Kinda sorta looking at motorcycles

[Conveyor Belt]

I'm kinda sorta looking at motorcycles today. What I'd REALLY like to do is have the time to take my FIL's old '65 Superhawk and break it down piece by piece and rebuild it. That'd be cool and fun. Just for the hell of it.

I'm probably asking the impossible... but here goes what I want:

1) Great, and I mean GREAT fuel economy
2) Cheap, and I mean sub $5000 price
3) Something that will keep up on the highway, but I really have no need to go 100mph on a bike.

Something that will hold my 350lbs.

I stumbled upon the Kawasaki Eliminator. It looks like a normal motorcyle. I'm not opposed to scooter types, but for my size, I think I'd look better on a motorcycle than a scooter. Still, I'm only 1/2 dreaming.

I'm not sure what to look for or what to ask about. Hell, I don't even have a motorcycle endorsement on my license. I've never even ridden a motorcycle and don't even know where to start.

[bpitt]

I strongly urge you to start here.......http://www.msf-usa.org/

You can find local classes on motorcycle riding, etc. They'll teach you what you need to know.

As for as bikes, you can find one within that price range, it shouldn't be too hard.

[Guru]

CB, look for a nice used bike and although it would seem out of character for me I would suggest finding yourself a nice foreign cruiser somewhere in the 800 cc range or up.
Foreign bikes start out costing less and when they are used you can get them for about half the price and a lot of them are still in good shape.
Take the course like Bpitt says, it's well worth your while.

[Conveyor Belt]

I strongly urge you to start here.......http://www.msf-usa.org/

You can find local classes on motorcycle riding, etc. They'll teach you what you need to know.

As for as bikes, you can find one within that price range, it shouldn't be too hard.

Meridian or Picayune... nowhere in the pinebelt area...

[bpitt]

They've had them here before, keep checking.....

[fuzzis]

Several years ago (maybe six now?), after the Xboy tried to teach me how to ride causing me great trauma and fear, I went through a motorcycle rider's safety course sponsored by the MSF. They were great with me because I was scared. Left with my little card that went to the DMV with me so I could get my license. When I moved here and got my MS driver's license, they initially left my endorsement off of it, and I made them fix that.

I keep thinking that a motorcycle will be my present to myself when I finish my degree...

I bought the Xboy's motorcycle for $1200 I think, and it was a great bike. He and his brother in-law took it apart and put it back together. The first time I saw it, it was in piece in the garage and I couldn't even tell that it was a motorcycle.

[Fish-Bait]

Honda shadow spirit...VT1100cc....water cooled, will run forever. Good mileage..Power when you need it. You CAN find them for 3-5k in a new model. What happens is that middle-to a little over middle-aged men need some spunk in their life so they go out and buy one to hit the road. Then when they have that near miss and shit themselves and tell the wife she says it has to go. You get 2k off and a new bike. Just wait til' spring and well......don't kill yourself.

[IGID]

I think Chicken George might have something for you.

[58ford]

I have owned over a dozen motorbikes in my life of every major brand & drove one practically everyday for over 20 years, and I can distill what I've learned during that time into one recommendation. Honda.
I put 180k miles on a 85 Shadow without a rebuild, when you weigh money vs quality & durability, you're gonna want a Honda.
At your size you're gonna need something at least 750 cc or better, and if you plan on spending much time on the highway get something with a fairing. Water cooled is a plus.
Off the top of my head I'd recommend a good used Goldwing, If you look around you can still find one for under $5000, The GL series engines are nearly bulletproof. Have 'em check it out at A&B Cycles in Petal.

And, if you're dreamin' cycles you gotta go get a copy of Walneck's Cycle Trader.

[TheKing]

Sv650 - nekkid

[bpitt]

Oh, get one like Chuck Norris rode in Delta Force, one with rocket launchers on it! That'd kick ass!!! You blow cars off the road when they pulled out in front of you! That'd rock!!

[bpitt]

http://i21.ebayimg.com/04/i/07/a1/78/09_1_b.JPG

[58ford]

Let me warn you. At some point you will be tempted to carry a paint ball gun, & shoot the bunghole car drivers who are trying to kill you, but don't do it. That's what the friendly sheriff's deputy told me when he confiscated mine. Never, ever, ever shoot at cars, no matter how much they deserve a day-glow windshield.

[Fish-Bait]

Let me warn you. At some point you will be tempted to carry a paint ball gun, & shoot the bunghole car drivers who are trying to kill you, but don't do it. That's what the friendly sheriff's deputy told me when he confiscated mine. Never, ever, ever shoot at cars, no matter how much they deserve a day-glow windshield.

You have lost your spirit!

[Conveyor Belt]

Let me warn you. At some point you will be tempted to carry a paint ball gun, & shoot the bunghole car drivers who are trying to kill you, but don't do it. That's what the friendly sheriff's deputy told me when he confiscated mine. Never, ever, ever shoot at cars, no matter how much they deserve a day-glow windshield.

I got all that riding a bike in traffic. I never had a feeling for wanting to carry a painball gun... but I did want to get a pair of these to punch or rake down the side of their cars (but with sharpened points):

http://www.halloweenexpress.com/images/10250.jpg

[Guru]

Keep an eye out for the Kawasaki Vulcans also CB. Nice Fat Boy look, well balanced and very reliable.

[58ford]

I had a friend who, after being run off the road by a delivery truck, followed the truck to Sears, yanked the driver out, and physically informed him to watch his driving.
He didn't have little girly wrists like in the picture though.
Car drivers ARE out to kill you. They're used to seeing other cars as obstacles, often you are invisible to them simply because you don't look like what they've conditioned themselves to see as a hazzard. I was stopped to make a turn got hit. The bus driver said he didn't know I was there till he heard the thump.

[Conveyor Belt]

I just need to get some education on them. Maybe buy a one of the idiots guides to motorcycles or something. I have no idea what the terms are when I'm looking at specs on these things. What's a fairing?

[58ford]

A fairing is the windshield & the aerodynamic stuff up front that keeps the wind off of you.

[Conveyor Belt]

I had a friend who, after being run off the road by a delivery truck, followed the truck to Sears, yanked the driver out, and physically informed him to watch his driving.
He didn't have little girly wrists like in the picture though.
Car drivers ARE out to kill you. They're used to seeing other cars as obstacles, often you are invisible to them simply because you don't look like what they've conditioned themselves to see as a hazzard. I was stopped to make a turn got hit. The bus driver said he didn't know I was there till he heard the thump.

Yeah, I've read accounts on bicycle forums of bikers beating drivers for doing similar things.

When I ride, eventually, I'm going to be high visability, like I am on my bike... okay, maybe not to the extreme that I am on my bike, but I'm not going out in all black leather or anything. I will have some high vis yellow on me somewhere.

[Hob684]

Don't run stop signs... i came literally within INCHES of killing a guy in rose's parking lot as he blew threw the stopsign by Regions/amsouth.

[58ford]

Get a good leather jacket (full thickness leather, not suede or some BS like that, it should be stiff when you buy it) & sturdy boots.
And be willing to pay for a good helmet whatever you think your head is worth, Fiberglass NOT polycarbonate.

[Guru]

Ole yeller is about as yeller as custom paint can get and with all the chrome and the pipes on that thing you would think nobody would ever pull out in front of you.
Wrong.
Once I was leaving the Quarter on Dauphin? and only had a few blocks to hit Canal. Turned the bike sideways with tires urking 3 times before I got there and I wasn't going more than 25 mph. They just pull out in front of you.
Hi-vis is all you can do and be very careful.

[Guru]

I got all that riding a bike in traffic. I never had a feeling for wanting to carry a painball gun... but I did want to get a pair of these to punch or rake down the side of their cars (but with sharpened points):

http://www.halloweenexpress.com/images/10250.jpg

* A woman with spiked leather riding gloves ...................
Nothing like the feel of raw leather on nekkid flesh ...
:D

[58ford]

And Pay attention and don't show off. Most of the wrecks I've seen were the automobile's fault but most could have been avoided if the biker had been paying closer attention. If you've got to show off do it in a parking lot at a biker rally, not in traffic.

[Conveyor Belt]

Get a good leather jacket (full thickness leather, not suede or some BS like that, it should be stiff when you buy it) & sturdy boots.
And be willing to pay for a good helmet whatever you think your head is worth, Fiberglass NOT polycarbonate.

Yeah, I'm going to shell out lots on a helmet when I get one. full face. After seeing the pictures on rotten of the guy who slid on his face... yeah...

[58ford]

Yeah, I'm going to shell out lots on a helmet when I get one. full face. After seeing the pictures on rotten of the guy who slid on his face... yeah...
Don't spend money on gadget helmets, those little vents & stuff on 'em don't work & are just one more weak point in the helmet.

[Remington]

I'm not one to give you advice on what motorcycle to get because I've never ridden motorcycles. But I keep thinking that one day I would want one. Not to look cool, but to travel on. I would like to get a gold wing with all of the saddlebags that I can pack stuff in and head out west and into the northwest. Never done it, but heard that's the way to see the country.

I've heard that Harley's ride real good, but get half the mileage, require maintenance twice as much, costs twice as much to run, and are only half as dependable as the rice burners. BUT, you are considered cooler when riding a Harley.

I really have no idea what kind of mileage a motorcycle gets.....I don't know how far a tank of gas on a gold wing would go.

[bpitt]

I've a cousin who is into the GoldWing scene. He as now visited all 48 contigious states on a motorcycle. Maine was his last, two months ago. He's swears by the GoldWing, and he's a big man, like 300-350 pounds.

I hope to do what he's done one day, that'd rock!

[58ford]

I'm not one to give you advice on what motorcycle to get because I've never ridden motorcycles. But I keep thinking that one day I would want one. Not to look cool, but to travel on. I would like to get a gold wing with all of the saddlebags that I can pack stuff in and head out west and into the northwest. Never done it, but heard that's the way to see the country.

I've heard that Harley's ride real good, but get half the mileage, require maintenance twice as much, costs twice as much to run, and are only half as dependable as the rice burners. BUT, you are considered cooler when riding a Harley.

I really have no idea what kind of mileage a motorcycle gets.....I don't know how far a tank of gas on a gold wing would go.
My Goldwing GL1100 got about 50 MPG, but gas mileage can vary greatly depending on weight, wind & terrain ,you'd be amazed how much a headwind can reduce your gas mileage on something as unaerodynamic as a motorcycle. My bike had a 4.5 gal. gas tank, so I usually figured 200 mi./tankful, even at 2.50 a gal that's a bargain..
There is no better way to see the country than on a motor bike.

[Conveyor Belt]

My Goldwing GL1100 got about 50 MPG, but gas mileage can vary greatly depending on weight, wind & terrain ,you'd be amazed how much a headwind can reduce your gas mileage on something as unaerodynamic as a motorcycle. My bike had a 4.5 gal. gas tank, so I usually figured 200 mi./tankful, even at 2.50 a gal that's a bargain..
There is no better way to see the country than on a motor bike.

I'd believe it. Hell, I can tell the difference between wearing short and wearing jeans on a bicycle. I can see why guys would shave their hair off to gain that extra advantage. I know how much harder it is to pedal into the wind and how much it robs you.

But, oh, to get that rare tailwind...

[pooker]

350 lbs? What about a crotch rocket, I get about 40 mpg with my yzf its enough to keep me entertained. I have never ridden a bike before in my life so I kinda suck at it but I still drive it. I just prefer the look of a crotch rocket thingy, but for comfort I would choice a cruiser any day .

Also when I ride my bike I feel a 100 times safer when I ride with a heavy backpack or something, it feels like I don't have enough weight to keep the rear tire safely on the ground , it feels like I sway the rear when I ride.

I have been trying to get good at ridin' a bike so when I hit up guru to come ride I don't completely make a fool of my self because I am a bad rider.

Another word of advice, make sure you master up hill start's because those were pretty tuff for me.

[daisy]

CB, call theLynn Cartlage Multi-Purpose Center down on Hwy 49 south .

Motorcycle classes have been offered for a reasonable fee there on the weekends.

My experience on motorcycles has only been as a rider. Hondas, Harleys, and I don't know what else.