[sivispacem]

The Suzuki SV650S is a good bet for a cheap, semi-faired all-rounder.

[trip]

QUOTE (Lurch @ Saturday, Aug 11 2012, 00:07)

QUOTE (trip @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 21:36) If you already have a riding history - grew up on dirt bikes kind of thing; then go out and finance out a new bike from a dealer.  I financed my first street bike when I was 17 and the payments were like $40 a month.  Totally affordable.  It was only a little Honda 250 Rebel, but still... That was like 50 years ago. 40 bucks was a lot of money back then!

Yeah yeah yeah, but honestly - if you know you are a rider I really think financing out a new bike is the way to go. For one it isn't like having to save up a bunch of cash up front to buy a bike outright. Just sign the papers and accept easy to digest monthly payments.

The benefits are great - you get a fresh, new bike with all the warranty stuff and all that.

The other benefit to buying a new bike at a dealer is some of the free stuff they toss in. Back when I bought my first bike it was cheap, so I just got a free helmet and a few t-sh*ts...but still. When I bought my first Harley(before the economy tanked) I got $300 in in store credit plus $500 in clothing credit.

Heck, even my latest [not so cheap] bike worked out to be affordable monthly payments. I bought my last bike during the bad economy so all I got was a handful of t-sh*ts.

[Pagelzilla]

QUOTE (trip @ Sunday, Aug 12 2012, 09:49)

QUOTE (Lurch @ Saturday, Aug 11 2012, 00:07) QUOTE (trip @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 21:36) If you already have a riding history - grew up on dirt bikes kind of thing; then go out and finance out a new bike from a dealer.  I financed my first street bike when I was 17 and the payments were like $40 a month.  Totally affordable.  It was only a little Honda 250 Rebel, but still... That was like 50 years ago. 40 bucks was a lot of money back then! Yeah yeah yeah, but honestly - if you know you are a rider I really think financing out a new bike is the way to go. For one it isn't like having to save up a bunch of cash up front to buy a bike outright. Just sign the papers and accept easy to digest monthly payments. The benefits are great - you get a fresh, new bike with all the warranty stuff and all that. The other benefit to buying a new bike at a dealer is some of the free stuff they toss in. Back when I bought my first bike it was cheap, so I just got a free helmet and a few t-sh*ts...but still. When I bought my first Harley(before the economy tanked) I got $300 in in store credit plus $500 in clothing credit. Heck, even my latest [not so cheap] bike worked out to be affordable monthly payments. I bought my last bike during the bad economy so all I got was a handful of t-sh*ts.

Thanks for the advice! I'll keep financing as a viable option

[ryuclan]

Ok so I have been wanting to experience riding for most my life and I have only sat on a motorcycle. Oh and that was today. My city has horrible road, terrible drivers and inattentive pedestrians...but I have moved to a better place abd I'm ready to get my license. I'll be taking a course next month if not sooner and wont be buying a bike until winter (better prices). My question to you is, seeing how I am interested in a sport bike what should I consider when buying a bike? Here are my thoughts.

It will be a used bike.
Probably a less than powerful bike (200-300cc)
How much does insurance run for new riders? (My driving record is immaculate )
How can i modify a sport bike for more comfortable long distance driving.

[sivispacem]

QUOTE (ryuclan @ Sunday, Aug 19 2012, 00:00)

How can i modify a sport bike for more comfortable long distance driving.

I can't answer the US insurance question but in response to this-

1) Thicker seat padding
2) Softer springs and shocks
3) More vertical touring type screen

That's about all you can reasonably do.

[trip]

QUOTE (sivispacem @ Sunday, Aug 19 2012, 05:10)

QUOTE (ryuclan @ Sunday, Aug 19 2012, 00:00) How can i modify a sport bike for more comfortable long distance driving. I can't answer the US insurance question but in response to this-

I talk too much in here so I PM'd ryuclan with the insurance deal within the states.

[ryuclan]

QUOTE (trip @ Monday, Aug 20 2012, 21:59)

QUOTE (sivispacem @ Sunday, Aug 19 2012, 05:10) QUOTE (ryuclan @ Sunday, Aug 19 2012, 00:00) How can i modify a sport bike for more comfortable long distance driving. I can't answer the US insurance question but in response to this- I talk too much in here so I PM'd ryuclan with the insurance deal within the states.

And thank you very much.


I talked to my lady and although she doesn't like it, she knows if I want to do it I'm going to do it, so she says she will try to help out. I told her she'd know wherever I'm going, who I'm with and I will call her when I get there. This is a big deal seeing how I DO NOT check in.

[trip]

QUOTE (ryuclan @ Monday, Aug 20 2012, 21:00)

I talked to my lady and although she doesn't like it, she knows if I want to do it I'm going to do it, so she says she will try to help out. I told her she'd know wherever I'm going, who I'm with and I will call her when I get there. This is a big deal seeing how I DO NOT check in.

I don't check in with my wife either, not to mention she has been my back seat passenger for a good 20yrs, and I still have to send her a text when I get to work. Although, some of that might be because I don't have a leisurely commute in the morning. I have to contend with a bunch of city drivers asleep in their cars on their way to work.

There are about 4 different options that I use to get to work depending on the traffic. If I take this one particular one it takes me down a 5 lane big as street directly into the rising sun. Me along with everyone else pretty much just has to do that stretch blind and hope for the best. I actually gun it and take 'liberties' just to get off that stretch.

It is finally good riding weather here. Tomorrow might be sketchy, but at some point this week I'm going to take a pic of where I park during the day. Long story short - they tired a pilot program to make bikes pay for street parking. The only problem is they didn't change the original law that says bikes can park on the sidewalk close to a solid building. Where I park is a sea of cruisers, sport bikes, vintage classics, and cheesy ass scooters. Some nice bikes in the mix, so I think it will be worth the pic to share.

[trip]

I'm gonna do the cheesy thing and bump this because of the pics from today.

Here is parking at City Hall. It was a light day because there was a threat of rain. It is also hard to capture the full scope of it all.






And sine I was there I took a pic of mine.

[ryuclan]

Wow now that is sweet.

[Benzoboy]

Decided I need to get mobile and I want to get into motorbikes



So I bought a scooter to bomb around on until I'm 18 and I can afford a car and/or geared bike. 2008 Aprilia SR50, here it is next to my dad's YZF750 and E36. Plans are when I'm used to it (Aka, bored of the speed), I'll fit a 70cc kit and some other sweet engine bits, who knows, maybe I'll even get into scooter tuning

[κενιη]

@Trip...

The day after we all met up at your place we had to take Lurch to the bus station. There was a big hubbub going on downtown and we ended up getting thrown about the city. Ended up passing city hall at one point and saw all the bikes. Another thing too, when the hell did city cops start riding dual sports? It was like half of the force was on dirtbikes in philly.

[trip]

The cheesy ass enduros. Yeah, thank goodness you don't see them too much - still a sh*t ton of bike pride in the highway patrol. Straight pipes and all.

The reason you got to see the enduros and got caught up in traffic is a crazy story. There was a dude near about City Hall with all sorts of machine guns and rifles going a bit nutty. They use those little enduors if they have to buggy around.

Nothing too crazy with the guy. I don't think any shots were fired by him. It was the talk of the town for a day though.

[κενιη]

I heard there was a fire on the radio...I guess it was worse than I thought.

[Rebel]

Hey guys, I recently turned 22 - like 12 hours ago, and I've always been interested in getting a bike since I was a kid. I've got my UK driving license and I'm actually looking into getting my motorcycle license now. I'm basically wondering what kind of bike I should be looking for ready for a CBT course. I think I'm limited to about 125cc and about 25 kilowatts. I've just taken a quick look around google/Ebay for bikes like that and there's a huge price gap going on. I'm pretty much just trying to find something less than £500 but road legal & something to just get me started and last me a little while. I'm just finding it really difficult to actually find bikes within my price range & around Leicestershire where I live.

Is it just worth scrapping my dream until I can eventually afford something more expensive or am I missing a trick here?

[sivispacem]

There is only one 125cc bike people should learn to ride on, and that's a Suzuki Van-Van. It's a go-anywhere, do-anything masterpiece and even compared to bigger bikes it's great fun to ride. Early carbed on can be had seriously, seriously cheap if you aren't afraid to get your hands mucky fixing them up. A mate of mine got one for £400 and spent ~£50 fixing it up, and it looked and rode great.

[Rebel]

QUOTE (sivispacem @ Sunday, Sep 16 2012, 09:15)

There is only one 125cc bike people should learn to ride on, and that's a Suzuki Van-Van. It's a go-anywhere, do-anything masterpiece and even compared to bigger bikes it's great fun to ride. Early carbed on can be had seriously, seriously cheap if you aren't afraid to get your hands mucky fixing them up. A mate of mine got one for £400 and spent ~£50 fixing it up, and it looked and rode great.

Your mate got lucky then, just doing a quick Google look for around my county and they run from about £1000 to £2500. Very nice looking bike though. I'll keep an eye out on my continuing search for bikes for sure, right now I seem to be finding it hard to actually find anything within price range. I might end up with putting my idea aside for a bike and save up some more money while I look.

Not afraid to get my hands dirty though on something that could be fixed up with minimal money spent, especially if it means finding something I quite like.

[GunWrath]

Found Diesel (pitbull) admiring the chrome on the bike


This post has been edited by GunWrath on Sunday, Sep 16 2012, 20:15

[trip]

@Rebel - go for it. Grab whatever piece of sh*t you find and can afford. If you've been interested since you were a kid it's in your blood.

Sorry I have no tips - I'm just here for encouragement .




@GunWrath - I have that same shifter peg.

[TheJonesy]

Beautiful bikes there, guys.

Well, I solved my handlebar problem finally. Found myself some 1" risers; they're a little scratched and rusty, but I'll send them down to my friend to get them sand blasted and powder-coated. I also picked up an air filter with this nice chrome cover that'll really clean it up.

My friend, who has the same bike as me, decided that he'll try and get himself a Victory, so he offered his parts to me; all his seals are good, so I'll be using them, as well as his front tire.

My next buy will probably be a shorter tank; the problem is that my current tank is too long, so my seat would have to sit on my fender - which I don't want - so if I get one that's shorter, it'll give me more room to move the seat up in front of the fender. I have to make a new mount for the seat anyway.