I'm sort of interested in getting a bike for my commute to and from work(about 25 miles to and from) and i'm hoping to save some money with the better gas mileage. Right now, i'm spending about $150-200 a month with my civic, and i would like to cut that in half. I really don't need anything fast, just good mpg, motor, and looks. I actually don't mind if it's a sports bike or cruiser and I would prefer a beginner bike, until I get the feel for it. Looking to spend less than 3k.

 

kawasaki Ninja 250 for a beginner bike.

Take the MSF course. Get gear and insurance.

Enjoy.

 

Honda CB, Honda Nighthawk, Ninja 250, Any dual sport (50-60mpg).

Basically anything in good shape late 80s-90s, with a smaller motor will get you good reliability and mpg.

 

Cool. I picked up a cyclefocus magazine and i'm going to search for those. Is insurance usually high for motorcycles? Or does it highly depend on make/model?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRISIS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Cool. I picked up a cyclefocus magazine and i'm going to search for those. Is insurance usually high for motorcycles? Or does it highly depend on make/model? </TD></TR></TABLE>

depednds drastically on make/model and age.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">kawasaki Ninja 250 for a beginner bike.

Take the MSF course. Get gear and insurance.

Enjoy.</TD></TR></TABLE>

+1 on the broken record

 

Yeah, i'm going to take the test, get plenty of gear and get insurance for sure. I actually get mad at people when I see them riding without their gear on. My uncle just finished fixing his Harley fatboy lowrider and i'm hoping to take it for a spin. How are those? And i'm assuming the lower displacement the cheaper the insurance?

 

SV650's are dead sexy in full fairing and without. I think personally that's what I would start on. A nice used one and some fresh gear.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRISIS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah, i'm going to take the test, get plenty of gear and get insurance for sure. I actually get mad at people when I see them riding without their gear on. My uncle just finished fixing his Harley fatboy lowrider and i'm hoping to take it for a spin. How are those? And i'm assuming the lower displacement the cheaper the insurance? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Not really, its more age then anything. You could say type of bike matters as well.
Crotch rockets jack it up some, cruisers not as much. My insurance on teh Volusia (800cc) is 9 $ a month, but if i went w/ a GSX-R it was about 19/mo. I'm 28 male, no tickets w/ Geico.

 

kawasaki ninja 250 is a great beginner bike. Inexpensive, great gas mileage, decent performance. The Ninja 500r is pretty cheap too and performs a little better. Buy used and take the MSF course. If your looking for something in a more "cruiser" style, Honda Nighthawk.

Make sure you get all the gear too. Helps out a lot if you go down on your bike. For example:

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2018514

 

That's good to know. I'm 21 with a clean record, so i'm sure it'll be pretty high. I'm checking out craigslist right now. Are there any sites for bikes in a similar style to autotrader or cars.com?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">kawasaki Ninja 250 for a beginner bike.

Take the MSF course. Get gear and insurance.

Enjoy.</TD></TR></TABLE>

What Rgay said Do not get a 600cc or 1000c bike until you're ready for the power.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Euphoria &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

What Rgay said Do not get a 600cc or 1000c bike until you're ready for the power.</TD></TR></TABLE>

dude, everyone knows the zx-14r and the hayabusa is the best beginner bike. duh

 

Ha ha. I bet a busa would have me in a wall or under a truck before I even hit 3rd gear.

 

well here man enjoy some porn0

 

I just got a 71 CB750. Although it is a bigger motor, its slow as hell compared to most bikes and ancient in technology. I'm also 6'4 so I don't mind the bigger bike. Learning on that piece will actually be harder for me, then say on my brothers 1200s Bandit or his 750 VFR.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">kawasaki Ninja 250 for a beginner bike.

Take the MSF course. Get gear and insurance.

Enjoy.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Agreed, never go overboard on a first bike.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ninja 6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

dude, everyone knows the zx-14r and the hayabusa is the best beginner bike. duh</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think I'd last maybe 10 minutes on a Busa before wrecking and being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance

No thanks I'll take a 250cc two stroke moto-x bike. Riding a street scares me with the amount of idiotic drivers we have on our highways these days.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ninja 6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well here man enjoy some porn0</TD></TR></TABLE> Thanks for that! I needed it. . . . . long day at work.

 

the learning curve on a smaller displacement bike is much better than one of a racing 600 or a supersport 1000+. the reason why is because you would be too scared to open up the throttle to learn jack ****. and when you do, with little experience, you will end up as a road crayon in as little as an hour. the main concept to beginning with the smaller bikes is because it is fairly idiot and unskilled-proof. the smaller bikes are more nimble, easy to toss around, and have throttle handles that extend more than 180 degrees. you would have to be an idiot to extend that bar on accident more than a quarter turn, honestly. and even if you do, it wouldnt really get anywhere because there is so little power.

but, any idiot will die on any bike, if he sucks at riding in general. if you begin on a beginner bike and still suck, i dont know what to tell you

i know people that have started on 600cc supersports, 900's, 1000's, and are one of the fastest riders i know, and thats not in a straight line. but simply because they have the skill and a level head.

there are plenty of less racing-oriented and more street oriented 600 cc's that you shouldnt have to fear as a beginner, such as the sv650s v-twin, or the 600 cbr f2/3/4, yamaha fzr600, etc

 

kawi ninja 250 (sportbike) or honda rebel 250 (cruiser)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Take the MSF course.</TD></TR></TABLE>
CRISIS, If you wanna get into the Motorcycle Safety class go to http://www.dot.state.il.us/cycle2.html asap. i registered last month and the only classes that were available were in October. But luckily i got called because of a cancellation and i'm going next weekend. Just picked up a 1978 400cc Honda Hawk

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRISIS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I really don't need anything fast, just good mpg, motor, and looks. </TD></TR></TABLE>
If you care about looks at all, a Ninja 250 is not for you. They're extremely ugly, IMO. I had an '88 ZX-6 as my first sport bike (same style as the 15 year newer Ninja 250s), and while it served it's purpose well, it was very ugly and I hated riding it. I'd look into an F3 or other mid-90's 600. You should easily be able to find one in decent shape for the price you stated, they still look pretty good, and they aren't unsuitable for a new rider. Good luck

 

I'm shocked no one said "dont get a bike because you will die! DIE SQUID DIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

That's the usual HT response.

 

i myself started on a ninja 250 and worked my way up to a gsxr600. i ride better than a lot of people within the same experience period bracket but started on 600 supersports.

just so that the words i typed in this thread isn't some regurgitation of what i read on the forums.