Suggestions. Good bike for beginner?

Hey guy, lookin at getin my bike license before summer. I'm not sure what a good beginner bike would be. Only experience i have is riding an 80 around the paddock when i was younger. Any suggestions? Dirt/road? Thanks, zach.

Zack, I would say an older used street bike in good working condition in the 400-650cc range, but not a sport bike(crotch rocket),something like a honda nighthawk or similar. I would also strongly suggest you sign up for a motorcycle safety course.
Good luck and have fun!:devil:

Ditto what Lucifer says. Make sure it ain't soi pretty that you'll hesitate to lay it down when/if needed. Also, it must not for a moment feel too big for you - so if that means a 125 or 250cc, no problem. Far better to outgrow your bike than for it to outlast you.

A lot depends on what you'll want later & for example, guys that have Harley Sportsters or Dynas now started on something like a Honda Rebel - similar style, but much lighter & easier to handle. Buy one used, when you drop it you won't spend a fortune fixing it & after riding it for a year or so, you can usually sell a lightweight Japanese street bike for about what you paid for it.

However, I wish I'd started on dirt bikes & those I know who did are better riders. Of course it depends on where you live, where you can ride & what your physical size is, but years ago I knew a teenager 6'1" tall & he started on a 125 cc dirt bike, which most thought was too small for him. But he did well racing in amateur events thru the woods, a year or so later sold the 125 & got a 175, later sold it & got 250 & so on. By the time he was 20 yrs. old, he was quite a skilled rider. And my favorite motorcycle racer of all time, Kenny Roberts, Sr., started on little dirt bikes.

On the flip-side of the coin, back in 1988 I bought a 1987 Yamaha "Fazer" with only 685 miles on it. Teenager's Dad had it in the front yard for sale & the biggest bike the young man had ridden before was a 175. The 700cc Fazer would run the 1/4 mile in the 11's, go 140 mph & lean to a 47-degree angle before the footpegs touched & what it boiled down to is the young man scared himself 1/2 to death - too big of a jump from the 175.

I'm reminded of one the "Dirty Harry" movies where Clint Eastwood says, "A man's got to know his limitations". Consider where you can ride, your physical size / strength, your budget, etc. & if the 1st bike you get turns out to be too small, you can always sell it & move up a little bit.