Looking For A Good Beginner Bike!!!?

what kind do you want?

sport bike? i would go w/ something w/ a small engine like a suzuki gsxr600 or a honda cbr 600. or a ninja 250.

harley? i'd go w/ a fat boy or something like that

it all depends on what kind of bike you want?

i just got my first bike and it's a Suzuki GSXR 600

David K and others...all great answers and advice. I personally am not a fan of the Trek entry level bikes ( love their higher end bikes though- Madones and Project One). $500-$600 unfortunately will probably not get you a bike to last the duration. It is likely to get you through a year or two and then if you really get into the sport and inevitable upgrade will probably happen. I would say your price range is a good starting point to see if you really do become a dedicated rider and then if you do, you can take the plunge into a better bike. With that said, I would not worry about the 9/10 speed issue. See if you can pick-up a used bike in your price range and get it and ride. You might check with come local bike clubs to see if anyone is selling an old bike as well as Craigslist. Be careful on Ebay. There are a lot of bike scams on there.

First Bike!! Always a happy day.

As your first bike, you'll be glad that you chose to buy a smaller engine (250-500cc) Japanese bike, and even happier that you purchased a used bike when you lay it over and something breaks.

There are plenty of cheap older bikes from the U.K., Italy, and Germany, but they are cheap because people are tired of fixing them with expensive parts that are hard to find.

The Kawasaki Ninja, and bikes of its style are great bikes for the money, have good setups for learning to ride quickly, and are very nimble in the city as well as the mountain/canyon twisties.

For fun (and unbeatable utility) you should give enduros a second look. There are plenty of clean examples of early nineties Kawasaki KLR650's to be had fairly cheaply. These bikes will get you around with plenty of low-rev torque and are still big enough to commute on the freeways. As a bonus, you'll be able to turn off the asphault (with the correct tires) and tear down dirt lanes to find those secret fishing holes!

I'd steer clear of the Chinese motorcycles for a while. While cheap, there are still too many fly-by-night importers and dealers to work with while the Chinese settle into the global manufacturing business.

Here's a quick reference list of bikes you may want to look for:

-- 250cc --

Kawasaki Ninja 250

Honda Nighthawk 250

Honda Rebel

Suzuki GZ250

Yamaha Virago 250

-- 500cc to 600cc --

Buell Blast

Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD

Kawasaki Ninja 500

Kawasaki ZR550 Zephyr

Kawasaki KLR650 -(a bit tall for a first bike)

Honda CB550

Honda 599 -(expensive)

Suzuki GS500E

Yamaha's Virago 535

Yamaha XS650

Good luck! See you out there!

If you want a first bike that you can have fun with learn on and not break you bank account then do not buy anything that says GSXR on it as those kiddies have raised the insurance rates due to their childish antics nor do you want a rebel they are no better than the Chinese junk on the market. Look at Kymco's or Hyosung's. They are not Chinese and they are a very good value for your money and lots of fun. If you have to have a sport bike they have it or a cruiser they have it .

Honda rebels, Suzuki savages or marauders, Kawasaki vulcans, or Yamaha Stars if your looking for cruisers. If you want a sportier bike Kawasaki ninja's. These are all good and are widely used by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation for begginer classes. They are not very heavy and are pretty easy to ride.

Check out a Suzuki Marauder or Suzuki Intruder. They're cruiser bikes that are a little smaller but are fun to ride. You can pick up a decent used one in that price range too

how tall r u? what is your weight? can you pick it up from flat on the ground without help? do you fit on the bike? Have you 'finished' growing? Do you have the build to wrestle with it, and can you hold it down, and hold on safely. There are some bikes some people are unsuited to, particularly if they are too small/big/weak/strong. ditto riding evironments and styles. That said, bikes are fun, tho they cannot be taken lightly. They can kill/maim so easily, and other drivers are worse.

Look around and get something from teh 80's or so. Good price and usually dependable. Nice to start with.

Suzuki DRZ400SM is a good starter. Do not get a discontinued model like for example a cannondale. I also like the 08 WR250SM but that goes for about 5K.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Yamaha-WR-250x-2008...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Motorcycles___2006-...

What type of bike ?

MX / Road / track / work / town ?