Choosing your first bike

Learning to ride and getting that first bike are big things yet many people take it very lightly and take a lot of very bad advice! What should you look for, what direction should you take and what is best for you? What is right for someone else may not be right for you so here are a few tips to help you make that decision.

First LEARN TO RIDE before getting your first bike. It might change your decision to ride or it might change the type of bike you think you want. Many times I get students (Both Men and Women) who have never been on a bike and have a 1100 or bigger bike waiting in the garage for them for when they complete the Class. NOT GOOD! Many of them cannot handle the 250 we train on and expect to move right to the 1100cc 700lb bike after a two day class. This is only a recipe for disaster!

Listen to your friends, NOT! You often hear, ow you will outgrow that bike after a year so just get a bigger one to start with. NO! If you follow this thinking I should just get my granddaughter a 26" 21 speed mountain bike, after all she will outgrow the 12" one with training wheels right? Get a bike that fits you, and one that is light and easy to ride! Used is always a good bet. After you learn to ride it well and are ready to move to a larger bike you can always resell it and get you money out of it. Remember that Motorcycle Dealer is not there with your best interests in mind, they are there to sell motorcycles, If they can sell you a new one they will! If they can sell you a bigger one they will! Most of them do not care if you can even ride it. You might be surprised how many bikes get sold that the new owners cannot even ride. they get a friend to ride it home for them, truck it home etc. they buy bikes they cannot ride or buy a bike before they even know how to ride!

Hand me downs, while this can be good if it is a bike that fits you and you can handle, I have had women students come to class. Their husband upgraded from his 1100cc bike to a 1800cc bike and is saving the 1100cc bike for his wife. She has never driven a bike and he thinks it will be a good bike for her. Maybe for a third bike after many years of riding but not a first bike! Use your head when getting that first bike and also get professional training!

Try to find a smaller bike (Depending on your physical size) if you are not really tall there are plenty of good bikes out there you can find used. For example Yamaha Virago 250 and 535, Honda V30 Magna, Honda Rebel 250 and 450, Buell Blast (Newer but still can be bought used cheap). If you are a taller rider there are good bikes for you as well. Honda Nighthawk 250 and 450, Honda 500 Shadow, Kawasaki Ninja 250 and 500, Suzuki GS500. Sometimes you can even find other bikes that might be really cheap and good starters, older Kawasaki CSR and LTD 250, 305, 440 and 450, Suzuki GS450L, Honda CM200, 250, 400 and 450. Regardless of what you find for a bike, make sure it is one that fits you. Remember this is your first bike it does not have to last you a life time and may even get dropped (Even if just in the driveway) once or twice. You will stress a lot more if you are sitting on a new $10,000 bike and worring about dropping it instead of what you are supposed to be doing to operate the bike properly.

You would be suprised that when it comes time to sell your bike you will find many other people also looking for that first easy to operate and ride bike to learn on etc. Take your time and find a bike that fits you! If you want recommendations you can always ask!

Get qualified training, Choose the right bike and keep the rubber side down! We look forward to seeing you out on the road!

Outlaws Justice said:

Try to find a smaller bike (Depending on your physical size) if you are not really tall there are plenty of good bikes out there you can find used. For example Yamaha Virago 250 and 535, Honda V30 Magna, Honda Rebel 250 and 450, Buell Blast (Newer but still can be bought used cheap). If you are a taller rider there are good bikes for you as well. Honda Nighthawk 250 and 450, Honda 500 Shadow, Kawasaki Ninja 250 and 500, Suzuki GS500. Sometimes you can even find other bikes that might be really cheap and good starters, older Kawasaki CSR and LTD 250, 305, 440 and 450, Suzuki GS450L, Honda CM200, 250, 400 and 450. Regardless of what you find for a bike, make sure it is one that fits you.
Get qualified training, Choose the right bike and keep the rubber side down! We look forward to seeing you out on the road!

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David,

Great ideas...I would second the Kawa Ninja 250. They resell very quickly since they are fun to drive, light, nimble and make a great commuter bike.

Buy I was surprised, I did not see a scooter recommendation in the list. The Honda Reflex with 250 cc or the larger Suzuki Burgman 400 cc can do everything the Ninja can do but has more storage and does not require shifting. Of course, there is the larger Burgman 650 cc, that surprises most riders with its torque, all day Goldwing comfort, ease of use and the massive storage compartment under the seat.

Ninja 250



Burgman 650

My first bike was a 250 ninja. Very nice!!! I had no trouble out of it, and I sold it to someone for their first bike for a great price. I completely agree with this post. If I had bought a bigger bike first, I am pretty sure I would not feel as good about riding as I do now. They are much easier to steer and are a lot more forgiving. They also give you a lot more practice shifting. The gears just do not run out as much as a bigger bike.

I suggested something along the lines of a Ninja 250 to my girlfriend (I say suggest because I wasn't sure how it would fit her) and a friend of mine tells her "Oh no, get a GSX-R 750 or better so you don't out grow it" I was like WTF? I asked him how long it took for him to outgrow his GSX-R 600 (his first bike) and he says "in like six months and then i had to sell it. That sucked" So I ask what he could teach Rossi or Hayden on that 600 and he was just dumfounded.............

madmanmaigret said:

So I ask what he could teach Rossi or Hayden on that 600 and he was just dumfounded.............

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Right ON!!!!

Most people I know cannot even come close to riding any bike, even a 250 ninja to its limits!!

I love being on the Vmax and Passing sport bikes in the twisties!!

Like most of us, I still have a lot to learn as well, but it is Fun doing it!!

rider1a said:

But I was surprised, I did not see a scooter recommendation in the list.

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I did not include scooters in the list, While they do share the two wheel design they are still a little different to ride. No Gears, feet together and sit differently. Some of them are quite nice as you mention, and some are even really fast! There are even different classes for Scooters vs Bikes.

I don't get why people make a big deal out of size of a bike you start on.

Flying into the pavement at 60 mph on a bicycle or on a 1600 makes no difference at all. You are going to experience the same misery either way.

If you are 6' 5" 260lb don't do something idiotic like ride a 125 cause you are a "beginner" rider, pick a bike works with your body size.

In General pick a bike you feel good sitting on and can handle comfortably.

Well this was an oooolllllldddddd thread.

I think starting on a 250 would have been stupid given my size and weight -- but I think starting on a liter sports bike would have also been stupid. I have no doubts I could have handled it, but it would have been a lot easier for novice rough inputs to really mess things up.

Good post. Personally, I think you have to look at 4 things:
1) fit to the rider. A bike should fit like clothes. Also, riding position is key here avoid extremes like pure bred sportbikes and laid back cruisers. Both are less than ideal for newb bike control and balance. FZ6 is about perfect position IMO.
2) power. Avoid extremes and look for something with a broad low to mid range, easy clutching and just enough go to get you away from aggressive cagers.
3) intangibles. Things like weight, tranny smoothness, balance, visibility, etc don't get many write ups, but make all the difference in Sunday rides. Weight and slow speed handling can really help a new rider keep the bike off the ground.

4) price. Get into a bike comfortably so you have plenty of cash left for helmets, gloves, boots, jackets, pants, raingear, extended temp range gear and smaller items. Literally, it is easy to blow $1200+ on decent riding gear you NEED to just get on the road. Then a small bag....and the list goes on. I would rather be on a used 250 than a new liter bike in nothing but cutlets and flip-flops!


Fwiw, I started on a MSF class 250 cruiser, then a mild mannered Honda Shadow 1100, then a Honda Dio 50, and finally a FZ6. when buying the FZ6, I also strongly considered a Burgman 650, VFR800, GSR650, and a few other similar commuter bikes.

What really sucks is that a new rider today has a very limited choice for a first bike, even if looking at something 10 years old.. There are no "beginner" bikes out there..

I started riding (dating myself here) on a 1974 Honda CB360T, and I was told that was too big for a beginner bike.. I rode it just fine, but it wasn't reliable (this would have been in 1979ish) because it wasn't cared for very well before I bought it..

My first really good beginner bike was a 1981 Kawi CSR305.. I rode that for years until I bought a Suzuki GS550L (hated it) and then in 1984 I bought my first NEW bike, a Honda VT500 Ascot.. I rode it for a couple years, and then bought my first sport touring bike, a 1982 Yamaha 550 Vision with sport touring fairing..

Then, in 1988 I bought the biggest bike I had owned since starting to legally ride on the street, a 1986 BMW K75C...

So, basically I rode for almost 10 years on bikes smaller than 750cc's and none made any substantial power.. Excellent for learning, yet big enough to do anything I wanted to do.. And all were upright positioned standards of one kind or another..

These bikes are long since gone unless you find a clean, older model. New riders are pretty much stuck with sport bikes or cruisers.. There's really nothing out there that's a good standard to learn on..

Sport bikes gather attention from the police, even though it's not warranted, and cruisers have limited ground clearance, slow handling, short shocks, and new riders will lean towards riding without a helmet, like the larger cruiser riders tend to do (in states where that's legal) or if you have to wear a helmet they'll wear minimal coverage beanie helmets.

Sure, there's a few smaller standards out there, but not many to choose from.. It's really too bad..

paper said:

Sure, there's a few smaller standards out there, but not many to choose from.. It's really too bad..

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It is better now than it was when I started six years ago (on a '93 GS500E, which was a perfect first bike).

TU250
CBR250
EX250
XT250
WR250
KLX250

a standard, two standards with fairings, and three standard/supermoto bikes.

There is a huge gap between those and the middleweights, however. Suzuki still has the GS500F kicking around on 1989 technology with huge fairing, but there aren't many other options between the 30hp 250s and the 70-110hp 600s.

Grainbelt said:

There is a huge gap between those and the middleweights, however. Suzuki still has the GS500F kicking around on 1989 technology with huge fairing, but there aren't many other options between the 30hp 250s and the 70-110hp 600s.

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It's that gap that needs to be filled.. The problem with the small bikes is that they don't have enough power to get out of the way, or to pass quickly..

A friend of mine has a 16 year old daughter who's been riding since she was 5 years old.. She's a very good rider, and is riding a DR200.. It makes like 13 hp and she's not able to pass slow traffic quickly enough to make it safely..

She's fully licensed and she's a good kid, and a good rider, but she's in need of a 350-500.. There's not much out there..

paper said:

It's that gap that needs to be filled.. The problem with the small bikes is that they don't have enough power to get out of the way, or to pass quickly..

A friend of mine has a 16 year old daughter who's been riding since she was 5 years old.. She's a very good rider, and is riding a DR200.. It makes like 13 hp and she's not able to pass slow traffic quickly enough to make it safely..

She's fully licensed and she's a good kid, and a good rider, but she's in need of a 350-500.. There's not much out there..

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I agree, i wish the jap bikes would invest in designing some new age middlewieghts....350-500ccs is all... old suzuki gs500's are good and all but like stated they use old tech and have been around for ages... needs to be a bigger market!

As for lack of power... i just came off a rebel 250....wouldn't even think of passing anything on a two-way road unless i were on a dual highway... going uphill it struggled to hold 50.... it's almost putting yourself at risk after a certain point... wish they'd make some nice beginner friendly bikes with enough power to pass and hold speed properly (standards anyhow).

Theres dual sport dirtbikes....but not everyone wants one of those b/c it looks like a dirtbike... that and it has the seat height of a dirtbike... not really ideal for a beginner. Are you listening Yamaha???

Yep. 65hp FZ4 with a Genesis motor, but a twin.. Lower cost.... Problem is, I'd buy it, too!!

paper said:

Yep. 65hp FZ4 with a Genesis motor, but a twin.. Lower cost.... Problem is, I'd buy it, too!!

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To be fair, the Gladius, ER-6N, Ninja 650R, and Versys area all 60-70hp twins.

That's still a pretty big jump from the quarter-liter class. My first wheelie was completely accidental on the 650R, right when I got thru break in and went WFO in first.

My second bike was a plasma blue 650r. I couldn't believe how forgiving it was but still had gobs of power if you wanted it.

Does anyone know if the Ninja 250s are tuned differently then a regular 250cc cruiser? I am assuming yes, but would tuning make much of a difference when the engine is that small?

Have a younger cousin who is convinced that he "needs" an R1 and trying to talk him into a 250.

Grainbelt said:

To be fair, the Gladius, ER-6N, Ninja 650R, and Versys area all 60-70hp twins.

That's still a pretty big jump from the quarter-liter class. My first wheelie was completely accidental on the 650R, right when I got thru break in and went WFO in first.

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My first bike was a Honda 75 dirt bike that we rode around my grandfathers farm. Not only did we learn to ride but we learned to crash, smash and burn that little bike!

You guys asking for 400-600cc bikes better start calling shops and emailing mfgrs! Those bikes are designed, built and on the road NOW...in China, Japan, SE Asia, etc.

BUT, to poke at Americans, I just drove cross country and have a few observations:
-250cc or smaller scooters are increasing in use all over
-There were literally 0 bikes under 1000cc on the highways, as far as I could tell!

Do I need an FJ1300 to tour for 3 500 mile days?

old thread....lol
but there are plenty of 600cc bikes on the highway....neither of my yamaha's can break 170 like the big 1000's but its PLENTY enough for the highway.....
I started with a 600 and dont see a need for 1000+cc's
their gas mileage sucks compared to my fz and they are psycho fast, instead of ballistic fast like my 600

Kaisersoze said:

My second bike was a plasma blue 650r. I couldn't believe how forgiving it was but still had gobs of power if you wanted it.

Does anyone know if the Ninja 250s are tuned differently then a regular 250cc cruiser? I am assuming yes, but would tuning make much of a difference when the engine is that small?

Have a younger cousin who is convinced that he "needs" an R1 and trying to talk him into a 250.

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I know compared to the rebel 250 a ninja 250 will go like a bat out of hell lol... 250 definitely the way to go, especially if you have no dirt background... hell i had dirt background and still enjoyed learning basics on a 250 rebel... and i was used to 500cc race bikes (dirt).

I think it's more down to how a ninja 250 is geared compared to a 250 cruiser, cruiser is more for smoothness whereas the ninja is for movin'.
R1's are fun to dream about, but sometimes dreams become nightmares... my Versys 650 has plenty enough power for me and i can see how a novice could get into trouble fast on even the parrallel twin. I definitely would not give it to a loved one for a starter bike, much less the mighty FZ6 or an R1!