Completely new to riding

[TrackStar98]

I am looking to get into the world of motorcycles. I'm a 19 year old college student and in need of some advice. I don't know enough about bikes to pick out a good starter bike. But I'll give you everything I'm working with so maybe someone can help me; I'm 6'2 and 165 pounds (I'm worried a 250 might be too small, but i might be wrong?) Obviously money is hard to come by in college so I would like something relatively cheap, used is even better. I was looking at some ninja "look-a-likes" but I have no idea if they compare in any way besides the way they look. (by the way, a street bike like the Kawasaki ninja is what I'm interested in getting). Any and all advice or info is greatly appreciated! And if there are any questions I can answer to further help you, help me... please ask! Thank you!

[Johnj]

Hello Trevor and welcome to the forum. What I'd suggest is a Kawasaki Ninja 250. Used one run between $1500 and $2000. I would also suggest taking the MSF course to learn the basics of safe riding. Good luck.

[Hanson]

Hi Trevor,

Welcome to Total Motorcycle!

Recommendations? I would start by finding a MSF basic rider course in your area. In most states the BRC will help you get your motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license and, more importantly, will give you an idea bout how you fit on a bike. Motorcycles are like shoos, fit is critical to comfort. After that, I would visit all of the dealerships in your area and sit on a lot of different bikes to see what is comfortable. The idea is not to make a choice, but rather to find a range of bikes that might work for you. There are a lot of great bikes that are suitable for new riders, but not necessarily a good choice for you. When I was looking for my first bike, I just loved a certain little Italian moto, she was dreamy, but when I sat on her she did not like me at all.

Remember that this should be fun even if you are a bit confused at first by the huge range of options.

It is also important to budget for your riding gear, especially a good helmet.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[BRUMBEAR]

Hey at the risk of sounding redundant take the MSF course as the others have suggested.
At 6'2" while your tall most machines will work for you but also as has been stated make it fun check out a lot of machines. Don't be intimidated by engine size but rather look closley at what the machine is designed to do.
IE a 1200cc sportser is a very tame easy to ride teddy bear making 60HP, but a 600CC R6 or GSXR600 or a ZX6 while only 600 cc make 140+ hp and are racing bikes and should not be considered IMO.
A Ninja 650R is a great platform to look at as it is peppy but the motor is a parallel twin and not nearly as powerful as its ZX brother.
The basic motor configurations are
Thumper single cyl
parallel twin 2 cyl side by side
V twin 2 cyl vertically opposed at varying degrees
triple 3 cyl inline
I4 4 cyl inline
They all behave diffrently and are fun to ride so take your time enjoy the choosing and best of luck

[sunshine229]

Hey Trevor, welcome to TMW!



Hope you're planning on coming back around, not just to read the responses but to post again.

My first bike was in 2003 and it was a 1981 Honda CB400T, great starter bike. In your case, I bet you can pick up a '90s Ninja and still get plenty of fun out of it. Starting "small" gives you the chance to really hone your riding skill set without having too much power at your fingertips to create any "situations"...

Best of luck and hope you'll stick around with us through your riding adventures!

[gsJack]

Welcome Trevor, my first bike was also a 81 CB400T that I bought in 1984 at age 52 and traded in on a 82 CB750K 6 months and 6000 miles later. Since then I've favored smaller lighter bikes and have spent my last 15 years and 180,000 miles on a coupleof GS500 bikes. Use to travel 400-500 mile interstate days on the GSs to get to the mountains to play. I consider a 500cc twin to be a good go anywhere do anything bike. Never got on the bigger is better band wagon myself.

If you think a 250cc bike is too small here's a couple of interesting links to threads from another forum that might interest you:

http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread ... t-s-review

http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread ... -Rebel-250

By the way I was 6'2'' and 230-250# most of my adult life if you think you're too big for those bikes.

[m.sanchez]

Thats awesome...starting off really young. One advise I can give you is just be have protective gear.

[fzrbiker]

Hello and welcome to the forum a good stater bike would be a er6 or cbr500 that will surely suite your height and budget.