I haven’t decided yet. A standard or cruiser would be great but a sport bike is calling to me. A more “sensible” part of me wants a dual sport so I can more safely ride it in the winter however flawed that thinking is. I would love any recommendations if you have them.
Is it your first bike? If so, the best one is one that you’ll get a lot of hours riding, and usually that means a secondhand Japanese model. Ninjas are a meme for a good reason, they go fast and last a long time and don’t do anything that they don’t need to. Their equivalents from other companies, the GSX-R and the CBR, are basically exactly the same bike, just pick the size you’re comfortable with and go for it (my first bike was a 750 so don’t start on a liter bike but also don’t feel like you need to start on a 250).
I would also recommend looking at Royal Enfield if top speed isn’t as important for you - they’re the best value for money in the industry and it isn’t even close, but they primarily target the Indian market which has fewer highways so their bikes are slower, but are more useable in less than ideal road conditions. I think RE is still doing the 3 year warranty thing too, which is more than anybody else does because they’re trying to shake off their reputation for making shitboxes (which wasn’t entirely undeserved, but it’s a new era now).
Just be sure to keep an eye on your used market for a while before making up your mind, you’ll get a sense of what’s a deal and what’s overpriced, and don’t buy it unless you can test ride it first.
Funny enough, an older Japanese bike was my first. But it stopped running after it sat outside too long during some housing issues. It’s been a few years and I’ve got the itch to ride again. No matter what I’ll be riding the hell out of it since it’ll be my primary mode of transportation.
I had never actually looked at RE because of my aversion to supporting England but hot shit are their bikes cheaper than I expected. Hurray, even more choices to paralyze myself over
I had never actually looked at RE because of my aversion to supporting England
Good news! The English part of RE went bunk in the 60s, the company is 100% Indian now. That’s the reason why they’re so cheap - RE makes about as many motorcycles as all of the European brands do combined, so they have a serious economy of scale advantage in addition to the advantage of being a hundred years old.
I saw that after looking at some of their bikes and was much happier. They have some sweet looking designs too. The scram 411 and shotgun 650 look good. I’ll have to test them at a local dealership
I ride a cafe racer but my use case is strictly as a toy. I have a sensible daily driver that gets good gas mileage and gets me to the grocery store. I don’t ever have to ride in weather if I don’t want to.
I don’t think a dual sport gets you riding in the winter. That’s a good use case if you like to go on trails and such. I wouldn’t recommend riding in any ice conditions. Even if your motorcycle is your only mode of transportation, honestly, I’d call an Uber if it’s icy.
Half of buying a bike is finding one you think looks cool 🙂.
I have access to vehicles if I need to but I stubbornly love riding through shitty weather. I rode through two winters on my previous bike although I do acknowledge it was pretty stupid. I never had to ride in snowy or icy conditions thankfully.
I’m from an area that classically gets a ton of snow but based on the last few years I’m not sure how true that will be for long
I haven’t decided yet. A standard or cruiser would be great but a sport bike is calling to me. A more “sensible” part of me wants a dual sport so I can more safely ride it in the winter however flawed that thinking is. I would love any recommendations if you have them.
Is it your first bike? If so, the best one is one that you’ll get a lot of hours riding, and usually that means a secondhand Japanese model. Ninjas are a meme for a good reason, they go fast and last a long time and don’t do anything that they don’t need to. Their equivalents from other companies, the GSX-R and the CBR, are basically exactly the same bike, just pick the size you’re comfortable with and go for it (my first bike was a 750 so don’t start on a liter bike but also don’t feel like you need to start on a 250).
I would also recommend looking at Royal Enfield if top speed isn’t as important for you - they’re the best value for money in the industry and it isn’t even close, but they primarily target the Indian market which has fewer highways so their bikes are slower, but are more useable in less than ideal road conditions. I think RE is still doing the 3 year warranty thing too, which is more than anybody else does because they’re trying to shake off their reputation for making shitboxes (which wasn’t entirely undeserved, but it’s a new era now).
Just be sure to keep an eye on your used market for a while before making up your mind, you’ll get a sense of what’s a deal and what’s overpriced, and don’t buy it unless you can test ride it first.
Funny enough, an older Japanese bike was my first. But it stopped running after it sat outside too long during some housing issues. It’s been a few years and I’ve got the itch to ride again. No matter what I’ll be riding the hell out of it since it’ll be my primary mode of transportation.
I had never actually looked at RE because of my aversion to supporting England but hot shit are their bikes cheaper than I expected. Hurray, even more choices to paralyze myself over
Good news! The English part of RE went bunk in the 60s, the company is 100% Indian now. That’s the reason why they’re so cheap - RE makes about as many motorcycles as all of the European brands do combined, so they have a serious economy of scale advantage in addition to the advantage of being a hundred years old.
I saw that after looking at some of their bikes and was much happier. They have some sweet looking designs too. The scram 411 and shotgun 650 look good. I’ll have to test them at a local dealership
I ride a cafe racer but my use case is strictly as a toy. I have a sensible daily driver that gets good gas mileage and gets me to the grocery store. I don’t ever have to ride in weather if I don’t want to.
I don’t think a dual sport gets you riding in the winter. That’s a good use case if you like to go on trails and such. I wouldn’t recommend riding in any ice conditions. Even if your motorcycle is your only mode of transportation, honestly, I’d call an Uber if it’s icy.
Half of buying a bike is finding one you think looks cool 🙂.
I have access to vehicles if I need to but I stubbornly love riding through shitty weather. I rode through two winters on my previous bike although I do acknowledge it was pretty stupid. I never had to ride in snowy or icy conditions thankfully.
I’m from an area that classically gets a ton of snow but based on the last few years I’m not sure how true that will be for long