Quote:
Originally Posted by 89StangGuy
What are some good 500cc bikes that are good for beginners?!?!? I am only 5'6 and weigh 140 pounds. So not very tall, and don't weigh very much. I'm looking for a bike where I'm not on the tip of my toes all the time. Gas on the 5.0 is killing me so I signed up for my motorcycle safety classes and i should have my license in a few weeks so i will need a bike shortly after. Any help appreciated. O yes, the bike also has to look half decent. I like the crotch rocket look, like gsxr's and honda cbrs.
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The almost universally acclaimed beginner bike is the Suzuki SV 650. It's a two cylinder bike and has a fair bit of torque, so you don't have to rev it so much to get it moving like a smaller displacement 4 cylinder bike. You can pick up great condition bikes for well under $5k (considerably less if you look and are patient). Here's a zero effort find on CL that looks pretty good.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/mcy/1489966372.html
The other nice things about the SV is the tremendous aftermarket support if you want to tweak on anything and the relative ease with which you can resell them when the time comes.
heypal and/or Nordy Racer can help identify a good purchase better than I can. You might want to invest a little extra after you get it to have it set up specifically for you. Things like ride height, etc. can usually be adjusted quite a bit to suit the rider (not sure how much on an SV).
Other good beginner bikes are
Yamaha FZ6
Suzuki Bandit 600(s)
Honda VFR 600
BTW, all of these will be PLENTY snappy and faster than you might expect. They're considered sorta beginner bikes, but lots of guys use them for years as commuter bikes etc.
As true sport bikes, Gixxers, CBRs, Rs, etc. are going to be much more expensive on insurance.