Considering a streetbike.

Lately I have been considering a streetbike as an alternative during the summer for good gas mileage and crusing. Not popping wheelies, doing burnouts, and stoppies.

I'm actually serious about this, I don't want anything that can kill me. Pretty much anything under 750cc is fine. One bike I have been looking at is the Suzuki SV650. It's stylish, fast enough, great handling, and dirt cheap. Now, I want to buy one sometime between now and April, because prices are even lower during winter.

Now, you might ask what experience I might have...back when I was 18 or so, I used to ride my friends Suzuki RM250 alot. We used to ride for hours on end, and I got a good understanding of how a bike works. I still ride it today when I have a day off from work sometimes. I do not have a motorcycle licence, but if i do make a serious buy, I hope to take the test on whatever bike it is you guys reccomend.


Please, give your suggestions!

An sv650 would be an excellent choice for your first bike. My friend started out on that and ran up to almost 30,000 miles on it with out any problems save for wearable parts. It has great low end torgue which is much more street friendly.

Here is what motorcyclist would say

I would have to go with UnoMOTO I was looking at getting a bike and I had come to the conclusion that it was going to be a Suzuki but seeing as I'm 17 my dad said no and that I would have to start off in car car and also a bike in Seattle with an inexperienced rider pff can you say WRECK!! but if I ever move to a less populated area I would probably get the SV650.

The SV650 is pretty commonly recommended as a good starter bike, I don't think you could go wrong with it. There's also the Ninja 500R, which is cheaper than the SV650. Kawi recently came out with a Ninja 650R too, if you haven't seen that, I suspect that would be a decent first bike too.

You might also consider going with something cheap and old at first, if there's any chance that you might decide you don't like motorcycling out on the street with 2 ton SUVs constantly trying to run you over. My first bike was a pretty nice condition 79 Honda CX500C that I picked up for $300 in the winter, got it running for another $100 or so. It's also nice if you do something stupid and drop it, which is possible... one day after a ride on a hot that was about an hour too long I hopped off the bike in the driveway, except forgot to put the kickstand down

After a couple thousand miles on the CX500 I got a 06 Ninja 500R, which I've got about 4k miles on now. I'm still very happy riding around on it, don't feel like I've outgrown it or anything.

Also, have you considered taking a beginner motorcycle class, one of the MSF ones? That's how I got started, it was a huge help for me as I had never ridden before. Half the class is spent in a classroom then the other half is spent riding bikes they provide with instructors running you through different exercises. I know you have been riding dirt for a while, but in my class the guys who had dirt riding and even racing experience didn't do all that great in the class, I ended up getting a higher score on the final riding test than them. Just something to consider, and as a benefit at least here in Oregon you don't have to take any tests at the DMV, just show up and show them you passed the class and you get your motorcycle endorsement. Good way to get started I think.

Most important advice: be safe, and have a good time

retsmah

one day after a ride on a hot that was about an hour too long I hopped off the bike in the driveway, except forgot to put the kickstand down

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DOH...been there done that! Thank god my wife has the perfect color nail polish to touch up that little scratch!

Also, have you considered taking a beginner motorcycle class, one of the MSF ones? That's how I got started, it was a huge help for me as I had never ridden before. Half the class is spent in a classroom then the other half is spent riding bikes they provide with instructors running you through different exercises. I know you have been riding dirt for a while, but in my class the guys who had dirt riding and even racing experience didn't do all that great in the class, I ended up getting a higher score on the final riding test than them. Just something to consider, and as a benefit at least here in Oregon you don't have to take any tests at the DMV, just show up and show them you passed the class and you get your motorcycle endorsement. Good way to get started I think.

Most important advice: be safe, and have a good time

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Excellent points....Both my wife and I have been through the MSF course and is a must even for the experienced rider. They teach you were your EYES should be to keep yourself out of trouble.

link to MSF