| Author | Message | ||
     Spike |
I usually consider myself to be pretty good at picking bikes for riders who are new to the sport, but this time I'm a bit stumped. My 21 year old brother in law is looking to buy his first street bike during this summer. The problem is that he's a big guy, well over 6' tall and weighs probably 300lbs. Also, it looks like he'll have no more than $3k to spend on the bike since I'm trying to get him to budget appropriately for riding gear. He hasn't ridden on the street or taken the MSF course yet, but he has been gaining some dirt experience on an XR250 lately. I can't picture putting him on a Blast or Ninja 250, either would be underpowered and under-suspended for someone his size. He'd like to get an M2 Cyclone, but I think that's a lot of bike for a beginner and it's unlikely we'll find one that fits in in budget. An SV650 would probably work, but I know the stock SV suspension is on the soft side and I haven't had much luck finding clean ones under $3k. Any other recommendations? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I know what you're talking about. I would find him a nice used dual-purpose bike. They are pretty tall and light. My friend was in an even worse position since he was 300 pounds but he is short too. We ended up getting him on a Honda VT500 ascot and we lowered the forks in the clamps and applied shorter shocks to the rear from the junkyard. It still handled scary. His weight was enough to bottom out the rear on level pavement! He ended up crashing it into a car due to pilot error after driving it all summer. | ||
| U4euh |
What about an older sport bike, VFR, CB1100F? Speaking of, I got one just sitting under a piece of aluminum,1100F that is. | ||
| Ezblast |
KLR650. | ||
| Cataract2 |
He needs a Blast.  | ||
| Ryker77 |
perhaps a pedal bike would do him good. Ride that for a few months, drop the fat and fit on bike safley. Other than that he will need a large expensive cruiser. Most cheap bikes will not properly handle that much weight or be comfortable to a big guy. | ||
| Patrickh |
79' Suzuki GS 750 or 1000. Plenty big enough, nice linear power delivery, and enough of it. The extra money you saved you can get the points switched out for an electronic ignition, the carbs synced up and you could insure it for a year. | ||
| Jimincalif |
Heh. I'm 6'4"/300lbs, I fit my '97 S3 just fine with just a handlebar change (flattracker style). I have a friend who wants his first bike. I swear to God, he's 6'8", 410lbs. Damned if I know what to put him on. Early Goldwing 4-banger maybe (stripped down, not the full bagger). Normally a Goldwing as a first bike would be nutso but in this case... Or some Jap cruiser twin with a custom seat and different rear springs. Sheesh. | ||
| Jimincalif |
U4euh: even an early 4-banger sportbike is NOT for beginners. The powerband is too peaky, too explosive, if he catches it "on the boil" in mid-corner he's toast. Only the mildest-tuned Jap 4s are fit for beginners - like the SecaII 600, or the 1980s Nighhawks or the single-overhead-cam Honda 650/750 4s. | ||
| Kdan |
Remember these? Not my first bike by any means, but one of the first that really scared the hell out of me. Handled like crap and exceeded mach1. Honda CBX  | ||
| Tripp |
i agree w/patrick, jim - definitely an early eighties cb750 or kz750 or gs750 and it's something he can ride a few years and not grow out of in 6 months. | ||
| Essthreetee |
I sold my cb750 (it was a '93) when I bought my S3...it was a great bike...I don't know how it would do under 300lbs, I am 6'2" and only 166lbs... | ||
| Oldog |
Jim in ca I owned a 79 GS1000 E as my first big bore road bike, Spike the 750 or 1000 is an excellent suggestion the suzi had an electric motor like power band with a nice surge from 6k to 7500 not to much different than my X1 except at higher rpm with less low end torque it was not peaky, another point with the 79 vintage mills, i sold mine at 58k miles and kept tune up / valve adjustment records over they years I owned it it lost maybe 3 psi on the compression, top speed was about 137 or soo [ indicated ] it used almost no oil and after the first 3 years valve adjustments were only required about 1 time a year, finding the shims may be a pain now [ a nice 79 gs would be a collector ] some time after 80 they went to a plain bearing crank and rods screw adjustable tappets [ the early tscc egines ] If you can find one that was not a beater, a couple of weekends of work for a good clean up, rid-er.... me I do not think that newbees should be put on underpowered bikes but should buy a bike that they would intend to use for a good long time, ( respect the throttle ) the best thing that spike has pointed out is that his BIL is learning on dirt, its a little softer than pavement and there are less cars there sliding and falling can be practiced in relative safety. most of the UJMs' with conventional forks could be fitted up with schrader valves and air assisted springs to set up ride height, If they have conventional preload adjustable shocks they can be jacked up to deal with the weight, I carried me, girlfriend, clothes, and misc for a weeks visit from Atlanta to Topeka KS the total combined weight was in excess of 300# 8 or 10 psi air and twist the collars up 2 notches good to go.. A Racer replica is Not a good learner, for reasons that you point out.. | ||
| Mikej |
Here you go, decent price too: http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/mcy/152508563.html
 Just found this one on the local Craigslist.com while looking for something else. |
