Motorcycles

[MarioImpemba]

Nice.

Only $300 to ship? That's cheap as hell.

 

[Deuce]

Looking for my first bike. Would prefer to only spend around $1,000. It will only really be used for around town and to and from work (about 5 miles). I am thinking about going with an old dual sport but am a little overwhelmed with all the options. Some of the models I have been looking at: DR350, DR650, TW200, XL350, XL600. Any help or suggestions would be super helpful.

I would like to eventually get it to look something like this:

XL600

TW200 w/ Honda tank

 

[Cool The Kid]

Old bikes rarely make good first bikes

 

[dohare]

Nice.

Only $300 to ship? That's cheap as hell.

yeah man, Uship is awesome. Plus FL to northeast is a popular run for a lot of these freight truckers.

 

[dohare]

Looking for my first bike. Would prefer to only spend around $1,000. It will only really be used for around town and to and from work (about 5 miles). I am thinking about going with an old dual sport but am a little overwhelmed with all the options. Some of the models I have been looking at: DR350, DR650, TW200, XL350, XL600. Any help or suggestions would be super helpful.

I would like to eventually get it to look something like this:

XL600


TW200 w/ Honda tank

these are street legal?

 

[Deuce]



Old bikes rarely make good first bikes

Any suggestions? Do I need to prepare myself to spend more money?

these are street legal?

I believe so, they are both based off of dual sports.

 

[dohare]

some states require turn signals, some dont, you'll definitely need brake lights.

 

[otc]

The original bikes may have been street legal, but those ones definitely are not.

I don't think old bikes are terrible first bikes. They might require a bit of mechanical aptitude to maintain, but a lot of people don't even keep their first bike for very long. If you buy it and it works for a year with nothing more than oil changes and you can sell it off to someone else...you've done well.

 

[Deuce]



The original bikes may have been street legal, but those ones definitely are not.

I don't think old bikes are terrible first bikes. They might require a bit of mechanical aptitude to maintain, but a lot of people don't even keep their first bike for very long. If you buy it and it works for a year with nothing more than oil changes and you can sell it off to someone else...you've done well.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but why aren't they street legal? It looks like they both have plates, brake light, head light, mirror... I don't think Colorado requires turn signals.

 

[dohare]

i don't see brake lights, am i blind? and some states are also very strict about license plate positioning, I'm almost positive if i were to ride around NJ with one of these a cop would pull me over for not being able to read the tags.

 

[Deuce]



i don't see brake lights, am i blind? and some states are also very strict about license plate positioning, I'm almost positive if i were to ride around NJ with one of these a cop would pull me over for not being able to read the tags.

They are pretty small and tough to see. I live in Colorado, so I think they are little more lax with motorcycles. From what I have read, all you need is headlight, tail light, one mirror, and horn.

 

[otc]

Alright, well now that I can see those brake lights (hopefully the oncoming traffic can see them too), I guess they are legal in CO.

Still would want turn signals though. Hand signals are not so great. How do you hand signal a left turn across busy traffic? You reach out your arm, but then traffic doesn't clear up so you have to keep slowing down and maybe even stop. Now you've got to reach your arm back in to operate the clutch...and now you are just slowed/stopped in the middle of a busy road without a signal indicating why. Goes double if it is dark out.

Would much rather keep both hands on the bars (especially for a beginner)

 

[epb]



Looking for my first bike. Would prefer to only spend around $1,000. It will only really be used for around town and to and from work (about 5 miles). I am thinking about going with an old dual sport but am a little overwhelmed with all the options. Some of the models I have been looking at: DR350, DR650, TW200, XL350, XL600. Any help or suggestions would be super helpful.

Based on the above, why a dual sport?

As for age of bike - if you're mechanically inclined and want experience working on an old bike, buy something old. If you actually want seat time, get something newer that you can just hop on and ride. I've got a 1978 and 1988 bike and had a 2006 Honda until a couple of weeks ago - being able to walk out, hop on and ride is a wonderful thing.

Of the bikes listed, the DR line is so beloved I don't think you can go wrong. I've ridden a cousin's TW200 and thought it was fun - lightweight, peppy, easy to ride. He lives in rural KY, though, where a dual sport makes more sense.

 

[Deuce]



Based on the above, why a dual sport?

As for age of bike - if you're mechanically inclined and want experience working on an old bike, buy something old. If you actually want seat time, get something newer that you can just hope on and ride. I've for a 1978 and 1988 bike and had a 2006 Honda until a couple of weeks ago - being able to walk out, hop on and ride is a wonderful thing.

Of the bikes listed, the DR line is so beloved I don't think you can go wrong. I've ridden a cousin's TW200 and thought it was fun - lightweight, peppy, easy to ride. He lives in rural KY, though, where a dual sport makes more sense.

I live on dirt roads and also, I just really like the looks of them when they are all stripped down without the plastics. I was also looking at Yamaha XS650's before that white Honda caught my eye. I would like to get something newer (electric start) but I just don't want to spend that much money until I am sure I will actually ride long term.

 

[dohare]

if you live on dirt roads then what i said about turn signals and brake lights is probably irrelevant haha.