[Clay Dowling]

Can you provide any info on this? I was aware of the CBR 125, but I thought the next step up was a CBR 600. I think the CBR line is beautiful, but didn’t feel like climbing on a suicide machine just yet, which is what a CBR 600 is likely to be for an inexperienced rider like me.

-edit: A little research shows that it was produced primarily for the Japanese and Australian market, and never sold in North America. A pity, I think a small Honda could compete quite well against the 250 Ninja.

[Clay Dowling]

Is a v-star 250. Last year they were hard to get your hands on, because they’re such cool little machines.

[Clay Dowling]

For the comfort factor. My daily commute is an hour. The new goldwings look nice, and I’d love to just take some time and ride around the country on a bike known for comfortable riding. Wouldn’t mind trying out some of the BMW offerings either.

For something intended more for fun on the weekend than daily ride, an old, naked GL1000 Goldwing would be cool. I absolutely love the look of a naked Goldwing, and came close to buying a couple of them when they were available very cheaply last summer.

[Clay Dowling]

My first bike and current ride is a Honda Magna, one from the 1994-2003 generation of bikes. The 750cc v4 engine doesn’t have a massive amount of low-end torque, so it isn’t prone to launching you into space. It has an upright seating position, closer to a standard than a cruiser. It has the power to cruise along at highway speeds.

Only downsides I’ve found so far is that the range is limited (roughly 120 miles on a tank), and wind buffeting can be a problem. Without a windshield you find yourself very directly in the wind stream, and at highway speeds it can get old. With a cruiser windshield, you get a lot of turbulence knocking you around. The solution I found was a flyscreen from National Cycle. It’s a silly little shield-looking thing:

At around-town speeds it really doesn’t do anything. At 50-60 is makes the ride pretty nice. At 70+ it sends the wind over you almost completely, so you’re riding in smooth air without a lot of pressure against you. I bought mine for something like $60 used, and you can pick them up new for $120.

[Clay Dowling]

Go into the showroom, sit the bike. It’s a beautiful machine. I love my Magna, but if I was looking for a new bike a 500cc or 250cc Ninja would be high on the list. And right now, my bias would be for the 250, because it’s very pretty, extremely nimble, and gets good gas mileage. Also, the dealership near me has been sitting on 2 of them for the last five months and I’m pretty sure I could talk a decent deal out of them. And one of them is red.

[Clay Dowling]

Glad to hear you’re getting to do so much riding. Saw that bike at the dealership on Saturday, it’s definitely a beautiful machine.

Tires, they’re expensive, but you should see what I pay for car tires. Honda likes to recommend expensive tires for their cars and their motorcycles.

[Clay Dowling]

I was at the Kawasaki dealership on Saturday and they had the 250 and 500 sitting next to each other. Definitely a nice looking bike. There’s nothing “small” looking about the 250. I was tempted to sit the bike, but I won’t be buying one anytime soon, so I chose to avoid temptation instead.

[Clay Dowling]

The little vstars are very cool looking bikes. Buddy has one, it’s pretty slick. And have fun riding with your son.

[Clay Dowling]

When you have to start while facing up hill. We’ve got a grocery store by me with a hill coming out of the lot, and it trips me up sometimes. It will take a couple of attempts to get out of the lot on a bad day.

[Clay Dowling]

Mostly I’m a pretty mellow rider. The bike is capable of going very fast, but I’m not. And we get very short range out of the bikes because the tank is tiny.

I may be off in my fuel calculations though. Once I can start riding regularly again I’ll check the numbers and see what I come up with.

[Clay Dowling]

Went out to the local gear shop on Saturday, hoping to score a pair of Redwings. Unfortunately the store didn’t have anything in my size, and they won’t be getting any more. The harness boot is ugly as hell and hasn’t been selling, which is why they’re getting rid of the damned things. It also had a crappy tread, not quite as much grip is a pair of cheap sneakers.

The steel toed engineer boots look better in the photos, but I’ll be hard pressed to find some that I can try on. Might have to run to a neighboring city to find them. That might be a project for later this week.

[Clay Dowling]

I’d stay away from Honda knockoffs. You can find Hondas on the used market, and the real deal is a pretty reliable piece of machinery.

Steer clear of the 600cc+ sport bikes. They’re an invitation to trouble for a new rider, even if they are pretty. And I assure you, they’re very pretty. Every time I see the CBRs at the local dealership I hear them calling my name. But they’re staying there until I’m ready and can afford them, and I’m tired of riding my Magna.

[Clay Dowling]

The radio doesn’t have anything as awesome to offer as the thrill of riding. Even a fairly mundane ride is better than most radio. Maybe if I could count on the radio having some good Beethoven or Dvorak, but that’s pretty rare.

[Clay Dowling]

My bike cost me $3100 on the used market. It’s easy to ride. It is very pretty. The ladies like shiny bikes like this. So do the guys, if that’s more your speed. Heck, I could ride down and see Elwood, and we could both look badass. If I decide to resell it, I can probably sell it for nearly what I paid.

I also have a long list of extra stuff I can buy for it. More options for luggage, when I need to haul stuff on trips. I can buy a different seat. Different windshield if I don’t like the current options. Heated grips so my precious fingers don’t freeze in cold weather.

For that price, I can go as fast as I want. Faster than I can handle, if that’s what I choose. The highway is a non-challenge.

That scooter is also just slightly lighter than my motorcycle, and gets roughly the same mileage (I average low 50s).

So you have to ask if automatic transmission alone is worth passing all that up, for a lot more money. You might decide that it is, and that’s cool. But try out the small motorcycles at MSF first, because they have a lot to offer that will probably suck you in.

[Clay Dowling]

Wow, there are a lot of nice motorcycles you can get for that price on the used market. Honestly the shifting thing is pretty easy. Way easier than a car.

Take the MSF class, where you’ll have to deal with the shifting for a couple of days. That’s the worst shifting situation you’re likely to ever deal with, unless you’re crazy like Elwood and live in an area where third gear is a special treat.

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