Hey all.

I leave for basic training for the Army shortly and I was going to use some of my enlistment bonus on possibly getting a bike... I have a few questions though.

On a new cbr600, it'll run me about $10,000 from the dealer, correct? On average, what type of payments am I looking at here if I put 1-3K down?

And Im about 6'3, will this bike be too small for me, are there any other bigger sports bikes?

Thanks!

 

Hey Syrius187 ~ welcome to CBRF . Sounds to me like you’re new to bikes and probably between 18 -25 years of age (lucky dog) but I could be wrong. Regarding your height, there's been a few threads on that topic and the consensus has been that no, you’re not too tall. Go to your local dealer and sit on a few. But be careful because they’ll convince into buying something, lol. As far as getting a bigger bike, learn to ride first and get good at it, then move up to a bigger engine if you choose to do so at that point. Some people will argue you should start with a smaller bike. A 600 is not a toy and will mess you up real quick if you don’t respect it; i.e. brain/neck injuries, paralysis, amputations (things to think about). In the military I believe you have to take a mandatory MSF course. If not, take it anyways for it’s tremendously helpful and it makes obtaining your driver’s license a lot quicker (in most states). I’m not going to talk you out of getting a new bike because it used to **** me off when I was in the market for one (although I ended up buying used). Something to think about is that new bikes cost more to insure and register. Plus you could pick up a barely used one for less than half that price, with no interest. So regarding payment on a new bike, your credit score and debt to income ratio is going to be the determining factor. A big down payment is very helpful at persuading the lender. You’ll have to consider insurance as part of the total cost of the bike for if you fall within the above listed age range, is going to be quite high and possibly quite comparable to the bike payment. I’d call your insurance agent and get a quote or simply ask them what it’s going to be. Also, many dealerships have online payment calculators which give you a rough payment estimate depending on the time of the loan and loan amount.

BTW, thanks for enlisting & good luck.

 

Hey Incognito, Thanks for answering my questions.

I am 20, turning 21 this december. Im not against buying used, or a small engine. The only reason I consider buying new is because I will be coming home from training with between $9-13K. Possibly a few more thousand (depending on if I can recruit anyone) I will also be drawing a paycheck. I planned on spending $3,000 on a car, paying it off. And did not want to buy a 4-5K bike used and only have a few thousand left. I didnt know if it would be better to put a few thousand down on a new one (i've fallen in love with the looks of the 09cbr600) and then get my payments under $200 a month and just pay on it verses spending 4-6K on used and losing the money all at once.
Does honda's motorcycle site have a payment calculator? I looked with no luck.

If I were to buy new, and a smaller engine, what would you recommend?

If I were to buy used, same question?

And the military doesnt require it but my options go as this, as far as getting my license for a bike.

Get the bike, insure it, go to the DMV, take the test, then drive for them. OR

I can take the safety course (which I plan on, my dad took it and said he learned A LOT) It's required that I spend 10 hours i believe in a class room, then go to the DMV and just take the test without driving.

Thank you again.

 

Yeah, I kinda figured that. My brother-in-law is your age and he's in the Air Force. He wanted to do the same thing. Had 10K burning a hole in his pocket. His mother talked him out of it, lol.
There's yet another option; you can finance a used bike. With the downpayment you have in mind, you could walk away with a $100 per month payment on a bike which you'd be hard pressed to tell was used (besides the odometer). Here I am trying to talk you out of buying a NEW bike like I didn't want to do. If you're not married with children and don't have any other financial obligations, there's nothing wrong with getting the new one. But vehicle payments suck! They come fast and often. I've never bought a new vehicle and probably never will. I just don't see the point in it. That $10K bike will eventually cost you $13K+, and that's a lot of cash.
What I would do, is go to several dealers and see what they have. They'll have used ones and new ones. Take your Dad with or at least another responsible person who you can talk to. Go there just to look with no money. Talk to the sales rep and get a general idea, look around. Then go home and give it some hard thought; the longer the better. The thing is (and I understand) is that you’re hard pressed for time. Haste and good financial decisions usually don’t coincide.
I'm not going to suggest a smaller bike (that's for other people to do). I'm still on my first bike which is a '03 CBR600F4i (a good starter bike/some will argue). Some models would be a Suzuki 500, Kawasaki 650, Yamaha R6S, which by the way, are also a lot cheaper than a racing oriented bike, like the CBR600RR.
The course I attended was five hours of classroom and the rest was on the bikes, for two days. Then if/when you pass, they give you a card which you take to the DMV and have the endorsement added on with no further testing. I would not have been able to pass the driving course without the class. It's very thorough.