[emperormoto]

My advice is to buy something you want to ride. If that's a Ducati, it's a bike with great brakes, good handling, a low seat height, and very light weight - all things that make a motorcycle safer to ride. How can you go wrong with that? I followed the dirt bikes first path because I was a kid when I learned to ride. My first street bike was a Norton Commando. Hardly anyones idea of a good first bike but I put 400 miles on it the first week I had it because I loved it.

Rule #1: BUY SOMETHING YOU REALLY WANT TO RIDE!!!

 

[MotoBella]

anyone else besides me curious as to what initial poster ended up with for a first bike? or still deliberating? or?

 

[Bikeguy1000]

Buy the Monster. You already understand it will cost more to own, and that doesnt seem to be an issue for you. Its obvious thats what you want and its not intimidating at all. Buy the Monster.

 

[AmoK]

When I was buying my bike, I was considering some entry level bike like M600. May of my friends told me that buy a bigger bike straight from the start, because the power of small bike might leave you little cold after a while.
If you got balls enough to control your own head and wrist it really doesn't matter if you have some extra power.
I was in the situation that I wanted to have a bike that I could hold on a longer time, cause I dont have the $$$ to change it after first year.
So I got my first bike, Ducati Monster 900Sie and I have not regretted that.

If the bike doesn't make you face hurt because your smiling all the time riding it, it just might not be the right for you...

 

[S4Rt]

Streetfighter 1098!!!!!!!!












I kid I kid!!!!

My vote....600/620 monster. My wife's vote...S2R 800 (the perfect bike in her opinion).

 

[SpikeC]

My first bike was a Triumph 200 cub, anything more than that is too much and should banned!!! My next was a really big bike, though, a Honda 305 scrambler. Of course, that was a while ago...............
Boy howdy, they don't make 'em like that any more!

 

[ChchS4]

Old enough to know better

My first solo ride was a Velocette but it was so long ago that I don't remember how big it was, but it seemed very big. I survived the ride and became hooked on motorcycles. The next inflection point in my motorcycle career (and I now actually had a driver's license but for a car), was a solo spin on a friend's brand new Honda 750 four, sometime in the 70's. It was amazing and convinced me that my first bike would be a big one. Thus, my first bike purchase was a BMW R750 that I bought used with many thousands of miles on it but which still ran strong and was really easy (but $$$) to maintain. I did drop it from time to time on dirt roads and in axle deep mud, but the consequences were insignificant because there wasn't much to break. The first owner had put cylinder protection bars on - one of which was bent and showed the scars of a long and nasty slide down the highway - so I only added a couple of nicks and scrapes to its visible history. My point is, buy the bike you want, the one that you will want to look back at as you walk away from it after a ride and the one that brings you the pleasure of anticipation as you walk up to it before a ride. Motorcycling is a sport and most sports are pursued for the esthetic pleasure that they provide. For me, a classic Vespa provides great esthetic pleasure but lacks the esthetic elements associated with the performance and operational characteristics of a Ducati which are an absolute prerequisite to full satisfaction. Outstanding design, superb engineering plus soul derived from some strange combination of the first two are required in reasonably similar quantities to achieve this.

 

[ejewels]

I'm not the voice of experience by any means, but can share my story as well.

My wife and I took (and passed) the MSF in July 2010 and neither one of us had any motorcycling experience. Not to toot my own horn, but I scored a perfect 100% on the riding test and my only experience on 2 wheels before that was riding mountain bikes. Keep reading though...there is a catch.

So, I knew it was wise to buy a 'cheap starter bike' but several wiser friends told me to skip the prerequisite Ninja 250s or 500s and just buy a used 600 for a few bucks more. They told me that the 600s had much better suspension and brakes, and that they rarely lose much value so that I could sell it in 6-12 months and basically break even financially. Well, that sounded pretty good so I spent $1800 and bought a 1992 Yamaha FZR600. What they don't tell you is that older carburated bikes are actually huge piles of crap, particularly if not well maintained. That bike was hard to ride, unreliable, and cost me several hunderd bucks in unplanned maintenance. The powerband was incredibly inconsistent and all my buddies just said it was due to the carbs...so deal with it. The bike ran out of gas on me twice and the clutch cable gave me no end of trouble, and the chain broke once while I was riding it. I sold it (and pretty much broke even, which was great) but never really spent enough time on it to get good riding experience or to feel comfortable that it wouldn't strand me. That is the truly dark part about older bikes if you ask me.

Just a few weeks after I bought that Yamaha, a good friend of mine offered me his nearly new Triumph Daytona 675. I knew that the bike was poor for a beginner but it was a chance to pick up a nearly new 'keeper' class of bike for about half price, and from a great friend who was the original owner. I literally jumped at the chance. On day two of ownership I rode the bike 250 miles across the state and learned why he no longer wanted it. That sum-bitch is the least comfortable bike ever made. Everything on it worked perfectly, but I didn't really want to ride it after getting it home (for a while).

So, now I had a used/old/unreliable early 1990s bike that was comfortable and a nearly new modern bike that was borderline unrideable due to lack of comfort. Neither bike was ideal to ride and learn on, so I didn't get much riding in that season at all. The next season I sold the Yamaha early on and bought a 2002 Honda CBR 954RR, which I currently own. This is a phenomenally comfortable sport bike, and I really do enjoy riding it. However, I'm learning again that older and not well maintained bikes have their issues, despite the Honda being one of the more reliable brands out there.

So, what is the point of my story? Make sure you get a bike that actually meets your needs. There are huge differences between bikes and I'd recommend buying the newest and best cared for bike that you actually want. I'd recommend test-riding several since I can assure you I would have never bought my Daytona if I had ridden it even 10 miles (and it didn't come from a friend). The more comfortable you are as a new rider, the more you're going to learn and the more fun you're going to have!

I'm busy working to sell my Daytona and pick up a Monster 796 so that we can have fun on bikes and really enjoy the lifestyle. Coming from a world of high performance cars, power was never really the issue for me since I'm used to respecting that, but being comfortable and confident is a different issue...and I'm still working on that. I hope you were able to make a good decision and buy the bike that is right for you...keep us informed as to what decision you made and good luck to you! 8)

+1 to this. Steve, is the monster 796 gonna be for you or your wife?