I’ve looked around some more, and it seems that the bikes that fit my budget, use, and style are the old, 70’s honda CB’s. They have many different sized engines to choose from, are hailed for their never die (with some attention to maintenance) mechanics, and have a general asking price of under 2k. The only problem is that they’re thirty to forty years old…
Theres a few near me in great cosmetic condition:
A 1972 125 with very low mileage for any bike (1700). http://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/1842201443.html
And a ’72 350 with 19k miles. http://greenville.craigslist.org/mcy/1846728141.html
I think the CB125 would be a little to underpowered for what I was hoping to use it for (reviews give it a 65 mph top speed) but the price is pretty unbeatable. But the main thing I’m focused on is the condition of the engine, not the cosmetics; I want a solid bike that I wouldn’t cry over getting banged up so I’m not sure if almost 20k miles is too much for an engine that’s 30+ years old, even if it looks nice. It looks beautiful, but its also overpriced in my opinion.
There’s a few other dirt cheap bikes that cosmetically look like junk in my area but I know nothing of motorcycle maintenance to see if they’d run well. If anyone around here knows a bit about buying/owning older bikes, I’d appreciate some tips on what to look for.
