Getting started

Dohnny Jepp

Hi all, I'm starting my journey into motorbikes! and was hoping I could get some advice here on good starter bikes.

I really don't like sport bikes, the kind of bikes that catch my eye are ones like, honda shadow, yamaha dragstar, kawaski vulcan 500.

Now my knowledge of motorbikes is very very limited. Would any of the beforementioned be suitable as a starter bike? Or are there any similar looking bikes that you would reccomend. Insurance etc shouldn't be a problem, have had a policy with quinn for a car for 6 years ish.

Thanks for any advice!!

goodlad

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

Hi all, I'm starting my journey into motorbikes! and was hoping I could get some advice here on good starter bikes.

I really don't like sport bikes, the kind of bikes that catch my eye are ones like, honda shadow, yamaha dragstar, kawaski vulcan 500.

Now my knowledge of motorbikes is very very limited. Would any of the beforementioned be suitable as a starter bike? Or are there any similar looking bikes that you would reccomend. Insurance etc shouldn't be a problem, have had a policy with quinn for a car for 6 years ish.

Thanks for any advice!!

There are loads of recent threads with people asking the same questions recently man. Just pop through the first few pages on the forum and ya will see all the advice.

Btw, your car insurance policy wont mean anything.
You will be starting from scratch with insurance for the bike.

cantdecide

You like cruisers.

My brother has just gone back to biking at the age of 29. He got a Honda Shadow 1100 which had to be restricted. I think the biggest problem with starting on a cruiser is they're pretty cumbersome at slow speeds.

LookBehindYou

Cruisers are cheaper to insure

unclebill98

Almost all HD are learner legal.

antiskeptic

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

Hi all, I'm starting my journey into motorbikes! and was hoping I could get some advice here on good starter bikes.

I really don't like sport bikes, the kind of bikes that catch my eye are ones like, honda shadow, yamaha dragstar, kawaski vulcan 500.

Now my knowledge of motorbikes is very very limited. Would any of the beforementioned be suitable as a starter bike? Or are there any similar looking bikes that you would reccomend. Insurance etc shouldn't be a problem, have had a policy with quinn for a car for 6 years ish.

Thanks for any advice!!

Although the wide handlebars, low centre of gravity and low seat height typical of cruisers gives some advantages to the absolute beginner, these advantages are quickly outweighed by disadvantages to my mind.

Wide handlebars are cumbersome in traffic, the low seat height restricts your vision when good vision is a cornerstone to your staying alive. The low slung weight distribution on a cruiser tends towards the skidding the tyres over the road surface under lo-grip (i.e. wet) braking conditions (rather than digging them into the surface like road/sports bikes do which increases grip).

Engine size for size, cruisers tend to be low-powered so once you've passed the learner stage you'll find them underpowered and would need to switch. Then there's poor ground clearance when cornering and relatively poor handling overall..

If it were me, I'd stick to a road bike - a Bandit or Fazer or Hornet being ideal candidates. Nice riding position, good engines, powerful brakes, a range of well-suited-to-Irish-conditions tyres availabl, sorted in the handling dept, plenty about...

Dohnny Jepp

Chears all, I really appreciate the advice. I might look for some "hybrid" bikes if cruisers arent suited to Irish roads. Somethin with the style of a cruiser with a higher seating position and more functionality.

Thanks again!