Any good websites to learn about street bikes? (1 Viewer)

[Drew Bethel]

Maybe I'm having mid-life crisis (in my 30s) but all of a sudden I have this urge to check out SPORT bikes. Or maybe I can have more fun with a decent road bike than a bloody 65" hdtv.
I can be talked into getting a nice used streetbike for under $6-7K. Probably something like a Honda CBR929RR.
Any good websites to educate myself (bike reviews, faqs, etc)? What kinda bike do you recommend?
PS. I'm ashamed to admit this but my bike experience tops out with a few Honda 50's back in the day. :b
PSS. I need/want a big bike as I'm 6'3", and I'm only around 200lbs now but once I get back into pumping iron again I should be back up to about 210. OK, probably TMI.

 

[David-S]

I've started looking too, and some of the better sites i've found:
http://www.sportbikeworld.com/forums/index.php
and
http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/index.php
especially the first one... they're very helpful to newbies, and there are some great advice threads...

 

[Jack Briggs]

Don't forget motorcycle.com.

Also, you should consider an MSF course. If you've only ridden the 50cc tiddlers of the '60s, the CBR929RR is a major handful, no matter how light the machine is. An open-class sportbike is not the machine for a de facto beginner.

The CBR600Fi is a more-than-satisfying bike.

Also, prepare for sticker shock, even in the used market. Bikes are not cheap these days. (And the insurance will make quite a dent in your budget, too. Insurance companies wish motorcycles of all stripes could be banned--even blunderbuss touring bikes that appeal to the Winnebago crowd.)

 

[Mike H]

Drew,

If you want to get into motorcycles, start with a standard motorcycle. Standard motorcycles have no fairings, and have a more upright position.

Here's why:

1) You are going to fall. Just take it as a fact of life when you get on a motorcycle. Those who ride and say they haven't fallen are liars or they don't ride much.

2) When you fall, and your going down the road, you will almost guaranteed to total the bike if it has fairings.

3) This more upright position is easier on the body.

4) They are cheaper. Cheaper to insure as well.

5) You can always sell it later, and get a better bike.

6) Sport bikes are scary fast, and too much for beginners to handle.

I know this because I made the mistake of getting a sport bike as my first. A 96 Yamaha FZR600. If I had known then what I know now, I would have gotten a two cylinder 650 or maybe even something smaller. You will kill yourself on a 929RR if that is your first bike. Nobody wants that.

Mike

 

[James Slade]

You will definetly have more fun on a bike. I did and I love home theater. I will say this though you don't EVEN WANT A CBR929RR. As a fellow biker I will say it plain, the fact that you even want that bike shows how little you know about what you are asking.

I have driven most sportsbikes 929RR, gsx-r, cbr600, yzfr6, yzfr1.

At the most you should consider getting a 600. Anything less than that and you could get bored quick if you good and crazy. A nice used 600 CBR, or R6 or zx6-r would be great. The r6 is like a stretch rack though, you'll pay for your fun.

I was almost killed last year in a bike accident. I really got hurt bad. I was driving a cbr600 1999 at the time. The bike was broke right in half after the accident. I was riding with a large group that day from 600's to 1000cc twins, to ZX9R. Except for on really long straights I could easily hang with all of those bikes on the 600 and pass a lot of them in the corners easy. All of the above mentioned bikes are much more than the average street rider could ever handle.

Save some sticker price and get a smaller bike, then save on insurabce every year. Then you can afford the best helmet and leathers you can find. It is the right thing to do. It saved my life. They had to cut my leathers off of me in a ditch. Damn do I love those leathers. Even though my helment is cracked to pieces I still have it to remind me of the one smart thing I did so far in my life.

BUY LEATHERS AND A NICE HELMET SCREW THE 929RR

AND HAVE FUN, I SURE AS HELL DID. WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT I'll DO IT AGAIN TOO.

 

[Jason Merrick]

Drew,
Here are some bookmarks I have from when I was looking around, the about.com site has a pretty good forum with a lot of info for beginners.
Cycle World
Motorcycle Online
Motorcycle USA
About.com - Motorcycles
Rider Site
SV650 devoted site
SVRider
ZR-7 devoted site

 

[Mike Huay]

I love motorcycling. It is a wonderful hobby. I would take a serious look at Buell and their riders courses.
http://www.buell.com/edge/ridersedgemain.asp

 

[Drew Bethel]

Some sobering advice here Keep 'em coming.
Question: Don't you burn up wearing leathers in the summers?

 

[Jin E]

Definitly do not get a CBR929 as your first street bike. Like others have said, you WILL drop it at least once while you are learning. The huge amounts of power will also be daunting for the beginner rider. Holding up over 400-500lbs of machine is not a very easy thing to learn and get 100% right the first time and every time. Once the bike is up to speed they are easy to handle. The two problem areas for most newbies:
-Slow Speed Manuvering
-Panic situation
A good book to read would be the Kieth Code Twist of the Wrist books.
It's interesting to note that the highest fatality rate among motorcyclists are not us stupid kids in the teens and twenties. The highest mortality rates belong in the 40-50 age bracket. Those guys having their mid-life crisis. They think just because they rode a first bike a few years ago they are adequatly prepared to get a 900+ cc motorcycle. Be safe, start off with something small and unfaired. Leard to be a good motorcyclist, then move up to the badboy. Just because it's small with no fairings does not mean it won't be a blast to ride. It's some odd american mentality that you have to have a 900+cc bike to go fast and have fun. My little VF500 that I started out with was faster then 90% of the cars on the street. The SV650 will hang and probably beat $100k+ cars. The liter class bikes will out accelerate with F1 style cars.
Now leathers do get pretty durned hot in the summer (especially in Alabama/Georgia). That's why we spend $1000+ on a set of

 

[Philip Hamm]

Question: Don't you burn up wearing leathers in the summers?

Yes, that's why I wear armored/padded ventilated Cordura instead. Not -quite- as good as leather in a wreck but the next best thing.
Another good site to check out is www.sportbikes.ws - a smaller discussion site but very friendly, highly recommended. I second the suggestion of everyone here, you most definitely do not want a CBR929RR or anything like it. I would recommend a Suzuki Bandit 600, SV650, Honda Hawk GT 650 (if you can find one), Kawasaki ZR-7 or ZR-7S. If you want a sporty bike and are willing to pay $1500 for plastic and pipes the day you drop it a parking lot at 1/2 mph (you will - and you won't be hurt excpet a couple strange bruises, but a faired bike will be hurting.), don't overlook the Yamaha YZF600R. It is an awesome bike. Also, an older Kawasaki ZX-6 or ZX-6R would be a good investment. Hondas ubiquitous CBR600 series would be a winner too.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Heed Mr. Hamm's advice: words of wisdom. Those are darn good bike he mentions. Always wear leathers, gauntlets, boots, and a full-coverage helmet. And don't forget that MSF course!

 

[Philip Hamm]

Holy cripes how could I forget.
Sign yourself up for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's RiderCourse TODAY. Sometimes there are 6 month waiting lists. It's normal. So sign up TODAY.

 

[Eric Kahn]

I second all the above suggestions about helmets and riding apparal

you might want to look at the honda nighthawk 750 (700?)

It has been in production for years, new price is just under $6000, uprigth riding position, even though it is a 750, it is air cooled and not quite as powerful as the 600 sport bikes

 

[Shawn C]

Yeah, the Nighthawk 750 is a pretty sweet and fun to ride motorcycle. My wife has one but she doesn't ride anymore since she's pregnant.
It just sits in the garage next to my Honda Valkyrie. It's really too bad, it's a 2000 Nighthawk 750 with only 1600 miles on it. It's absolutely perfect. We're thinking of selling it pretty soon.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Generally speaking, what is an acceptable maximum mileage on a used bike. I've seen bikes for sale from 5k-25k...just curious about the general "lifetime mileage" for bikes.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Hmm.... Nighthawk / Vallyrie... I think I'd ride the Nighthawk 9 times out of 10.

 

[Shawn C]

I think I'd ride the Nighthawk 9 times out of 10.

Not if you had ever ridden a Valkyrie. I have both of them in the garage and I can ride either one whenever I want to, but 99.9% of the time, it's the Valkyrie.
There's nothing wrong with the Nighthawk. It's sorta like having a Accord and a Corvette in the garage. Which one is the bigger thrill and which one is the better commuter?
Come on...It doesn't get any better than this:
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[Jack Briggs]

FYI, the Honda pictured above is based on the earlier GL1500 GoldWing engine: 1,520cc, SOHC, opposed Six with liquid cooling. It's as automotive-like a powerplant as you will find in a streetbike--and the machine is an intelligent cruiser. (BTW, the current GoldWing displaces a whopping 1,800cc--it's a car on two wheels.)

Yep, the Honda Nighthawk CB700SC is a nice bike of recent vintage with a nice little air-cooled engine. I could see learning on that machine.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Actually it does get better than that. Case in point:

I'll give you the comparison between the Nighthawk and the Accord, though I'd make it a 2 door Civic. Valkyrie and Corvette though?? More like a big V8 Cadillac. What's sporty about the Valk?
I'm not a fan of cruiser ergonomics or handling, and I love sensible upright good handling sport tourers with decent power. I'm sure a Nighthawk rider would have no problems losing a Valkyrie rider once the going got sporty.

 

[Bruce N]

Hey now! Don't be crackin' on 929s! Here's mine!
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And here's my VFR! (btw, it's for sale!)
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And I've got an F4 too but the pic's too big.
Let's Ride!
Bruce