OK, I'm officially beginning to try to talk Laura into letting me get a bike.

Budget seriously limited.

Bike will my first and will be used mostly for commuting (13 mile suburban, no interstate, some stop and go, mostly parkway), weekend rides, no racing or track, no stunting or other jackassery.

So, what's out there for <$1500? Preferably something that doesn't need restored and is fairly new/modern.

Think SV650, but cheaper.

So far, I've come with...
The usual list of 250s (Ninja 250, Rebel 250, Virago)
Buell Blast
Ninja 500?
Older Rebel 750 (it hasn't changed much AFAIK)

Any other suggestions?

[edit]Yes, I've read the various "What 1st bike" threads that appear all over. Most recommend any of the 250s. Just looking for other suggestions.

 

Wow... that's a heckuva budget... Honda Nighthawk maybe? I don't know much about that side of the market but anything you find is prolly gonna be like 10 years old I'm guessing.

Does that budget include $500 for gear?

 

No, gear has it's own budget.

I figure there are any number of late-70s or 80s bikes that I can find and restore, but I really don't want to do the work right now.

 

If you could double your budget your options would open up a whole lot more. If you could scrounge like 3 grand up you could get a decent Bandit 600, maybe like 3 years old. There's an '01 1200 going for 3k on ebay so I'd have to imagine that a 600 would run a bit cheaper.

 

In all honesty, there's only crap out there for under $1.5K. My friend, he's pretty budget concious, bought a beat to ****, yet still rideable '97 gsx-r600 for $3K. Rode it for a year and got rid of it for $3.4K. I was like to the new buyer but if shitty bikes like that are going for $3K, I can only imagine what you'll find for $1.5K. I only see 250cc's in your future.

 

i got a deal for $400 on a downed 89 FZR600 for my first bike, i rode the **** out of it for two years doing only general maintenance.
ended up selling it for $600.
good dependable bike that is easy to ride.
if you want to make it look nicer there are R1 body kits available.

oh yeah......yamaha ran the FZR600 from 1989 to 1998 so there used parts galore!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by integrator43 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i got a deal for $400 on a downed 89 FZR600 for my first bike, i rode the **** out of it for two years doing only general maintenance.
ended up selling it for $600.
good dependable bike that is easy to ride.
if you want to make it look nicer there are R1 body kits available.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i got my 90 FZR600 for $100 .. sold it back to the guy i bought it from for $1500 over a year later

 

if you are willing to do a little work you can get something ok.

I got an F2 in bad shape:



bought some rashed plastics off ebay and, did some plastic welding / fiberglass work, spray paint and I had a decent bike, but I woudl say all in all it came in about ~1600-1800



that included
new tires
new cables
new fairing stay
new grips
frame sliders


Modified by turbo sol at 1:56 PM 8/29/2005

 

You should get a Suzuki GS 500....my brother has one and they are very fun to ride. He picked his up for $900 in SF.

You can safely assume that you can get one for $1000.00 Then you can use the rest for a full tune and some ther random **** you might need.

 

i got the perfect bike for you. you want good power but long commutes and a good condition bike. 1987-1991 Ninja 750R. Has all the power you will need and with a semi upright seating position its comfortable for long trips. They were not hugely popular when they came out so most havnt been boy raced to death like the GSX's of that era. go on ebay and search ninja 750 or 750R have a look. You can get them super cheap and in good condition.

 

suzuki gs 500

 

http://washingtondc.craigslist....html

 

I have a like a 1980 or 79 Honda CTX500 or something or another, needs brakes fixed and prolly new jets on the carbs.

id let that go for like 700 or so.

 

huhu, crack wants a bike too? I had no idea

 

gonna start a PATH bike crew and rule the streets

 

fzr 600 and cbr 600 are good bikes you can find for cheap every now and again. sometimes they'll need some work but you're on a tight budget so you can't be to picky.

 

im also lookin for a cheap bike to ride to class and back i have an integra as a daily driver, but im thinkin of gettin a little ninja 250 my friend got one in waco texas about 3 days ago for 700 bucks its a 98, im not sure on the milage

 

GS500

 

I just picked up a 2002 ninja 500 in Seattle for 1800. Upper fairing is cracked but the mechanics are perfect. Just check out your local craigslist!

 

I got my Katana for $600!

I found mine on http://www.dcsportbikes.com

 

Definitely prowl the Craigslist. I picked up my 92 EX500 in pretty good shape (runs perfect, no major damage) for about $1200. Good luck.

 

I picked up an older bike, 1973 CB350F for $400. All I had to do was clean out the carbs and buy new tires....damn thing still goes (I've had it for 3 years). It's fun to tool around on and is great to joy ride. Bought it with just over 8k miles.

Bike $400
Helmet $60 (ebay)
Jacket $0 (gift)
Tires $100

Good deals are out there, just have to find that guy that's been keeping "old reliable" in his garage...

 

i picked up a GS500e '95 with &lt;5k miles for $1545 from a guy in DC.



I like it for $1500

Good learner, but i can definitely feel myself getting another bike in the near future (spring of '06).

 

I got a 99 500R for $2000 but I could have gotten it for $1500 lol!

 

Woo-hoo! Laura says I can get a bike (yes, I'm whipped).

Guess I'll be keeping my eyes on craigslist for gear and bikes.