[Brian Carter]

I used to ride around with my friend on his property on his dirt bikes once in a while when i was a young teen (34 now) so not completely green but will be my first time owning a bike. Since I've moved to the south and the nicer weather most of the year, the bike bug bit me again (bad) I want one now. I'm just looking to tool around town, no highway 45-50 mph is as high the speed limits get where I'd be cruisin.

I'm looking at the vulcan 500, shadow vt600, rebel 500, v star 650, ls650.

Every brand (car bike etc) usually has some parts costs that are obnoxious and that's what I'm having trouble finding out. All I can find is tires, belts/chains are expensive and I already knew that. I do most maintenance repair on my vette and truck so I'm handy enough to work on a bike myself.

I'm also open to other models/suggestions to look at, those mentioned seem as the better options/not too much bike for me and not too crazy heavy if I did drop it. 2500 is the very tip top of what I want to spend not including gear.

 

[Stablefull]

I think it is safe to say that all the bikes you listed are good, dependable bikes. Japanese bikes are known for their dependability, and I think parts are reasonable. European bikes will be more expensive. I'm really not sure how American bikes compare, as I have never had one or heard about them either way.

You mentioned tires. If cost is a concern I would look at the wheel sizes and make sure whatever you buy has common sized wheels. Some bikes use uncommon sized wheels and at some point that sized tire becomes difficult to find. A good example is the Yamaha FJ1200 that I used to have. It came with 16" wheels (I believe) and there is like one tire still made in that size, and it is a low quality tire. There is a big group of people out there scouring the world, looking for wheels off of GSXR's and FZR's to modify and put on their FJ so they can put a decent tire on their bike.

 

[Brian Carter]

american is usually expensive especially to insure. the one or two people that i know, that aren't club guys who won't entertain anything other than harley questions, told me long time ago to go with the japanese motos for a first since they're wicked reliable. i've always liked the japanese ones anyways. although guzzi, triumph, and ducati are my favs.


hoping mid october for my birthday, i'll have it. there's also a couple project motos sitting on the local ads for dirt cheap. i like projects rather or not they're money pits lol. my c4 corvette is a great example.

thanks for the tip on the wheel size. i didn't know about that. little things such as that is exactly the sort of info i'm looking for.

 

[450zuki]

Lot's of ~$1000 Japanese bikes out there from the 1980's...super reliable and parts are still plentiful and cheap.

If you want to spend $2500, you can move into the 2000's and find some nice bikes. A great cruiser in that ~$2500 range would be a Suzuki C50 from 2005 onward...love the C90/C50's..power, comfort, reliability.

 

[Offcenter]

I think that the Japanese bikes run the longest with the least trouble, and parts prices are not bad.
Not picking on one brand, but have several friends with high mileage Hondas.
One guy has a 87 Honda Hurricane 1000, with 198,000 miles on it. Still looks and RUNS like new.
Another friend recently sold a 1989 Goldwing with 475,000 miles on it. That's right, nearly half a million miles!
A guy in my bike club has a Goldwing with nearly 150,000 miles.
My own Goldwing has only 87,000 on it. It has a loooong way to go.
Just my two cents worth.

 

[Stablefull]

I think that the Japanese bikes run the longest with the least trouble, and parts prices are not bad.
Not picking on one brand, but have several friends with high mileage Hondas.
One guy has a 87 Honda Hurricane 1000, with 198,000 miles on it. Still looks and RUNS like new.
Another friend recently sold a 1989 Goldwing with 475,000 miles on it. That's right, nearly half a million miles!
A guy in my bike club has a Goldwing with nearly 150,000 miles.
My own Goldwing has only 87,000 on it. It has a loooong way to go.
Just my two cents worth.

You aren't the only one. Hondas are as reliable as they get. That being said, I have also heard of Kawasaki Concourses and Yamaha FJRs with several hundred thousand miles on them as well.