[Jeff in Kentucky]

I would stay away from the 600cc Honda Shadow VLX cruiser for a beginner- they were last made in 2007 and the clutch is a little tricky for a beginner (I have one I bought new in 2002). Also, the 1999 to 2007 single carb model needs rejetting to have decent takeoff power- a beginner stalls it easily when taking off, the steering is heavy at slow speeds for the more chopper looking forks, and the stock seat is terrible.

Air cooled engines except maybe a scooter get hot at stoplights on a hot summer day and the hot air goes up toward you, and they have less power at 75 mph compared to water cooled engines. This includes the 500cc Buell Blast, the 500cc Suzuki, the 650cc Suzuki S40, and the 500cc Royal Enfield.

For a beginner, I would look at the 250cc Suzuki cruiser with fuel injection, a 250cc Kawasaki Ninja, the 500cc Kawasaki Ninja or Vulcan, a 250cc to 500cc Kymco scooter, a 250cc to 500cc Yamaha scooter, or a 500cc Piaggio scooter. You can get by with more weight for a scooter, because the weight is lower than for a motorcycle, and not having to use a manual clutch makes it easier at parking lot speeds. The only 250cc that does well at 75 mph with no passenger is the 250cc Ninja.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

You will probably fit well on a 250cc Kawasaki Ninja, but you really need to sit on several bikes for a half hour at a time before buying one.

The retail price for a new 250 Ninja is about $4,000- see the NADA book value for a used one. When the price of gasoline goes up, dealers do not negotiate the price much for their smaller bikes, and negotiate the price more for their gas hogs. I found it is best to call dealers- they will negotiate more over the phone, to get you in the door. Shop around for insurance- the price varies a lot.

You may want to buy the footpeg relocators from cyclecontrol.com and different handlebars for long trips for a 6′-1″ tall person, if you buy a 2008 or newer 250 Ninja. I would also consider adding a gel pad on top of the stock seat, to make it taller and softer for long trips. Shorter people often cut some foam off the bottom of the stock seat foam then put the stock seat cover back on, so their feet reach the pavement easier.

These are good soft saddlebags for a reasonable cost:
http://www.sporttour.com/luggage/cortech/saddle_bags_sport.htm

[Jeff in Kentucky]

The few times I rode over 100mph years ago, what amazed me was the wind and vibration trying to pull my hands off the grips- I have a small National Cycle brand windshield added that helps a lot for a bike with no fairings over 50 mph, with tall handlebars. The quality of the clear or tinted plastic is better from this company, for a reasonable price.

Also, the speed that telephone poles go by on the edge of road compared to a normal speed seems a lot different. I only did this a few times on long straight roads that I knew well in rural areas, with no driveways and no police around and no other traffic.

I was foolish enough to take some smooth corners on my 1978 650 Yamaha until the frame or exhaust pipe scraped the ground, in posted 35 mph corners at 60 mph, and one time in the early 1980s in my 1972 Plymouth Barracuda I slowly built up over several tries to 85 mph in a 35 mph corner so that all 4 wider than stock tires were sliding but I stayed on the road barely, then gave up going this fast. Now, I never go over 85 mph, and only to pass sooner on 4 lane highways when the car in front of me is going 65-70 in a 70 mph zone.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

A tall person fits well on a 250cc or 400cc supermoto, but their narrow seats are not comfortable for long trips, and the 250cc supermotos are best at 65 mph or below. The 400cc Suzuki supermoto has a very good suspension, but it is a lot more expensive than a 250cc or 500cc Kawasaki Ninja with their lower budget suspensions and wider, more comfortable seats.

The 650cc KLR Kawasaki dual sport is good for people with long legs for long trips, but it is a little too heavy to be the best beginner bike, although the amount of power from its single cylinder engine is good for a beginner. It also costs a lot more than the 250cc Ninja, to pay for its better suspension.

For other bikes, it is best to move the stock handlebar ends higher or get different handlebars, and buy a kit to move the footpegs more forward to fit long legs better.

Before buying any bike, have someone hold it up for you while you sit on it with both feet on the footpegs for half an hour, to get an idea of how comfortable it will be for you on long trips.

If you buy the most recommended for beginners 2008 or newer 250cc Kawasaki Ninja, adjust the handlebar ends higher and go to cyclecontrol.com for a footpeg relocation kit. When you get these relocators, switch sides for them and put them upside down, so they put the footpegs lower and more forward for long legs, instead of the standard way for higher and more rearward footpegs better for racing. I think the water cooled 500cc Ninja is good for taller or heavier beginners, but it has older styling.

I am not fond of the 500cc Suzuki- its air cooled engine is sometimes hard to start, and it is quite low on power at 75 mph, worse than the water cooled 250cc Ninja, but it does have a modern sportbike look with side fairings. I recommend Denso or NGK iridium spark plugs for it, so it starts easier.

My previous air cooled 650cc Yamaha was not fun at stoplights on a hot summer day, with a lot of heat coming up toward you from the engine.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

No motorcycle will overheat at 75 mph unless it has a problem with the cooling system- leaking coolant, bad thermostat, bad water pump or oil pump, blocked radiator or cooling fins, etc. Air cooled engines could overheat creeping along in a traffic jam on a hot day, or in a parade, and generally air cooled engines wear out faster, but are lighter and simpler.

The 250cc and 500cc Kawasaki Ninjas are water cooled, and will go 75 mph all day, except for a lot of weight added to the 250 (like a 250 pound + rider) going up a big hill, but you will still probably go up the hills faster than the heaviest trucks with trailers.

The biggest problems with the 250 Ninja is that a passenger is not comfortable, bigger bikes will beat it on a race track with a skilled rider, and if ridden hard all the time (high rpms) the engine often wears out at 60,000 miles. Its 95 mph top speed is fine for the street. Also, many people have too much ego to ride a bike with a narrow back tire like the 250 Ninja has, and the pre-2008 250 Ninja has an older look and fewer tire choices.

See the recommended reading on the right side of this page for more good bike choices for a beginner on the street.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

“I think learning to ride on a dirt bike is the way to go, as far as getting used to operating a motorcycle. But like others have said, dirt and street riding are about as different as they can be as far as techniques.”
by Serial Thriller

“I have rode dirt and raced MX for 26 of my 34 years before starting street riding. I think dirt riding definitely helps you as far as the skills required to actually ride. But dirt riding also is usually more aggressive — the general mentality of my MX racing buddies is if you don’t crash occasionally you aren’t trying hard enough.

Bring that mentality to the street and you will have a short riding career.”

by johnnycrash

[Jeff in Kentucky]

Below is the story of a guy crossing the US on a 50cc scooter:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/vandyck/001330.php

[Jeff in Kentucky]

Welcome to this little forum. It has a small but interesting number of regular posters, mostly trying to help out new riders.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

My AVG free virus software cleaned up this site automatically in about 3 seconds, for my PC running Mozilla Firefox- I’m not sure it would work as well with Internet “Exploder”.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

125cc two-stroke or 250cc four-stroke are the minimums for 75 mph riding with a reasonable amount of passing power still left. The 250cc Kawasaki Ninja has a top speed of about 95 mph, with no passenger and a rider that weighs 200 pounds or less.

With a passenger, the safest minimum for 75 mph would be a 400cc Suzuki Supermoto, although the narrow seat would be rough after about 35 miles, or the 500cc Suzuki or Kawasaki.

In China, a lot of people ride across the country on 50cc scooters, but there is a lot of other slow traffic besides them. A few do the same here on the more rural roads, with some added risk from tailgaters and road rage.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

I rode dirt bikes from 8 to 16 years old, and my first street bike was a 1978 Yamaha XS650 that I rode from 1980 to 1985 (the power was similar to a newer 500cc Kawasaki Ninja). I considered buying a new Honda 500cc Ascot in 1982, but I decided to save my money for college instead. 1982 was a lot like 2009, with new bikes sitting for years on dealer showrooms because of a recession.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

I kept my first street bike for 5 years, and sold it because I needed the money to pay for college tuition, while keeping a $200 car to drive.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

A little more battery info-

A battery will lose 1% of its charge per day just sitting there doing nothing. Trickle charge the battery at least once a month if the bike is not ridden. Most motorcycle batteries only last 2 to 3 years.

I have found that it is best to use a 1 Amp or smaller trickle charger. Most motorcycle batteries are small and just can’t take a high rate of charge.

When you start the engine, you need to have the engine faster than idle for at least half an hour, to get the battery charge back to where it was before starting the engine.

most of this is from http://www.dansmc.com/batteries.htm

[Jeff in Kentucky]

I do not start the engine unless I am going to ride the bike 20 miles to more fully charge the battery. My last Walmart battery lasted 7 years. I think it was partly luck. I replaced the original battery after a year, but it turned out to be a problem with the auto fuel valve stuck closed instead of the battery.

I do not use a battery charger, except to fully charge a new battery before installing it according to the battery directions, and the longest I go without riding in the winter is one month, because it gets below 40 degrees F for a daily high temperature.

Also check the tightness of the battery terminals- sometimes they get loose from vibration and cause battery problems. I added stainless steel lockwashers at the battery terminals when I replaced the battery.

Another trick is to put some red plastic spray can narrow tube extensions under the terminal nuts when installing a new battery, to make it easier to start threading the terminal bolts in from above, then remove these tubes afterwards.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

The Kawasaki KLR 650 costs less than those other bikes he mentioned, and is better for gravel and dirt roads.

The Suzuki Bandit 1250 costs more and has more power, and is best on pavement and is not for gravel or dirt.

The Suzuki DL650 is in the middle for price, is best on pavement but has some ability on gravel and dirt, and has looks that many do not like.

A lot of people like the Suzuki SV650 or Kawasaki 650R/Versys that are more for pavement and less for dirt.

A beginner is probably best off buying a 250cc or 500cc Kawasaki Ninja, or a scooter to save more money, and moving up to more power and more weight after at least a few thousand miles of street experience.

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