[charliebrownpants]

Hello Everyone,

I’m looking to find a good used vintage or european styled bike in the near future for myself and just wanted to see if I could gather some recommendation and thoughts from everyone. The Kawasakie Vulcan and the Triumph bikes all look pretty cool to me. Anyhow let me know what you think. Thanks!

[ncBiker]

If you wouldnt mind riding an older bike i would go with the honda cb750 or another size cb. It was the most popular bike in the 70s and was way ahead of its time. Its also known for reliability and there are many that last up to 100,000 miles and they are fairly cheap unless you get a restored one. I wana turn one into a bobber one day. If I could figure out how to post a pic i would

[Spool]

For a vintage styled beginner bike the Suzuki TU250X is a great choice. Vintage styling with modern fuel injection. Should be a great learner.

http://cmgonline.com/images/stories/bikes/Suzuki/tu250x/2009/tu250x_rsf.jpg

[WeaponZero]

Suzuki TU250X bar none. As the only 250cc retro-styled bike on the market it pretty much has a corner on this segment.

[charliebrownpants]

Thanks for your recommendations! What would you recommend in the dual sport area of bikes for a beginner?

[Gary856]

These bikes are easy to ride but are pretty tall – you need about 32″-34″ inseam to flat-foot them. Not a problem for a experienced rider, but the height may be uncomfortable for a beginner and may contribute to dropping the bike.

It’s awesome if you live close to lots of dirt trails. I’m in the SF Bay Area and the closest dual-sport area are 3-4 hours away, so I can only day dream about it.

[Rab]

As of this year yes, but for many years up until the 2009 model year I believe, there was another great 250 c.c. retro styled motorcycle, the Honda Nighthawk 250.

There should be loads of these available on the used market as it was a very popular beginner motorcycle.

The cruiser version (Honda Rebel) is still available new.

[Rab]

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[Rab]

A possible first bike could be a Royal Enfield, which is basically a 1950s British 500 c.c. single cylinder design which was also built under license in India. Although the British Royal Enfield company went out of business many years ago, the Indians have continued to build pretty much the same motorcycle ever since!

They are now available in the USA and are basically still the same 1950s British designed bike. According to owners, you get the authentic 1950s experience when you own one of these (i.e. lots of periodic maintenance and unreliability).

They have different versions and some even have such “luxuries” as electric start, disk brakes and electronic ignition.

Larger engined (modern design) motorcycles with a retro appearance include:

Triumph Bonneville, T100 or SE
Kawasaki W650 (no longer in production)
Moto Guzzi V7 Classic or Cafe Classic
Ducati GT1000
Harley Davidson Sportster (since 1957 but getting a bit posey now)
Honda Shadow RS (Sportster lookalike)
Any number of cruisers (which are basically styled after old V-twin Harleys)

[CBBaron]

Most of the dual sport and super moto bikes make good beginners if you are tall enough, except perhaps the more high strung European models. Bikes like TW200, DR200se, XT225, XT250, CRF230 and Super Sherpa are inexpensive entry level dual sports with low seat heights. The KLX250s, wr250r and DRZ400 are popular machines with more power and suspension than the ones listed previously. The DR650, klr650 and XR650L are bigger bikes, probably more capable on the highway but heavier. Nearly all of these bikes are lighter than any street bike and power is very reasonable.

Craig

[Author]

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