Advice on bikes
 

Hey guys, I just have a few questions on getting a motorcycle. I have been thinking of getting one for quite some time and now a couple of my buddies are getting me into it more and more. First off, how bad is insurance? My friend Dave said liability for his 1999 CBR600 is $60 for 6 months (I think he meant $60 per month for 6 months) and hes only about a year older than me. Does that sound right? What do you guys pay and what do you think a 19 year old guy with a clean record would?

Secondly, what would be a good starter bike? My budget would be pretty small on this, but I have been looking at early to mid 90's 600's and at 400's as well though I cant seem to find hardly any. What about mileage, when is it too much? Is there any brand in general I should stay away from? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys.

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Calling your insurance agent is the best way to find out how much it will cost you; takes about 30 seconds on the phone. I was paying about $150/year on my 250 and now $250/year on my 500. There is generally a steep jump in rates once you get to a 600cc.

How much are you looking to spend? The Kawasaki Ninja 250R and 500R are great starter bikes. They aren't hardcore race bikes by any means, but both are cheap, fun, and comfortable. I'm in the process of selling my 2001 500R with 7k miles on it for $2500. Whatever you buy, make sure it was well maintained and taken care of with regular tune-ups, proper winterization procedures, etc.

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Just got my 73 CB450 running yesterday. I will be calling on insurance today, need to get that thing out on the road.

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I pay $267/yr for full coverage on my '05 GSXR1000, I am old though. How much are you looking to spend? A Yamaha FZR600 is a great starter bike (91 & 92 have a single headlight front end). The Honda CBR600F2 is decent, but heavier than the Yamaha and higher priced. You can get a nice FZR for $2,000. A great newer first bike is a Suzuki SV650 (SV650S has a fairing).

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Wow, that is crazy cheap for insurance. I always thought they were like $500 a month or some crazy shit. I know it will be higher for me since I am younger, but it still cant be that bad. I will definately look into that 500, that sounds like a great deal. I think I am going to shy away from a 250 though, I know a guy that got one and immediately sold it for a bigger bike. Yeah, I am definately not looking for a race bike, just something a bit more fun to drive than the Cavy and a bit easier on gas. Granted I wont save much if anything because I would have to pay the difference in insurance, but I would definately have a lot more fun driving it and that is worth something to me for sure.

I am still a bit confused on milage. I have seen one bike (a late-ish 90's GSXR) that had 50k and just now I saw an older Ninja 500 that had 85k, but most other ones are like 15k and below. When does shit start to go wrong generally, or maybe a better question is what is the highest mileage you would feel comfortable buying a bike with?

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Not sure on the mileage, I've never owned a bike past 13k miles. I think its like a car though, condition and how it was cared for is a lot more important than an actual odometer reading. Just make sure you find an owner that obviously really cared for the bike.

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I pay $180 a year liability on my 1200cc V-Max with 30K miles.

For a starter bike I would look at something along the lines of Chris's Ninja 500.

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It really depends on the state of tune of the bike. My '96 GSXR 750 was tweaked pretty high from the factory (for the time) and it popped the engine at 19k miles. My original FZR600 had 13k on when I got it, 28k when I sold it and I knew the next 2 owners and it never had a problem. It had to be well over 40k last I knew of it. One thing, the 500 is a twin so the amount of power is about like a 350cc inline 4, like the 600's are. Power on it should be mid 50's and a FZR 600 is 83 I believe.

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56hp I believe.

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The best bang for the buck is an 03-06 sv650. You can get one around 3-5k and handle well. They are also fuel injected and liquid cool. Which is a plus. My honest opinion once you go fuel injected you won't want a carberator bike. As for inurance call your agent. They can give you a more accurate price. Just be careful about bikes becuase they are not as forgiving as cars. Don't over ride your skills. Things happen real quick on a bike. Good luck.

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Mileage on mine is way up there for the year. I have an 01 Kawi ZX6R with 56,000 miles. It starts everytime and runs like a top. The guy I bought it from took very good care of it. If you find one in really good condition, and you take care of it, it should last as long as a car will.

As far as insurance, it really depends on who you go through and what your age is. Obviously you will pay a higher rate for being younger (like you said) but insurance companies make a HUGE difference in prices as well. Jet and I pay lower rates because we are older, but our insurance company (State Farm) does very well treating their customers and giving them good rates. I pay $216 a year for full coverage on mine. I also have the house and 2 cars on my policy. But my record ain't the cleanest in the world.

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I paid $30 a month for a 500cc and now pay $35 a month for my fzr600. For reference my car insurance is $50 a month. (all liability)

If you're looking for sportbikes I've enjoyed my FZR and they can be had for $1500 or less. (Also, I've got parts if you need them :) ) Other bikes like the CBR and Ninja will probably handle better, but it won't matter that much for a learner bike. Otherwise it might be smart to start with an older bike or something less sporty. I had a honda cx500 that was dead reliable. I've heard good things about the yamaha 650 specials. Both are early 80's bikes and can be had relatively cheap.

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I just got a new bike this year. Ended up going with a Kawasaki Ninja 650R. Prettymuch the same bike as the Suzuki SV650S, but the SV is a 90 degree V-twin, and the Kawi is a parallel twin. I'm just getting to the end of the break-in period, and the bike is proving to be alot of fun. I had a GSX-R600 last year, and the Kawi is no where near as fast, but considering I nearely killed myself going to fast on the GSXR, I decided maybe I should slow down a little. I would just suggest that you go sit on as many bikes as you can to help you decide what fits you best.

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Yeah, GSXR 600's give me woody. I saw one in particular a few weeks ago, goddamn it was hot. My favorites are the late 90's blue and white ones, but this one had fuckin bright orange rims. It was just gorgeous.

I'll start looking into some of these cheaper bikes. Eventually I would like to end up on a GSXR or a CBR 600, but that wont be probably until after college and I have beent through this beginner bike. Though I definately want to stay sort of street-ish bike if I get one, I wouldnt mind kinda going a little bit cruiser either, sorta one of those mixes. This all depends on money situation though, I'm crossing my fingers for that job interveiw coming this morning!

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This will probably be my next bike, the KTM Super Duke.

http://motorcyclistonline.com/firstr..._side_view.jpg

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Back when I lived in Pensacola, FL about 5-6 years ago, there was a Triumph dealer right off our base. Lots of the younger military guys would buy end up buying the Triumph TT rockets because they were cheaper, and the insurance was cheaper because the insurance companies did not see them as crotch rockets for whatever reason. Not sure if that is still the case, but might be worth looking into if it saves you some money on insurance.

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I helped one of my buddies buy a 600 TT a few summers ago and he said the same thing about the insurance on them. I test drove the bike for him and it was plenty quick and I know he still loves the thing. It was also a lot cheaper than a Jap bike.

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My insurance is $170/yr on my 99 Honda F4. I would be willing to sell it for $3000 if you would be interested. PM me if you would be interested. I don't think I will have much time to ride it this summer.

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Have you ever rodes sport bikes before? If not I would start out on the bike Jet suggested, the FZR600 would be a good choice. I started out on a CBR600F2 myself which I thought was a good starter bike as well.

I then went to Suzuki GSXR's, 99 750 and a 99 600. Both are great bikes, but I wouldn't recommend them to a brand new rider.

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Bikes are sweet and fun but I sold mine due to a driver that pulled out in front of me sending me into the ditch. I just didnt think that it was worth it. I fully trust myself driving the bike but it is the others on the road that a biker cant control. Good luck and have fun.

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Damn slowbubblecar, you have no idea how tempting that is. I dont even know if I can get one, but if I did, the budget would be at or below $2000. I think the FZR, F2, and Ninja 500 are the ones I am going to keep my eyes out for, I really appreciate all this help.

I havent driven a bike before, but I have been riding fourwheelers since I was little so I have atleast some experience with the clutch and what not. Basically, I cant keep my Talon after that fuckin bearing went so I am getting rid of that and my parts car so the profits that come from that will either be used to get some play things for the Cavalier (ie a better system or a black interior, etc) or possibly a bike. Oddly enough, my parents are more supportive of a bike anyway. Its pretty apparent to me that after I buy the thing, I could save some money as well. Insurance is quite a bit cheaper than the Cavalier and gas milage is 3x as better. That, and a bike would be way more fun to drive. We'll see what I can find and whether I get that job or not, this would have way more chance getting to happen if I got that $12/hr 40-50 hr/week job I applied for today :).

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I am not sure if a 4 wheeler is much differnet, but I just learned on my brothers 1000cc and then bought mine after.

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I got 60 mpg usually on my FZR 600, if I beat on it the it would drop to 54 mpg :P My GSXR1000 gets mid 30's and my 96' GSXR750 got around 40 mpg.

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How do you measure mpg on a bike? I always tried the fill up and divide miles by gallons method, but assumed the fill was too inconsistent and the volume too small to be very accurate on a bike.

I seem to pull 150-200 miles per tank. About as accurate as I've gotten it so far.

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Do it for about 3 tanks and average them. I would always fill right up to the bottom of the fill tube, so I knew they were very close to the same fills. Stand the bike up to get the air bubbles out.

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^What JET said, not too difficult.

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Yeah. I suppose it should get a reasonable ballpark. I'm just lazy. :)

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So what about setting them down? Has pretty much everyone done it or is it just a few?

I'm looking at this a lot more seriously. I did a little looking... if gas gets as expensive as they said it would on the news last night and I drive as much as I did last summer, I will save around $600 on gas alone. Not to mention under my name the Cavalier would be like $115 liability whereas the bike would be $45 though Geico... thats another $280 saved.

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You will probably have to keep the car on too, it sucks riding a bike in the rain. I have never laid a bike down on the street, but did twice on the racetrack.

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Oh yeah, definately keeping the car. I will need something to drive in the winter but I think driving a bike in the summer could save me some money and it would pay for itself after a few summers plus then I would have something to sell if/when I decide to get rid of it. What about gas milage, what do you guys usually get?

EDIT: Holy fuck! Geico was $45/month for me, Progressive was $27/month!

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I was talking about insurance on the car in the summer, you will want both on, but you might get a multi car discount!

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What do you guys think of the GSX-R 600 ? I almost bought a 97 a few years back... thinking about lookin for one again :)

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Nice bikes, I had the 750 version of the bike. 2000 was the update to the 750, 2001 for the 600.

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I suppose a 600 would be good for milage and handling. Not the fastest thing ever but my car might/should be faster then most bikes within reason anyways (pening race conditions/rider).

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Honestly, If you've never driven a bike before, I'd be a piece of crap better bike first, cause if you buy a nice expensive bike your going to be some pissed when you dump it the first few times. Lets face it, everyone dumps there bikewhen there learning.

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^^ Not if you dont act like a moron.

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The problem with powerful bikes and new riders is that when they panic they grip harder, and when that happens the throttle gets twisted open more which causes more panic, and so on it continues.

Everyone I know who has started out on a bigger than appropriate bike for them (including some guys and 600cc sport bikes) has at the very least laid it down, worst case scenario you'll end up like a kid I hung with in high school and put your head into a tree at 120 mph. As you can imagine, that didn't end well.

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That would suck for sure, that is why I plan to have a little self control and not try anything crazy for a long time, if ever, and being carefull at all times will help.

~John

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If only all new riders were wise!

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Yea that is part of the problem.