and heavy enough to provide some stability and cushion.

First road bike I ever bought was a Triumph Trident 750. The succeeding ones only got bigger. Now I have two HD's, one 1200 Custom Sporty and an Ultra Classic Tourer...

Glad to see another youngster getting into bikes. Do you have helmet laws there? Even if not, make sure he wears one for the first few years. And get him some GOOD leather riding clothes. Amazing how much skin that can save.

knocking on wood here, but I've not had an accident in 38 years of riding.

If you're going up to a 750, I'll throw out the Honda 750 Nighthawk. Now discontinued, but plenty on the used market.

Hmmmmmm First----have him take a MSF course period. A teenager with his fist bike needs to have the FORMAL training this provides <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />. Whatever you do buy make sure that the rubber is new as oxydation is hard on tires particularly those that have seen a lot of sun (the older bikes you mentioned should have new tires). The Sport Bikes contrary to what people will tell do not kill you any faster than any other type of bike. I have been down a few times and there are only 2 types of motorcycle riders those that have gone down and those that are going down <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. The sooner you accept this the better off you will be as it is not a matter of if you are going down but when. Make sure that you get the proper riding gear (helmet, gloves armor etc)�this will cost quite a bit but get over it as the gear has saved me before and it will protect Junior as well.

I have had many bikes over the years from Ducati to the Haybusa to my beloved 2000 Fat Boy and they will all kill you if you are not cognizant of your and the bikes abilities then compound this by Joe Bob in his pick up who does not signal or look when he changes lanes (I drive a 4wd diesel too but I signal)! My current bike Boss Hoss has a Scott Shafiroff 540ci race engine 700hp and 700ftlb of torque that is because of the compromises to the engine to run a flat torque curve otherwise it would be over 800hp. I will email you the magazine article on it or you can see it in the spring edition of Chromed Out magazine. My bike weighs over 1600lbs and is an absolute monster with a 265x35x18 BFG Drag Radial on the back. You may not care for some of what I have to say on some subjects but this is one that that it would serve you and Juniors interest to pay attention to as I have been there and done that many times.

Careful when you look at my bike as it is a Skull Theme with lots of skulls (e.g. the headlight is a billet skull with the eyes the high beams and the mouth a low beam) but it is not demonic so it is safe for you to look at. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Been riding motorcycles since I bought my first at age 17,.... a long time ago.

I owned two until very recently,...sold one,.... selling the other as soon as it's repaired. I've lost too many friends to the things over the years,... two in the past three years.

What do I know about them?,.... hmmmmm,..... You don't really want to know,... but in my opinion, they're not a suitable toy for an 18 year old.

not toy, transportation.
might be a terrible mistake.
might not.
so, my post stands: what bikes do y'all recommend?
alabama does require helmets. it does not require an msc. but he WILL get training from an experienced rider, not me.

I'd buy the kid a 2wd Toyota pickup.

Reliable,affordable,versatile,safe,cheap to insure.

Bikes killed alotta my friends in my youth,very nearly including me................................

Should add,3 have been in wheelchairs since their late-teens/early 20's.

There's a pretty unforgiving trend,in motorcycles...............

Sorry but you are making a HUGE mistake! Now I have a clear conscience. I have lost 5 friends from high school and college�3 killed on motorcycles (2 without helmets and 1 hit the curb with his head at about 10 mph hardly a scratch on him but cracked his head like a melon dropped on the concrete was swollen twice its size before he died) 1 was a pilot in his own plane the other was Captain David Herr USMC killed in Desert Storm.

You don�t want to take all of the precautions available, training especially for something that is going to be used for transportation???? Hope you are pretty Good at praying because that boy is going to need all of the help he can get!! Maybe you should spend less time beatin the good book and research this subject a LOT more but you are the one who will have to live with it not me. In all seriousness good luck�the big V twin metric cruisers are stable, not too fast and reliable.

Been there did that and have the scars to prove it. I also lost a couple of very good friends to bikes. The Toyota sounds like a good deal to me.

My first choice would be the Virago of those listed.Second would be a Suzuki GS 450 on up.

Just got a set of decals for my friends 1990 Fat Boy.Creased the tank in the garage of all places <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I put over 70,000 on street bikes in the 70s and 80s. Drove coast to coast twice. Only fell down 6 times. Some getoffs were really stupid, like gravel at a stop sign. All were small mistakes that became big ones once I fell. I ground my ass off when I fell on the freeway at 55 mph. Sure glad I didn't tumble. I finally wised up and picked safer ways to get around.

I must agree with some of the other posters. If you ride motorcycles, you will fall down. Wear all the safety gear you can. Gloves year round. Helmet EVERY time you get on. Boots and heavy clothing or leather.


I firmly believe your son needs to have many years behind the wheel of an automobile before he ventures out on the road with a "donor" cycle. A familarity with the rules of the road and getting lots of experience is, in my opinion, an absolute must before he rides motorcycles on the street. If he was a bicycle rider that would help too. Reading the textures and surfaces of the road is an important part of riding motorcycles.

Young people tend to get into more accidents, why add to the mix by supplying him with a machine that offers no protection?

Guess I won't be giving you advice on which cycle to buy......

You speak the truth about helmets and experience behind the wheel--if everyone drove a motorcycle for a year then we would have half the automobile accidents that we do! So many riders including some of my friends will not wear helmets period.

I was at one of my friends funerals and a few of us ride but we did not cry as he was eulogized. After all of the Boo Hooing was over we talked about it afterward and all had the same sediment �yeah it was a shame but he had on his helmet if he did he would be here drinking a beer with us. The helmet is just 1 component of gear you should wear. The jackets I wear are Vansons even my cruiser jacket is a competition weight Vanson and my gloves are armored and boots steel toed�would rather have to patch a nice jacket than replace my hide.

After thinking more about this�this kid does not need a motorcycle for basic transportation (yet with out training and experience) and if what I read was correct about his Mom then she has some serious issues with judgment as well. People just do not understand how inherently dangerous these things are and all of the �good book beatin� in the world is not going to keep this kid out of harms way so don�t depend on that. Look at the statistics for deaths and injuries for new riders (young and old) then one can begin to see that every precaution is needed.

Spend the money on a nice used truck.

Dittos on the truck.

I wouldn't have much grief if my kids wanting to race motorcycles, but riding a bike on the road is a whole different ball game. Way too many idiots on the road in cars to share them on a regular bace when you're on a bike.

The majority of motorcyle accidents aren't the fault of the rider, and doesn't matter how good the helmet and leathers if some bonehead in a suburban runs your boy over.

fellas:
i appreciate all the advice.
as for a normal 4-wheeled vehicle, he already has a square-eyed wrangler, so get-around transportation is not the issue. he's an excellent driver of such.
and i do realize there is a MASSIVE difference in safety between the jeep and motorcycle. i'm still shaking my head about my wife's support for the boy's desire for a bike.
y'all are making me re-think this. i have wanted a bike all my driving life. i'm almost 55 and still do not have one. keep talking myself out of it.
gnash teeth ... growl ... grunt ... think ...

"if everyone drove a motorcycle for a year then we would have half the automobile accidents that we do!"
true, hoss, but i think that would be mostly because we'd have half as many drivers ...

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I am glad you are giving this more reflection as it is smething to be thought thru. My Dad always told me he would rather buy me a pet rattlesnake than a motorcycle. Guess what I bought at 19 and kept it and many others hidden from for the next 10 years. NO BS he hated them so much but I let him see behind the tarp in the garage one day and got it over with.

believe me, i am a reflection machine right now.