New Rider questions. Bike Guys Please Chime In

For a pure commuter bike, I'd get a Suzuki DL650. It's similar to the Kawi pictured above but uses the 650cc v-twin from the SV650 which has been a great selling bike for years, i.e. parts are cheap and plentiful should you need them which you likely won't as it's proven to be near doggone bulletproof.

It's a bit more street oriented vs. off-road, it's not really a true dual-sport. Big, mushy, comfy seat. Good wind protection. Options for top-box and saddle boxes. Good gas mileage, around 50 mpg.

My $.02.

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Originally Posted by CJREX

Edit: DON'T go buy a new one. This is your first real bike so it IS going to be dropped. Check your local craigslist and find a good used one for less than half what a new one costs. Ride it a while to gain experience and then decide if you want to spend the $$$ for a new one. A quick check of the local dual sports found several low mile fairly new models for <$3000.

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I agree with this as well. Sooooo many reliable bikes under 3k.

Carb vs FI is personal preference. Yes carb is easier to work on if something does go wrong but the big thing is FI on bikes rarely has problems once the systems have been around for a couple years. Every bike me, my dad or my friends have owned with carbs have needed work almost every other year. Carb cleaning, rebuilding or adjusting. The nice thing about FI is that it will automatically adjust itself regardless of altitude, temp or humidity. Out of me, my dad and my 6 close friends who have had bikes with FI not one has needed work on the FI system. I have owned 3 cbrs with FI ranging from 5kmiles to 35k miles.

As for the size of the bike you need to sit on some bikes and if possible ride some. You need to find out what fits you well and what you are willing to deal with. R6, r1, RRs, gsxr will all be smaller, bent over riding position. I am 6'3" 195lbs and I was fine on 600s and 1000s but that doesn't mean you will be. I used to take 200-500 mile rides and I was fine, just bought a corbin seat.

The klr650 is a nice bike for cruising and a little trail riding but it is not a serious bike for any one specific thing therefore it doesnt do anything really good. Just everything ok. The big one cylinder 650 cc leaves alot to be desired when riding on the freeway IMO.

If you are not buying a bike for speed or to go fast its kind of pointless to get a full out sport bike. Sport touring or a sporty cruiser are still quite fast but more comfy. Like a honda VFR-800 v4 v-tec DOHC 800cc bike, very comfy and still quick.
SV650, 1000. Lots of comfy bikes that can still haul ass.

Since this is your first bike pick up something cheap and reliable. One of my cbr600f4is i paid 1800 for, body was scratched, cracked but it ran and rode good which was all that mattered.

Heres 1800 dollar cbr600

Attachment 23196

Here is the same bike with a new body

Attachment 23197

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Originally Posted by RedSuperSport

I traded my busa for my SS I'm 5'9" 170, as big as you are you won't enjoy a small cramped bike such as any bike 1000cc's down to a 600, Suzuki 500cc or a 650f are set up a little different, with a more straight up sitting position so you will be more comfortable on them then the straight sportbike, unless you get a busa or zx1400.

Both the big bore bikes, the busa and zx1400 are more sport touring, and are very comfortable, I sold my 07 cbr1000rr for the busa because of how uncomfortable the 1000 was.

Any bike can kill you, a busa is no more dangerous than a ninja 250 if you ride responsibly, if you cant do that than a busa is very dangerous, your talking 90 in first gear with the top speed limited to 186, and take it from someone who been there, it doesn't take long to reach that speed, its all in the rider, you will find the busa very stable comfortable, the small bikes don't feel as close to as stable as the big bikes even at highway speed

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I agree soo much with this bike, the bike i started on was my buddies 600, which was ok for around town but anything over 30 miles i found myself cramped and stiff, granted im not a small nor huge guy but 5-11 and 210, but it was still good to learn on, then another buddy went overseas and left me his 954 to take care of and ride, and i liked the feel of it 10x better and could ride longer distances but still didnt have the true comfort feel to it, then i bought my ex's dad's hayabusa, and loved it, i mainly bought it for making the commute to see her which was a 5 hr drive, which i could make with one stop for fuel and stretch out, but the bigger bike at interstate speeds noticeably drifted/shimmied less when going around a truck or anything with a noticeable draft.

Yea the bigger bike may seem intimidating and all but like anyone on here has said you can hurt yourself on anything its all about how you respect it and technique, all of which can be greatly improved with courses and practice. I have yet to lay one down, but i started on dirtbikes which was a good way to get a feel for 2 wheels, but just like the respect it thing, i started on a YZ 490 two stroke, which is a beast and a half but as you get comfortable with it you can push it a bit further.

personally i wouldnt go for anything less than a literbike just for the comfort aspect of it

My old busa, loved that bike, most comfortable bike I ever rode

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Raced a 700rwhp green 5th Gen ss with that bike, left him like he was standing still

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How long is your commute? What kind of roads? How old are? Sport bikes get really uncomfortable really fast. I would suggest a Honda VTX1300 or similar. Very comfortable. You can put bags and a windshield on it and actually enjoy your trip. There a zillion of these available so price should not be an issue. They have been very dependable, hop on some vtx forum and nose around. Find one on craigslist near you and go sit on it, preferably after sitting on a sport bike. I am same size as you and I commuted 35 miles each way on my Kawasaki Meanstreak 1500 in total comfort (bags and shield) and got 44 mpg with it. Just my $ 0.02.

Jon

A busa with soupys risers new edge seat and the buell peg mod is as comfortable as any cruiser ever thought of being, its not your average sport bike, I have lots of buddy's who are 60 years old that ride their busa's on iron butt rides 1500 plus mile commutes for fun

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This was it when i first bought the busa


http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._1944137_n.jpg


then the gf laid it over when we were teaching her to ride, now it looks like this.....


http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/c...01207-1507.jpg


now hes got 2 2011 busa's and the choppers plus all the odd n end ones hes made/acquired.....

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/c...7/IMAG0218.jpg

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Originally Posted by jfl330

How long is your commute? What kind of roads? How old are? Sport bikes get really uncomfortable really fast. I would suggest a Honda VTX1300 or similar. Very comfortable. You can put bags and a windshield on it and actually enjoy your trip. There a zillion of these available so price should not be an issue. They have been very dependable, hop on some vtx forum and nose around. Find one on craigslist near you and go sit on it, preferably after sitting on a sport bike. I am same size as you and I commuted 35 miles each way on my Kawasaki Meanstreak 1500 in total comfort (bags and shield) and got 44 mpg with it. Just my $ 0.02.

Jon

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I'm 33, my commute is about 20 miles to and from the airfield everyday on main roads. Nothing really rough depending on which route I take. I've spotted a few 600's, 650's and a really nice 750S for 3K. Gotta get this basic riders course and safety course finished, close on my house in a couple of weeks and then pull the trigger on something.

Why not a 400 or 450 SM? :) Dirt bike style with good handling, great MPGs, and fun as shit on back (paved) roads. :) You will leave most sport bikes in the dust because they cant ride for shit. lol

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Originally Posted by TLS_Addict

Why not a 400 or 450 SM? :) Dirt bike style with good handling, great MPGs, and fun as shit on back (paved) roads. :) You will leave most sport bikes in the dust because they cant ride for shit. lol

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I'd love to get a ktm 450, my bud had a 450 dirt bike and that thing was a beast. He weighs a good 300+ and that thing would lift the front tire in the dirt in 4th (it was only a 4 speed). a six speed 450 sm would be pretty sweet

A Suzuki 450 would be freaking awesome to have!

Ya know, he is a new rider but a standard like a CB1000 or a ZRX1100 (ZRX1200 is a lot snappier) would be great too and are decently priced. Or go with a mid-late 80s Honda 750 and just be done with it. lol Or even the 80s Yamaha Maxims, the Maxim X was a sweet ride at over 100 hp. :)

I went back to the Lemon Lot and sat on a GS500F and a Z750 S. The 500 sempt a lil small but I could live with it, the 750 S was a better fit and over all in better condition. I'll probably try a couple more out to get a better idea of what suits me. I'm still set on staying within a m limits as a newb rider and once I get through the basic riders course I'll have a pretty good idea of what will be sufficient. Thanks again all

Look Bro, no sport bike will be comfortable for anyone 6 feet.
Go to a few shops, let em take a look at you, they will stick your butt onto a few models of theirs.
Find one that feels comfortable to be on and that one will be best for you since your a nubie.
Be careful as most bike accidents aren't the biker's fault.
As much as I love my WS6, my quote still stands. " four wheels moves your body, two wheels moves your soul"
Keep your head on a swivel when your up on two, look for escape paths when your in traffic and have fun in traffic jams.
The ONE NICE THING ABOUT CA. is bikers can split lanes.........

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Originally Posted by Nowhereman

As much as I love my WS6, my quote still stands. " four wheels moves your body, two wheels moves your soul"

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+1
My car is waayy faster than my bike but the feeling on a bike is a completely different experience

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Originally Posted by Nowhereman

Look Bro, no sport bike will be comfortable for anyone 6 feet.
Go to a few shops, let em take a look at you, they will stick your butt onto a few models of theirs.
Find one that feels comfortable to be on and that one will be best for you since your a nubie.
Be careful as most bike accidents aren't the biker's fault.
As much as I love my WS6, my quote still stands. " four wheels moves your body, two wheels moves your soul"
Keep your head on a swivel when your up on two, look for escape paths when your in traffic and have fun in traffic jams.
The ONE NICE THING ABOUT CA. is bikers can split lanes.........

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I am 6"3" and rode 600s for years. Took all of them on smaller road trips 200-500 miles. Never had a problem but I am pretty flexable lol.

I agree that cars and bikes are completely different feeling. Even if your car and your bike ran the same 1/4mile at the same trap speed the feelings involved are different.

for me fuel injected will always be the way to go. yeah you can tune a carbed bike easier...but driveability wise...fuel injected.

i started out on a suzuki sv650 (i'm 6' 4" and at the time was about 205lbs). now i'm on a suzuki sv1000s (same height but yeah...damn near 230...that hurts to say that).

you may consider something like a honda vfr interceptor. they come in somewhere in the 700-900cc range. they're fuel injected, sport touring, and have a lot of options for luggage and are supposed to be amazingly comfortable for their class. something to think about if you are serious about this as a commuter bike (comfort and luggage options).

luggage wise, i always just rode with my backpack, for security of belongings, and bc it has an inner pocket for a mp3 with an audio jack on the shoulder strap coming from the inner pocket.... it was a wise choice after i lost a ipod touch and watched my phone fall outa my pocket and explode on the pavement....

6'3" here at 230 lbs.
I ride a highly modified FLSTF of 98 vintage. (I wouldn't trade or sell her for anything)
I also built a nasty ass bar hopper that I take out only on bluebird days; (perfect riding weather)
Even on a big ole HD guys my size dwarf it.
Get something that fits you and doesn't make you look like a monkey screwing a football.