I'm looking at getting a used motorcycle. Probably a sports bike. Not looking for anything pricey or cheap. Any suggestions on where is a good place to look and the type of things to look for?

Is this your first bike? If so, I strongly recommend getting a Suzuki SV650S. The new ones come fully faired and some you can get with ABS.

It's a very light and nimble machine, easy to throw around. If you take the MSF Basic Ridercourse (which you should), it'll be a perfect transition from the little trainers they ride you around on, but it'll have a whole lot more torque.

Now I will say that they don't have the top-end of SUPERsport motorcycles, but you don't want to be one of those d!ckholes that are splitting lanes down the highway at 160MPH anyway. It pulls hard till about 8KRPM and then starts to fall off, being a V-twin. PLENTY of torque for the twisty back-roads and nice low-end for driving around town.

My recommendation would be to find one slightly used for like 5 grand, ride it for a year, REALLY learn to beat the hell out of it, then if you find yourself having a "need for speed", sell it (used, there is a HUGE market for them!) and get yourself a supersport next season.

And wear a helmet!! And leathers or poly/mesh if you can. Road rash hurts!

As for where to look, Craigslist has a huge selection of used bikes. Don't buy new...you WILL at least tip your bike over once and if you buy something new and scuff it all up, you WILL be pissed off.

Don't be afraid to ask questions...why is he selling it, did he ever race it, did he ever crash it, etc.

Plastics can be replaced pretty easily. Check for scratching and scuffs on places that aren't as easy to replace...handlebar ends, footpegs, frame pieces, engine cases...random directional scratches usually is a tip-over. Long parallel streaking scrapes means it was sliding. Dings WAY up on the tank or tail section can mean it was flipped/highsided somehow.

Make sure it's in general working order...good oil level, no leaks, rolls smooth...have him start it and run it to temp. Make sure the sprocket teeth are straight and the chain looks good. Check the brakes for firm feel and stoppage, that the throttle returns, etc. You can tell when a machine is in good shape.

thanks for the advice and all the tips on where to stop problems. the Suzuki SV650S looks pretty nice but i really like the yamaha r6. I'm moving up to north jersey and in jersey they require helmets. does it sweat alot when you wear a helmet and is it really hot in the summertime? i tend to sweat alot and it wouldn't be the greatest wearing a jacket that traps the heat in my body and a helmet that traps the heat in my head. I'll get off the bike looking like i just got out of a swimming pool.

I came pretty close to buying a booster about a year ago, i had a friend that got a leg amputated trying to impress a girl on his on the freeway.. I am just not a bike person. Wish I was.

I sold my R1 about two years ago.

Take the safety course like squirrels said. Always wear a helmet and at least gloves. Get the good kind with carbon fiber knuckles. I always wore a lot of gear. 160 mph is not especially forgiving. Icon jackets are good for the price; leather is much better than textile. And yes, gear is hot, but just try to not get stuck in traffic. I also wore Icon boots, knee armor that was similar to a baseball catcher's shin guards, and padded shorts underneath my jeans. I could have jumped off the bike at 100 mph, slid to a stop, and walked away...provided I didn't crash into anything along the way.

I sold that bike after I almost got run down by an obviously drunk driver running a red light in a van. I saw him coming out of the corner of my eye and gunned the bike without even looking, lifting the front wheel off the ground and darting out of his way by a few feet. The van was an Oldsmobile Silhouette with a pointy nose. Had he hit me at about the 50 mph he was doing and I lived, I would have still most surely lost a leg. The van would have crushed my leg against my own bike. After that, I became too skittish to ride, and it wasn't fun any more.

Despite all of that, I was looking at bikes online just yesterday. What I did not like about the R1 was that it was uncomfortable to be on for more than about 30 minutes. Sport bikes are very fast, but very uncomfortable. They also eat tires, and the tires are very expensive. Sport touring is a slight step down in speed from a sport bike, and yet much more comfortable. I once rode a Honda 599 for a five hour trip one-way and then back again. It was a world of difference from my R1 in comfort...and yet still not an especially comfortable bike. I don't think I'll ever own a slow-ass v-twin Harley, but at least they are supposed to be very comfortable to ride on long trips.

I'm 21 and really wanting a bike. However, all these stories of bike accidents and how most of the accidents are not your fault but from retarded drivers keep giving me second thoughts. I know life needs risks...but is this a risk i can do without? ...


Anyway, heaps of info in this thread, thanks for starting OP.

I've seen and heard of many accidents. my brother has had 2 bikes and lost 2 bokes due to accidents. I'm not trying to be some idiot ricer going around showing off so i'm not too scared about causing myself some accidents but if something happens that i can't control then that's just bad luck.

The reason why i want a sports bike is mainly because i like the way it looks and i do like going fast when im in the mood. i don't want a harley or anything of that sort and this will probably just be a joyride/phase for me. I just want to enjoy myself while im young.

I'll also be taking care of my sh1t along the way but that's besides the point.

I'm still on the fence about a bike, I am a risk junkie but only to a point. I can mitigate risk through my own self-control, but the huge wild card with motorcycles is other drivers. And it's not that everyone's an idiot, they really cannot see you.

A couple years ago I was pulling an equipment trailer on a country road loaded with S curves, and blinded by corn fields. As I was cutting through an S, a guy on a sportbike came flying into the curve and almost ate the grill of my F350, he kept his life with less than one foot to spare.

There's an old timer in my Shrine unit who got his start riding Indians way back in the day. He tells of all the times he had to lay it down to avoid getting run over. He sais, "I've been riding the damn things fifty years and I'm still scared of 'em."

I'll probably just get a Corvette.

But if you really want one, personally I like the Ducatis. You can drive down any street in America in the summer and see Yamahas, Kawasakis and Hondas all day long. Some of those Ducatis are REALLY sharp, like the 999. They are the Ferrari of sportbikes.

AAAgent said:

thanks for the advice and all the tips on where to stop problems. the Suzuki SV650S looks pretty nice but i really like the yamaha r6. I'm moving up to north jersey and in jersey they require helmets. does it sweat alot when you wear a helmet and is it really hot in the summertime? i tend to sweat alot and it wouldn't be the greatest wearing a jacket that traps the heat in my body and a helmet that traps the heat in my head. I'll get off the bike looking like i just got out of a swimming pool.

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Most good full-face helmets have vents and such now. As long as you're moving, you're fine. If it's THAT bad, you can wear a 3/4 DOT-approved helmet with shades, but you'll look like a SpaceBall.

Helmet, gloves, and don't forget BOOTS. Ankles can get mangled pretty bad in a crash. A nice leather jacket would give you some decent body protection. If you're worried about the heat, look into a mesh-jacket like the Joe Rocket "Phoenix"...not as good as leather protection-wise, but light-years better than a T-shirt, and once you start moving it flows so well you don't even know it's there. I'm a gear-nazi...I've heard stories where people were just learning to ride in a parking-lot, screwed up, had the bike land on them, and ended up paralyzed for life.

Looks at an older (2005 or earlier) R6 if you're going to get one, or if you can still find one, an "R6S"...which is the 2005-model R6 with a more midrange-tuned engine. The 2006+ R6 is so aggressive in riding position it's like a torture-rack...unless you're going to be at the racetrack or in the canyons all the time, you don't want to do all that. Besides, the engine is so spikey in power that you'll end up getting yourself into trouble with it. Trust me, horsepower is like crack. I've had 3 R1s, crashed two of them and damned near crashed the third one.

An FZ6/FZ6R wouldn't be a bad option either...it's basically a tuned-down R6 engine in a much more relaxed package.

Don't think of this as being your first AND last bike. Get something a little milder for a year, learn to ride, then figure out if you want that front-line racebike.

And if you want to ride it like it's MEANT to be ridden, I strongly recommend signing up with your local riding club and doing an open track-day/riding class.

Bible Belt or Squirrels,

I've been riding a scooter (Yamaha Vino 125cc) for the past five months. I picked a scooter rather than a motorcycle for financial and insurance considerations and to conservatively accrue beginner's experience with two wheels on the roadways. In fact, the scooter is my sole source of transportation, so I've been really racking up the miles. Now that I feel I've mastered the basics, I've started thinking down the road and am contemplating upgrading to a motorcycle within a year or two, but a question I'd like to ask you is how's insurance? I know insurance rates wildly fluctuate based upon various factors such as type of motorcycle, but what might be a ballpark range of general expectations? I don't have the need for high speed and don't plan on getting crazy with a sports bike, but a standard-style motorcycle seems to fit me the best and of course are recommended for beginners.

squirrels said:

I've heard stories where people were just learning to ride in a parking-lot, screwed up, had the bike land on them, and ended up paralyzed for life.

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That is insane!

I'm guessing the bike was way too powerful for them.

About a year ago I did the MSF thing it. It was pretty cool. First time I've ridden a bike. It's amazing how something so small can take off that fast.

If I wasn't living off of student loans I would have picked up a bike by now.

Maxtro said:

That is insane!

I'm guessing the bike was way too powerful for them.

About a year ago I did the MSF thing it. It was pretty cool. First time I've ridden a bike. It's amazing how something so small can take off that fast.

If I wasn't living off of student loans I would have picked up a bike by now.

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Nope, little 250cc starter-bike in the case I'm thinking about. Bike flipped and a footpeg went through the rider's spine. Unfortunate.

Rogue, depends on your insurance company and your driving record.

Rogue said:

how's insurance?

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I only bought the state-required liability minimums, so mine was dirt cheap. The problem with motorcycle insurance is when you finance, thus requiring comprehensive and theft, and also live in a theft-prone urban area. Such a policy can cost more than the payment on the bike.

Cr1msonKing said:

Only problem is the power in the higher RPM's, my bike just feels ****ing nice when I push it. Only problem is that I can't push it for too long or I'm doing 100+ quick, and I can't really push it in the twisties.

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Yeah, that's the thing about modern inline-4-cylinder racebikes. They're made for maximum horsepower...pretty much made for the racetrack. You need to be revving the p!ss out of them to make the power. But when you do... :nervous:

The modern 600cc sportbike feels like a baby up to about 6000-7000 RPM. Even a 1000cc doesn't feel like much more than a 600 up to that point. But as you start going past that and getting up to 9-10K, the cylinders really start to breathe like they're supposed to, and the power sneaks up on you like a slingshot. That's when most people look down and say, "Oh crap I'm going 150MPH!!" There's really nowhere to safely stretch the legs of a bike like that in-town or even on a twisty mountain road. You MIGHT be able to do it on a deserted straight highway once in a while. But those things are made for racetrack riding.

That's why I suggested the SV...the powerband is nice and even. It doesn't sneak up on you, and it pulls hard up to about 7KRPM...which let's face it, is where most of your street-riding is done.

I've been to Tail of the Dragon in NC/TN twice, and both times I would've rather had a V-twin than an inline-4.

Now somewhere like NJMP or VIR...the inline-4 supersport feels RIGHT at home.

I know that squirrels has already asked but I don't think I've seen an answer. Will this be your first bike?

Yamaha FZ1. It'll satisfy your need for speed, and light your hair on fire.

ya this will be my first bike. apparently i thought an r6 would be a notch down from a real sports bike apparently i should be looking at another notch down. i will be looking at getting a used bike definately and once i move up will start my lessons then probably look for a bike.

What type of price range should i be looking at? im thinking no more than 4500.

For your first bike I'd say no more than 2K.

For a good starter bike that is not too basic, I'd recommend the Kawasaki Ninja 500R. It is reliable, affordable, comfortable and has good performance. It's been around awhile and is well proven. You can get a good used one in $3000 range. They stopped making them for the '09 model year but there are still new ones available at dealers for under $4500. You could easily spend over $7K or more and not get a much better bike then the 500R. I'd probably look for a low mileage later model in the $3K range.

My first bike was a 1990 Suzuki gs500e. It is a great starter bike as well.

Here is a pic of an 02:
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2002models/2002models-Suzuki-GS500E.htm

The newer ones are 500f and fully faired:
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2010models/2010-Suzuki-GS500F.htm

I like the older ones better.

I think I am growing out of sport bikes. At the moment, I'd rather have a Triumph Bonneville. There is a pic at this link, which is an article about beginner bikes that mentions the same ones we are talking about here: http://motorcycles.about.com/od/howtostartridin1/tp/Ten-Great-Beginner-Motorcycles.htm