Trying to get into Riding/Advice | GTAMotorcycle.com

Trying to get into Riding/Advice

Molec

New member
Hey everyone,

I'm new to the forums, and also to this world of riding. I haven't started riding yet, but am looking forward to it. I'm 19 and still young enough to do stupid things and get away with it. So I've been thinking of buying an old used motorcycle, maybe like one of the Honda CB's but i don't have a preference yet, and turning it into a scrambler. Not a total rebuild, but just modification of key components to make it off road worthy, and make it look badass.

I just need advice on what to look for when buying used bikes like these, where I should get parts from, and where I should go for help on the build.

Thanks.
 
Check insurance.
Get a license.
If mechanical buy an older bike, or be willing to pay.

Honestly, if you don't know what you are looking for when buying AND think it's gonna be cheap - no.

You can do it, met a lot of mechanically adept kids (usually farm peeps) that do it this way. However it's a business repairing bikes, for a reason.

Simple yes, but gotta wonder if it's worth it (for you).

If you think you are young enough to get away with it...well that's for you and a bank account to decide.
 
Take a riding course.
Get your licence.
When you find a bike that is mechanically sound, check with insurance before buying.

Everything else....enjoy.
 
The others have covered the key points. To add:

- call around re insurance on the bikes in which you're interested
- generate a budget; you need to understand how much a motorcycle is to purchase outright; think about bike maintainance over time (oil changes, tires, replacement parts, winter storage and/or cover for summer if parked outside, locks/alarms etc); as well, understand how much helmets, gloves, shoes/boots, pants, jackets cost; add to these the cost of obtaining your M1 and M2 and M (the latter two at a training facility, if possible), insurance (which doesn't go away when the bike is stored over the winter, BTW...)
- get your M1 and schedule an M1-Exit course at a local recognized training facility
- get your bike
- enjoy; learn, develop good practices etc and in 18 (or 22) months, you can go for your full M

Re your first bike: I'd refrain from modifying (e.g. making it a "scrambler") your first bike. Most likely insurance will limit you to a small displacement bike that you may not end up keeping long. It's much easier to sell an unmolested "beginner" bike to the next learner (and perhaps even break-even) than to sell an undesirable, messed-up custom. If you want off-road capability, look at DRZs, WR250Rs and perhaps even the CB300X for light-duty off-roading.
 
Thanks everybody for the advice. I think I should elaborate more. I'm looking forward more to the build, at least for now. I know about how the insurance is going to be really high for my age, experience, etc. And so I'm not going to ride the motorcycle for at least a year or two. Within that time I was planning to work on the bike, getting M1/M2, gaining experience, doing the courses, etc. And so for me its more about the ride than the riding, at least for now.

As for the actual bike, I've considered dual-sports before, drz 400 and dr 650 most notably, however I don't think they'd be able to suit my needs. I heard they aren't the most comfortable to ride for long, and aren't the best for highways. Even if I did get a dual-sport, I'd probably still modify it into a scrambler. Scramblers by the way, aren't supposed to be mostly for style, yet just like cafe racers, they're efficiency has become obsolete because of newer technology. Scrambler builds essentially strip down the stock bike of unnecessary parts to make it lighter, increase the height, and beef up the suspension.

I estimated that it would probably be cheaper if I bought a bike and built a scrambler, rather than buy a dual sport. Also it would better fit what I want, and look more bad ***. I don't know how much difference that a scrambler would make vs. a modified dual sport with insurance, but I'll deal with the repercussions later (future me is probably crying already, lol).

I think I'll be fine with the budget I have, and I'll be ok with building, I might need some help, or figure things out. So if you guys have any other advice, I'd appreciate it. But I still wanna know what I should look for, and where to look, when buying a used bike.
 
Refreshing to hear from a nineteen year old who doesn't know it all, and who can actually construct proper sentences, use appropriate punctuation and paragraphs, and spell correctly.

Good luck with the build. :thumbup:
 
Each older bike has its weak points, most of which are documented somewhere on the internet, in bike-specific forums. For example the Honda VT500C has issues with rusting tanks at the corners (near the seat) and the collector (headers go to collector, which then goes to the mufflers). When you are looking at a used model you can then check if the bike has these specific defects.

Do more research, take your time, then narrow down to a style of bike. Go for a bike with a long production run. Check ebay for parts. Bikes are pretty simple and everything is mostly out in the open.

And get a bike that starts and runs. If the bike does not run then you will need to troubleshoot it, which could be a big or small issue. A bike that does not run could be very expensive to repair, more expensive than if you put that money into a newer, better conditioned bike. Make it easier on yourself by getting a bike that starts, runs and can go through all the gears.
 
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