thinking of buying a bike...

backbreaker

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A friend of mine has a GXR bike and has been urging me to get one. He makes some great points.. They are extremely fuel efficent, they are cheap, they are fun. I haven't ever ridden a bike but I can't imagine it being the hardest thing on earth.

Anyway, I have decided to go ahead and get one.. worst case senerio, I don't like it, and I can sell it and loose a couple of hundred bucks becuase of negative equality, which is a risk I am not too concerned about.

What are some good recomendations?
 

bud_2005

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Get a trick bike and make sure it has pegs so a girl can stand on the pegs behind you.
 

Bible_Belt

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Take the motorcycle safety course, and wear quality gear. You can easily spend as much on safety gear as a used bike costs. A professional racer can drop a bike going 100+ mph and walk away, because he is covered in leather, plastic, and kevlar. The same crash would mean skin grafts and a lifetime of physical disfigurement if you were wearing a t-shirt and shorts like the average idiot.
 

S1NN3R

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backbreaker said:
A friend of mine has a GXR bike and has been urging me to get one. He makes some great points.. They are extremely fuel efficent, they are cheap, they are fun. I haven't ever ridden a bike but I can't imagine it being the hardest thing on earth.

Anyway, I have decided to go ahead and get one.. worst case senerio, I don't like it, and I can sell it and loose a couple of hundred bucks becuase of negative equality, which is a risk I am not too concerned about.

What are some good recomendations?
A GSX-R isn't ideal for a beginner, their steering geometry is set-up to be very responsive, and the power wil kick your ass if you don't respect it. Many people have started on race-replica style bikes, but many many more have failed miserably too.

The bike I usually recommend for those starting out is the Suziki SV650S. They're stupid easy to ride, but they're still enough fun that you won't be looking to upgrade in a month or two when you start to really get the hang of riding. Plus, you can find the 00-01 models cheap, $2000 avg.

I'm thinking about getting another bike myself. I've had an SV650, a Yamaha R6, a Ducati 916, and now I want to get a Yamaha V-Max, chop it up and weld it back together until it looks like this...

Hardy Daytona
 

backbreaker

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i know about all the saftey gear... and I know myself to know thet ype of accidents I could and could not get into. I never see myself doing wheelies at 100mph ont he highway, or really just swearving though traffic like a bat out of hell, but at the same time, bikes are fun to ride

will look into it, thanks
 

Bible_Belt

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af just bought a new Honda 599 and loves it

http://www.mc-huset.no/honda/news06/599.jpg

It's better to get a bike with less of the expensive plastic. The half-faired bikes like the 599 are very popular. I had a 91 Suzuki gs500e that was very similar to my friend's new Honda
http://motoplanete.com/essais/essai500GSE.jpg

Fairings only help at speeds over about 130 mph anyway. The limiting factor above those speeds is air resistance. That's why the v-max has a top speed of only about 140 despite the massive engine.
 

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was thinking about buying a cruiser, but Im going to build an indycycle instead.
 

SELF-MASTERY

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gift
 
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Lovesorrow

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Bible_Belt said:
af just bought a new Honda 599 and loves it

http://www.mc-huset.no/honda/news06/599.jpg

It's better to get a bike with less of the expensive plastic. The half-faired bikes like the 599 are very popular. I had a 91 Suzuki gs500e that was very similar to my friend's new Honda
http://motoplanete.com/essais/essai500GSE.jpg

Fairings only help at speeds over about 130 mph anyway. The limiting factor above those speeds is air resistance. That's why the v-max has a top speed of only about 140 despite the massive engine.
http://www.mc-huset.no/honda/news06/599.jpg

Here in Brazil we call "her" Hornet! Take a look:
http://www.motonline.com.br/testes/teste-zangada.html

To you americans it´s very cheap to buy one, but here it´s considered a "rich" guy´s bike. Here it´s mandatory to wear a crash helmet, in the states it´s not. I strongly advise you to wear one, don´t risk your life man.

You should buy a more "modern" bike like the XT. It´s based on an Eletronic Fuel Injection system and its panel is LCD. With it you can go anywhere, even rural areas.
http://www.motonline.com.br/testes/teste-xt660r.html
http://www.motomag.com/spip/diaporama.php3?id_article=87&id_document=1356
 

S1NN3R

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Lovesorrow said:
Here it´s mandatory to wear a crash helmet, in the states it´s not. I strongly advise you to wear one, don´t risk your life man.
Actually it is required in almost every state, either for every rider (most states) or riders under a certain age, usually 18 or 21. Very few states have no helmet laws at all.
 

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SELF-MASTERY

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No I'm thinking about building something like this:

http://www.indycycle.net/main.htm

but with a more robust motor, better suspension, and paddle shifters.

I'm into metal fabricationg and glassing. My neighbor that owns a welding company is teaching me how to weld on the weekends, and I;ve taught myself how to glass (any idiot can.)
 

S1NN3R

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SELF-MASTERY said:
No I'm thinking about building something like this:

http://www.indycycle.net/main.htm

but with a more robust motor, better suspension, and paddle shifters.

I'm into metal fabricationg and glassing. My neighbor that owns a welding company is teaching me how to weld on the weekends, and I;ve taught myself how to glass (any idiot can.)
I swa something similar to that at SEMA or one of the Motor Trend shows here. Looked nasty, and they were claiming something like 1.4-1.5 lateral Gs with it. The only downside, $60k for something that I could build in my bathroom.

I agree that any idiot can lay glass, but very few can make it look and function half-decent. The actual physical part of it is easy, design and concept take talent :up:
 

SELF-MASTERY

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I've made my mind up that I want to die going 160 mph either on land or falling out the sky in a small homebuilt plane.
 

S1NN3R

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Planes are stupid, Helis are better. (I can't find a "sticking my tounge out at you" smilie, but rest assured, I'm thinking it :D)
 

PRMoon

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S1NN3R said:
I swa something similar to that at SEMA or one of the Motor Trend shows here. Looked nasty, and they were claiming something like 1.4-1.5 lateral Gs with it. The only downside, $60k for something that I could build in my bathroom.

I agree that any idiot can lay glass, but very few can make it look and function half-decent. The actual physical part of it is easy, design and concept take talent :up:
Are you talking about a campania T-Rex? That's the only other 3 wheel motorcycle engine based vehicle that I can think of off hand (that's also around 60K). Those things are sick, they handle really well and it's a two seater so you can have a friend ride with you. I think you can have a V twin put in it but the more popular one is the inline 4.
 

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S1NN3R

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PRMoon said:
Are you talking about a campania T-Rex?
Yeah, I think that's the thing. I'd rock it for $20k, but $60k is just a bit much for that thing, as cool as it is. Can anyone say "Ariel Atom"?

1.9Gs for the T-Rex, it says on the site. I'd have to see it to believe it. I might peak at 1.9, but I highly doubt it can sustain that for any period.
 
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