Decent starter bike.

Hey guys.

Have been a moped guy up until now.

I like lighter nimble bikes, & am young...so I dont need a cadillac.

Keeping cost around $5000, what should I be hunting for?

Have 200 acres that I need to be able to get too, & love old country roads.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

Chad

For street? Suzuki SV650. Great bikes, very reliable and not too sporty. Enduro, BMW 650. Stay away from the high-powerd 600 crothc rockets (CBR, R6 etc). Just my .02

depending on how tall you are.
short xt250
tall kawasaki 250, honda crf250, yamaha wr250
they are all good bikes, all light and work good on and off road.
also the yamaha xt225, and dr200 are a nice bikes that are a little cheaper.

if you want a little more then a dr650 or klr650 are also good choices.
go to the dealer and see what fits.

Im pretty partial to dualsports. The Jap ones are great for road use. All the above mentioned are good, but to add the Suzuki DRZ400. Lots of nice used ones out there.

Does it need to go on dirt roads?

Does it need to go off dirt roads?

Does it need to do 300+ miles in relative comfort?

^What all these people said. I'll add the Honda CRF250L. Fuel injection, water cooling, MSRP of $4,500. Smooth on the street, reasonably capable off-road.

I chose a DRZ400S for my starter bike. Love it so far (though I have nothing to compare it against), not to big, decently light (320 pounds i think), and handles good on and off road.

i just picked up a 2009 BMW G650GS w/3000 miles for my daughter for $5000 from my local BMW dealer.

CBR250R, CBR500, EX250, EX500, EX650, SV650, GS500, GS650F, F650, etc. Having already ridden a lot on scooters, you'll be fine with just about anything under 750CC with two cylinders.

What's that mean? Goat trails, tractor trails, gravel roads, well maintained, holes big enough to swallow a jeep, or ?

You're probably looking for a 250-ish to 400-ish dual sport or even SuperMoto with dual sport tread.


Klay implied by leaving the extra 'o' out of highlight

sv650.

Given your history with scooters, your idea of lightweight will be different than most. I would suggest staying under 250cc. Given your fondness for simplicity, I would suggest something Japanese. For a do anything bike that meets both of those objectives, the Yamaha XT225/250 or Honda CRF230/250 bikes would be great.

If your idea of "accessing 200 acres" involves deer trails, you should take a look at some of the used trials bikes (rock climbers). Many of the new ones don't even have seats, but there are some that do, such as the Honda Reflex (not to be confused with the Reflex scooter).

Turbo Busa' Just respect it!

Curbcast:

Some folks are suggesting streetbikes and some are suggesting small dual sport bikes (dirt + street). Can you better define the riding you intend to do on it?

Country roads? dirt roads? trails?

I think for any combination of these, I'd suggest what others have. Personally I think it's generally best for any motorcyclist to start out on a small dualsport bike.

Yamaha XT225 or newer XT250 (both have low seats). Suzuki DR 200 (low seat height, old school technology) Honda CRF230L (low seat) or newer CRF250L (medium height seat). Kawasaki Sherpa (low seat). Kawasaki klx250s -newer (medium to high seats). Yamaha WR250R -Best technology and most serious bike in this class (highest seat height)

How about this one?

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=853921

Don

TW200 or XT250 great starters!

TW200 is what I learned on. They are fun for beginners and experienced riders as well.

Not so good for the freeway, though- eh?

Another good thing about the TW200, buy one used, flog it for a while, sell it for what you paid for it.

Right shouldn't be no highways till you learn to ride any way. JMO

My wife does good her TW it will do 55 no problem yes it will loose some speed on hills ect but for some one 5'3 it fits her and is one of the best learning bikes Ive ridden (little cramped for me 6'3 though)

Yeah not so good on the freeway.