Stupid rain! 20 days a year it rains in AZ, and its gotta rain on the week i buy my bike?! :shakes head:

Currently own a crf450x and I steal my dads Grom a lot. Trying to figure out if i should street legalize my dirt bike or find a cheap used 250 for around town. Suggestions?

[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5609/...127a50e51b.jpgUntitled by shaunscottt22514, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3941/...cf8e611923.jpgUntitled by shaunscottt22514, on Flickr[/IMG]

I would look into enduros. My boss just sold his KTM 625 for a little over 2 grand, and that was a really fun bike. Little sketchy for the freeway, but around town, its awesome. When i was looking, i found all kinds of great deals on bike for right around 3K for R6's, GSXR 600's, and older ZX6R's. If i were you, i would buy a sport bike for like 3 grand. You can find a great deal if you have that much to spend.

Yeah there are tons of them for cheap. Don't think I'm looking for a bike that fast though, will get myself into too much trouble! Already have too many tickets in the Z lol. Man the new scrambler Ducati looks awesome though :yum:

miss the good ol days

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=3&theater

let me know if you can see that or not. I just made it public.

Road America circa 2004 ish, on a GSXR750 with what I later found out to be a bad rectifier causing it to bog down and lose power. I could catch up in corners but got killed by everything in the straights that day :(

Hey guys, I'm starting to get interested in buying a starter bike. I have already spoke with the motorcycle safety course to get trained and do it right! I have never ridden a bike but just a small scooter around the roads of my friends home. Any suggestions, I hear anything from the 250/300 to a full 600. I also am leaning more used unless it was a new ninja 300. I went to the dealer and they are trying to push the old '14's off of their floor. I also worry I might not ride it a lot if I find I enjoy my car more. Still want to try it and don't know whats the best options here for a beginner. Ive been looking at craigslist etc at all sorts of sport style bikes. Your thoughts would be great! thanks.

aaaaaaah the good ol' days! I think was at a couple of those with ya Jim. Not nearly enough though!! This was my '99 blue R1, Black Hawk Farms prolly around 2004/2005 I guess

The Motor Bike Safety Course is a good idea. I always recommend it to anyone that want to ride. It's good cheap introduction/practice to bike riding. As for what kind of bike to buy, that depends on what you plan to do with it. That decision is much like buying a car. Do you wan to cruise around town in a chopper, float around in comfort in a Goldwing, or zoom about in a sport bike? I'm a sport bike guy myself. Buying used is a good idea. There are a lot of good bikes around for $3k and even more at $3.5k. I suggest you bring a buddy that knows a thing or two about bikes when you go take a look at a used bike. He can ride it and point things out. His insight may not only inform you of cons and pros of the bike but he may become the dominate representative in bargaining final prices. He will become the "expert" in the exchange and the seller is less likely to try and "cheat" you.

A good tip if you happen to be buying from a dealer is to bring jack stands. Since most places wont allow you to test ride unlike car dealers, you can at least run through the gears if you prop the bike up on stands.

I'm also a firm believer of gearing up. Get a nice cold (leather) and hot (mesh) riding gear. Always buy leather palmed gloves. Always wear gloves when you ride. The first thing you do when you go down is try to stabilize yourself with your hands. You do what to keep working hands don't you? Also make sure your shoe laces are firmly secured. You do not want you foot fulled into the moving parts. Always wear a fitting helmet (aka lid). Yes, even on hot as balls days. It's just a matter of time before you go down so gear up for it. Safety gear IMO is prepaid Insurance. You pay for it once and it's there to keep you safe.

Last but not least, RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE! Don't try too zoom up or take turns too fast because the guy in front of you did it. Be smart.

Keep the wheels down my riding friends.
YzGyz

I appreciate the advice. I am not worried about flying around town, I have 3 cars for that but I have always been somewhat interested in owning a "sport" bike for the feel and I like the looks. Im in my 30's now so im not looking to be an idiot on the street by any means. I have been looking hard at the Ninja 300 and Honda 300 or a used one of those, although they tend to be only a grand or so cheaper than a new one! I definitely would be buying proper safety gear right away. I don't want to go down and know Id rather save my body than just be stupid. I know with the road course you have to have gloves already and they provide the bike and helmet but you have to have jeans on and ankle coverage for shoes. I will keep everyone informed. I have been watching loads of youtube reviews and vlogs etc.

Good Deal mate.
Riding is fun. It's a whole new level of motor enjoyment. Driving an automatic transmission car can be fun given you have a nice car. Driving the same car with a manual transmission really changes the driving dynamics and feel. You get to rev the engine to a desired rpm, shift the gears, feel the clutch engage and disengage, feather the gas, shift during (or before the turn depending on what your trying to do), ect. Well on a bike, it's magnified 10x. You do all of those exact same things as a manual car except it happens faster, feel the wind, more power, the steering dynamics is wacked (counter turning when going fast to turn yet you turn into the turn while going slow), body positioning, weight pegs, and many more. You just become more involved when riding.

Ohh I forgot to add that you should invest in a decent set of marshmellow headphones or ear plugs. The headphones are nice because you can listen to music, take calls and block some of the wind noise during longer rides. Don't crank it all the way up though. That will beat the purpose of reducing the wind noise. If your not a music guy, a simple set of ear plugs help with the noise as it can get loud on long rides.

It's getting colder so if you get caught riding and it's colder than what you gears up for, stuff a magazine, newspaper or whatever in your jacket. It helps a lot. I have even stuffed a mag and a few burgers to keep me warm. Yes, it sounds crazy buy it helped.

Wife and I both sold our bikes do to lack of time, I had a FZ6R and she was on a Ninja 250. We've already decided to take a year off and then buy bikes again and just make the time, she's going with a 300 Ninja and i'm torn between the FZ-09 and FZ-07 Yamaha.

Cold? It was 90 degrees today and raining....again. Central Florida doesn't get that cold:) haha Our low last year was 46 at night. Now, I lived in North FL for a lot of my life and it would hit the 20s and teens many nights but not here, warm:) Ive been up the last 3 hours just watching youtube videos of bikes for newbies, vlogs, reviews etc.

So I go to take my MSF course this weekend to get my motorcycle endorcement. I have found a few cheap starter bikes in the area that I am going to look at. I am looking at an 07 Ninja 250 as they are only asking 2k for it with 2,700 original miles! WOW Figured if I can pick that up for 15 or 1600 id do good for a bike to carry me for 6 months or a year when I am ready to upgrade. I don't want to spend a lot on a first bike as I am still learning. I will keep everyone updated:) haha

Nice! If you can, try to find a 2008 Ninja. That was the year that they totally redesigned that bike, and it looks SOOO much better! I would spend a few hundred more dollars and see if i could find the 08' model. Just my opinion.

2007

http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/cro...-27_600x0w.jpg

2008

http://images.motorcycle-usa.com/Pho...ki_250R_53.jpg