Good starter road bike

Well, it's been so long since I've taken the MSF class it might be run by ABATE.

GPz11 wrote: Really, ABATE has classes??

I think that is the one where pirates learn you should never, ever use the front brake and if something scares you... lay 'er down!

;)

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

GPz11 wrote: Really, ABATE has classes??

I think that is the one where pirates learn you should never, ever use the front brake and if something scares you... lay 'er down! ;)

I wish they let us practice laying down their Honderp Rebels......that would have been amusing to watch.

GPz11.......your description of you on an RS250 gave a perfect visual. I am 5' 7" and 140lbs.......my wife's cooking has fattened me up, when I was road racing bikes I weighed 115lbs. I also had great respect for guys who were human parachutes. Back around 1987 there was a guy at Willow Springs 6' 5" 230lbs+ body builder linebacker type, he was on a GSXR 750 or 1100 (can't remember which) and we always said there is a guy who really does need a big bike. I do understand about the bike fitting the rider; My 01 YZ 125 handled perfectly whereas my buddies YZ250 pushed the front end with me on it. I have the softest springs available on the Beta. Now as for this "laying a bike down" I think I did three times on my first bike a 79 DT100, once on my brothers KZ400, twice on my RD350, once on the BSA 650 and once on the SRX600 but apparently in my neck of the woods I'm told it's called "crashing"

Tom

Going to put this out there. They have restricters in Europe that can take a bigger bike and knock it down to 33/66 hp depending on the model.

I actually got to ride a CBR600rr with one on and I could see someone using that for the first 6 months then opening it up a bit the next year and half or so.

What do folks think of the Honda Grom for a starter bike?

In reply to bastomatic:

How big are you? Size and weight required for this one, I can say it will barely do safe 60mph highway traffic with a 4ft 95 lb guy on one.....there is a little person that rides one with my group occasionally.

Sure, you could have a blast on a Grom. I think WERA already has a racing class for them.

Yes, I wouldn't try to take one on the highway but otherwise, it should be fine.

They'd be amusing around town in a pitbike sort of way, but I'm too big for them.

The Grom seems like it would be good starter bikes for smaller (<170 lb?) riders. Plus, they're cheap and reliable, and fun while keeping you from getting into too much trouble.

Still, I learned a lot about bike care and maintenance from my old UJM, and there's certainly a value in that.

Here is one for you guys. A guy I work with hasn't been on a bike in around 11 years. He got bit with the bug again and called me last night asking about a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 500r. Wouldn't be a bad bike to get your feet wet again, but, the guy is 6'3" and probably over 250lbs...I have a feeling it's going to be way underpowered for him. Any suggestions?

Considering the original poster hasn't yet replied so we don't know if he's talking motorcycles or bicycles or popsicles, maybe we should wait on suggestions...

In reply to Nick_Comstock:

If he feels comfortable on it and it will make the speed he needs it for it should be a good bike. I've owned 2 250s and 1 650 Ninja all with good results. I talked to an owner of a 500 who had owned it for a long time. I don't recall the exact mileage but it had a lot of miles on it. He used it as his main transportation and highly recommended it.

In reply to stuart in mn:

I think that it's a little bit late for that

In reply to Graefin10:

He went and looked at it. 88 miles, $2999, looks good from the pictures. I said that's a pretty good price, most are about a grand more than that.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/nmnrrd400/97641/page1/#post1714148

That's not really what I'd call a good starter bike, but hey, each to their own.

In reply to fasted58:

I am drooling. I own two vintage (and well-running) Suzuki two-strokes, but the Yamaha RDs are my favorites.

stuart in mn wrote: Considering the original poster hasn't yet replied so we don't know if he's talking motorcycles or bicycles or popsicles, maybe we should wait on suggestions...

I doubt he's coming back.....

Wow, I forgot that I started this post... Thanks for all the feedback!

First off I was talking about motorcycles. "Street bikes"

Second, I would want a bike for both local and somewhat long distances. I will want to at least he able to make the trip from my planned college home which is about an hour highway driving. Being able to do a two hour trip would be even better.

As to my size I'm just under 6 feet tall and about 210 pounds. Inseam is about 32.

Now to save some money for a bike!

Also, I do plan on taking a safety course, though I was thinking it might be beneficial to do it on my own bike.

Definitely recommend the safety course, and I think it's good idea to do it own your bike even though you'll probably learn more than enough on a borrowed bike.

Don't forget to save some extra for safety gear. This is why you wear gear.

AWSX1686 wrote: Also, I do plan on taking a safety course, though I was thinking it might be beneficial to do it on my own bike.

I dropped the bike I was riding at the MSF (stray patch of gravel, even the instructor didn't see it) so you may want to avoid using your own bike.

I support the "go larger" advice. My CX500 was a great bike to learn on, but it stayed with me for 10 years because it did everything so well. It needed no maintenance or repairs, always ran great, and I took many long-distance trips on it - many two-up with my wife and lots of gear. It was a great highway cruiser because it had decent amount of torque and the stout design of that thing can handle strapping way too much stuff to it. Most UJM bikes of the era can do the same, but it would be a limitation on a Ninja 250. I think that good dual-sport would also be a great option, and if I was more outdoorsy and into camping, I probably would have gone that way.

If you want distance, don't mind the scooter look and lots of plastic to break the Pacific Coast is a very very very friendly bike. Enough power to highway cruise, but not something that is stupid fast. Very comfortable and typical Honda reliability.

The CX500 became the GL500 or the SilverWing. The Pacific Coast is the spiritual successor to the original silver wing.

If you go CX500 just remember the case guards.