Newb question...........

101110101101 · Apr 12, 2016

So.. I have most of the toys I enjoy, but I am lacking a bike of any kind (dirt or street). Here's the deal:

- I have NEVER driven a motorbike.... EVER. (I'll take a course)
- I'm considering getting a street bike... and need advice.
- I have zero experience, I am 5'10, 210lbs...

What would be a decent starter bike, for someone like me? How many CCs should I be looking for? With my sled I had a 600 for one season and quickly upgraded to an 800 the following season. I'd like to avoid that if I buy a bike, and possibly buy something I could grow in to.

My budget is low (here is one general example) 2006 Suzuki Bandit - $2500 OBO | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

I don't actually like that bike, but it is the right price.... It does not have to be a sport bike... there are many styles I like the look of, but I feel too small for a Harley or the like.

I'm back to looking at Kijiji now

101110101101 · Apr 12, 2016

Another example..... 2004 Suzuki GSXR 600 | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

Would I be bored on a 600? Year two, would I be bored on a 600?

niner · Apr 12, 2016

The gsxr 600 is a very fast bike. One of my old employees just about donated all his organs from owning one.

101110101101 · Apr 12, 2016

niner said:
The gsxr 600 is a very fast bike. One of my old employees just about donated all his organs from owning one.

Okay.... sounds promising. Any brand that is leaps and bounds beyond another? Any I should avoid?

moyiesledhead · Apr 12, 2016

IMHO this is the best beginners learning bike there is. Light, low, and enough power to be fun but not get you into too much trouble. Started my daughter on this one last year and with the confidence a light low bike gave her she learned very fast. I'm about the same size as you and found it very comfortable.

2001 Suzuki Savage | street, cruisers, choppers | Cranbrook | Kijiji

orangerr · Apr 12, 2016

600 sportsbike takes a bit to grow out of. If you can wring it out in each gear while cornering etc then move on. Top speed from a 1000 is like 20 km different and take off about 1 second slower in quarter mile. Still beat every corvette out there. All basically comes down to looks and seating comfort. All are pretty close in performance.

Dragon4x4 · Apr 12, 2016

Well this is my first year of riding and I bought myself a nice little Triumph Street Triple 675. Bike is beautiful there is no crappy plastic on it it's more of a refined ride. The bike is more of an upright position your not hunched over really at all. Love it. If you got the flow, defiantly check the triumphs out.

101110101101 · Apr 13, 2016

Dragon4x4 said:
Well this is my first year of riding and I bought myself a nice little Triumph Street Triple 675. Bike is beautiful there is no crappy plastic on it it's more of a refined ride. The bike is more of an upright position your not hunched over really at all. Love it. If you got the flow, defiantly check the triumphs out.

I had actually checked out a couple.. they are nice. Do you have a link to yours? (or a reasonable facsimile)?

Dragon4x4 · Apr 13, 2016

I done have a link for mine. Just google it. I would say the street triple is more like a performance diesel lol. The torque this bike has is unreal it's not snappy at all just really smooth with a pile of power if you want it.
I picked mine up from Bentley Motorrad in kelowna. We drove past two dealers just to buy from them. They were fantastic, they had the best price around 1K cheaper than the dealers here in Edmonton and Calgary, and who doesn't like a drive to Kelowna. We just got back two weeks ago and bought another one from them. Tried to chat to the guys at echo and crow foot but again they are more expensive and they just seem to have the "oil buyers well if they don't buy it at this price someone else will" mentality.

nathan#19 · Apr 13, 2016

Honda CBR 600 is what I recommend. My first bike was a CBR and it's really calm , predictable power if you drive it like a car and shift at 2-3000 rpm. I had it for a year and one day wondered why the tach went to 14000rpm.....it scared me and almost drove off without me. Haha. Buy one with a good chain and sprockets and good tires and don't even look at the odometer. It's Honda reliability. They are cheap with a few km on them.

ducati · Apr 18, 2016

A 600 sportbike is not a real beginner bike in my opinion, they are a true weapon. That being said it really all comes down to your right hand, if you can stay out of the throttle and handle clutching properly you could ride any bike. If you are a true beginner stay away from a true 600 sportbike and look at something a little tamer. Big difference between the 600 in a Gixxer versus say a 650 Ninja. CC's are not a big hint as to the true power delivery of the engine.

I used to coach track riding and saw alot of people on bikes that could get them in way over their heads very quickly.

Personally i would look at a nice naked bike like a Ducati Monster, Yamaha FZ, etc... if you are looking at on road only or a nice V-strom, BMW GS or the like if you want to dual sport. The naked bike will be a much better road bike than a sport bike as they are slightly more comfortable however they do give some added wind due to no fairings. I loved sport bikes until i rode on the track then i fell out of love with riding them on the road as they are much more at home flying around a track dragging knees.

Honestly if you aren't buying something like a 300 or 500 you won't outgrow the bike very quickly. Most bikes are more than capable of blowing away a quick car in acceleration and can blow past legal riding very fast.

Just my $.02

101110101101 · Apr 18, 2016

ducati said:
A 600 sportbike is not a real beginner bike in my opinion, they are a true weapon. That being said it really all comes down to your right hand, if you can stay out of the throttle and handle clutching properly you could ride any bike. If you are a true beginner stay away from a true 600 sportbike and look at something a little tamer. Big difference between the 600 in a Gixxer versus say a 650 Ninja. CC's are not a big hint as to the true power delivery of the engine.

I used to coach track riding and saw alot of people on bikes that could get them in way over their heads very quickly.

Personally i would look at a nice naked bike like a Ducati Monster, Yamaha FZ, etc... if you are looking at on road only or a nice V-strom, BMW GS or the like if you want to dual sport. The naked bike will be a much better road bike than a sport bike as they are slightly more comfortable however they do give some added wind due to no fairings. I loved sport bikes until i rode on the track then i fell out of love with riding them on the road as they are much more at home flying around a track dragging knees.

Honestly if you aren't buying something like a 300 or 500 you won't outgrow the bike very quickly. Most bikes are more than capable of blowing away a quick car in acceleration and can blow past legal riding very fast.

Just my $.02

Appreciate all the time it took you to respond, and love the response. The one thing I *am* good at, is staying off the throttle.... so I don't mind having more power than I need, and can "grow into" later. I'm old/tame these days.... I think I'd prefer a sport bike only because of the more forward riding position, not really for the speed of them.

I was just on Kijiji looking actually.

I like so many kinds of bikes... Need a lottery ticket

S.W.A.T. · Apr 18, 2016

I have had bikes too. The forward ride is nice for quick trips but crotch rockets are not greatf or distance riding. Trust me there are way morec comfortable ways to travel. I started with a R6 because I thought a 1000 was going to he too much. Less then a year later I wish I had gone bigger. Everything is based on the individual though. I am a persont that is always testing limits, I have a tremendous amount of respect for speed and the various dangers in every activity I take part in but I do like to push the envelope. That being said 0-60 just about all bikes are the same, yes there is exceptions but not huge difference. 600's are plenty fast but I found they lack size, if your a big guy I would go bigger bike just for comfort reasons. Just remember to make friends with your right hand not enemies.

Lem Lamb · Apr 18, 2016

Why not street/ gravel road. V-strom 650, klr, or dr 650 so you can check the trails and ride to work or on the hwys. Kinda the 50/50 thing as this segment of dual-sport riding is growing fast.

I did a Ontario to BC trip on a V for 4 months, then a Canada and USA trip for a year on a klr.

Good learning bikes that will take you where you want to go.

Pal Lem

ducati · Apr 19, 2016

101110101101 said:
Appreciate all the time it took you to respond, and love the response. The one thing I *am* good at, is staying off the throttle.... so I don't mind having more power than I need, and can "grow into" later. I'm old/tame these days.... I think I'd prefer a sport bike only because of the more forward riding position, not really for the speed of them.

I was just on Kijiji looking actually. I like so many kinds of bikes... Need a lottery ticket

Check out the naked segment or maybe even the sport touring segment if you like the more forward style but still want comfort and ease of visibility in traffic (really aggressive sport bikes are more difficult to look at your surroundings). I have done some really long rides (Calgary to Salt Lake City in 2 days) on a Ducati 999R and i will not be rushing to do that again anytime soon. When you get too far forward your wrists, lower back and knees take all of the punishment. The naked and sport tourers give you that more forward feel but sit you up just enough to distribute the weight elsewhere.

Happy Hunting! Honestly any bike that gets you on the road and enjoying the lifestyle is the right bike.

Here are a couple i checked on Kijiji quickly this morning:

Ducati S2R Monster | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

2014 Ducati Monster 1200 Like New | sport touring | Calgary | Kijiji

2014/15 KTM 690 DUKE BELOW COST BLOWOUT | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

2014 APRILIA SHIVER 750 ABS with extras | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

YAMAHA FZ-07 | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-touring/calgary/bmw-f800st/1099392387?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

101110101101 · Apr 20, 2016

ducati said:
Check out the naked segment or maybe even the sport touring segment if you like the more forward style but still want comfort and ease of visibility in traffic (really aggressive sport bikes are more difficult to look at your surroundings). I have done some really long rides (Calgary to Salt Lake City in 2 days) on a Ducati 999R and i will not be rushing to do that again anytime soon. When you get too far forward your wrists, lower back and knees take all of the punishment. The naked and sport tourers give you that more forward feel but sit you up just enough to distribute the weight elsewhere.

Happy Hunting! Honestly any bike that gets you on the road and enjoying the lifestyle is the right bike.

Here are a couple i checked on Kijiji quickly this morning:

Ducati S2R Monster | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

2014 Ducati Monster 1200 Like New | sport touring | Calgary | Kijiji

2014/15 KTM 690 DUKE BELOW COST BLOWOUT | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

2014 APRILIA SHIVER 750 ABS with extras | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

YAMAHA FZ-07 | sport bikes | Calgary | Kijiji

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-touring/calgary/bmw-f800st/1099392387?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

I like every bike there really.... especially the Ducati(s).

Lund · Apr 20, 2016

Wife and i both ride BMW F650gs and love them. They are very easy to ride and extremely comfy for the long haul. In fact mine has gone all the way to Argentina and back.
We are currently getting ready to ride the Dempster in July all the way to Inuvik. If your looking for some adventure, you can't go wrong here.

Joholio · Apr 20, 2016

IMO Get on a dirt bike first and learn the basics of body position, balance, starting, stopping, turning, off camber corners, and get good before heading out into traffic. Lots of new drivers, texters, idiots, etc to worry about, let alone heading out with no skills.

101110101101 · Apr 20, 2016

Joholio said:
IMO Get on a dirt bike first and learn the basics of body position, balance, starting, stopping, turning, off camber corners, and get good before heading out into traffic. Lots of new drivers, texters, idiots, etc to worry about, let alone heading out with no skills.

No thanks... no oil and gas money here to buy multiple toys. I'll take a course, and that will simply have to do. You sound a little like Rachel Notley... "Can't afford the carbon tax? Buy a new car!"

uh huh.

Appreciate the tip, but not a financial reality. I'll be buying one bike.

Lund · Apr 20, 2016

To add to my last post, here is the thing, like Joel said lots of assswhips now days out there and bikes in general are deadly in an accident.
One of the biggest reason we got into dual sport adventure bikes. Both wife and i rode road bikes in the past, crotch rockets and cruisers and got tired of the BS on the road. Way to nerve racking for us, a nice pleasant afternoon ride at times turned into crap.
Now we aren't stuck to main roads and highways, in fact we during the summer plan day trip's and weekenders using secondary and low usage roads to travel. We see way more stuff and scenery and its way more pleasant to ride. You can travel pretty much anywhere using strictly secondary roads and IMO adds to riding.
This is something that heavy cruiser and certain sports bikes don't do very well. my 2cents

BTW i don't mean dirt roads. Old roads before major highways were put in.

Newb question...........

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