I've been spending some time on the Yahoo answers board, answering motorcycle related questions. One question I've noticed keeps coming up, and that's "What kind of motorcycle should I get for my first one?"
Short answer:
A 1984 Honda CB750
Long answer:
You should go and get yourself an early 80's Jap bike of between 500 and 800 cc's.
and here's why:
1) They're cheap. There are TONS of these bikes around and you can get a decent one for $500. You don't want to spend alot of money on your first bike, because it's your first bike. You're going to drop it. Probably a few times. You might even crash it. Imagine how pissed you're gonna be when you find out replacement plastics for that Ducati 1098 lying in your driveway are going to cost you $2,000. With the money you save on the initial purchase price, you can go get yourself some proper kit (jacket, boots, gloves, helmet), a 150 piece toolbox from Sears and a shop manual for your bike. All of which (including the bike) are availabe on ebay for cheap, by the way.
2) They're reliable. And that's what you want. You want to RIDE a motorcycle. Not work on it. Those jap bikes from the 80's are like most Japanese things from the 80's. They're so well made, people get tired of them before they break. My dad's still got a Sony Trinitron from the 80's that works great. He'd probably like a new plasma, but he's too practical to relace something that's in perfectly good working conditon. Jap bikes are the same. They were/are so well made, they'll run forever if properly maintained. What's that? You've seen some hipster rocking around town on a '69 Triumph Bonneville, and think it looks so cool? Yeah it looks cool, but you (or your mechanic) will spend more time working on that bike then you will riding it. I've got a buddy who just bought a 2006 Moto Guzzi back in July. Against my strongest protestations. I told him to get a Honda, but he went for it. The bike's been in the shop 10 times already. In 3 months!
3) They're easy to work on. Those Japanese have an extremely rational culture. The bikes that come from the land of the rising sun have had a little more thought put into their design, and it shows. You can tell they thought through and planned for maintenance. European bikes can be a puzzling maze of emotion and idiosycronisity (Yes I realize that that word doesn't exist. I've created a malapropistic neologism, so fuck you).
But I thought you just said Japanese bikes are more reliable, and that I didn't want to work on it! What gives mister? Well, little Billy, I'll tell you. All machines require maintenance to keep them going. You can either pay someone to do the maintenance for you, or you can learn how to do it yourself. Which one sounds more in the true spirit of motorcycling? There may also come a
time when you'll HAVE to get that bike running yourself. You'll be out on a lonely country road dozens of miles from the nearest town. You haven't seen a car for hours. The battery in your cellphone will be dead, or there'll be no signal (most likely the former). The sun will be rapidly setting, and you'll hear hungry wolves howling in the distance. The bike will be dead, and you'll be left with a 2 choices: sit there and cry, or get the damn thing going. Will you know enough to check the reserve tank? The fusebox? Will you have spares? Will you know how to get the bike started after you've drained the battery cranking the starter for 20 minutes straight?
Most likely, you'll get a flat tire somewhere. Somewhere where there isn't a motorcycle shop. But there will be auto garages. Lots of them. But despite your most earnest protestations and begging and pleading and pledging your first born, they will all refuse to repair your tire. Every single last one of them. Even though they have the equipment and tools, and material and half their employees are having a farting contest. Do you know how to fix it? Will you have the plugs, so you can limp back to your shop?
4) You will learn alot about motorcycles. And cars for that matter. The underlying technology on a motorcycle is exactly the same as on cars. With a cheap old japanese bike, working on it won't be as intimidating as on a $25,000 Harley. If you fuck it up, so what? The damn thing only cost $500. But you won't fuck it up. Over time, you'll see how easy lubing and adjusting chain tension, changing the oil, filters, brake pads, fork seals, spark plugs, adjusting the valve clearences are. You will derive a sense of satisfaction from the work, feel great about saving the money, and build competence & confidence in your mechanical prowess. You'll be suprised how easy it is. You'll learn all about what everything does, and how all the components are interrelated. Knowledge is power they say, and in this case it's power over yourself. So you won't be dependent on some bigoted redneck out in the sticks to fix your tire. Ever hear anyone say something about motorcycles and freedom? If you can't take care of your own, you're just another punter.
5) You will learn what kind of biker you are. When you get the motorcycle bug, you get excited by every bike you see. You find yourself staring longingly at a shiney cruiser on the street, or your head snaps every time you hear a sportbike fly by. Starting with a standard motorcycle, you'll find out what you like about it.
You might get off on the adrenaline of a well executed run through some twisties, want to go faster and challenge yourself. You're a sportbike rider.
Maybe you like to just cruise around enjoying the scenery. You're a cruiser.
Maybe the standard you've got is just fine. Awesome. You're all set.
In the highly unlikely event that you don't even like it, well, you only spent $500, so no biggie!
Short answer:
A 1984 Honda CB750
Long answer:
You should go and get yourself an early 80's Jap bike of between 500 and 800 cc's.
and here's why:
1) They're cheap. There are TONS of these bikes around and you can get a decent one for $500. You don't want to spend alot of money on your first bike, because it's your first bike. You're going to drop it. Probably a few times. You might even crash it. Imagine how pissed you're gonna be when you find out replacement plastics for that Ducati 1098 lying in your driveway are going to cost you $2,000. With the money you save on the initial purchase price, you can go get yourself some proper kit (jacket, boots, gloves, helmet), a 150 piece toolbox from Sears and a shop manual for your bike. All of which (including the bike) are availabe on ebay for cheap, by the way.
2) They're reliable. And that's what you want. You want to RIDE a motorcycle. Not work on it. Those jap bikes from the 80's are like most Japanese things from the 80's. They're so well made, people get tired of them before they break. My dad's still got a Sony Trinitron from the 80's that works great. He'd probably like a new plasma, but he's too practical to relace something that's in perfectly good working conditon. Jap bikes are the same. They were/are so well made, they'll run forever if properly maintained. What's that? You've seen some hipster rocking around town on a '69 Triumph Bonneville, and think it looks so cool? Yeah it looks cool, but you (or your mechanic) will spend more time working on that bike then you will riding it. I've got a buddy who just bought a 2006 Moto Guzzi back in July. Against my strongest protestations. I told him to get a Honda, but he went for it. The bike's been in the shop 10 times already. In 3 months!
3) They're easy to work on. Those Japanese have an extremely rational culture. The bikes that come from the land of the rising sun have had a little more thought put into their design, and it shows. You can tell they thought through and planned for maintenance. European bikes can be a puzzling maze of emotion and idiosycronisity (Yes I realize that that word doesn't exist. I've created a malapropistic neologism, so fuck you).
But I thought you just said Japanese bikes are more reliable, and that I didn't want to work on it! What gives mister? Well, little Billy, I'll tell you. All machines require maintenance to keep them going. You can either pay someone to do the maintenance for you, or you can learn how to do it yourself. Which one sounds more in the true spirit of motorcycling? There may also come a
time when you'll HAVE to get that bike running yourself. You'll be out on a lonely country road dozens of miles from the nearest town. You haven't seen a car for hours. The battery in your cellphone will be dead, or there'll be no signal (most likely the former). The sun will be rapidly setting, and you'll hear hungry wolves howling in the distance. The bike will be dead, and you'll be left with a 2 choices: sit there and cry, or get the damn thing going. Will you know enough to check the reserve tank? The fusebox? Will you have spares? Will you know how to get the bike started after you've drained the battery cranking the starter for 20 minutes straight?Most likely, you'll get a flat tire somewhere. Somewhere where there isn't a motorcycle shop. But there will be auto garages. Lots of them. But despite your most earnest protestations and begging and pleading and pledging your first born, they will all refuse to repair your tire. Every single last one of them. Even though they have the equipment and tools, and material and half their employees are having a farting contest. Do you know how to fix it? Will you have the plugs, so you can limp back to your shop?
4) You will learn alot about motorcycles. And cars for that matter. The underlying technology on a motorcycle is exactly the same as on cars. With a cheap old japanese bike, working on it won't be as intimidating as on a $25,000 Harley. If you fuck it up, so what? The damn thing only cost $500. But you won't fuck it up. Over time, you'll see how easy lubing and adjusting chain tension, changing the oil, filters, brake pads, fork seals, spark plugs, adjusting the valve clearences are. You will derive a sense of satisfaction from the work, feel great about saving the money, and build competence & confidence in your mechanical prowess. You'll be suprised how easy it is. You'll learn all about what everything does, and how all the components are interrelated. Knowledge is power they say, and in this case it's power over yourself. So you won't be dependent on some bigoted redneck out in the sticks to fix your tire. Ever hear anyone say something about motorcycles and freedom? If you can't take care of your own, you're just another punter.
5) You will learn what kind of biker you are. When you get the motorcycle bug, you get excited by every bike you see. You find yourself staring longingly at a shiney cruiser on the street, or your head snaps every time you hear a sportbike fly by. Starting with a standard motorcycle, you'll find out what you like about it.
You might get off on the adrenaline of a well executed run through some twisties, want to go faster and challenge yourself. You're a sportbike rider.
Maybe you like to just cruise around enjoying the scenery. You're a cruiser.
Maybe the standard you've got is just fine. Awesome. You're all set.
In the highly unlikely event that you don't even like it, well, you only spent $500, so no biggie!
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