It's Time to Ride - First Time Motorcycle\Noobe

[alexrex20]

For the '08, $3000 ride-out is an OK deal, but not a great deal. That's a LOT of miles for an 08. If you've got another $1000 to spend, you can find the same bike with 1/4 the miles.

The 07 does sound like the better deal. It has less miles and is completely stock. As a general rule, I try to stay away from anything that has been modified by the previous owner.

If it were me and my money, I'd get the 07.

 

[alexrex20]

I have no idea if a farkle is a good or bad thing though lol.

 

[T-FAST]

Term used for bags and luggage stuff on a dual sport lol, but the term can certainly be misleading. I'm personally gonna keep looking. I don't want to spend any more than $3k for my first bike.

 

[Rangerscott]

I love putting miles on my bike. The more the merrier. I hate to see people buy a bike and only put 4k miles in 6 years. LOL This year I went up to Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Illinois. About to roll over 60k. It was very exciting and relaxing. Can't tell you how nice it is to get away from this dust bowl.

Know a guy that's about to roll over 250,000 miles on his Honda F4i. Bought it new too.

 

[Glockster69]

This year I went up to Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Illinois. About to roll over 60k. It was very exciting and relaxing. Can't tell you how nice it is to get away from this dust bowl.

On the Kaw you've got for sale?

 

[Greg_TX]

You're not going to get much for under 3k unless you get really lucky and find an awesome deal. 3k and down is project bike and track bike territory. I agree w/ Alex - the '07 sounds like the better deal, and stock is best when buying something.

 

[alexrex20]

I love putting miles on my bike. The more the merrier. I hate to see people buy a bike and only put 4k miles in 6 years. LOL This year I went up to Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Illinois. About to roll over 60k. It was very exciting and relaxing. Can't tell you how nice it is to get away from this dust bowl.

Know a guy that's about to roll over 250,000 miles on his Honda F4i. Bought it new too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for racking up the miles on one's bike. But as a buyer, it's easy to find bikes with low miles and those are much more desirable.

 

[Rangerscott]

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for racking up the miles on one's bike. But as a buyer, it's easy to find bikes with low miles and those are much more desirable.

Of course on buying. I dont ever plan on selling the vfr. I lol every time I hear some one say that sport bikes cant rack miles.

 

[T-FAST]

You're not going to get much for under 3k unless you get really lucky and find an awesome deal. 3k and down is project bike and track bike territory. I agree w/ Alex - the '07 sounds like the better deal, and stock is best when buying something.

We'll see, my price range is 3-4k. I can find quite a few nice bikes for that price, Its just hard finding the right one.

 

[Greg_TX]

We'll see, my price range is 3-4k. I can find quite a few nice bikes for that price, Its just hard finding the right one.

3-4k should work out okay and get you on a decent bike. If your limit was 3k then it would be a lot harder to find what you want, but it could be done. My first bike was a '06 Ninja 250 that cost me $3050 out the door, brand new. I sold it a year later for $2500 and used that to pay down on a used '07 ZZR-600 that I got for 6k. I'd be working on bike #3 by now, but I have wait until finances get a little better. I'd love to find a used Bandit 1200 in good shape...

 

[T-FAST]

I'd so do a ninja 250, if I wasn't built like an offensive lineman

 

[Rangerscott]

Ninja 300 coming out. Wish it was cheaper though.

 

[Greg_TX]

I'd so do a ninja 250, if I wasn't built like an offensive lineman

Yeah, they're not known to have gobs of HP or torque, but I was a few pounds lighter then.

The thing that bugged me most was the squishy forks; get on the front brakes just a little too firmly and it nose-dived. I had the forks reworked with RaceTech springs and valve emulators and it handled like a dream after that. The only other mod was to go from a 15-tooth front sprocket to a 14, which made it a lot more rideable at low speeds and gave it more pull in the first couple of gears. The nice thing about it was that it was very easy to work on - I did my own valve adjustment and carb balance, and with good instructions and a good set of feeler gauges it really wasn't that hard to do.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Of course on buying. I dont ever plan on selling the vfr. I lol every time I hear some one say that sport bikes cant rack miles.

Like I posted earlier, I put 65,000 miles on my ZX9R in 4 yrs...original clutch too!

 

[ROGER4314]

I owned a Kawasaki KLR250 and the bigger KLR650. The 250 carried my large butt at 87 MPH topped out and got 64 MPG. The 650 is a more serious road bike. They call those bikes "Dual Sports" and they do pretty well on the road but off road with a 6.1 gallon tank, the 650 is a handfull. I put street tires on both of the bikes.

I rode the KLR650 from Belen New Mexico to East Houston at a very high rate of speed. It never missed a beat and I simply laid down on that big tank and cranked the throttle back. It was 105 degrees going south through Truth or Consequences NM and the bike ate the miles up!

Few folks are aware of this but both the KLR250 and KLR650 were/are used by the USMC. The 250 was phased out in favor of the larger engine but the KLR650's are equipped with Diesel cylinder heads and run on Diesel fuel. The bikes are totally bomb proof, water cooled with dual overhead cams.

I put 21K miles on the 250 and 8K on the 650 with scarcely a problem. The 250 is too small but I still rode the heck out of it! I went back later and got the KLR650 and rode both of them. I used the 250 around town as a "grocery getter" and took the 650 to places like Galveston.

If I had a chance to buy a USED KLR650 at $3,000, I'd simply toss some more bucks in the pot and get a new one. That's just how I do things.

Because I have almost 50 years riding bikes, my insurance was so low, it was almost a joke. For instance, on my Harley with full coverage including some extras, it is $226 for 12 months!

Flash

 

[matefrio]

I owned a Kawasaki KLR250 and the bigger KLR650. The 250 carried my large butt at 87 MPH topped out and got 64 MPG. The 650 is a more serious road bike. They call those bikes "Dual Sports" and they do pretty well on the road but off road with a 6.1 gallon tank, the 650 is a handfull. I put street tires on both of the bikes.

I rode the KLR650 from Belen New Mexico to East Houston at a very high rate of speed. It never missed a beat and I simply laid down on that big tank and cranked the throttle back. It was 105 degrees going south through Truth or Consequences NM and the bike ate the miles up!

Few folks are aware of this but both the KLR250 and KLR650 were/are used by the USMC. The 250 was phased out in favor of the larger engine but the KLR650's are equipped with Diesel cylinder heads and run on Diesel fuel. The bikes are totally bomb proof, water cooled with dual overhead cams.

I put 21K miles on the 250 and 8K on the 650 with scarcely a problem. The 250 is too small but I still rode the heck out of it! I went back later and got the KLR650 and rode both of them. I used the 250 around town as a "grocery getter" and took the 650 to places like Galveston.

If I had a chance to buy a USED KLR650 at $3,000, I'd simply toss some more bucks in the pot and get a new one. That's just how I do things.

Because I have almost 50 years riding bikes, my insurance was so low, it was almost a joke. For instance, on my Harley with full coverage including some extras, it is $226 for 12 months!

Flash

You don't need to be a long time rider for such rates. On a cruiser style bike my insurance rates are $260 for 12 moths as a new rider with full coverage. Possibly could do better if I shopped around. They were more interested if I completed the MSF course than how many years I've ridden.

That and our age may have something to do with it. :-)

 

[mroper]

You don't need to be a long time rider for such rates. On a cruiser style bike my insurance rates are $260 for 12 moths as a new rider with full coverage. Possibly could do better if I shopped around. They were more interested if I completed the MSF course than how many years I've ridden.

That and our age may have something to do with it. :-)

Damn I am getting ripped of for insurance . I pay about 320 for full coverage on my Road King. which insurance co do you gents use.

 

[matefrio]

2006 Honda VTX 1300 ~! Super Clean & Loaded !~ Going to see this one on Saturday.

 

[mroper]

Nice bike

 

[ROGER4314]

I have Progressive Insurance. I've never had a MC safety course and they never asked me about it. On mine, the only thing they asked was about number of years in the saddle. For a time, I got a discount for belonging to a MC organization. The discount went away so I dropped my membership.

Occasionally, I renewed and my agent placed me with Dairyland Insurance. I haven't been with them in a long time, though. Their rates toggle back & forth with Progressive. I'm very pleased with Progressive.

Flash