Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
H2AndyH2Andy:well... the factors limiting me to a 250 are, in reverse order of importance:
1. purchase money
2. insurace costs
3. my wife is dead set against anything else
thanks all for the info... let me check out the Honda VT 250 (i think they don't sell
that one stateside anymore... need to check)
d33ps1x:H2Andy
Buying a bike is totally dependant on your size. A 250cc is not necessarily any safer and only marginally cheaper than a large bike. As far as insurance goes. No idea. In Canada I would pay $400 US a year for insurance on a 750cc. I consider that cheap. Not sure if anything would be gained from dropping to a 500 or 250.
I myself used to ride a 750 cc Virago and it was flat out underpowered and a tad small for me.
I am 6'4" and 225 lbs. I really could have done with something in the 1200 to 1400 cc range in the bone shaker cylinder range.
Once you throw a passenger on it makes things even more noticable. Things like passing cars, top speed, etc, are all affected markedly.
One of the most annoying things about only having the 750 was the rpm range it would sit in at highway speeds. 3.5k which was tonally annoying. If it had of had a 6th gear to drop it into the 2500-2800 range it would be great.
Anyways.
Just some things to think about regarding motorbikes.
I just ride em.
H2Andy:ok... i am a first time motorcycle buyer, newbie rider, and
am in the process of buying my first motorcycle.
H2Andy:pictures below, but first:
i named my 250cc Alpha Sport "Rolling Thunder" (oh irony), and i've actually taken it for two street rides (totaling 30 km), and I love it. It zips, and I still haven't found top speed.
anyways, I did these two rides after finishing my safety class,
which I loved. the only thing that gave me trouble was
doing slow figure eights, and i managed to do them for the test
while only putting my foot down once.
one last time, thanks all for your advice and input!
and now, the pictures: