so i'm looking for a bike to help with driving duties.

I have zero experience with bike maintainance and dont' know what to ask about when I meet sellers to check out the bike, what should I look for?

my preference is late 90's to early 00's 250-650 cc bikes by suzuki, yamaha, or kawasaki. Do any of these have red flags?

Trav

Get a Kawi ninja 250.....and i would suggest not to consider anything else.

check for tire wear
oil leaks
chain tension
rear sprocket (the teeth should not look like a hooked over mountain peak)
bent frame
has it been down before
smooth throttle and clutch movement
brake pads and firm brake feel
smoothness of motor running

and for heaven sakes TAKE AN MSF COURSE

Ninja 250 can be a good option, but if you're anywhere near my size (6'2) then you will be uncomfortable on it to say the least. A 90's Suzuki GS500 will not only be inexpensive but very beginner friendly, with enough power to get out of it's own way (unlike the 250, which you wont want on the highway), but tame enough that you're not likely to get in trouble unless you try. You can find GS500's in good shape for $1500 if you look around. Check out GStwins.com for a bunch of friendly, level-headed riders and some potential good deals.

DO NOT get anything more powerful than an older 500. There will be newbie mistakes that you will make, no matter how careful or responsible you are. And on a bike any bigger, those newbie mistakes will hurt. Bad.

This post has been edited by gt_driFFter: Oct 16, 2008 - 10:36 PM

What playr158 said...


My suggestions are to ensure that the title is clear and in the person who you are buying the bike from's name. Stay away from a salvaged bike in spite of what the alleged cause of the loss was. You never know what problems you could be getting into with a salvaged bike.
Learn the controls and make sure all electrical controls work.

A few weeks ago I took the MSF course in order to waive the riding test at the DMV and highly encourage anyone who wants to ride a motorcycle or who even has an interest in riding to take the class.

I am not a huge guy but at 6'1 i felt uncomfortable on the little Ninja 250's we had in class so i rode the cruisers instead. I felt a lot more comfortable on my friend's 2002 Honda CBR 600 F4i, which i have been riding around a little bit here and there for the past few months, and am actually highly considering one as a first bike for myself. My intentions are to ride track mostly(after classes) and occasional highway to my parent's house(100+miles away) so a 250 doesn't really suit my needs as sufficiently as a 600 would. The Suzuki gs500f and Kawasaki Ninja 650r are also 2 bikes i am considering.

Here is a forum that has a lot of the questions that you might have and has them answered already Sportbikes.net I suggest that you read most of the stickies.

cool thanks for the advice. Especially the sportbikes site, that's given me plenty of reading material!

My friend has a bike he's not using that's been owned by several other valet drivers as a starter bike. I think it's a 95ish yamaha 500cc or so w/ high miles (around 20k). I think his price was like 400$ but it needs tires and a tuneup. It sounds great for me to learn on but i'm wondering if it'll turn into a money pit at it's age and use. What do u guys think?

>

well that bike sounds fine except for the fact that it has been used by many other squids to learn on, that means it has been dropped and banged up more then a few times. But the mileage is not a concern, i have over 35k miles on my newest bike and its only a year old. Its all in how u take care of it.