Good Starter bikes...

Inbred_Redneck

Inbred_Redneck

Active member
Motorcycle cult is dead. I'm wondering what the fellow NSers have that ride. I'm assuming 90% of you have street bikes which isnt what I'm looking for.

I'm going to go look at a 1980 Yamaha XS850 this thursday. I'm probably going to buy it cus the guy only wants $150 for it. It needs a new gas tank and probably some other little things. Thing is I want a bike for college next year and want a touring or cruiser type bike for around campus. Is 850cc a little too much for a starter bike? I dont plan on driving like a maniac because I value my body.

Heres a pic: Its not of the actual bike, just what it looks like:

xs850.jpg
 
If you have never really driven a motorcycle before, I would definitely say 850cc is too big.

It doesn't matter if you just plan on "cruising around campus", the engine doesn't know or care where you ride it. Guarantee it will kick you off at least once, but $150 is a steal... so if you're ready for a monster go for it.

I would HIGHLY recommend a helmet and long sleeve pads for the first 6 months. (I would always wear a helmet). But the first 6 months is when you'll have the biggest chance of crashing it... especially right after you think you start getting the feel and get over confident. Been there, crashed that.

Have fun and good luck.

 
Yeah thats what i plan on doing. I'm going to get some heavy duty jeans and or chaps and invest in a good helmet if I decide to keep it.

I've ridden a friends 81 Honda CM400 and didnt think it was too bad, however this thing weighs like 100lbs more than the Honda which is really the only thing that worries me.
 
I'm getting my first bike this week as well but it's a 600 and a street bike. If you've never set foot on a motorcycle 850 is going to probably be a bit scary. I'm guessing it weighs over 500lbs so it might be hard to learn on. For the price though I'd snatch it up either way if nothing is seriously wrong with it. If there is something wrong with it, it will get expensive. Because it is older parts may not be easy to come by. If you have the chance I'd look for a motorcycle safety course in your area. I recently took it and it was awesome. You learn a lot and spend a decent time riding and learn the basics and good techniques that could eventually save your life. Even if you don't plan on riding it a bunch it doesn't mean the people driving around you will see you. If you don't have the chance of taking a safety course I'd suggest practicing in a parking lot for hours like at least 10 before you set out on the streets.
 
Like I said i plan on taking the whole thing pretty slow. The only thing that really bothers me is its about 500lbs and is a little hard for my 5'6" frame to handle.
 
lol if your not an idiot and are carefull you can get whatever bike you so choose. My buddy just picked up a 2007 CBR 1000rr no lessons on how to ride a bike, just a verbal instruction run through. He bought the bike hopped on it a couple days just to sit and see how it felt still with it on. Then one day we told the kid to just give it a go with no gas, so he let the clutch out ever so slow and boom he was riding in first gear with no gas. looped the parking lot twice took it out into the street. Up the street down the street, got up to second. came back after 5 minutes. four rides later the kid looks like he's ridden his whole life. granted he hasn't gone above 60mph yet, but like i said this kid isn't and idiot and is carefull.
so if you know someone that rides one and can mentor you through learning and don't get cocky on it, you'll be ok. but if you do get cocky i take no responsibility for what happens
 
don't listen to anyone who says it's too big. my first bike was a 1200, nothing crazy happened. I just realized tires wear out fast, and it's fucking windy. Motorcycles are actually pretty gay, just get a scooter much more fun, less responsibility.
 
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If you need the thrill of dragging your knee at triple digit speeds then a scooter probably isn't gonna get you off. If you want something cheap and fun to ride around town the benefits of a scooter far outweigh a motorcycle. They are cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, cheaper to run. They can go more places(cutting through a park to evade security for example). If you want to feel like some big man cruising along with traffic, everyone looking at your loud pipes and leather chaps, by all means blow your money on a motorcycle. But for most people on this site, the thrill of speeding outside a cage is achieved through skiing and the novelty of doing it on the street just isn't there. Maybe for some old wild hogs the thrill of the wind against their face is worth it, or the macho feeling they get when they rev a little. But lets be practical here.

 
these people don't know shit. an 850 standard/cruiser is nowhere near as powerful as an 850 sport bike. its basically the beginner equivalent to the 250 sport bikes that most people recommend buying. though if you are going for the xs850, you should hold out until you find an xs650 because the aftermarket that exists for those is fucking incredible. so many parts all over the place, its unbelievable.
 
this. I ride a honda nighthawk 750, but I've been racing motocross since I was 8, and its till almost too much for me. Plus with that kind of power it is way too tempting to use it.
 
what ever you do, dont start off on a 1000 cbr, gsxr, ninja, whateverthefuck.

You will get hurt. Start off on a 600, chances are you'll love and realize you cant turn for shit on a 1000 anywyas
 
what ever you do, dont start off on a 1000 cbr, gsxr, ninja, whateverthefuck.

You will get hurt. Start off on a 600, chances are you'll love and realize you cant turn for shit on a 1000 anywyas
 
my first time ever riding a bike was a 750. It was scary but manageable I would say youll be fine just do not let yourself get overconfident as soon as you notice you are feeling comfortable on that thing, keep riding cautiously. have fun
 
ok, im probably gonna make people mad.
but its so fucking stupid how many people buy fast as fuck bikes and have no idea how to ride them. i hear about so many kids that just bought an R1 or something like that after they have been riding around town for a couple months.
if your gonna buy a bike like that, learn to ride first. go to a track before you ever even touch a public road. then once you get decent at riding on a track, you will understand how dumb it is to drive such a fast bike on the street, when you cant even get close to its limits on the track.
i know quite a bit of bikers through my dirtbiker friends. one of them did exactly what i said, his first time ever on a motorcycle was on a track. he rode it around the pits for like an hour getting the basics down, then went on the track, took it slow, and did that for a couple months before he drove it on the road.its some kind of low output aprilia, i think it might even be a 50cc. but its a little smaller than a normal sport bike, and i think its the type of bike you would ride if you were getting started in motorcycle racing.
its not fast, but its definatly not slow, and he rides the shit out of it. now he's at the point where he can drop knees anywhere and he's still not at the limit of the bikes potential, on a track. even further away from its limit on the street, obviously. but its pretty cool cause he shows up all the tools on r6's and shit so bad cause they have no idea how to ride.
ive done a bit of dirtbiking. i dont own one, but ive been borrowing my friends for like 5 years. and im planning on buying a track/street bike. and im gonna do it the same way. start on a track, then when i know what im doing ill take it to the street, but it will still be mainly for track use. im trying to decide if i want a sport bike or a super moto style bike.
and my opinion is the same with sports cars. IMO its just dumb for people to buy crazy fast cars when they are never gonna use even half of its potential. it makes way more sense to buy something slower so you can get close to its limits, if you can easily drive past its limits then even better.

 
I know my way around a dirtbike, I'm no motocross racer by any means, but I can handle one.

Plus its not like this is a GSXR, this thing can maybe go like 115 tops, which seems slow for a bike, only thing its got is torque.
 
For starter bikes i usually recommend something of this build. It provides for better stability as you get your bearings on a bike. Let me know if I can help more.

470who-needs-training-wheels.jpg
 
850 is kinda big to start on, face it you will drive like a maniac.
i would look for stuff like honda 400's or something that size. Still has more of a cruiser look
 
Meh went and checked it out and the bike ended up being a piece of shit. Some other guy has a 1980 Honda CB650 Custom that I'm going to go check out tomorrow that needs some work, but isnt a pile of rust, plus it's only $300 bones.

Pic for enjoyment, once again, not the exact bike but hopefully I can get it looking like this, plus its the same color:

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Thats a CM400 correct? MY friend actually just bought one RUNNING for $25 at a garage sale. It could use the carb rebuilt and some new pipes but it runs damn near perfectly. He's gonna replace the seat, repaint it and get it retitled.
 
That is one hell of a deal. These things really hold their value. When I got this it didn't idle correctly and bogged under power. Turns out the PO had removed the intake to carb boots. Honda's are tuned to the air box's lower flow so once they were in, I had no problems.
 
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