Opinions on Motorcycles?

[Bodean]

Hello All,

I'm looking into buying a motorcycle, for convenience and economy.
For some reason I don't want a street bike because It's useless on trails.

So, I'm leaning towards the enduro/baja/dual sport with street tires genre.
I've been mainly looking at Honda's and KTM's.......


Any opinion on these dirt bikes? Or your favorite.


Oh yeah and I probably have 4 miles of experience. lol. Haha.
But seriously, I'm gonna buy one, I can't drive my truck anymore,
I just can't look a polar bear in the eye when I drive it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Your membrane has gone insane.

 

[SkwerI]

The car behind you isn't going to be the one to get you. It will be the oncoming car turning left in front of you (or into you). 3 days ago I passed a motorcycle accident on the way to the grocery store. They had all three southbound lanes of 17-92 blocked off, which is unusual for your typical car crash. But now there's a small memorial on the side of the road with flowers, a cross and a motorcycle muffler.

I've considered a bike as well, but I'm old enough to appreciate my creature comforts like air conditioning and being able to hear the radio. The cost of the bike and insurance combined would be more than I spend on fuel for my 13 mpg pickup truck. I'd like to save money but I can't do it by spending money on a bike. Your commute is longer so maybe the numbers are different for you.

 

[squisher]

Some people love enduros, some consider them the worst of both worlds. When I road bikes I had a street bike and a dirt bike. Either one would kick ass on an enduro on their respective surfaces. Just my .02.

 

[stehansen]

That Polar Bear would slap your ass silly and have you for dinner.

 

[NeTree]

I've considered a bike as well, but I'm old enough to appreciate my creature comforts like air conditioning and being able to hear the radio.

That, my bro, is why I ride a Goldwing.

4 speakers and a 10-disc Cd changer for the tunes, GPS, air ride, cruise control... it's like driving a caddy with two wheels.


Oh... and it eats up 600's like candy... and gets 50 MPG doing it

 

[NeTree]

And really, could you see my fat ass on anything smaller anyways?

 

[Al Smith]

I'm just an old Harley rider .

 

[Koa Man]

I currently ride a souped up 88cc moped. I have owned fast bikes in the past, including a 1100cc Suzuki sportbike. 70 mph in 1st.

I personally don't like enduros for the street. The seat height is way high and it doesn't handle as well as a pure street bike but I have several friends who like enduros and one of them rides his to work 20 miles each way, everyday.

I plan to purchase a Suzuki Burgman in the near future. I love riding motorcycles. I got my motorcycle license in 1970.

 

[Bodean]

I guess I just want an enduro to have one motorcycle for everywhere.

One guy on my crew is like a chopper guy and another is the dirtbiker.

I'm still thinking........so for now I'm just looking for the coolest cheapest motorcycle I can find on craigslist..

 

[sotc]

ive thought about it to. mainly for those days where the weathers nice and i really dont need the truck. no worried about polar bear hype, i do think it would pencil out better than a small pick up and if not, hey i could get a dirt bike as a write off

 

[Bodean]

Exactly, Just for long distance bids 50 miles away, or going the now 7 mile commute to work everyday.

Or just going about across the seirras.

I never thought of it as a tax write off. I bet if I put a logo on it.

 

[sotc]

no need for a logo, just use it to bid and to save wear and tear on your more expensive equipment. not every business decision has to be a good one

 

[Old Monkey]

I think in my Honda Civic I come up to a polar bear's belly button. They have those right?

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I like those BMW touring bikes. They're hard to come by, but I think they're pretty cool.

 

[OTGBOSTON]

I was very close to getting a roadbike. Then I met the one-legged frenchman. It wasn't his fault, and all he got was 20 grand. The lady that hit him had basic insurance......

not to be a downer or anything

 

[woodworkingboy]

Sonoma County seems like a great place to ride a bike. Remember though, the population is aging, and peripheral vision decreases with age.

 

[Frans]

BMW nice bike. Might want to avoid driving during the commute hours until you have some experience tho

 

[Al Smith]

Most auto drivers are not looking out for a 'cycle ,they just don't see them for some reason . In my opinion this is the cause of most accidents .

I think that because the headlights are now tied into the ignitions and stay on all the time it may have lessened the amount of accidents .

I first learned to ride on a Harley ULH ,1937 80 cubic inch flathead engine ,tank shift .In an apple orchard believe it or not .14 years old at the time .

Early on in life I learned two things about a bike .First you don't stand a snowballs chance in hell against an automobile .Secondly and most important ,you have to be constantly on the alert and ride in a defense posture because the other guy is not watching out for you .

There is an old saying among bikers "don't ever ride so fast as to outrun your guardian angel ." another "there are bold riders and old riders .There are no old bold riders "

 

[TC3]

You could check into taking a class, maybe ? Kristian took a class for his Buell and said it had a lot of good instruction. They were taught a lot of defensive maneuvers & what the machine could do / not do.

 

[DMc]

Hello All,

I'm looking into buying a motorcycle, for convenience and economy.
For some reason I don't want a street bike because It's useless on trails.

Bodean, From what you described my vote would go towards a dual sport. I can't believe how fun this little bike is to ride. Even though it has knobby tires, you can still scrape the foot pegs on the street. Runs like a clock and is super quiet and most guys are getting high 70s mileage wise.

Also don't forget when you purchase a bike for economy, you won't see the savings immediately because of the purchase price but you will instantly reduce your high consumption of fuel. Besides, they are fun!

Good luck, Dave

 

[treetx]

I would rather spend more and live longer.

But everyone has to weigh their own opportunity costs and risk tolerance. I would never ride a bike on the street but I love to fly a hangglider for hours, thousands of feet over the ground.

 

[sotc]

Sonoma County seems like a great place to ride a bike. Remember though, the population is aging, and peripheral vision decreases with age.

if hes only 7 miles from work he mustve moved to marin county and not updated, the slacker id hate to ride down there but i see the advantages. anytime im there they go squeeking between cars when the lights are red

 

[blue]

i used a to have a Yamaha WR400 enduro bike that i used for commuting and off road,26mile round trip each day and no problems.
Only thing is enduro bikes have tiny tanks so i had a 13litre aftermarket tank, the other thing is that proper off road tyres do not last long at all on tarmac especially when you give it some from every standing start . The only thing that annoyed me was top speed was only around 65-70mph but it did get there pretty damn quick and on 1 wheel mostly:0:0

 

[sawinredneck]

I've ridden the Enduro's, I like the seat height and the steering angle myself. But that was an NX 650 and I am 6'.

Take the class. Really, if you are even remotely interested. The fact you don't have bad habits now wil benefit you in the class. Then you will have a license and you can test ride different bikes to se what you like.
I have eight buddies with bikes, they let me ride all of them, thats how I fel in love with the Shadow 1100

But I think my bike days are over. Never even got to own one The buddy with the Shadow had a car pull out in front of him. Then seeing what they did slamed on the brakes to mae sure he was ok? He had to lay it over and skid into the back of the car.
Another buddy lost a buddy a week ago. Sitting at a red light, drunk came up from behind and ran right over the top of him as he ran the red light! Rolled on down the road and stopped at the next bar!