Motorcycle advice

[republic]

I'm only 32, and more than once this forum has been a great place for manly wisdom.  I come to you gents again today...I've decided I want to buy a motorcycle.

My money is tight, but I have two options locally that interest me.

Option a)  2008 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Military edition, 3600miles, $2500 (I'm sure they'll come down some)

Option b)  1999 Kawasaki Vulcan 500, 2800miles, $1600 (firm)

Both are owned by guys 60+

How are these bikes?  How are these prices?  I know I want something small for my first bike, just something to get me to work and back on nice days until I know whether it is going to be something I really want to get into.  (Or go in debt for)

[Staggerwing]

Man, you have to get the Royal Enfield! The Kawie is probably a more reliable bike but just compare the two:



And then remember what hobby has brought most of us to these forums. How else are we supposed to respond but with a shout to "Get the Army Bike!"

[republic]

That was my first thought Staggerwing, but I'm such a newbie with motorcycles I was afraid someone would say "Oh no don't you know those things explode!?"

That photo looks just like the one I'm looking at, with the saddlebag cases and all.

[GDS_Starfury]

buy a cheap car and do track days!   O0

[mirth]

Hard to say no to the Vulcan, for the name alone.

[Staggerwing]

Full disclosure here: One of the bikes I owned was a 1985 Kawasaki 450LTD, the forerunner to the Vulcan500. It was a nice little commuter bike and I rode it to work for an entire winter when I had no car. It did well by me, hardly ever breaking down. When it did I could fix almost anything with a bit of extra wire, a single 10mm socket, and one of those non-ratcheting handles that flips back and forth, all of which I kept in the tiny little locking compartment built into the seat-back. Still, my favorite bike was a 68 or 69 (no title and no internet to research provenance) Triumph Trophy 500. I probably spent at least 5 hours working on it for every 1 hour I rode it but that 1 hour was worth it, it was that much fun to ride. Eventually the Triumph's needs went beyond my meager mechanicals skills and I ended up selling it but I have some great memories of riding it on some windy roads and stopping for a pint or two.

[GDS_Starfury]

riding bikes is among the only things on this planet that truly scares me.
I expect it stems from decades of driving down here in Flori-duh.

[Gusington]

Get the army bike! There's a dude in my town who has a very similar bike with a sidecar that his wife rides in :)

[airboy]

Remember the laws of physics.  You have no safety margin for error on a bike compared to even a small car with seat belts.

[Staggerwing]

Remember the laws of physics.  You have no safety margin for error on a bike compared to even a small car with seat belts.

If he was going to be sensible he wouldn't be looking at motorbikes at all, and he certainly wouldn't be asking advice from this lot.  :))


One thing though. If you have kids you must have some really good life insurance with no motorcycle clauses and also you must wear a good helmet. Before kids I was stupid and never wore one (I live in a no-helmet-law state) and after kids I never rode without a helmet (actually, I stopped riding completely a few years after my 1st kid was born). A brain is a mushy thing and even just skidding out on a sand patch at low speed can make you into a mental turnip without your Spaceman Spiff Brainbucket to protect you.

[GDS_Starfury]

dumbass...  if ya wore a helmet before the kids you wouldnt have kids, if ya know what I mean....

[Staggerwing]

dumbass...  if ya wore a helmet before the kids you wouldnt have kids, if ya know what I mean....

I did say I was stupid back then...

[GDS_Starfury]

advice the Grogheads is good for:
games
kids

advice Grogheads is not good for:
women
keeping safe
pretty much the rest of lifes ordeals  :)

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Remember the laws of physics.  You have no safety margin for error on a bike compared to even a small car with seat belts.

If he was going to be sensible he wouldn't be looking at motorbikes at all, and he certainly wouldn't be asking advice from this lot.  :))

Prize for insulting everyone in one sentence.
lol

[Gusington]

At the risk of bringing this thread down I worked with a 63 year old IT guy who loved riding his bike every chance he got (he had an Indian). He was killed while trying to get home in the rain 3 weeks ago, and he had no helmet on.