Thoughts on first motorcycle

[sacandagalady]

Hey guys...Been riding my 2001 Beo 150 for three years now and decided to go the "next" step and try a motorcycle. I tried out my friend's 2007 Suzuki GZ 250, which he will probably sell this fall and at a real good price. I had had no experience as far as shifting, read up on it, and got it into 3rd gear quite easily in a parking lot. The balance and turning certainly carried over from the Beo. It is probably just over 300 pounds, lighter than the 350 the Beo has and lower to the ground. I basically want it for tooling around with no real long distance rides. I would be taking it on the highway occasionally (no high traffic areas) and going around 65 mph.

I can't afford to spend anything over $2,000 for a used bike. Will I get totally bored with this in no time or would a 250cc bike be okay for awhile. I am an older woman, 5'8" 160 pounds.

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Tom, thanks in advance for all you do for all of us on this board.

[Rockynv]

They are a nice bike and seem to hold up well at the local MSF course. The seat was comfortable even after two 8 hour days at the MSF Riders Course. I find them a bit hot compared to a scooter with all the heat coming straight up at you. It was 113 degrees at the training grounds when I took the course here in Tampa Bay Florida however in NY the heat coming from the engine may not matter so much or could even be helpfull on a brisk day.

If your need is 65 mph then the 250 should be able to do that with room for 20 mph or so more. I am about 250 lbs and ride the interstate regularly on my Sport City 250 and have no problem keeping up the the 75 mph zones.

[tomd]

the 250 will get boring pretty quik unless its Rs 250 Aprilia you could prolly get a 550-650 in that range adult driven by someone that mustve 750 or better shop hard 2
k should git you something nice

[klaviator]

You might get bored with a 250 and you might not. It depends on you. If you are not interested in going fast, a 250 will be fine. It will be a step up in performance from your 150. If you get a used bike at a good price, you really have nothing to lose since you should be able to sell it again at the same price if you decide to go bigger in the future. On the other hand, if you get t0o big of a bike, it may intimidate you and you won't enjoy it. I have seen many riders, men and women, riding bikes too big for them although they will seldom admit it. I have owned many bikes including a 1200 and a couple of 1100s. The bike I ride the most right now is Sport City 250. Small is often more fun.

[tomd]

I agree totaly and Why Im saying like the 650 range its the most common size Buis those lil things now must weigh in at nuttin shouldve full size 17-19 tires etc erryting you want just buy it for the thing no re inventing anything .. Do you wanna carry shiet? besides a backpack?

[sacandagalady]

They are a nice bike and seem to hold up well at the local MSF course. The seat was comfortable even after two 8 hour days at the MSF Riders Course. I find them a bit hot compared to a scooter with all the heat coming straight up at you. It was 113 degrees at the training grounds when I took the course here in Tampa Bay Florida however in NY the heat coming from the engine may not matter so much or could even be helpful on a brisk day.

If your need is 65 mph then the 250 should be able to do that with room for 20 mph or so more. I am about 250 lbs and ride the interstate regularly on my Sport City 250 and have no problem keeping up the the 75 mph zones.

Rocky, Klaviator, and Tom,

Thanks for all of the input you have given me. It makes me feel okay about buying the 250cc rather than passing it on up. If I was riding year round I could justify something else, but these northern parts of NY cool off quite quickly and the year for riding comfortably is short. As you said Rocky, the heat from the bike may just help a bit, which is really okay with me. The other morning was about 37 when I headed to work and 77 when I got out!

The GZ is the bike they use up here for classes too, so finding one at any given time is a bit easier than finding some of the other less frequently used bikes. Klaviator, I really don't enjoy going faster and zooming around, so I'm thinking too this will be right and something bigger might be, as you say, more unenjoyable. You are right, I can always sell it down the line if I want something bigger and more powerful.

Tom, finding an Aprilia up these parts is pretty unusual with only a smattering of folks seeming to own them. It might be due to lack of dealers in this area. There are just none around and even finding someone to work on the Beo is a bit rough too, but fortunately I found someone who services them along with Piaggio and Vespa.

[spacetiger]

I am partial to Honda engineering and parts availability. Based on your description, I would say either of these 2 bikes might be what you are looking for:

1982 Honda CM450A: These can be found for ~1,500; take care of it and you will get your purchase price back. Low seating height, easy to work on.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-...0396b786#v4-49

1978 Honda CB400A Hondamatic: Older version of the bike above. Smaller displacement, but about the same.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...84.m1423.l2648

If you want to shift, then go for the manual shifting version of these bikes. Let us know what you do?

Jerry

[Rockynv]

The MSF folks had both the Honda and Suzuki 250's and they prefered the Suzuki's for durability. They warned students on the Honda's to go easy on the shifters as the shaft was only about the size of a pencil and prone to bending if you rode it too aggressively.

[spacetiger]

true enough on the 250's. I think bigger is the better way to go (400 cc) for 1st bike, otherwise, I'd say get a SC 250 scooter.

[tomd]

or the Night hawk series my bud just got un I diint ewven know they still made his a 750 Four thing inline red pretty nyce look to .things used to come from 250 -900 i thought nighthawk ..

[tomd]

nooo a RS 250 would come from somewhere else and you buy someone out of bike and spares but thats real serious stuff a real rs series looks like ur headed to le mans for the w/e peeps would be fekkin witcha erry turn not a commuter get to work bike you mite never stop for work.. If you want to just ride and do nuttin get a Asian bike .. one thats planted surely here in usa .. with parts n peeps Who can DO not just talk bout racing and repairs with pracing horses n bulls and wht not the Ital stuff youre buying into a lifestyle kinda .. like old guys n Corvettes they make their Own races n rules etc clothing and all that shiet I dont usually Buy ibto communities of this crap..

[garciawork]

I started on a 250cc dual sport, moved to a ninja 650, then a triumph bonneville, and now I have a Sportcity 250. I may get another ninja at some point... the girlfriend is a big fan of 2-up, but at 23 and being male, I really don't see the need for more than 250cc's unless you plan on a lot of 2-up riding. If I saw a honda rebel for sale cheap in these parts... not sure I could turn it down. A LOT more fun to ride a small bike hard then baby a big bike to keep it legal.

[tomd]

yes rebel or nightHawk hings I see em all time in really gr8 shape But I woild at least like to Have Efi But thats so easy to retrofit now mite not be such an issue ..

[sacandagalady]

yes rebel or nightHawk hings I see em all time in really gr8 shape But I woild at least like to Have Efi But thats so easy to retrofit now mite not be such an issue ..

So, here is what took place...My friend whose Suzuki 250 GZ I was going to get fell through, and I found a really nice 1995 Honda Shadow 600 VLX instead. It has 25,000 miles on it and looks in real nice shape. I did get to ride the 250 GZ last night and went through all the gears and had it up to 50 on a back road. I am still a bit panicked about learning on a 450 pound motorcycle like the Shadow, but everyone says I will do fine.

Thanks to all of you for all your suggestions and ideas. I sure hope there are Honda forums as good as this one and as helpful.

I hope to keep the Beo at this point and still enjoy all it offers, especially the top box for carrying stuff around and the pleasure it gives everytime I get on it!

[tomd]

Nyce setup it'll take Bags too. No prob. Its a lil heavy for tite work But who thee hell does that on cruiser. Very comfortable laid back riding You 'll do gr8