Recommendations on First Bike

[arcticamt6]

Wanted to introduce myself, I'm 20 and a sophomore at Virginia Tech. I've always loved watching bikes on the road and my plan is to buy a bike over the summer after I've completed the MSF course. I'm really looking forward to all the twisties in southwest Virginia and Western PA. I know the bikes that most people recommend are the Ninja 250, 500ex, and the gs500. Are there any other bikes in the 500cc range that would be good for beginners? I would prefer a 500 but I am not seeing many of those bikes for sale in my area. I'm looking to spend around $3000 by the way.

[UberGoober]

We usually tell people 500 or lower because we are talking about sport bikes but you can go larger in something like a cruiser where a 750 or 800 is (and in some cases even 1000cc) is considered small. That's usually a pretty safe choice because the way they produce their power.

Most older standard bikes up to around a 750 will work pretty well for you too. Once you start shopping the older bikes you will come across all sorts of odd sizes you probably didn't even know were ever made. There are some pretty nice older bikes out there too so if you see an ad that seems interesting, go check it out.

The thing is, almost any bike is fun out on the road so I would recommend you play the field a little and not get too hung up on a sportbike at this time.

[emericanchaos]

for $3000 you could probably get a new 250 ninja off the showroom floor.

[smakawhat]

Ok Hokie, if you are looking for that much money to spend go used (which will lower your insurance) and save up for gear.

Yup up near the mountains in VA out west is some fun riding that's for sure

[Gaolee]

My first street bike was a 1979 Honda CB650. It was the quintessential UJM, and it was a perfectly fine first bike. I got it for something like $650 or $1/cc. I spent about the same amount on gear, and the bike ran fine for me for a bit over a year, and it was still going strong three or four years later. As far as I know, it is still on the road somewhere.

It cost me a whopping $50. I had to get extra coverage to get the premium up to the $50/year minimum. All of the big four made standards from the early '70s all the way through to the early '90s when they started focusing almost entirely on sportbikes or cruisers for the street. They are usually reliable as a stone if maintained, so lower mileage bikes with decent records are worth spending the time looking for. Make sure they haven't been left out to rust and fall apart, because they are old bikes, after all.

[arcticamt6]

There seems to be a few old Honda 350's around, but I was mainly looking at getting a small sportbike somewhere like 500cc and under. I doubt I'd be getting a new 250r however, since OTD price is typically between $3500 and $3900 from what I've heard.

[UberGoober]

Have you shopped these guys? They are a little above you price range and I don't know how much wiggle room a dealer has, but they seem like choice little bikes - Maybe you could save up for a while? Hyosung Motors America - Ridden by the world