Alright, here is the situation. I am taking a weekend beginners motorcycle class this weekend and going to get my motorcycle lisence Monday (If I pass the test Monday) and I am looking for used bikes now in Northern Virginia Area. I want to buy a bike a.s.a.p. but I'm not too familiar with bikes. I know a good amount about cars but not too much about bikes but I assume bikes have the basics like a car.

My question is when I am looking at bikes, what should I look at to tell whether if it is a good bike or not?

And also what is a good insurance company to go to get motorcycle insurance? (Not trying to spend too much on insurance)

 

Hey there and welocme to CBRF!! :-)

Yours is a difficult question to answer, it's like how long is piece of string ..all depends what you want and how much you can spend really ... I will try and advise though, firstly Hondas are great bikes especially their CBR ranges .. they are fast, strong and nicely finished ... as far as buying my advice is always to buy the very best you can afford, this is nearly always better than buying an old nail to do up ...by the time you factor in repairs and paint etc, you probably could have had a better bike to begin with, simply shop around there are a lot of nice and older CBRs around that have been looked after from new ..you really should not settle for a nail or a rough old dog of a bike ... if you are a beginner don't go for a 1000, don't go for more than the CBR600 ... even then some will say this is too fast and advise you go the 250/500 route first but it all depends on competence and maturity ... My own 600RR is a very fast and focused bike, my older CBR600F3 is a comfy old delight but still very good and an excellent bike to start on ... we need more from you to advise better really :-)

Jules

 

Thank for the warm welcomes. But I did pass my class this weekend and got my motorcycle license. So now all I need is a bike. And I think I am just going to spend a little more money on a new used bike with less miles instead of a cheaper older bike with more miles and have to worry about having to fix it up all the time.

Oh and Jules, I read your link about turning and that is totally true. They taught us that this weekend as well as other things. And I will definitely utilize this website and look up different forums to learn more. But when I get my first bike I know I will be taking it easy for awhile before I really get into the bike. But thanks again and can't wait to be a CBR owners!

 

Congrats for passing your test Jng and welcome to CBRF! Now the hard part is over and you can just relax and have fun looking for a bike. Be sure to let us know what you end up getting and post up some pics in this thread so we can all oh and ah.

Take care and good luck!

 

Yep, Congrats on the license! Like eweppley said, the hard part is over and now you can have fun picking out a bike!

If you know anybody that's into bikes, it may help to have them tag along and look with you. It's cool to have somebody to go along anyway.
I would always recommend a CBR (I mean unless it's trashed, I guess..)
They are definately good bikes.
Welcome to the forums and ride safe!