The Very Beginning

[Chuck 500]

You are asking some REALLY good questions and taking a great approach to this.  Far better than some three times your age.

I also took the MSF as a total beginner.  Hadn't sat on a bike for 35 years.  Never driven one.  One of the things I wanted to learn from the Basic Course was what kind of bike I wanted.  The course convinced me to start small.  My rider-coach recommended 450 to 650 cc, non-sport bike.  I found a pristine Suzuki GS500F to start with.  It is fared but the plastics are relatively inexpensive to replace (as five drops will attest).  The Suzuki GS500E or F has good, but mild performance, is robust enough to handle traffic.  The bars are slightly wider than the Ninja's.  Your taste and self image will have a lot to do with your choice.

BTW, since you are on this forum you already have a lot going for you.  I'm sure there are folks here who have forgotten more than I will ever know.  This is a great place to learn.

keep the shiny side up,

Chuck

[UHOH]

Would a Ninja 500 be pushing it as a starter?
I saw some of the other threads recommending it over the 250.

No, it's not pushing it.   In my book, a typical beginner street bike is a 250 - 650cc that is two cyclinder.  

The 1 -cyl bikes are fun and I had a  400 single like a lot of others, but they don't don't hold their performance value
or their abilities as you gain seat time.  So go twin cylinder, money being not an issue.

Here is a 1986-7 EX500 that was renamed the Ninja 500 about 1990.

Note the homemade ice chest hard-bags.  They work.
This young man hadn't even ridden a bike before he bought this one.
Took the MSF class later.

[UHOH]

The Suzuki SV650 (naked) gets my suggestion as the best all-around bike, even for newbe.  
Bullet proof reliable and do everything.  

Something a capable beginner can learn on and
an accomplished rider can later commute on or tour on or carve the twisties on.  No need to sell it.
This is not the more common SV650S version, which is a sportbike / racer style.


There is an aftermarket windscreen mounted here.  ABout 2003, SV650 went to fuel injection and the frame became more angular.  Either is great.
This was the first bike for the man here; he'd riden a dirt bike 3 or 5 times prior (limited experience).
He really liked it.  Ended up buying a second bike, a GSXR 750, but when he needed money
he sold the GSXR and kept the SV 'because it was more fun.'

[sfalexi]

Firstly, excellent attitude towards riding and bike purchases!  Wish I could talk to more people with your level of common sense.

I skimmed through the posts, but will put my thoughts (and if I repeat anything, then maybe it should be pondered that much more).

1) Budget for the bike, but allow budget for the gear!  Personally, I wear overpants, a jacket, helmet, gloves, and boots every time I ride.  My helmet has to be DOT standard, pants and jacket have CE armor in it, boots have to be ANZI certified, and the gloves I just make sure are durable and have good padding in the palm.

The gear COULD run almost 1k (if you get a bunch of the latest and greatest).  But gear is important, and you can use it for MANY years (my jacket and pants are on year four.  Replaced some zippers, but that's it.  Still going strong).  I would look at slightly used, or last year's models, or even just whatever's on sale for ANY reason.  I bought my $300 helmet at $100 because they were trying to lower their stock of the color "gray".  I'm fine with a gray helmet at 1/3 the price!  motorcyclegear.com tends to sell old "new" stock for less and might have some deals.  And stick with a well-known brand name.  Research it on this website.  I have firstgear, courtech, and joe rocket for the wifey.  And they all work well for us.

2) As far as bike, pick something similar to those rides.  The aforementioned japanese standard bikes sound like a great place to start.  Basically find something that has you sitting upright, with higher handlebars.  That is a similar riding position to what you are currently considering.  

3) As far as the financing.  Credit companies are VERY VERY cautious in this economy.  Getting a lender without a history of credit will be tough.  Especially for a "toy" (as motorcycles are often considered in the states - ticked me off when my insurance agent congratulated me on my new 'toy' I was insuring).  Save up the cash for a good used bike.  Although you may want to start on a ninja 500, the ninja 250 is VERY plentiful out there and ALWAYS sought after so you'll have more to choose from to find one that is in good shape, and you'll have more buyers looking for one when you're ready to sell it.  I'd stick with that for now.  And I'll go ahead and predict that after about 2 months you'll be yearning for a different bike.  But that 2 months, if carefully purchased and sold, will have netted you a bike to learn on and put miles on, and I bet you'll sell it within 200 dollars of what you paid for it if you bought smart.

In the meantime, apply for a major credit card.  And tell them you want a limit NO GREAT THAN ____ (maybe 1000, just something small so you won't be tempted to end up with $3000 worth of pizza and sode on it like ...ahem....someone I once knew....)   If you get denied two or three times, scrap up some cash, 500 bucks, a 1000, something, and go to a bank and ask for a secured credit card.  It's a credit card that they ALREADY have the money for, so they are at 0 risk for giving it to you.  If you give them 500 dollars, they give you a 500 dollar limit.  So even if you NEVER pay, they don't lose.  

Use that card ONLY to buy gas whenever you need to, and pay everything but about ten bucks when your monthly statement comes around.  This will slowly build credit and you'll actually HAVE a history.  Always tough starting out.  Your credit score greatly depends not on how much you spend, but that you are not late with payments, and it looks at a combination of how much percentage of credit you have available, and how much credit you have available.  
       Quick explanation:  You owe $10 on a $1000 credit card.  You are using 1% of available debt.  This shows you are not someone that spends every dime he has and you are a lower risk to lend to.  If you owe $999 on a $1000 card, you are looked at as someone that spends every dollar.  If you were to make a decision in the future to spend more money or to pay back the bank, they'd worry you wouldn't pay them back.  After all, you haven't paid back that $1000 credit card...   Also, if you have 17 open credit cards, you owe NOTHING on them, and each one has a limit of $1000, that's bad.  Cause you could potentially go out tomorrow and buy yourself a goldwing.  Now you have 17,000 to pay back to various people.  And a bank wants to make sure you can pay THEM back.  If you're splitting money 17 different ways, what's the likelyhood THEY won't be the ones you stiff if times get tough and you have to pick and choose who to pay.  If you're splitting money THREE ways, and they also have a motorcycle as collateral that they can repo, they'd feel much better.

Alexi

PS - If you're financing a bike, don't be surprised if a company will only finance a certain percentage of the value of the bike (which they'll probably check NADA to find out).  Like I said, it's considered a "toy" in the states.  And in a tough economy, if they HAVE to repo it, they want to be able to sell a "toy".  And less people are willing to spend money on "toys" in this market.  But this also helps you cause you can negotiate.  I spoke with a dealer last week who said his sales dropped from selling 5 bikes on a saturday alone, to being lucky if he sold 1 or 2 a week.  It's a buyer's market out there for motorcycles.  Be picky, and enjoy the ride.  And all the bikes you have mentioned so far sound great, except I'd stick with a ninja 250 for a learner bike purely because the market will be there when you want to sell it to get money back towards an upgrade bike.

[cbsnbiker]

Alexi gave you a bunch of good information.

He wrote about possibly buying used gear. This can be a very good way of saving money.

He did not suggest buying a used helmet, but he did mention helmets in the same paragraph in which he discussed buying other used gear.

I recommend that a helmet be purchased new. On sale is fine, closeout is good, NOS is fine if it's not too old, but definitely buy new.

I do recommend a full-face helmet.

[sfalexi]

Alexi gave you a bunch of good information.

He wrote about possibly buying used gear. This can be a very good way of saving money.

He did not suggest buying a used helmet, but he did mention helmets in the same paragraph in which he discussed buying other used gear.

I recommend that a helmet be purchased new. On sale is fine, closeout is good, NOS is fine if it's not too old, but definitely buy new.

I do recommend a full-face helmet.

Yup.  Helmet should be new.  My bad.  It was late, I was tired, and I write things in a confusing manner.  But Helmet should NOT be used.

[25knots]

It sounds like you are in the exact same position I was in one year ago.  I've only been riding for a half year, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

1) Everything positive that's been said about the MSF course is dead-on accurate.  If you're normally coordinated and attentive, they'll help you gain an excellent foundation to begin your motorcycle career.  They'll also be willing to give you first bike advice which, after they see how you ride, might be more accurate than what we can offer over the internet.

2) I say "begin your motorcycle career" because there are only so many skills you can learn in the confined area and  slow speeds of the MSF course.  For instance, I did not have much practice calculating my downshifts before entering a turn.  If you don't downshift low enough, your engine will start to lug and you won't have the power to pull through the turn smoothly.  But downshift too much while continuing at a higher speed and you will lock up your rear wheel.  I only had to do that once before I learned more caution (no accident, just some tightened bowels ).  Of course, that's just one example, but the overall point is to go slowly even once you've completed MSF.

3) Invest in quality safety gear and clothing.  You will ride more confidently, assertively and, I think, better knowing that you are protected if things should go wrong.  This doesn't mean you will be automatically be foolhardy once you've got leathers covering your body, although one is always free to act stupid (myself included).  Spend a little extra to get gear you think you look good in.  This isn't because you're vane, but because you will inevitably want to ride over to some girl's house and you don't want to have to choose between the commander tooldork dayglo green one-piece jumpsuit you bought on the cheap and impressing the lady.  Also, while you'll likely outgrow your first bike, your helmet, jacket and pants can last as long as you keep the shiny side up.

4) Find some friends to ride with.  MSF is a great way to meet other riders, but it also helps to have someone experienced you can tag along with.  I can't tell you how much better you'll ride, especially in the twisties, with someone skilled in front.  You get to watch their lines and entry speeds, which are tough for you to judge as a beginner.  Of course, don't try and keep up with someone more skilled than you who is riding faster than you're comfortable with, but learn from watching what they do and how they ride.

5) Bikes: I'll put in a plug for the Suzuki GS500E (the naked version).  You can get a perfectly good used one with less than 20,000 miles for under 2000.  Mine has almost that many miles on it and still runs great.  The insurance should also be relatively cheap (it would have been less than 100 for me, despite my lack of experience,  except that I had had some prior misunderstandings with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol regarding matters of velocity and acceleration   )  The GS500 is very reliable and parts are still widely available, even though I think Suzuki may have discontinued the line.  gstwin.com is the forum of choice for GS500 owners and they have an active classifieds section.  I get this feeling that prices in forum classifieds tend to be a bit cheaper than criagslist or ebay but that might be my imagination.  The other bikes people have mentioned also are great options, though I think I would have outgrown a 250 quite quickly.  

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[shawn and gwyn]

lots of good info here. .. my son took the safety course and passed.  i had taken an old KLR250 and got it road worthy as his starter bike. he has been ridding that around town with me..  next a buddy and i found a Honda V45 sabre for his next bike.  he has ridden it once so far on the street and a day of parking lot time.  he loves it.   i think about the best option out there is an 80s UJM  in the 650 class.  naked not alot to damage when you drop it. very easy to work on. and CHEAP! to buy and repair. the bike junkyards are just full of parts.. an 82 or 83 Honda 650 nighthawk would be my first recommendation. easy to control. powerfull enough for the highway. easy to use around town.  can find a luggage rack . or add a trunk easy enough for school books.

Shawn

[greidel]

If you qualify for a credit union (either through your job or profession), join it. You will probably find credit easier to get through them, and at good rates. If you have saved up for a starter bike, it might be a good idea to hold the cash in savings and finance the bike through the credit union. Pay it down over a year out of the savings. That way you get the bike and the credit you'll need for the next one.

If there is a local credit union, go in a talk to them... ask them how you might qualify to join. I hear that, even though there are rules, just about everyone qualifies somewhere.