First Bike Suggestions (for Son)

[ga_max]

For some strange reason my oldest son (18 yrs old, junior in high-school) has decided he wants a motorcycle :ummm: (I have no idea where this idea came from). I told him he needs to wait until he's in college but think I'll cave before then. We are planning to have him take the MSF new rider course since the will provide a motorcycle and he'll have a chance to see if he even likes to ride but if he's like me it will just make him want one even more.

So my question is, what is a good bike for a beginner. He's about 6'3" and about 170. He's been driving me nuts looking on craigslist for cheap non-running bikes and seems to think he can get a bike running that's been sitting outside for a year or two. Most are missing part and would double or triple the asking price in repairs.

Thanks in advance for your advise.

Doug

 

[fmcandrew]

I loved my SV650...light, nimble, decent power, very foregiving and pretty cheap to boot. But I'm 5'9"...not sure how his frame would do on it...

 

[caseyjones955]

I see a lot of bikes on CL in the uner 2k price range. I'm a fan of the Ninja 250, Buell Blast, if he leans towards cruisers an old Rebel 250 or an or any of the 650 cruisers, all of which seem to be pretty decent. I like the Vstar 650, or Vulcan, anything along those lines are cheap as used dental floss and make decent starter bikes. IMHO any sport bike in the 650 class might be a bit much, or any liter class bike. Worthy of mention is an SV650, brilliant and cheap, not overly powerful but he wouldnt outgrow it to quickly either. Whats he looking at?

Does he have any dirt bike experience or is this his first experience on a bike at all?

 

[Fire-medic]

Get him a dual-purpose bike and I don't mean a GS1200 BMW! Let him learn how to ride offroad and then the transition to street will be a piece of cake. The Suzuki DR400 or something similar is cheap, durable, and easy to maintain. Learning about marginal traction, controlling a bike in a drift, braking modulation on slippery surfaces, directional changes when traction is minimal, those things are a part of offroad riding, everyday.

The best lessons come from experience, and the greatest experiences in two-wheeled vehicle dynamics come-from offroad bike control. He will learn about maintenance and repairs. Plus, offroad riding is fun!

 

[Zeus36]

Yamaha FZ-07

OR

since he is 6'3":


Honda Fury



http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/Honda/honda_fury.htm

More of a pussy magnet than a crotch rocket or UJM... although the insurance will be higher > 750 cc's.

 

[blaxmax]

Good deal on this one for his size-----
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/mcy/5464396088.html

 

[frank5079]

If he's never ridden before, a small 250 dual purpose bike would be a good beginners bike. Other than that, something like an 880 or 1200 Sportster would be ok too....

 

[adambweird]

I started with a 94 Suzuki RF600. At 6'3" and 230 lbs i found it very comfortable. Good luck finding one in decent shape though, lol. I found it to be fairly forgiving, plenty nimble and great on gas (for the month an a half that i had it, lol). Acceleration wise, my old Skidoo Mach 1 with a HO 583 would spank it to 100.

 

[eggohead]

Honda Hawk 647cc... or a Fazer....

 

[frank5079]

I started with a 94 Suzuki RF600. At 6'3" and 230 lbs i found it very comfortable. Good luck finding one in decent shape though, lol. I found it to be fairly forgiving, plenty nimble and great on gas (for the month an a half that i had it, lol). Acceleration wise, my old Skidoo Mach 1 with a HO 583 would spank it to 100.

I loved my old '94 RF900...fairly comfortable and it would definitely spank my 'Max as far as range...it would get about 225 to 250 with its 5.5 gallon tank.

 

[ga_max]

Thanks for the great advise. Your thought are along the same lines as mine. Unfortunately he's cheap (gets it from me) and keeps finding trash in the $400 to $600 range.

Doug

 

[leecifer]

My first street bike was a 82 or 83 Maximum 650. Shaft drive and not to much power so it is a little forgiving. I'm sure there cheap. I paid $500.00 for a nice one about 20 years ago. Good luck.

 

[Traumahawk]

A friend of mine has a Ninja 250, he really likes it. He might be able to pick one up cheap.

My first bike was a Suzuki intruder 800. VERY dependable.

 

[VMAXXIMUM]

I'm all for the dual sport. Find a nice air cooled mid 90's Yamaha xt or a Suzuki DR, Honda xr or a Kawasaki Klr. I'd look at the 350's or 600's. Size wise they should be perfect for his height with plenty of power. I had an xt 600 in the early 90's and it was a ton of fun. Plus once he's comfortable riding it's a piece of cake to get another set of rims and make it a super moto wheelie machine. (just kidding)....not. Dirt riding skills cannot be overstated. I've gotten out of trouble plenty of times and can thank my dirt biking for all of them and as has already been pointed out there are not many things more fun than ripping around in the dirt.

 

[blaxmax]

^ +1 something he can pick up easily and pick up easily for cheap just in case.

 

[TB99Max]

What kind of bike does he want? Or what's the budget look like? I know when I was a kid 16-18yrs old, a lot of the bikes mentioned weren't "cool". But on the other hand it's still a motorcycle

 

[one2dmax]

It would be a bit of a drive (or shipping) but i've got a whole shop area full of Fazers that could be a great project for Dad and son to build. Come up, pick out the best of the piles, and go back home and put one together. Some of the really nice parts might add a little more cost (like I have some polished wheels and powdercoated frames) but other then that I could easily get you set up. The Fazers are great bikes for beginners as well as experience riders.

 

[1967vmax]

I see everyone has a bike picked out for him but it all boils down to how deep are his pockets are he is 6'3" and 170 not like he cant touch ground on any bike so I would stick with street and trail around 250cc or 400 cruiser or sport no bigger than a 600cc and think I read where you said he was cheap but make sure you gear up don't skimp on the gear.

 

[Redbone]

I see everyone has a bike picked out for him but it all boils down to how deep are his pockets are he is 6'3" and 170 not like he cant touch ground on any bike so I would stick with street and trail around 250cc or 400 cruiser or sport no bigger than a 600cc and think I read where you said he was cheap but make sure you gear up don't skimp on the gear.

Starting out on any small bore enduro and ride a lot of dirt which is a safe way to learn how to ride a motorcycle. As Jim points out no matter what your son learns about motorcycles wearing proper riding gear will be a lesson that helps him enjoy many years of motorcycle riding.

 

[Bill Seward]

My son learned to ride on my Vmax. And turned into a pretty good rider, too. He respected the machine from the first time he sat on it, and never had a problem.