What kind of motorcycle is good for beginners?

grandprairie2003: What kind of motorcycle is good for beginners?
I would like to buy a motorcycle in the next few months, whats a good bike to get under 5-8k? Basicly to get around town no highway driving but don’t want a moped. Is learning 5-6 speed transmission hard to work. Living in DFW as my sn states. Thanks

Answers and Views:

Answer by jutty
RM 125 it what i learnt on.. and when confidence is up upgrade to a 250

Answer by Ian G
Then Best bike in my opion would be the Kawasaki Ninja 650R or the Kawasaki Versys because i don’t know if you know but kawasaki is one of the best brands, and there both in your price range, and learning a 5-6 speed isn’t that hard but it takes a good amount of practice.

Answer by Arazeal
Your best bet in the terms of sportbikes would be a Kawasaki Ninja 250 or 500cc.
Seriously, a 650cc is just not forgiving enough for a beginner, though I agree one of the most amazing motorcycles ever made was a Kawasaki Ninja 650, but it is NOT a beginner bike. Some have said you’ll outgrow a 250 and all that junk, but Im sure for the type of driving you’ll do you’ll enjoy it quite abit. for a long time. Start small, please, it will save your life, you don’t need to start big to go fast, you can run the piss out of that Ninja 250. Just make sure you wear all the proper gear and ride safe.

Ninja 250cc 2008 MSRP: $ 3,500

https://forums.ninja250.org/
A VERY useful sight an an awesome FAQ at the top you can read. A lot of helpful stuff on the forums as well. It really is a very loved motorcycle and Im sure they can help you out.

Answer by The Filosophers
Yamaha SR 125 cc. It’s simple, low height, very basic and sort of confortable. If you want a more “macho bike” go for the Virago 650 cc. Also Honda CB 500 is one of my favourites.

Answer by Mad Scientist Matt
If you can drive a car with a manual transmission, I’d have to say that bike transmissions are a little easier to deal with.

A starter bike is one that you’ll buy to learn on, and it should be one that’s easy to ride and less likely to do something dangerous if you make a mistake. Remember that it’s your first bike, not your last; motorcyclists often buy new bikes as often as car drivers buy different cars. Motorcycles come in a lot of differnt types, and you can find a good first bike whether you like sport bikes, cruisers, or several other categories. I have four rules for what makes a good first bike.

1. It should have 50 hp or less. More powerful bikes can easily get out of hand – not only do they have more power, but often they have touchier brakes and handling too. With sport bikes, it’s usually best to stay at 500 cc’s or less; you can go bigger with cruisers or dual sports (dual sports are basically street legal dirt bikes, although they may be a bit larger).

2. A good starter bike needs to be light enough that you can easily pick it up if it falls over. Beyond the obvious problem that you might have it fall over (more likely in your garage or at a stop sign than while in motion, at least), a lighter bike will be easier to handle and you’ll be less likely to need to pick it up.

3. When you sit on the bike’s saddle, you should be able to put both feet flat on the ground. This will again help you avoid having to actually put rule #2 to the test.

4. It needs to fit you. You should feel comfortable sitting on it with your hands on the grips and your feet on the pegs. Any discomfort you feel in the couple minutes they’ll let you sit on one in the showroom will seriously hurt after an hour of riding. And you’ll want to pick one that matches your plans for riding and your sense of style, too. There’s plenty of good choices for first bikes out there, so you don’t need to settle for one that just seems wrong for you.

Answer by MotoMan
I suggest that you start your MC experience by taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course. They will teach you what you need to know about shifting, as well as a lot of other things. There is a DFW course/site for MSF, see their web site for details “ridercourse.com”

As for “What kind of motorcycle is good for beginners?” Start small, if you don’t plan on riding on the freeway you won’t need anything larger than a 250. Here are some models

Honda Rebel
Suzuki GS 250
Yamaha Virago 250
Kawasaki KLX 250
Kawasaki Ninja 250

By the way, I’ve used all the these bikes, as an MSF instructor, to teach “beginners” how to ride

Answer by Adam T
Maybe you can go to LoveBiker.com to find the answer, because there are lots of professional bikers who can give you some good suggestions. Wish you good luck!