Cruiser bike for beginner

What age are you? Do you have a permit yet?

lalababa wrote: »

Anything that's not too heavy or big dragstar types ( difficulty cornering for beginners).
So 125 to 500cc lightish.
Virago, GZ,( 250dragstar ok too)elim, intruder...all of them really.
Any 125 to 250 cruiser or road/cruiser like gn250/tux.
Ideally for beginners a 250 but also up to 500 that's light. like the virago 400 and 535 are nice and light.

125/250 cruiser for a 110km journey? Are you cracked I couldn't imagine much worse in relation to bikes than a 125cc doing a 110km trip.
Theres 50kg in the difference in a 535 and a dragster 650, if it falls you won't notice the 50kg cause both will be a giant pain to get up.

He'll also be sick of being underpowered, unable to over take in most situations, and slow as all hell within a month too.

Virago 535
Xvs 650
Vn900
Shadow 600

No ape bars, or ape hanger style bars full stop.
Avoid cheap looking led indicators, they may eventually be a bain of your existence.
Get crash bars if it hasn't got any.

Has anyone actually commuted 110km on a 125 in the past 10 years??

hedzball wrote: »

Has anyone actually commuted 110km on a 125 in the past 10 years??

In my youth I bought a 125 dragstar. Oh how I loved it. I still pine for it. I’m a big boy and 125 was sufficient - ish spins around town etc

I drove Limerick to Kerry a few times and Limerick to Dublin. I don’t know what I was thinking really. I remember when going to Dublin I had to stay in 4th gear cos when I went to fifth the wind being strong that day made me slow down a lot.

And the wind, the rain!!!!

Jesus I knew nothing. And sometimes I think I know less now.

Are we not assuming a 125 here? I commuted for 2 years on a naked 250 100km round trip mostly motorway, wasn't far off redlining it most of the way, no harm I couldn't go much faster. I wouldn't dream of it now but back then I was quite happy.

FrankC21 wrote: »

I'm a complete beginner, 32 years old, I am planning on doing the theory test when lockdown is lifted, the whole idea is that I just want to ride the bike on a quiet sunny sunday morning commute to work 3-4 times per month even fewer cause of the weather, I am not going to use it as regular transport, commute is from drogheda to Dublin its about 55km each way. Really just to enjoy and have fun not too keen on going bloody fast like, just 100km/hr, if a cruiser doesn't suit that then what sort of bike I will need, I am open to any suggestion.

What's drawing you to motorbikes, OP? It might help us guide you to what suits you best. No shame in being drawn to cruisers cos of Sons of Anarchy or a similar reason!

FrankC21 wrote: »

I'm a complete beginner, 32 years old, I am planning on doing the theory test when lockdown is lifted, the whole idea is that I just want to ride the bike on a quiet sunny sunday morning commute to work 3-4 times per month even fewer cause of the weather, I am not going to use it as regular transport, commute is from drogheda to Dublin its about 55km each way. Really just to enjoy and have fun not too keen on going bloody fast like, just 100km/hr, if a cruiser doesn't suit that then what sort of bike I will need, I am open to any suggestion.

Honda Deauville 650 or if you want to go New/Shiny,a Royal Enfield Interceptor 650.

I'll have you guys know, I once did a wheelie on my Deau. Never again will I forget to remove the disk lock :eek::o:(:pac:

Edit to say, well in fact I did forget again. Thats Two speedo drives I had to replace, threw the second one in the bin with the lock.

And I wasn't even 70.

I know probably above the price range the OP said but what would a vulcan 650s be like as a cruiser for a beginner. Fabulous looking bike i think.

Having been on a 125 cruiser for the last two years (Thanks Liberty) I can tell you two things, 125s and 250s are going for stupid money because young people are buying them because they can't insure anything else. If you're set on a cruiser, get a 250, but make sure it's a twin cylinder or you'll really be missing the power you need for that kind of commute on a dual carriageway. If you go with anything around the 500 mark you should be OK even without much experience.

Personally if I was you, I'd give myself an extra 500 or 1000 euro, that puts you in the category of decent bikes, in and around the mid 2000's, if you're mechanically inclined go lower, I'm referring to both years and money here.

If you're open to suggestions, I'd advise just staying away from cruisers altogether, the only appeal is the styling really, there's nothing a cruiser can do that a naked bike can't do better IMHO, if it's the styling you like by all means go ahead though. If I was you I'd be looking at low to mid cc naked bikes like the Kawi Z300, Honda CBF500, or something adventurish like a Kawi Versys 650.

People have suggested the Honda Deauville. It's a very functional bike, it's fast enough, very reliable and requires very little maintenance due to the shaft drive, it's comfy and will keep you safe from the wind and weather, plus it's got panniers built into it. Downsides are the old ones are getting old at this stage, likes of 2003 and 2005 bikes. Other than that you're looking at the Deauville 700, which is a significant improvement, but they're going for stupid money, in and around 4000. I'd advise you to ignore what other posters have said about it being a dad bike and that it's boring and so forth, having said that, it's a dad bike and it's not particularly exciting.

zubair wrote: »

What's with all the deauville talk lately, I thought this was a motorbike forum.

:eek:

zubair wrote: »

What's with all the deauville talk lately, I thought this was a motorbike forum.

Fine. I’ll shuttup then. Meanie.

Please accept my apologies in advance - I'm going to mention Deauvilles:eek:

The 700 came out in about 2006 and I remember seeing a list of problems associated with it. I think they were ironed out after a couple of iterations, so probably from 2008 they were fine. Can't remember how serious they were, but an owners forum was very active discussing them.

Here's a very useful source of info : http://www.deauvilleuk.org/forum/index.php?sid=352e5a282665a6bd65dc4884bf3ebe8e

Max Headroom wrote: »

I'll just finish by saying for a first bike a full fairing and panniers is a no no...especially when he drops it...;)

Panniers will save the fairings ha.
Throw on bar ends and crash bungs jobs a gooden, or if you're adventurous and don't cringe at the idea of drilling and cutting fairings like I do, throw on a stunt cage.

galwaytt wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with a cruiser - for that commute or any other tbh. It's only 55km - 35 miles in old money. Anyone who thinks a mid-size or full size bike can't do that is off their trolley, weather or not.

One thing I would agree with is NOT getting a 125. At your age, you don't need to.

A Dragstar 650 would be ideal imho. Simple, reliable, shaft drive. But there are others out there too. Honda Shadow, Kawasaki VN.

Cruisers are learner and new-rider friendly, and not imposing, and cheap(er) to insure. You can always sell it if you get bored, down the road.

I don't think anyone is saying it can't be done. As far as I can tell the responses are more about buying the bike for the job, which is a 55km x2 motorway trip.

FrankC21 wrote: »

But I won't be using it on a rush hour weekdays just on quiet sunday morning during summertime, I do work on sundays and typically will start commute around 6ish AM and goes home 8pm so hardly any cars on the road, then and I just l9ve the noise of the cruiser.

as good a set of reasons to buy a bike as any

FrankC21 wrote: »

But I won't be using it on a rush hour weekdays just on quiet sunday morning during summertime, I do work on sundays and typically will start commute around 6ish AM and goes home 8pm so hardly any cars on the road, then and I just l9ve the noise of the cruiser.

You'll freeze your bollix off with no wind protection on a cruiser doing that distance at 6am. I'm not here to diss them but it's not a commuter bike for that hour of the morning or that distance. I'd say knock yourself out of you were doing 20km on national roads into the city or whatever but I'm just being honest.

If you want one then be prepared for the wind protection to be crap and chilly at that time of day. I'd honestly tell you to get a heated jacket otherwise you may start not taking the bike at all and just not enjoying it.

I've done the Drogheda to Dublin 55km each way trek, and I have to say, it got to be a total drag on my Honda Super Four.

Yes you can do it on a cruiser OP, but if you're taking the M1, be prepared for a long, monotonous journey where you do kinda need power.
That said, if you're dead set on a cruiser, go for it. You'll either enjoy yourself and take to biking, or find yourself getting bored, chilly and frustrated three trips in, but at least you'll have tried.

eoin.d wrote: »

What exactly is the drawbacks of a cruiser with decent power on a journey like this? Is it the cold and wind or what?

usually the lack of decent wind protection, ape hangers can be a pain on the shoulders too.
Then unless you are paying good money, their suspension isn't always the best and you will notice this on the road.

A heavy bike sucks too when stopping and starting with traffic or even filtering.
Theres 50kg between my two bikes and its seriously noticeable.

So would a vulcan 650 s be a bad choice for 60 mile round trip 5 days a week on mixture backroads and motorway

And to add, it is MISERABLE being blasted in the face and torso with cold strong wind. The difference between my Super Four and Super Blackbird is obviously huge, but I can say specifically that power aside (and that definitely matters), the fairings and screen of the Bird give protection from the weather, where my Four offered nothing.

NickNickleby wrote: »

... then throw me on the back of a flat-bed and dump me out at the five roads, where some passing American tourists stop, awe stricken, and ask me to play duelling banjos.

"You sure have a purdy mouth, boy."

*spits*

zubair wrote: »

I don't know, I still think I'd prefer the cruiser.

:pac::pac::pac:

goblin59 wrote: »

https://www.adverts.ie/car/other-motorbikes/other-motorbikes/yamaha-virago-125/23486821

Could buy that, ride it back to Dublin and if you haven't fecked it into a ditch and taken the bus back then you have a bike!

Surely this belongs in the dreamer thread. 1850 :—0