My Honda VTX1300R **Pics!**

You will get yourself killed on the 1300

I didn't notice it was a cruiser... in that case I have no idea

Your a idiot for getting a nice bike as your first bike. Your going to drop it a few times

750 will haul your ass around

Get a cheap POS ride it for a season then upgrade

Hey i am 6' 280lbs and i too suggest opting for the smaller bikes for a few reasons BUT i would not suggest your first bike being new.  As the saying goes "Their are two kinds of riders those that have fallen and those that WILL".

First off is INSURANCE.   IT is gona cost ya an arm and a leg to insure a 1300cc bike, even though its a cruiser.  And second a 700lbs motorcycle is going to be a PITA to learn low speed control not to mention higher speed turn in is harder as well. 

MY first bike was a 2000 Yamaha V-Star 650cc that i bought used in 2004.  I rode it  for two years and never had an issue with power or its size.  I even rode that bike two up on a few occashions and it still had no troubles out accelerating traffic.   The bike was easy to learn on and fun in its own way (wore though a pair of boots and a set of pegs grinding em in the turns).  IT was affordable to insure and was AMAZING on fuel.  IT was ALSO REALLY easy to work on and sounded/looked great.   Over all if i wanted a cruiser again i don't see a need for any more than that 650cc.  Cruisers by nature are slow so why pay the extra fuel and insurance for the bigger bike and sacrifice handling. 

That being said i soon learned Cruisers were not my thing for a few reasons.  BUT the biggest problem i found with the cruiser was simply every cruiser i have ridden was UNCOMFORTABLE and i believe that is just the nature of the riding position.  See on a cruiser the seating position feels comfy sitting on it in a show room but after 3-4hrs in the saddle you realize that having your feet soo far ahead of ya means it is hard to adjust you position on the move and also places A LOT of your weight on you tail bone witch over time hurts on the back. 

But any ways back on topic i dont think you would be wise to buy a bike you don't feel comfy on but i REALLY think you would be crazy to buy a bike WAY outa your skill level.  So basically hang on, their are TONS of bikes out their keep your eyes open i am sure you will find a great bike. 

Heres a pic of my old bike with my fat ass on it.




and hell one of the current bike




Edited by BearClaw - 04 February 2009 at 1:12am

Learning on a 1300cc 700lbs cruiser is Not a learning curve it is a bloody WALL.  

IF ya get the 1300cc you may be fine BUT you setting yourself up for a MUCH larger risk of NOT being fine.  Another issue with getting ALOT more bike that you can handle is you will be afraid of it witch will hamper your ability to learn. 

Some of the most fun on bikes i have had has been thrashing SMALL bikes.

I'd love to get a cheap, old bike, they're just still unaffordable to me.

This wont all apply to you, but its pretty good advice:

$hort$troke wrote: I have been getting a lot of PMs and posts lately about questions regarding new riders and motorcycles in general. I am going to attempt to cover major areas of concern for a new rider, and try to shed some light on the common questions i've been getting. If a moderator deems this sticky-worthy, i'd appreciate it. Choosing a Motorcycle This is probably the most common question I am asked. I always recommend getting the basics down on a dirt bike of some sort, as the consequences are comparatively small when you make mistakes versus that of a street bike. For the sake of this portion of the article I will assume everyone is getting their start on a street machine, however. The first thing to do when trying to decide what bike to purchase is to sit down and make a list of the criteria the bike is going to have to live up to in order to make you happy. Things like comfort, practicality, insurance rates, price, passenger capability, etc. Anything of importance, wite it down and compare every bike you look at to that list to see if it matches your basic needs. Lets look at a few different bikes that have been known to make good beginner bikes (all dollar values are estimations). Kawasaki Ninja 250 - This would be the bike I would recommend to anyone with no prior street riding experience. It is a very solid, reliable design without a scary amount of power. This bike is very practical and will comfortably be able to accommodate a passenger or possibly a tiny amount of luggage. I rode this bike during the test for my 2 wheel endorsement on my liscence and it seems to be a very well rounded bike, perfect for a new rider. These can be had new for right at the $3000.00 mark and would be my #1 recommendation for a new rider. The downside is that it will usually be outgrown by a rider once he gets a good amount of experience under his belt, and may leave him wanting more out of his machine at that time. Honda CBR600F2/3/4/4i - This bike would be a great choice for someone who is planning on moving on to a modern sportbike in the future. It is an Inline 4, which will allow you to get familiar with the engine characteristics of this type of design, without having the absurd amounts of power to cope with as you learn to ride. It has good wind protection and a comfortable, upright riding postition. This is a great all around motorcycle. (NOTE: These machines cannot be purchased new anymore. Used only). Suzuki SV650 - This is Suzuki's bread and butter bike. This bike, being a V-twin, makes much more torque than an inline 4 (i.e. CBR600F4i), and does not rev as high. For a twin, this bike is very forgiving and easy to ride. Twins will require much less shifiting anytime than a 4 cylinder machine. This bike is also passenger or luggage capable, and is available either naked, or with a front fairing depending on year and version (there are also aftermarket fairings available). This bike is also one that most will never outgrow skill wise, is also a very common bike to see at the track, and is comparatively the cheapest bike to race at the club level (though thats getting way ahead of ourselves). This bike is many times what the 250 is in every area, yet it has a relatively forgiving nature. A good example can be had for around $4000.00. Those are my 3 favorite recommendations for a new rider, any of those bikes should serve their owners very well. I tried to hit on bikes of different style and price range to cover the needs of most everyone. Before I move on, a word on the 600 Sportbikes (The R6, the GSXR, the ZX-6R, the 636, and the CBR600RR). I will never recommend these bikes to a new rider, for several reasons. These bikes focus (Focii?) are all track oriented. The egronomics of the machines are all very uncomfortable, and can be a pain in the neck (back, wrists, and arms) literally, when used in normal riding situations. They can not accomodate a passenger (some dont have rear seats at all, and those that do are so pathetic i'd feel very sorry for your passenger; they're not going to be happy at the end of the ride). The powerband of these machines is also very track oriented which means the powerband is very high up in the RPM range. These bikes have virtually no turn radius, which can make simple parking lot manouvers (or any tight situation) more difficult to handle. They have an incredible amount of power for any level of rider, and are very unforgiving of mistakes. You can get yourself into trouble with these machines faster than pretty much anything other than their 1000cc counterparts. 1. The Learning Curve ("Why should I start on something smaller?") Ask yourself this question; in which manner would you rather learn to walk on tightropes: A) with a 4x4 board that is 2 feet off the ground, or B) with a wire that is 20 feet off the ground. Most sensible people would choose “A”. The reason why is obvious. Unfortunately safety concerns with a first motorcycle aren’t as apparent as they are in the example above. However, the wrong choice of what equipment to learn on can be just as deadly…regardless of how safe, careful, and level-headed you are. 2. "But I’ll be Safe, Responsible, and Level-Headed While Learning on a superbike!". Sorry, but that excuse doesn’t cut it. To be safe you also need SKILL (throttle control, evasion technique, corner technique, braking technique, body position, etc). Skill comes ONLY with experience. To gain that experience you must spend time in real world riding scenarios. Before skills are developed which can foster safe riding, you need a bike that can mirror the level of skill that you’re currently at, not a cutting edge race bike that will throw you off the first chance it has. Imagine someone saying, "I want to learn to juggle, but I’m going to start by learning with chainsaws. But don’t worry, I’ll go slow, be careful, and stay level-headed while I’m learning". Like the tightrope example above, the answer here isn’t hard to see. Be careful all you want, go as slow as you want, be as cautious as you want…you're still juggling chainsaws! Without a foundation in place of HOW to juggle there is only a small level of safety you can aspire towards. As such, it’s better to learn the skills of juggling with tennis balls first. The same holds true for learning to ride a motorcycle. 3. Cost (“I don’t want to waste money on a bike I’ll only have for a short period of time”). Smaller bikes have good resale value, because other (smart) people will want them as learner bikes. You’ll probably be able to sell a used learner bike for as much as you paid for it. If you drop your brand new bike that is fresh off of the showroom floor while you're learning (and you probably will), you've just broken a directional, perhaps a brake / clutch lever, cracked / scrapped the fairings ($300.00 each to replace or often more), damaged the bar ends, etc. It's better and cheaper to drop a crappy bike that you don’t care about versus one you just spent 9k on. Most new riders drop bikes going under 20MPH, when the bike is the most unstable (parking lots, anyone?). They often don’t result in physical injury, just a big dent in your pride and your wallet (depending on what you're riding). 4. EGO ("I want to look cool cruising the Boulevard!") Worried about not having a modern, flashy sport machine to show off to everyone? Well, you'll look like a tool with a brand new, but screwed-up, 2008 superbike (or a bike that you can’t pull away from a stop on without stalling 15 times), versus something less flashy that you can safely, responsibly, and comfortably ride. Any real rider would give you credit for going about learning to ride the *correct* way (i.e. on a beginner oriented bike). If you’re worried about impressing someone with a sportbike, or embarrassed about learning on a "lesser" bike then you're not mature enough to handle the responsibility of a motorcycle. Try a moped. After you've grown up revisit the idea of a motorcycle. Originally Posted by Lucidus Honestly, all motorcycles are pretty fast, regardless of what you get. The things that set apart type Rs and lower model bikes are 2 major things. The brakes, and the suspension. You can buy a 600 r for your first bike and baby it around town all day, which you probably won't, but some people can. The problem comes at the first sign of anything but your comfortable riding conditions. Grab a handful of brake on a 250 and skid yourself to a stop, grab 2 fingers of brake on a gixxer and watch your face impact the ground and your bike flip on you. There is not one person on earth who is such a natural at riding motorcycles that they are able to get on a type R and be fimiliar enough with the brakes and suspension to ride it safely in anything but ideal conditions, because the fact is, dirtbikes and quads don't prepare you to be able to handle the race ready features of the bikes when crap hits the fan, which it will. It really comes down to getting whatever you want to get, but just be honest about the decision, don't pretend you know what you are doing, and hope you are one of the few very lucky guys who did start on something like that.

Personally I think the 1300 will be too much for you to handle learning on. Small bikes are meant for beginners to get the feel of driving along with traffic and basic handling skills of the bike. You really dont want to get yourself into trouble because you opted for a bike more powerful than what you were ready for, just because it was more comfortable. There are a million different models out there in your price range, dont be afraid to buy used if it means finding what youre looking for.

1. Learn to ride on a cheap bike.
2. Sell back cheap bike and invest in a nice new one.

These are the two steps Ive been told countless times about learning to ride. I plan on buying a bike next summer, and you bet your butt ill be starting on a small bike to learn what the hell im doing. Im not looking into cruisers though, I want something a little more sporty thatll rev to 11k rpm no problem. (:

Also, this is a good read for when youre looking at a used bike.

Edited by Reb Cpl - 04 February 2009 at 8:21am

Being as your tall and want a cruiser id would seriously consider a V-Star 650cc.   When i had mine it fit me pretty good was easy to throw around as it weighed 500lbs (not light but managable) and the bike never felt overwhelming while at the same time never felt like to little of a bike, even when i ride it now (i gave it to my mother so i still get to ride it every once in a while).  They have made the bikes since 1998 and good condition models can easily be found in the 3000-4000 mark Canadian so even cheaper up your way.  As for the bikes looks its the SAME bike as a 1100 V-Star and has no bading porclaiming its smaller engine the only visable differance between the two is the 1100cc bike has twin front disc brakes and a rear disc while the 650cc has a single front disc and a rear drum brake.

Get your self a bike like that ride it for a couple years and decided what ya want from their.  For me although i still love that cruiser look and sound i learned Cruisers just did not work for what i wanted and i ride a Adventure Touring bike now.   IT sure dont look as cool BUT it sounds ok goes better and can actually TURN oh and its actually comfortable to ride. 

tallen702 wrote: DO IT! AND! Either one is in your price range!

That is VERY him...

DeTrevni wrote: I would most definitely get one of those if I lived anywhere near Michigan...

shipping it will still keep it in your price range.