ALT-4 Recommended Motorcycles for Beginners
It's not the size of the bike... (why i love my 250cc bike)
Let me begin by saying that buying a motorcycle wasn't our first choice. What we wanted was a gas guzzling SUV like everybody else.
As the story goes, we were on the way to a Nickelback concert when my car, a '93 Eagle P.O.S. (aka the "batmobile") died. Not a very heroic death, just that horrible grinding noise an engine makes when it doesn't want to be your friend anymore. Mechanic or not, we all know this particular repair bill is more expensive than what the car is worth. So we junked the car and got our Dallas Corbin multi-pass for the bus. Shall I elaborate on the smell of a city bus or can we move on?
This brought us to the wonderful world of NEW and USED car sales. (i guess an article of its own) Let's just say that between my lousy credit and my girlfriend's zero credit, we got our share of abuse. Are they supposed to laugh when you tell them how much money you make each month?
Turns out we bought a motorcycle because the only people who would legitimately finance a vehicle for us was the motorcycle dudes. We look at it as a foot in the door for building our fledgling credit history. As long as we survive long enough to make those dirt cheap monthly payments on a brand new Honda Rebel 250, we should be able to finance our Jeep Liberty next year. We hope.
Which brings us to the real meat of this article: Is a 250cc bike big enough for beginners?
If you ask ten different riders this question, you are going to get 10 different answers. Some people will tell you it's too small: "I wouldn't go less than 600cc," is a common answer. "You want the bike to be able to get out of its own way" and my personal favorite, "250cc? It's for your grandma right?"
Other people will tell you a different story. Once upon a time (I think in the 1960's), a 250cc engine bike was considered an intermediate bike. They never heard of such things as a 1100 and 1680. If you didn't put a few thousand miles on your 250, you had no business buying anything bigger. The word around the campfire is, you have to earn that bigger bike. To these people, starting on a 600cc bike is like skipping the Cessena and learning to fly on a Harrier jet.
I have a habit of listen to older people. Maybe it's because I was raised by that WWII, tough as nails generation. Especially with regards to motorcycling, you only get old by being smart. We bought the 250.
In retrospect, yes the 250cc is a small bike. In fact, it's only a step above a scooter. I think they still use them in Japan because most of them (give or take a Sumo wrestler or two) are pretty small. If you weigh over 300 pounds, you're gonna need a bike that weighs more than you. If you plan on doing a whole lot of touring, you're gonna need a bike that goes over 65mph for long periods of time. Don't get the 250. You may want to start at around 500 or 600cc.
If you're like me though, you use the bike for a short city commute, your Yoga girlfriend only weighs a buck and change, and you can only afford $70 a month for bike payments and $10 a week in gas, then the 250cc bike will be fine...for now.
You can always give the girlfriend the bike and upgrade to your 600cc next year.
Happy and safe riding!
PS - take that safety class and invest in a good helmet while you're at it.
