Let’s suppose that I was going to buy a motorcycle to commute to work on. It’s been a loooonnnnng time since I last rode one, way back in my teens, and although I still have my license, I’m completely out of touch with the state of the art.
What kind of motorcycle should I buy?
My commute is about twenty miles, one-way, on mostly rural roads at about 45 miles per hour, although there’s a bit of urban traffic at one end. I don’t want some monstrous Honda wide-glide thing, and I don’t want a Harley; what I need is a reasonable, middle-of-the-road motorcycle with a reasonably sized engine and reasonably upright seating position (I ain’t as limber as once I was) that will start first time, every time, and not need any repairs ever. You, know, a sane motorcycle.
Honda Shadow 600 VLX pretty neatly fits your requirements. I have one and like it very much. If you’d prefer a 5-speed transmission the Shadow 750 has one but is a significantly more expensive bike.
Spend a couple hundred bucks and get a good windshield when you buy the bike.
My current ride is a Piaggio BV500, a maxi-scooter with a CVT (twist-and-go) transmission, which is nice as my commute is mostly in-city, and the scooter comes with underseat storage for gear. At the same time, the large displacement engine and wheels (40hp and 16" wheels – large for a scooter) means it handles on the highway very well at 75 MPH.
On the “standard motorcycle” side of things, I’m toying with the idea of a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD cruiser, a good bang for the buck.
I agree with ScumPup, Hondas are very reliable and a 600 should be a great tradeoff of performance and economy. I get about 65MPG on my Honda Shadow Aero 750.
And get signed up for a MSF class, they’re very well done and you only have to take the written DMV test if you pass the MSF course.
Not really. If you have any experience, and it sounds like you do, you’ll want a 600 or 650. To answer your question, though, we need to know what style of bike you like. A sports bike will transfer more power to the road per cc, but is harder to steer at slow speeds and uncomfortable for long distances. A naked bike is good for a beginning rider who’ll likely drop their bike a time or two (naked means it doesn’t have fairings, which will probably have to be replaced in an accident). If you narrow the field for us, we can give better and more specific recommendations. I ride a Kawasaki ZZR 1200, which is a sport touring bike. It’s nice, because it has the styling and power a sport bike, but is comfortable for long distances.
TAKE THE MSF COURSE!, and remember, wear your helmet, and no skin below the chin.
Pick the bike based on the bike; a big part of engine configuration is sound and styling. The angle just determines the firing timing and how the engine vibration is mitigated.
I ditto the above, the Shadow was what I was going to recommend. Myself, I’m currently bike-less but had an '83 Honda Shadow 750 for quite a while and thought it was a great bike.
The Suzuki SV650 is a great bike for its modest price tag. Easy as pie to ride, doesn’t do anything wrong and still has enough oomph for easy overtaking.
Depending on where you live and what climate that makes it, you might want a bit of fairing as well. Some of the suggestions here have been cruisers, which are mostly nice to look at.
I’d recommend my own bike (Yamaha TDM 900) since it fits your needs to a T, but it’s not available in the Americas. At any rate, you want something reliable and easy to operate (no heavy clutch, forgiving handling) and comfy. Japanese seems to be the way to go then. Hondas are always great when it comes to reliability, but the other brands aren’t far behind. Spiny’s (how’s it going mate?) suggestion of the Suzy SV650 is a good one, too.
One of the lighter BMW’s (I’m thinking Carver series) would suit the purpose as well, and it has the upside of having a cardan drive shaft, cutting down on maintenance. Still, overall reliability and maintenance costs of BMW’s aren’t as good as with Japanese bikes.
I have to throw in my regular two cents for a Triumph. The last 25,000 miles I’ve only needed tires, brakes and oil changes. No troubles ever.
Mostly find something with a comfortable seating position for you. Are you 5’5" or 6’4"? For instance I like my legs tucked back a little more and taller handlebars.
I have no idea what you would like for a motorcycle. I had a Honda Shadow VLX for a long time and had no problems with it. I took it all over the East Coast so highway miles are no problem.
I am however going to stress the use of a helmet. Everyone is at some risk of having an accident. Just yesterday when coming to a stop I hit something, I don’t know what, either something slick or a bad bump. It threw me from the bike. I can see where I hit my head. With the exception of my pride being hurt, and a lot of plastic broken, I was able to pick up the bike and ride home no problem. I wouldn’t be able to say that if I wasn’t wearing a helmet. You can never tell when something stupid is going to happen.
I don’t understand this either. Cruiser bikes are ridden in a more-or-less erect position and are as comfortable as a motorcycle is going to be. Racing-style bikes are ridden in a crouch which strikes me as less comfortable.
Cruiser bikes are often sold bare with no fairing or windshield, so maybe he is referring to that. A windshield does make riding at highway speed more comfortable.
I think he means that some cruisers are hard to ride for any kind of distance. As I said though I took my 600 everywhere. I’m also 6’2" or so. You’ll need to sit on a few different bikes though, I can’t really ride a sport bike as they tend to be a bit small for my knees. If you can find a use Nighthawk they are supposed to be one of the better bikes around for all around use. I’ve known guys who have ridden them across Russia. You’ll just have to experiment with a few different bikes.
I’m about 5’6", and my Honda 750 is like sitting on a padded bench flying down the road at 55 MPH. The overall seating position is pretty comfortable. I will say the stock seat shape is a little wonky, but it’s about $300 for a good aftermarket one. Motorcycle stuff is expensive. Don’t know why, guess it’s the relatively small market.
Quite the opposite for me. A cruiser is the only style bike that I can comfortably ride. Of course, I’m 6’5" so the stretched out position is much better suited for me. I can’t ride a Goldwing more than 30 miles without getting uncomfortable, but I can easily put 100 miles on my 700 Shadow. I could do more, but that’s all the farther my measily 2.5 gallon tank will allow.
To add to this, I will strongly advise wearing a full-face helmet; beanies with sunglasses are not much of an improvement on nothing at all when you factor in the fact that most falls are (a) at relatively low speed while riding in local street traffic, and (b) going to pitch you forward, not on top of your noggin.
Take a look at this diagram of where most helmet impacts occur, and consider whether or not you like your jaw, nose and cheeks the way they are.
I’ve also had a “thrown from bike when executing an emergency stop” scenario while learning to ride, and my chin bar took a quite a scratching. The chin bar that wouldn’t have been there if I’d been wearing even a 3/4 face helmet.
The overall seating position is pretty comfortable. I will say the stock seat shape is a little wonky, but it’s about $300 for a good aftermarket one. Motorcycle stuff is expensive. Don’t know why, guess it’s the relatively small market.