Motorcycle Forums banner

Finding the Right First Bike

8K views 31 replies 17 participants last post by  pplassm 
#1 ·
I'm a college student in North Georgia, and my car is falling apart. I'm looking into buying a motorcycle to get me around, but quite frankly, I don't know where to begin. I know some about preformance bikes, and top-of-the-line stuff, and I even know some about the mechanics of a bike (my uncle is a mechanic). However, I'm looking for something that'll run within my budget.

So here's my question. What are a few motorcycles I should look at that are cheap, reliable, and have good gas milage? When I say cheap, I mean no more than about $7.5k, and by reliable, I mean I want to spend the least money on maintence as I possibly can for the next 3 or so years.

Thanks!
 
#32 ·
When people ask me what to get for a first bike, I always mention dual-sports, and they are always shocked.

They are light, powerful, nimble, and offer much more flexibility than a pure street bike.

My DRZ400 is comfortable on the highway as long as you keep it below 80, and absolutely rules the tight twisty, bombed out roads and forest trails in the western part of the state. The same traits that make it fun in that regime make it an excellent urban commuter and backroad bomber.

I know some riders prefer the larger air-cooled 650s (DRZ and XR-L), but the 400 is more fun in the tight stuff.

The only limiting factor is inseam, I guess. Dual-sports are tall bikes.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top